SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

 

In John 7:25 Jesus said,

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.”

I am not addressing these remarks to everyone. But some of you will allow God to lead you deeper into His holiness.

1. Holy thinking begins by discerning your own heart.

We all need to allow God to show us our hearts to discern the vulnerability and flaws hiding there. In Psalm 139 David Prayed,

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

    Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting!

What words have you spoken, what opinions have you held, or attitudes have you indulged that are false or in any way ungodly? Holiness demands repentance. The Epistle of James warns against being the kind of person who looks into a mirror and forgets what you saw without washing your face or combing your hair. This may include admitting, with a little private irony, weaknesses in your own positions. If you cannot see them, you have not examined yourself closely enough.

2. This has to include examining your desires and motives.

Do you believe something because it is right or because it is comfortable? Do you think something is right because it benefits you? Does your opinion make you popular with your friends? Holiness seeks to please God and God alone. Jesus was clear about this. In John 7 He said His teaching was not His own but His Father’s. Verse 18 says,

“Anyone who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; 

but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, 

and in him there is no falsehood.”

3. Holy thinking calls us to examine our influences.

This must go deeper than searching for excuses for people who influence your thinking. All of these things that I am listing require supernatural help. They must be bathed in and directed by prayer. One of the most difficult things here is discerning if what you read or hear or have seen in any media is right and true. This will require constant prayer and the struggle of discernment. You will have to wrestle with these things in your heart. 

Let me remind you of something emphasized in John 6 and 7. Jesus was saying he had come from heaven. Some people said he couldn’t have come from heaven. They knew his parents. Others pointed out that he came from Galilee, and the Christ was to have been born in Bethlehem. You may know scriptures that answer these and other questions. But few people listening to him had any means of answering them. Those who believed had to say, in effect, that even though they could not answer all their questions, no one could do the miracles he did if he had not come from God. Jesus gave us a promise that will help in John 7:17.

 “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will,  

he will know whether the teaching is from God

or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Do you long for His will?

4. We must also consider the thinking of those who disagree with us.

This actually relates to examining our influences. In this world of polarizations, it is easy to be influenced by reaction, often over reaction, to those we do not agree with. It can be godly and sometimes persuasive to search for points of agreement between you and someone with whom you disagree. Can you see their point of view? Can you find areas where you can cooperate with them?

As with last week’s post, I am not listing access to my books or other blogs.

RIGHT JUDGMENT

 

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.”

John 7:25

I am struck by the rendition of Philippians 4:5 in the e.s.v. It reads, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Good reasoning is a spiritual discipline. In the early centuries of Christianity the church grew rapidly partly because of our fearless compassion shown in the plagues that swept the cities of Europe and the east. Now when our world is being ripped apart with strong and dangerous delusions, I pray we may touch hearts around us with our reasonable words and lives.

Make no mistake about it. This is a matter for serious and urgent prayer. I intend to give you some biblical reasoning in relation to this subject, but any effort in this direction will require God’s people to pray as we have begun to pray for many things in our day.

1. This needs to be a matter of prayer because the need for right judgment is so serious.

Our faithfulness to God depends on our godly perspective of the world around us. Many things that we see happening can be alarming. I referred to Philippians 4. The k.j.v. renders the word translated “reasonableness” in verse 5 as “moderation.” We are living in days of intransigent extremes and hateful perspectives. We can be reasonable because the Lord is near. The passage continues, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Our witness to the world will depend on our reasonableness being known to everyone around us. This must be a matter of earnest prayer.

2. This needs to be a matter of prayer because right judgment is difficult.

The confusion around us, like many things we are seeing today, was foretold in Scripture. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 says, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.’”

God is sending “strong delusion” as righteous wrath upon our world. We must pray lest we be swept up in these things. And like the compassion shown by the early church, which we will also need in full measure, our witness to the world must reflect wise discernment.

3. This needs to be a matter of prayer because right judgment is spiritual.

In a warning that relates to this Jesus said in Matthew 24:24,

“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

Right judgement in our lives must be a matter of prayer because it is developed from a vervent relationship with Christ.

I will write more about this next week. I am praying for wisdom for you and for myself in these days.

For several reasons I am not listing access to my books or other blogs here.