This may sound and feel right but it is not a biblical definition of discernment. What it is however, is a worldly definition of discernment. How can we tell? The definition is entirely based upon man. It is how "we" see and understand people. It is how "we" see and understand things and situations. It is based upon being clear and intelligent. This definition relies solely upon man, his abilities, and his intelligence. The inherent problem should be obvious. Besides the human heart being wickedly deceitful above all else this definition will vary from person to person. What one person deems clear another may deem unclear. What may seem intelligent to one person another may think is ludicrous. Now realize that this humanistic definition is what is largely employed by church goers today, which explains why they cannot discern when they are being mistaught, misled, or misused. That is because what is desperately missing from their working definition of discernment is God.
The verse quoted from 1John spells out discernment much clearer for us. It is testing what is from God and what is not from God. It does not matter how we feel. It does not matter what our abilities are. It does not matter what we deem intelligently or not. It is not based upon our understanding, as the worldly definition claims.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. - Proverbs 3: 5-6 (ESV)
In general we are not to lean on our own understanding, let alone when it comes to something as important as discernment. How is it that we can determine then what is and what is not from God? All the answers are always found in His Word. I know, that sounds so trite but there is a reason God gave us His Word. Because while our own perceptions, biases, and intelligence varies from person to person - the Word of God never changes. While what we might deem as clear will vary from person to person - the Word of God never changes. This is what God desires for us; to built up in Christ. To become mature so that we will not fall for the lies of the enemy and the schemes of man:
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. - Ephesians 4: 14 (NLT)
Beloved, some of the false gospels out there are easy to spot and others are quite subtle. Just a little leaven here and a little leaven there. Some are so cleverly designed by Satan that they sound like the truth. I understand why people gravitate towards towards the cheap grace of a Joseph Prince or the need for purpose of a Rick Warren. I understand why people want to believe that this is your best life now or that there are seven steps to a better you. They all feed the flesh and deny the Spirit. Discernment however allows us to measure up what is being said with the plumb line of the Word of God. Because while we cannot trust our own understanding, we can always trust the Word of God. It is the exact same Word trusted by believers 100 years ago and 1000 years ago. It is the exact same Word trusted in the remote jungles of foreign continents, underground churches in China, and right here in America. It transcends time, culture, language and any imperfection found in man. Let us turn to the key verses today from Hebrews to examine the truths about discernment for us today.
It is interesting to see that the writer of Hebrews first complaint is that the hearers have two glaring problems that seem to still exist today. They have become spiritually dull and do not seem to listen. That could be easily written to the church today. The dictionary defines dull as not being sharp; being bored and tedious. Now apply this spiritually and we see that being spiritually dull is to be no longer sharp spiritually. To be bored and tedious spiritually. Now some may balk at this because the word "spiritually" is tossed around so casually today but the vast majority of what is considered "spiritual" today is really just masked emotionalism. Far too many church services are carefully choreographed productions, designed to elicit an emotional response. The Bible is described as a two edged sword but the less and less we actually wield it, the duller it becomes in our lives. That is how we fall for the myths and lies. That is how we fall for over hyped emotionalism being sold as moves of the Spirit. Think about something as absolutely silly and heretical as the Holy Laughter movement. Where people rolled around on the floor making animal noises and claimed it was the Holy Ghost. How dull has the Word of God become in your life not to run out of a church that had that on display? Yet how many hundreds of thousands of people fell for it? How dull has the Word of God become in our lives to honestly think that the law does not matter to God anymore? Or that He wants us all rich beyond the dreams of avarice? Oh beloved, we must take out our Bible and sharpen it daily. We must wield it properly if we are to be able to see through the lies being sold to us. To be able to see that it is not about being motivated to discover our inner greatness but rather - how great Thou art!
The second part of the opening line is even more relevant for today. We are seeing a generation of believers being raised as obstinate fools. They do not merely seem to not want to listen to reason but they seem to abhor it. The Bible says in these days that people will simply not tolerate sound doctrine. This is where we find ourselves today.
