DBD - Evil Company

Series: Don’t Be Deceived

Lesson Title: Evil Company

INTRODUCTION

Last Lord’s day, we began a new series titled Do Not Be Deceived. This is one of the main ways Satan tries to lead God’s people astray. Jesus calls Satan the father of lies. He brought deception into existence, and he has been hard at work since the beginning deceiving God’s people. He deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree that God had forbidden, and even at the time of Paul and the other apostles, the fear of God’s people being deceived by Satan was present. Concerning the Corinthians, Paul said:

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (, ESV).

This was Paul’s concern for the Corinthians, and it should be our concern also. We need to understand that we can be led astray also. We can be taken away from having a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Satan’s lies can deceive us and distract us and kill our relationship with the Lord.

Last Lord’s day, we discussed two areas in which we can be deceived. First, we talked about the sin of pride and how it can deceive our hearts. Then in our second lesson, we discussed many of the philosophies and sayings of the world that have deceived God’s people into committing sin and justifying sin in their lives.

For our third lesson in this series today, I would like us to look at a principle that is given to us by Paul in … .

In , we have what is considered the most in depth theological teaching on the resurrection. Obviously, you have the actual testimony within the Gospels, but here you see the largest passage that gives us an explanation of the importance of the resurrection to the Gospel message and why it is a teaching that cannot be rejected. It is in this context that Paul says what we have recorded in verse 3 of :

“33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”” (, ESV)

Of course, in this context, Paul is talking about specific people that some of the Corinthians were keeping company with — people who were saying things that were contrary to the Gospel message. They were denying the resurrection and that there would be a future resurrection of the dead. The Corinthians had allowed themselves to be persuaded by these men they were keeping company with.

This passage gives an important principle regarding: we can be deceived if we keep the wrong type of company. If we surround ourselves with people who live contrary to the Gospel or are saying or teaching us things contrary to the Gospel, it can make an impact on us. And it is interesting here that Paul DOES NOT say, “bad company ruins good beliefs.” He doesn’t say that. He says, “bad company corrupts/ruins good practice/morals/habits… Changing of something you believe often changes the way you live.

POINT 1 — Beware of Worldly Philosophies

Remember, once again, all of those sayings of the world that we looked at last week?

“God knows my heart"“I have an disease.”“I was born this way” or “this is just the way I am.”“My body was made to do this.”

This lesson naturally follows our last lesson because it is often the case that the reason why we are deceived into believing these types of statements is because those who we are close to say these type of things. It is those who we often trust, whether that be the teacher, the friend at school or college, the family member, or even the spiritual leaders who at times say these kind of things that can take us away from Christ. They can share these worldly types of thinking and affect us negatively more than anyone

We need to beware of worldly philosophies and messages that the world sends our way. In ,

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (, ESV)

It is easy to be taken captive by things that sound wise and sound good. Paul says in that the arguments can sound persuasive or reasonable. The world would not make a great impact on God’s people and their children if all of the arguments they made sounded foolish and dumb. There are a lot of smart people who make great sounding arguments that make sense.

This can especially be the case when they come from those who we are close to or care about or look up to.

But Paul says that reasonable sounding arguments can lead us astray and enslave us because they take us away from the knowledge of Christ, in whom, Paul says, “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” When philosophies and ideologies and beliefs in the world contradict scripture, they take us away from the only knowledge that is ultimately worth having — the only knowledge that is going to matter eternally.

DO NOT BE DECEIVED!!

With this being the case, we need to make sure we are not led astray by close companions, there are a few things we need to do:

First, we need to be rooted in the knowledge of Christ. We need to sink our roots deep into the word and make sure it is where our worldview, beliefs, and practices come from. God and His word are what strengthens our faith and prepares us for these things.

Whenever you hear your teachers, professors, peers, or even your Bible teachers give their philosophies and beliefs about how life is, you need to be like the Bereans in and search the scriptures to see if those things are really true. It just cannot be stressed enough that you need to make sure you are consistently in the word of God on a weekly basis.Weekly and even daily time in scripture will strengthen you and prepare your mind to deal with godless wisdom and philosophies before you are even confronted with them.

All things need to be tested. Don’t assume anything idea, philosophy, or practice is right or is pleasing to God unless you see without a shadow of a doubt is the case in God’s word, and don’t trust the word of someone who will not give you a book chapter and verse in order to show that a certain belief or practice is from the Lord.

Second, Carefully Consider Who You Choose To Be Close Friends With — those who you will spend the most time around

THEY WILL MAKE AN IMPACT ON YOU! You end up wanting to be like the rest of your friends. You end up dressing like them because you want them to like you. You begin talking like them. You begin acting like them. This is what happens when you are in close relationships. You want to be like the rest of the guys (or girls). You want to fit in, and often this means you and I are the ones who end up compromising.

It is easy to assume that we will be the exception. We will be the ones who will not compromise. We will be the ones who will be strong without building relationships with Christians our own age and having all worldly people as our friends.

I would encourage you to consider something: Who you choose to surround yourself with may be a reflection of your priorities, and if you would much rather spend time with your worldly friends instead of your brothers and sisters in Christ, there may be a problem. It may be the case that you have already been affected by evil companionship. Just think about this, if you feel more comfortable spending time with your worldly, nonChristian friends than you do with your Christian peers, may this show that you are more like your worldly friends? That you fit in more with them?

It is a good thing to be around nonChristians so you can make an impact on them for the Lord, but no matter how much we give this as a justification for spending very little time with Christians outside of our assemblies, our relationships with nonChristians don’t often reflect a desire to make an impact on them. We get closer and closer to them, but we don’t talk to them about the Gospel or how to become a Christian. What is often the case is that we just make the goal in our mind that we are going to get as close to as many nonChristians as possible and not ever bring up the Lord unless the other person does first, and often this never happens.

If you are not speaking to your nonChristian friends about the Lord, it is already the case that you have compromised because of a fear of rejection or offending your buddies. We tend to think building friendships alone is “evangelism,” even when we never open up our mouths to tell someone the good news. Evangelism comes from a greek word that means “to declare good news.” If you really desire to impact your friends, you will talk to them about the Lord. The longer you go without saying something, the harder it becomes.

Jesus spent time with the lost with the purpose of teaching them about the kingdom, and he didn’t wait to get to that conversation. There was not enough time. The need was urgent.

POINT 3 — Carefully Consider Who You Will Date or Marry.

The marriage relationship is the closest relationship you will ever have on earth, and it is the one that can impact you the most (both positively and negatively). If you are willing to marry someone who is not a Christian, there will be challenges that are not present in a marriage with someone who is a faithful disciple of Christ.

Different standard/authority on morality, religion, marriage, divorce, parenting, money, etc… Marriage is difficult as it is. Even when you are married to a faithful Christian, you still have two people who are struggling with selfishness, pride, and sin. There will be conflicts that you need to work through… This is hard work for two people who have the same standard! Then you introduce the idea that the non-Christian does not look at scripture as an authority… This makes marriage a lot more difficult. I have talked to quite a few people who have married non-Christians or even weak Christians who fall away, and their marriages are a lot tougher because their spouse does not submit to Christ’s authority… They are going in two completely different directions and make decisions based on different standards…

Different mission… your goal is to live for Christ, to make disciples, be hospitable, go to worship services, etc… May marrying a non-Christian get in the way of you being able to fulfill your responsibilities to Christ? Will they like you going to all of the worship services and Gospel meetings and studies the brethren have? Will they be ok with you being hospitable to your brethren? Will they be ok with you giving to the church the amount you would like to give? Will they get in the way of you teaching your children the truth, either by their teaching or their example?

Can’t provide spiritual leadership/help… We are given a picture of what marriage should be in scripture. In , you see that it is meant to foreshadow the relationship between Jesus and His church. You see a husband who is devoted to nurturing and helping his wife spiritually – a husband that knows what it truly means to love and sacrifice for the imperfect one you love… You see a wife who desires to love, respect, and submit to the authority of her husband… Christ gives us a pattern here in His relationship with His people that we as His church should strive for… Is this illustration we have of marriage something you are willing to sacrifice.

Ladies, if you desire to marry a non-Christian, are you willing to fulfill the role of the spiritual leader in your home? Are you willing to be the one who trains and teaches your children according to scripture?

Young men, if you desire to marry a non-Christian woman, are you ok with the possibility of her not submitting to your authority in the home or not supporting you in the decisions you make in teaching your children the truth?

Can’t seek the Lord together… If you marry a nonChristian, you wouldn’t have the person closest to you to help you have accountability with sins you are struggling with…

Will they help you, and your children if the Lord gives you any, to get to Heaven? Or may they hinder that from happening by their example or their influence on you and the children. Worldly parents often bring forth worldly children.

CONCLUSION

As we bring this lesson to a close, I understand that many of these points are difficult to hear, but we need to remember that nothing is more important than knowing Christ and being in a relationship with God. It is better to be right with God than to marry someone who could diminish or kill your fruitfulness. It is better to have friends who will help keep you accountable spiritually and strengthen you spiritually than it is to have friends who will get you to compromise.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” (, ESV). Those who you surround yourself with, who you open up with, who you seek wisdom from, these people will make an impact on you. This is the principle Paul gives us here. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that surrounding yourself with worldly people will not make an impact on you.

Don’t be deceived. Be aware of the danger of keeping the wrong company, and choose to work on building relationships with the right kind of people — Godly people who can help you gain the reward of Heaven.

INVITATION