"Don't be deceived by dear brothers."  -James 1.16

I have come to know Christ with certainty.  He is the Son of

God and the only salvation.  I have also come to see my

sin first hand.  I know that if salvation was not by Christ alone,

there would be no hope for me.  I will never get to heaven

by my own efforts and I'm certain of that!

Grace is a wonderful thing!  What a gift!!!   I receive eternal

life as this fantastic present from God.  Something I didn't

deserve,  and could never earn.   He takes hell away, and

gives me heaven in exchange!  It's HUGE!   And maybe

that's why God warns me not to be deceived, not to take it

lightly.  I don't think you can lose your salvation, but I'm not

going to be stupid.  We shouldn't be tempting God by trying

to see  just how far He can be pushed.  It's a slap in the face

to keep sinning.  And it's a dangerous sign that maybe

you're deceiving yourself.  His true children hate sin. They

may fall in to it,  but they don't want to live there. 

It only took one sin to separate Adam from God.  One act

of rebellion.  The thought of this should make us run from

sin, and be glad for grace.  The scripture warns about self

deception.  I think it warns us from a couple of vantage points:

1. Don't think you're doing so well that you can do

without Jesus.

 That's the greatest deception of all!  The entire Word of God

is trying to get your eyes open to this fact- you're not as good

as you think you are.  You have separated yourself from God

by your sins, and to think anything different is a total deception.

When He offers you a way out of your mess, and gives you a 

way back to Him, the smart thing to do is take it!  

2. Don't think that sin is a small thing.  

Grace is greater than sin.  But if you really understand grace,

it will make you run from sin as fast as you can.  Grace will

show you that God hates sin,  but that He loves you.  That He

hates sin enough that Jesus died to take it away; that He loves

you enough to do that.  Sin is not a small thing. A big price was

paid to free you from it and it's eternal consequences. 

We deceive ourselves so easily!  Take heed.