Well, this morning I'm going to be speaking on one of the topics I was asked to address before we get into a book study. We'll eventually get to 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. And while the topics that were given to me kind of came in at a random fashion, I've actually arranged them because there's some foundational truths you must lay down and then build on those. And some of the topics we're now going to address must have that foundation we've laid since the beginning of the year. This morning we're going to be looking at the subject of discernment. That's the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong. And it requires this foundation of actually knowing what is true, what is right. And so the topics I've addressed the last couple months have done that. First, God is creator and he is infinite in every respect. And so he's far beyond our ability to comprehend. We really can only understand God according to what he's revealed about himself in creation and in his word, and to the degree that we're actually even capable of comprehending it. For example, he declares in the scripture his nature. He's triune. He is one eternal God existing in three persons who are co-equal and fully God. And no, we don't understand that. That's outside the realm of human experience. We also laid a foundation that God created everything for his own glory. He created man in his own image in order to display in man certain of his attributes, and a limited reflection that we have being made in his image, we reflect that. We also saw that man's sin has corrupted that image of God, and yet God is still going to glorify himself in us. He is going to display to all mankind attributes such as mercy and patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, love, compassion, just in providing life and opportunity for redemption, forgiveness from sin through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God displays additional attributes on those who are vessels of mercy, who repent and believe. And then certain aspects of those attributes and some additional ones are displayed in those who will not repent. They will be vessels of wrath. And since man's purpose of existence is to glorify God, then the first priority is to love him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And your second priority is to love others, your neighbor, as yourself. Christians, we are called to a higher standard to love others as Christ has loved us. We also have saw that God saves people for the purpose of making them holy and blameless before him. And so we're given a positional righteousness that that's how God sees us now. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we're holy and blameless before him, that allows us to approach him. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, God continues to change the Christian's life, how we live, so that practical righteousness starts becoming part of what marks our character. Positionally, we're holy and blameless. Practically, well, we're working our way there. We're becoming that in reality and how we live. And his promise is that one day when Christ returns, the position that we have and the practice we're attempting are gonna be joined in one and we'll be perfectly righteous before God. our practice, we will never sin anymore. And we can look forward to that. We will remain holy and blameless in perfect righteousness throughout eternity. Now those foundational truths enable the Christian to be discerning in life in a different way than the non-Christian. As 1 Corinthians 12, 14 through 16 explains, the natural man does not accept the things of God. And so man's sinful nature, corrupting his mind, he cannot see clearly what should be obvious, for he actually is blinded to it. In contrast, the Holy Spirit enables the Christian, the mind of the believer, to understand and to be empowered to follow Christ. Now I'm gonna expand on this. in a little later in the sermon. But first, let's make sure we understand what we mean by discernment. It's used in different ways. Now, according to Webster, to discern is from a root which means to separate, distinguish between, and to recognize and identify as separate and distinct. And it's used in conjunction with all sorts of things. Some are physical. Can you distinguish one flower from another? That takes discernment. Mental understanding as well, as in having good judgment. Now, this is very similar to the meaning of the Hebrew word then, which is used in Proverbs and variously translated as understand, insight, and discern. And so it includes this concept of being able to distinguish between things. This is knowledge that is much greater than just a lot of facts. You can have a lot of facts, but you have to distinguish between these facts with the ability to make proper judgment based on them. In Proverbs, This is especially applied in distinguish between right and wrong, between good and evil, between what is just and what is unjust. The Greek word group translated as discern or discernment, diakrisis and diakrino, are similar in meaning. It means to judge that there is a difference or distinction. So to summarize this, it means to discern is being able to distinguish between. And God desires that every person develop the ability to detect, to recognize, identify things as separate and distinct, especially between that which comes from him and that which comes from man, between that which is true and that which is false. In fact, one of the purposes of the book of Proverbs is exactly along these lines. Proverbs 1-2, Proverbs were given to know wisdom and instruction to discern the sayings of understanding. The wise, we are told in Proverbs 2-3, cry out for discernment. They seek wisdom so they can discern the fear of the Lord and discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. One of the differences between being mature and immature, according to Hebrews 5.14, is having your senses trained to discern good and evil, which is which. Now, there's a great lack of discernment in our land, and it's just getting worse. There are things coming up in my lifetime I could not have imagined. You couldn't have dreamed it 20, 30 years ago. And yet here it is, it's pushed, it's getting worse. Even what should be obvious has become confusing to many people. And there's many reasons for this, but the foundation is this loss of ability to discern truth from error. Without some basic knowledge about a subject, there is no basis for determining the claims about it. If you have been taught things that are false, it's even harder to determine what is true. The ability to discern is very important, even in practical ways of life. For example, in order to make a purchase of whatever, you have to make a couple of determinations. Number one, is this product something I need? Is it something I need? And then second is, if it is something I need, what about all the competing products that could do the same thing? Which is the best? That takes discernment, right? If you lack skills to discern between truth and marketing claims, you become the victim of advertising strategies designed to separate you from the money which you have labored to earn. Right? And all of us have fallen to marketing strategies. And we have purchased things that we do not need and never use. It clutters stuff. And that's why people keep getting all these storage bins to place all the stuff they never use, because they got sold stuff. We've also bought products that proved to be, well, let's just say, much less than the advertising claim, right? Do you realize this can even be dangerous in such things as homeopathy? You get sold because there's wonderful anecdotes about some remedy that has cured somebody of something, when in reality what's being sold is just a modern version of the snake oil of the 19th century. The product might even be poisonous to you because it interacts with something else you've taken. Are you allergic to one of the unknown ingredients? Because they don't list it out. And don't think that just because it's natural, it's safe. You do realize that arsenic and strychnine are both natural, and they'll kill you. So it takes discernment to weed through all that, to know if some homeopathic thing is even something you should take. That takes discernment. Now, those who lack skills and discernment are very susceptible to the smooth-sounding soundbites and emotional pleas of self-serving politicians. And since it's an election year, we have to be aware of that, right? And they're very adept at using terms such as judges and freedom and equality to make things that are actually unjust and enslaving and unequal to sound not only good and right, but necessary for the progress of our society. The emotional appeals of political marketing replaced thoughtful and reasoned discourse. Why are political campaigns so expensive? Do you know why? Because advertising is expensive. And the more money you have, the more advertising you have. So you can give someone that 15, 30 second, maybe even a full minute sound bite. Anybody watch any of the TV debates? Lord bless you for endurance. What do you actually get in a TV debate? Who is the best at being able to give a soundbite of some sort, something that sounds smooth, some kind of political quip, a zinger, or a comeback? Are any of those things even beneficial to actual leadership? No, but we elect people based on that? The most dangerous area to lack discernment isn't any of those things. It's in all those areas that are going to affect the condition of your soul because there's a lot of claims out there that this is true, that's true, something else is true. Which is true and which is false? Without the ability to discern, the unsaved remain trapped in their sins and bound for hell. The undiscerning Christian remains immature, susceptible to false teaching, and becomes of little value to the kingdom of God. Their life is wasted. Now, 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. As people increasingly follow the vain philosophies, the foolish speculations of men, which have flourished in our postmodern age, there is a corresponding reduction in discernment. Let's face it, if you reject the idea of absolute truth, then truth is abandoned in favor of fleeting feelings, thoughts, and impressions, which may even be contradictory. Hence, the very popular idea of my truth, your truth, his truth, and they're all true, even if they're contradictory. Really? Or the absurd statement, there are no absolute truths. That's absurd. The statement itself is an absolute, and they don't get it. In the church, life built on A thorough knowledge of scriptures is then 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 that you become discerning. Well, how do you become discerning? Well, it certainly can't be by man's wisdom. Otherwise, we'd expect those with great learning Those who have gone to prestigious universities and they have high degrees, we expect them to be the most discerning, and they certainly are not. Intelligence is helpful, but if your education is faulty, you end up with the kind of foolishness that keeps coming from these elite schools that's politically correct, but factually wrong. And then they're confused when you point it out to them. Man's wisdom cannot bring about discernment because the minds of the unbelieving are blinded by the God of this world, by Satan. 2 Corinthians 4.4. 1 Corinthians 1.19-26 make very clear, worldly wisdom does not lead to the knowledge of God. Instead, it strands those who are falling on the shifting sands of human ethics and justifying things that God declares to be immoral and abominations. Remember, the philosophers mocked Paul on Mars Hill, didn't they? He proclaimed the gospel and they mocked him because it was not reasonable to them. They were busy bowing down to idols of stone and wood. Human wisdom is used in prestigious universities and divinity schools and seminaries to educate students to twist the scriptures and then deny its truths. The results? Churches, denominations they serve, are cast about by every wind of doctrine and then they're shipwrecked on the rocky shores of theological and moral compromise. Discernment does not come from the wisdom of man. Discernment requires both knowledge and wisdom. And according to Proverbs, Proverbs 1, 7, 9, 10, both of those begin with the fear of the Lord. So discernment begins with this understanding that God created everything, including you, and he is going to hold you accountable for what you do in life. That warning brings a blessing. Proverbs 4.17 states it this way. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of death. Proverbs 16.6 states, by loving kindness and truth, iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord, one keeps away from evil. Proverbs 8.13 explains the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, then continues on to explain that wisdom hates pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverted mouth. And that is why you will find that God-fearing non-Christians do develop some discernment, because it's founded there. They recognize there is a right, there is a wrong, and there is a God who's going to judge them. As Roman 2 explains, God has placed an internal witness in man so that he does know right from wrong. We call it the conscience. And an individual becomes more discerning as that conscience is developed according to the principles and the precepts of God's eternal witness in his word. Now that may happen directly if someone studies the Bible. It may happen indirectly through a culture that's been influenced by the scriptures. And that actually has been true historically in all Western cultures to one degree or another. It's still true today in those nations in which there is a large percentage of Christians that influence that society. You pick it up from the rest of your culture. So we can put it this way, the level of discernment increases to the degree the people in that society fear God and are influenced by the Bible. But the opposite is also true. Those cultures and subcultures that are not God-fearing and reject the Bible as the source of truth or even a source of truth will become less discerning. Why? because the conscience of the people becomes seared and truth is replaced with lies. The doctrine of demons replaces the teachings of God, resulting in the people being blinded to the truth and even more entrapped in their sins. So let's summarize so far. Discernment begins with the fear of the Lord. Therefore, the God-fearing, even if non-Christians, are going to develop some discernment arising out of their conscience and increasing to the degree that they know and follow God's commands. Human wisdom that is not God-fearing or contraries commands will sear the conscience and cause discernment to degenerate. Now, while a God-fearer has more discernment, will live a better life than someone who is not, his discernment is still greatly limited. For it's 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, to be saved from your sins, you must become a genuine Christian. Now, Paul explains over in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 12 through 16, the necessity of the Holy Spirit in order to have spiritual wisdom, even knowing what God has given to those who belong to him. He explains you must be taught by him in order to have the mind of Christ. Verse 14, Paul states this, 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. Now, how can you be discerning of what God declares to be good or evil if the things of God seem foolish to you? You can't. Proverbs 14, 12 describes a natural man. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 12, 15 adds, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel. Without the Holy Spirit, you are left to your own wisdom, and it leads to death. To be wise, you must have the counsel of God's Spirit. Now, there are many aspects to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, including his involvement in creating man and giving him a conscience. Jesus, though, points out in John 16, 8 through 11 that the first work of the Holy Spirit in training the natural conscience of man is convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. That is crucial, since godly discernment is the ability to distinguish good and evil. The conviction of sin enables us to recognize evil. The conviction of righteousness enables you to recognize what is good. The conviction of judgment is what warns you to abhor and flee from what is evil and to cling to what is good. It takes this three-fold conviction to prod a person to repentance, that is, to change their mind about sin, self, and the Savior. You've got to have all three. Now, let's face it. It does little good to recognize something as bad if you cannot also recognize the other things that are bad and what is actually good. Reformation without conversion is ultimately of little value. And yet, that is all most people ever develop in dealing with their self-destructive vices. Now, John Spitaleri has told me many times about his involvement with AA over the years. And he'll admit it will help with alcoholism and keep you from going down that road. But for a lot of them, it's simply trading one vice for a different vice. Because you've had a lot of friends, they weren't alcoholics anymore, but they abused drugs and you went to their funerals. What good was that? You learn to avoid one destructive vice and get something else. But let's go on, let's say, okay, you've learned some stuff, you're avoiding the destructive vices, perhaps you get religion of some type, and you now start living a responsible life that contributes to society instead of being a detriment to it. That's a good thing, right? We would all agree, that's nice, at least it's nice for society. But if it's only a reformation, not conversion, you still die in your sins, you're still condemned to hell. Remember, the Pharisees were considered to be holy, to be pious, to be the righteous ones in their society. And how often did Jesus condemn them over and over again for their self-righteous hypocrisy and warned them to repent, otherwise they were doomed to hell. True discernment, for that to develop, the Holy Spirit's ministry must continue in you to bring you to faith in Lord Jesus Christ and then to spiritual maturity. It is the Holy Spirit that regenerates you. In other words, He is the one that makes you spiritually alive and makes you a new creation in Christ. Ephesians 2.5, Titus 3.5, 2 Corinthians 5.17. Any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also continues to convict of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. It doesn't just stop when you become a Christian. He still does that, right? And we praise God for that, because that corrects us to move to greater righteousness. He is the one that enlightens your mind, Ephesians 1, 17 and 18. He teaches you, 1 John 2.27, He is called the Spirit of Truth and he proceeds from the Father. He is the one who testifies of Jesus. He is the one who abides with and in the Christian and guides us into truth. That's John 14, 17, 15, 26, 16, 13. The Holy Spirit must be at work in order for you to discern truth from error. We also find this, the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete. Advocate we have who indwells the Christian and strengthens us, John 14, 16, and 17. Galatians 5, 16 tells us if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. He's also the one that brings the fruit of the Spirit into your life. Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control, Galatians 5, 22 and 23. Now, in saying all this, I must also warn you about those who attribute to the Holy Spirit their own selfish desires and error. That happens. Actually, it happens a lot. The Holy Spirit always works in perfect harmony with the Father and with the Son, and therefore there is never a contradiction between them or anything contrary to the Scriptures which proceed from them. But that brings up the next thing that's necessary. There's a necessity of knowing the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is the revelation of God and it proceeds from all three persons of the triune Godhead. Consider this, thus saith the Lord, the Lord says occurs over 430 times in the Old Testament. In addition, Jesus and all that he taught was according to the will of the Father, because all that he taught was according to what the Father commanded him to say and to speak. He says this over and over again in the book of John. John 30, 638, 826, 1219, 718. If you hear Jesus, you're hearing what the Father has said. 2 Peter 121 explains that all true prophecy came as men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. All three are involved in production of scripture. So our Bibles come from all three persons of the triune Godhead. In addition, the Holy Spirit will not contradict either Jesus or the scriptures because he is the spirit of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And Jesus said of the scriptures, thy word is true. So despite the claims of our postmodern world, the reality is that truth exists in harmony and is not contradictory. As I already said, the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches leaders. He undermines the truth. Well, how does he do that? Primarily, it is through the Word of God. Now certainly the Holy Spirit brings conviction through the conscience of man, resulting in feelings of guilt. But how does a man know that that guilt feeling is because he has actually sinned against his holy creator? And how can he know how to get right with his creator without the word of God? Only one way. We must have the Bible. And that's why Paul points out the necessity of the gospel being preached in Romans 10. They have to hear what the gospel is if they're going to be saved. Interesting, in 1 Peter 1.23, he points out this, quote, for you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. The scriptures are necessary. Now, it is wonderful to hear these stories coming out of the Islamic world of people who are having dreams, and based on these dreams, they're forsaking Islam and they're going to Christianity. And those are wonderful things. However, there's a big caution here. If the Jesus they are going to start following is not the Jesus of the Bible, They've only traded one false god for another false god. They have to have the correct Jesus. And if it is, well, praise God. God can do what he wants, but it must be the Jesus as described in the scriptures. In Romans 12.2, Paul calls on all Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so they can live according to God's will. We've already seen the Holy Spirit is involved in that renewal, Titus 3.5. Ephesians 5, Paul points out that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water, proof for correction, for training, or instruction in righteousness, so the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. A little earlier, 2 Timothy 2.15, Paul commands believers 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. Over in Hebrews 4.12. The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So the Bible is critical in developing discernment for it is able to reveal even our inner thoughts and our motives that otherwise we'd be blind to it. No wonder that David in 619 gives such praise for the word of God, because through it he could know God and know how to live a life that was pleasing to him. He treasured the word of God in his heart so that he might not sin against him, verse 11. For him, the word of God was a lamp unto his feet and a light to his path, verse 105. It's a love sonnet to the Word of God because it's a love sonnet to God who gave it. Back in Psalm 19, there's a good summary statement in verses seven through 11 about the nature and the effect of the Word of God on people. Here's what it says. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testament of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them thy servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. If you're going to be discerning, you must learn the word of God. Consider this commendation that Paul gives in Acts 17, concerning the Bereans. Paul had been in Thessalonica, there was Danger there, they sent him around, he drops down to Berea. Acts 17, verse 10. And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed along with a number of the prominent Greek women and men. Now that's quite a recommendation because the Thessalonians were no slouches. First Thessalonians 1, 5 through 10, Paul commends them. To be like the Thessalonians would be wonderful. They responded well to the gospel. They had a great impact, not only in their community, but throughout the region. They were kind of a hub for transportation, people coming and going, and then spreading out. These people were good. But Paul commends the Bereans, saying, you are more noble-minded than even these folks. Why? simply because the Bereans went beyond just receiving the gospel message from Paul, to examining the scripture to make sure that what Paul said was true. The Bible is our source of truth, not the musings of men. I cannot stress that enough. Even professing Christians face grave dangers if they do not have the ability to discern truth from error by knowing the Scriptures and walking by the Holy Spirit. And I might emphasize, it takes both. Knowing the Bible without walking the Spirit results in arrogance and pride and legalism as was exhibited in the Pharisees in the New Testament. Claiming to walk by the Spirit but not knowing and submitting to the Bible is self-deception. That's a major problem for modern charismatics and the groups that have emerged from them. It also shows up among professed evangelicals that we would assume should know better, but often do not because they're quite biblically ignorant. Discernment developed by knowing the scriptures and walking the spirit are the things that protect you from false doctrine that can arise from both self-deception and false teachers. Again, we're to be followers of God, not men. The Bereans examined everything by the scriptures. We're to do the same. That includes everything I preach or teach or anybody else. And besides, with my last name, you get in trouble if you're following my teaching anyway, because it's heresy. OK? It's a bad word play, but it's the truth, too. You and I are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ by going, baptizing, and teaching others to observe whatsoever things he commanded. Is that not the Great Commission? People should imitate you only to the degree that you imitate Christ, and the same for you imitating anybody else, only to the degree that they imitate Christ. 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 nobody, none of us, have all knowledge, all wisdom, and all understanding. Now godly people are going to increase in all these areas. They will become more discerning. They'll become stronger in their biblical convictions. I also find they become more humble. They will recognize the errors of their earlier works and their vulnerability to error in the present. And so they will desire to be corrected, as David expressed in Psalm 141, verse five. Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me. It is oil upon the head. Do not let my head refuse it. Now, please recognize that the opposite also happens. Many start off well, and then they veer off course, or finally, they write or speak enough that their errors get exposed. Now, they could just be quirks or aberrations of some sort, but it may go to the extreme of apostasy. Now, if I say the name Billy Graham, most of you know who I'm talking about, great evangelist of the 20th century. There was actually another fellow who was more famous than him and more acclaimed than him as a better evangelist in the 1940s. His name was Charles Templeton, 1915 to 2001. Charles Templeton, Ended up as an agnostic. His own autobiography he entitled, Farewell to God. How do you go from the most acclaimed evangelist of your time to an agnostic? He went off to seminary. And he learned not to believe the word of God. And it all went downhill from there. If you are a follower of men instead of Christ, you can easily follow down the path with them in aberrant theology or into heresy, into apostasy. It happens way too often. This is even more serious than it may appear because God states that he tests his people to see whether they love him and will follow him. Just look up the word test. You'll find it over and over again. God tested his people. He tested Abraham, Genesis 22, 1. He tested the generation that came out of Egypt multiple times, Exodus 15, 25, 16, 4, 8, 2, and 16 for just an example. He tested Israel from the time of the judges on by leaving in the land some of the nations that they were supposed to drive out but didn't. He says specifically, I'm leaving here now to test you, Judges 2.22. Psalm 11.4 and Proverbs 17.3 tells us He tests the righteous and the wicked. Now, God is not going to allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. That's His promise in 1 Corinthians 10.13. But He does allow your faith to be tested as James 1, 2, and 3, 4 explains, so that you will mature. 1 Peter 1, 6 through 9 says the same thing. But here's what I find disturbing. God specifically states in Deuteronomy 13, 1 through 4, that this testing is going to include false prophets. He will tolerate them in the land so that you will be tested to see whether you love God or not. In 2 Peter 2, verse 1, he cites that as the reason that false teachers exist in our own age. That's why God doesn't destroy them immediately. They are there to test you. There's not been any fundamental change since those ancient times. The many false religions and cults that have developed since then, they test people. Do you love God? Will you follow him? And that's still the twofold test, isn't it? First, what is the truth that God has revealed? What has he commanded? And second, will you be obedient to him? Now, other religions and the major cults, they should be fairly easy to recognize as false. And yet, many professing Christians adopt the ideas from them and incorporate those things into their own belief system. They lack discernment to recognize that beliefs such as reincarnation, karma, Eastern mystical practice such as yoga and transcendental meditation and visualization are all antithetical to biblical doctrine and practice. Millions of people think Mormons are just a sect of Christianity, but their Jesus isn't the Jesus of the Bible. Their Jesus is a glorified, resurrected man who is the brother of Lucifer. They are polytheistic in their teaching. And if you follow them, you too can become a God and have your own planet. Isn't that thrilling? And you ladies, you'll be eternally pregnant. Isn't that thrilling? Well, maybe as long as it's just not the ninth month. That'd be horrible. What about the Jesus, the Jehovah Witnesses? Well, there Jesus, a transmutating created being who was Michael the archangel, then became the human Jesus, who died on a stake, not a cross, on a stake, was resurrected spiritually, not physically. It's not the same Jesus, is it? The heretical tentacles of theological liberalism have not only gripped the mainline denominations, but they extend into many groups that claim to be evangelical. They deny or redefine fundamental doctrines, replacing salvation from sin by God's grace through faith in the person, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, with something else that leaves the person ignorant, yet traveling on that broad road to hell. The charismatic movement has not helped with this experientially based system of beliefs, and it leaves the door wide open for all sorts of aberration, heresy, and apostasy to enter in. And that is the reason that Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and so many others like them, they teach false doctrine, they're accepted within the movement because they've had the same quote unquote experience. Truth is not determined by your experience. Truth is determined by the word of God. Now many who identify as evangelicals have also been led astray by all sorts of aberrations. Back in the 80s, Going into the 90s, it was a seeker-sensitive movement, an aberration because it became more concerned about offending sinners than offending God. And with that, the gospel becomes watered down and then becomes non-existent. Out of that came the emergent church movement. It was seeking to accommodate postmodern thought, but it quickly splintered. depending on which mystical practices you enjoined or what aberration that was taught or rank heresy that was accepted, split it all up. There is currently an effort to subvert evangelicals with political correctness of critical race theory and intersectionality. And that's all based on something simple, a false hermeneutic, one that says that we must interpret the Bible according to my own culture, your own culture. not the culture, the history, the language to whom it was written. It's a false hermeneutic ending up with a false doctrine, and it's doing a lot of damage. Now again, the Lord tolerates false religions, cults, apostates, heretics, because each of them is a test for us. Will you follow the Lord, or will you follow men? You cannot pass a test if you cannot discern the difference between God's revealed truth and the musings of men. You can develop that discernment by learning God's word and walking in his spirit. And he's given us one additional protection. Let me mention that before I close. Over in Ephesians chapter four, Paul talks about the unity that's supposed to be within the church. There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. And then dropping down to verse 11, we find that he has given the church gifted people to equip the saints for the work of ministry. And then through the end of that section, down through verse 16, we find that the church itself, the body of Christ, becomes a protection against the deceptions, the spiritual gifts of every single member will work in harmony with the whole body to maturity, bring it to maturity, and therefore able to withstand the winds of doctrine, the trickery of men, the craftiness of deceitful scheming. And the overall health of that church grows as the people walk together according to the Word of God in the Spirit, as they are practicing all their various gifts to the best of their ability, encouraging one another. Every single person has some realm of discernment here or there if you're a Christian, but you'll be weak in other areas. And so the areas where I'm strong, I help you where you're weak, and where I'm weak, you help me where you're strong. Together we grow and protect one another from all the stuff that's out there. The church is part of the protection that God gives us, but it can't do anything for you if you're not involved with it. If you're not involved with the other believers, it's that interaction of life on life that brings about this protection. So let's summarize what we've done today. Godly discernment is the ability to distinguish between the things that are of God and the things that are not, between right and wrong, between good and evil. That's what discernment is. The lack of discernment shows up in everyday aspects of life, such as shopping and politics, but its most serious consequence is in spiritual ignorance. You must know the truth if you're gonna avoid hell. You must know what God says is true to avoid it. Discernment requires knowledge and wisdom, and both of those begin with the fear of the Lord. Get that straight. He's God, you're not. You get that in order, a lot of things start lining up, okay? Godly discernment requires the ministry of the Holy Spirit and an understanding of the Word of God. Discernment itself is a protection against false religions, cults, heresy, and doctrinal aberration. A mature church is an additional protection. So in light of all these truths, then my challenge to you is be diligent. Be diligent to learn the scriptures. Be diligent to walk in the spirit. Be diligent to be active in church life. Develop close friendships with other believers. We walk together. You help them grow, they in turn help you mature also. Father, thank you that your word is true. We're not left to the musings of men. We're not left to those who have high degrees but end up becoming educated fools. For they end up denying you and what your word says. Father, we recognize our society is degenerate and becoming more degenerate all the time, primarily because of this rejection of your Word, a rejection of you. Father, so bad that in this last week, the Democrats in the Senate cannot even distinguish between a live baby and a dead one, they want the dead ones. Father, even railing against the Born Alive Act to help a child that even made it through an abortion attempt and is alive, just to kill it, to let it die. Father, how cold hearted can they be? And yet they want to proclaim themselves to be wise and keepers of wisdom, morally superior, and father, they're wretched. But often it's not so good on the other side in politics. They're just as wretched, just in different areas. Father, we don't want to be caught up in all that. We want to know what your word says. We want to be able to discern truth and error, right and wrong, what comes from you and what doesn't, that we might walk with you and that our lives would count for eternity, not just for the fleeting years of our existence on this earth. Father, thank you for what the Holy Spirit does in our life. not only bringing us to Christ, convicting us of sin, righteousness of judgment, but enabling us to understand, to comprehend the things of your word and put them into practice, empowering us to do so. And Father, for your word, because we can just keep studying it, it's not fleeting, it's eternal. And we're grateful for that. We're also grateful for the church, the body of Christ, for those who surround us, and we in turn others, that we might help each other understand you and walk with you. To fulfill that aspect of the Great Commission, teaching others to observe whatsoever things you've commanded. Glorify yourself in us, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.