How Not Believing God’s Message Opens the Door to Deception
”From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” (Acts 16:26-32)
In Simple Terms: What Is Acts 17:26-32 All About?
Acts 17:26-32 is a part of the Bible where the Apostle Paul is explaining to a group of people that God created everyone on earth from one person Adam and gave each group their time and place to live. Paul also points out that God wants all people to seek Him, and that God is close to everyone. He explains that we are all God’s children, so we shouldn’t think of God as something made by human hands, like gold or stone statues. Paul finishes by saying that God is calling everyone to turn away from wrong, because a day is coming when He will judge the world through Jesus, who rose from the dead.
Why Not Believing This Is So Dangerous
If people don’t believe this message, they’re missing the foundation of how and why they were made. They’re also missing out on the invitation to get close to God. When we don’t believe that God made everyone and cares about them, it’s easy to fall for lies about where we came from, who we belong to, and what we’re here for. This disconnect can leave us searching for meaning in all the wrong places.
Satan: The Master Deceiver
The Bible calls Satan the “father of lies.” His main job is to trick and mislead people—he’s been doing it since the beginning. Satan wants to confuse us about God, about ourselves, and about the truth. He doesn’t just tell outright lies; often, he mixes truth with falsehood to make his deceptions more believable. In fact, the Bible says he works to deceive the whole world, making people question what’s right, what’s real, and what’s important.
· If you believe you’re just an accident or that you don’t matter, that’s a deception.
· If you think God is far away and doesn’t care about you, that’s another lie.
· If you feel you can never be forgiven or loved, that’s another trick Satan uses to keep you from God.
Deception Blocks God’s Plan for Humanity
God’s plan is for everyone to know Him, to have a relationship with Him, and to live with purpose, hope, and love. When people believe Satan’s lies, they miss out on all the good things God has planned. Deception causes division, confusion, and hopelessness.
· It keeps people from connecting with God.
· It causes people to mistreat each other, forgetting that we all come from the same Creator.
· It makes people settle for less than what God wants for them—peace, forgiveness, and eternal life.
The Bottom Line
In everyday language, being deceived means buying into something that isn’t true. When we don’t believe what God says in Acts 17:26-32, we open ourselves up to all sorts of confusion and heartache. But God wants the opposite for us—clarity, hope, and a close relationship with Him. That’s why it’s so important to seek the truth, resist deception, and remember that God’s plan is bigger and better than any lie we might hear.
Minister A Francine Green
September 2025
afrancinegreen.com 