Seven Sins Of The Seriously Deceptive Soul

Deception isn’t new — it’s been trying to slither its way into God’s people since the first century. Jude warns us that certain people “crept in unnoticed,” slipping into the church wearing masks of godliness while spreading ideas that distort truth, dismiss authority, and deny Jesus Himself. Their tactics haven’t changed. Today, deception still operates quietly, subtly, and devilishly — targeting believers who aren’t watching. In this episode, we unpack the seven traits of deceptive people so you can recognize the mask, spot the fruit, and stand unshaken in a world invaded by spiritual counterfeits. That’s why we are going to talk today on the subject: Seven Sins Of The Seriously Deceptive Soul — all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Accept the Challenge

Stand. Watch. Stay Rooted!

Deception thrives where believers aren’t paying attention.

This week, slow down enough to truly watch—not with suspicion, but with spiritual clarity. Measure every voice, influence, and opinion against Scripture, not emotion or personality.

You’re not called to live confused—you’re called to live grounded in the truth of Jesus.

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question:

Question: How has the Lord helped you recognize deceptive influence or false teaching in your life? Share one way He’s sharpened your discernment.

Share: Your insight might be exactly what someone else needs to stay steady and anchored in truth.

Remember: God never leaves His people confused—He leads, guards, and guides every believer who clings to His Word.

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 49 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes:

Well, again, welcome.
Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you for your goodness and your mercies. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Grant unto us today, eyes to see and ears to hear your Word. We thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We appreciate Him and give you all, oh God, all the credit for His work on the earth. We acknowledge and thank you for all these things in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Deception: Opening Text

Jude 4–8 (ESV) — 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

Book of Jude in Review

In a previous podcast, we looked at the first three verses of this twenty-five verse letter that Jude penned.
We saw Jude strongly calling for Jesus’ followers to ‘contend for the faith.’
We saw in that podcast that the word ‘contend’ is an enormously important word.
It’s the word ‘epagōnizomai’ — the middle part of this word is where the word ‘agony’ comes from.
People commonly used this word ‘contend’ in connection with the Greek stadium to denote a strenuous struggle to overcome an opponent, as in a wrestling match.
People also used it for any conflict, contest, debate, or lawsuit.
Involved is the thought of the expenditure of all one’s energy in order to prevail.¹
We understood also that Jude wanted to write and, was super-excited to write, about the subject of salvation.
But something, more likely someone, and even more likely, a group of ‘someones’ changed his mind.
In fact, this group of ‘someones’ stirred Jude to the point of distress.
He felt vigorously compelled to change the reason for his letter.
This thing was pressing on him big time.
Now, we are getting ready to find out who this group of ‘someones’ were.
So, let’s get at it.

Deception: ‘Certain People’

For certain people have crept in unnoticed.

The first thing here that should strike our attention is that Jude mentions no names here.
Think about that for a moment.
You have to ask a question here: ‘How come?’
Don’t you think he knew who these people were?
Why didn’t Jude say, ‘Watch out for so and so?’
Look at the description that he gives of this person or group of persons.
They are…
Number one, ungodly people.
Two, they pervert the grace of our God into sensuality.
Three, they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Four, they rely on their dreams.
Five, they defile the flesh.
Six, they reject authority.
Seven, they blaspheme the glorious ones.
Seven sins of the seriously deceptive soul.
With such a detailed description, Jude had to have known who these people are to have described them so accurately.
So, what thoughts do you have about why he didn’t name these rascals in this letter?

Room to Repent?

What could happen if Jude names this person?
Okay, it’s the first century and you’re writing a letter.
How fast did the mail run in the first century?
Pretty slow — painfully slow.
A lot of time could go by before you get the info.
It’s sloth mail, not snail mail, in the first century.
It could take a month to get a letter delivered, and then with house churches, that letter would have to circulate to all the houses to get the info out — that takes time.
What if you name the person and God does a work in that person’s heart and they repent while the letter is in route?
It could happen — that kind of thing happens today.
I mean major sinners have come to Jesus many years after they sowed their terrible sins.
So, if you name that person and they repent, what kind of hardship will you cause that new believer to experience when everybody is shunning them like the plague?
What if you don’t put a name to the face and instead you describe what they are like?
I mean, if you know the characteristics of a bad guy, would that not help you pin the tail on the donkey?
So, knowing what a deceiver looks like is better than knowing the name of the deceiver.
Just a thought here: will this kind of thinking help people to identify the Anti-Christ?
Knowing the signs of the end-times helps to navigate the end-times.
Here is another case where this same idea played out.

1 Corinthians 5:1–5 (ESV) — 1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

This individual in the Corinthian church was committing incest.
Paul does not name this individual!
He just refers to this guy by a pronoun.
Never names him.
Turns out that this individual repents.
We have that record in Second Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 2:6–7 (ESV) — 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

Overwhelmed by excessive sorrow seems to indicate that the guy repented.
Now this ‘why didn’t Jude name the deceivers publicly’ is a bit of conjecture because we have places in the scripture where the bad guy is named.
For example.

2 Timothy 4:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.

Your mileage here may vary.
But, I thought it was noteworthy that Jude did not name names in his letter.
Instead, he named characteristics of this bad guy.
Now, if you know what a deceiver looks like, and we have seven things to help us in this area, then that will help us with the next word we must look at, and that’s the word ‘crept.’

Deception: Creeps in the Church House

The word ‘crept’ — slip in stealthily, sneak in.²
The word means to slip in unnoticed, to join a group unnoticed, to worm one’s way in.
So these deceivers were trying to mask their identity by acting like Jesus followers; sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

2 Timothy 3:5 (ESV) — 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

If you recall from a previous podcast, we mentioned that the Greek word for ‘appearance’ or morphōsis in the Greek means a shaping or molding in external form or appearance.
So, think “form” or a mold.
A mold is something you might use to make a mask for a face.
These deceivers were trying to fit in by putting on masks of godliness.
Okay, if they are creeping in among the saints and they are ‘mask wearers’ who are trying to blend in, why would Jude give seven descriptors of what these deceivers are like?
So get this, Jude gave seven descriptors — we’ve already mentioned them.
Here they are again: ungodly, sensual, dream-driven, defiling, rebellious, blasphemous, and denying Jesus.
The reason Jude gave these descriptions is for this fundamental reality.
No matter how hard a deceiver tries to wear a mask, just know this: the mask will slip, and they will reveal their true colors.
If you don’t think so, listen to Jesus on this very point.

Deception: What Jesus Said About Deceptive People

Matthew 7:15–20 (ESV) — 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Okay so here’s the mask — Jesus mentions it — sheep’s clothing.
Inwardly, they are ravenous wolves.
Ravenous means destructively vicious.
In context, the word ‘inwardly’ — inwardly, they are ravenous wolves — points, at least, to these seven things that Jude mentions and the eighteen things that Paul mentions to Timothy about cruel and difficult people.
Jesus said, ‘Beware of them.’
Do you understand the term ‘beware?’
‘Beware’ means to be in a state of alert³, to watch out for or be on guard.
“Fruits” are actions.
Watch this action, for example.

John 10:12–13 (ESV) — 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

These deceivers care nothing about people.
That’s a big clue that will pop out.
What’s in a ‘masking wearing’ person eventually comes out.
The mask will slip.
A wicked person’s sins have a way of coming to the surface.
That’s a scriptural truth.
You find that in Numbers 32:23.

Deception: Foxes in the Hen House Is Not New

Now, this ‘whole deception’ thing with foxes endeavoring to get into the henhouse is not a fresh problem.
Jesus had a Judas among His twelve.
Paul warned the Ephesians about the same danger.

Acts 20:17 (ESV) — 17 Now from Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

Miletus was the site of the first minister’s conference.

Acts 20:29–31 (ESV) — 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

Look at the word ’twisted’ in the phrase ‘speaking twisted things.’
The Greek word ‘twisted’ means to cause to be distorted, or deformed.
It’s the picture of a clumsy craftsman, a potter who is making a clay pot and who initially distorts its shape.⁴
Paul said, these fierce wolves will come in after I depart.
Depart means die.
When I go to heaven, Paul is saying, these false teachers will infiltrate and mess up all the perfectly formed pottery.
This is not just generalized conversation.
Paul is prophesying here specifically about what he knows by the Spirit of God will happen.
As sure as day, this came to pass after he died.
He, along with so many others among God’s people, were holding this back.

Deception: Historical Background

And, with that thought, here is the Historical Background of the Day.

A century later [after Paul passed from the scene — it is appointed unto men once to die], Paul was proved dramatically right. A leader called Marcion, originally from Sinope on the Black Sea shore of Asia Minor, arrived in Rome teaching a version of Christianity in which the God of Jesus was sharply distinguished from the God of the Jews. He produced a heavily truncated [edited] edition of the New Testament, with the Jewish and scriptural bits omitted or amended. [He cut and paste the Bible as he choose to suit his agenda]. The Christian faith as he taught it—and he became very popular—left no room for Jews and their traditions. It had become a completely Gentile phenomenon.⁵

So, again, this false believer phenomenon is not new.
Jesus told us it would happen during end-times.

Matthew 24:3–5 (ESV) — 3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

The Traits of Deception

With all that being said, let’s look at the seven sins of the seriously deceptive soul.

Ungodly

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, live ungodly.
The word ‘ungodly’ is mentioned three times in this short letter Jude wrote: verses four, fifteen, and eighteen.
The word ungodly means pertaining to living without regard for God.⁶

Pervert the Grace of our God into Sensuality

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, pervert God’s grace into sensuality.
The word ‘pervert’ means to transfer, transform, to change or alter.
Part of the deception is to alter God’s grace into a license to do anything that you want.
Sensuality is unbridled lust — it’s no restraint.

Titus 2:11–14 (ESV) — 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Jesus followers, because grace demands it, renounce ungodliness.
They deny it totally.
They refuse it completely.
Children of God live self-controlled lives.
For Jesus followers, there is no ‘open season’ for sin.

Deny Our Only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, flat out deny Jesus in their hearts while appearing to say yes to Him.
You said ‘YES’ to Jesus when you gave your heart to Him via Romans ten.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV) — 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Did you notice the words ‘will be saved?’
That’s future tense.
People walk around and say they are saved.
Do you know what they are saying?
They’re making a faith confession because ‘will be saved’ is future tense.
Now, you’re born again the moment you said ‘YES.’
So if this is future tense, that means there are other things out there in your tomorrow that are part of salvation that you don’t have yet.
Like your glorified body! — That’s 2 Corinthians 5:1.
So, you’re ‘YES’ to Jesus must be a continual ‘YES.’
People have asked and have debated this for centuries on end: “Is it possible to lose your salvation?”
The answer to that is yes, you can — read Hebrews six.

Hebrews 6:4–6 (ESV) — 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

“Well, I don’t understand that,’ someone might say.
Don’t worry about it — just keep your ‘YES’ intact.
Whatever He says to you, say ‘YES.’
Here’s the fourth trait.

Rely on Dreams

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, rely on their dreams as their basis of authority.
They come across as spiritual, and they share their dreams.
This is easy to refute if you follow and execute this simple idea.

No matter what you hear, from whoever you hear it, ask yourself this question: What does the Word of God say about that?

Well, that means I have to know my Bible.
Dearly beloved, that’s why we are gathered here.
Get into your Bible.
Watch the dreamers.
Pay close attention to the statement: ‘I had a dream.’
If you had a dream and you don’t know what it means when you wake up, forget it.
God is intelligent.
He knows how to communicate with you.
The Lord of the universe doesn’t need you to hunt around reading a dream book trying to figure out what He said to you.
That was free — no charge at all.
If a person comes to you spouting a dream as the basis of authority trying to give you a ‘thus saith the Lord’ because of his dream — run.
If this individual cannot give you chapter and verse, run faster.
Do not base your life or make major decisions on dreams — base your life on the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
‘Well, Joseph did it,’ you might say.
Yes, he did – he was warned of God to go into Egypt.
But Joseph didn’t have the Holy Spirit in him — you do.
Joseph didn’t have a copy of the Bible, you do.

Defile the Flesh

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, defile the flesh.
The word ‘defile’ means to stain.
You listen to these false, deceptive heathen — because that’s what they are — heathen, your white spiritual garments will be stained.
‘Defile’ means to cause someone to be morally tainted or contaminated.
It means to cause to be morally filthy.’⁷

Titus 1:15 (ESV) — 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

I promise you — you don’t want any part of this.

Reject Authority

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, reject authority.
This is huge.
False followers of Jesus reject all forms of authority.
They reject spiritual authority — that means you need to be in church and you need to listen to your pastor.
They reject government authority.

Romans 13:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

All the rebellion, riots and the junk you see going on today in the streets of our society is not okay!
It is not okay to reject authority.
Listen up, Portland, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, God is talking to you!
Rebellion is not okay!

Blaspheme the Glorious Ones

False followers of Jesus, whose intent is deception, blaspheme the glorious ones.
Stay tuned to an upcoming podcast, and we will surely talk about this one more.

Guarding Against Deception: Steps We All Can Take

First Step: Stay Alert

The first step we can take is to stay alert.
Deception always enters quietly.
Jude tells us that false believers creep in unnoticed, hiding behind masks of godliness while reshaping grace, rejecting authority, and spreading twisted ideas.
Don’t let that happen to you.

Strengthen Your Discernment

Two, strengthen your discernment by knowing the signs.
Go deeper into Jude 4—8.
Review Jude’s seven traits of deceptive influencers.
— Deception-minded people are ungodly people;
— They pervert the grace of our God into no-restraint, anything goes, ‘don’t tell me what I can and can’t do’ type of sensuality.
— Deception-oriented people flat out deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
— They rely on their dreams as their basis of authority instead of God’s Word.
— These deceivers defile the flesh.
— They reject God-ordained authority.
— And lastly, they blaspheme the glorious ones.
Recognizing patterns makes deception easier to spot.

Step Three: Submit to God-Ordained Authority

Of the seven traits, especially home in on ‘subjecting yourself to God-ordained authority,’ this week.
Don’t live in rebellion.
Choose instead to cultivate a heart that honors spiritual authority, respects Scripture, and embraces God’s design for order and wisdom in your life.

Step Four: Always Go Word First

And, as always, test all teaching with the Word — not with feelings. When you hear something spiritual—online, in conversation, in a sermon—ask the simple question: “What does the Word of God say about this?” Scripture is your safety guardrail.

Now, Father God, you are good and gracious in all your ways. We submit ourselves to your Word. We know that is pleasing and right in your eyes. We declare our YES to Jesus today, tomorrow and everyday going forward. Jesus is Lord.

There you have it: Seven Sins Of The Seriously Deceptive Soul.
If this message stirred you, take a deeper step: share this episode with someone who’s struggling to differentiate between the true and the false. Watch out for your brother in Christ. Encourage them to visit emeryhorvath.com for more teachings that build strong, steady faith in shifting times.
You guys have a great God-week, and we will see you next. time for another edition of Light on Life.

————————

References:

D. Edmond Hiebert, “Selected Studies from Jude Part 1: An Exposition of Jude 3–4,” Bibliotheca Sacra 142 (1985): 144. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 774. ↩
ibid ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 237. ↩
Wright, N. T.. Paul (p. 320). HarperOne. Kindle Edition. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 532. ↩
ibid, 769. ↩

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Seven Sins Of The Seriously Deceptive Soul

Podcast: Light on Life Season Twelve Episode Forty-Three

by Emery Horvath

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