Christian

Spiritual Discernment: Now What?

Cindy Dawson

Discernment is scarce in the Church today. And people who lack discernment usually think they have it. But let’s say you are a person who has diligently studied the Bible, and you have honed the skill of discernment. You recognize false teaching when you hear it because you know the truth of God’s Word well.

Now what? How does one use that discernment in a Godly way? It isn’t as easy as it sounds. The following words from Hannah Anderson spoke to me as I contemplated this question.

“Discerning people use their insight to serve those around them…They use knowledge to build up and unify – not to tear down or create division…Sometimes this means having the patience to wait while others think through what you already know…Sometimes it means foregoing your preferences for the good of others. Sometimes it might even mean being misunderstood precisely because others can’t yet see what you do… They resist the temptation to flaunt knowledge or prove themselves right.”

Hannah Anderson

This calls for a meek and gentle spirit when correcting a fellow believer. This calls for love to be our motivating factor. It calls for putting the interests of others above our own.

I’m not suggesting that we compromise – not for a moment, not ever! I believe we have a responsibility to speak the truth, but you can’t make someone see what they don’t see. In fact, many times your next step is simply to pray for them. This is why it is so important to be led by the Holy Spirit in these matters.

Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to faultfinding.

Corrie ten Boom

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4

I realize that this post is addressed to a very specific audience. But I think it is something we should all think about.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15

What will you do if you discern error in your local church? Will you speak out or will you remain silent?

In His Love, Cindy

Read more about discernment in this post:

How To Be a Discerning Christian

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

All Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Mark Harpur on Unsplash

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34 thoughts on “Spiritual Discernment: Now What?”

  1. Thank you, Cindy. “Do everything in love.” I love Corrie’s quote, too. You speak the truth, my friend. I’m not attending church at this time (since my move). I do plan on finding a local church. Like you, I think we can help guide others in truth with love. Unfortunately, that’s not always “seen” or “felt” in some gatherings. Thank God for his never-ending grace and love! Us humans are quite messy! Have a beautiful and blessed day, Cindy! Thank you for sharing God’s word daily! ❤️

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      1. Thank you, Cindy! Amen! Cindy, my twin and I were able to celebrate our birthday(s) yesterday. I feel so thankful to Christ for another year (another hour, another day). I have no fear, anyway! HE has me, HE has you! God bless you, my friend! 🙏💕

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  2. Hi Cindy, I agree with this post in the sense that we should always be checking our motives and especially the manner in which we make our case for truth, which should always be clothed in prayer. There is a delicate balance with the whole subject of discernment and correction and sometimes we shift that balance towards extremes at either end by ignoring that which we should speak out on and conversely being overly critical when we ought not to be. When Jesus addressed the Pharisees collectively, He did not mince words but individually, in some cases, He dealt differently with them. Same thing with the Samaritans, and there is much to be learned in the manner and delivery of His discourse to them. A Gospel of Jesus Christ that is presented that is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament, does of necessity have to be called out because it calls into question the very foundation of God’s revelation of His Son’s ministry and the purpose behind it. Paul’s correction of Peter is a case in point. I can’t agree with Corrie ten Booms quotation because “never’ means “never” and this is not Biblically so. Initially intercession via prayer, I’d say yes, but “never” faultfinding, I’d have to say no. Peter was at fault and Paul did correct him. Likewise Jesus corrected others in a good number of instances. There is a distinct difference between “righteous judgement” and rendering no judgement at all and that is where that delicate balance does come into play. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB which reads” “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” includes the words teaching, rebuke or reprimand, correction and training because it is one of the works that we all are called to do. When and how would be and should be in accordance with the whole counsel of God’s Holy Word. And I acknowledge that there can be a steep learning curve involved in learning how to apply God’s truth according to His whole counsel. My apology for butting in on your post, but I though it warranted a tad of expansion. God’s peace, grace and blessings to you and yours as always. Love in Christ – Bruce

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    1. Bruce, You are welcome to “butt in” anytime! Your comments are always much appreciated. In fact, I have to agree with everything you said. I am pretty bold on my blog, but face to face, not so much. I avoid confrontation, but when I do confront someone I am timid, nervous, and not very articulate. (That’s why I love writing instead.) Blessings, Brother!

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  3. A very thought-provoking post, Cindy. I think it depends on many factors and there is no simple answer except to do our best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. There have been times when the errors were flagrant and I openly contended for the faith in my local church and called for the pastor’s resignation, and there have been other times where they were subtle influences that I perceived in the church of a family member and I simply prayed (and soon enough – less than a year – they began to see this for themselves).

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    1. I agree with you completely, Craig. I gently shared my experience with the Word of Faith movement (Kenneth Copeland) and the resulting harm that came to me. But the person I tried to warn only dug in deeper to this false teaching. So I pray for her. Unfortunately she has a lot of influence on other Christians. Thank you for adding to this post. I appreciate it very much. Blessings, Brother!

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      1. Prayer is powerful and effective. We can trust that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He will not suffer a single sheep that truly belong to Him to be lost. He will eventually seek them and rescue them and *make* them lie down in green pastures once His inscrutable purposes have been fulfilled. His ways are higher than ours but we can trust that His ways are good. Our part is just to follow Him.

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  4. Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to faultfinding.

    Thank you for this, reminiscing on an issue that happened a long time ago, I wish I had handled it better by praying and not fault finding. I’m certainly glad I know better now and have handled other issues well.

    Thank you Cindy. God bless you.

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  5. Great thoughts, good questions and interesting quotes on discernment. It came to me, that we might simply ask how God, the one who is always discerning, patiently corrects us (again and again!) and how He treats us while we are going through the process. Have a blessed weekend!

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  6. Like you, Cindy, I’m not confrontational. So I have the utmost respect for someone who can respectfully debate their beliefs in an effort to help others reconsider discernment that they believe is erroneous. You do it well.

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    1. Thank you for your encouragement. I would like to learn more about discussing Biblical truth with a person who is in error. How can we be effective in making someone see truth? How can we make them think through what they believe?

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    1. Definitely! But then there are all those people who actually believe the outrageous lies being forced on our children. They are genuinely deceived. We will grow in discernment as we study God’s Word. Blessings!

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  10. LOVE the introductory quote by Hannah Anderson – all our gifts are to be used for serving others. What that ‘serving’ looks like depends on the situation and how God wants us to handle it (going back to wisdom and discernment).

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  11. That is a wonderful quote by Hannah Anderson. Thankyou for sharing. I have a friend who subscribes to a “prophetic” website and she sometimes sends me a link to a “word” that really “spoke” to her. I have been prayerfully considering how to respond next time, rather than ignoring her message. You nailed it when you say love needs to be our motivating factor.

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    1. That is definitely a situation that requires prayer. Make sure you know what the Bible has already said about this. Did you check out the source? That might be your answer. If you know that the website is from a false teacher, then you have more information to go on. I will pray for God to give you wisdom. I know from experience that these kinds of situations can be difficult to navigate. God bless you, Jo!

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  12. Pingback: Spiritual Discernment: Now What? – Jesus the Righteous Path

  13. Definitely an excellent post and just reblogged on my site. Many blessings to you Cindy and God bless…Hope this is the one I stated I was going to reblog, well if not, I’m sure I’ll come across it at some point…Have a very blessed weekend…Robin

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