The Deadly Deception

"If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples
of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will
make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's
descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone;
how is it that You say, `You will become free'?" "If the
Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:31-36)

The deadliest deception in life is to go through it believing
you are free, when in fact you are really bound! If you
never realize you are bound, you will never fight for your
freedom. The tragedy in being bound and not knowing it, is
that you never live the life God created you to live.

In the text, the Pharisees make a statement that reveals their
true condition - bound. They tell Jesus that they are:
"Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to
anyone". The Bible is clear in that, throughout the Nation
of Israel's history they were at various times enslaved
(Egyptians, Philistines and the Babylonians).

As a matter of fact, they where presently under the Roman
Empire's rule. They had become so accustomed to being in bondage
that their bondage appeared to them to be freedom. It is
possible for you to become so familiar with a situation (no
matter how dysfunctional, painful or out of order it may be)
that it becomes the standard by which you measure life.

What is bondage to one person may be freedom to another. Our
perception of life can become skewed by our circumstances.
Self-deception is the precursor to self-destruction.

Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 2:11, "so that no advantage
would be taken of us by Satan, ... we [should] not [be]
ignorant of his schemes. The enemies' primary mode of
operation is deception. He offers us a counterfeit of true
freedom, hoping that we will embrace the substitute never
having experienced the real thing.

Much of the fruitlessness in the lives of Believers today is
a result of unidentified bondages. Bondage does not have to be
painful to be bondage. As a matter of fact, the worse kind of
bondage is bondage that you've become comfortable with.

You can recognize bondage if it hinders your ability to
experience the fellowship, fullness and freedom that God has
planned for your life.

Jesus said, "the truth will set you free". Take a moment,
get away from everybody and everything, close your eyes and
ask God to reveal to you anything that is hidden in your
heart and life where you've been operating in deception.
Allow the light of His Word to illuminate your life and path.

Let this be the beginning of a new chapter in your life.
Discover the freedom and fullness of living transparently
and you will really know what it means to truly be free indeed!