Discernment. Tread Carefully.
Some Christians are quick to judge. This is a dangerous business.
Many Christians are afraid of being taken in by falsehood, but in their zeal, they themselves may judge falsely.
Zealous but mistaken judgement may be just as dangerous as the influence of misguided ministry.
Paul was in his day a radical Charismatic. His critics were zealous for a more conservative interpretation of the Word of God. What did Paul write about them?
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— Gal 3:1-5
There is no such thing as new truth, because Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life.”
God’s truth is eternal and unchanging, but He has sent His Spirit to lead us into all truth.
The conservative bible believers in Paul’s day included Pharisees who rejected Jesus. However, there were also conservative bible believers who accepted Jesus but who rejected Paul’s revelation that we are not to live under the Law of Moses.
Paul’s radical teaching was attacked as heresy by sincere Bible believers who said it was new truth and therefore false truth, that is, falsehood.
When we see ministry today which goes outside of our mainstream evangelical understanding of the Bible, there are some who go to one extreme by abandoning their fundamental biblical foundation.
A good example is the people who like getting drunk in the spirit and have become universalists. They say God is so sweet and lovely, that he could not possibly condemn anyone to eternal punishment.
There are others who react in the opposite way. If they see strange or unfamiliar behaviour or teaching, they immediately assume it is demonic.
Gullible acceptance of every dramatic experience is dangerous. It is dangerous to assume every dramatic manifestation is from God. However, it is also dangerous to assume it is from the enemy.
Judgement based on assumptions is not genuine discernment at all, even if you back up your assumptions with bible quotes.
Consider these Bible stories.
Hosea the prophet said God told him to marry a prostitute. This was surely a violation of biblical principles. God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments are called to separate themselves from intimate fellowship with sinners. If a preacher today did this, would he not be condemned by a chorus of zealous bible believers?
This is an extreme example which shows how dangerous it is to rush to judgement based on preconceived assumptions, even when supported by detailed bible knowledge.
If zealous heresy hunters today studied the life of King Solomon, would they accept his writings as divinely inspired? I am quite sure many would not. What about the sensuous Song of Songs? Was this inspired by the Holy Spirit or by Solomon’s well known extreme desire for women?
Of course, we accept it as Scripture because it is in the bible, but how many of us would have agreed to include it in the bible if we were assessing which texts should be accepted as the Word of God?
What about Samson?
Surely his supernatural feats were manifestations of witchcraft! He was a man of evil character, a man who freely indulged himself with prostitutes and dishonest idol worshipping women.
Didn’t Jesus say: “By their fruits you shall know them.” What fruits of righteousness can we see in the life of Samson?
But the bible tells us that his supernatural strength came from God and that throughout his life, Samson performed supernatural feats by the power of God.
How does that fit in with the mindset of some modern heresy hunters?
Some Christians are quick to judge. This is a dangerous business.
Many Christians are afraid of being taken in by falsehood, but in their zeal, they themselves may judge falsely.
Zealous but mistaken judgement may be just as dangerous as the influence of misguided ministry.
Paul was in his day a radical Charismatic. His critics were zealous for a more conservative interpretation of the Word of God. What did Paul write about them?
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— Gal 3:1-5
There is no such thing as new truth, because Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life.”
God’s truth is eternal and unchanging, but He has sent His Spirit to lead us into all truth.
The conservative bible believers in Paul’s day included Pharisees who rejected Jesus. However, there were also conservative bible believers who accepted Jesus but who rejected Paul’s revelation that we are not to live under the Law of Moses.
Paul’s radical teaching was attacked as heresy by sincere Bible believers who said it was new truth and therefore false truth, that is, falsehood.
When we see ministry today which goes outside of our mainstream evangelical understanding of the Bible, there are some who go to one extreme by abandoning their fundamental biblical foundation.
A good example is the people who like getting drunk in the spirit and have become universalists. They say God is so sweet and lovely, that he could not possibly condemn anyone to eternal punishment.
There are others who react in the opposite way. If they see strange or unfamiliar behaviour or teaching, they immediately assume it is demonic.
Gullible acceptance of every dramatic experience is dangerous. It is dangerous to assume every dramatic manifestation is from God. However, it is also dangerous to assume it is from the enemy.
Judgement based on assumptions is not genuine discernment at all, even if you back up your assumptions with bible quotes.
Consider these Bible stories.
Hosea the prophet said God told him to marry a prostitute. This was surely a violation of biblical principles. God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments are called to separate themselves from intimate fellowship with sinners. If a preacher today did this, would he not be condemned by a chorus of zealous bible believers?
This is an extreme example which shows how dangerous it is to rush to judgement based on preconceived assumptions, even when supported by detailed bible knowledge.
If zealous heresy hunters today studied the life of King Solomon, would they accept his writings as divinely inspired? I am quite sure many would not. What about the sensuous Song of Songs? Was this inspired by the Holy Spirit or by Solomon’s well known extreme desire for women?
Of course, we accept it as Scripture because it is in the bible, but how many of us would have agreed to include it in the bible if we were assessing which texts should be accepted as the Word of God?
What about Samson?
Surely his supernatural feats were manifestations of witchcraft! He was a man of evil character, a man who freely indulged himself with prostitutes and dishonest idol worshipping women.
Didn’t Jesus say: “By their fruits you shall know them.” What fruits of righteousness can we see in the life of Samson?
But the bible tells us that his supernatural strength came from God and that throughout his life, Samson performed supernatural feats by the power of God.
How does that fit in with the mindset of some modern heresy hunters?
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