A Plea for Biblical Discernment

I have gotten very discouraged as I have read books by, and listened to lectures by authors and speakers who claim to know Christ.  These authors and speakers write and speak only of love, as if sin was non-existent; as if truth doesn’t matter.  I want to live with conviction even when the world, even when those who claim to know Christ, live with no apparent convictions at all.  After a particularly distressing time of reading the thoughts of so many who have compromised the truth, I got my Bible and jotted down a few thoughts.  

1. Mt. 25:33-  Thank God He will separate the sheep from the goats, and I don’t have to.

This means that I can rest, and know that God is sovereign over this.  Getting angry, protesting, writing angry comments on social media isn’t going to change a thing.

1. 2 Timothy 3:7-  Thank God I’ve grasped the truth, and don’t need to grasp for straws.

We all know people-women, mostly-who are forever seeking to learn some new spiritual insight—a new “key” to happiness or peace.  We who are Christians have that true happiness and peace, and we know it is found only in the Bible, not in any best-selling book nor in any magazine.

1. Matt. 7:17-  Recognize false teachers for what they are.

They are not harmless.  They are wolves.  Ferocious wolves who come in to destroy the flock.  (Acts 20:29)

1. 2 Timothy 2:19-  The Lord knows those who are His.

What peace and rest there is here.  We need not worry if we are His; He knows us.

1. John 10:4-  Jesus’ people recognize His voice among all other voices.

There are a lot of voices in the world, a whole lot of audio clutter.  If we know Jesus, though, His voice will rise loud and clear through all the others.

1. 2 Timothy 3:5-  These teachers do have a form of Godliness.

We already said these wolves come in sheeps’ clothing.  In Acts 20, Paul warns that they come from among us.  They look like us and talk like us.  They use the same churchy phrases, and they may write about some of the same concerns we have (like child-rearing and home decor), but they do not know Jesus in their hearts.

1. 2 Timothy 4:3-  Many will just listen to what they want to hear.

Paul told Timothy this is what he’d be up against when He preached the truth of Jesus, and the same is true today.  People want to hear how to be happy and likable, and they don’t want to hear about sin and their need for a Savior.

1. Matt. 7:22,23-  Many of these authors and speakers don’t know how far they are from Jesus.

This is why we must pray for them, and also for those who follow them.

9.  Titus 2:1-  Live out Godly, Biblical doctrine.

Let all others see your reverence and love for Biblical doctrine through your life.  Model a doctrinally sound life for others-especially for young women.  (Verse 7.)

10.  Hebrews 10: 23,24-  We have to help each other.  We who know Jesus are one body (1 Cor.12:12), and we must help each other cling firmly to pure and Biblical doctrine.

Like Paul says in Acts 20:31, “Be on your guard!”  Think twice about the author who wrote that book, or the person who’s speaking at this or that seminar.  Social media has given false teaching a platform where it can spread like wildfire.  Discernment is needed now more than ever before.  In all things, be like the noble Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily to make sure what Paul, one of the most not theologians of the day, said, was true.