Discernment

Discernment is one of those things I think about often. It is a subject that I need to come back to again and again. My wife and I became Christians at the same time. The Lord saw fit to open both of our eyes during a specific sermon series we were listening to by John MacArthur. One of the things that became evident very soon after our conversion was that my wife was given an ability by God to be discerning. It was like a light switch that turned on in her mind that enabled her to wield a sword with pinpoint accuracy to separate things into categories of good and evil, true and false, wise from foolish. That of course brought a bit of tension in our marriage, because I was not given this same gift (That may be the topic of another blog).

The word discernment is used in the ESV Bible 7 times. It becomes obvious when you read the texts that God gives discernment, and can take it away at any time (Job 12:20, Isaiah 29:14).

In Tim Challis book, "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment," he defines discernment as THE SKILL OF UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING GODS WORD, WITH THE PURPOSE OF SEPARATING TRUTH FROM ERROR AND RIGHT FROM WRONG.


In thinking about discernment again this morning, some points that seem important to be more discerning are...
1. A knowledge and understanding of the Bible
2. A knowledge and understanding of myself
3. A knowledge and understanding of my surroundings (the world around me)
4. To apply this knowledge of the Scriptures, and the Self, to the World around me

The reason I think it is important to have a knowledge of self, is that when it comes to separating objects and ideas into categories of good and bad, right and wrong, wise and foolish; there are things that are subjective and not objective. What I mean by that is that, say drinking alcohol may not be bad, wrong or foolish; but for me, it is. I can not read the Scriptures and find that alcohol is any of those things, but with a knowledge of myself, I know that it is wrong for me to drink it. Since I know this, it violates my conscience to drink alcohol, and whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23b). I am unable to slam down a beer by faith, so for me it is sin.

You may not have been given some wonderful gift of discernment like my wife but there is good news for people like you and me. 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). Keep practicing, and sharpening your swords of discernment; because by constant practice, you will become mature.