“But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth).” John 16:13 (Amplified)
When you commit your faith to Jesus Christ you receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Truth-giving Spirit. That means He reveals the full Truth of God to your spirit, soul and mind as you cooperate with Him. Now that is amazing grace!
It is very important, vitally important, that you understand this relationship. Because there are many vendors of the “truth” out there and you might be deceived if you cannot discern the Truth.
Listen to these warnings:
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3
“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” Galatians 5:7-8
If you have read popular self-help books (like “The Secret”) and have been tempted to come into agreement with it, you are risking being misled into believing that you have “truth” and “power” within yourself to generate wisdom, health and prosperity. This teaching has ancient roots through Gnosticism, argued against in the New Testament, and clear back to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; “you will be like God,” (Genesis 3:4).
Jesus Christ came to correct that massive, cosmic error because He is the Truth. You can only know God when His Truth-giving Spirit remains in you.
“We are [children] of God. Whoever is learning to know God [progressively to perceive, recognize, and understand God by observation and experience, and to get an ever-clearer knowledge of Him] listens to us; and he who is not of God does not listen or pay attention to us. By this we know (recognize) the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:6 (Amplified)
Follow the steps to increase your discernment of truth:
- Study the Bible for yourself.
- Confirm what you learn with other faithful followers of Christ.
- Ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you so that it makes sense.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #2
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series
Can you taste the difference between a deluxe pizza and a Hot Pocket? What about the difference between sugar and Splenda or some other artificial sweetener? Can you taste the difference between the message of Jesus Christ and the wisdom of the world?
As a pastor I sometimes encounter what I see as the lack of discernment for real trust in Christ and trusting one’s own thoughts. The risk is making an authority out of your own opinion, rather than trusting the greater authority of the Bible. If you have ever been tempted to doubt the value of the Bible because someone says, “the Bible is full of contradictions,” then you are giving in to an argument that is superficial and has no authority. Or if you give in to the world’s wisdom that the Bible is the same as other religious books, than you devalue what Jesus did to save the world.
The message of the cross must never be seen as “just another religious option.” It must be our passion. This series, “The Need for Discernment,” will try to teach how to increase your passion for the One who deserves it.
"Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food. Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.” Job 34:2-4
Some essential steps to discerning the Truth include:
• Understand that asking Jesus into your heart brings you into the covenant of grace.
• Living in that covenant includes receiving God’s blessings and responding in a life of worship and trust (Heb. 9:15 and Heb. 13:20).
• Make a personal declaration of faith that you believe the Bible to be the Word of God (Psalms 119:105).
• Test other teaching sources in light of the Bible and sound doctrine (Rom. 12:2).
• Learn to listen to the insights of the Holy Spirit to understand the deeper meaning of the Bible, (Ephesians 1:17-18).
These first steps to increase discernment will put your heart and mind into the position of believing and not falling to temptation of unbelief by agreeing with the cheap wisdom of the world.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.” Phil 1:9-11
