How to discern - 聖書の知恵

What does it mean to "discern" in the Bible?

A long time ago, when Paul was sailing to Italy as a prisoner. "The voyage was now dangerous, so Paul warned the people. But the centurion trusted the captain and the shipowner more than what Paul said. Acts 27:9,11" As a result, it became a great storm and suffered a lot. Paul made the right judgment.

This is the "discernment" of the Bible.

"The immature man believes everything, but the prudent man tries to discern the way to go." Proverbs 14:15

That's what it says. Jesus talks about the end

“Keep watch, lest you be deceived.” Matthew 24

He warned. However, I feel that the current churches lack a sense of crisis. Aren't they often deceived,are they?

Today, let's think about "how to discern" so as not to be confused in this world where many false teachings, fake news, and false teachers are rampant!

1. What does "discern" mean?

To discern, in the Bible, is to scrutinize. Identify. discriminate. to decide. judge. try. select. There are various expressions in English,,,, etc.

(This blog mainly uses the expression “discern”)

To "discern" means, what is in front of you now...

・Is it from God? or from Satan (man)?

・Is it real? or is it a fake?

・Is it correct? or am I wrong?

・Is it God's guidance? or Isn't it a guide?

・Is it time now? or should I wait?

・Should I go to the right? or should we go left? etc

to judge

Choose God and obey or reject Satan (man), ignore them, say NO!

That's it.

"My sheep recognize my voice. I know them and they follow me."

John 10:27

2. What do you discern?

“Discern all things, and treasure what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

The Bible tells us to discern everything in our daily lives.

・God's guidance, words, teachings, emotions, messages, dreams, visions, healing, miracles, evangelism, world affairs, news, internet information, and of course this blog! ,,, discern everything

・Pastors, prophets, teachers, believers,,,,,discerning each person

・discern churches, denominations, movements, church traditions,,,,, one by one

・Reliable pastors, churches, the speaking of the Holy Spirit, prophecies),,,,, can also be discerned one by one

"If he prophesies, let two or three speak, and let the others consider it."

1 Corinthians 14:29

But the one who has to discern the most is yourself! ! ! What is your motive? your goal is? teaching? What is your interpretation of the Bible? ,,, let's find out!

“Test yourselves, examine yourselves, whether ye are in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5

3. Attitude, premise, preparation before discerning

・First of all, discernment is an intuition of the Holy Spirit.

・Always be a disciple of Jesus, praying and studying the Bible

・Thorough prioritization (what do you emphasize?)

・Always training in righteousness with a heart that fears the Lord (Hebrews 5:13-14)

・Know that Satan's purpose is to "trick you into hell."

・Open-minded and not afraid of change

・Knowing that the responsibility for discerning lies with the person himself/herself

4. How do you discern?

① Think first!

“Consider all things, and treasure what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Actually this is difficult! But it is important to have an attitude of discerning everything, that is, to think. Don't take it for granted, don't accept soon, don't answer right away, don't agree, refuse the prayer of laying on hands... Think about it!

② Listen to the Holy Spirit

“You need not be taught by anyone, for the oil (Holy Spirit) that has been poured out by the Son of God abides in you. This oil will teach you all things. Truth and not falsehood.” 1 John 2:27

The discernment is peace (go) , anxiety (stop), sense of incongruity, feeling of vagueness, etc,,,,by the Holy Spirit.

③ Listen to the Bible

"The Jews here (Berea) were more meek than the Jews of Thessalonica, and received the word with greater zeal, examining the Scriptures daily to see if it was true." Acts 17:11

"For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the point of separating mind from spirit, joints from marrow, discerning the thoughts and thoughts of the heart. for it is possible.” Hebrews 4:12

Biblical foundations matter! However, make your own interpretation based on the overall context.

④ ask yourself

"You hypocrite, first remove the log from your own eye, and you will see clearly, and you will remove the sawdust from his brother's eye." Matthew 7:5

Let the Holy Spirit search your heart!

⑤ Ask the opponent, test the spirit

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world, saying that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Every spirit that professes is of God, and by this you know the spirit of God." 1 John 4:1-2

You can find out by talking to other people.

⑥ Do you listen? please?

“We belong to God. Those who know God listen to us, but those who do not belong to God do not listen to us. and the spirit that deceives.”1 John 4:6

Those who are out of spirit will not listen from the beginning. Like the Pharisees to Jesus.

⑦ Ask seniors, pastors, and teachers

“Solid food is for mature adults, trained by experience in the sense of good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

It is important to build a trusting relationship with the person you are talking to.

⑧ Ask a person with the gift of discerning

“Some have the ability to discern spirits.” 1 Corinthians 12:10

It would be nice to ask someone who has this strong ability to discern through the Holy Spirit.

⑨ Discern by fruits

"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit." Matthew 7:15-16

"The distinction between the sons of God and the sons of the devil is clear. Anyone who does not live righteously does not belong to God, nor does anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:10

There are things you can understand by looking at the person's behavior, personality, achievements,,,.

⑩ Look at the expression in the eyes

"The torch of your body is your eyes. If your eyes are clear, your whole body is bright, but if your eyes are cloudy, your whole body is dark." Matthew 6:22-23

Sometimes you can recognize spirits just by looking at their eyes.

⑪Check online.

Problems often require objective information, such as world affairs, politics, medicine, controversies, etc. However, please be aware that fake news is prevalent.

⑫ Take a step forward and try to act

When you are not sure, if you take a step forward and take action, you will be able to see and understand, and you will know whether the direction is God's will or not.

⑬ Ultimately, by the Holy Spirit, judge yourself and take responsibility

No matter what the outcome is, you have to decide for yourself in the end. Like Eva, "Because the snake said..." "Because the pastor taught me that..." doesn't work! ! !

⑭Finally, act according to the discernment!

Obedience when receiving as God's! Conversely, when you judge that it is from Satan (man), reject it. If you think it's even more dangerous, you'll be asked to take actions such as dusting, escaping from the group, raising your voice, etc.

"Know what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not join in the fruitless works of darkness, but point them out." Ephesians 5:11

5. Various notes

・Discernment is primarily of the Holy Spirit. Be careful not to put one over the Holy Spirit!

・As it is said that "the best way to spot a counterfeit bill is to touch the real thing", the biggest way to spotting is how well you know the real thing (Jesus). Be careful if you search the internet from the beginning!

・False teachers and false teachings are often deceived by people who have been deceived and often have good motives. Be especially careful of things that are "common sense" and "traditional"!

・You have to be careful about the teachings of the Pharisees, but in fact, the characteristics of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 are quite similar to the Japanese culture (honne and tatemae, etc.), so be careful!

・Point of the end of the world

Be careful where they express ecumenical, apostolic authority, sexual issues, unified government policy (vaccines, CO2 measures, etc.), flashy signs and wonders, prosperity theology, destruction of creationism such as LGBTQ, etc.!

・"Every spirit that declares that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." 1 John 4:1-2 "No one can say, 'Jesus is You cannot say, 'I am the Lord.'" 1 Corinthians 12:3

However, the enemy can lie and "confess to the Lord". In that case, it's a fake, so be careful!

・It's often said that "I can't be deceived! I'm okay!" are very dangerous!

・Catholics seem to have been trained to discern from time immemorial. However, there is a feeling that it is different from the discrimination in the Bible, and there are also Mary worships, so be careful!

"Take heed lest you be taken captive by philosophies which are mere traditions of men, vain deceptions, which follow the spirit of the world, and not follow Christ." Colossians 2:8

・The reason why discernment is important now is because there are few churches that teach discernm. Be careful if you say your church doesn't teach how to discern!

Discernment is not taught in church because to discern is to judge! This is easily misunderstood as "(you hypocrite) don't judge. Matthew 7:1~" or swearing against each other. But to discern is to judge. Remember, the Bible tells us to "discern all things, and treasure what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21!

6. Recommended site

I personally thought it was good for discernment

ハーベスト・ウォッチ - 聖書を通して世界とキリスト教をウォッチ (harvestwatch.tv)

Discernment - Berean Research

「新しい教え」の記事一覧 | Biblical

「アブラハム・ファミリー・ハウス」がオープン ― 世界に広がる宗教間一致運動の預言的意味 - 聖書ニュース.com (seishonews.com)

よちよちクリスチャンの聖書チャンネル - YouTube

†ゆうき - YouTube

Mike Winger - YouTube

DLM Christian Lifestyle - YouTube

7. what is considered dangerous

I will only give you my personal experience.