Discern or be deceived

If you’ve been in our church for any length of time, you’ve heard me often say that the most necessary “spiritual” gift today is discernment. One of the definitions of the word “discern” is, “to detect with senses other than vision.” Those of us who are Christians know how appropriate that definition is when it comes to spiritual matters. As believers, the “sense” with which we detect is, of course, the Holy Spirit.

It’s been said that common sense isn’t all that common anymore. Unfortunately, the same thing can be said for spiritual discernment. Admittedly, some are gifted with an unusual sense of discernment, but I believe the way scripture encourages it’s use, ALL BELIEVERS have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit AND SHOULD be able to discern what’s going on around them.

I am constantly amazed at the ignorance that is so prevalent in the Body of Christ. It seems we accept most any book or teaching that has ANYTHING to do with spiritual matters, even though many of them speak NOT of the Holy Spirit we're supposed to possess. A perfect case in point are all the books dealing with angels (that we gobble up like candy), as well as those that seem to recount graphic, exciting, ear-tickling sojourns into either heaven or hell. Come on people, for heaven’s sake! Does God need to depend on cheap paperback books to get His truth across?

I suppose one of the things that holds us back from practicing discernment is the fear of being guilty of judging others. If that is our problem, then we misunderstand the discernment Scripture speaks of. When we discern, we’re not “judging” the person, rather, we’re discerning (or judging) the spirit behind the person. When Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men…" He was not chastising Peter, but the Satanic spirit that motivated Peter.

We need to understand that hypocritical judgment IS warned against in the Bible, but spiritual discernment is greatly encouraged. Unless we start practicing it soon, the future of the Church of Christ is bleak indeed.