Discernment

How well do we know God’s Word?  Do we know it well enough that when someone misspeaks or deliberately misleads us we know it?  Recently I listened to a man sing and do a little preaching in between songs.  I enjoyed it until he told the congregation that God says to test Him.  He said the bible says we are to test God and if we didn’t believe him we should read Malachi 3:10.  At that moment I stopped listening to him and started looking in my bible because I knew that what he had just told us was wrong.  When I opened my bible to Malachi and reread 3:10 I was reassured of my belief that God does not want us to test Him on everything.  He said only test Him when it comes to tithing; in all other matters we are to trust Him.

Had I not known the context of the verse he was speaking about I could have been mislead and could have started testing God in all things and this would have been disastrous.  Did this gentleman try to deceive the audience intentionally?  I don’t think so.  I think he was well intended but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.   We as Christians must know our scripture but we also need to know the context of the scripture to fully understand God’s word. 

I wonder how many people in the audience believed what this man had just told us.  This is a scary thought isn’t it?  But it happens more than we probably realize.  There are literally thousands and thousands of preachers worldwide.  They are in our local churches, on the radio, on the internet as well as T.V.  They preach and teach God’s word according to their understanding.  Some of them teach God’s word accurately and some do not.  It is up to us to know truth from lies.  We must seek God’s discernment as we read and study His word.  The bible is a spiritual book and we must first be filled with the Spirit of God to understand it.

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.  Romans 18:17-18

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Ephesians 5:15-18

Additional Reading

Deuteronomy 6:16

Matthew 4:7

Psalm 51:11-15

Psalm 139:7-17