The "gift" of Discernment..

"A lot of times when people think they've got the gift of discernment, what they really have is a hypercritical personality." - Phil Johnson

This will be one of my more embarrassing confessions...

A few months into my time at LifeGate church I was sitting in their Starting Point class fuming because of two guys who were talking during the class.

I don't even remember what they were talking about, only that by the way they were talking and the expressions on their faces, I knew they were just blowing smoke and making themselves out to be more than they were.

It was pretty obvious.  

I could tell by the way others were looking at them that they felt the same way.

So I sat there getting more and more annoyed.

When the class was over I grabbed my stuff and marched out of the room.  

I didn't stop to talk to anyone and I even bumped a couple people on my way out without apologizing.

*I wasn't saved at this time and I was pretty accustomed to acting like a brat*

On my way home the pastor called me to ask me why I rushed out so quickly.  

I don't remember what I said exactly but it was something along the lines of "those guys are full of sh*t.  They went on and on, lying about themselves and how great they were and you just stood there and let them!"

He replied (and I remember this word for word): "Oh Ren, I've had a feeling about this for a while but now I'm sure of it.  You have the gift of discernment!" he told me to come to his office and he'd help me to understand what it meant.

Basically what it came down to was that I had a super power..

God had given me the ability to know truth from lies.  Who was for real and who was a fake.  Who was lying and who was telling the truth.

About anything and everything.

Yep. Another one of those invisible gifts that people in the hyper-charismatic church get, to make them feel special and somehow more powerful and loved by God than your average, boring, legalistic, Christian.

Now I know what you're thinking..

"But Ren, you study everything..  Didn't you study discernment too?"

Well of course I did!

I read everything in the hyper-charismatic pastor's library about it.

I talked to the pastors at the hyper-charismatic church.

I listened to "sermons" about this magical gift of discernment by hyper-charismatic people.

Sermons by super smart theologians like Joyce Meyer and Robert Morris and Beth Moore.

I grew so much in my gift that pastors would introduce me to other people and say things like "this is Ren, talk to her, she has an amazing gift of discernment".

I would use this gift to 'help' other people in the church.

I wish I was making this up.

You have no idea how embarrassing it is for me to admit this now.

If you haven't noticed yet; once I was told that I had this amazing and special gift, I completely forgot about every other person in the room who was also annoyed by the incessant bragging of those 2 guys.  

I had forgotten that it was obvious to EVERYONE IN THE ROOM.

Because this was MY gift.

This was MY special super power.

But what I didn't do was look at what the Bible had to say about discernment.  

Well except for the verses about the gifts of the Spirit that every hyper-charismatic takes out of context.

**by the way, when I say out of context, I mean not properly understanding the context in which the text was written- to whom, by whom, when, and why. 

You can recite an entire chapter of the Bible and still be taking it (understanding it) out of context.**

So.  What is discernment?

The word discern and its derivatives are translations of the Greek word anakrino in the New Testament. It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent search, to examine.”

The key words: diligent search, to examine.

John MacArthur describes it thus-

"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."

So- "making careful distinctions about our thinking."

This means taking every thought captive and not making snap judgments based on a feeling or a hunch. 

R.C. Sproul said-

"To some it is given in unusual measure as a special grace gift (1 Cor. 12:10), but some measure of it is essential for us all and must be constantly nourished. The Christian must take care to develop his “sixth sense” of spiritual discernment. This is why the psalmist prays, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge” (Ps. 119:66)."

Now here- "some measure of it is essential for us all and must be constantly nourished."

This means that everyone who is truly saved; everyone who has received the Holy Spirit has been graced with biblical discernment.

Some more than others.

But why?

Well. That's pretty simple actually.

They pray, they search the Scriptures, they learn.

They work at it.

Yeah, work. 

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. - Philippians 1:9

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,- Proverbs 1:2

And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 1:13

and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. - Timothy 3:15

So is biblical discernment a gift or is it learned?

Both.

Like I said, every true believer has been graced with biblical discernment.

You have to be saved before you can truly understand the Word of God.

Anyone can read the Bible.

Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans..

Everyone.

But only those who are saved can understand it.

The Bible says so.

But they have to feed their discernment.  Nourish it with the Word of God.  They have to learn it.  They have to read it. They have to meditate on it, and they have to pray for it. 

I'm not just giving you my opinion here. I promise.  

The Bible says all of this.

The problem is, there are so many people who have been taken in by false teachers who believe they are saved but aren't.

So they believe whatever they are told by the false teacher because what they are telling them sounds good.

That's how I know that I wasn't saved at that time.  Of course I didn't know that then.

It's only because I am saved now that am I able to look back on the things I learned from Joyce Meyer, Robert Morris, Beth Moore, Les Beauchamp, Tracy Rice etc, and realize that they were ALL lies.

I know that they are lies because now I understand Scripture.

Anyone, believer or unbeliever can listen to a couple of windbags brag about themselves and know that they are full of crap. 

But not everyone can discern a false teacher from a biblical one.

Not everyone can discern the true teachings of Scripture from lies taught by ungodly teachers.

Well then, how does one really grow in biblical discernment?

Believe the gospel.

Repent.

Pray for wisdom and learn the Bible.

"How is such discernment to be obtained? We receive it as did Christ Himself—by the anointing of the Spirit, through our understanding of God’s Word, by our experience of God’s grace, and by the progressive unfolding to us of the true condition of our own hearts."- R.C Sproul