The Deceitfulness of Sin

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13

One of the most difficult parts of my job as a pastor is to watch people walk down paths of sin when you would think they knew enough of God and His Word not to make such choices. Yet it happens repeatedly to countless people. While I do not think anyone purposefully ruins their life, people still make very sinful choices. So why does it happen so often? Hebrews 3:13 gives us the answer. It is because our hearts harden due to the deceitfulness of sin.

I have sat with many marriages that were on the brink of divorce. Yes, there may have communication issues or expectation problems. But do you know the root of divorce? Jesus said it in Matthew 19:8, “because your hearts were hard.” It is a scary place to be to have a hardened heart. It has been well said, “The same sun that melts the snow, hardens the clay.” God’s Word will have an effect in you…either you will melt or you will harden.

I understand what the Apostle John meant when he wrote, “I have not greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (1 John 1:4). Just as it is a great joy that the people I shepherd walk in the truth, it is equally just as painful when I see the people I love stray.

But as sheep, that is what we are prone to do, we tend to stray. This is why we need a Shepherd. Each of us need Jesus, the Great Shepherd, but we also need pastors who care for us and pray for us. Are you under the care of a pastor? Do you have a shepherd, “watching over you” as 1 Peter 5:2 instructs?

The author of Hebrews gives us very practical instructions about avoiding the pitfalls of sin. It is the kind of advice every believer should listen to because Paul warned us against spiritual pride. He said in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. Each of us has the potential to fall into the deceitfulness of sin. Pay close attention as we unpack Hebrews 3:13 to learn how to guard yourself against the hardening that comes with sin.

Encourage One Another Daily
Do you know what it means when you encourage someone Chick-Fil-A the word “courage” inside the word encourage. That is exactly what happens when you encourage others. You give them the courage needed to face the hardships of life. You give them courage to go forward in Jesus’ Name!

Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick Fil-A restaurants was a great servant of the Lord throughout his life. He once said it is easy to tell who needs encouragement in your life. Ask yourself, do they have a pulse? In other words, everyone around us needs to be encouraged and we have the opportunity to give it freely!

Who are we to be encouraging? Scripture says, “One another.” Now, this tells me that in order to encourage others, that means I must be involved in their lives. I must take the effort to find out how to pray for them, how they are struggling and what they need. Our society moves at such a fast pace, that it is easy to live in a bubble and only be concerned with what affect you. But this is not the way Scripture commands believers to live. We are to care for one another and encourage one another. How can we do this if we are not aware of what others are going through?

Scripture is serious when it commands us to live in community with others. If you are someone who tends to isolate yourself, either in busyness or even loneliness, then take seriously the commands of Galatians 6:2 to “bear one another’s burdens.” Ponder deeply James 5:16 when Scripture says we are to “confess our sins to one another” and “pray for one another.” Most of all, Jesus said in John 13:35, it is by the love we have for one another that people will know we belong to Him! Is this type of Christian care shown in your life to others?

How often should we encourage one another? Hebrews 3:13 says, “Daily.” It should be the daily business of all believes to offer encouragement to the people around us, especially to those you are in fellowship with.

As Long as it is Called Today
What does the author of Hebrews mean when he says, “As long as it is called today?” He is saying that we should not let opportunities slip through our fingers. You are not promised tomorrow, so take advantage of the opportunity you have today to share encouragement.

James 4:14 reminds us of the brevity of life. It says, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For your are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Psalm 144:4 would agree saying, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”

So if our opportunity may be short, what should we do? Psalm 90:12 tells us to “number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” A heart of wisdom will follow the wise instructions of the Bible. Read carefully James 4:13-17, Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and so this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Can you see the seriousness of not wasting the time God has given you? Lastly, Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So That
I love this small phrase, “So then.” In other words, here is the conclusion. The author is saying there are huge consequences to ignoring the command to encourage one another. So that point is, if you are not encouraging one another, the potential risk is that some will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Could the stakes be any higher?

No one may be hardened by the deceitfulness of Sin
The Greek word used for deceitfulness means, “Tricky.” This is the problem with sin. It is tricky. Sin can mask as something good, but in reality, it leads to ruin.

Hebrews 11:24 calls the pleasure of sin, “Fleeting” and indeed it will not last. Romans 6:23 is crystal clear by saying, “The wages of sin is death.” The old saying goes, “Sin will keep you longer than you meant to stay and sin will cost you more than you meant to pay.”

Guard yourself that your heart is not hardened by the sin’s deceitfulness. Don’t fall for Satan’s schemes and strategies. Open your heart to the Spirit of God and open your ears to the Word of God. Allow the Lord to be welcome in your daily life and in your daily choices.