There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.  - Hebrews 5: 11-14 (NLT)

A Christian website recently ran a short article on discernment that missed the mark so widely, I felt compelled in my Spirit to do a devotional on the subject, which should be one of the most important facets of a Christian's life. The sad truth is that the lack of discernment is eroding the body of Christ like a cancer. As each day goes by there are more and more would be believers falling away from the true faith and turning aside to the myths the Apostle Paul warned us about. The call to act as Bereans is almost lost on a new generation of young Christians raised on sensual worship and new age mysticism masquerading as Christianity. The Word of God is being casually tossed aside for the "divine revelation" claims of charlatans and snake oil salesmen masquerading as men and women of God. Doctrine is discarded for soundbites and popularity. Human metrics are used to gauge spiritual success. People simply fail to realize the gravity of this situation:

"Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'  - Matthew 7: 21-23 (ESV)

Many read these verses and fail to examine how it would be possible. How would it be possible for people who spend their lives thinking they are serving God when in reality He never knew them? How would it be possible for people to witness signs and wonders, demonic deliverance, and mighty works in Jesus name, yet never know Him? The answer is simple - a lack of discernment. A blanket acceptance of the church experience without ensuring the experience is aligned with God. There are many false gods and false christs. There are many false prophets and false teachers. 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  - 1John 4: 1 (ESV)

We have mixed our churchianity so much with the world system seeking cultural relevance that we fail to see the world corrupting the faith. We think that if things sound spiritual or "feel right"; that they must be of God. Here was how the article I came across defined discernment:

"the ability to see and understand people, things, or situations clearly and intelligently."

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. 

"Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!  - Matthew 6: 22-23 (NLT)

We are seeing the growth of myopic Christians. Shortsighted to only want to believe what they have chosen to follow. Don't quote the Bible to me! You can present them with the soundness of Scripture only to be rebuked for "sowing discord" or some other useless trite Christianism they have gleaned along the way. Recently a mega church pastor was caught spending church funds to cheat his way onto the best seller list and the people flocked to defend it - instead of defend what is right. The amount of pastor worship and church worship is outpacing the growth of true God worship. We must be willing to listen to the truth if it is to ever take any root in our lives. 

Next in the key verses the Hebrews are admonished for being stagnant. You have been believers so long you ought to be teaching others but instead you are still in need of the basic things of Gods Word. Wow; what an indictment! Yet what do we see around modern Christendom today? Growth is now measured in service to the church building instead of personal spiritual maturity. Spiritual babies crawling around on the floor. The worst is we seem sometimes to be unable to even discern what is good spiritual milk and what is spoiled. I remember a congregant of Joel Osteen once declare that "Pastor Joel gives me just what I need to get back to him next Sunday." What a defeated life! Yet it is not surprising since the only time you tend to see the Word of God in an Osteen sermon is when he makes you hold it up before he preaches. He is on record as saying that he does not bring Scripture in until the end and he is "OK with that." Instead what you get is a half hour of funny stories, hokey anecdotes, positive confession, and humanistic motivational speaking. You may leave there feeling better but your spirit just becomes duller. This is not to just pick on Joel because it is what is replicated throughout the landscape of churches across America. It is what sells - so they market it. Men in thousand dollar suits telling you how much God wants to give you your own thousand dollar suit. 

The key verses close with important reminders for us today. We cannot know how to do what is right as long as we remain on milk. As long as we keep our sword dull. Do we honestly think we will attain any maturity hearing the word of God for one half hour each Sunday? There is nothing duller in the kingdom of God than Sunday morning Christians. As spiritual babies we become easy targets for the many lies and myths being offered to us each day. That is how we start to accept the little leaven here and there. That is how we see spiritual quacks calling themselves prophets and apostles generating such large followings. That is how prosperity and cheap grace continue to grow. That is how something as clearly unbiblical as holy laughter, was so widely accepted. No beloved, we need to move on to solid food. 

Solid food is for the mature. As the key verses teach us, there is a skill that separates spiritual infancy from spiritual maturity. That is the skill to be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong. In the ESV, those words become good and evil. That is what discernment is beloved. It is the ability to determine what is from God and what is not. What is right and what is wrong. What is good and what is evil. It is not contingent upon anything we naturally possess. It is not based upon our feelings or understanding. It is not based upon our perceptions. It is based upon the only thing that never changes, God's Word. As the key verses teach us, this skill is gained through training. We need to be found in training in the Word of God. I remember watching an interview last month with a figure skating couple who had just won the gold and they said it was a culmination of 19 years of training! Could you imagine! That is 19 years of training and preparation for that one moment in time. Athletes will all tell you that the championships are won during the training; where you learn to discipline yourself. Well beloved, we are running a race according to the Bible so that we might earn the prize from Almighty God. That race requires training so that we can become more disciplined according to what God has told us. That training is conducted within the pages of the Word of God. Through this training we will move from milk to spiritual meat. We will not be tossed to and fro from every wind of doctrine that comes along. We will know better. We will know God. We will discern. 

Reverend Anthony Wade - March 11, 2014