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I have a vase full of silk leaves. The autumn colors are vibrant and true to life. In fact, they appear so real that unless someone touches them, they could easily be deceived.

In our technical world of computers and other devices and techniques, we can easily alter photos, documents, and conversations to look like the real thing when they aren’t. We have become a society where we should question the validity of many things to ensure they’re real, not false representations.

In the apostle Paul’s day, they did not have technical gadgets and means to falsify conversations or documents. However, spreading falsehoods was still quite rampant by word of mouth. False teachers led the Christians of Galatia astray. They sought to twist the gospel according to their thoughts and for their purposes. Paul, however, exhorted the Galatians not to be deceived.

How do we guard against deception regarding the Word of God? How do we discern whether the teachings we hear are true or false? First, we must know and study Scripture, always praying for discernment and wisdom. Second, we must compare any new ideas or doctrines that others float about—even Christian institutions—with the Word of God. What does God say? Do they align with the truth of Scripture or contradict it? 

Merriam-Webster describes deception as “the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.” Today, we can often see the art of deception through repetition, by repeatedly introducing falsehood in many ways through the media or the written and spoken word. Doing this acclimatizes us to seeing untruths as acceptable within society. What once shocked our beliefs according to Scripture, a glaring untruth, slowly becomes the norm because we see it everywhere. Sources present these things as normal, good, and acceptable. Paul exhorted the Galatians not to be deceived because we cannot mock God.

Guard against present-day deceptions by being a person of truth who knows their Bible, prays for discernment and wisdom, and compares new ideas or doctrines against the Word of God to see if they align with His truth. All else is not the real thing.