SOURCE: http://www.gty.org/transcripts/archive.htm
BOOK: Discernment:
Spiritual Survival for a Church in Crisis
Below are the three sessions of this detailed study on Discernment.
The biggest
challenge by far that faces organized Christian churches today and the
biggest threat to their existence and ideology comes not from outside
the church, but from within. It is their lack of
ability or willingness to be discerning, which is a
politically correct word for "judgment". The media and
unbelievers everywhere have distorted God's Holy word to convince
Christians not to judge by quoting scriptures out of context, and have
tried to criminalize use of the word "judge" and make it
politically incorrect. They are on the offensive with such things
as:
- Hate crime
laws
- Anti-discrimination
laws for homosexuals
- "Diversity
training" in the schools
- Mandatory
counseling for parents involved in divorce who are dogmatic about
their beliefs as a way to "deprogram" them
The liberals, in
trying to stamp out Christian opposition, have indeed hypocritically
practiced the very same discrimination against Christians that they
claim to be against when the discrimination is directed towards
them. They have evolved into the Nazi's of our modern era, and
they have made the use of the words "judge" or
"discriminate" so politically incorrect that most Christians
don't dare use them. They have put pastors in fear to talk
about it because they might alienate their congregation by opposing the
mainstream media. In trying to downplay judgment, liberal nazis will say such things as the slogan we
saw on a bumper sticker the other day:
"Hate
is NOT a family value."
But what does
God's word say about this subject? Is this really the case? Both
we and John MacArthur disagree. God's word teaches us that hate of sin is
definitely a family value, but hate of people isn't.
As you will find
out from this series of sermons and the accompanying book by John
MacArthur, God says that we MUST judge and be
discerning about evil and sin, or suffer His wrath. We cannot on
the one hand love what is good without just as vehemently hating what is
evil. If we are to be a HOLY church,
sanctified and set apart from the world, then we must dare to be
different.
"Do
you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an
enemy of God." [
[James 4:4,
Bible, NKJV]
It is this
unwillingness to be different or sanctified or confrontational or to
judge that has lead to much of the decay we see in the fabric of
American society today. It has caused us to become a pagan
culture on the decline. It is the root of so many evils. Below are just a few reasons from scripture why God says we
MUST judge, and John MacArthur points out several others in his
wonderful sermon:
-
“You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the
hand of the wicked.”
[Psalms
97:10, Bible, NKJV]
-
“An
unjust man is an abomination to the righteous: and he who is upright
in the way is an abomination to the wicked.”
[Prov 29:27, Bible, NKJV]
-
“The boastful shall not stand in your sight: You
hate all all workers of iniquity.”
[Psalms 5:5, Bible, NKJV]
-
“Through You precepts I get understanding:
therefore I hate every false way.]
[Psalms 119:104, Bible, NKJV]
-
“Let us hear the conclusion of this whole matter:
Fear [respect] God and keep His commandments, for this
is man’s all. For
God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret
thing, whether good or evil.”
[Eccl. 12:13-14, Bible, NKJV]
-
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I
hate.”
[Proverbs 8:13, Bible, NKJV]
-
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be
zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; for surely
there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.”
[Prov. 23:17, Bible, NKJV]
-
“By humility and fear of the Lord are
riches and honor and life.”
[Prov.
22:4, Bible, NKJV]
-
“These six things the Lord hates,
yes seven are an abomination to Him:
-
A proud look.
-
A lying tongue,
-
Hands that shed innocent
blood,
-
A heart that
devises wicked plans, [IRS revenue agents]
-
Feet that are swift in
running to evil,
-
A false witness
who speaks lies, [IRS]
-
And
one who sows discord among brethren.” [illegally
imposed income taxes and the financial problems they create
destroy families, and the number one cause of divorce is
disputes over money]
Prov. 6:16-19
-
“Do
I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my
enemies.”
[Psalms
139:21-22, Bible, NKJV]
-
“I hate and abhor lying, But I love
Your law.”
[Psalms
119:163, Bible, NKJV]
-
“Through your precepts I get understanding; Therefore
I hate every false way.”
[Psalms 119:104]
-
“A righteous man hates lying, But a
wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.”
[Prov. 13:5, Bible, NKJV]
-
“For everything there is a season, a time for
every purpose under heaven: ….. A time to love, and a time
to hate.”
[Ecclesiastes
3:1-8, Bible, NKJV]
-
“But those who rebuke the wicked will have
delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.”
[Prov. 24:25, Bible, NKJV]
-
“He who rebukes a man will find more favor
afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.”
[Prov. 28:23, Bible, NKJV]
-
God even commands us above to reprove
and rebuke evil when we encounter it, and we can’t rebuke
that which we can’t judge, so we better judge!:
-
“Judge not according to appearance, but
judge
righteous judgment.”
[John 7:24, Bible, NKJV, Jesus speaking in the Bible]
-
“And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
expose [rebuke] them.”
[Eph. 5:11, Bible, NKJV]
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