Perfect love that drives out fear will encourage each other to take up the challenge to not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
12Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. 14For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start. 15As it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Hebrews 3:12-15
Someone can push through challenges better with another person encouraging them.
The person training for a competition who has other people cheering them on.
The person completing a marathon who has their family at the finish line.
The team finishing a long season who encourage each other to push through on a long championship run.
As we Hear & Follow Jesus, sin’s goal is to harden our hearts towards Jesus. This is our biggest challenge. Sin will deceive us into thinking Jesus doesn’t know what he’s talking about and Jesus doesn’t have your best interest in mind.
This is not new. Sin has given us the same deceptions way back at the beginning.
In the Garden, the serpent convinced Adam and Eve…
- God doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
- God doesn’t have your best interest in mind.
Don’t let “I go to church. I know all the facts about Jesus” deceive you into thinking you don’t get deceived by sin. Most of us reading this believe in and about Jesus. Yet we still sin. Why?
Because we’re convinced God doesn’t know what he’s talking about and he doesn’t have our best interest in mind.
What makes these deceptions super easy to believe?
No one encouraging you to not be deceived by sin.
The typical “I’m convicted enough to repent” story goes something like this…
Convicting message leads us to repentance.
We pray, “God I’ll never do THAT again.” Whatever THAT is for you.
We decide “God and me, we got this.”
We go home.
Sin deceives us.
We say, “Oops I did it again.”
Rense. Repeat.
I’ve struggled with this cycle. This is why I know this progression so well! I know if I would be willing to be vulnerable enough for one part of the cycle to change, this cycle could be broken.
How can this cycle be broken?
Instead of deciding, “God and me, we got this,” you find one other person. Maybe two. Give them one job….
Encourage you daily to not be deceived by sin’s deception.
What would this one change do for your ability to not be deceived by sin?