22^nd of the 10^th month 2016/2017

Shalom all,

Tehillah/Psalm 32:2 “Blessed is the man to whom יהוה imputes no crookedness, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

These words form part of a Psalm that has the title: לְדָוִד מַשְׂכִּיל – le Dawiḏ maskiyl – ‘of Dawiḏ, maskiyl’ and some translations have the title as: ‘a Psalm of Dawiḏ, maskiyl’ or, ‘A maskiyl of Dawiḏ’.

I just want to remind you that the name of דָּוִד Dawiḏ – Strong’s H1732 means, ‘beloved, beloved one’ and the Hebrew term – מַשְׂכִּיל maskiyl – Strong’s H4905 means, ‘a song or poem of contemplation’. This Tehillah/Psalm can therefore be rendered as a poem or song of contemplation of the beloved. We can all identify with this Psalm, especially as we understand that this psalm or poem of contemplation is usually classified as a thanksgiving prayer, offered by a man who has had his sins forgiven, as shown by the fact that יהוה had healed him. The Merriam Webster’s collegiate dictionary defines the word ‘contemplation’ as, ‘the concentration on spiritual things as a form of private devotion’ as well as, ‘the act of considering with attention, the act of regarding steadily, study’.

The reason I am mentioning this is to simply highlight how we are all able to contemplate what our Master has done for us, especially as we consider the blessing that is being declared in the opening two verses of this contemplative poem, as the first verse states:

Tehillah/Psalm 32:2 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

How often do you contemplate on the redemptive work of our Master, Elohim and Saviour, יהושע Messiah?

Part of our contemplation should cause us to study the Word and seek to please our Master in every way, so that we can do our utmost at doing His desire, which is our set-apartness!

Tas’loniqim Aleph/1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 “For this is the desire of Elohim: your set-apartness! – that you should abstain from whoring,  4 that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in set-apartness and respect, 5 not in passion of lust, like the gentiles who do not know Elohim”

We must pursue set-apartness and not be like those who do not know Elohim! How do we know that we know Elohim? The answer is clearly given to us in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:4-5 “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:2-4 “By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. 3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy, 4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.”

These words we find in Yoḥanan Aleph/ 1 John are very clear and actually easy to understand, yet so many fail to recognise how simple it is! To know Elohim is to guard His commands, for love for Elohim is to guard His commands. We also know that the Master tells us that those who ‘work lawlessness’ will be told to depart from Him, for He never knew them, despite them thinking that they knew/know Him!

Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. 22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ 23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’”

Once again, these words may certainly sound very familiar to most of you and may be wondering why I am even mentioning these verses. The simple reason is that while many may claim to know our Master and consider themselves cleansed from sin, they still continue to sin and compromise as they struggle to let go of the things of the flesh and end up doing what the world does, despite their confession of belief!

 

As Yoḥanan teaches us, it is through the proper guarding of the commands that true believers overcome, for true believers and taught ones of Messiah show their belief through the proper works of obedience in righteousness and do not render a vain lip service that bears no fruit of repentance from dead works!

There are many today who will claim that they have a strong belief in Elohim yet their ‘works’ deny the Master as they do not ‘work righteousness’! This is why Ya’aqoḇ made it clear in his letter that he would show his belief by what he does:

Ya’aqoḇ/James 2:18 “But someone might say, “You have belief, and I have works.” Show me your belief without your works, and I shall show you my belief by my works.”

He goes on to say that even the demons believe that Elohim is One and they shudder… yet it is only fools who ‘believe’ that they are ‘saved by grace’ and then refuse to submit to the Torah and guard the commands, revealing that they have no true fear of Elohim!

Our ‘works of belief’ matter, despite what the false and twisted theologies of man claim under a falsified presentation of what ‘grace/favour’ actually entails. What we do does count, especially as we daily ‘count the cost’ of staying in Elohim and walking in the Truth! Having said that, we must therefore recognise how importance our set-apartness and the pursuit thereof actually is for us! It is therefore necessary to make sure that we put off the false and be dressed in righteousness and no longer conform to the pattern or the world but be transformed by the renewing our minds!

 

Coming back to the contemplative poem of Tehillah/Psalm 32 we often need to take time to truly consider the blessing of having our transgression forgiven and our sin covered and how blessed is the man in whom יהוה imputes no crookedness and in whose spirit is no deceit! What struck me, while contemplating on this poem of Dawiḏ, was the blessing of having no deceit in one’s spirit and so, with a reasonably long introduction out of the way, what I would like to do is take a closer look at this, in a message called: ‘NO DECEIT!’

Before taking a look at the term ‘deceit’, I just want to highlight some of the words that we see being used in Tehillah/Psalm 32:1-2:

TRANSGRESSION:

The Hebrew word used here for ‘transgression’ is פֶּשַׁע pesha – Strong’s H6588 which means, ‘rebellion, breach of trust’, and speaks of one’s outright breach of trust and rebellion to walking in the Truth!

While most of us, in fact all of us, were in complete breach of trust as we walked in rebellion by not guarding the Torah of Elohim, we are able to see that by His great love for us, our Master and Saviour has given us the ability to walk upright in Him and be covered in His Blood that cleanses us, as we walk in Him and stay in Him, which is to love Him as we guard His commands!!!

Blessed in the man whose rebellion and breach of trust has been forgiven! The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘forgiven’ is נְשׂוּי – nesui which comes from the root verb נָשָׂא nasa – Strong’s H5375 which means ‘lift up, carry, take up, exalt, and accept’.

SIN:

The Hebrew word used here for ‘sin’ is חֲטָאָה ḥataah – which comes from the root word חָטָא ḥata – Strong’s H2398 which means, ‘to miss the mark, do wrong, incur guilt, fail to reach’, and when understanding that the root meaning of ‘Torah’ means to aim or point in the right direction and move in that direction, one can clearly see that to sin is to walk against, or walk contrary to, the Torah, for:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

When shooting an arrow or other object to a target, the distance that one misses is measured with a cord. The wrong actions of one are also measured against the correct action! The Torah is, in a manner of speaking, the ‘chord’ or ‘plumb-line’ that we are ‘measured against’; for we would not know what we have missed if there were no measuring line to guide and instruct us! Sinners are those who walk contrary to the Torah and ‘miss the mark’, so to speak, of the called for set-apartness and obedience to the Torah.  

The root word that is used here for ‘covered’ is כָּסָה kasa – Strong’s H3680 which means, ‘to cover, conceal, clothe, hide, forgive’.

CROOKEDNESS:

The Hebrew word used here in Tehillah/Psalm 32:2 for ‘crookedness’ is עָוֹן avon – Strong’s H5771 meaning, ‘iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity, blame, perversity, depravity’, which comes from the root verb עָוָה avah – Strong’s H5753 which means, ‘to twist, bend, distort, make crooked, pervert’.

Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore I judge you, O house of Yisra’ĕl, every one according to his ways,” declares the Master יהוה. “Repent, and turn back from all your transgressions, and let not crookedness be a stumbling-block to you.”

This was a call to repent and not let crookedness be a stumbling block, showing us that the clear call was to guard loving-commitment and truth in order that their crookedness could be pardoned!

It is a blessing when crookedness no longer becomes a stumbling block in one’s path! By that I mean that it is truly a blessing to walk in the Truth and not have the stumbling blocks of twisted and perverse teachings of man that seek only to nullify the commands of Elohim!

In another Tehillah we see the psalmist declaring the following:

Tehillah/Psalm 130:3-4 “O Yah, if You should watch crookednesses, O יהוה, who would stand? 4 But with You there is forgiveness, that You might be feared.”

It is a blessing to receive the forgiveness for our perverted crooked ways and therefore must recognise how important it is to guard righteousness and have no crookedness imputed/reckoned to us!

Sha’ul understood this blessing being declared here in this contemplative poem:

Romiyim/Romans 4:7-8 “Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, 8 blessed is the man to whom יהוה shall by no means reckon sin.”

Lawlessnesses forgiven, sins covered and no sin reckoned – what a blessing!!! Our Master redeemed us from lawlessness, as Sha’ul writes, in:

Titos/Titus 2:11-14 “For the saving Gift of Elohim has appeared to all men, 12 instructing us to renounce wickedness and worldly lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our Saviour יהושע Messiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.”

We have been redeemed from ALL lawlessness and have been cleansed so that we are now equipped and enabled to walk in the Torah, not continue in lawlessness!!!

And this brings me to the word that I want us to take a closer look at – DECEIT!

While we contemplate on the clear blessing of having no crookedness imputed to us, transgressions and sins forgiven and covered, we are reminded that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah! Those who are ‘in’ Messiah יהושע do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit and in doing so they guard the clear commands of Elohim and no longer walk as the nation’s walk! To do this we need to make sure that there is no deceit in our spirit!

The Hebrew word for ‘deceit’ is רְמִיָּה remiyyah – Strong’s H7423 which means, ‘deceit, treachery, slothful, slack, idle’, which comes from the root verb רָמָה ramah – Strong’s H7411 which means, ‘to beguile, betray, deal treacherously with’.

This noun – רְמִיָּה remiyyah – Strong’s H7423 – can also mean, ‘deceit or treachery, as in the state or condition of causing something that is false to be believed as true (in both word and action) and so mislead many’.

Tehillah/Psalm 101:7 “He who practises deceit does not dwell in my house; He who speaks lies does not stand in my presence.”

Practising deceit and speaking lies and falsehood will keep you out of the House of Elohim!!!

Deceit is clearly associated with lies and hypocrisy – the very things that Elohim hates!

Qolasim/Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to each other, since you have put off the old man with his practices”

At this time of year deceit is increasingly highlighted as we see many who are misled through the promotion of falsehood and lies of vain traditions of man that are taught and presented as truth!

We are to make sure that we do not have deceit on our lips or in our actions. Iyoḇ said the following, in:

Iyoḇ/Job 27:3-4 “as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of Eloah in my nostrils, 4 my lips do not speak unrighteousness, nor my tongue utter deceit.”

 

The clear promise of a clean lip being restored to the remnant is given in:

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 3:13 “The remnant of Yisra’ĕl shall do no unrighteousness and speak no falsehood, nor is a tongue of deceit found in their mouth. For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, with none to frighten them.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘deceit’ here is תַּרְמִית tarmiyth – Strong’s H8649 which means, ‘deceitfulness, deception, delusion’ and is also derived from the root verb רָמָה ramah – Strong’s H7411

This word תַּרְמִית tarmiyth – Strong’s H8649 is used 6 times in Scripture and I will highlight the other 5 verses where we see it being used:

Shophetim/Judges 9:31 “And he sent messengers to Aḇimeleḵ by deceit, saying, “See, Gaʽal son of Eḇeḏ and his brothers have come to Sheḵem. And see, they are besieging the city against you.”

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 8:5-8 “Why then has this people, Yerushalayim, turned away in a continual backsliding? They cling to deceit, they refuse to turn back. 6 “I have listened and heard – they do not speak right. No man has repented of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ They all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing into battle. 7 “Even a stork in the heavens knows her appointed times. And a turtledove, and a swallow, and a thrush observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the right-ruling of יהוה . 8 “How do you say, ‘We are wise, and the Torah of יהוה is with us’? But look, the false pen of the scribe has worked falsehood.”

Here we are able to get a very vivid picture of what we see happening today, as many are also clinging to deceit and refuse to turn back to walking in obedience to the Torah of Elohim as the false pens of many scribes and translators have worked falsehood, deceiving many with a ‘lawless grace’! The deceit that most are clinging to has caused them to not know the right-rulings of Elohim and in deceit they make the vain excuse, ‘but it has been done away with’!

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 14:14 “Then יהוה said to me, “The prophets prophesy falsehood in My Name. I have not sent them, nor commanded them, nor spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own heart.”

Not only had the false pens of the scribes worked falsehood, the prophets were prophesying falsehood in the Name of יהוה, which He had not sent, spoken to or given command to. They just simply prophesied false visions from the deceit of their own hearts! This is happening today as we see so many false prophesies and visions being given when יהוה has not spoken! Many will use the Word of Elohim deceitfully in order to push their false visions of an assumed peace and their false messages do not line up with the clear pattern of Scripture! Sadly many are deceived as they simply follow what they are told and are unable to rightly divide the truth and discern against deceit, for they know not the right-rulings of Elohim because the false prophets and false teachers and false shepherds have muddied the waters and taught deceit, treachery and falsehood!

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 23:26-27 “Till when shall it be in the heart of the prophets? – the prophets of falsehood and prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My Name by their dreams which everyone relates to his neighbour, as their fathers forgot My Name for Baʽal.”

The deceit that is coming forth from the hearts of false prophets and false teachers continue to cause people to forget the Name of יהוה – for Ba’al!!!

The Hebrew word בַּעַל ba’al – Strong’s H1167 means, ‘owner, lord, master, land owner’, and at its root form it means, ‘to marry, rule over, husband’. We also take note that the name בַּעַל Ba’al – Strong’s H1168, as it is used in this verse from Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 23:27, was the name of a Phoenician deity and as a name it can be rendered from the Hebrew into English as ‘The Lord’!!!

Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 18:21 “And Ěliyahu came to all the people, and said, “How long would you keep hopping between two opinions? If יהוה is Elohim, follow Him; and if Baʽal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”

If we translate the Hebrew of the highlighted text correctly into English we would better have the following:

If יהוה is Elohim, follow Him; and if The Lord, follow him.

For many this may seem offensive, yet to the true hearer and doer of the Truth this is a sobering reality of what the false and deceitful traditions of man has done in causing many to not know Elohim and in doing so they have forgotten the Name of יהוה, which highlights how the deceived have forgotten who it is who causes them to be!

 

Tehillah/Psalm 119:118 “You have made light of all those who stray from Your laws, for falsehood is their deceit.”

In a Psalm that gives resounding praise for the Torah of Elohim we are able to clearly see from this verse that falsehood is the deceit of those who stray from יהוה’s laws!!!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘falsehood’ comes from the root word שֶׁקֶר sheqer – Strong’s H8267 which means, ‘deception, disappointment, falsehood, lies’, and this comes from the root verb שָׁקַר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’.  

Ěḵah/Lamentations 2:14 “Your prophets have seen falsehood and folly for you, and have not shown you your crookedness, to turn back your captivity. But their visions for you are false and misleading messages.”

Through the many false and misleading messages of deceit we are able to see how so many have actually begun to teach themselves to speak falsehood; a falsehood that has been so ingrained in them, as we are able to see through the mirror of the example given to us in all of these verses that I have highlighted in regards to deceit!

As mentioned, we are to make sure that we are doing the desire of Elohim, which is our set-apartness and in doing so we are to be on guard against the deceit of lawlessness, which is presented with a lot of power, signs and wonders of falsehood!

Tas’loniqim Bět/2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved.”

Lawlessness is promoted by the deceit of unrighteousness! What I mean by that is that many are falling prey to the deceit of unrighteousness that promotes that observance of the Torah and commands of Elohim is no longer valid. We know that Scripture clearly defines for us what righteousness is:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”

With righteousness being clearly defined for us as the guarding of the commands we are then able to clearly understand that unrighteousness involves defiance toward the guarding of the commands and therefore promotes lawlessness and is sin!

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:17-19 “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that everyone having been born of Elohim does not sin, but the one having been born of Elohim guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of Elohim, and all the world lies in the wicked one.”

When we guard righteousness we are guarded against the deception of the lawless one!

The Greek word that is translated as ‘unrighteousness’ is ἀδικία adikia – Strong’s G93 which means, ‘unrighteousness, iniquity, wrong, deed violating law and justice’ and the reason that I am highlighting this here is to point out that ‘unrighteousness’ is ‘sin’, which is the Greek word is  ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin, failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’. I am sure some of you know where I am going with this!

Ok… unrighteousness is sin – ἀδικία adikia is ἁμαρτία hamartia – that is pretty clear!

All unrighteousness is sin!!! But what else does Yoḥanan tell us?

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Sin is lawlessness!!! The Greek word for ‘lawlessness is ἀνομία  anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’.

This verse spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin! It is as though Yoḥanan was spelling out this fact very bluntly and straightforward for those who struggle with a Greek mind-set and see no need to walk in the Torah – well right here in the Greek it is clear – If you are lawless (that is to walk contrary to the Torah) then you are indeed sinning!

Sin is lawlessness: ἁμαρτία hamartia is ἀνομία  anomia!

With this in mind we are able to clearly see that with ‘unrighteousness’ being ‘sin’, that unrighteousness is lawlessness: – ἀδικία adikia is ἀνομία  anomia!!!

 

Sha’ul warns us in his letter to the believers in Thessalonica about the deceit of unrighteousness, as already quoted from Tas’loniqim Bět/2 Thessalonians 2:10! In this verse the Greek word that is translated as ‘deceit’ comes from the root word ἀπάτη apatē – Strong’s G539 which means, ‘deceit, delusion, deception’ and is used 7 times in the Renewed Writings (N.T.). Let us take a look at the other 6 verses:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 13:22 “And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.”

These words form part of the parable of the sower and the seed and warn us against the deceit of riches that choke out the life of the Word. We are also told in:

Luqas/Luke 8:15 “And that which fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with worries, and riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”

Bringing fruit to perfection can only happen when we do not allow the worries, riches and pleasure of life to get in the way of our set-apartness in the Master. The worries, riches and pleasures of life can cause many to shrink back, as the Truth is choked out; and this can only happen when the soil of our heats are not being continually tilled and kept free from these deceitful wicked thorns and weeds of doubt that render one fruitless.

Marqos/Mark 4:18-19 “And others are those sown among thorns, these are they who hear the word, 19 and the worries of this age, and the deceit of riches, and the desires for other matters, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.”

The Greek word translated as ‘riches’ is πλοῦτος ploutos – Strong’s G4149 which means, ‘to flow or abound in wealth and riches’, and comes from the root word πλέω pleō – Strong’s G4126 which means, ‘to sail, sailing, passenger’! I find this an interesting picture here, for if your dreams and hopes are set on ‘sailing off into the sunset’ with all your worries taken care of, think again. This mind-set of being so wealthy that you can live the dream life and have no cares or worries is a lie and a fantasy that is not a Scriptural concept for the true set-apart believer, and having this mind-set can be very dangerous in choking out the very Truth that ought to sustain you. The world today is riddled with the luring attraction of finding wealth and happiness; and movies and media play a big role in shaping many minds into thinking what their dream fantasy must look like – this is dangerous and choking, to say the least. With this word also meaning ‘passenger’ we need to take heed that we are not ‘passengers’ here but rather ‘sojourners’. The difference between a passenger and a sojourner is that the passenger thinks that they are the ones to be served and simply seeking to be on a cruise of success, whereas a sojourner realises that he is a foreigner and stranger, and his need to guard the commands of the reign to which he belongs is vital, as his need to serve as an ambassador of that coming kingdom will cost him everything!

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:22 “that you put off – with regard to your former way of life – the old man, being corrupted according to the desires of the deceit”

Put off the former way of life! Put of the desires of the deceit! These words of Sha’ul emphasise for me the clear power that deceit has, especially as we consider the deceit of riches and the desires that many have in chasing riches that cannot satisfy!

The Greek word that is tranlstaed as ‘desires’ comes from the root word ἐπιθυμία epithumia – Strong’s G1939 which means, ‘desire, passionate longing, lust, coveting, desires’ and this comes from the word ἐπιθυμέω epithumeō – Strong’s G1937 which means, ‘desire, covet, lust, seek that which is forbidden’ and is translated as ‘lusts’ in

Galatiyim/Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you desire to do.”

How many of you have found yourself looking at or seeking things that you know you should not! This can cause sin, and bring a breach in the wall which can affect the entire assembly!!!

No matter how pretty the worldly ways of worship may appear – be on guard against being drawn into desiring what is not fitting for the House of Elohim! Do not get captivated by what the ‘evil woman’ (whore) does.

 

Qolasim/Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one makes a prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary matters of the world, and not according to Messiah.”

Here Sha’ul clearly warns us against being led astray by empty deceit, which is according to the tradition of men that so easily and quickly cast the Torah of Elohim behind their backs! When traditions of men run contrary to the Word of Messiah then be on guard and be sober in making sure that you are not made a prey of such empty deceit!

So many vainly claim that they know Messiah yet are walking contrary to His ways as they do not walk, even as He walked and they do not guard the Sabbaths and commands of Elohim, the very things He came to teach and lead us in!

 

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 3:13 “but encourage one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened by the deceivableness of sin.”

Once again we are able to recognise just how deceitful sin and lawlessness, which is unrighteousness, can be and here in this letter to the Hebrews we are reminded of how important it is for us to encourage one another daily in the Truth, so as to keep each other’s hearts from becoming hardened by the deceit of sin, which is often presented as something attractive! So many reveal that their hearts are hardened by deceit as they stubbornly refuse to hear the voice of elohim, repent of their lawlessness and sin and refuse to turn from unrighteousness as they lives according to the deceitful lusts of the flesh!

 

Kěpha Bet/2 Peter 2:12-13 “But these, like natural unreasoning beasts, having been born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheme that which they do not know, shall be destroyed in their destruction, 13 being about to receive the wages of unrighteousness, deeming indulgence in the day of pleasure, spots and blemishes, revelling in their own deceptions while they feast with you”

In speaking of eth clear fate of the wicked Kěpha highlights how the unrighteous revel in their own deceptions, even while they feast with you! This is a sobering thought indeed, as we take note that there are many who are ‘feasting with the righteous’ yet they themselves are revelling in deceit. This goes to show how assemblies can be greatly affected by the deceit of many who may be able to put on a ‘religious show’ before others yet their deceptive revelling in compromise will not go unrewarded as they will receive their wages for unrighteousness! This is a very sober warning that must cause us to make sure that there is NO DECEIT found in us!!!

So many are revelling in the deception of lawlessness and have no concept or idea of the severe punishment that is coming upon the unrighteous.

Deceit is falsehood disguised as truth and very threatening to those who have no knowledge of Elohim, due to their adherence to teachings of lawlessness and what we are to make sure, as set-apart treasured ones of the Most High, is that we put off the false and put on the Truth and be dressed in righteousness with the full armour of Elohim being the only true dress code that guards against deceit. Above all we must make sure that no deceit is found on our lips as we are to make sure that we meditate on the Torah day and night in order for us to be firmly planted in our Rock, Messiah, who is the Truth!!!

As we contemplate on the blessing of the deliverance that our Master has worked for us and consider the blessing of the forgiveness and cleansing He brings through His Word that does not change nor fail, let us make that there is no deceit in us, as we continue to pursue apartness before the face of our Mighty Master and Elohim, Husband and King, יהושע Messiah!!!

NO DECEIT!

 יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you shalom!