Am I Deceiving Myself - How to Know

By Tom Ascol

Have you ever noticed how many times and how many ways the Bible warns of being deceived? By clear admonition as well as by graphic example God repeatedly calls us to be on our guard against believing lies. That's what deception is--believing what is not true. It is one of the great works of the enemy of our souls. So the Lord repeatedly warns us about it in Scripture:

Luke 21:8, Jesus warned His disciples: Romans 7:11, Paul describes the role of deception in his spiritual bondage: 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul identifies "cheap grace" with deception: 1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Galatians 6:7, Paul warns those who think that they can get away with sin: 2 Timothy 3:13, This is a problem that will constantly threaten us in this life: ."Titus 3:3, It is the very condition out of which we have been converted:James 1:16, , It is the devil's design to

This is a mere sampling of the Bible's warnings. Deception is spiritually deadly because at every point that you believe lies you cannot believe truth, and it is the truth that sets us free and by which we are sanctified (John 8:32, John 17:17).

If deception is dangerous, self-deception is disastrous. When you have been deceived by another, that person shares the blame for your condition, but when your deception is self-imposed, you alone are accountable. Further, self-deception is perniciously destructive. It is hard to detect and harder to eliminate.

Think about it. Have you ever met a person who admitted to being self-deceived? The very nature of self-deception is that there is no conscious awareness of believing lies. Self-deception emerges from living on a self-referential basis. Such people measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves and, Paul says, "are not wise" (2 Corinthians 10:12).

This is the problem that Jesus exposed to the church at Laodicea. They were self-deceived. Their evaluation of themselves was radically different from Jesus' evaluation of them. Their self-assessment went like this: But Jesus' assessment of them was this: (Revelation 3:17). They believed lies. Their press reports on earth were completely opposite of their record in heaven. In this regard their condition was the same as that of the church at Sardis, to whom Jesus said, (Revelation 3:1).

Can you imagine a more spiritually dangerous position to be in? To have a reputation of being alive--written up in denominational newspapers as a model church--and yet, in the eyes of the Lord, to be dead! To think that all is well when in fact, according to Jesus, all is rotten!

The mere possibility of falling into this kind of deadly trap ought to be enough to breed extreme humility in the most experienced believer and most accomplished church. It ought to call us to radical commitment to measuring our lives by what the Scripture calls us to be and do and by nothing else. It ought to make us willing to listen to criticism--even criticism from those who openly oppose us (in this regard some of my strongest opponents have served me best because had no interest in sparing my feelings, as friends sometimes do, and therefore have spoken honestly, if harshly, about my faults).

Our prayer should be that of David's in Psalms 139:23-24,