The Doctrine Of The Con-Artist.
- Con-Artist is a type of individual who is a masters at saying one thing but meaning another.
They can be people with a pleasing personality, sometimes they have an attractive way about them, and they can even give the impression of being great believers or great spiritual leaders who seem to be successful at whatever they do.
We should NEVER desire for God to “destroy” anyone in our lives but instead we should ALWAYS desire for God to “restore” those who have tried to do harm to us or those we love.
In Gen 12 and 20, the Pharaoh of Egypt and King Abimelech of Gerah were both “people smart” and they were deceived and conned by Abraham.
Spiritual maturity is no defense against the con-artists of this life.
- Being a believer in TLJC means that you're going to get a certain number of tests by the con-artist of life, -- especially in the local assembly.
Degeneracy is the process of passing from the higher to the lower, to decline progressively.
Christian Degeneracy is the decline to false or inferior standards, accompanied by loss of integrity and sinking into the subnormal status of fragmentation and reversionism.
They were in inordinate competition and trying to make an impression - from the arrogance complex of the sin nature.
Once in Cosmic One or Cosmic Two, -- believers only need rebound, 1JO 1:9, to get back in fellowship with God.
Cosmic one - Grieving the Holy Spirit comes from living in sin, not sinning, but living in sin as Eph 4:30 says.
Cosmic Two - Quenching the Holy Spirit means to reject the power of God and to lean on your own understanding with human power.
- The con-artist must deceive his victim, as David did this to Uriah in 2SA 11:14-17.
There is only one defense for the con-artist of life and that is to give it over to the Lord. (ROM 12:19)
- The con-artist is a reversionist – , and in using deceit, must hide the evidence to make the lie stick, PRO 26:24-25.
PRO 26:24 He who hates disguises {it} with his lips, But he lays up deceit in his heart.
PRO 26:25 When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart.
The word "abomination" applies to anything that greatly offends the Lord, because it is grossly immoral.
- Arrogance, Pro 6:17.
- They have a lying tongue, Pro 6:17.
- They murder, Pro 6:17.
- They devise evil plans, like conspiracy. Pro 6:18.
- They are troublemakers, Pro 6:18.
- They are false witnesses who utters lies [slander, gossip, maligning, perjury], Pro 6:19.
- They sow discord among believers, Pro 6:19.
PRO 6:16 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
PRO 6:17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
First is the attitude of a person who is arrogant, egotistical, or proud.
In Psalm 101:5 the Lord says, "Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure."
When he saw a humble tax collector nearby, he boasted to God: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men…or even like this tax collector" (Luke 18:11).
In His Sermon on the Mount, the first of Jesus' beatitudes refers to those who are "the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3).
To be "poor in spirit" is the opposite of being self-confident or self-reliant, especially in any spiritual sense.
The poor in spirit recognize they are incapable of providing for themselves by their own strength, goodness, or righteousness.
Second is God also hates "a lying tongue" (Proverbs 6:17). Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit, (ACT 5:1–10).
PRO 6:12 describes the “con-artist” or those who deceive others as "wicked" and "worthless".
Third is violence against the innocent.
This was mentioned earlier in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:11-16) in connection with evil.
Even though the lures are tempting, the type of people who run to evil will take you down with them… there is no honor among thieves.
Solomon's warning is meant to expose how even the worst sinners will tempt others to join them.
ROM 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
PRO 6:18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,
The first three were arrogance, deceitfulness, and violence against the innocent.
- They devise evil plans, like conspiracy. PRO 6:18
Jesus told His disciples, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander" (Matthew 15:17-19).
Unless the Lord rules a person's heart, sin rules it, and the outcome is evil conduct.
God hates not only a heart that makes wicked plans but also the feet that carry out those plans. 5.
They are troublemakers, PRO 6:18.
”Feet” are often used as references to completing or enacting a plan (Zechariah 14:4; Romans 10:15).
The con-artist is not just content to make wicked plans, he is eager and enthusiastic about carrying them out.
John 13:27–30 says that when Judas was fully possessed by Satan, he immediately left the upper room. He "hurried," in a sense, to Jesus' enemies so they could complete their murder (John 18:3, 12).
PRO 6:19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
- arrogance,
2. deceitfulness,
3. violence against the innocent, 4. evil planning,
5. eagerness to commit evil.
God not only hates it when we lie "to" someone in order to deceive, He also hates it when we lie "about" someone to deceive others.
Our Lord not only spoke the truth; He is the truth (John 14:6). He is identified in Revelation 1:5 as "the faithful witness."
To "sow" is a reference to farming and means to deliberately plant seeds.
The result which "sprouts" from those actions is strife.
False teachers stirred up trouble in early churches by demeaning Paul and discrediting his message.
The first and most effective way to thwart a troublemaker is to refuse to listen to him.
PRO 26:26, {Though his} hatred covers itself with guile His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
That's why the believer does not have to fight - and defend himself, God will do that for the believer who operates in the Faith Rest Drill.
PRO 26:27 He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.
PRO 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.
- A con-artist must do something to flatter himself with his victim, whether it is using inferiority or superiority, PSA 55:21.
PSA 55:21 His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.
- A con-artist must give the impression to his victim that he hates everyone his victim hates, even if he must pretend to hate his true friends.
He must also appear to love people his victim loves. He must be a super hypocrite, LUK 20:20, PSA 62:4.
LUK 20:20, And they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so as to deliver Him up to the rule and the authority of the governor.
PSA 62:4, They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse.
Selah.
They speak well of you but betray you as JER 12:6, “For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”
Delilah which means dainty one describes her overt appearance but not the wickedness of her heart!
She betrayed Samson to the lords of the Philistines for 1,100 pieces of silver, JUDG 16:5.
- To be a good con-artist, you must cultivate certain mental attitude sins, such as implacability, vindictiveness, and cruelty, as well as verbal sins such as flattery and lying, JUDG 16:4-21.
She made him sleep upon her knees, and then called the man who was waiting to help her who "cut off the seven locks of his head," and so his "strength went from him."
JUDG 16:1 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
JUDG 16:2 When it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light, then we will kill him.”
JUDG 16:3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.
God used Samson “despite” Samson’s sin, not “because” of it.
JUDG 16:4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
JUDG 16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, “Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
JUDG 16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”
One might say that the honest answer to her question would be, “I may be bound with the attention and affection of an ungodly yet attractive con-artist woman.”
JUDG 16:7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
JUDG 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
JUDG 16:9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered.
JUDG 16:10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me, how you may be bound.”
Samson is a good example of how an ungodly relationship can warp thinking.
JUDG 16:11 And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.
JUDG 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”
For the men were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread.
Many today are in similar places of sin, compromise, and bondage – and refuse to escape the situation.
JUDG 16:13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web and fasten it with a pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
JUDG 16:14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
JUDG 16:15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.”
JUDG 16:16 And it came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
JUDG 16:17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I shall become weak and be like any other man.
He faced the choice between faithfulness to God and continuing an ungodly relationship.
JUDG 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands.
JUDG 16:19 And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him.
Samson’s strength was not in his hair, it was in his relationship with God.
JUDG 16:20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
JUDG 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.
ISA 35:4, say to those with anxious heart, “take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, and He will deliver you.”
ROM 12:17 "Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people."
ROM 12:18 "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people."
ROM 12:19, never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
ROM 12:20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
ROM 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- When someone catches on, the more the con-artist has conned, the more he will protest.
This is a part of that defense mechanism known as “direct attack”.
When Moses discovered the conspiracy of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, the first thing they did - was to protest and attack Moses even more.
They had a list of 26 accusations against Moses.
NUM 16:1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action,
NUM 16:2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown.
NUM 16:3 And they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"
Prin- It first starts with the rejection of spiritual authority on the part of a few and then it spreads to a total rejection of the Lord and Bible doctrine on the part of the whole.
Second principle - First it starts with the rejection of spiritual authority and then it leads to rejection of the doctrine which was taught.
In NUM16:1 There is a fourth fellow mentioned called "On" the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action,
Those who comment on the Torah seem to say that "On" was known as a disciple of Moses and Aaron and after thinking it over, he changed his mind about joining the conspiracy.
"On" was of the tribe of Reuben whereas the others were from the Tribe of Levi and Judah, so apparently he realized he would never be promoted over the sons of Levi or Judah.
NUM 16:1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and "On" the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took {action,}
Moses is the son of Levi, and the son of Kohath according to Exo 16, "And Moses and Korah were first cousins," all of this illustrating that there was no “superiority” between the Tribes.
Each tribe has its function – just like each believer has a spiritual gift.
As JOH 1:13 states, it doesn't matter what type of blood we were born with, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but all things are of God.
Korah is a first cousin to Moses and we all know how it is when you grow up with people, you become very familiar with - this was part of the problem between Korah toward Moses.
As far as Korah was concerned is that he grew up with Moses and he's just as qualified to do the same job.