Faith Based On Deception--Gen. 37:31-33

"So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?' And he recognized it and said, 'It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.'" (Gen. 37:31-33 NKJV) 

As much as we might wish it to be otherwise faith is not always based on truth.  As human beings, we can come to believe a thing that is not true.  While this is distressing it is also a fact of life.  Jacob developed a strong faith that his son Joseph had perished based on the deception of his other sons who willfully deceived him.  His faith was not based on truth. 

Faith can be based on incorrect or misleading information, on misunderstanding, even on lies one mistakenly accepts, and yet it is so strong that one is firmly convinced that the error he believes is the absolute truth beyond doubt.  Faith can also be based on the evil of one’s own heart – bias or prejudice, for example, against a person or group.  Man can come to believe a lot of things for one reason or another that are not the truth.  There is such a thing as faith based on truth but also such a thing as faith based on that which is not true. 

Because of the evidence presented to him (misinformation), Jacob was certain his son Joseph was dead, killed as he said by "a wild beast". (Gen 37:33 NAS)  He was fed disinformation and with good reason, based on the information he was presented with, believed that which was false. 

Why would he disbelieve?  Did he not get his information from people he had complete trust in?  Every Christian ought to immediately perk his ears up when he thinks back on this account and take heed and learn from it.  We can be misled by the very people we have the utmost trust in.  In Jacob's case, it was deliberate but certainly one can also be misled by those who themselves sincerely believe error and propagate it. 

Another tragic example of faith based on a lie is that of the man of God who was lied to by a prophet of God and lost his life because he believed the lie (see 1 Kings 13).  If you cannot trust a prophet of God who can you trust?  So, again, the admonition is Christians beware.  The only thing you can trust is the word of God, not man.  

In the case of the first sin ever committed the Bible teaches that Eve was indeed deceived, "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (Paul in 2 Cor. 11:3 NKJV)  So, a person can be honestly deceived.  One must understand that to believe error, as did Eve, is an exceedingly dangerous thing.  Eve learned the hard way.  There was no going back and doing it over again, no second chance, nor was there a second chance with the man of God in 1 Kings 13. 

This deception that leads to belief in error can be delivered by way of those who seem to be "ministers of righteousness." (2 Cor. 11:15 NKJV)  Paul says, "For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." (2 Cor. 11:14-15 NKJV) 

Satan quoted scripture to Jesus while tempting him after his baptism.  False teachers can quote scripture.  We today are gullible.  We believe about anything that is called Christian, whether in doctrine or works, is God approved.  We just accept it and go on and assume it is fine with God and in accord with New Testament teaching.  We need to keep alert. 

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1 NKJV)

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The Modern Day American Mindset

Fewer and fewer people believe in absolute truth today (a postmodernism effect), believe the Bible is verbally inspired and without error, or that man must submit to its dictates or suffer the consequences if he does not.  Sin is now generally accepted, and no attempt is made any longer to hide it as long as the law of the land will allow it.  We abort babies (a holocaust), commit fornication (taken for granted these days), and become adulterers thinking God wants me to be happy or else we do not care at all what he thinks or, for that matter, even believe in him.  One of the things that have amazed me recently in my own neck of the woods is the push for gay marriage among groups of people whom you would have thought never would do such a thing which illustrates the state of mind of many who confess to be believers today.  (Let the reader note that this article was originally written before gay marriage became the law of the land.)

 

One man was quoted in a local paper as saying that there was no scriptural justification for denying gays the right to marry.  I just could not believe that a person who knew anything at all about the Bible could say such a thing as that.  Another wrote that he was a born again Christian and he was a supporter of gay marriage.  Please tell me how a person can read 1 Cor. 6:9-10 and get that we ought to support gay marriage.  "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."(1 Cor. 6:9-11 ESV, my underlining for emphasis)  There is a footnote in the ESV for the phrase "men who practice homosexuality" which reads as follows:  "The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts." 

 

Now I ask should we Christians be in the business of helping people sin by giving our consent to it and striving to pass laws to promote it.  If the passage above is not enough for you about God's will in this matter try Jude 6-7, Rom. 1:24-27, and 1 Tim. 1:9-10.  When I wrote on the subject, which I did, one lady wrote in telling me Jesus never said a word about homosexuality.  Is that right?  Did Jesus ever mention Sodom?  Check out Matt. 10:15, Matt. 11:23, Matt. 11:24, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:12, and Luke 17:29.  In most of these passages, Jesus is saying with regards to a specific city that it will be more tolerable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than it will be for that city.  But I ask the question why does he use Sodom as a standard for comparison?  Was it not because it was infamous?  Had not all the Jewish people heard of what was done to Sodom and Gomorrah and why?

 

No doubt he used Sodom as a basis for comparison because all were aware of how evil it was and the consequences it reaped as a result.  Jude says Sodom and Gomorrah were to serve as an example "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 6 NKJV)  He gives the reason as well saying they had "given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh." (Jude 6 NKJV)  So don't tell me Jesus never talked about homosexuality.  When you talk about Sodom you are talking about homosexuality.  

 

Yes, I oppose the whole manmade concept of gay marriage and I do so on scriptural grounds but the thing that is even more troubling to me is the loss of faith in the word of God by those who call themselves Christian and yet opinionate that God approves what he has clearly condemned.  In the Old Testament, he even calls the homosexual act an abomination (Lev. 18:22, 20:13).  Where is the faith in statements of scripture that cannot possibly be misunderstood?

 

The words of the Bible seem to no longer have meaning among a certain class of people that would like for others to think they are God-fearing.  They speak of love and grace as though the commandments of the Bible can be tossed aside as of no consequence and God be mocked in doing so.  If they decide among men that an act is holy and righteous that overrides everything the Bible has to say about the matter.  Jesus spoke of just such a group when he said, "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men." (Mark 7:8 NKJV)  I don't think any gay marriage advocate will ever have the gall to say that gay marriage is from God but if it is not from God where is it from?  Whose tradition is it?  To ask is to answer.

 

Eve had trouble accepting the word of God when presented with another option.  Today's generation ought to learn from history or do people ever learn from history?  Sometimes it seems we do not.  Eve set aside God's commandment on the say-so of another that it would be okay.  Are we not being told to do the same today?  We are when we deny the words from the passages I have quoted.  Read 1 Cor. 6:9-11 again and then take on the role of the serpent and tell people it will not matter.  Tell them like the serpent told Eve, "You will not surely die." (Gen. 3:4 NKJV) 

 

For those advocating gay marriage based on love the Bible says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." (1 John 5:3 NKJV)  You and I as mere men do not have a right to define love when God has already done so.  What are you going to do, are you going to override God?

 

To endorse gay marriage is a violation of the golden rule and of love.  "Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise." (Luke 7:31 NKJV)  I do not want any man to encourage me to sin.  To do that to me is to sin against me and it carries a consequence.  "Jesus said to his disciples: 'Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.'" (Luke 17:1 NIV)  Those who are presently encouraging gay marriage are encouraging people to sin and there will be a consequence. 

 

For those who think the homosexual act is sinful outside marriage, just as fornication is, but would be acceptable to God in a marriage relationship they need to give that a second thought.  There is a difference.  God has never condemned the sexual act between a man and woman as sinful in its own right.  In fact, God said to Adam and Eve "be fruitful and multiply." (Gen. 1:28 NKJV)  "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Heb. 13:4 NKJV)   But note the sexual act outside of marriage, fornication, is condemned so it depends on the relationship between a man and a woman, are they married or not?

 

That cannot be said of the homosexual act between man and man.  That act God has declared to be sinful in itself and that is the big, big difference.  As for marriage, the Bible refers to Eve as Adam's wife and thus a marriage designed by God.  Nowhere in scripture will you find God making a marriage between man and man.  Thus such a thing is an invention of men, and of men, not of God.

 

Postmodernism would say there is no absolute truth thus all my quoting of scripture amounts to nothing with a postmodernist.  That my friends is the day and age we live in and the mindset that seems to have captured so many of our people.  Let the Bible as the inspired word of God take a hike.  That is depressing to me to know we have come to that state of affairs.  Faith is now the invention of man, each making his/her own faith, making their own truth, thinking all the while that all is A-okay.  We will see.  We will see.  

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The Sin of Being Deceived

1 Tim. 2:12-14 has always troubled me a little.  It reads, "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.  For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (NKJV)

Paul says elsewhere, "the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness" (1 Cor. 11:3 NKJV) which Eve herself admitted in Gen. 3:13 when she said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (NKJV)

I would have thought that sinning with one's eyes wide open (Adam) would be worse than sinning because one was deceived (Eve).  Of course, I understand both suffered the same penalty for sin so in that sense it mattered not but it does seem that Eve was to be blamed in a way Adam was not, and for the worse, not for the better.

Eve's sin was that she was willing to believe one who contradicted what the word of God said and acted on that belief.  That ought to be a lesson for us all, male or female, for that was the road that led to her ruin.  You can read in 1 Kings 13:1-33 about another person who did the same thing, allowed himself to be deceived, a man described as a man of God, and who likewise suffered for it.  God does not give mankind a pass for being honestly deceived.  He does not look with favor on those who will take someone else's word over his own.

This being the case it would behoove the Protestant world to take another look at baptism.  Will the Protestant believe God’s word that baptism is “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38 NKJV), the washing away of one’s sins (Acts 22:16), the “antitype which now saves us, namely baptism” (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV) or will he or she continue to believe a deception of man that it is merely a sign?  The word sign is not once used in the New Testament in association with the word baptism, not once.  It is an invention of man.

But if the reply is we are saved by faith, not by baptism, a false dichotomy is set up for who says it must be one or the other exclusively?  If these are the only two requirements for salvation then repentance from sin is not required.  We know that is not true.  The truth is everything related to salvation begins with faith.  Faith is the motivating factor but it is not the end-all of salvation but merely the starting point from which everything else flows.

As sure as the Bible teaches that faith is a requirement for salvation it just as surely teaches that repentance is (Acts 2:38, Luke 13:3-5, Acts 17:30) and that baptism is.  Who wants to try to explain to God on the Day of Judgment why he believed man rather than God’s own word?  Eve chose to believe another over God.  It did not work out well for her.  Likely, it will not work out any better for anyone who tries it today. 

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Did God Know Adam and Eve Would Sin

The answer is yes but it is a hard answer to accept for some for they cannot understand how man, make that Adam and Eve, could keep from sinning if God foreknew they would sin.  Did they have free will is the question being asked.  If God knew we were all going to need Jesus and his blood for salvation even before our birth what choice did any of us have but sin?

That question does not bother me.  Why not?  Because God by definition is supernatural.  His understanding is infinite.  What seems impossible with man is possible with God (creating the universe, the virgin birth, raising the dead to life again, walking on water, walking through closed doors, knowing man’s thoughts without being told, disappearing into thin air, etc.).  “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14 NKJV)  “Is there anything too hard for me?” (Jer. 32:27)  “His understanding no one can fathom.” (Isa. 40:28 NIV)  Because a matter is too deep for my own understanding does not mean it is too deep for God. 

Now for the scriptural truth that God did indeed know Adam and Eve would sin I will just quote the appropriate scriptures and leave it with you.

In 2 Tim. 1:9 the scripture says God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." (NKJV)  You did catch that did you not—"before time began."  John refers to Jesus as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev. 13:8 NKJV)

In Eph. 1:4 Paul says we Christians were chosen "in him before the foundation of the world." (NKJV)  The prior verse (verse 3) makes it clear Paul is speaking of "in Christ."  In the same book, we read of “the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph. 3:11 NKJV)  If it was eternal it was before the earth was created.

The kingdom was prepared for us “from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34 NKJV)  Paul speaks of “the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.” (1 Cor. 2:7 NKJV)  Did this wisdom have anything to do with Jesus and salvation from sin?  Paul says, “Had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Cor. 2:8)  So, yes, this wisdom that was ordained before the ages dealt with the salvation of man.

We read in Titus 1:2 of the “hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (NKJV) but, of course, eternal life depends on Jesus and his sacrifice for man so again the answer is yes, God did indeed know man would sin before creating man.

Finally, we close with Peter who says Christ was "foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1 Peter 1:20 NKJV)

Our duty before God as believers is to believe and not fret about how God can do things that seem impossible to us.  God knew we would sin before we were created.

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