The discerning Christian is so dependent on the Holy Spirit that He sometimes directs them even though they are unaware why.
Have you ever met someone and had a gut feeling about them? It could be good or bad. Or have you been in a situation where your gut is telling you to flee?
Years ago, my husband and I were visiting Charleston, South Carolina. During our visit, a severe thunderstorm came up, which flooded all the roads. As a result, we had to return to our car on foot without the benefit of the horse and buggy ride that brought us to the historic area of Charleston in the first place. It was a fairly long walk through beautiful neighborhoods, so we didn’t mind. Until… a man walking on the other side of the street came running over to us and started asking us questions about our stay and where we were going.
I immediately felt uncomfortable even before he asked if we had any cash that we could give him because of some hard-luck story he presented. My husband was walking in front of me, and I was at the back. The man was starting to come up very close behind me. So I immediately responded to his request. “No, we don’t have cash, which is common in this current cashless society.”
Meanwhile, I was carrying $500 in vacation money in my pocketbook! Thankfully, after I told him I had no money, he backed off and just disappeared. I was literally shaking after that experience. At this point, my husband and I were los,t and we didn’t know how to get back to our car. Again, out of nowhere, another man appeared. This time, a construction worker asked us if we needed help. I still believe the Lord sent this “guardian angel” disguised as a construction worker to direct us back to our car and to safety.
In googling the term “gut” as it relates to gut feeling, AI provided the following interesting definition: “The term 'gut' is used in 'gut feeling' because people often associate strong emotions and instincts with physical sensations in the stomach area, which is commonly referred to as the 'gut,' signifying a deep, visceral feeling that originates from within the body rather than conscious thought; essentially, it reflects the scientific reality of a strong connection between the gut and the brain, where emotions can manifest as physical sensations in the stomach region.”
Miriam Webster’s online dictionary defines discernment as “the quality of being able to comprehend what is obscure.” All of God’s creatures seem to have a built-in survival mechanism, and I believe humans are no different. Through this “gut feeling,” we can perceive danger without it being plainly discernable.
The Book of Revelation warns that many will be deceived in the last days: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life” (Revelation 13:11-14).
We also see that the elect might not be immune to this: “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).
This is why it’s so important as Christians to have biblical discernment, which is defined by Ligonier Ministries as “learning to think God's thoughts after Him, practically and spiritually; it means having a sense of how things look in God's eyes and seeing them in some measure “uncovered and laid bare” (Hebrews 4:13)
Let’s look at three characteristics of a discerning Christian and how we can cultivate these characteristics in our own lives:
1. Word-Centered
When I first became a believer, I listened to Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man. It was broadcast every evening on Christian radio at 6 p.m. People would call in with their Bible questions, and he would answer them in real time. I grew so much as a believer listening to this program. Something Hank would say over and over again is how important it is to know what you believe and why you believe it.
Without spending time in the Word of God, you will not know what you believe or why you believe it. When we pray the sinner's prayer and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it doesn’t end there. We must grow in our relationship with Jesus. The only way to do that is by spending time studying the Word, memorizing the Word, and living the Word.
The Word of God is the Book of Truth. All of Satan’s lies are destroyed by the Word. When we are in situations that require biblical discernment, knowing God’s Truth will protect us from falling prey to false teachings. Sadly, in this day and age, we need a lot of biblical discernment as Christians. Too many modern churches are going down the slippery slope of trying to look like the world to attract the world rather than behaving in the set apart manner we as children of God have been called to. As the saying goes, “What you win them with is what you win them to.”
The discerning Christian will use the Word of God as their litmus test when it comes to biblical discernment and will “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinithians 10:5).
2. Holy Spirit-Dependent
Earlier, we talked about the gut feeling and its connection to feeling strong emotions in the stomach. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit who lives inside us and connects our minds with biblical discernment.
When we are Holy Spirit-dependent, we will seek Him in all situations before moving forward. We are asking Him for the discernment to know what is Truth and what is not. We are looking for an understanding of what God’s will is in a particular situation so we can rightly discern whether it is His will or not.
The discerning Christian is so dependent on the Holy Spirit that He sometimes directs them even though they are unaware why. I call this the urge to push…
Years ago, a girl arrived at my doorstep selling an aerial view of my house. A thunderstorm came up, and I asked her to come inside until it passed. Suddenly, I got the “urge to push” to share my story with her about how I became a believer. And when I tell you I am not a natural evangelist, I am not! She was very receptive to my words, and I have to believe that one day I will see her in heaven. The Lord gave me the discernment to share the Gospel with a complete stranger because He knew the beginning from the end.
The discerning Christian will “hear a voice behind them, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'” (Isaiah 30:21).
3. Unwavering Faith
When life becomes challenging or scary, it’s hard sometimes to have discernment. We can be very easily caught up in Satan's lies and believe the worst about our situation. As a result, we may slip into sinful bents due to not trusting that God will do what He says He will do and be blinded to the Truth.
As we read earlier, the great tribulation will be difficult for Christians who are still on earth for that part of biblical history. Although we don’t know if this will happen in our lifetime, I do feel that our “light and momentary troubles” are a sort of training ground for sharpening our discernment skills if, indeed, we were to experience the great tribulation (2 Corinthians 4:17).
When we practice true biblical discernment within our own trials, we will “learn to think God's thoughts after Him, practically and spiritually; it means having a sense of how things look in God's eyes and seeing them in some measure 'uncovered and laid bare'” (Ligonier Ministries).
What does this look like practically? Being Word-centered, Holy Spirit-dependent, remembering all the ways God has already been faithful to you, and recalling all the ways He has been faithful to His people throughout history.
The discerning Christian will “seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope they cherish and confess their acknowledgment of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. Their faith is not a feeling or emotion, but rather it is an act” (Hebrews 10:23).
May we all endeavor to walk in the three characteristics of a discerning Christian by being Word-centered, Holy Spirit-dependent and exhibiting unwavering faith.
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