In reference to the rise of anti-Semitism across the globe, the concerned man of God said to his YouTube audience, “Time to step up for righteousness. Too many Christians have lost their discernment.” Whilst that’s true, perhaps it’s just as accurate to say too many Christians have not as yet had any discernment to lose! Like the Hebrew Christian church of old, they are spiritual babies unskilled in the word of righteousness Hebrews 5:12-14. That being the case, they have no ability to discern. Spiritual babies pay a high price for remaining such when there’s a devil like Satan around.
What is discernment? It’s the ability to think about all areas of life from a biblical perspective. If more Christians had it, the church would be a spiritual force to be reckoned with indeed. What would be the evidences of a discerning church? Holiness and righteousness for a start. A discerning church wants no part of religiosity and self-righteousness because these shut out what God wills for it. Spiritual boldness would be a grand evidence, which would be an offence to a non-discerning church – the spiritual babies within who have refused to grow into spiritual maturity. The former discerns what offends God and it stands up and says so. If that means it makes enemies for itself with the latter, then so be it.
Possessing a profound love for the Bible is evidence of a discerning church. That means if God said it, that church believes it even if within the Bible some things are hard to understand, as the apostle Peter said of Paul’s writings for example 2 Peter 3:16. What is not understood is prayerfully set aside awaiting the day for the Holy Spirit to bring the clarification. Rather than dismiss difficult Scriptures altogether or deem them no longer relevant for this day and age, as is common in many churches, the discerning church makes the decision to, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths Proverbs 3:5-6.
Drawing attention to demonic activity within would be another evidence. There are various ways in which this shows up – chronic sickness and disease, sexual perversion and immorality, controlling people, false teaching to name a few. New people, unskilled in the word of righteousness are certainly in danger of becoming victims to some of those. “Can a Christian have a demon?” is a common question asked by Christians, but denied by many who, in actual fact, need to be delivered from them! It matters not to me if that demon is in a person or on them; many churches are rampant with them in any case. If it were otherwise, the evidence would be there to inspect – especially that of holiness, righteousness and spiritual boldness.
A discerning church will identify the demon of anti-Semitism in its midst. In what way? Hearing words such as ‘apartheid’ ‘occupied’ ‘two-State Solution’ when referring to the Jews of Israel would be a great indication – especially when they’re expressed from the pulpit in a sermon or Bible teaching. Satan has his Jew haters in leadership positions in the church every bit as much as he has them outside of it. They are placed there to indoctrinate those unskilled in the word of righteousness. The Jews are still God’s witness to the world. It was the Jews who gave the world the Bible and it was they who gave the world Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And one day Jesus Christ will rule the world from Jerusalem, Israel.
Satan’s centuries-old determination to destroy every last Jew has always failed and always will despite any future holocaust he gets involved in. The promises God has for His chosen people will be realized during the millennial reign of Christ and Satan fully knows it. That’s why the Jews are enemy number one in his eyes. He also fully knows when that day arrives his rule will be over for a thousand years. The age-old popular teaching that the church has replaced Israel is not true. The many hundreds of promises from God for Israel declared in both Testaments of the Bible will come to pass. Which most certainly means the Replacement Theology, popularized by Roman Catholicism and too many in Protestantism will one day be exposed for the error that it is.
A church discerning the rise of anti-Semitism across the globe will discern the rise of anti-Bible Christianity across the globe – enemy number two in Satan’s eyes. It will discern it in the church too of course, so those responsible for it will hear about it. It will be done in honor of God first, then for fellow Christians as yet unskilled in the word of righteousness, whose desire it is to become skilled. For example, if the sins of sexual immorality and abortion are not preached as sins and that those within who engage in it are not told they’re under God’s judgment, the discerning church will bring it to the attention of the leadership. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God 1 John 3:10.
Much of the anti-Bible Christianity that’s expressed in the church is done so, covertly rather than overtly. For example, unless he or she in the pulpit is a straight out emissary of the devil you won’t hear them deny Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me John 14:6. But they will imply denial by stressing the need for tolerance to those of other faiths – especially as it applies to Islam. Why so? “Because Abraham is their father too.” So they’ll soften up their congregations with the use of part truths such as that one, knowing there will be little to no protest when the time comes for them to consider it a great idea to invite Muslims to “worship” with them in the church.
What’s wrong with that? ask those unskilled in the word of righteousness. Everything is wrong with it. Islam denies the Holy Bible to be the sole word of God. Islam denies the Trinity of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Islam denies Jesus Christ is God Almighty Incarnate. Islam denies Jesus Christ was crucified for our sin. Islam denies Jesus Christ rose again from death 3 days later. And since Islam’s denial of these are hard, fixed and unshiftable, any one of those denials should be enough for a church not to fellowship with Muslims in a church setting bearing the Name of Jesus Christ. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14.
A discerning church prays for spiritual as well as physical protection of its people whether they’re skilled or unskilled in the word of righteousness. In fact, perhaps it could be said the skilled need more prayer for they are Satan’s greater targets. Asking God to place a hedge of protection around their mind so they’ll be prompted to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, is a very necessary prayer Ephesians 6:16. No Christian, no matter how skilled they are in the word of righteousness is exempt from being bombarded with the filth that Satan’s mind is filled with. There’s no spiritual and mental sewer like his; it’s the ultimate! Praying that they would regularly consecrate their eyes, ears and speech to God would be greatly beneficial for them.
A discerning church daily seeks the mind of Christ, not the mind of self 1 Corinthians 2:16. It’s imperative that it does, so that the Lord Himself receives the honor that’s rightly His. If discernment is “the ability to think about all areas of life from a biblical perspective” then it most certainly needs the mind of Christ for not only is it concerned for people in the church unskilled in the word of righteousness, but for the multitudes outside the church. Guilt, fear, worry, anger, anxiety, addictions, perversions – there’s nobody outside of Christ who’s not trapped by those things one way or another. They need to know that when Jesus said He came to preach deliverance to the captives, that He was referring to them too Luke 4:18-19. The promise of release is theirs!
A discerning church is not a perfect church but it is submitted to the processes of the Holy Spirit. One of the safe-guards of such a church then, it won’t point the finger in judgment upon anyone who comes into its midst regardless, once again, of whether he or she is skilled or unskilled in the word of righteousness. But it must be obedient to the Holy Spirit and His Bible, coming against all forms of unrighteousness, for there will be little evidence of holiness, righteousness and spiritual boldness within if it doesn’t. A discerning church never loses sight of the, “Time to step up for righteousness.” For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Hebrews 4:12.