https://steve-finnell.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-deceiver-and-deceived-by-steve.html
THE DECEIVER AND THE DECEIVED by steve finnell
There are usually two involved when God's word is perverted, the deceiver and the deceived.
Genesis 3:1 Now the
serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God
had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed has God said, 'You shall not
eat from any tree of the garden'? (NASB) [Lie number 1]
Genesis 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! (NASB) [Deception number 2)
Genesis 3:6....she took from its fruit and ate; and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (NASB) [Deception number 3]
When lie number 1 did not work, Satan changed the lie to another lie.
Eve was deceived by the second lie and then encouraged Adam to accept that deception.
There are deceivers and the deceived among contemporary believers in Jesus Christ.
Example: Many act as
deceivers concerning the meaning of Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them,
"Repent, and let every one of you be be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. (NKJV)
The deceivers say that "for" means, be baptized "because your sins have already been forgiven."
Deceivers say your sins were forgiven and you received the gift of the Holy Spirit the minute you believed.
There are no English
translations that I am aware of that translates "eis" as because of, I
have read Acts 2:38 in 40+ translations.
Acts 2:38 Peter
replied: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit.(NIV 1973)
[Note: Acts 2:38 does not say receive gifts, it says gift.]
Deceivers say that "and" in Acts 2:38 is not a conjunction, therefore it does not connect repent and be baptized.
Note: The serpent could not convince Eve of his first lie, so he tried the second lie. It worked.
Most deceivers today
cannot convince men that their sins can be forgiven before they
believe, so they convince them immersion in water is not essential to
the forgiveness of their sins.
There are deceivers and the deceived. Many are both. There are also those who take God at His word, which one are you?
It usually takes a
skilled professional and a willing student to convince a person that,
for, in order to, or so that yours may be forgiven, actually means
"because" your sins were already forgiven.
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If Satan cannot convince you that you can be saved without believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and The Christ. Then he will say, you do not have to be baptized in order to be saved. If that does not work, he will say you do not have to change you lifestyle, repentance is not essential in order to enter the kingdom of God. If that does not work, he will say once you are saved you can never be lost. If none of that works Satan will say, you are saved by grace alone, therefore, God will save you, and you have no responsibility to believe in Jesus, to confess him as the Son of God, to repent, nor to be baptized in water, nor to live a Christian lifestyle.
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If Satan cannot convince you that you can be saved without believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and The Christ. Then he will say, you do not have to be baptized in order to be saved. If that does not work, he will say you do not have to change you lifestyle, repentance is not essential in order to enter the kingdom of God. If that does not work, he will say once you are saved you can never be lost. If none of that works Satan will say, you are saved by grace alone, therefore, God will save you, and you have no responsibility to believe in Jesus, to confess him as the Son of God, to repent, nor to be baptized in water, nor to live a Christian lifestyle.