WHY IS DISCERNMENT SO IMPORTANT?
Discernment is a subject I've written about previously. These days, it's a trait which seems to be lacking in many Christians, and pastors don't seem to think it's very important to speak on because (a) they may think they'll bore their congregation, or (b) they don't practice discernment, either. This is concerning because one of the important duties of a pastor is to PROTECT the flock. Discernment is the ability to judge rightly.
The book of Jude is just one of many New Testament epistles that speak about false teachers. In verses 3-4 we read:
"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, was writing to either a Jewish Christian group or a mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians. The original intent for Jude writing this letter was to speak about their "common salvation", but, unfortunately, false teachers had begun creeping into the church and was stirring up confusion among the believers there. It was common for Judaizers to come into a church after the apostles had left to start spreading their false doctrine. Whether this was the case in this situation doesn't matter. What matters is that someone "crept in" unnoticed and began perverting the gospel and denying Christ as Master and Lord.
Sadly, today many churches are allowing teachings and doctrines to creep in that are biblically unsound. And even worse, they're allowing things into the church that, if someone does some basic research, are rooted in paganism. These are practices and doctrines that are dressed up in "Christian" garb, but underneath you'll find the "naked truth".
One example of this is the Enneagram. It's passed off as a "personality test" but when you go back to its roots, you'll find the Enneagram gets its influence from pagan religions (see this article and this article). The original creator of the diagram, G.I. Gurdjieff, used practices rooted in Buddhism and the two gentlemen who added the "personality types" were influenced by "Christian" mysticism which is rooted in Eastern pagan religions.
Religious cults and those in Progressive Christianity are notorious for changing the meaning of religious terms and doctrinal teachings. When talking with people of other faiths or those in Progressive Christianity, they may say they agree with certain doctrinal statements of the Protestant Church, but when asked to clarify their beliefs, you'll find their beliefs go against what's taught in Scripture.
As Christians, we are to be on guard for these sneaky attacks on the church. But sadly, many are too concerned with ecumenical "unity" that they won't speak out against the errors of those whom they want to "play nice" with. Many say they don't want to come across as "mean", but it's possible to oppose error without being a jerk about it. We have to do better at knowing Scripture. We have to be better at understanding what we believe and why we believe it. I think that is one of the reasons why many won't speak up - they don't have enough confidence in their knowledge of Scripture to be able to refute error. This is where apologetics come in.
C.H. Spurgeon's quote featured in the image at the top of this article discloses the problem the mainstream church faces today. We don't know the difference between what's right and what's almost right. The devil doesn't come crashing through the front door of the church announcing his presence. He sneaks in and mixes much truth with a little bit of error. That error sounds biblical, but if we haven't immersed ourselves in sound biblical preaching and Bible study, we wouldn't know the difference.
Someone once asked how we can know the real from the false, and the analogy was given of a bank teller who has handled the real money for so long, that when a forgery is passed into their hands, they can tell the difference. We must spend time with the "real" so that when the "fake" presents itself, we'll know the difference.
The American Christianity has become lazy and apathetic, and those who speak out against false teachings/teachers are becoming the targets for "Christians" who accuse them of being hateful and unloving. But the reality is, those "Christians" who don't speak out are hateful and unloving because they see no problem in letting people stay in error. They're so focused on "unity" they're willing to compromise the Truth just to achieve it. We've become more concerned over offending people instead of offending God.
The book of Jude is just one of many New Testament epistles that speak about false teachers. In verses 3-4 we read:
"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, was writing to either a Jewish Christian group or a mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians. The original intent for Jude writing this letter was to speak about their "common salvation", but, unfortunately, false teachers had begun creeping into the church and was stirring up confusion among the believers there. It was common for Judaizers to come into a church after the apostles had left to start spreading their false doctrine. Whether this was the case in this situation doesn't matter. What matters is that someone "crept in" unnoticed and began perverting the gospel and denying Christ as Master and Lord.
Sadly, today many churches are allowing teachings and doctrines to creep in that are biblically unsound. And even worse, they're allowing things into the church that, if someone does some basic research, are rooted in paganism. These are practices and doctrines that are dressed up in "Christian" garb, but underneath you'll find the "naked truth".
One example of this is the Enneagram. It's passed off as a "personality test" but when you go back to its roots, you'll find the Enneagram gets its influence from pagan religions (see this article and this article). The original creator of the diagram, G.I. Gurdjieff, used practices rooted in Buddhism and the two gentlemen who added the "personality types" were influenced by "Christian" mysticism which is rooted in Eastern pagan religions.
Religious cults and those in Progressive Christianity are notorious for changing the meaning of religious terms and doctrinal teachings. When talking with people of other faiths or those in Progressive Christianity, they may say they agree with certain doctrinal statements of the Protestant Church, but when asked to clarify their beliefs, you'll find their beliefs go against what's taught in Scripture.
As Christians, we are to be on guard for these sneaky attacks on the church. But sadly, many are too concerned with ecumenical "unity" that they won't speak out against the errors of those whom they want to "play nice" with. Many say they don't want to come across as "mean", but it's possible to oppose error without being a jerk about it. We have to do better at knowing Scripture. We have to be better at understanding what we believe and why we believe it. I think that is one of the reasons why many won't speak up - they don't have enough confidence in their knowledge of Scripture to be able to refute error. This is where apologetics come in.
C.H. Spurgeon's quote featured in the image at the top of this article discloses the problem the mainstream church faces today. We don't know the difference between what's right and what's almost right. The devil doesn't come crashing through the front door of the church announcing his presence. He sneaks in and mixes much truth with a little bit of error. That error sounds biblical, but if we haven't immersed ourselves in sound biblical preaching and Bible study, we wouldn't know the difference.
Someone once asked how we can know the real from the false, and the analogy was given of a bank teller who has handled the real money for so long, that when a forgery is passed into their hands, they can tell the difference. We must spend time with the "real" so that when the "fake" presents itself, we'll know the difference.
The American Christianity has become lazy and apathetic, and those who speak out against false teachings/teachers are becoming the targets for "Christians" who accuse them of being hateful and unloving. But the reality is, those "Christians" who don't speak out are hateful and unloving because they see no problem in letting people stay in error. They're so focused on "unity" they're willing to compromise the Truth just to achieve it. We've become more concerned over offending people instead of offending God.
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