Established in the Power of God

Paul said that false teachers are effective in deceiving believers and they're effective for two reasons. Number 1: These false teachers are effective communicators. They use smooth and flattering speech to deceive people. We're told in the middle of verse 18, 'But of their... they're slaves of their own appetites and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive.' They are very effective speakers.

The second reason they are effective is, believers aren't paying attention. Believers are unsuspecting; they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. What happens is, when you have a person who is teaching and they are doing it very effectively; they are using smooth and flattering speech. They have personal magnetism about them, our attention gets turned away from what they are saying to how they are saying it; to the impression they are making with their own personality. And when we are put in that situation, we turn our attention from the content of what is being taught. And as soon as we turn our attention away from the content of what's being taught, we open ourselves up to be deceived and turned away from the purity of our devotion to Jesus Christ.