Tim Challies has a great books on The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. He has a whole chapter on "The Dangers of Discernment" which I found insightful. Here are a few of Tim's thoughts.
On a completely unrelated note, I thought this article by John MacArthur was thought-provoking. I'll bet we could get a good discussion going on this one!
1. Innocent as to What is Evil - 1 Corinthians 14:20 - "There is a danger inherent in the practice of discernment. Those who seek to draw clear distinctions between what is good and what is evil can spend undue time and attention on evil.
2. Guilt by Association - "Rather than understanding the beliefs of a particular individual and comparing those to the Word of God, they judge the person base on the beliefs of another person. The irrationally associate the guilt of one person's poor theology onto another.
3. Honor by Association
9. Withdrawal - "...discernment does not give us license to ignore Christian fellowship and to separate ourselves from other believers."
10. Truth without Love - "Perhaps the greatest danger in discernment is that it can be done from poor motives."
Thanks, Jay!
ReplyDeleteAs Robb and I can attest (and you have often heard our banter), there is a fine line that separates discernment from judgment.
The first Challies' comment reminds me of studying the counterfeit bill vs. the studying the real McCoy. If you know the real thing through His Word, you needn't dwell on the the characteristics of evil; they'll be evident. Who likes evil, anyway?
I REALLY appreciate #10. Could there be such things as "undiscerning love" or "loveless discernment"? Dunno.