“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”
Proverbs 14:15-16
—C.H. Spurgeon
Background
There is a period in history known as ‘the Dark Ages’. To characterise it somewhat simply, knowledge was tied up in the minds of an elite group. Times have changed and today we are overwhelmed with the spread of knowledge. One of the things that brought this change was the invention of the printing press. It caused an explosion in the sharing of thought and knowledge.
Unfortunately, mankind had really just exchanged one problem for another – a monopoly of knowledge was replaced by a democracy of knowledge. With a monopoly you only have one source of knowledge that claims the truth so your understanding as a man is totally at the mercy of that one source. With a democracy you have thousands of sources of knowledge that claim the truth so the quest to possess truth is still potentially outside your grasp.
Against this there have of course always been believers who in possession of the Word of God and the Spirit of God are able to discern and live in truth. The Word of God and the Spirit of God help us to discern, test, examine and come to an understanding of the truth. That is not to say that God’s grace doesn’t endow the unbeliever with truth in the schools of science and such like nor that a spirit-filled believer sometimes takes on board error.
This is seen clearly in the life of the New Testament church. The Galatians had been assailed by a false gospel which demanded adherence to Jewish customs and so Paul writes his letter. In fact Paul was shocked at how quickly they had fallen fowl of these false ideas (Gal 1:6; Gal 3:1).
There is then a great need for discernment which brings us back to the quote from Spurgeon, “discernment is knowing the difference between what is right and almost right.” This would be supported elsewhere in the New Testament
* 1 Thessalonians 5:21 – Test everything
* 1 John 4:1 – Try the spirits
* Acts 17:11 – Search the scriptures.
Paul also refers to the idea of discernment in 2 Corinthians 11:2 where he describes how desperate he was that the Corinthians with their rather liberal, all embracing mentality would seek after doctrinal purity. This is a very relevant message for today because we live in a postmodern world where it’s deemed a good thing to just embrace everything. At the same time the message to the church at Ephesus in Rev 2:4 was that whilst they were a discerning bunch, they had left their first love. Neither extreme is helpful.
This sets the scene for our study. The goal here is to adopt a more enquiring mentality which seeks to examine, test and try that which may cross our paths. But we must do so in such a way that we speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). The extremes of liberalism and legalism always lurk in the shadows but we are seeking the biblical middle ground.
Part 1 – Christian Ministry
For the first part of our study we surveyed the various aspects of Christian ministry where we may be exposed to that which requires application of the three principles referred to above from the New Testamant: Test everything, try the spirits, search the scriptures.
- Bible Teaching Meetings
Bible teachers should always heed the principle set out in James 3:1 so as to avoid speaking that which is unedifying. As hearers we should nevertheless test that which is spoken from the Word of God and be sure the correct meaning has been drawn out from the text and thereafter applied. In a bible reading situation the conversational nature of the meeting allows for enquiry and hopefully a consensus on both meaning and application. In other meetings we should be like the Bereans who ‘searched the scriptures…whether these things were so’. - Books
Back in the day book options were quite limited but with the advent of the internet the publishing industry has gone wild. Navigating a ‘Christian book shop’ so called nowadays can be very challenging. How can you know which authors to trust and are the best-sellers the best-truth-tellers?
It definitely makes sense to be alert. Research the author, try to establish what their views are on salvation, church practice and future events. All these and more will influence the way they view scripture and will have a bearing on whether you can trust all or little of what they have to say. If you are still unsure, ask someone who you trust to help you discern correctly. - Audio/Video Ministry
There have been audio ministries now for decades and with the internet, video ministry has grown immensely in the last few years. It is very feasible now to access audio and video ministry from any number of churches on topics which you may never hear spoken of in your local church.
But the difficulty is that you may be exposing yourself to ‘almost right’ ministry. Furthermore, you may find a particular speaker who is very listenable and likeable and occupy yourself soley with him. But the plurality of bible-teaching-capable elders in the local church is partly in place to avoid a situation where you are absorbed with only one mans ministry. So discernment is key in this area. Be constantly proving all things, hold fast that which is good, dispense with that which is not. - TV & Film
Recall Spurgeons principle again and here is where Christian media such as a film must bear special scrutiny. The ‘almost right’ element can be especially prevalent. A riveting and/or emotional story line can quite easily disarm us of our discernment and we miss the wooly theological basis. We may still be able to enjoy the story somewhat but a wooly theology will make the film no more edifying than a non-Christian film. - Music
This is a very broad and personal element where discernment is needed. Without getting into genres we’re just wanting to assess the nature of the truth that we are listening to/singing. Necessarily with children we express truth in song in very simple ways – ‘Yes Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so’. But as we develop so should our theology in song. If we agree that hymns and songs should first-and-foremost exalt Christ and facilitate true spiritual worship then we can discern ‘good’ hymns on that basis. There is so much, old and new that fails the theology test. Then again, we don’t write-off a writer because of hymn x if hymn y is edifying so discernment plays a part not only in making effective choices but in approaching the choice make process in a balanced fashion. When all is said and done, don’t be afraid to run through your playlists and pull out the fluffy, soulish or theologically weak. We considered songs like ‘I come to the garden alone’ (C. A. Miles) and “Come on my soul’ (Rend Collective) as examples of songs which, (whilst they may have a special significance for the authors), lack a real depth of truth and meaning. When compared with songs like ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ or ‘In Christ alone’ it is easy to see which is more preferable both for corporate worship and personal development.
In each of these areas discernment is needed. We need not throw the baby out with the bath water but neither need we keep the keep the bath water just because the baby is ok. Discernment is exercised in love and grace that ultimately our development in Christian things may be for our blessing and His glory.
