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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
October 4, 2026
Discernment, Decisions & Direction
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Today’s sermon is the third in this series related to truth and will focus on the topic of Discernment, Decisions & Direction. The decisions you make and the direction those decisions will send you are dependent upon being able to discern what is true and what is false and what is right before God and what is not.
I began this series with a sermon on Why We Believe the Bible. Discernment must have a starting place for determining what is true, and that source is God’s word. It is has a supernatural origin as the revelation of our Creator about Himself, His will and the world He created. It also satisfies every other aspect of epistemology. God is an infinite being and therefore beyond full human comprehension, yet what He reveals is rational. In fact, logic exists only because it is a reflection of the nature of the omnipotent God. Our senses can be deceived so empiricism is a poor foundation to determine truth, yet everything declared in the Bible is true and nothing in it is contradicted by the physical evidence. Remember that scientism is based on a philosophy of materialism that excludes the supernatural, and so it begins with a flawed logic that must exclude the actual evidence. Scientism and all that is related to it including evolutionary hypotheses are not based on actual science. God has designed humans to enjoy what can be experienced by the senses, but the philosophy of hedonism makes that the purpose of existence instead of something to praise God for within the moral boundaries He has set.
The second sermon in this series was on The Battle for the Mind. We are in a spiritual war and the first place of attack is the truth. The devil is the father of lies and his slander against God and scheming deceptions are designed to lead people away from truth & God into falsehoods. Remember, he only has to skew people away from truth to be successful in his evil endeavors. That is why Christian cults are much more dangerous that the occult and false religions. The first piece of spiritual armor the Christians must put on is the belt of truth (Eph. 6:14). We never fear the quest for truth for it will always lead back to the Scriptures which are the truth, to Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life, and to God who is the God of Truth.
Because Christians have a foundation in God’s word and are taught and guided by the Holy Spirit, they will believe these foundational truths:
God, the infinite being who created all that exists for His own glory, is beyond man’s ability to fully comprehend. We understand Him according to what He has revealed about Himself in Creation and His word.
God created man in His own image in order to display in man a limited reflection of certain of His own attributes. Even the physical world, though now corrupted because of sin, still brings God glory because it continues to function according to His design. Actual science could not work if that was not true.
Man’s sin has corrupted that image of God and brought about God’s condemnation. Yet, God will still glorify Himself in man by the display of His attributes such as mercy, patience, longsuffering, goodness, kindness, love and compassion to all men in providing life and the opportunity for redemption and forgiveness of sin through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Man’s purpose of existence is to glorify God, and the first priority of His life is to love the Lord God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. His second priority is to love his neighbor as himself. Christians are called to the higher standard of loving others as Christ has loved them.
God saves people from sin so that they will be holy and blameless before Him. They are given positional righteousness before God when they place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He continues to change Christians throughout life as He conforms them to the image of Christ. We are to become increasingly righteous in our practice throughout life, and will become perfectly righteous when Jesus returns and we receive our glorified bodies.
These foundational truths enable the Christian to be discerning in life in a different way than non-Christians. As 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 explains, the natural man does not accept the things of God for his sinful nature corrupts his mind resulting in a darkened understanding that cannot see and comprehend clearly what should be obvious (Eph. 4:18). In contrast, the Holy Spirit enables the mind of the believer to understand and empowers him to follow Christ. I will expand on this, but first, let’s make sure we understand what is meant by discernment.
Defining Discernment
According to Webster, to discern is from a root which means “to separate, distinguish between.” It is to “recognize and identify as separate and distinct,” and it is used in conjunction with both the physical senses, such as in discerning the identity of a flower, and with mental understanding, such as in having good judgment. This is very similar to the meaning of the Hebrew word, ]yB / bin, used in Proverbs and variously translated as understand, insight and discern. It includes the concept of being able to distinguish between things. This is knowledge that is much greater than just having a lot of facts. It can distinguish between those facts along with the ability to use them to make proper judgements. In Proverbs, this is especially applied to distinguishing between right and wrong, good and evil, just and unjust. The Greek word group translated as discern or discernment (diavkrisiV, diakrivnw / diakrisis, diakrino) is similar in meaning – “to judge that there is a difference or distinction.”
To discern then is to be able to distinguish between. God desires that each person develop the ability to detect, recognize and identify things as separate and distinct, and especially between what is true, good and right and what is false, evil and wrong. One of the purposes of the book of Proverbs is “to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding” (Proverbs 1:2). The wise will “cry for discernment” and seek wisdom so that they can “discern the fear of the Lord” and “discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course” (Proverbs 2:3, 5, 9). One of the differences between the mature and immature is having their “senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).
The Need for Discernment
There is a great lack of discernment in our land which is getting worse. Even what should be obvious has become confusing to many people. There are many reasons for this, but at the foundation is the loss of the ability to determine truth and error. Without some basic knowledge about a subject, there is no basis upon which to determine the claims made about it. If you have been taught things that are false, it is even harder to determine if something is true.
The ability to discern is very important for even practical matters of daily life. For example, making a wise purchase of a product requires you are able to determine 1) If the product will meet an actual need that you may have, and 2) Which of the competing products will best meet that need. If you can’t discern between truth and marketing claims, you will be a victim of advertising designed to separate you from your money. All of us have fallen for marketing schemes and purchased things we did not need, do not use, or that proved to be much less than the advertising claims. This can even be dangerous in such things as homeopathy in which wonderful anecdotal stories of a cure for an ailment convinces you to ingest a “natural” remedy product that is a modern version of the “snake oil” medicines of the 19th Century. The product might even be poisonous to you because it interacts with something else you take, or you are allergic to one of its unnamed ingredients. Just because it is “natural” does not mean it is safe. Arsenic and strychnine are both natural and deadly.
Those who lack skills in discernment are also very susceptible to the smooth sounding sound bites and emotional pleas of self serving politicians, podcasters and bloggers and other media people. They are adept at using terms such as justice, freedom and equality to make things that are actually unjust, enslaving and unequal to sound not only good and right, but necessary to advance society and the nation. The emotional appeals of political marketing replace thoughtful and reasoned discourse. The reason money is now so important in political campaigns is for the purchase of advertising. TV debates are only good at finding out who is best at political quips, zingers and comebacks, none of which are actual leadership skills. I add in here podcasters and bloggers and other media people because while there are those that are knowledgeable, thoughtful and discerning, there are a lot more than run the extremes of being nice sounding and persuasive ignoramuses to being very intelligent and knowledgeable but without moral convictions so that they will do whatever is needed to satisfy their sponsors or to increase the size of their audience because that is how they make money and gain fame and prestige.
The most dangerous area to lack in discernment is about truth claims that will affect the condition of your soul. Without the ability to discern, the unsaved remain trapped in their sins and bound for Hell. The undiscerning Christian will remain immature, susceptible to false teaching, and be of little value in the kingdom of God.
A major reason for the great lack of discernment in our society is the growing rejection of the Bible as the word of God and therefore the source of truth. The vain philosophies and foolish speculations of men which have flourished in our post-modern age correspond with a reduction in discernment. Rejection of the idea of absolute truth abandons truth in favor of fleeting feelings, thoughts and impressions which may even be contradictory. Hence the popular idea that my truth, your truth, and his truth are all true even if they oppose one other, or the absurd statement that “there are no absolute truths,” for that itself is an absolute statement. In the church, life built on a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures is replaced by emotionalism, religiosity, the wisdom of men or a superficial piety. To be wise and live the kind of life that fulfills the purpose for which God created you, it is critical for you become discerning.
Another reason for the lack of discernment in our society is the loss of both the breadth of education and training in the cognitive ability to think. For example, many schools, colleges and universities have dropped requirements for classes in American history and western civilization. Ignorance of history creates ignorance of why things are the way they are in the present and the ignorant are easily manipulated by use of false narratives. That is why a higher percentage of the younger generations have a favorable view of socialism and communism and a disparaging view of America itself. They are ignorant of both American history and world history.
To this I must add the compromise of science education to submission to humanistic philosophies such as evolution. Instead of gaining knowledge and discerning truth by development of theories that are testable, observable and repeatable, and therefore correctable, the method is perverted to support what is desired. Experiments are carefully designed to get the desired results instead of it actually being a test, or the data is manipulated to gain the desired conclusion. Conjecture to fit the desired outcome is given instead of reporting the actual observations. What is not observable or repeatable is replaced by the musings of supposed experts, and if the musings favored by those in positions of power are challenged, the challengers are threatened and shut down. We saw all of these during the years of the COVID crises and which is why I referred to Dr. Fauci as Dr. Fraudci because contrary to his claim of being science he was antithetical to it. These perversions to science have been going on a long time.
Another factor is students working for a grade instead of being on a quest to learn. That creates an environment of answering test questions and writing reports according to what the student thinks the teacher wants to hear instead of being based in their own research and conclusions. Universities, instead of being places for serious debate of ideas, have increasingly become places of indoctrination that restrict what is allowed to be presented. The idea of keeping your head down and don’t challenge the teacher or rock the boat creates passivity and deferring to a supposed expert instead of thinking for yourself. Add to this electronic computing devices, and now especially AI, that can do much of the work for the student and there is a reduction in actual learning. Testing of college graduates this past year showed for the first time a drop in cognitive ability compared to graduates from previous years. That was a reason for students at some universities to boo graduation commencement speakers tied to AI companies.
Man’s Faulty Wisdom
Discernment does not arise from man’s wisdom otherwise those with great learning from prestigious universities with high degrees would be the most discerning, but that is often not true. Intelligence is helpful, but if your education is faulty, then you end up with the kinds of foolishness that is coming from so many of the elite schools that is politically correct but factually wrong, and they are confused when that is pointed out. My dad called them educated fools.
Man’s wisdom cannot bring about discernment for the minds of the unbelieving are blinded by the god of this world, Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). Worldly wisdom does not lead to the knowledge of God (1 Cor. 1:19-26) and it strands those following it on the shifting sands of human ethics and justifying things God declares to be immoral and abominations. The philosophers mocked Paul because his proclamation of the gospel was not reasonable to them (Acts 17:22-32). Human wisdom used in prestigious universities, divinity schools and seminaries teach their students to twist the Scriptures and deny its truths. This results in the churches and denominations they serve being cast about by every wind of doctrine and shipwrecked on the rocky shores of theological and moral compromise.
The Necessity of the Fear of the Lord
Discernment requires both knowledge and wisdom, and according to Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, both begin with the fear of the Lord. Discernment begins with understanding that God created everything, including you, and He will hold you accountable for what you do in life. That warning brings blessing with Proverbs 14:27 stating, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death,” and Proverbs 16:6 stating “By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” Proverbs 8:13 explains how, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” with the Proverb continuing on to explain that wisdom “hates pride, arrogance, the evil way and the perverted mouth.”
This is why God-fearing non-Christians can develop some discernment. They recognize that there is right and wrong and that there is a God that will judge them. As Romans 2 explains, God has placed an internal witness in man that knows right from wrong. We call it the conscience. An individual becomes more discerning as that conscience is developed according to the principles and precepts found in God word. That may happen directly through knowledge of the Bible, or indirectly through a culture that has been influenced by the Scriptures. That had been true of all western cultures to various degrees in past centuries, and it is true today in nations in which there is still a strong Christian influence. The level of discernment increases to the degree its people fear God and are influenced by the Bible.
The opposite is also true. Cultures and sub-cultures that are not God fearing and reject the Bible as the source or even a source of truth will become less discerning. Why? Because the consciences of the people become seared and truth is replaced with lies. The doctrine of demons replaces the teachings of God resulting in the people being blinded to truth and even more entrapped in their sins.
While a God fearer has more discernment and will live a better life than someone who does not fear God, his discernment is still greatly limited and will be perverted by his own bent toward sin and selfishness. And worse, he still remains in His sins heading for God’s judgment and condemnation. To reach any level of discernment beyond this and be saved from your sins, you must become a genuine Christian. That brings up the necessity of the Holy Spirit.
The Necessity of Holy Spirit
Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 that you must have the Holy Spirit in order to know spiritual wisdom and what God freely gives to those who belong to Him. You must be taught by Him in order to have “the mind of Christ.” In verse 14 Paul states, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” You can’t discern between good and evil if the things of God seem foolish to you. As Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 12:15 adds, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” Without the Holy Spirit, you are left to your own wisdom, and that is foolish and leads to death. To be wise, you must have the counsel of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus points out in John 16:8-11 that the first work of the Holy Spirit in training a man’s conscience is convicting him of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment. The conviction of sin enables you to recognize what is evil. The conviction of righteousness enables you to recognize what is good. The conviction of judgment is the warning to abhor and flee what is evil and cling to what is good. It is this threefold conviction that prods a person to repentance, that is, to change his mind about himself, sin and the Savior.
Without both repentance and conversion, reformation from a self-destructive vice has only limited temporal value, yet that is all most people ever develop. John has told me about his involvement with AA for many years and acknowledges it can help people resist the vice of alcoholism. However, many simply trade that vice for something else, and several of his AA friends have died from drug abuse. Even if the more destructive vices are avoided and perhaps he gets “religion” of some type and lives a responsible life that contributes to society instead of being a detriment to it, if it is only reformation and not conversion, he will still die in his sins and be condemned to Hell. Remember, the Pharisees were considered to be holy by society, but Jesus condemned them multiple times for their self-righteous hypocrisy and warned them to repent or they were doomed.
Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit that regenerates (makes you alive spiritually), and makes you into a new creation in Christ (Eph. 2:5, Titus 3:5, 2 Cor. 5:17). He continues to convict you of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). He enlightens your mind (Ephesians 1:17-18), and He teaches you (1 John 2:27). He is also the “Spirit of truth” “who proceeds from the Father” who testifies of Jesus, abides with and in the Christian and guides into truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The Holy Spirit must be at work in order for you to discern truth from error. The Holy Spirit is also the paraclete, your advocate who indwells and strengthens you (John 14:16-17). Walking by the Spirit will prevent you from carrying out the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:16) and bring His fruit into your life (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit is necessary to develop true discernment.
However, I must also warn you about those who attribute to the Holy Spirit their own selfish desires and error. The Holy Spirit always works in perfect harmony with the Father and the Son and therefore never contradicts them or is contrary to the Scriptures which proceed from all three. That brings up the necessity of knowing the Bible.
The Necessity of Knowing the Holy Scriptures
The Holy Spirit will not contradict either Jesus or the Scriptures for He is “the Spirit of Truth,” Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life,” and Jesus said of the Scriptures, “Thy word is truth.” Despite the claims in our post-modern world, the reality is that truth exists in harmony with truth and is not contradictory. The Bible is the source of truth as pointed out earlier, so it is critical to learn it.
In Romans 12:2, Paul calls on all Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that they can live according to God’s will. The Scriptures transform the mind and life as stated in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Believers are to be diligent to present themselves “approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Bible is critical in developing discernment for it is able to reveal even our inner thoughts and motives. No wonder David wrote Psalm 119 in praise of the Word of God for through it he could know God and live a life pleasing to Him. He treasured it in his heart so that he would not sin against God (vs. 11) for it was a “lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path” (vs. 105).
Psalm 19:7–11 summarizes the nature and effect of the word of God on people, 7 “The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of Yahweh are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.” (See: Understanding & Applying the Word of God – Psalm 19:7-14)
To be discerning, be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12 that Paul commended as being more noble minded because “they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, [to see] whether these things were so.”
The Protection of Discernment
True discernment requires both knowing the Scriptures and walking in the Spirit. Knowing the Bible without walking in the Spirit results in arrogance, pride and legalism as was exhibited by the Pharisees in the New Testament. Claiming to walk by the Spirit but not knowing and submitting to the Bible is self-deception. That is a major problem for modern Charismatics and the groups that have emerged from them. It also shows up among professing evangelicals who remain quite Biblically ignorant. Discernment developed by knowing the Scriptures and walking in the Spirit will protect you from false doctrine that can arise from both self-deception and false teachers. We are to be followers of God, not men.
The Bereans examined everything by the Scriptures. We are to do the same, and that includes everything I teach or preach. Beside, with my last name you would be in trouble following my teaching anyway because it would be “Harrisey.” Yes, a bad word play, yet a truth too.
We are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ by going, baptizing and teaching others to observe whatsoever things He has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). People should imitate you only to the degree that you imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Do not fall into the trap of following men, for the reality is that even the good ones are going to err somewhere along the way because none of us has all knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Godly people will increase in these areas to become more discerning and stronger in their Biblical convictions, yet they will also become more humble. They will recognize errs in their earlier works and the vulnerability to err in the present, and so will desire to be corrected as David expressed in Psalm 141:5, Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it. . .”
The opposite also happens. Many start off well and then veer off course or finally write or speak enough that their errors get exposed. Those may be just quirks and aberrations, but it may also go to the extreme of apostasy (1 John 1:19). Charles Templeton (1915-2001) is an example. In the 1940’s he had greater prominence as an evangelist than Billy Graham, yet he became as an agnostic entitling his autobiography, Farewell to God. Following men instead of Christ easily results in following into aberrant theology or even apostasy.
This is more serious than appears because God states that He tests people to see if they will love and follow Him. He tested Abraham (Gen 22:1). He tested the generation coming out of Egypt multiple times (Exodus 15:25; 16:4; Deut. 8:2,16). He tested Israel from the time of the judges forward by leaving in the land some of the nations that they were supposed to drive out (Judges 2:22). He tests the righteous and the wicked (Psalm 11:4; Prov. 17:3). God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able (1 Cor. 10:13), but He does allow your faith to be tested so that it matures (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-9). He specifically states in Deuteronomy 13:1-4 that this will include false prophets, and 2 Peter 2:1 cites this as the reason for false teachers in the present age.
No fundamental change in this has taken place since those ancient times. The many false religions and cults that have developed since then test people whether they will love and follow God or not. It is still a two fold test. First, what is the truth about what God has revealed and commanded. Second, will you be obedient to Him.
Other religions and the major cults are fairly easy to recognize as false, yet many professing Christians adopt ideas from them to incorporate with their own beliefs. They lack discernment to recognize that beliefs such as reincarnation and karma and eastern mystical practices such as yoga, transcendental meditation and visualization are antithetical to Biblical doctrine and practice. Millions think Mormons to be a sect of Christianity, but their Jesus is a glorified resurrected man who is the brother of Lucifer. They are also polytheistic and teach that you can also become a god over your own planet. The Jesus of the Jehovah Witnesses’ is a transmutating created being who was Michael the Archangel, then became the human Jesus who died on a stake, then was resurrected spiritually but not physically.
The heretical tentacles of theological liberalism has not only gripped the main line denominations, but also extend into many supposedly evangelical groups. Denial or redefinition of fundamental doctrines replaces salvation from sin by God’s grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ with something else that leaves the person ignorantly traveling on the broad road to Hell. The Charismatic movement has not helped with its experientially based system of beliefs which leaves the door wide open for all sorts of aberration, heresy and apostasy to enter in. That is the reason Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn and so many others that teach false doctrine are accepted within the movement.
Many who identify as evangelicals have been led astray by aberrations such as has occurred in the seeker sensitive movement that became more concerned about offending sinners than offending God. That was followed by the emergent church movement that sought to accommodate post-modern thought and quickly splintered into many factions depending on the mystical practices enjoined, aberration taught or rank heresy accepted. More recently was the subversion of evangelicals with the political correctness of critical race theory and intersectionality based on a false hermeneutic of interpreting scripture according to your own culture instead of the culture, language and historical setting of the Scripture passage itself. Currently there is the rising hatred of Jews even among those claiming to be Christians and politically on the right. Let me expand on that briefly.
Hatred of Jews for being Jews always has a demonic origin as I pointed out from Revelation 12. It often transcends political boundaries, but most of those pushing this now are not actually on the right since it is being accompanied by a positive view of the Nazis – the National Socialist Party of Germany in the 1930-40’s. Socialists are part of the political left, not right. They are so ignorant of history they don’t even know the leftists are using them to play their tune. The theological foundation for Jew hatred arises from interpretive systems that prefer allegory, especially for the Hebrew Scriptures, instead of a grammatical-historical approach to understand what God said and meant to the people to whom He revealed those truths. Some of these people have called dispensationalist heretical because we believe God still has a future plan for the descendants of Israel as a people and a nation because God promised this to the patriarchs and then over and over again through the prophets, and then in the gospels, the epistles and Revelation. As Paul states in Romans 11:26, 29, “all Israel will be saved”. . . “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” The heretics on this issue are those who reject that very truth for their God is mutable (changeable) like Allah and abrogates (revokes) His promises including those stated to be eternal.
The Lord tolerates false religions, cults, apostates, heretics and secular philosophies because each of them is a test whether you will follow the Lord or men. You cannot pass the test if you cannot discern the difference between God’s revealed truth and the musings of men or Satan’s schemes, deceptions and lies. You can develop that discernment by learning God’s word and walking in His Spirit. He has also given us an additional protection – other believers.
According to Ephesians 4:11-16, the church, the body of Christ, is also a protection against deceptions as the spiritual gifts of every member work in harmony to bring the whole body to maturity and therefore able to withstand the winds of doctrine, the trickery of men and the craftiness of deceitful scheming. The overall health of any local church is in part dependent on its people walking together with Christ and practicing all the one another commands. As each of us exercises our spiritual gifts and uses our area of discernment, we help those who are weak by our areas of strength and in turn are helped in our areas of weakness by their strengths.
The Healthy Skeptic
I am will conclude with some advice about becoming discerning by being a healthy skeptic.
Godly discernment is the ability to distinguish between true and false, right and wrong, good and evil. Discernment requires knowledge and wisdom and both of those begin with the fear of the Lord. Godly discernment requires the ministry of the Holy Spirit and understanding of the word of God. The Bereans were healthy skeptics and so checked the Scriptures to make sure Paul’s claims were true. Godly discernment is a protection against false religions, cults, heresy and doctrinal aberration. A mature church is an additional protection. In light of these truths, be diligent to learn the Scriptures, walk in Spirit and be active in church life where you can help others grow and they can in turn help you mature also.
General discernment in all other areas also requires healthy skepticism. God’s word is the primary source of truth and all other means of knowing truth will harmonize with it. The grid for discernment will therefore be:
1) Discern agreement with God’s Word. Among the many reasons hatred of Jews because they are Jews is wrong is that it denies the veracity of God’s word and promises.
2) Discern agreement with the reality of true observational science. God created the world with order displaying His own attributes. Theories proven true by repeated observation and testing, and especially those proven over long periods of time should be applied. An example are the first and second laws of thermodynamics which origin by evolution contradicts. True science exposes fictional science
3) Discern agreement with historical reality. History displays both man’s nature and God’s intervention into humanity. While research reveals new details of history, the general histories are well known. Advocation of socialism and communism as better systems not only contradicts God’s commands such as “do not steal,” but are contrary to the historical reality of the destruction that results from them.
4) Discern agreement with being rational. The ability to think logically is a reflection of God’s attribute of being rational. Conspiracy theories are often irrational. Example: “Chem-trails.” Not only are they easily explained by the science of meteorology as contrails produced the condensation of water vapor on the exhaust particles from engines, but the idea requires you to believe that the unknown people involved in spraying the unknown chemicals from planes are okay with the poisons contaminating themselves, their families and their loved ones in order to achieve a vague purpose. B17 contrails are not what destroyed Nazi Germany.
5) Discern the motive(s). What is the motive for creating the idea or spreading it? This is often financial and hence the adage “follow the money,” but the motive may also be ideological, religious or political – or just gaining fame. Is the desired goal / outcome godly?
6) Discern the details. What is false, wrong or evil is often stated in generalities to make them more believable because specifics would reveal the truth. All inclusive terms such as all, every, always and never are clues to be more skeptical and demand more detail. Be like an investigative reporter and ask Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?
We live in precarious times. Peter warned about 2 Peter 2:2 the coming of false teachers and that “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned.” Paul warned in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 that the time would come when people “will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” Be diligent to be discerning for that will determine the decisions you make which will in turn determine the direction you take in life. And help those being led astray as commended in James 5:19–20, 19 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Let godly teachers rejoice like the apostle John in 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
Sermon Notes – October 4, 2026
Discernment, Decisions & Direction – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
We believe the Bible to be ______due to its supernatural origin & satisfaction in all aspects of epistemology
We are in a spiritual war and the first place of the devil’s attack is the _______- put on the belt of truth!
God, the infinite being who Created all things for His own glory, ________Himself in Creation & His word
God created man in His own __________in order to display in man a limited reflection of His own attributes
Man’s sin has ________that image of God & brought about both God’s condemnation & plan of redemption
Man is commanded to _______with all his heart, soul, mind & strength, and to love his neighbor as himself
God saves people from sin so that they will be __________ and blameless before Him
The Holy Spirit gives Christians discernment unavailable to _________man’s darkened mind – 1 Cor. 2:14
Defining Discernment
The ability to “recognize and identify as separate and ____________”
Hebrew ]yB / bin (understand, insight, discern) & Greek diavkrisiV / diakrisis (judge there is a ________
Biblical / godly discernment distinguishes between the ____, good & right and what is _____, evil & wrong
The Need for Discernment
Discernment is necessary to make wise decisions & __________against slick marketing – including political
Discernment between truth claims will affect the condition of your __________- and eternal destination
Rejection of the ___________as truth and ignorance of it is a major reason for the great lack of discernment
Education that lacks ____________and fails to train in cognitive ability also results in a lack of discernment
Science education compromised by humanistic philosophies substitutes true _____________with falsehoods
Educational indoctrination & focus on grade achievement ________cognitive ability to think independently
Man’s Faulty Wisdom – leaves man _______by Satan, darkened in understanding & so lacking in discernment
The Necessity of the Fear of the Lord
Discernment requires both knowledge & wisdom and both begin with the _____of the Lord (Prov. 1:7; 9:10)
God-fearing non-Christians can develop ______discernment (Rom. 2) that increases with Biblical influence
Cultures rejecting the Bible and God become ______discerning as they become increasingly blinded to truth
The Necessity of Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 2:12-16
You can’t discern between good and evil if the things of God __________ foolish to you
John 16:8-11 – the Holy Spirit ___________ of sin, righteousness and judgment
Without both repentance & __________, reformation from a self-destructive vice has limited temporal value
Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit that ______________& makes you into a new creation in Christ
The Holy Spirit always works in perfect ___________with the Father & the Son – and their word: Scripture
The Necessity of Knowing the Holy Scriptures
Christians are transformed by the renewing of their __________ – which requires learning the Bible
The Bible is _________in developing discernment – Rom. 12:2; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12, Ps 19:7-11; 119
The Protection of Discernment
Discernment requires the knowing the __________& walking in the Holy ___________
Be a Berean examining everything by the Scriptures – we are to be disciples of _______Christ, not mere men
The godly grow strong in Biblical ___________increasing in knowledge, wisdom, discernment – & humility
People who start well can end poorly or even as apostates – follow __________, not men
God ______His people – Gen. 15:25; Deut 13:1-4; Jdg 2:22; Prov. 17:3; 1 Cor. 10:13; Jam 1:2-4; 2 Pet. 2:1
Lack of discernment allows for teachings from false religions, cults & liberalism to ____________________
Lack of discernment allows for false philosophies, modes of evangelism & worship to _________the church
Hating Jews for being Jews always has a _________origin (Rev. 12). Nazis were socialists – the political left
Theological support for Jew hatred comes from ____________interpretation & disbelieving God’s promises
Discernment is necessary to pass the test of _____religions, cults, heretics, apostates & secular philosophies
Ephesians 4:11-16 – a healthy church, the body of Christ, also provides _____________against falsehoods
The Healthy Skeptic
The healthy skeptic checks claims that are made against known ______: Scriptures, true science, history, etc.
1) Discern agreement with – Ex. Jew hatred denies the veracity of God’s word & promises
2) Discern agreement with the reality of true observational . – Example: Origin by evolution contradicts the First & Second Laws of Thermodynamics
3) Discern agreement with _______________reality. Example: Socialism / Communism contradict God’s laws (do not steal), and in history have always resulted in oppression and societal and economic destruction.
4) Discern agreement with being ________________. Example: “Chem-trails” – Contrails explained by meteorology. Unknown people spraying unknown chemicals for a vague purpose contaminate themselves & loved ones
5) Discern the (s). Is the desired goal / outcome godly? Example: “follow the money” – podcasters
6) Discern the . What is false, wrong or evil are often stated in generalities – details expose them
We live in times (2 Pet. 2:2; 2 Tim. 4:3-4). Be diligent to become discerning! & help others do so too
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Count how many times “discernment” is mentioned. 2) Talk with your parents about what it means to have godly discernment and how you can develop that in your own life.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is discernment? How do see that lacking in our society? What is the danger of a lack of discernment: when shopping? using homeopathy treatments? in politics? in spiritual matters? Why is knowledge of the Bible necessary for discernment? Why can’t it be built on human wisdom? What advantage does the God-fearer have? Why is that not enough? Why is the Holy Spirit necessary for godly discernment? Why is reformation without conversion of little ultimate value? How does the Holy Spirit develop discernment in a believer? Will the Holy Spirit ever contradict the Bible? What is the relationship of truth, the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the Scriptures? How does the Bible renew the mind & lead to Christian maturity? What made the Bereans more noble? What is the danger of being a follower of people – even good ones? Why does God test His people? How does He do it? What should it produce? What is the threat of false teachers & philosophies to unbelievers? To believers? How does the church protect against false doctrine & heresy? How are each of the following part of being a healthy skeptic and being discerning. Give examples if you can. Discern agreement with: *God’s word, *The reality of true observational science, *Historical reality, *Being rational, *Discerning the motives, *Discerning the details.
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