Are you deluded?

2Th 2:10 ... because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


They received NOT the love of the truth.


Do you LOVE the truth?


The truth saves us. Not indifference to the truth, not denial of the truth, not disdain for the truth, and certainly not hatred for the truth.


To love is to make a choice to believe in love. If you don't believe love exists then you can't love, can you?


So much has been touted about love, being IN love, falling IN love and yet at the end of the day when you've BEEN in love for a long while, when you've HIT rock bottom in that fall you took into love, when you FEEL none of the emotions of what people have made love out to be- what then?


Loving something isn't being infatuated with something- it isn't a faze with something. We've skewed the word love up so badly when we talk about loving the truth we instantly begin to question our relationship with God. We question whether or not we have that so-called 'love' feeling towards the truth. Do we FEEL the love. We treat love as an emotion, but the Bible tells us plainly that - God is love.


1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.


God is the source of LOVE. God is the source of our ability to love. God CHOOSES to love us. God made the CHOICE to love us. Did making that choice to love us mean God would have tender feelings for us always? Did making that choice mean God would never punish us? God loves us with a perfect love. But God's love is IN God's law. The two are inseparable.


Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.


Love is the fulfilling of the law.


If God is love and fulfilling of the law is love - we need to KNOW God and to KNOW the law to know love.


God was REVEALED to us by His Son.


Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Joh 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Joh 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Joh 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.


Beautiful!


If we have a love for the truth, we have a love for God. If we have a love for God, we have a love for the truth. If God is love, and if keeping God's law is love then for us to LOVE God we must want to OBEY Him.


Love isn't purely an emotion that we need to feel, but love is obeying God no matter what we feel.


We've WARPED love into meaning that true love- is UNCONDITIONAL love- that it is loving NO MATTER what and that's not true.


Jesus loves us and forgives us the worst of sins, yet that forgiveness must be something we desire along with a repentance of the sin. We are NOT forgiven if we do not desire that forgiveness, if we do not desire to repent and sin no more. So to say it's and UNCONDITIONAL love would be a distortion of facts. We don't deserve the love, we are loved and forgiven without deserving any of it and we cannot save ourselves in any way, shape, or form- but we MUST accept salvation. WE WILL NOT BE SAVED IN SPITE OF OURSELVES. NO one who chooses NOT to be saved, will be saved. There is NO forced salvation. There is NO forced love of the truth.


We make the choice for Salvation. We make the choice to love God- and that means OBEYING God, because we are told IF YOU LOVE ME KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. We are told LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW. If we choose to KEEP God's commandments we would find ourselves loving our fellow man, we would find ourselves loving God, we would find ourselves loving truth and knowing we love God, knowing we love our fellowman, knowing we love the truth- NOT because of some misguided emotional responses we feel, but because of the knowledge of what love truly is.


Not all of us are able to be overly affectionate people. Not all of us can be overly sweet to others. It's a fact that we all have different dispositions and some are naturally more sour than others but does this mean a person whose disposition is pessimistic, or depressive, or even reclusive doesn't LOVE others? They might not FEEL that FEELING we are taught to believe is love, but their ACTIONS will speak louder than any feeling ever could.


2Th 2:10 ... because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


The love of the truth is the love of God and only the love of God can save us.


If we CHOOSE not to receive God's love, God will not force Himself upon us, in fact God will allow you to live with that choice and you will reap the consequences of that choice. You will believe STRONG DELUSIONS believing lies, because you choose not to believe truth. Yes, EVERYONE that chooses NOT to receive the love of the truth will be damned. Everyone who chooses unrighteousness will be damned. Making the choice to not receive the love of the truth is something the majority of people will do- and that's not to say they will all be atheists, devil worshippers, or those who do not believe Jesus is the Son of God. Many who do not receive the love of the TRUTH, will be those who believe they are worshipping God- only they are worshipping a manufactured God, not the One True God who makes it more than clear that if we love Him we will keep His commandments- ALL of His commandments.


Do you have a love for the truth that you might be saved? Or are you deluded, believing lies?


May God give us all a LOVE for the TRUTH that we might be saved. May we not rather have delusions that will feed our egos nurturing self-love. May our eyes be opened fully, may all deception that would keep us from loving God, from loving the truth- be wiped away.


We will be allowed delusions, given delusions make NO mistake about it at all. And delusions seem real to those who are captive to them, delusions appear as truth to them.


Please Lord help us not be given strong delusions to believe in lies! We want Your truth! Only Your truth! We want to receive the love of Your truth! By Your grace!


Amen.