The Practice of Discernment
The Practice of Discernment
I was discussing with an acquaintance in a coffee shop some time ago what it means to be a Christian. He was part of a group who believed that church wasn't necessary and that he had a special relationship with Jesus because of his connection to his 'pastor.’ He used church-y words, but his meaning was different than mine. We had a lengthy dialogue, but here is a snippet of the final minutes:
I asked him, “How do you know that the things you are doing are right?”
He replied, " Because of my special relationship with Jesus, I just know.”
I responded, "So how do you know you’re not being deceived?”
He replied, saying, "I’ll just know.”
I merely said, “Isn’t that the definition of being deceived?”
The conversation dwindled quickly after that. He desired a deeper knowledge of Jesus, but he was going after it in a completely wrong way – he was seeking Jesus in his human way. Jesus is found by the way he reveals himself to us. The error in his thinking is plain here, but when you are in the middle of seeking, it doesn’t necessarily seem as apparent that you have departed from truth. This guy used Christian words and mentioned Jesus a lot but was deceived because he was either unable to discern or refused to even try. So how does a person discern truth? Buried in this conversation is the key to finding truth; we must continually ask, "How do we know what we know?"
When thinking about knowing what we know, order is important. Where this gentleman felt his way to what he thought was true; as Christians, we are called to a much higher standard of knowing truth. It’s not merely a gut feeling or intuition but is founded upon the transformed mind of the believer. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2). Note how the Apostle Paul says that discernment is more than just “not being conformed to the world” (knowing correct answers and avoiding bad things) but “to be transformed in our minds” (have the gospel constantly speaking into every aspect of our lives). We are equipped as followers of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to use our godly transformed minds to discern "how we know what we know." Here are three things to keep in mind as we practice discernment in our renewed minds.
First, we must start with what we know is unquestionably true – the Bible. It seems to go without saying that the Bible is essential, but it is equally important how we use our Bibles. Many cults, heresies, unorthodox teachings, and plainly wrong beliefs use the Bible to justify their beliefs. They start with what they want and use the Bible to get their desires. We must trust the Bible in all that it says and let it tell us what we need to hear. We can watch out for some key things when the Bible is being thrown around to know if it's right or not. 1) Beware of those who make less of Jesus or the gospel. Even subtle signs of making less of Jesus or the gospel can be the most significant indicator of something being amiss. Paul will go as far in writing to the church in Galatia to state that “even if we or an angel should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached, let him be accursed” (1:8). The gospel that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died an undeserved sinner’s death for us, rose again and ascended into heaven so that we might be with God forever in eternity is an eternal message that we cannot afford to compromise. There are wolves among the sheep in church, but the most dangerous wolves are those who don’t know they are wolves. Discernment is more than outward upon others, but being inwardly aware that we ourselves may be touting a wrongful or hurtful message. 2) Be wary of those who make their personal campaign more important than the Bible. These people tend to justify things they want in the world with cherry-picked Bible verses on controversial topics such as political agendas, sexual freedom, or the demand to tolerate everything. We use the Bible to interpret the Bible, and we know that it does not contradict itself, so in it we trust first and foremost.[i]
Secondly, we must be watchful of how we order our affections. Rather than letting feeling and emotion result from our belief, truth derived from feeling or emotion will eventually cause a faith crisis when faith faces doubt or a difficult season. Today more than ever, Christians are looking for something real, something authentic to trust. It is easy to turn to worship or Christian-type things that make us feel something in order to justify our faith. However, the lurking danger is exposed when the feeling fades or the emotion changes. Emotions are a God-given gift for the worship and enjoyment of his creation. However, they are a poor litmus test of truth in a world that bases almost everything on how it makes a person feel. Don't reject all emotions concerning worship or Christianity; we need to be cautious in letting that be the standard by which we think we have a ‘good faith‘ or not. Just because it feels real or something appears genuine does not mean it is. The Bible is full of examples of people doing miraculous things for the wrong reasons. Emotions cloud our judgment at times. Our internal heart compass must be directed by solid biblical truth, not emotions.[ii]
Lastly, we must watch how we speak around God’s Word. It seems harmless to say, “God spoke to me and said…” or “if you just listen to this one person…” or “they have a secret or special knowledge that will help you go beyond the Bible," but these are signals that something dangerous is behind those words. As Christians, we believe that God has spoken (revealed) clearly, precisely, and completely through human authors, which are now compiled in a book we call the Bible. This is a divinely inspired book that was ordained by God and then later recognized by the Church. We also believe that the Bible says God is not giving new words (revelation) to people today (Rev 22:18-20). God may be showing himself as you grow in your spirituality, but he will not reveal more or newer truth as we have in the Bible. So, when people say they have something extra besides what the Bible speaks to that will help you in your spiritual walk, it should be avoided.[iii]
These are hopefully helpful things that will aid in your spiritual practice of discernment in your Christian journey. Some other things that will help are: being a part of an active and good local church, participating in small groups and smaller Bible studies, and lastly, partaking of good, spiritually sound resources. We have an excellent and growing library at Rock Haven Church and a new page on our website promoting excellent and helpful resources for your use and growth! Give John, Jason, or myself a call; we would love to answer any questions and help in any way.
[i] Whereas it may be more obvious in more extreme cults that the Bible, gospel, or Jesus is being abused, there are more subtle examples of blatantly misusing God or his Word. Examples include 1) Certain Spirit-filled movements where Jesus is denigrated to that of only a user of the Holy Spirit instead of fully divine such as: New Apostolic Reformation "NAR," Bethel Church, Bill Johnson, Mike Bickle, Todd White, or other movements declaring less of Jesus. We believe in a co-equal Trinity of three persons, not one where Jesus is not-God or less-than-God, and using another member of the Trinity to do miraculous works. 2) Prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, or anyone saying that the promises of God are for wealth, promotions, status change, positive thinking, or personal gain. The Gospel is for the salvation of souls and the growth of the Christian into the image of Christ.
[ii] The most famous example is that of musical worship. We engage in musical worship with our whole selves and can respond emotionally to the truths proclaimed in the songs we sing. However, if the words are not true and have doctrinally wrong lyrics, then we are responding not out of the joy of our hearts, but out of a manufactured response to musical rhythm. Please discern the words you are singing when you worship. We must be worshippers in Spirit and in truth. (Some examples of artists who have wrong theology or poor word choices in certain songs, ex. Bethel Music (Redding, CA), artists associated with International House of Prayer (IHOP), Elevation Music, and some newer Hillsong songs) (Note: Not all the songs from these bands are incorrect theologically) *Rock Haven Church takes extreme care to discern the individual songs that are a part of every musical set. We do not endorse the entirety of an artist in singing one of their songs if it fits within our worship goal for that set. Hence, the need for discernment in the individual believer and as a whole church.
[iii] A common misuse of this is seen in people who say something like, "God told me this about you…." Or God is saying to you…." Now can God do something like this through people? Yes. Is it the norm for people to run around doing this? No. Where this becomes a problem is when people are always doing this and going off intuition rather than direct, God-provided words. Prophecy and speaking for God has one of the harshest punishments in the Bible -death. Be wary of people who practice foretelling and future telling as commonplace, as this is not the purpose of prophecy in the Bible; rarely does this particular practice further the kingdom of God, it mostly hinders it. We must rely first on what the Bible says is true as the Bible is divinely inspired and absolutely true. Speaking for God is telling of the wonderful words we already have from him in his Word the Bible.