Passage Read: Matthew 23-24
Meditation Verse: 24:24
Thought
It sounds like the elect cannot be deceived. That's good news for me, if I'm truly among the elect. It's good news for any who are among the elect! It means they know their God and they understand what He has in mind even for the end times. They don't have to know all the details of the end, but they trust fully in what Jesus has promised about His return so that they cannot be deceived by false Christs. The other thing this means is that anyone who is deceived was not among the elect. They were not part of God's chosen people. The people who fall away, the people who are deceived by false Christs never belonged to Christ and never were going to be saved. It's sad but not unexpected that they are deceived; they never believed the truth anyway. They like spiritual things, they want to be saved, but they never trust in Jesus and His Word. They're just looking for a feeling of belonging or assurance, not the truth.
Application
This doesn't mean I can ignore any attempt by Satan to deceive members of a church. When matters of confusion rise, I need to help everyone understand what God teaches on the matter and I need to urge all to hold fast to what has been given us by revelation. Those who are counted among the elect will understand and accept God's Word and trust it. Those who aren't among the elect may continue with us, but they will fall prey to some other deception. A good and faithful shepherd may pick up someone else's sheep, and they'll remain with his flock because they're comfortable with the other sheep. But they won't actually listen to the shepherd's voice, they'll just follow the other sheep until they stumble across their old master. I don't need to fear for the elect, that they will be lost to deception, but I do need to help them grow in maturity, and they'll be willing to grow. Neither is there any point in grieving for those who are deceived, because there was never a chance to save them to begin with. It is sad, but their giving way to deception was inevitable.