Be Not Deceived

By Dan Bailey

Be Not Deceived — (I Corinthians 6:9-11 —Article #5)

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

In Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of The English Language, a thief is defined as: "One who secretly, unlawfully and feloniously takes the goods or personal property of another." Paul, by inspiration, has told us that thieves shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It doesn't matter what one steals nor how much he steals. A thief will not enter into the gates of heaven. To many people, stealing is a way of life. Very often, other crimes such as murder or assault, are committed during thefts. In Luke 10:30, Jesus told about thieves that did this. "...A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."Jesus taught, "...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39). The thief does not love his fellowman. The thief brings sadness to those whom he preys upon and thinks only of self. Many years ago, someone stole my tool box. Some of the tools had belonged to my father and could never be replaced. I'm certain that the thief didn't know about that and didn't care.

Another definition ofthief that is given by Webster is: "One who seduces by false doctrine." There are many false teachers in the religious world today. Any teaching that is contrary to the word of God is false. If we study God's word we will be able to guard against being led astray by false doctrine. "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119: 11). The sword of the Spirit will help us to defend ourselves from any thief that would use false doctrine to rob us of the truth of God's word. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6: 17)

Anyone who steals and thinks he can get away with it is deceived. A thief is listed with fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, drunkards, and others who will suffer the torments of eternal punishment unless they repent. May God help us that we will never steal anything from anyone. "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:28). We thank God that only honest souls will be in heaven.