Duane Sheriff Ministries - Messages Duane Sheriff

In the seventh episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane teaches the importance of having the proper and final authority in one's life, which he identifies as God and God's Word. He stresses that this is a crucial defense against the increasing deception and darkness infiltrating society and the church.

The New Testament repeatedly commands believers to "be not deceived" (1 Corinthians 15:33, Galatians 6:7), indicating it is possible to fall into deception. This deception grows worse and worse, often directly or indirectly enabled by Christians who have compromised the truth.

The first line of defense is to exalt God's Word as absolute, objective truth and final authority over every other voice, such as government, media, feelings, etc. Those who prosper spiritually all uplift Scripture's authority in their lives. There must be a final authority, and only God and His Word can rightly claim that position of supreme truth.

A second vital defense is cultivating sensitivity to the Lord's still, small voice within (1 Kings 19:12). When Jacob deceived Isaac, Isaac heard Jacob's voice but was led astray by his physical senses of touch, taste, and smell, which overrode that inner witness. Similarly, Sheriff laments how often people let their feelings trump God's clear Word when he tries to counsel them as Jesus' followers.

Using Revelation 13:11, Sheriff illustrates how the spirit of deception makes things appear lamb-like and loving on the surface while masking the dragon's voice of destruction underneath. Immorality, perversion, and ideologies contrary to biblical truth are deceptively packaged as "love" and pushed on society and even churches. But God's kind of love never harms or violates His laws.

Discerning the dragon's voice from the Shepherd's voice is crucial in this age of deception. Christians must mature in God's Word as the final authority, humbly cultivate hearing His still, small voice, and not be deceived by their senses or the persuasive yet destructive rhetoric of the world. Only by applying these divinely-given defenses can they remain undeceived.

In the sixth episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane teaches the importance of guarding against deception, as God has provided multiple defenses against it. The New Testament repeated warnings about deceivers and being deceived, showing it is possible even for believers to fall into deception. The first defense God has given is His Word. If believers abide or continue in God's Word, Jesus said they are His disciples who will know the truth that brings freedom (John 8:31-32). By disciplining oneself in Scripture, one's discernment increases to recognize the fingerprints of the enemy versus the Holy Spirit.

The story of Eve being deceived by the serpent in Genesis 3 illustrates how deception operates. Satan's tactic was first to question God's Word, get Eve to dismiss it, and then outright contradict it, tempting her to disobey by doubting God's goodness and care. This shows how compromising God's Word opens the door to deception.

The Scripture of Jacob deceiving his father Isaac in Genesis 27 is also an example. A telltale sign of deception was the haste and pressure Jacob used—faith never operates under an anxious hurry. Another red flag was Jacob claiming "God blessed me" to justify his deceit, which is "dropping the God card" to wrongly use God to approve one's desired course.

Isaac was led astray by his feelings - the hands "felt" like Esau's, though they were goatskins. How often do people let their feelings trump God's clear truth and Word when he tries to guide them as Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life? They fail to realize that only obedience to God's Word, not rejecting it, leads to true wisdom.

Discernment comes through knowing God's Word combined with patience and walking by faith, not feelings or hastiness. Professing believers who end up embracing abominations and departing from the faith have been deceived by not applying these safeguards against the deception that God has provided in Scripture.

In the fifth episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane warns about the increasing darkness and deception infiltrating the world and even the church. Many people, including believers, have departed from the faith by heeding deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils, just as the apostle Paul warned Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.

According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is supposed to be the pillar and ground of truth. However, the church often propagates deception and doctrines contrary to God's nature, Judeo-Christian values, and a biblical worldview. This happens because people do not know the truth and are easily influenced by lies, fraud, and corruption from the world.

The key defense against such deception is the Word of God. As Romans 1:18 states, God's wrath is revealed against those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Unrighteous people reject God's truth not just for themselves but actively work to suppress it. This is what is behind cancel culture - canceling and suppressing truth. Just as the devil accuses others of what he is guilty of himself, those embracing darkness accuse truth-tellers of spreading misinformation when they are the real purveyors of lies and deception. They gaslight and become such skilled liars that they start believing their own lies if one does not know the truth of God's Word.
Even many pastors do not properly teach biblical truth anymore.

So where are people, especially young people, supposed to find the truth -not from biased news media, corrupt politicians, or indoctrinating college professors? This is why knowing Scripture is so vital to identifying deception and remaining free in Christ's truth. As Jesus stated in John 8:31-32, it is by abiding or continuing in His Word that one is truly His disciple who will know the truth that brings freedom.

In contrast, Duane explains how systems like Marxism, socialism, and communism - though claiming justice and equity - are rooted in the antichrist spirit that always leads to slavery, tyranny, and despotism by suppressing freedoms of thought, speech, and movement. The truth is that Christ alone brings true liberty, which is why societies built on Judeo-Christian principles protect against government tyranny. An entire generation is being deceived by the encroaching darkness. The church must wake up, know God's Word as the pillar of truth, and help shine light into this deepening societal darkness.

In the fourth episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane warns about the dangers of deception and darkness in the world today. Many of God's people have fallen into deception, leading to self-destruction in their Christian walk. Jesus Christ warns in Matthew 24:4 to "take heed that no man deceive you." Many false messiahs and deceivers will come and lead many astray. However, Christians can guard their hearts against deception by understanding how Satan operates and learning to discern good from evil based on a biblical worldview.

The key defense against deception is the Word of God. In 1 Timothy 4, the Bible expressly states that in the last days, some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils instead of sound doctrine from Christ. The world is becoming darker, but Christians must resist being dragged into that darkness through deception.

As 2 Timothy 3:13 states, "Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." While the Bible warns that things will get darker in the world, Christians need not agree with or be consumed by that ever-increasing darkness. They are called to be lights shining brightly in the midst of gross darkness.
Deception is infiltrating churches today. Many Christians embrace outright abominations and justify them, not realizing they have been deceived because they do not know the Scriptures well enough. Moral issues like abortion, gender ideology, and anti-Semitism have led Christians astray from God's Word.

The Scriptures, inspired by God, can make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Knowing the Holy Scriptures is the first roadblock and greatest defense against all deception. It equips Christians with doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness so that the person of God may be complete and equipped for every good work.

Duane urges Christians to continue in the things they have learned from the Scriptures and been assured of, knowing the truth, such as the fact that all have sinned, there is no other way to salvation except through Jesus Christ, and one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Pastors especially must dedicate themselves to understanding the Scriptures to properly feed God's people with wisdom from His Word. Only then can Christians be kept from the path of deception and remain on the path of light, righteousness, and life in Christ.

This powerful message expounds on the righteousness of the law and how it relates to God's grace through Jesus Christ. The purpose of the law was not to reveal God but to expose our sinful nature and inability to keep it perfectly. James 2:10 highlights the law's demand for absolute perfection, stating, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it," making it impossible for anyone to be justified by works alone.

Duane teaches that this realization of our imperfection drives us to put our faith in Jesus, who fulfilled the law's righteous demands on our behalf. Galatians 3:11 emphasizes, "Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because 'the righteous will live by faith.'" 

Righteousness comes through faith in Christ, not by adhering to the law. Christians should not try to serve God under the Old Covenant law but rather embrace the New Covenant grace. Jesus accomplished three pivotal things: He kept the law perfectly, paid the penalty for our lawbreaking, and made us righteous before God through faith (Galatians 3:13-14).

Romans 8:1-4 explains that the law could not make us righteous because of our sinful nature. However, Jesus fulfilled the righteousness the law demanded by living a perfect life (Galatians 3:10-13). His death paid the penalty for our lawbreaking. By faith, we receive his perfect righteousness, which the law could not provide. 

Like Abraham, we are justified by faith, not works (Galatians 3:6-9, Romans 4:4-5). Trying to earn righteousness by the law is sinful, as grace and works cannot be mixed (Romans 11:6). Our blessings flow from Christ's righteousness imputed to us by faith, not our imperfect law-keeping (Deuteronomy 28:1-2 & 15).

True righteousness comes through faith in Christ rather than by the works of the law. Christ liberates us from the futile pursuit of self-righteousness and empowers us to embrace the grace of God's unconditional love and acceptance.

In the third episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane Sheriff warns that the influence of Satan, "the father of lies," is increasing and stresses the importance of being able to discern deception. In Matthew 24, Jesus warned his followers not to be deceived.

The Word provides crucial roadblocks to caution against being misled by "empty words," "deceiving spirits," and "doctrines of devils." However, the inability of many believers today to identify these deceptive spirits or false doctrines, such as multiple genders, gender reassignment surgery, man-made climate change, and governmental overreach during the pandemic, can lead to serious consequences. 

Loss of freedoms and governmental persecution of dissenting views can pave the way for the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible. Believers must remain vigilant to avoid being led astray by deceptive agendas and stand firm for godly values despite facing persecution and censorship.