The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment

   To lack discernment is to sin against God. It is an inevitable result of turning from him. It is easy to look at those who have turned from God and look at their lustful and angry hearts and affirm that this is a result of their sin. When a Christian falls into moral sin he may well examine his life to determine how he has turned his back on God, but is the same true when he exhibits a lack of discernment? A wise pastor writes, “to willingly neglect the truth and to walk with our eyes closed shut while good and evil stare us in the face is to sin against God, ourselves, our families, and our church. . . . Again, this is worth stating over and over again. It is the responsibility of every Christian to learn, to be disciplined in the Word, so that we can know how to be discerning. To fail to discern is to walk in darkness.”
   This is the bad news. Scripture portrays those who lack spiritual discernment in three ways: they are spiritually immature, they are backslidden, and they are dead. Those who lack discernment or do not care for it will fit into one of these three categories. These re the dangers of ignoring discernment.
   But there is good news, too. The Bible declares that there are many benefits stored up for those who desire discernment, those who seek after and practice it.

The Bible teaches there is a clear relationship between spiritual discernment and spiritual maturity. For a Christian to be Mature, he must also be discerning. Those who are not discerning must be immature, backsliding, or dead. Conversely, those who exhibit discernment must be alive, growing, and mature. It is clear from Scripture that all Christians are expected to pursue discernment, for the Bible cries out repeatedly for us to do so. It is the responsibility of each Christian to heed and to answer the call and so to guard the deposit God has entrusted to us.