Biblical Discernment
Biblical discernment is the ability to tell the truth from a lie or right from wrong according to God’s word. Without this ability, navigating through this broken world is guaranteed to be difficult. While the world is screaming at us through billboards, commercials, and slick advertisements on how to find happiness, the quiet word of God sits on a shelf or a side table. The ultimate self-help book is rendered useless while the lies of the world go unchallenged. While shuffling through the books of the Bible and laying your finger on a passage might periodically give you the answer you were hoping for, this form of study can also lead you down a path that you should not be on. For example, “They were naked and unafraid” (Genesis 2:25). Hmmmmmm…interesting concept for a reality show, but not what the passage is saying. Biblical discernment is crucial because it is required in order to be thoroughly equipped to deflect the curve balls Satan is guaranteed to throw at you (1 Peter 4:12).
Satan seeks to destroy (John 10:10). His favorite weapon: lies. His favorite conduit: people in the Christian community. Let’s start with one of his favorites. The lie….”God is Love” and; therefore, if I am, in fact, a believer, my life will be filled with joy and happy endings. False teachings such as this imply that if I am unhappy or struggling, God does not love me which is the ultimate lie.
Without biblical discernment how do you explain suffering to a suicidal friend? How do you testify to God’s unfathomable love to someone who has lost a child? How do you explain national disasters to an unbeliever?
Remember that most cults make their appeal in the name of love. How can you tell the difference between a church and a cult? Without testing their teachings against the Word, you simply can’t. Marketing companies understand that our most basic desire is to be loved and accepted. If I buy that 60” HDTV, I will have friends, a loving spouse and a great life. And yet the Bible says that we are loved. A love that can never be broken no matter how much we sin and, guess what, we will sin….everyday. How do we know this love cannot be broken? Even as a child we knew… “because the Bible tells me so”. If you do, in fact, choose to be a living testimony to God and glorify Him, then you must be able to discern God’s truth. In other words, discernment is not an option for Christians, it is required. Ray Stedman, one of the 20th century’s foremost pastors, titles his sermon on biblical discernment, “When Unbelief is Right.” His final statement is (p. 304), “God help us to be unbelievers in error as well as believers in truth.” This is saying that it is just as important to discern when not to believe something as it is to discern when you should believe it.