How can you identify the truth from lies? How can you know what pleases God? It is only through the Holy Spirit and the study of God’s Word that we are able to give definitive answers to these questions and protect ourselves from being deceived. For this reason, we should always be seeking discernment through the study of God’s Word.
I want to pick up where I left off in last week’s article, Seeking To Hear God’s Voice. In that article I encouraged you to make sure that you are hearing God’s voice more often than you are hearing the unbelieving world’s voice. A big reason why we must do this is for our protection. We need to be able to determine right from wrong, good from bad, and truth from lies. As followers of Christ, we need to be able to discern what is pleasing to God and expose what is not.
When I received Christ as my Lord and Savior and I began to rightly see the Bible as His Word, the Holy Spirit showed me the many ways that my understanding of the world around me was wrong. He pointed out where I was ignorant and needed more understanding and where I needed to submit to truth and reject lies. Knowing where I have come from, I still can’t help but shake my head at the world around me. God’s Word tells us why the unbelieving world is foolish and why we should stop following them.
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:17-18
Don’t Be Deceived
Over the last several years, we have falsely convinced many that being a Christian means saying a prayer, proclaiming you’re a Christian, and then doing whatever you want and calling it being a Christian. For this reason, we see self-proclaimed Christians calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).
If someone says, I am a Christian, and then proceeds to say or do something that God calls sin, they are essentially saying it’s okay for Christians to do this. Christ approves. They think they are being like Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. The problem is they are not imitating Christ. Their behavior indicates that they do not have the Holy Spirit and they do not know God. Your response in this situation may be to say, Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1). This is a misrepresentation of this verse. God’s Word says that we have to be able to judge or we will be deceived.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
We don’t get to make up what it looks like to follow Christ. He’s already told us in His Word, so it’s important that we know what His Word says. This equips us to reject lies and share the truth with others. Otherwise, we claim to be loving our neighbor while lying to them about who Christ is and what it looks like to follow Him. As a result we are actually sending them straight to eternity apart from God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; Ephesians 5:6-7
What is Good, Right & True
I read a study recently that claimed more than 45% of adults can’t tell the difference between fact and opinion. The study went on to say that this is clearly a problem because it makes it difficult to make informed decisions. This figure shouldn’t be surprising. Many in the world would like for us to believe that things like gender, marriage, and right and wrong are all up to interpretation. They claim to have evolved into a better understanding of these things, but that’s not what Scripture tells us. God’s Word tells us that God defines all of these things including what is good, right, and true. If we are followers of Christ we embrace God’s definition of these things while shining light on what God calls evil, wrong, and lies.
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), Ephesians 5:8-9
As I mentioned before, my way of thinking was way off before I was saved because it was anchored to nothing. My beliefs were a collection of my own thoughts, my own opinions, and a little bit of how I was raised. I couldn’t tell you why I believed what I did. Probably because it sounded good, but there is a danger to this kind of relative truth. Go read Judges, which ends with Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Friend, we have a King, and His name is Jesus. We were called to do what is right according to Him.
Expose Darkness
These days there are so many influencers, podcasts, and, dare I say it, blogs claiming to be sharing the things of God. Many are not. When we attend a Bible preaching church, enter into environments of discipleship, and are in God’s Word regularly, we start viewing everything through the lens of Scripture. Over time and through the work of the Holy Spirit we will be able to discern what is from God and what is not.
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Ephesians 5:10-11
Having discernment helps us to not take part in the things that are not of God. Stop following and listening to people who claim to be a Christian and blaspheme God. Don’t blindly hate people because the world says you should. Stop celebrating the brutal murder of innocent children and calling it women’s health. Recognize the danger in ad campaigns like He Gets Us. He gets you because He made you, but He is not like you. He is God. We should expose lies and refuse to compromise on truth because we understand the cost, ours and our neighbors’ salvation.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17
We can not pretend to be ignorant on issues concerning God’s Word. Stop accepting lies as facts, and stop compromising on truth out of fear of man. God has given us His Word to protect us from those who seek to deceive us.
Get In God’s Word
Every article I write pretty much ends the same way. Don’t take God’s Word for granted. We have the Bible because God loves us. He wants us to know Him, to walk with Him, and to reject the things that are not from Him. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived. Read God’s Word on your own, with your family, and with other believers. Know the truth so that you can reject lies. Seek to be able to discern what is pleasing to God instead of what is pleasing to the world.
Need some help getting started? Be sure to check out my Resources Page. It has some great resources to help you be intentional about prayer and being in God’s Word. I would love to hear from you. Send me an email through my Contact Page.