A brief examination of the gift of spiritual discernment.

As you well know if you are a regular reader of this site, I’ve written a book called The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and that book was the result of spending almost a year studying the topic of spiritual discernment. As I hunted down all the references I could to discernment and as I studied what the Bible has to say about the topic, I was struck by how many people show interest in discernment as a spiritual gift, but also how the description of this gift rarely matches what the Bible tells us about it. Far too often the gift of discernment is said to be little more than a gift for making good decisions—for knowing God’s will when we need to turn to the left or the right. Yet the Bible tells us that it is more. For that reason I wrote a whole chapter interacting with gifting in general and this gift in particular. In just a couple of short articles I want to draw upon some of what I learned, sharing what the Bible says about the spiritual gift of discernment, showing what it is, how we can know if we have it, and what we are to do with it.

Unfortunately I can’t provide an exhaustive theology of the spiritual gifts to serve as a foundation for this series for that would make it go just a little bit too long. In my book I’ve done a more thorough job of discussing the basics of spiritual gifting, so you can always consult that when it becomes available (in January of 2008). For now, suffice it to say that the basic theology of spiritual gifts can be found in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (and that this theology is consistent whether you are continuationist or cessationist—charismatic or non-). "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). We see here several important principles regarding gifts: there is a variety of gifts; they are empowered by the Holy Spirit; they are in all believers; they are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit; and they are for the common good of believers. We will leave it at that for the time being.

What is the Gift of Spiritual Discernment?

The Bible makes it clear that, even in the church's infancy, there were many false prophets and teachers who claimed to speak God's words with God's authority. These men were strangers to God and yet claimed to speak for Him. Many Christians were drawn in by their words and were led astray by them. Because of this Scripture contains many exhortations for Christians to test all teaching. John writes, "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" (1 John 4:1). Just one verse earlier, in John 3:24, John has spoken of the fact that the Holy Spirit is given to us as evidence of God's presence in our lives. And having spoken of the Spirit, John now ensures that his readers know that not every spirit is holy. We are tempted to believe and obey spirits, for they represent a spiritual realm that is outside of our experience, but many spirits are commanded by Satan, the father of lies. Because of this we need to test or prove the spirits to see if they come from God.

Some commentators draw a direct line from the spiritual gift of prophecy to the gift of discerning spirits, but I am not sure this argument can be sustained. When we combine the presence of this gift with Paul's exhortation to "test everything," it seems that the gift of discernment would be likely to extend far beyond prophecy.

All Christians are responsible to test words of teaching and prophecy. The Bereans were considered noble for hearing the teaching of Paul and Silas, receiving them with eagerness and "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11). These believers tested the words of the apostles, examining the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was consistent with what they knew of God's revelation of Himself. In doing this they modeled the task of all believers. Christians are ultimately responsible for what they choose to believe, no matter whether or not they have been gifted with the spiritual gift of discernment.

While all Christians are responsible for what they believe, it seems clear that some people are especially gifted by God for this task. This is not merely a gift, but a responsibility. New Testament commentator Lenski says, "Certain difficult cases occur, for which more than common Christian discernment is necessary. False prophets love to use deceptive language. For the purpose of unmasking these prophets the Lord provides this gift and thus enables his church to turn from lying spirits to the one Spirit of truth." The gift of discernment is the Spirit's special defense against the lies that come from lying Spirits.

The power and influence of spirits can be discerned in word, deed, and appearance. Satan communicates in words that are inconsistent with Scripture and which convey information we know to be false. This happened when Satan approached Eve and directly contradicted what God had told her (Genesis 3:4). It happened when Jesus rebuked Peter for denying that He would die, saying "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Matthew 16:23). Jesus discerned that behind Peter's voice was the spirit of Satan. And so every word about God or that supposedly comes from God must be carefully tested and examined in light of the Bible.

As Satan and his spirits communicate in word, they also communicate in deed. Just as Jesus was able to perform miracles, so Satan and his minions are able to perform signs and wonders. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 warns that "The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders." In the last days, Jesus warns, "false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). Deeds, no matter how extraordinary and how beneficial they appear, must be examined and compared to the Word of God.

Satan and his spirits can be discerned in appearance. Satan invades the Christian community with teachers and leaders who counterfeit the truth. These people will always introduce teaching that is foreign to Scripture. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are met by a slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination. Men and women with the gift of discernment are specially gifted in distinguishing between those words, deeds and appearances that are true and those that are falseFor many days she followed the apostles crying out "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Though her words were true, the spirit behind them was false and sought to lure people with a little bit of truth so that the opportunity could be used to heap reproach upon the gospel. Paul judged her words to be true, but knew by appearance that the spirits guiding her were insincere. He was not fooled by what might have been an appearance of godliness. And so appearances must also be carefully weighed against the Scriptures.

Men and women with the gift of discernment are specially gifted in distinguishing between those words, deeds and appearances that are true and those that are false. In his commentary on 1 Corinthians John MacArthur summarizes the implications of the gift of discernment in this way: "It can be said that the gift of discernment is given to tell if the other gifts are of the Holy Spirit, if they are merely natural imitations, or if they are demonic counterfeits. I believe God still empowers some of His people to unmask false prophets and carnal hypocrites. He gives them insight to expose imitations and deceptions that most Christians would take as genuine." Those Christians who are gifted with discernment will be able to compare ungodly words, deeds and appearances with what God has revealed in Scripture and expose the fraudulent leaders and teachers for what they are. They are gifted with unusual ability in separating what is true from what is false and what is right from what is wrong.

In our next article we’ll look at how you can know whether God has gifted you in this way. And in the third article we’ll look at what you can do with the gift, what to do if you want it, and what to do if you don’t have it.

Every book needs a cover and, as luck would have it, my book now has one. Choosing a cover was far more difficult than I would have imagined. Some readers may have noticed a white cover on the Crossway site. It was there for a short time before being replaced. Though I didn’t mind the white cover, I ultimately chose against it for two reasons. First, I thought it was too “zen,” looking a little bit too New Age for my liking; second, I thought it would blend too much into a white background. So instead I went with this cover, created by the great designers at Crossway.

There were several elements of this design that stood out to me. First, I like the colors. Though they are certainly bright, I know that the book is not going to get lost on the shelves. Second, I like the imagery. I wanted an image that somehow communicated discernment without being too obvious. To me, the little guy staring at the doors communicates discernment but without giving it all away (such as may have been the case with some other images). Third, I like its simplicity. The “action” all happens in a small portion of the design and that appeals to me.

The cover is not quite in its final form. Before it shows up in bookstores it will have “Foreword by John MacArthur” inserted somewhere. And there may be a couple of other minor changes to the graphics. But beyond this, it is pretty well as it will be.

While on the subject of the book, here is an endorsement that arrived just a short time ago courtesy of Dr. Ligon Duncan:

“One of my favorite John Murray sayings is "the difference between truth and error is not a chasm but a razor's edge." Spurgeon said something like it too: "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather, it is the difference between right and almost right." Both these giants are emphasizing the vital quality (and difficulty) of discernment. Unfortunately, in our time, even among Christians, discernment is long in demand and short in supply. This is but one reason I'm so delighted to commend to you Tim Challies' The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Tim reminds us that the Bible constantly commands us to cultivate discernment, but he doesn't stop there. He tells us how, biblically. “

I’m still not entirely certain when the book will be available, but I think it will be very early in January.

A couple of nights ago I received a new endorsement for The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. As I mentioned the first time an endorsement came in, I will continue to share these because, in many ways, I feel that this book was a community effort as readers of the site prayed for me, encouraged me, proofread the book (in a few cases), and generally made it all possible. This third endorsement is courtesy of Dr. Mark Dever who you know as the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC, the founder of 9Marks Ministries, the author of several notable books, and one of the four men who founded Together for the Gospel. Here is what he said about the book:

“If you were more discerning you'd probably buy this book. If you do read this book, you will be! Tim Challies has written on a topic that is both important and rarely addressed. This book on discernment is simple, clear, well-written and well-illustrated, accurate and even insightful. I read it all. I liked it all. I will recommend it often. Ten short, pithy chapters. Read 1 a day for 10 days, and I guess that you'll find yourself more discerning--or at least wanting to be.”

Mark Dever
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC.

Thanks to Mark for the blurb and, perhaps even more importantly, for providing several great suggestions for which I am very grateful.

Last week I received an interesting email from a member of a mailing list I participate in. He asked whether it is true that Satan works primarily by counterfeiting what is true. This is a subject to which I dedicated a great deal of thought while writing my book and I thought I’d type up an answer to post it here.

There was an interesting documentary last night on TLC. It featured Abby and Brittany Hensel, twins who were born in Minnesota in 1990. As the result of a rare abnormality, Abby and Brittany were born conjoined. They have two heads but one body. They have two arms and legs and each girl controls one of them. Internally they have two hearts, two sets of lungs, two stomachs, and two large intestines. Yet they share a small intestine and bowel and one only set of reproductive organs. In some ways they are two people but in other ways they are one.

In many ways these girls redefine individuality. At school they each write their own English test and are graded individually. In math they work together and receive a single grade. On their sixteenth birthday they took their driver’s tests and had to take the test twice, even though driving is a collaborative effort where one works the brakes and the gas while the other works the turn signals and they share the steering responsibilities. They passed both tests and each of the two girls received her own license. When they use the instant messaging program on their computer, they both type (one controlling the left hand and the other the right) and tend to use the pronoun “I” when they express a view they share (rather than “we”). Again, in some ways they seem to be two people and in other ways they seem to be one. Whenever they face a new situation in life, they have to determine whether they will be treated as one person or two.

Their case raises a host of questions. If they are caught speeding, which one of them will get the speeding ticket? When they go to college will they have to pay tuition for one or for two? When they fly, do they need to purchase one ticket or two? Some problems cut much deeper. If someone were to assault the girls, would he be charged with one count of assault or two? The question that had my wife and I talking in circles last night was this: what if the girls want to marry? They indicated in the documentary that they want to be mothers some day. They are normal in more ways than not, and like most girls they want to experience motherhood. It seems that, physically, they will be able to bear children. They also seem to want to experience the joys of romance and relationship. But how can they do this when they are both individuals and conjoined? Should the two of them marry a single man? Or should they marry individually? If they do give birth to a baby, whose baby will it be?

I think the reason this story was of such interest to me is that I have spent the past seven months writing about spiritual discernment. Discernment, which I define in the book as the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong is a discipline that depends upon making binary distinctions. It involves separating good from bad, truth from error, right from wrong, better from best. In other words, it involves separating black from white. It seems to leave little room for gray. When we practice discernment, we are applying the truths of the Bible to our lives. We are attempting to understand the words of the Bible and trusting God’s Word to give clarity so we might see things as God sees them. Our goal in discernment is to do just this: to see things through God’s eyes through the Bible and thus to see things as they really are. Like wiping the steam from a mirror, we seek to remove what is opaque so we might see with God-given clarity.

Yet sometimes it seems that clarity is impossible. How can we have absolute clarity about situations like Abby and Brittany Hensel? How can we fully and finally determine how romance, marriage, sex and childbearing can work in this kind of a situation? There are many biblical principles that can guide us, but it seems that none of them are extensive enough or complete enough to govern this kind of situation. And truthfully, there are many other situations in life that seem more gray than black or white. How does discernment function in such gray times?

I have had to think about this in writing my book and have come up with a few principles that I’ve found helpful.

Rarity: Situations that are truly gray are rare. Most often the gray situations are gray only because we have not done enough work to clarify or because our own sinful desires have interfered and have interposed themselves between black and white.

The Fall: We need to realize that “grayness” is a result of the Fall. Were we perfect beings we would not have to wrestle with issues between black and white. It is only our sin that forces us to wrestle with issues that would otherwise be clear. There is no reason to think that issues like this will trouble us when we are in heaven.

Clarity: When wrestling with issues that appear gray, it is important to begin with what is clear from Scripture. Far too often we begin with what is obscure and work backwards to what is clear so that the exception disproves the rule. As Christians we must begin with what God has made clear. When looking at the Hensel girls we would not want to allow their unique situation to change our minds about what the Bible makes clear: that God demands and expects that marriage is the union of one man to one woman and that any deviations from this pattern make a mockery of the whole institution of marriage. We need to begin with the Bible and allow it to establish the standard. We can then interpret deviations or exceptions on the basis of this unmoving standard.

Humility: Gray situations provide us an opportunity to express humility. When we come to the end of our own abilities and realize that we simply are unable to see with the clarity of God, we can take the opportunity to see again that we are mere creatures. We lack the perspective and the wisdom of the Creator and this should help us express our humility before Him.

Dependence: These situations also give us the opportunity to express dependence on this Creator. There are times when even our best efforts fall short. There are times when even our best attempts at extrapolating the Bible’s wisdom leaves us scratching our head. This gives us opportunity to express our dependence on the Spirit and to acknowledge that any ability in spiritual discernment is a gift from above.

Conscience: These gray situations show the need for a developed, biblically-informed conscience. Sometimes, when we simply cannot arrive at a firm and satisfying conclusion, we need to rely on something that goes just a little bit deeper than pure reason. It seems that God has given us a conscience for this reason. While conscience must be subservient to Scripture it nevertheless plays an important role in the life of the Christian and should often be heeded, especially when the issues are less than perfectly clear to us.

It is frustrating to me that these gray situations exist. Yet I think it can be healthy. Not only does it stimulate a lot of thought, a lot of discussion and a lot of searching of the Scriptures, but it also teaches me about my own dependence upon the Lord and my need for humility.

As for Abby and Brittany, I hope they enjoy a long and healthy life. I hope they are granted their desire to experience the joys of romance, love, marriage and motherhood. Most of all, I hope that God draws them to Himself so they can experience all of this under the wisdom and guidance of the One who created them with these good and pure desires. I am sure He can bring clarity to them as they seek His face.

Through the months I’ve spent writing my book on spiritual discernment, I have wrestled with various definitions of the word. While several definitions have been offered by other authors, none struck me as being quite right or quite complete. I have offered a definition on this site and was glad to receive some good feedback on its shortcomings. I went back to the drawing board and eventually arrived at a definition that really seems to accurately represent what the Bible means by discernment. So here it is with a brief breakdown of its component parts. Of course much of the definition’s context is missing, but I do trust this will still prove useful. So here it is:

Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong.

When we practice discernment, we are applying the truths of the Bible to our lives. We are attempting to understand the words of the Bible and trusting God’s Word to give clarity so we might see things as God sees them. Our goal in discernment is to do just this: to see things through God’s eyes through the Bible and thus to see things as they really are. Like wiping the steam from a mirror, we seek to remove what is opaque so we might see with God-given clarity.

To aid our understanding, we’ll now unpack this definition, looking at each of the individual components.

Discernment is…

…The Skill…

Discernment is a skill. It is not an inherent ability like breathing or chewing, but a skill like reading or public speaking that must be practiced and must be improved. There is not a person on earth who has been born with a full measure of discernment or who has all of the discernment he will ever need. There is not a person who has attained a level of expertise that allows him to move on and to leave discernment behind. Like the master musician who practices his skills more as his acclaim grows, in the same way a discerning person will see with ever-greater clarity his need to increase in discernment. He will want to sharpen and improve this skill throughout his life.

God graciously enables and equips us practice discernment with increasing accuracy and confidence. Like other skills, discernment increases with practice. An apprentice to a tailor will at first make slow, hesitant cuts to a piece of fabric. His experienced tutor, though, will confidently make accurate cuts in one smooth movement. In the same way, what is at first difficult can, with practice, become more natural. The more we know of truth, the more our ability to discern will increase.

While the Bible does not make it entirely clear, it is likely the God did not immediately bestow upon Solomon the full measure of his eventual wisdom and discernment. It is more likely that God gave Solomon ability but required that he continually sharpen this skill. After all, God also granted Solomon “both riches and honor,” but these surely did not come in full measure that very day. Just as we are required to invest effort in learning what the Bible says and just as we are to strive after holiness, in the same way we are to work at the skill of discernment, attempting to become better at it through practice. This is clear from Hebrews 5:14 which reads “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Distinguishing good from evil, and doing so correctly and consistently, requires dedicated, ongoing practice. It is a skill.

…of understanding…

The Hebrew word most commonly translated as discernment is otherwise translated as understanding. Discernment is closely related to understanding and depends upon a right understanding of God and His ways. Because we can only base what we do on what we know, we must first understand who God is and how He wants us to serve and honor Him. Understanding must precede both interpretation and application. This is clear throughout the Bible, but especially in Proverbs were Solomon continually ties knowledge, wisdom and discernment, not as separate disciplines, but as related. And so to be people of discernment we must be people who dedicate ourselves to studying, knowing and understanding God.

…and applying…

Discernment involves not only understanding, but the application of that understanding. This is where we see the interrelated nature of wisdom and discernment and where we see how difficult it can be to separate one from the other. Discernment is wisdom in action, wisdom applied, and here we seek to apply the skill we have been practicing. We do not only know (understand), but we also do (apply).

…God’s Word…

God’s Word refers to two aspects of God’s revelation: revelation of Himself through the person of Jesus Christ and revelation of Himself through speech, and in particular, the words that were recorded in the Bible. Though in days past God revealed Himself through words of prophesy and other forms of personal address, today we know Him through the Bible which God has given to point us to the Word of God as it exists in the person of Jesus.

God’s Word is Truth. In John 17:17, as part of His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus affirmed to His Father, "your word is truth." God’s Word is the very source of infallible truth. God’s word is our measure; it is our source. Hebrews 14:13 says that "everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child." Conversely, then, those who are mature are those who are skilled in the word of righteousness. The word of righteousness, those doctrines that are fundamental to the Christian faith are synonymous with the word of God.

We can only worship and glorify God on the basis of what we know of Him. In order to be discerning, we must know and understand what is true about God. To do this we turn to God’s Word. And so, to be discerning, we must first be students of the Bible. We must study it, we must read about it, and we must hear it taught from the pulpit.

When we engage in discernment we attempt to use God’s Word to rise above our own limitations so we can see as God sees. Through the truths contained in the Bible, God allows us to see things with His eyes.

…with the purpose of separating…

God’s word is the standard we use to differentiate between what is true and what is false. The concepts of separating and distinguishing are inherent in the words of the original languages translated as discernment. Discernment implies that we are to separate things in order to understand their differences.

Like the laser level that shows with perfect clarity any deviations from what is straight, the Bible teaches what is true, leaving what is false standing out with glaring clearness. We use God’s Word as a tool to separate what is true from what is false. We use it to make the light appear lighter, leaving the dark to appear ever darker.

…truth from error…

A constant theme when discussing spiritual discernment is the importance of distinguishing truth from error. The Bible makes it clear that doctrine is either true or it is false. We are called by God to examine all theology and to make such binary distinctions. When we speak of truth and error we speak of doctrine and theology - about ways of thinking rightly and truly about God. We think about how we think, knowing that we what think inevitably affects how we act. What we think of God will necessarily impact how we serve Him. If we want to serve him in a way that is true and pure, we must think of Him as He really is, thinking of Him without error. Only when we have separated truth from error are we able to rightly worship God.

…and right from wrong.

At times discernment will be concerned with truth and error. At other times it will be concerned with right and wrong, words which indicate a moral dimension to discernment, for this practice concerns itself not only with doctrine and theology, but with the practical application of those disciplines to our lives. Discernment is a skill we need to live lives that are morally and ethically pleasing to God. We need to be discerning first in what we believe and then in what we do. Where the concepts of truth and error concern what we believe, the associated concepts of right and wrong concern what we do and how we live. In this way we see discernment as a discipline that applies to all areas of life. As I wrote just two days ago, there is treasure everything. Discernment allows us to see and to form a theology of everything, a theology that touches and impacts all areas of life.

This is the third article in a three-part series examining the Bible’s call for spiritual discernment. You can access the first article here and the second here. Yesterday we learned the bad news that Scripture portrays those who lack spiritual discernment in three ways: They are spiritually immature, they are backslidden, and they are dead. Those who lack discernment will fit into one of these three categories. These are the dangers of ignoring discernment. Today we will look at good news, for the Bible declares that there are many benefits stored up for those who desire discernment, who seek after it and who practice it.

Discernment shows life

We have seen that a lack of discernment is a mark of spiritual death. The Bible makes it clear that a person with no discernment is a person who has not been saved. The opposite is equally true. A person who exhibits spiritual discernment shows that he has spiritual life. All those who are saved must begin to progress in their ability to discern. Proverbs 9:10 tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” The word translated as “insight” is a Hebrew equivalent to “discernment.” Solomon tells us here that to know God is to possess discernment and that knowledge of God is the very starting point for discernment. Those who fear the Lord, those who know God, must be discerning, for God Himself is the very source of discernment. God is also our motive for discernment, for by living lives marked by discernment we bring honor and glory to His name.

The book of Ephesians also draws a clear line between spiritual discernment and spiritual life. Paul, having told his readers how they as Christians have left the kingdom of darkness, admonishes them now to “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” Those who know the Lord and have been brought into His kingdom of light, will do their utmost to seek God’s will in discerning what is pleasing to Him. Where there is discernment there is life.

Discernment leads to spiritual growth

Where a lack of discernment leads to backsliding, those who grow in discernment will necessarily grow spiritually. Jesus continually emphasized discernment during His ministry, sometimes scolding those who did not have it and sometimes commending those who did. In Mark 8:17-21, after feeding the four thousand, we find Jesus addressing His disciples after they began to discuss the fact that, even though Jesus just miraculously fed a multitude, they had no bread for themselves.

And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus scolds the disciples for not understanding, or discerning, what this miracle points to. Though they watched it unfold and ate of the bread, they still did not understand just who Jesus was and what He was going to accomplish. Their lack of growth kept them from understanding. Their lack of discernment was a clear sign of spiritual immaturity.

But then in Matthew 13:16-17 the disciples ask Jesus why he speaks so often in parables. Jesus explains His rationale and commends the disciples for their ability to understand the parables that are so often hidden from others. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” In this case he commends His disciples for exhibiting a level of spiritual maturity. Jesus declared the disciples blessed for their ability to see and perceive. He declared them blessed for their ability to discern. Their spiritual growth was marked by an increase in discernment. Their ability to discern was an unequivocal testament to their spiritual growth.

Discernment leads to maturity

Finally, just as a lack of discernment is a mark of spiritual immaturity, the presence of discernment is a sure mark of maturity. Again, the author of Hebrews warns “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14). Christians who are mature are those who have exercised discernment and have learned how to distinguish good from evil. Spiritual maturity is closely tied to discernment. You cannot have one without the other. There are no Christians who are mature but undiscerning.

The Bible makes it clear: God expects and demands that we pursue and exhibit spiritual discernment. Healthy Christians, those who are alive, growing and mature are necessarily those who seek to honor God by discerning between what is good and what is evil.

The Call

As we saw at the beginning of this chapter, King Solomon knew the importance of discernment. The early verses of Proverbs are a call for both wisdom and discernment.

My son, if you receive my wordsand treasure up my commandments with you,making your ear attentive to wisdomand inclining your heart to understanding;yes, if you call out for insightand raise your voice for understanding,if you seek it like silverand search for it as for hidden treasures,then you will understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5)

We are to incline our hearts to discernment and to cry out for it. We should desire spiritual maturity, spiritual growth and spiritual life. We can only have these wonderful benefits if we have discernment.

Proverbs 2 is a father’s call for his son to embrace and treasure discernment. There are few things that are as important, as precious, as discernment. The Bible cries for you to seek after it so you can live, so you can grow and so you can mature in your faith. Will you answer the call?

This is the second article in a three-part series examining the Bible’s call for spiritual discernment. You can access the first article here. Today we will see three marks of a lack of discernment.

Lack of discernment shows spiritual immaturity

In the closing verses of Hebrews 5, the author of this great letter warns his readers against apostasy, against straying from the faith.

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14).

The author of Hebrews has much he would like to tell the recipients of this letter. There is much knowledge he would like to impart to them, so many important things they need to learn. Unfortunately, what he wishes to communicate to them is “hard to explain,” not because it is obscure or difficult to understand, but because the people have become “dull of hearing.” They are not stupid people and are not intellectually inferior, unable to grasp such truths. The reason he cannot relay these important truths is not because of what these people are by nature, but of what they have become. There is much the author would like to say but he cannot and will not because of the spiritual immaturity of the people to whom he writes. They lack understanding, and lack discernment.

The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews are not new Christians or recent converts, for the author says that by this time they ought to be teachers. This is not to say that they all ought to be ministers or preachers, but that they should all be sufficiently mature that they are able to understand and to teach others the basics of the faith. Sadly, though, they still have not understood the basics themselves. They do not have the childlike faith Jesus so values, but a childish, immature faith. In this way they are like so many Christians since them. Richard Phillips writes:

The recipients of this letter were like many Christians today who think that theology is a waste of time. What difference does it make, people ask, whether God is a Trinity or not, whether Christ’s righteousness comes by imputation or infusion, and whether regeneration comes before faith or after? What is important, they say, is that we get along with each other. Then they cite passages commending a childlike faith, as if that were the same thing as a childish faith, that is, one that is indifferent to or ignorant of the Word of God .

We live in an age where too many who profess to be Christians rarely consider their spiritual maturity; an age when many consider spiritual immaturity a mark of authenticity. Far too many people consider sound theology the mark of a person who is argumentative and proud. Far too many people are just like the audience to whom Hebrews is addressed. This letter draws a clear line connecting a lack of discernment with spiritual immaturity so that those who lack discernment are those who are spiritually immature. Scripture makes it plain: if you are not a person who exhibits and exercises discernment you are not a mature Christian.

My wife and I have been blessed with three children and often marvel that they have survived through infancy for we have seen them put the most horrible and nauseating things in their mouths (things that are far too horrible to print!). Children have no understanding of what is good for them and will sample anything. Their mouths are constantly wide open, eager to taste and to eat anything that looks good to their untrained eyes. It is only with maturity that children learn what is truly good for them and what is not. Only with maturity will children learn that what looks good may not truly be good. Children need to learn to differentiate between what will hurt them and what will make them healthy. Eventually they learn to discriminate; they learn to discern. In the same way, mature Christians have learned to differentiate between what is pleasing to God and what is not, between what is consistent with Scripture and what is not. The Bible places great emphasis on spiritual maturity because, like children, immature believers are prone to sample anything. They are attracted to what looks good to their untrained eyes. Only as they grow in maturity are they able to differentiate between what pleases God and what does not. Because of this there can be no growth without discernment.

My wife and I have learned something else about children: children hate to be called children. Babies hate to be called babies. Nobody likes to be known as immature or childish, even those who clearly are. Every little boy wants to be a big boy. Every little girl wants to be a woman. God has somehow built into us a desire to mature. Every person wants to feel mature and grown up. When the author of Hebrews describes his readers as children he is not paying them a compliment and he knows that they will be insulted. He hopes to show them their desperate condition and to impress upon them how serious a state they are in. God demands and expects maturity for maturity is inseparable from discernment. A Christian cannot have one without the other.

Lack of discernment leads to backsliding

A lack of discernment points to spiritual immaturity, but this is not all. Those who are not discerning may also be those who are backsliding, whose faith is diminishing rather than increasing. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child” (Hebrews 5:12-13). While the subjects of this letter should have been growing in their faith, progressing from milk to solid food, they were instead moving backwards, returning to baby food.

As they grow and mature, children begin to be able to eat and digest solid food. Most children are weaned quickly and encouraged to enjoy food more substantial than mere milk. Even while they are still tiny, children long for substantial food. It is good and natural that they desire that which will sustain them more than milk. We would not consider a child healthy who, at six years of age, still drinks only milk for that child would be weak and sickly. The same is true in the spiritual realm. A person should pass quickly from spiritual milk to solid foods, from the basics to what is more advanced. A person should hunger to quickly learn and understand what is elementary and should soon long after what is more advanced. This is a sign of maturity and the mark of one who has truly been saved. On the other hand, a person who regresses from solid food to milk is a person who is desperately unhealthy and who will soon wither away and perish.

The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were regressing rather than progressing in their faith. There was a time when they would have been able to hear what the author would so badly like to share with them. Sadly, they are no longer at such a place. Their lack of discernment has caused them to lose ground. They are moving backwards rather than forwards. They are backslidden.

Solid food is a long way off from these people for “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Until these people learn to practice discernment and to do so constantly, they will not be able to handle solid food. Until they practice discernment and learn to distinguish between what is good and what is evil they will continue backsliding. Thus a lack of discernment is not only a mark of spiritual immaturity, but also a mark of those who are backsliding.

Lack of discernment leads to spiritual death

Those who have professed faith in Christ cannot backslide indefinitely. Sooner or later it will become clear that they are not believers at all and surely never were. The Bible does not tell us if the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews continued to fall away or if God graciously used this letter to draw them back to Him. But Scripture tells us elsewhere what happens to those who harden their hearts again God, rejecting His good gifts. Romans 1:28-32 is a damning indictment of the unregenerate human heart. It shows with terrifying clarity the evil of which humans are capable. These verses make plain the extent of the sinfulness of those who have rejected the true God in favor of false gods of their own making.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

These verses ought to strike terror in the heart of all who forsake God and ought to cause us all to pause and acknowledge the depth of the evil that inhabits the hearts of men. As men turn from God, He gives them up to do those things their hearts, filled with evil, cry out to do: envy, murder, hatred, gossip, boasting and all manner of evil. And in the midst of this list is one word that seems almost unexpected. God gives people up to foolishness. Most Bible translations translate this word as “without understanding.” One, the New King James Version, translates it as “undiscerning.” Regardless of how it is rendered in English, this word points to a type of moral foolishness that should not be present in the life of one who considers himself a Christian. It points not only to the sinfulness of a lack of discernment, but to the inevitable conclusion that a lack of discernment, utter foolishness, is a mark of one who is spiritually dead and bankrupt. A complete lack of discernment or lack of concern for the discipline of discernment is a mark of spiritual death. It is categorized with sins that somehow seem far more serious. That a lack of discernment appears in this list seems shocking, but shows just how much God values discernment. An absolute lack of discernment and a lack of concern for discernment is sure proof of spiritual death.

We see also in 1 Corinthians 2:14 the dire consequences of ignoring discernment. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Those who are unsaved, who do not have the Spirit of God within them, are unable to be discerning. The ways of God and the truths of God are utter foolishness to such people.

To lack discernment is to sin against God. It is an inevitable result of turning from Him. It is easy to look at those who have turned from God and look at their lustful and angry hearts and affirm that this is the result of their sin. When a Christian falls into moral sin he may well examine his life to determine how he has turned his back on God, but is the same true when he exhibits a lack of discernment? A wise pastor writes, “to willingly neglect the truth and to live with our eyes closed shut while good and evil stare us in the face is to sin against God, ourselves, our families, and our church. … Again, this is worth stating over and over again. It is the responsibility of every Christian to learn, to be discipled in the Word, so that we can know how to be discerning. To fail to discern is to walk in darkness. ”

This is the bad news. Scripture portrays those who lack spiritual discernment in three ways: They are spiritually immature, they are backslidden, and they are dead. Those who lack discernment will fit into one of these three categories. These are the dangers of ignoring discernment.

But there is good news, too. The Bible declares that there are many benefits stored up for those who desire discernment, who seek after it and who practice it.

“You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:6-9)

The cry of Solomon resounds in my heart. It is a cry born of deep humility and a profound sense of dependence upon God. “I am but a little child,” he cries, “I do not know how to go out or come in.” Ascending to the throne of his father, the great King David, Solomon must have realized his frailty, his inadequacy. Though he was already a grown man when he became king, Solomon considered himself a little child dependent on a Father’s wisdom.

In the book of 1 Kings we learn that, while Solomon was at Gibeon to offer sacrifices to the Lord, God appeared to him in a dream and said simply, “Ask what I shall give you.” We are commonly taught that Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and that God, being pleased with this request, instantaneously blessed him with a great outpouring of this gift. But in Solomon’s words we see that he requests more than wisdom: he requests discernment. His specific request is this: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9a). God reiterates and answers this request, saying to Solomon, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right behold, I now do according to your word” (1 Kings 3:11-12a). And here is what God gave Solomon: “Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12b).

Commenting on verse 9, Hebrews scholars Keil and Delitzsch point out that the “understanding mind” Solomon requested was actually a “hearing heart” or a “listening heart”-“a heart giving heed to the law and right of God.” Solomon was given wisdom, to be sure. But he was also given a hearing heart. He was given discernment such as no mere human has possessed before or since. We might even say that Solomon requested discernment, but because of the connectedness of wisdom and discernment, God gave him both what he requested and its important prerequisite. Solomon became both wise and discerning.

We can read Solomon’s Psalm, written after the events of this night, a Psalm in which he asks God’s assistance in applying wisdom:

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!

May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!

Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor! (Psalm 72:1-4)

Unlike Solomon, I have not been called by God to govern a nation. But even in the humble ways God has called me to lead, I feel the desire of Solomon. Even when I look at my family and think of how I must lead my wife and teach my children I feel like a little child, uncertain of what to do and how to act. So often I have called out to God for wisdom and for discernment. So often I have sought to be like Solomon. So often I have wanted to know that God is pleased with my requests.

God honored Solomon’s request because He was pleased with what Solomon had asked. This teaches us that God values discernment and honors those who seek after it. In this short series we will see the importance the Bible places on discernment by showing both the blessings that accompany discernment and the curses that accompany a lack of discernment.

Tomorrow we will look at three marks of a lack of discernment, and on Wednesday we’ll look at the benefits stored up for those who desire discernment, who seek after it and who practice it.

There seems to be a great deal of disagreement about how we ought to define the word discernment. A quick Google check reveals a wide variety. One says it is “perception of that which is obscure” and another says “the ability to feel or perceive something with the use of the mind and the senses.” Several definitions revolve around decision making, saying discernment is “prayerful reflection and discussion before taking a major decision” or “discovering, with God’s help, God’s will for our lives.” A more thorough definition reads, “Discernment is a process of prayerful reflection which leads a person or community to understanding of God’s call at a given time or in particular circumstances of life. It involves listening to God in all the ways God communicates with us: in prayer, in the scriptures, through the Church and the world, in personal experience, and in other people.” I’d suggest that this final definition is similar to what many Christians think of when they consider discernment. To them discernment is a gift or ability that allows them to make good decisions. People who make poor decisions in life are those who lack discernment.

There are others who feel discernment relates to making binary distinctions between right and wrong, good and bad. J. Mark Bertrand discusses these people in an article entitled “Diss Isn’t Discernment,” focusing particular attention on so-called watchblogs.

[I]t occured to me that one of the problems with the self-appointed “watchblogs” where such logical errors are frequently coined, one of the reasons they’re taken a bit too seriously, is that we’ve allowed a flawed view of discernment to hijack the discourse. We see that the particulars are wrong, especially when the watchbloggers address things about which we have personal knowledge, but we make the mistake of thinking only the particulars are wrong, when perhaps it’s the whole system that’s at fault. In other words, maybe the watchblogging world operates on an incorrect notion of what discernment is.

What is this incorrect notion? Bertrand goes on to explain,

There are two groups of people and things: the good and the bad. Good is, well, good … and bad is off limits. The art of discernment involves examining them and determining which group to categorize them in. Everyone is called to make these category distinctions, but some of us are also appointed by God to make them for others. Because most people are undiscerning, it falls on the discerning few to lead the way, especially when it comes to exposing bad people and things that are generally held (by the undiscerning masses) to be good — the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

In other words, those with the gift of discernment are called to make the binary distinctions between good and bad and to relegate people in either category. Further, as “experts” in discernment, they instruct others how to categorize people and things. While this is a simplistic summary of such people, it is one that bears at least some degree of truth.

Dennis E. Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology and Academic Dean at Westminster Seminary California, makes a similar point when considering non-Christian scholarship:

You realize, of course, that this makes our study of theology less outwardly secure. We cannot simply compile a list of “safe” authors, stamp them with the Reformed equivalent of imprimatur or nihil obstat, and then confine our reading to them. We must do the hard work of exercising discernment - sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, argument by argument. Facts, insights, perspectives, and methods must all be tested in the light of the principles of Scripture. And we must keep alive our consciousness of dependence on Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Our safety is not in avoiding the ideas of the unbelieving world; our safety is in union with Christ, who transforms the mind of those who trust in him.

There is hard work to be done in sorting and sifting the teachings of other humans, especially when we realize that we cannot simply cubbyhole the unpleasant or challenging ideas away and ignore them. But this hard work, like other exercise, gives us the necessary muscle tone to serve and lead God’s people. “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:14).

Discernment is difficult, and sometimes laborious work. If my forthcoming book is to be believed, it is also a discipline we must develop as Christians.

While the distinctions between good and evil are not always perfectly simple and clear, I do not wish to downplay the fact that truth and evil exist and are in constant opposition to one another. The very word discernment and its close relative discrimination imply the task of making such distinctions. In A Call To Discernment Jay Adams points out that the word translated in Scripture as discrimination means “to separate things from one another at their points of difference in order to distinguish them.” In Reckless Faith John MacArthur says, “discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. The discerning person is the one who draws a clear contrast between truth and error.” The biblical method for doing this is one I have introduced in the past in my “discernment filter” and is drawn from 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 which exhorts Christians to “test everything; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

I am not entirely comfortable with any of these definitions of discernment. I have spent a great deal of time studying biblical discernment and have read every book I can find dealing with the subject. It is my understanding that discernment is not telling other people what to think. It is not condemning those who do not think the way you do, even if you are convinced from Scripture and from plain reason that they are wrong. It is not an exercise in making good decisions in life.

I spent the better part of a day last week wrestling with a definition for discernment. I eventually arrived at a long and a short definition. The short and simple definition I came up with is this: Discernment is the ability to think biblically about all areas of life. A longer, more thorough definition (which is also much more difficult to remember) might be something like this: Spiritual discernment is the God-given, Spirit-empowered ability to understand and interpret truth, so that we can apply truth to our lives, thus bringing glory to God and furthering our enjoyment of Him. It remains somewhat clunky and obtuse, but I hope to improve at as my work on the book continues.

In the meantime, I would love some feedback on these definitions and am eager to hear how you think discernment should be defined. If you are aware of any definitions of the word, particularly if they were written by Christians, I would be eager to hear of them.