2 Cor 11:3

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

From Background Notes [BN] for January 12^th & 13^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The biblical symbol of the serpent refers to ultimate evil that operates against us as something real, concrete, and personal.

Other words for this reality include “Satan,” “Devil,” and “the Accuser of the brothers.” Biblical evil is never abstract but belongs to a systematic scheme of a very real Enemy who “threatens to undo us” (Luther). Paul warns about the power of the deceiver to lead astray those who once had “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The words “sincere” and “pure” share a common thread: they are “unmixed” and “uncontaminated.” Deception by the Enemy sometimes means taking what is good and true, and then spinning it so that it becomes insincere and impure. When once Jesus was enough, we are tempted to think it’s Jesus plus something else: some method, some idea, some practice, or somebody.  [BN, 5]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am