Learn to Discern – Page 2

Learn to Discern: What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church?

7 Comments / May 15, 2017 May 15, 2017

As we learn to discern, we are forced to ask this question: What in the world is happening to the evangelical church? We have been watching men and women we have trusted form alliances with false teachers. Churches present secular rock music as entertainment during their worship services. Pastors have become much more concerned about growing the numbers of their congregation than growing deeper roots of faith in their flock. We have seen the church become zealous to help the poor, while completely negating and ignoring scripture’s clear commands for holiness and separation from the world. And, finally, we have watched the pulpit become a place to provide entertaining self-help speeches rather than the careful exposition of God’s Word. These aren’t all of the changes but these are certainly very tragic and important ones.

Wow.

Just writing all that makes me feel discouraged. But it is here. This is what the “Christian Church” has become. So what is going on? And how did we get here?

Many of you have enjoyed the guest post my brother, Pastor Dean, wrote on the Corruption of Christianity. A few weeks ago, I took the time to listen to the series that was the basis for this post. This was presented a couple of years ago and is an excellent overview to help us understand what exactly is going on and why. I believe you will find this series very much worth a few hours of your precious time.

Here are the links for the entire series–

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 1)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 2)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 3)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 4)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 5)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 6)

What Is Happening to the Evangelical Church (Part 7)

If you have enjoyed this series and would like to hear more of Pastor Dean’s sermons, you will find all of them here.

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Reawakening the Conscience

18 Comments / May 8, 2017 May 8, 2017

So some of you are going to really hate today’s post. You may decide that I’m a little crazy and never read anything at Growing4Life again. But I’m willing to take that chance. Mostly because I have seen this all play out in my life and in the lives of others around me. I will share about that a bit further on in the post. But here is my premise–

When we fill our minds with worldly entertainment, we deaden our consciences.

Let me explain. Sometimes I wonder how so many who call themselves Christians cannot see what is going on within the church. How can they not understand how ravenous wolves–posing as sheep–are changing the very mission and vision of the church?? As I was thinking about this the other day, I realized that it’s because many of them have so deadened their consciences, that they aren’t even willing (or able?) to call sin sin. Not only can they not tell the difference between true and false, but they are starting to fudge and rationalize about the differences between right and wrong. And when we lose our ability to discern right from wrong, our ability to discern what is true from the false has already left us.

So you may be asking: How does worldly entertainment affect my discernment? I have an answer for that and any thinking person will have to admit these are true. Worldly entertainment changes us in the following ways–

1. It keeps us from our Bibles. While this may not be true 100% of the time, it is certainly often true. How many times have you heard someone say that don’t have time to read the Word but they will somehow have had time to watch TV?

2. It keeps us immersed in the goings-on of the world. When we think of worldly entertainment, we often think of the bad things, but I would submit to you that even the news and sports can steal our affections if we aren’t careful. While these things aren’t bad in and of themselves (most of the time), they will keep us immersed in the culture and, instead of separating from the world (as we are told to do in James 1:27 and James 4:4) we become fascinated by it.

3. It changes our values and hardens our hearts. I can’t tell you how many people have told me they can watch anything they want on TV because they know right from wrong and it doesn’t affect them. That they can listen to worldly music espousing sex, drugs, and alchohol because they aren’t going to ever do those things. Besides a stance like that begging the question why any believer would desire such entertainment (why would we–as a believer–want to fill our lives with the things God has clearly said He hates? Galatians 5:19-21), it also does have to be acknowledged that these things do change our values. They make us less sensitive to sin and harden our hearts.

4. It makes us more susceptible to needing the world’s approval. When we become immersed in the world the approval of the world can be all-consuming. When we love the world, we want to be loved by the world. But this, carried out to its fullest, will keep us from salvation. In John 12, this very thing happened, when we are told that some of the Pharisees believed but they so feared man’s opinion, rather than God, that they did nothing. John 12:43 simply puts it like this: for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. When we fill our minds with the world, we become much less interested in truth and much more interested in popularity.

5. It keeps us from caring about what matters in life. Entertainment is meant to entertain. Its goal is to distract us from real life for a little while and give us some refreshment. It is not a bad thing in and of itself. But we have become so enthralled with being entertained that we are distracted from our real lives much of the time. With our smart phones, our tablets, and things like Netflix and Youtube, we are constantly entertained. Many of us can’t even stand in a line at a grocery store or sit at a booth in a restaurant without pulling out our phones. This has exponentially compounded our interest in the trivial, while eliminating interest in the serious stuff of life at the same time. How many Christians do you know who ever discuss God? Or heaven and hell? Or the Bible? When serious matters do arise, most arguments are based on popular opinion rather than the Word of God. I believe this is in much part due to our obsession with entertainment.

So why do I say this? What proof do I have? Let me share three different testimonies about this–

First, I want to share something my brother, Pastor Dean, has shared with me. Shortly after college, he made two decisions. He stopped watching football on Sunday afternoons and instead read the Word. And, second, he removed all rock music from his life (including Christian rock). He credits these two decisions with changing his life completely. He says it was like withdrawing from a drug (if you have ever tried to give up rock music, you will find that it is extremely addictive) but that it was a life-changing decision. These two decisions not only strengthened His walk with the Savior, but also deepened his love for the Word and his hatred for the world.

Second, I want to share my own testimony. Mine is a little more like one of those jagged lines that goes up and down and all over the place. While I have always been conscious that worldly entertainment has great potential for evil in my life, I have not always been as careful as I ought. And I have had stages in my life where it has drawn me into its snare. And let me say this: It does change me in all of the ways listed above. I have seen these things in my own life. I know it is true.

And, third, I want to share the testimonies of two of my children. Both have told me this at two separate times. But let me back up a bit. When my kids became teenagers, we loosened up our standards a bit. Oh, not near so much as most of their friends, but we didn’t want them to look like complete losers and not be aware of anything in the world and so we caved. At that time we allowed secular rock into our home, as long as it didn’t have “bad lyrics”. We regret that choice. Even if one song of a particular artist doesn’t have bad lyrics, the others probably do. And, to add to that, the artists’ lifestyles are rarely anything we want modeled. About five years ago or so, I just started pleading with God that my children would love righteousness and hate evil. And He has answered this prayer in incredible ways! One of those ways was that two of my children decided–on their own–to eliminate secular music from their lives. And both have told me (in two separate conversations, without the other one’s knowledge) what a difference this has made in their own discernment and spiritual walk with God.

You have to know this: What we fill our minds with does affect our discernment. But there is good news! We can reawaken our consciences! It is not too late. If we start eliminating or drastically reducing (in the case of things like news and sports) the world’s entertainment and filling our minds with the Word of God, we will find our consciences will get back to work, informing and enlightening us about not only what is right and wrong, but also about what is true and false.

Okay, so now I have given you several ways our conscience is affected by worldly entertainment and I have given you three real life examples of how this has happened. As you read, you probably found yourself in one of four places and I’d like to speak to all four.

First, you may be one of those who doesn’t really have strong feelings about entertainment. You may like to watch a show or two, but you aren’t addicted. You may have a pop station on in your car but it’s just there. I would like to encourage you to continue to purify your life and to deepen your desire to please your Savior and to worry less about being “cool” in the eyes of the world.

Second, you may be one who is truly addicted to Netflix binges or your smartphone or to rock music. You realize you should change but you just don’t really want to. You enjoy your addiction and to change it now seems completely overwhelming. I want to suggest to you that you start praying that God would give you the desire to change. Or you may know you need to change and want to start now. Pray for strength and guidance. You cannot do this alone. God is faithful and He will answer these prayers!

Third, you may be someone who thinks I am completely crazy. This post makes you genuinely angry and you honestly believe that I am wrong. If you are one of these, then I ask you–beg you–to go to God’s Word to research what I am saying. Turn away from the viewpoints of popular authors or speakers and turn to the Word of God before you make your final determination.

And, fourth, you may agree with me. You may have witnessed this dynamic in your own life. (If that’s true, I’d love to hear your story. Please share by commenting below.) I would ask those of you in this group to share this unpopular message with your family and friends as the Lord gives you opportunity. So many of us Christians love the world. But this love is stunting our growth and keeping us from discerning. It is removing our effectiveness as a witness for Christ and it is making us so vulnerable to wolves who are invading the church in droves now. If you see this and you believe it, please don’t be afraid to say it. This is the time to be brave and speak up!

God bless you as you continue to learn to discern. Be in the Word, basing all your views on what you find there. And take all your concerns regarding the learning process to the Lord in prayer. He is so faithful and He will answer.

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Preparing Your Heart and Mind

2 Comments / April 17, 2017 April 17, 2017

I guess in some ways this should have been the first installment in this series. After all, if our hearts and minds aren’t properly prepared, then we aren’t going to be very effective discerners. But, alas, this didn’t come to mind early on.

I have found this whole series to be a rather interesting endeavor as it is turning out nothing like I originally planned. But in changing my direction a bit, I hope to be covering some things that are generally not discussed by discernment blogs and ministries, who generally tend to focus on specific false teachers or doctrines. (By the way, this is what we need them to do and is a very important ministry!)

Before we can truly learn to discern, we really need to have these six things as part of our lives (or at least be moving in the right direction). Here are six “BEs” that we should strive for–

BE Biblically Literate (In other words, don’t be ignorant of what the Bible teaches)

My biggest regret–BY FAR–is not studying the Bible more in-depth earlier in my life. It is truly a treasure that is invaluable. The more you study it the more you realize this. We will not have the proper attitudes about discernment if we don’t study the Bible. We will not know the truth to compare error to if we don’t study the Bible. I would go so far as to say that without effort given to studying the Word of God, we really cannot be discerners at all.

BE Bible-Focused (In other words, don’t be “evil-world system” focused)

It is so very easy to get caught up in all we are learning. As our eyes are opened and we start to see connections, for example, between well-known “pastors” and false religious systems or government agencies or we start to study some historical aspect of the church, the fascination of it all can be alluring. If we aren’t careful, it can consume our thoughts and time. And so to be an effective discerner, we must keep our focus on the Word of God, first and foremost, and always.

BE Curious (In other words, don’t be apathetic)

I see this one a lot. People who just don’t care about spiritual things, which naturally leads to apathy about issues of discernment. But curiosity about what’s going on and an interest in knowing (in order to protect, defend, and contend for the Word of God) is a must if we are to really learn to discern. Apathy is a thief of knowledge and the enemy of discernment.

BE Teachable (In other words, don’t think you have all of the answers)

I would credit this one attitude to being one of the greatest assets in learning to discern. When we think we know everything, we close our hearts to learning about anything. This is true, whether we are talking about parenting, growing in biblical knowledge, or learning more about our career field. And it’s also true regarding discernment. The sooner we recognize that we have an awful lot to learn, the sooner we will start learning.

BE Humble (in other words, don’t be proud)

This is rather similar to being teachable, but goes even one step further in that this is an attitude that encompasses our whole being. If we are proud–conceited, self-important, pompous, overbearing, argumentative–we not only limit our ability to learn, but we limit our ability to share what we have learned. When we aren’t interested in the opinions or thoughts of others and always focusing on our own inflated opinions, we shut a door that is difficult to re-open.

BE Observant (In other words, don’t be naive)

Yes, ignorance is sometimes bliss. But it is rarely a good thing in the long run. And so it is with discernment. How much better to know so that we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from the wolves who look like sheep. So it is imperative that we always keep our eyes open! I have to be honest here–the more I learn and realize the scope of the great deception in this age, the more skeptical I become. I don’t take anything at face value but always do some research first. While we don’t want to become hardened skeptics, it is important that we recognize the great invasion of false religion that is sweeping through the church. With this in mind, it is critical that we be Bereans, comparing all we see, read, watch, listen to–everything!–to the Holy Scriptures.

And so there are the six BEs–

BE biblically literate, BE Bible-focused, BE curious, BE teachable, BE humble, and BE observant. If you have these things in place or are at least working at putting them in place, then you are ready to learn to discern!

Learn to Discern: Living in the Light

6 Comments / April 2, 2017 April 5, 2017

The other day I heard a popular Christian contemporary song. As I really paid attention to the familiar words for the first time, it dawned on me that one of the lines was clearly unbiblical. When I pointed it out to the friend who sat beside me, she laughed and remarked that I find something wrong with everything.

Hmmm…

Is that true?

Is that what I have become? Am I really someone who is looking for things to be heretical or false? Always looking for the worst? Honestly, I had to do a little soul-searching. This is certainly not what I want people to think about me. And yet…

When we learn to discern, we end up being caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. When we start understanding just how far away the culture and the mainstream church are moving away from biblical truth, the agenda behind it, and with what lightening speed it’s happening, it becomes so easy to see the heresies, the compromises, and the ungodly alliances. It becomes like second nature to spot it. This naturally leads to some questions and problems.

Yesterday we had a wonderful day of warm sunshine after several gloomy, damp days. The sunshine made the whole world look so much brighter. The grass looked greener and the birds sang louder. Sunshine changes everything. The thing is, when we start understanding what is going on in the world and particularly within the church, it can cast a very dark shadow on our whole lives. Just like the cloudy day dims our physical world, so, too, can discernment dim our spirit–if we allow it to.

So today, as we learn to discern, I want to deal with this question:

Since we are now living in marvelous light (I Peter 2:9), how do we keep what we are learning from casting a dark shadow on our friendships, our families, our churches, and on our own personal world?

Stated another way: How can we make sure that the light in us isn’t engulfed by the negativity of what is going on around us? It can affect so much if not handled correctly. Practically speaking, it can cause us to be depressed (if we don’t take our thoughts captive); it can cause rifts between friends and family (if we never stop talking about it); and it can develop a habit in us to start being critical about everything (even things that aren’t biblical).

I think we can all agree that no one wants to be around a depressed, critical person who constantly talks about how the world is ending. So how can we be effective discerners, deepening our understanding of what’s going on in the world, while keeping our eyes and hearts focused on the Lord? There is a balance that needs to be found and God’s Word can help us to find it. Let’s look at eight specific things we learn there.

1. Always seek Christ first.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in learning what is going on with the world’s system or Satan’s agenda that we neglect our Bible Study. In fact, we may even fool ourselves into thinking that since we are studying about the church, this will suffice as our Bible Study. My dear readers, this should never be! It is far better to be in the Word and know absolutely nothing about what’s going on in the world. For it is impossible to be godly and wise believers without the Word. It is impossible to even discern without the Word. We must seek God first. All studies–even studies of discernment–must come after this priority.

2. Remember that your citizenship is in heaven.

Philippians 3:23-24 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

It is hard to become depressed or overly distressed about something that doesn’t really affect your future one way or another. Imagine you are a temporary visitor to a foreign country that is experiencing some political upheaval. While you would naturally be somewhat interested in what’s going on (especially as it may affect you getting home), you wouldn’t grow too excited, because you know that you are leaving that country soon for your safe and secure home. And so, we, too, must remember that we are just temporarily passing through this world. We don’t belong here. When we can remember this, it helps us to find perspective and helps to keep the shadows from descending.

3. Remember that very few Christians care about discernment like you do.

I Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

Sometimes we can get so caught up in what we are learning that it is all we think about. And then it may become all we talk about. But we must remember that most Christians simply do not care. They want to talk about other things. And while we must faithfully and gently warn and proclaim the truth as God gives us opportunities, we should never become so passionate about what we are learning that it becomes the only thing we talk about. May we always be kind and courteous and sensitive to the interest (or disinterest) of others as we learn to discern.

4. Our opinions must be based on scripture alone.

Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

We must be so careful to make sure anything we say is based on God’s Word alone. Unless it is in God’s Word, it is not worth arguing over. We must pick our battles. Thankfully, by searching God’s Word daily to know Him, to understand truth, and to become better discerners, we naturally become less critical of things that have nothing to do with biblical truth because we are learning there to encourage, edify, and love one another, as well.

5. God is sovereign. He’s got this.

Job 38:4 a Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? (if you have time, read the whole chapter)

God is sovereign. The earth is not some green and blue ball hovering out in the universe without rhyme or reason. We are not a bunch of cells haphazardly thrown together. Everything and everyone has a part in God’s eternal plan. We can become a little panicky about the world and church’s situation when we forget that God is sovereign over all that’s going on.

6. Stop looking back.

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Oh, how discontent and sorrowful we can become if we keep remembering what used to be. And isn’t this such a temptation? Especially for those of us who can remember better days. And, yet, God has us right where we are for such a time as this. Referring back to point #5, His will and ways are utterly and absolutely sovereign. His plan included you being right here right now. The past is past but we can make a difference for Him right now and in whatever time remains for us on this planet. So let’s stop turning around and start looking forward!

7. God Wins!

Revelation 19:6-8 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

As we see Satan wreaking havoc everyone around us, may we never forget that he is going to lose. We know from reading Revelation that no matter how much Satan schemes and confuses and deceives, he is going to lose. Isn’t that so encouraging? Our God reigns!

8. God is faithful.

Lamentations 4:22-24 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”

One of the things that can be a little scary as we learn to discern is the awareness of what it could possibly mean for our own well-being, and– of even more concern for most of us–the well-being of our children, grand-children, and even great-grandchildren. We can see dark, menacing storms on the horizon and can grow fearful. And yet, God will not fail us. Aren’t you so thankful for testimonies of faithful Christians who have endured through the worst of times? Or how about the accounts of martyrs who died singing? God is faithful to the end. He will not take us where He will not strengthen us to go. We are His. No one can snatch us out of His hand and no one can touch us without His permission. This is such a comforting thought as we learn just how evil this world is. As we learn to discern, may we remember that, while the world’s horizon darkens, we can still be full of marvelous light because we know the King of Kings personally and He has promised to take care of us (I Peter 5:7).

You know, “discerners” have a pretty bad reputation, don’t they? In fact, you just mention the word “discernment” these days and Christians start rolling their eyes. While some of this is born out of the human tendency to love the world and the things of the world, I believe it is also because those that discern can tend to be the things I mentioned above–negative, harsh and thoughtless in their dealings with people, focused on the wrong thing, and critical about things that aren’t even in the Bible.

May we not allow this in our own lives! May we not let what we are learning lead us to have a dark and mournful spirit. May we not be so passionate about discernment that we stop studying the scriptures. And may we be patient with believers who can’t see, praying for them and offering kind and truthful answers when they ask questions. Let’s be interested in all of life and not be consumed by an unhealthy desire to unearth all of the darkness in the world.

We Christians are to be the ones that are faithfully sharing our light for we have the only hope available to mankind in this dark, dark world. Let’s not get distracted. The blackness around us should make us shine brighter, not turn us into dim, flickering flames struggling to stay alight.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Acknowledging the War

Leave a Comment / March 27, 2017 March 27, 2017

Have you ever heard someone deny that the holocaust occurred? It seems almost preposterous, but I have heard that theory go around more than once. But denying that it happened doesn’t change the truth, does it?

As we have been learning to discern, we have learned what true, biblical Christianity is; we have learned how biblical Christianity is being corrupted; we have learned the importance of using scripture to give us a biblical paradigm; and we have learned that we must never follow man over the Word of God.

Today we are going to focus on the importance of acknowledging that there is a spiritual war going on. Just like the holocaust existed whether someone chooses to believe it or chooses not to believe it, so, too, does a spiritual war. Denying or ignoring it doesn’t change the fact that there is one.

Years ago, we Christians would sing songs like Onward, Christian Soldiers—

Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

and Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus—

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high his royal banner,
It must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.

But as the church started to change, we stopped singing songs like these. There was no longer a desire to focus on anything negative or unhappy. Instead of being focused on all truth found in scripture, it became a religion that was focused on personal purpose and happiness. All negativity was pushed to the side, while the church changed its focus to bringing happiness and goodness to the world.

Now don’t get me wrong–there is nothing wrong with doing good things, particularly if we are also sharing the unadulterated Gospel or encouraging a fellow believer! But when we become focused only on this, we are ignoring much of of the Bible. Hell (Mark 9:43; Matthew 25:41), prophecy (all of Revelation; Matthew 24), self-denial (Matthew 16:24; Romans 12:1), separating from the world (Romans 12:2, James 1:27)–all of these have been, by and large, ignored. And so, too, has the reality that there is a spiritual war that we are fighting every day of our lives.

Against the world (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Against ourselves (Galatians 5:17).

And against Satan and his minions (Ephesians 6:10-20).

What does this have to do with discernment, you may ask? The answer to this is simple:

If we don’t recognize that there is a war going on, we will not see the need to discern.

And it is easy to ignore this spiritual war. Oh, so easy.

First, as I have already mentioned–most of us never hear anything about it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Second, we are too busy and distracted to be concerned. We fill our schedules with the mundane and declare ourselves too busy to be in the Word, which is the only place to get a full understanding of the war we are in. Yes, some of you are most definitely overwhelmed in an incredibly busy time of life. I’ve been there! But all of us have little pockets of time we find for what is important. Is scripture on your short list of priorities?

And, third, we just don’t want to think about it. Life is full of enough unpleasantries–things like stress at work, broken relationships, our own sinful habits–who needs to think about an over-arching spiritual war on top of all of these things? We want to be entertained. We want to think on happy things. We want to be comforted and coddled. We certainly don’t want to spend time thinking about a war we are fighting.

But, whether we think about it or not, it is there. In the spiritual realm. Every single minute of every single day.

Being aware of this war changes how we view almost everything, quite honestly.

If we recognize that the latest and greatest book may be a tool being used by Satan to harden our conscience or to change how we view God, we will do our research before just picking it up to read it.

If we know that the latest children’s movie may well be full of ungodly philosophies, we will keep our eyes open and discuss these things with our kids, using the scriptures (if we even allow them to watch it at all).

If we understand that Satan hates the true church and is doing everything in his power to infiltrate it in his goal to bring about a one-world religion, we will be much more apt to notice the red flags of human wisdom and mysticism that warn of its coming.

When we understand there is a deadly, spiritual war going on, all things will be carefully examined before we allow ourselves or those we love to just blindly ingest or indulge in them.

Many people don’t like those who discern. They think it is an unnecessary evil. But if we recognize the war, how can we help but to discern??

We don’t discern because we are unpleasant and unhappy people. It isn’t that we hate entertainment in and of itself. It isn’t that we desire to be negative. And it certainly isn’t that we hate the church and its dear people.

We discern because we understand there is a war going on. A deadly war that is taking many casualties. This war is keeping many from hearing the true Gospel and it is de-sensitizing true believers, rendering them completely ineffective for the cause of Christ.

And we are fighting in this war with the only weapon we have–the holy and perfect Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

Dear readers, please be aware of this war. For it is only with this awareness, that we can be effective and godly discerners.

Please Note: If you are truly interested in knowing more about this war and who your enemy, Satan, really is, I highly, highly recommend this series on YouTube. This is, by far, the best resource I have ever found to explain how Satan has worked throughout history. It is made up of 77 short videos (4-7 minutes long). Don’t miss it!

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Who Do You Follow?

4 Comments / March 20, 2017 March 20, 2017

The last post in the Learn to Discern series asked the question: What is your paradigm? Today we need to ask: Who do you follow?

Once we have established our paradigm, it would seem that we would naturally know who to follow. But what I have discovered is that the loyalty to fallible men (and women) runs so deeply that eventually many find themselves saying with their mouths that they adhere to the Word of God as the ultimate source of truth while their actions actually negate their assertions.

Here are a few examples–

Take the books Jesus Calling and The Shack (I choose these particularly because they are two of the most dangerous and popular books on the “Christian” market today). These books are promoted by Christians, they are sold in Christian bookstores, and they are touted as wonderful Christian books. But when both of these books are carefully examined, we can see that they go completely against critical biblical doctrines. Not sort of. Not kind of. Completely.

And yet, thousands–maybe millions–of Christians who claim to love and honor the Word of God speak highly of these books! Why is this? It is because they have chosen to value a human author’s word more highly than God’s Word.

Another example would be the response of some people when I discuss or post something regarding the compromise of a beloved author or teacher. Instead of thoughtfully considering and comparing what is being taught by them to what the Bible teaches, they immediately grow angry and defensive of this person that they have come to count on for solid, biblical teaching. And, once again, we see that they have placed a man’s word before the Word of God.

A final example is found in churches across the world. Preachers start to twist and change important doctrines, but they are so beloved by most church members that there is a conscious choice to overlook the compromise rather than to remove themselves from false teaching. Loyalty to a man becomes more important than loyalty to God.

People are naturally loyal. They naturally want to trust teachers, authors, preachers. We even find this same dynamic in our business. Most customers are loyal. They choose to trust us. And this is a good thing for business. And, quite honestly, this type of loyalty can sometimes be good in the church, too. It is never wise to leave a church or to choose to stop listening to a preacher or reading the books of an author because of some minor difference of opinion that is not biblical. And even minor differences on secondary biblical doctrines are bound to occur and can be overlooked. The issue here is when major biblical doctrines are compromised. And I am so disheartened that this appears to be happening with popular “Christian” authors and teachers at such an exponential rate that it is almost impossible to comprehend.

I honestly believe that this dynamic of human loyalty is one of Satan’s sharpest tools in his toolbox of devices used to bring false doctrine into the church. Take, for example, something that happened at the church I attended years ago. The youth group started showing videos by Rob Bell. Even in those early years, Bell was saying some very troublesome things. And, yet, if anyone dared to say anything against these videos, they were immediately labeled. They were hyper-critical. They were negative. They were nit-picking. You know–all the labels that you get when you are discerning. Because there was some type of loyalty to Rob Bell and these engaging, very well-done videos.

And yet, only a few short years later, Rob Bell showed his true colors by denying several essential biblical doctrines. At this point, many quickly stopped following him. But the damage had already been done. Impressionable youth listened to him espouse on spiritual things and probably went on to follow him.

Following the wrong person is downright dangerous. It not only puts our own spiritual health at risk, but also those who trust our judgment. A few years ago, there was a link on this blog to a ministry that I believed to be a solid ministry. I found out a year or two later that, while they were teaching many good things, the ministry itself was steeped in mysticism. I removed the link immediately. This ministry was not trustworthy and, although I had grown to love this ministry, I quickly removed it from my website and chose to no longer listen to the sermons. My greatest fear is that I am responsible for leading any of my readers to that ministry and into mysticism.

Loyalty without biblical examination is never wise. And in both of the examples above–the Bell videos and the link on my blog–this didn’t happen. Loyalty came before proper examination and may very well have led some down the wrong path.

I know there are some of you who are inevitably going to ask: Why not just pick through the good stuff of a teacher or author and discard the heresies? I will tell you three important reasons why I choose not to do this and would encourage you to do the same–

1. I do not believe that I am so spiritually mature that I could discern all of the error if I listened to someone who isn’t teaching truth. I just don’t know the Bible that well. If they are blatantly teaching against scripture in one area, what will keep them from doing so in another? And if they are, do I know the Bible well enough to actually spot it?

2. There are so many good things out there, why waste my time on picking through half-truths? If you have the choice between a fresh corn on the cob where every kernel is sweet and delicious and a piece that has hard, chewy kernels dispersed throughout the entire cob, which one would you pick? Not a very hard choice, when you look at it like that, is it? It’s really common sense.

3. And, finally, we generally become like those we follow. It’s just how it is.

I don’t know how many of my favorite pastors, teachers, and authors are going to compromise going forward. It’s a little unnerving, quite frankly. (In fact, I have started to read men like Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, and J.C. Ryle because they have already lived and can’t compromise.) But, whoever I choose to follow, my first and foremost loyalty must be to the Lord and His Word and never to a man.

And I encourage you to do the same. Please do this even with what I write here at Growing 4 Life. I have said it before but I will say it again: My opinions mean nothing. Please, please run all you read here through the grid of the Word. I am honored that you read my posts, but I never want you to value my word over the Word of God.

If we are going to discern properly, we need to stop blindly following those who would lead us over the spiritual cliff. We need to immerse ourselves in the Word of God and examine everything that comes our way for the red flags of compromise. Our spiritual health–and the spiritual health of those we disciple (including our own kids and grandkids!)–is dependent upon this.

Learn to Discern: What Is Your Paradigm?

2 Comments / March 6, 2017 March 8, 2017

Paradigm is defined as a framework from which a person judges all of life around them. This seems like an appropriate base to lay before we biblically examine the specific worldviews, philosophies, and theologies that are being promoted within and without the church.

Every single one of us has a paradigm. We all have a belief system through which we judge all of life. We judge speakers, authors, and entertainers. We judge events, churches, and workplaces. We judge family, friends, and co-workers all through this framework. We may not like the word “judge” but we all do it.

Think with me for a moment about the far left who are touting tolerance and love. Do they judge? They most certainly do! From their paradigm, they view Bible believers as unintellectual, ridiculous, and even “nut jobs”. This is a judgment.

As believers, we should naturally have a very different paradigm than those who are not believers. Man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom are in opposition to one another. I Corinthians 2:13-16 makes this very clear–

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy^[d] Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”^[e] But we have the mind of Christ.

As does I Corinthians 3:18-20—

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; ^[^a^] ²⁰and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.

And this passage in James 3:13-17—

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Worldly wisdom and biblical wisdom, being in such contrast to one another, should never and, in fact, can never be joined to one another. They are intrinsically incompatible.

This makes for a very difficult problem for those who would call themselves Christian but desire to follow after the world’s wisdom, would it not?

(An important thing to insert here: I am not referring to the God-given knowledge that leads to inventions, medical breakthroughs, and the like. When I refer to “man’s wisdom”, I am referring to man’s philosophies and values; his answers to life’s biggest questions.)

If you think back to the post Pastor Dean wrote last week, you will remember that he talked about six ways the world has infiltrated the church. Each one of these is based on the world’s wisdom rather than God’s wisdom. This is because men declare themselves to be wiser than the Word of God.

But if we are serious and true believers, it is critical that we recognize that our only source for absolute truth is in God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures.

There are, in fact, only two ways to interpret the world–

There is the biblical paradigm, where one’s framework for life is drawn from the pages of scripture and everything is viewed and processed through this grid of God’s Word.

And there is the worldly paradigm, where one’s framework for life is based on human wisdom, and the wisdom of men and women who are designated scientists, philosophers, and spiritual leaders are considered to be of more value than the Word of God.

As I am certain you can imagine, your paradigm changes everything.

One of the most obvious places this is taking place is in the battle for the beginning. On one hand, you have a scientist who starts with the Bible’s historical account of creation. From this viewpoint, the past is then interpreted. He will provide solid and clear answers based on the Word of God for some of the past’s toughest questions and quandaries. On the other hand, you have a scientist who holds man’s word to be of higher value than God’s Word. He then bases his assumptions of the earth’s beginnings on the theories of men. From these assumptions are born calculations and models and principles that end up being passed on as facts (they aren’t facts, they are assumptions) by teachers, science journals, and museums. Can you see how each one’s paradigm leads to two completely different and opposing viewpoints of the world’s beginning? This is just one example of how our paradigm leads to completely different conclusions about the world around us.

Now why is this important regarding discernment?

Because if you do not have the proper paradigm, you will not be able to discern biblically. As believers, we know that the Word of God is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and that the faith has been delivered to us once for all (Jude 3). We also know that it is by the scriptures that we learn about Christ (Romans 16:26) and that God’s Word is perfect (Psalm 19:7) and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).

There is so much more that could be said about the Word of God. For it is only through the Word that we can know God, that we can understand salvation, and that we can learn proper doctrine. Not only is this our only resource, it is utterly sufficient to do all of this. We do not need any other resource or experience outside of the Word in order to know God.

But a new paradigm has crept into the church. It actually isn’t all that new but is, instead, the same old humanistic paradigm of old. In this framework the authority and inerrancy of scripture is being removed and oh-so-subtly being replaced with man’s wisdom. Subjective experiences and feelings are becoming the standard for truth, while biblical doctrine is downplayed or even eliminated altogether. This paradigm relies on interpreting the scriptures allegorically, out-of-context, and/or non-literally–if it even uses scripture at all. It holds man’s word to be of higher value than God’s Word. And it leads to a man-centered religion rather than a God-centered religion.

So before we go on in this series, it is critical for us to have a biblical paradigm. Do you believe that the Bible is the authoritative, inerrant, and inspired Word of God? Do you believe that all of life must be evaluated through the grid of the Bible? If you do, then we are ready to learn about discernment together.

If you don’t believe this about the Bible or you just aren’t sure, then I’d like to share these resources with you that may be of help—

Articles/Posts

Is the Bible True? (Answers in Genesis)

Seven Compelling Evidences to Confirm that the Bible is True (Answers in Genesis)

Is the Bible Reliable? (Grace to You)

Is the Bible Truly God’s Word? (Got Questions.org)

Sermons

Our Foundation (Dean Good)

The Bible is God’s Word (John MacArthur)

Is the Bible Just Another Book? (Steve Lawson)

Books

Why Believe the Bible (John MacArthur)

Reasons We Believe (Nathan Busenitz)

How Do We Know the Bible is True, Volumes 1 & 2 (Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge)

The Inerrant Word (John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul)

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: The Corruption of Christianity

11 Comments / February 27, 2017 March 4, 2017

What in the world is going on in the church today? It is a question many believers are asking. In fact it has changed so much in the past fifty years or so that it has become almost unrecognizable when compared to the church of old. Of course, we need to remember that old is not necessarily better and so it is critical that we compare all that is going on around us, both in the world and in the church, to what scripture teaches.

In this third installment of the Learn to Discern series, Pastor Dean gives a great biblical overview of six transitions that are leading the church into apostasy at an alarming rate. These things have corrupted Christianity until it is almost beyond recognition when compared to the Word of God. While all of these have probably been around in one form or another since Christianity began, there is now a fierce, all-out onslaught of all six going on. In fact, you are going to recognize many of these. They are found in your churches; in Christian books, music, and movies; and in many of the Bible Studies you have done. You will hear fellow believers discuss these things as if they are biblical and you will hear of them on the mission field. Many sincere pastors, authors, and others have been deceived into believing these things are true and good. However, when we look at what scripture teaches, we can see that they aren’t from God at all. Instead, they are man’s wisdom, often cloaked in biblical terminology, and originating from Satan himself.

And let’s not forget one very important thing: A one-world religion is coming. Everything that is going on is leading the “church” to join this religion. It is like we can see this taking place right before our very eyes.

So without any further words from me, may I offer Pastor Dean’s thoughts on this matter–

THE CORRUPTION OF CHRISTIANITY

The Bible warns a great deal of false prophets, false teachers, false Christs, false brethren, false teaching and false gospels. In fact, we are told that there will be, at the end of the age, a false church, that is an apostate church. One that has a form of godliness, one that has all the trappings of Christianity, one that speaks of Christ, calls Him Lord, uses all the Biblical lingo, claims powerful spiritual experiences, and yet is utterly deceived and lost. This apostate church will help to unify the world around the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:3-12). It will be defined as a church that has fundamentally rejected the truth.

The evangelical church of today is very quickly descending into an apostate condition. This descent runs across all denominational and theological lines. In some ways it is difficult to quantify this plunge because it involves so many facets. There is a complexity to its development, because its roots are traced to New Testament times (2 Thess. 2:7) and, before that, to ancient Babylon, and all the way back to the Garden of Eden. But various movements of the 20^th and early 21^st centuries have converged into a perfect storm hurling the professing church into an utterly worldly, confused, degenerate state. There are at least six transitions that have taken place in this gradual, yet rapid corruption of the church. In this brief essay they can only be introduced.

(1) THE CORRUPTION OF WORSHIP: From Preaching to Entertainment – True worship according to Scripture is hearing God’s Word. What does it mean to hear God’s Word? It means to believe it, receive it in meekness, meditate on it, tremble at it, obey it, trust it, submit to it, delight in it, and proclaim it (cf. Prov. 28:9; Is. 66:1-3). Since this is true, the highest form of public worship is the preaching of the Word (2 Tim. 4:1-2). But serious, reverent, God-fearing preachers have been replaced by motivational speakers, rock bands, comedians, puppets, dancers, and drama teams. This transition from the simple and consistent preaching of the Word to a highly choreographed production took place over many decades, but has now reached the point of absurdity. But Paul warned us of such a day (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

(2) THE CORRUPTION OF THE MESSAGE: From the Cross to Self-Actualization – The central message of the church is the cross. There are two aspects to this message: (1) Christ died on the cross to make an atonement for our sins to deliver us from death and Hell (1 Pet. 1:18-19); and (2) when we believe on Christ we are united with Him in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4) and are called to follow Christ in the way of the cross (Matt. 16:24-26). As Christians who have been born again, we are dead to sin and alive to God and are called to die daily to our lusts through the renewing of our minds. This is summarized in Paul’s statement in Gal. 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. This central message has been subtly replaced by the psychologized message of self-actualization. Christ has become our divine psychologist who wants to heal our hurts and pain, fix our broken and dysfunctional relationships, and give us a positive feeling about ourselves so that we can live fulfilled lives. This psychobabble, largely borrowed from Rogers, Maslow, and Peale, has resulted in a self-centered, self-loving, self-pitying, non-serving generation of churchgoers who see themselves as victims of psychological disorders and diseases rather than offenders of God’s Law, fundamentally needing healing and purpose rather than mercy and forgiveness.

(3) THE CORRUPTION OF SPIRITUALITY: From Faith to Mysticism – Biblical faith is simply belief in the Word of God that results in trust and obedience. Abraham is the great example of faith. God gave him a promise and a command (Gen. 12:1-3) and because he believed God’s promise, he obeyed God’s command (Heb. 11:8). The whole Christian life operates on the principle of Biblical faith (Col. 2:5-7), which is dependent on a rational understanding and growing knowledge of Scripture (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Pet. 3:18). But the new paradigm has replaced faith with mysticism. Mysticism is direct communion with God apart from the rational. The Christian life is now founded on, defined by, measured by, and consumed with subjective, sensual, tangible, palpable, sentimental emotions, feelings, and experiences. Personal visions, revelations, signs from heaven, impressions from the Spirit, messages from God, and heart-warming encounters are the new standard. These are the measure of truth, the means of spiritual growth, and the source of assurance of God’s presence. All of these experiences are, of course, justified with an attached Bible verse. Serious, analytical Bible study and sound theology are deemed cold rationalism, dead orthodoxy, and the quenching of the Spirit, all the Scriptural warnings notwithstanding. This transition has opened the doors of the church to almost any false teaching in vogue at any given time. Like a body without an immune system, the church has been overrun by every theological virus known to mankind. Yet the patient has no sense of his condition.

(4) THE CORRUPTION OF LEADERSHIP: From Shepherd to CEO – The leaders of the church, according to Scripture, are shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-4). They are to humbly feed and lead the flock of God by the patient and prayerful preaching, teaching, and administering of the Word of God. Leading by example, they are to be men of godly character who demonstrate a father-like concern and mother-like gentleness in caring for the local church (1 Thess. 2:1-12). This Biblical model of leadership has been replaced by the worldly model of the corporate CEO. With the advent of the Church Growth Movement and the Purpose Driven Movement, pastors have taken on a thoroughly pragmatic view of leadership. Creating top-down organizational structures, and wielding management, psychological, and marketing techniques, they have manipulated the sheep to accomplish their self-promoting agendas. The prophet Ezekiel gave us a poignant portrait of these modern shepherds (Ez. 34:1-10). This corruption of church leadership has resulted in a massive increase in numbers and a correspondingly comprehensive death of Biblical spirituality. Indeed the sheep have been scattered and devoured because they have no shepherds (Ez. 34:5-6).

(5) THE CORRUPTION OF MISSION: From the Gospel to the Social Gospel – The church has only one mission to the world: to preach the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20). We are calling the world to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are calling them to flee the wrath to come and find refuge in the Savior. You will search the Scriptures in vain to find any call to social action or social reform. But the evangelical church today is consumed with transforming the world, fighting poverty, bringing racial harmony, working toward world peace, saving the environment, and all other forms of social justice. Instead of seeking the salvation from sin of individual souls through faith in the gospel, the church is seeking the salvation of the society from social ills through community action and government intervention. This is a revival of the Liberal Theology of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and has resulted in the death of the gospel. Many who are promoting social justice give lip service to the gospel, but where the social gospel takes hold, the gospel of Jesus Christ will always eventually be choked out. They are incompatible.

(6) THE CORRUPTION OF FELLOWSHIP: From Separation to Ecumenism – The Bible calls us to love the brethren and preserve the unity of the Spirit, but to separate ourselves from the world (2 Cor. 6:14-18) and from apostates (2 Thess. 3:14). True Biblical unity is the work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be accomplished by politics, networking, and ecumenical declarations. The dual unity (with believers) and separation (from unbelievers) commanded in Scripture is accomplished through clear, consistent, thorough teaching of Biblical truth (Eph. 4:11-16). This does not mean that we are to be unkind or ungracious toward unbelievers or that we can have no interaction with the world (1 Cor. 6:9-10), but rather that we must acknowledge we have no spiritual union or fellowship with them and should separate ourselves from all ungodly and foolish lusts (1 Pet. 4:2-4) and all manner of heresies (Titus 3:10). But the church has increasingly embraced every manner of worldliness and foolishness in the name of evangelism, and has welcomed heretics, false teachers, shysters, and rogues of every kind, in the name of Biblical unity. The evangelical church is linking arms with Liberals, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Eastern Orthodox, and even Muslims and Atheists in the name of unity and social change, even though all these groups reject justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and according to the Apostle Paul are accursed (Gal. 1:6-9). We do not say this out of hate, but out of love, knowing that no man will ever enter heaven apart from faith and repentance, and the acknowledging of the truth in Jesus Christ.

There is a sense in which the first five transitions, in their cumulative effect, have brought about the sixth transition of ecumenical unity. The Ecumenical Movement is like a funnel almost irresistibly drawing everyone toward the euphoric and blind Satanic unity of the last days apostate church. Let us put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) through the diligent study of, and obedience to, the Word of God. Let us separate from all that is false and ungodly. Let us keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 20-21) always remembering that it is God who keeps us from falling and will present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24).

Dean Good is pastor of a congregation in Ohio, where he lives with his wife and teen-aged daughter. I have known Pastor Dean his whole life, being his older sister (by just 17 months!) Aside from a few rough junior high years, he has been one of my best friends for my whole life. But the thing that sets Pastor Dean aside from almost anyone I know is his love for the Word of God. Even as a boy, he demonstrated a love and loyalty to the Word that was remarkable. Since that time, his knowledge and love have only grown greater. He is not perfect–he would be the first to tell you so–but he is very dedicated to the preaching of the Word. I am so thankful for his willingness to help with this series. If you would like to listen to any of his sermons you can find them here.

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: What Is Biblical Christianity?

2 Comments / February 13, 2017 March 4, 2017

We really cannot learn to discern before we have a biblical definition of Christianity. There are so many warped, perverted, and bizarre religions out there taking on the name of Christ that it is almost unimaginable. But which is the true religion? As believers, we know that the Bible teaches that there is only one way for us to be reconciled to God (John 14:6). And we know that the Bible–from Genesis to Revelation–tells us the beautiful story of God’s redemption of man and that it gives us all we need to live a righteous and godly life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So what does God’s Word have to say about believers? How does Christ define a true Christian?

Please, please keep in mind as you read the essay below that these are the things true Christians desire. They will never be perfected on this side of heaven, but growth will take place and be evident in believers as we mature in Christ. As John MacArthur says–it is about direction and not perfection.

This essay is in direct opposition to much of the popular religion called “Christianity” today. I am well aware of that. But, as usual, while I hate to make people upset or angry, I am loyal to the Word of God, first and foremost. And this is what the Word of God teaches about Christianity.

This post is written by my brother, Pastor Dean. I will write a bit more about him after the essay, for those that are interested. Now here is his guest post–

TRUE CHRISTIANITY

Who is a Christian? A quick Google search will tell us that the leading world religion is Christianity, numbering 2.1 billion people. Since the world population is 7.5 billion, almost one in three is classified as a Christian. But I am reminded of the words of Jesus who said many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord . . . and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:22-23). The important point here is that self-classification is not the determining factor in answering the question who is a Christian? So perhaps we should ask who is a true Christian? Or rather, who does Christ classify as a Christian? That is the determining factor. Jesus said two things in the above quotation about false professors: (1) I never knew you; and (2) you work iniquity. No ungodly person unacquainted with the new birth will ever enter heaven. But let us consider positively what defines, according to Christ, a true christian.

(1) A TRUE CHRISTIAN HEARS THE WORD OF CHRIST – Jesus said: Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice (John 18:37); My sheep hear my voice (John 10:27); He that is of God, hears God’s words (John 8:47). This is the most basic attribute of a true Christian. He receives, believes, trusts, obeys, and delights in God’s Word, namely the Scriptures (Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119; Matt. 7:24-27; John 8:31-32; 17:8; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:13; James 1:21). This is called faith. The person who is apathetic, defiant, or careless toward Scripture is not a Christian according to Christ.

(2) A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVES IN CHRIST – Jesus said: This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent (John 6:29); He that believes on me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life (John 6:47-48). In view of the context of these verses, to believe on Christ is to believe at least two things about Christ. First, it is to believe that he is the Son of God, sent from the Father, and second, that he is the one who laid down his life, as the spotless Lamb of God, as an atonement for our sins. A Christian is one who has trusted in Christ alone for the forgiveness of his sins. He has been justified (declared righteous) by grace, through faith in the blood of Christ. He has been reconciled to God and, as a result, is at peace with God (Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:10-26; 5:1; Col. 1:20-23). Anyone who has not called upon the Lord for the forgiveness of his sins, through the blood of Christ, is not a Christian.

(3) A TRUE CHRISTIAN FOLLOWS CHRIST – Jesus said: My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me (John 10:27). In another place he said: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus said these words immediately after rebuking Peter for denying that he (i.e. Christ) must suffer and die. It is as if Jesus said, Not only must I go to the cross, but so must you. These words of Jesus are not a call to asceticism or martyrdom, but rather a call to regeneration. In order to live, you must die –to yourself, to sin, to your own desires. This saying of Jesus is closely related to Paul’s words in Gal. 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. You cannot be a Christian without dying to yourself. When we were born again, we died with Christ and arose with Christ (Rom. 6:2-4), therefore we are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of God (Rom. 6:22). We now live to please God in everything we do, say, and think. A Christian does not do this perfectly, but it is his desire. The person who is fundamentally living for himself, following his own dreams, pursuing his own pleasure is not a Christian, according to Christ.

(4) A TRUE CHRISTIAN HAS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST – Jesus said: I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you (Jn. 14:16-17). Paul wrote: Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Rom. 8:9). A true Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit and where the Holy Spirit dwells there will be evidences. The Spirit produces holiness in the life. By holiness I do not mean merely morality. Many unbelievers are at some level moral. Holiness is an inward delight in God, his Word, his will, his plan, and his people. This holiness can further be described as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal. 5:22-23). Of course a true Christian is by no means perfect in regard to these qualities and in fact he daily struggles with sin in his own heart. But where this holy character is fundamentally lacking we can be certain the Holy Spirit is not present. Such a person, according to Christ, is not a Christian.

(5) A TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVES THE BODY OF CHRIST – Jesus said: By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another (Jn. 13:35). Jesus was not merely speaking of a general love for people. He was referring to love within the body of Christ. A defining mark of a Christian is love for fellow-believers. John wrote: We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren (1 Jn. 3:14). A true Christian serves the church of Jesus Christ. He bears the burdens of fellow-believers. He attends upon the preaching of the Word and the Christ-ordained ordinances in the context of the local church. A person who does not delight in God’s people and forsakes the gathering of the saints, is not a Christian by Biblical standards.

(6) A TRUE CHRISTIAN PERSEVERES IN CHRIST – Jesus said: If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed (John 8:31). There are many who seem to follow Christ for a time. This was true in Christ’s day (John 2:23-25; 6:66), it was true in the Apostle John’s experience (1 John 2:19), and it is true today. There are many who ostensibly receive the Word with much joy, but then wither at the first sign of persecution, or become, over time, utterly choked out by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13:18-22). Such are not true Christians. They make take the name, but they are not classified as Christians by Christ. A true Christian perseveres through trials, difficulties, failures, temptations, and struggles. He may fall down a thousand times, but by the grace of God, he keeps following Christ.

Jesus said that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven we must enter by the narrow gate and walk by the narrow way (Matt. 7:13-14). We are told that we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Jesus said that many will seek to enter the kingdom but will not be able (Luke 13:24). These are sobering words. Yet his promises are as sure as they have ever been. He has given us everything we need in his Word for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Let us be prayerful, humble, diligent, trembling, faithful, believing, obedient, life-long students of the Word of God, for this is the means by which God keeps his children (Proverbs 2:1-22). This is how we look to Christ.

Finally, a Christian is one who loves Christ. We love him because we know that whatever good is in us is the result of his work. If left to myself, I would be lost. But Jesus saved me. This is a true Christian.

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Introduction

21 Comments / February 6, 2017 February 8, 2017

I have found myself wondering recently what my grandmother would think of the church if she would be here now. She died twenty-six years ago–two weeks before my first daughter was born. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, I don’t think we truly realize how much things in the mainstream church have changed in those years. But what if she could come back for just a day? How clear would the changes be to her?

I guess it is rather like when we haven’t seen a child for a few years. To those who are living with the child, the changes are so subtle and imperceptible that they are hardly noticed. But to someone who hasn’t been with the child, the changes are radical.

I believe that this is exactly what is happening now. The changes to the church have been profound and inconceivable and yet so many of us don’t see.

Why is this?

I believe it is for primarily four reasons–

1. We don’t know the Word of God. There is serious biblical illiteracy in America today. This is from Al Mohler’s post on the subject—

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: “Americans revere the Bible–but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.” How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it’s worse than most could imagine.

Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. “No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don’t know what they are,” said George Barna, president of the firm. The bottom line? “Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate.

How can we discern if we don’t have any idea what we are comparing the false doctrine to?

2. We don’t care. What I mean by not caring is not a blatant and hostile disregard for the truth, but rather a distracted, apathetic disinterest towards truth. We are busy with other–seemingly more important–things. Things like jobs, education, the arts, sports, church, family, health and fitness, hobbies, vacations. These are all good things, but when we allow them to consume all of our passion, time, and enthusiasm then we are left too drained and exhausted to be concerned with God’s Word and what it says.

(How do we fix this? There is an easy solution! Time spent in God’s Word, diligently studying it, eliminates apathy towards the truth.)

3. We have been brainwashed to believe that truth is not absolute. Even those of us who call ourselves Christians will fall for this if we aren’t careful. I have heard Christians say things like this:

“That book was such a comfort to me, how could it possibly be wrong?” and “This book really helped me understand who God is”–even though the books in question were blatantly and clearly against what scripture teaches.

“How can you argue against so-and-so’s experience?” regarding someone’s account that was in direct opposition to the Word of God.

We have allowed truth to be defined by our subjective experiences instead of by the Word of God.

4. And, finally, we are afraid. I get this one. I truly do. It is no fun at all being the one who gets mocked because you point out that yet another book or movie or band is not biblical. And now it seems like there are far more that are not biblical than those that are. I agree that it is far easier to be ignorant of what’s going on in the church.

But are these excuses good enough? Will they stand up when we stand in front of our Holy God and give an account of our lives? Or will we one day deeply regret just how how deceived we were and, in being deceived, how we aided in the deception of other souls–both lost and saved–as well?

Sadly, the choice to discern can come with some heartache (see #3 below) and it will cost us in ways that hurt. And so we have to decide if we want to follow God or if we want to be popular; If we want to follow God or if we want to have our ears tickled; If we want to follow our perfect God or if we are going to follow imperfect man.

I have a great passion for the truth that was passed on to me by my father. He instilled this love for truth in the hearts of both my brother (Pastor Dean) and myself and, in many ways, the ministries that we both have are his legacy.

It is my hope that Growing 4 Life has helped you grow in your knowledge of the Word and in your love for truth. For this is why I write. It is with this in mind that I am going to start a series called “Learn to Discern”. What I hope to do through this series is to give you a broader understanding of what exactly is going on in the church (and the world) today, comparing it all to what scripture says.

So what is discernment? We hear this word, but perhaps you aren’t quite sure what it is. We find this definition on an excellent post titled Defining Discernment over at Grace to You–

In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.

And so it is my hope that this series will help you learn to run any new philosophies, trends, and methods through the grid of scripture. It is my hope that your loyalty to God and His Word will grow through this series and your loyalty to fallible man–whether they be preachers, authors, musicians, or friends– will be subjected to the Word of God, first and foremost.

The first two posts in this series will be written by my brother (Pastor Dean), who will first give us a definition of biblical Christianity according to the Word of God and, second, an overview of how this definition has been warped and twisted and perverted in what we call “Christianity” today. After those two posts, I will break it down by writing on topics that will {hopefully} give you greater insight. It is my hope and prayer that this series will be simple and understandable.

There are a few things to keep in mind as we begin this series–

1. We are all called to discern. Sometimes I will hear someone say something like this–“I don’t see that stuff. You just have the gift of discernment.” There might be some truth to that, but I would actually say that all of us–by diligently studying the Word and training our minds to compare all we hear and see with what the Word says–can (and should) become effective discerners. It reminds me a bit of evangelism–not having the gift of evangelism doesn’t mean we never have to do it. It may be a little easier for those who are gifted but it is something we all are called to do. The same principle applies to discernment (Hebrews 5:14; Philippians 1:9-11).

2. The only thing that matters is the Word of God. It matters not what I think at all. If you read this blog often, you will already know this but let me say it again– my opinion matters ZERO. Zilch. Not. At. All. I don’t want you to rely on me for truth. Or on Pastor Dean. Or even on your own pastor. While we are certainly able to learn and grow from the teachings of other men and women, our job is to search out what the scriptures say for ourselves, running everything anybody says through the grid of the Word of God (Acts 17:11). As believers, we must hold to the inspiration, inerrancy, and sufficiency of scripture. Each topic in this series will be studied in light of the Word as it has been traditionally interpreted since it was first written (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15).

3. Discernment is not popular. As you learn and your eyes are opened, you may be excited to share what you are learning. Please be aware that many people will roll their eyes, change the subject, call you things like harsh, unloving, or hyper-critical, and/or talk about you behind your back. Some will even grow angry with you. Walls will go up between you and friends whom you love. Just as trying to swim upstream feels impossible, so, too, does going against the flow of the mainstream church. Most people are very comfortable swimming downstream and the fact that you are swimming in the opposite direction–no matter if it is based clearly on scripture or not–makes most Christians extremely uncomfortable. Prepare yourself for this and make sure you are always loving, kind, and gentle as God gives you opportunity to discuss the things you are learning. And always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who opens eyes. Remembering this helps us to stay calm and to back away without rancor when someone just can’t see. None of this is worth a heated argument. It just isn’t. Walk away and pray. That’s the best thing we can do.

4. We can never judge someone’s relationship with God. As I give you examples of men and women who may have fallen for some of these false doctrines and philosophies, the inevitable, panicked questions will be —Do they know what they are doing? Does that mean they aren’t saved? I can tell you up front and right now that I don’t know. There is really no way to know if they have been deceived or if they are purposely deceiving. Only God knows the heart of a man (Jeremiah 20:12). My goal is to show how these philosophies have infiltrated the ministries of those in mainstream Christianity, as well as even many of those that are associated with conservative Christianity. I am not judging hearts, motives, or eternal destinies. Please keep this in mind.

5. What you do with this information is up to you. Some of you will be uninterested and ignore the series. Some of you will read it and grab hold of it and determine to not read or listen to anything by anyone who you know has compromised. And others of you will try to walk the fine line of sorting through the good and the bad as you continue to do the Bible Studies or listen to the sermons of those who are teaching false doctrines. I cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I do. When I become aware that someone is teaching false doctrine, I eliminate them from having any input into my life. This has been my practice for a very long time. I do not have enough confidence in myself to believe that I would be incapable of being deceived. I never want to knowingly subject myself to anything that doesn’t agree with scripture. Just as I would never eat a brownie or a bowl of soup that contained even 1% poison, so I choose not to knowingly ingest anything into my mind that contains 1% poison.

It is my hope and prayer that this series will be a great blessing to those of you that really want to understand what is going on. And may I humbly ask you to pray for me as I work on this series? I feel the weight of such an important series in this current day and age. I don’t want to lead anyone astray but desire only to lift high God and His Word, while exposing the evil darkness that is cloaking itself as “wonderful” and “good” in the church today.

If you are still here and reading after this unusually long post, I thank you. Have a great day!

(p.s. This series will be presented on most Mondays over the course of the next few months, as my schedule allows. Thursdays will be reserved for normal Growing4Life posts.)