[One]
factor in the abysmal lack of discernment today is a growing
deterioration of the overall level of spiritual maturity in today’s
church. As knowledge of God’s truth
ebbs, people follow more popular views, seeking feelings and
experiences. They are hungry for miracles, healings, and spectacular
wonders. They grope for easy and instant solutions to the routine trials
of life. They turn quickly from the plain truth of God’s Word to
embrace doctrines fit only for the credulous and naive. They chase
personal comfort and success. Christianity today may be shallower than
at any time in history. . .
Spiritual
ignorance and biblical illiteracy are commonplace. That kind of
spiritual shallowness is a direct result of shallow teaching. Solid
preaching with deep substance and sound doctrine is essential for
Christians to grow. But churches today often teach only the barest
basics—and sometimes less than that.
Churches
are therefore filled with baby Christians—people who are spiritual
infants. That is a fitting description, because the characteristic that
is most descriptive of an infant is selfishness. Babies are completely
self-centered. They scream if they don’t get what they want when they
want it. They are aware of only their own needs and desires. They never
say thanks for anything. They can’t help others; they can’t give
anything. They can only receive. And certainly there is nothing wrong
with that when it occurs in the natural stage of infancy. But to see a
child whose development is arrested so he never gets beyond the stage of
helpless selfishness—that is a tragedy.
And
that is exactly the spiritual state of multitudes in the church today.
They are utterly preoccupied with self. They want their own problems
solved and their own comfort elevated. Their spiritual development is
arrested, and they remain in a perpetual state of selfish helplessness.
It is evidence of a tragic abnormality.
Arrested
infancy means people do not discern. Just as a baby crawls along the
floor, putting anything it finds in its mouth, spiritual babies don’t
know what is good for them and what isn’t. Immaturity and lack of
discernment go together; they are virtually the same thing.
The
tendency to stall in a state of immaturity also existed in New
Testament times. Paul repeatedly appealed to Christians to grow up
spiritually. In Ephesians 4:14-15, he wrote, “We are no longer to be
children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful
scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ” (emphasis added).
How
do we grow spiritually? By “speaking the truth in love” to one another.
We grow under the truth. It is the same truth by which we are
sanctified, conformed to the image of Christ, made to be mature
spiritually (John 17:17, 19). As we absorb the truth of God’s Word, we
grow up and are built up. We might say accurately that the process of
spiritual growth is a process of training for discernment.
Hebrews 5:12-6:1 underscores all this:
Though
by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone
to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you
have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes
only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have
their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the
elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity.
The
writer of Hebrews told his readers, “You’re babies. You’ve been around
long enough to be teachers, but instead I have to feed you milk. I have
to keep giving you elementary things. You can’t take solid food. You’re
not accustomed to the rich things of the Word—and that is tragic.”
Notice
in verse fourteen he states that discernment and maturity go hand in
hand: “solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their
senses trained to discern good and evil.” Knowing and understanding the
Word of righteousness—taking in solid food—trains your senses to discern
good and evil.
The word “senses” is
not a reference to the feelings, emotions, or other subjective sensory
mechanisms. The writer of this epistle is explicitly encouraging his
readers to exercise their minds. Those who “because of practice have
their senses trained to discern” are the wise, the understanding, people
who thrive on the solid food of the Word of God. As we have seen from
the beginning, discernment results fr m a carefully disciplined mind.
Discernment is not a matter of feelings, nor is it a mystical gift.
Notice from the wisdom literature of the Old Testament how closely
discernment is linked with a seasoned, developed, biblically informed
mind.
• Psalm 119:66: “Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Thy commandments.”
• Proverbs
2:2-5: “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to
understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for
understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for
hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and
discover the knowledge of God.”
• Proverbs 10:13: “On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found.”
• Proverbs 16:21: “The wise in heart will be called discerning.”
The
path to discernment is the way of spiritual maturity. And the only
means to spiritual maturity is mastery of the Word of God.
Most
people are discerning about things that are important to them. People
who regard a healthy diet as crucial watch carefully what they eat. They
read the fine print on the package to see how many grams of fat it has
and what percentages of the daily required nutrients are offered. People
who work with pesticides or dangerous chemicals must be very
discerning. They study the procedures and the precautions very carefully
to avoid any potentially lethal exposure. People who make investments
in the stock market usually practice discernment. They study the cryptic
newspaper listings on the stock market and watch the ticker tape.
Lawyers are very discerning with contracts. They have to figure out the
legal jargon and make sure they understand what they are signing. People
who undergo delicate surgery are usually very discerning. They try to
find the doctor with the finest skills—or at least verify that he or she
has plenty of experience in whatever procedure is to be done. I know
many people who are very discerning sports enthusiasts. They watch a
football game and can assess any offense, any defense, any play. They
often feel they are more discerning than whoever is calling the actual
plays. They study statistics and averages and take it all very
seriously.
Do you realize those are
essentially the same skills that are required in spiritual discernment?
Careful thought, keen interest, thorough analysis, close
observation—together with alertness, attentiveness, thoughtfulness, and
above all, a love of truth. All of us have those skills to some degree,
and we use them in whatever field of endeavor is important to us.
Yet
what could be more important than spiritual discernment? There is no
valid explanation for why contemporary Christians are so
undiscerning—but it reveals a spiritual apathy that is deadly evil.
Can
the church regain her ability to be discerning? Only by growing up
spiritually. That means confronting the spirit of a relativistic age and
diligently applying ourselves to the unfailing Word of God. We cannot
gain discernment overnight, or through a mystical experience.
Understanding the problem is not the answer. Discernment will come only
as we train our minds to be understanding in the truth of God’s Word and
learn to apply that truth skillfully to our lives.
MacArthur, John. Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern. Wheaton: Crossway, 1994. pp. 62-66 (out of print).
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