Why does God allow deception? If He wants people to be saved, why does He allow them to be influenced by lies?

OLAADEGBU:
Why does God allow deception? If He wants people to be saved, why does He allow them to be influenced by lies?

Because He does whatsoever he pleases.

Those who have the Spirit of Truth in them though have help. And the lie can not destroy them.

Muafrika2:


Because He does whatsoever he pleases.

Those who have the Spirit of Truth in them though have help. And the lie can not destroy them.

If the Lord does not what the death of the sinner but that they should get saved, why then does He permit them to be influenced by half truths and lies?

OLAADEGBU:


If the Lord does not what the death of the sinner but that they should get saved, why then does He permit them to be influenced by half truths and lies?

These things always work for the good of the people. That lie may get them into trouble through which a valuable lesson will be learnt.

Apart from those who are sincere in their commitment to God, there are those who are paying lip service and it's situations like these that separate the genuine believers from the rest. Those who truly know their God cannot perish.

Let's take for example the gospel of extreme grace which tells people they don't have to do anything. A true believer who loves God will continue to please Him, while another group of persons with no understanding will exhale and revert back to the lust of their flesh, saying it does not matter. So you see, the lie affects them differently. The first is tested and stands. The second falls. It's end time weeding.

Muafrika2:


These things always work for the good of the people. That lie may get them into trouble through which a valuable lesson will be learnt.

Apart from those who are sincere in their commitment to God, there are those who are paying lip service and it's situations like these that separate the genuine believers from the rest. Those who truly know their God cannot perish.

Let's take for example the gospel of extreme grace which tells people they don't have to do anything. A true believer who loves God will continue to please Him, while another group of persons with no understanding will exhale and revert back to the lust of their flesh, saying it does not matter. So you see, the lie affects them differently. The first is tested and stands. The second falls. It's end time weeding.

Does that mean that the same sun that shines but the constitution of the soil will determine whether it turns out to be sand or mud?

OLAADEGBU:


Does that mean that the same sun that shines but the constitution of the soil will determine whether it turns out to be sand or mud?

Yeah,

Or like a seed that would grow to bear fruit after its kind regardless of whether it's mixed into the soil with other seeds. There is just a kind of truth that stands regardless of the situation it will find itself in.

There exists deception because the human race was endowed with a rare gem "FREEWILL" ...its like fire-as you know if fire is with the right person he uses it resourcefully while thesame fire in the hand of the wrong person leads to destruction

Fire has a beautiful essence and this essence is only realized when put to right usage...same applies to freewill....so deception is only the result of the defective usage or the abuse of freewill

Now as to why deception is part of free-will....free will gives man the choice to either seek beautiful truth by appealing to his sense of judgement and increasing his knowledge,, and shouldn't allow sentiments of what ever sort to deter his search for truth....on the other hand he has the choice to sit idly and remain ignorant,in this sense he falls for what ever news comes to him and his blown around like a wind-this is the case of abuse of free-will,,

This technique separates those who have really and truthfully searched for truth from those who haven't-and on the long run ignorance(when the opportunity to know is their) wouldn't be an excuse

Its like a soldier preparing for battle,he has the choice to go with all of his armory hence making him less vulnerable to attack by the enemy,,this same soldier can as well choose to drop all his armory,hence making him vulnerable to attack

Muafrika2:


Yeah,

Or like a seed that would grow to bear fruit after its kind regardless of whether it's mixed into the soil with other seeds. There is just a kind of truth that stands regardless of the situation it will find itself in.

I got your point.

BETATRON:


There exists deception because the human race was endowed with a rare gem "FREEWILL" ...its like fire-as you know if fire is with the right person he uses it resourcefully while thesame fire in the hand of the wrong person leads to destruction

Fire has a beautiful essence and this essence is only realized when put to right usage...same applies to freewill....so deception is only the result of the defective usage or the abuse of freewill

Now as to why deception is part of free-will....free will gives man the choice to either seek beautiful truth by appealing to his sense of judgement and increasing his knowledge,, and shouldn't allow sentiments of what ever sort to deter his search for truth....on the other hand he has the choice to sit idly and remain ignorant,in this sense he falls for what ever news comes to him and his blown around like a wind-this is the case of abuse of free-will,,

This technique separates those who have really and truthfully searched for truth from those who haven't-and on the long run ignorance(when the opportunity to know is their) wouldn't be an excuse

Its like a soldier preparing for battle,he has the choice to go with all of his armory hence making him less vulnerable to attack by the enemy,,this same soldier can as well choose to drop all his armory,hence making him vulnerable to attack

Thanks for sharing your perception in answering this question. Much appreciated.

OLAADEGBU:


Why does God allow deception? If He wants people to be saved, why does He allow them to be influenced by lies?

Suggested answer:

God's desire is that all people repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). At the same time, Satan, the "father of lies" (John 8:44), deceives the very people who need to accept the truth. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Surely, God could stop Satan's lies and give people a fighting chance.

The Bible presents a consistent picture of how sin and deception are related. What’s revealed is that the way we tend to think of deceit is, well, a bit deceived. Spiritually speaking, deception is deeper than merely being tricked or lied to. In order to be saved, one does not need any particular level of intelligence, philosophical ability, or wisdom (Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 1:20, 26). In fact, mankind has an unfortunate habit of using increased knowledge to develop more sophisticated ways to sin.

Key to understanding spiritual deception is the fact that we often choose what we want to believe rather than what we should believe, even in the face of the evidence (Luke 16:31). "Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him" (John 12:37). Notice that they would not believe Jesus, despite the miracles. Their unbelief was wilful.

Eve is the earliest, clearest example of how spiritual deception really works. When the serpent asks her, "Did God really say…," Eve responds by quoting what God had said (Genesis 3:1-3). She knows what to do and what not to do. The serpent then tempts her with what she can gain by eating from the tree (Genesis 3:4-5), and she notices other attractive aspects of the fruit (Genesis 3:6). Eve was lied to, and the serpent was cunning (2 Corinthians 11:3), but she ultimately chose to disobey God, even though she could quote the commandment.

When confronted with her sin, Eve said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13b). The original Hebrew word for “deceived” implies trickery and craftiness; it is sometimes translated “seduced.” Seduction is an appropriate way to think of the deception of Eve—she knew full well what God had said, but she chose to disobey because she wanted something that the serpent cleverly offered.

The same dynamic is at work today. People who reject God do so because, in some way, they don't really want to obey Him. We are tempted by our "own evil desire” first (James 1:14). That’s not to say every unbeliever is blatantly and spitefully turning from what is known to be true. But the unbeliever's desire for self-satisfaction makes Satan’s deception all the more potent.

God has sent the Saviour (John 3:16), He fills the world with signs of Himself (Romans 1:20), He makes Himself available to those who seek Him (Deuteronomy 4:29), and He secures anyone who comes to Him (John 6:37). When men reject what is "clearly seen" of God (Romans 1:20), it leads to a downward spiral of "foolish hearts" made dark (verse 21), idolatry (verse 22), and sexual impurity (verse 24). Finally, mankind "exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (verse 25). In other words, the spiritual deception of mankind is the direct result of rejecting truth once held. The unbeliever has made an exchange—the truth for a lie—and the devil is happy to facilitate the swap by presenting the sinner with a wide array of lies from which to choose.

Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10). Nature abhors a vacuum, and the void created by the eviction of truth will soon be filled by something less than true. Give up the truth, and you’ll believe just about anything.

Eve didn't sin because she was hopelessly outmatched by a demonic force, making her do wrong when she thought she was doing right. Yes, she was lied to, but she chose to listen to the lie. That was followed by her longing look at what was forbidden and, finally, her taking the fruit in hopes of a better life.

All human sin is based in human choice (1 Corinthians 10:13). When we reject the truth, we make ourselves vulnerable to the lie. Repeated rejection of spiritual truth brings spiritual deception as a divine consequence.

God allows spiritual deception as a form of punishment for wilful sin, and in order to cultivate an awareness in our lives of how badly we need the One who is Himself Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

http://www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-deception.html