The Scripture warns us to be on guard against deception. The whole system of sin operates on deceit. I am certain that Eve had no direct inclination to go against the law of God concerning the forbidden tree. She only succumbed to the deceit of the devil. We know people who are totally lost in sin, and even revel in it. They speak proudly against God and bluff at every law in the Holy Book. A spiritual man will wonder at such audacity of the wicked. The answer to this puzzle is contained in the verse of scripture we are examining today. Sinners go on sinning because they are persuaded in their hearts that there are no consequences for their actions. That is deception, if not total delusion. As sure as day follows the night, punishment will follow every evil deed. The additional danger is that the reward of evil works may not show up early enough; and this goes on to reinforce the false belief that there are no consequences. One way to get out of this deceit is to see every act as a seed. Once a farmer casts his seed into the soil, a consequence follows; the seed will produce after its kind. If it is a good seed, a good harvest follows; and if it is a bad seed, a bad harvest follows.

Sinners go on sinning because they are persuaded in their hearts that there are no consequences for their actions. That is deception, if not total delusion.

There is a flip side to this. Just as a wicked man may be deceived to think there are no consequences for his actions, a righteous man may be discouraged that no harvest is coming forth from his good deeds. This is also a form of deceit. Many faithful people of God have faced this problem. You can hear this frustration in Asaph’s voice when he said, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.” (Psalm 73:13). Child of God, it is the devil making you feel you are labouring in vain. God is too righteous to forget your labour of love.