Discernment vs. Judgment -III (Diakrino, Dokimazo)
| April 4, 2016 | Posted by Pastor Viju Mathai under General, Sermons |
Pastor Viju Mathai
Latest posts by Pastor Viju Mathai (see all)
- Discernment vs. Judgment – V (God’s Guidelines for Discerning) - April 4, 2016
- Discernment vs. Judgment -IV (How do we Discern) - April 4, 2016
- Discernment vs. Judgment -III (Diakrino, Dokimazo) - April 4, 2016
John 7:24… “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment (judge correctly).”
1 Corinthians 2:9-13 (God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit)… 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16… 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned (diakrino) only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments (anakrino: scrutinize carefully in order to make a judgment) about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
“Diakrino” (dia=through, krino=judge)
Separate thoroughly, to discriminate, decide and discern, to distinguish, to differentiate, (also to contend, to hesitate, to doubt)
- You carefully select fresh fruits and vegetables at the market
- Moral Judgment: right/wrong; good/bad; good/best
- Practical Judgment: godliness/worldliness
- Philosophical Judgment: Truth/Error
- Compromise within the body of Christ: Order/Disorder
The Case of Simon Peter (Apostle) – Separating the source and not the person
Matthew 16:13-20 (Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah)… 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matthew 16:21-23 (Jesus Predicts His Death)… 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me (out of my sight Satan!); you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Amazing how the same mouth that spoke a “word of revelation” was “in the flesh” just a few moments later. The gift is great, but the “in the flesh” part can be a real problem for others. Jesus, who had discernment, openly “judged” Simon Peter, moments after praising him. For most of us, we will not have to openly judge, but simply decide for ourselves whether or not the “prophetic” message is from above or from below.
To separate thoroughly, to discriminate, to discern, to differentiate, to distinguish (Matt 16:3).
It is the word used for discerning the conditions of the sky in Matt 16:3.
Matthew 16:1-4 (The Demand for a Sign)… 1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast. ’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
To make a distinction between persons by evaluation
Acts 15:9… He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
To arbitrate between persons, to weigh thoroughly each part, judge a dispute, settle a difference.
Paul uses this word to keep the Corinthians form going to court with a fellow believer.
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 (Lawsuits among Believers)… 1 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge (diakrino; distinguish between right or wrong) a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!
“to judge” represents the noun kriterion, which denotes “a tribunal, a law court,” and the meaning thus is “are ye unworthy of sitting upon tribunals of least importance?” (see RV marg.), i.e., to “judge” matters of smallest importance. Some would render it “cases,” but there is no clear instance elsewhere of this meaning.
Lord’s Table – Discernment
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 (Lord’s Supper)… 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine (dokimazo: test) themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning (diakrino) the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning (judge ourselves: diakrino: discerning with regard to ourselves) with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment (krino: judgment by the Lord). 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world (This kind of “judgment” is an act of compassion and protection, not condemnation).
It is used 22 times in the NT. Paul uses it in 1 Cor 3:13 when he talks about in the Day of Judgment the “fire will test the quality of each man’s work.” It is also the word used by the Apostle in giving the Corinthians the instructions for the Lord’s Supper “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup (1 Cor 11:28). Discernment is the kind of judgment God directs believers to use. Believers Are Commanded to Exercise Spiritual Discernment and to Make Judgments
Jesus is the Passover lamb that was slain so that the wrath of God will be deflected
Lord’s table signifies peace an fellowship that we now enjoy in Christ Jesus with our Lord. In Old Testament times, one had to offer sin or guilt offering (sacrifices of expiation; born again), burnt or grain offering (consecration; baptism, life of holiness and separation) and only then could participate in the fellowship offering (Exodus 24).
Lords supper signifies peace and fellowship we have with God. When more than one kind of offering was presented (as in Nu 7:13–17), the procedure was usually as follows:
(1) sin offering or guilt offering,
(2) burnt offering,
(3) fellowship offering and grain offering (along with a drink offering).
This sequence furnishes part of the spiritual significance of the sacrificial system. First, sin had to be dealt with (sin offering or guilt offering). Second, the worshipers committed themselves completely to God (burnt offering and grain offering). Third, fellowship or communion between the Lord, the priest and the worshiper (fellowship offering) was established. To state it another way, there were sacrifices of expiation (sin offerings and guilt offerings), consecration (burnt offerings and grain offerings) and communion (fellowship offerings—these included vow offerings, thank offerings and freewill offerings).
“Dokimazo” (to test, to approve, to discern)
To test, to approve, to discern (Luke 14:19).
Luke 14:19… “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try (dokimazo; prove) them out. Please excuse me.’
To test or approve the will of God (Rom 12:2).
Romans 12:2… Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test (dokimazo) and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Our deeds will be tested
1 Corinthians 3:13… their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test (dokimazo: test) the quality of each person’s work.
Test (dokimazo: prove) every prophecies (1 Thessolonians 5:19-22)
1 Thessolonians 5:19-22… 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test (Dokimazo: prove) them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil
1 Corinthians 14:29… Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh (Diakrino: decide and discern) carefully what is said.
Test (dokimazo) every spirit (1 John 4:1)
1 John 4:1… Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test (dokimazo δοκιμάζω ) the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Example of Paul and Silas in Philippi
Acts 16 (Paul and Silas in Philippi)… 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
The Case of Simon the Sorcerer
Acts 8:9-24 (Simon the Sorcerer)… 9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you (to hell with you and your money), because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Dangers – lack of discernment
A close friend and a man of God once recommended another bible teacher “he is a great teacher and has great insights into the word of God”. So I went to youtude and looked for his most famous teachings. For the first 15 mins what he taught, I was amazed and filled with awe at the depth and the accuracy of what was being taught. An then he dropped the bomb. He said “when God gave man the authority in the garden of Eden and said – Let them rule over the creatures if this earth” God relinquished/gave up His authority and gave it to man”. “God by doing that has cut himself off man”.
- Faulty understanding about power and authority: God has delegated His authority to man and has not relinquished it
- Jesus has all authority (Mathew 28; Eph 1)
- Man did not give it to Jeusus.
- Jesus deligated it to His flock
- If we remain in the branch, we will bear fruit
- Faulty understanding about prayer: It took me 15 years to get the definition of prayer right. Prayer is earthly license for heaven to intervene. In other words, God cannot do anything without the permission from man. God had to take permission from Abraham before burning Sodom and Gomorrah
- Faulty understanding about Gospel: Jesus did not come to die, he came to give us the kingdom. Don’t preach the cross and the blood, no one wants to hear that. Give them the Kingdom and its benefits and they will come.
- Faulty understanding about Jesus: Jesus is only the door and not the kingdom. You don’t go to the door and say “door, you are so beautiful, I love you door” “why don’t you get past the door and get in and enjoy the benefits. Jesus is only the door.
- Faulty understanding about ourselves: Then he dropped the biggest bomb. We are Gods. We are sovereign in this world and God is not. God has the power but we have the authority.
Gullible spirit
Fear and Intimidation: Folks in the church scare the masses with words like – “Do not judge”, ‘Touch not the Lord’s anointed’, “You have a critical spirit if you do not join in”, etc, etc. This is the very reason why Christians are often the most gullible and easily deceived). So how do you avoid being deceived in this way? Very simply, you do not go along to these meetings in a “gullible” frame of mind.
Crowd mentality (peer pressure to conform): Uou do not allow yourself to be carried along with the crowd. You listen carefully to the preaching and make sure that it truly is Biblical. Then you watch the ministry happening down the front of the meeting and discern whether it really is of God or not. You do not “override” any feelings of unease or any ‘alarm bells’ going off inside you. And you do not allow yourself to be swayed by ‘peer pressure’. Even if the whole church is getting into something, it does not mean that you have to. If you do not feel quite “right” about it then DO NOT GET INVOLVED. If you need to, make some excuse and get out of there! You do not have to get involved in things that do not feel spiritually “right” to you.
Manifestation mania: Some people say that knowing Scripture is the only real key to discernment that we need. And yes – Scripture is very important – especially in exposing false doctrine. But it is not only doctrines or teachings that are the greatest danger today. It is just as likely to be false ‘anointing’ or spirits – perhaps even “lying signs and wonders”. And we may need more than just a good understanding of Scripture to spot these things. Remember, a lot of the people caught up in the “manifestations mania”. And yet they could still be deceived. So what are the things that can help us avoid deception in similar situations?
Running after Impartation: A lot of people today will go to the front to get something “imparted” to them by almost every visiting speaker – almost as a matter of course. I tell you, in today’s climate this can be a very dangerous thing to do. In fact, some of this ‘impartation’ business has very flimsy backing in Scripture. Who knows what on earth these preachers are imparting? And who knows where they picked it up? I tell you, deceiving spirits are commonplace today, and I believe they are being imparted to Christians on a large scale. If you have been touched or involved in any way with manifestations or experiences that you think may not have been from God, then I urge you to utterly RENOUNCE (with your mouth, but also from the depths of your very being in Jesus’ name) any links or involvement with that experience or ‘anointing’. Please do not put this off, my friends. Some of this stuff is extremely dangerous. RENOUNCE it today.
Discerning the source: The gift of discernment, is not about discerning the hearts of people but about discerning the source of something. When you are operating in the gift of discernment, you are recognizing where the driving force behind an action is coming from. Many times, the actual motivational force behind people’s actions and behavior is not clear. This is where the gift of discernment comes in.
Shepherds leading sheep on a road to destruction
1 Timothy 4:16… Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
How to Discern Real Prophecy from What “Simon Says”
Mathew 7:15-20 (True and False Prophets)… 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Mathew 7:21-23 (True and False Disciples)… 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
1 John 4:1… Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 Peter 2:1-3 (False Teachers and Their Destruction)… 2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Acts 17:11 (NIV) Now the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Some of the most basic keys to discernment are as follows:
- Know your HOLY GOD intimately. (When you have seen His glory, His holiness and His love – by drawing close to Him in prayer – then you can usually see through any counterfeits because you know the “real thing” so well).
- Know your Bible. It is very important to be able to spot teachings that are either extra-biblical or directly opposed to what the Scriptures teach. However, it is important to remember that the Scribes and Pharisees were extrememly learned in the Scriptures and yet they missed the very Messiah that was prophesied! So knowing the Bible is important – especially for doctrinal issues – but we need to be able to “discern the spirits” also.
- Be a “lover of truth”. This is very crucial. Are you someone who will actually stand up for Truth – even against the crowd? Or do you remain silent even when you are convinced something is very wrong?
- Purity of heart and Humility. Many deceptions only appeal to us because there is something inside us that “wants” to believe them. They are seductive because of darkness and wrong motives in our own lives. We must search our hearts and root these out.
- The ‘inner witness’ of the Holy Spirit. We must learn to never over-ride this “still small voice”, as it will save us from deception again and again. (More on this below).
Did you know that even an unbeliever can often spot a con-man or a snake-oil salesman? They get a kind-of “gut feeling” about such things. And they are often right! In fact, they are often less gullible than the Christians! (Because we are told in the church- “Do not judge”, ‘Touch not the Lord’s anointed’, “You have a critical spirit if you do not join in”, etc, etc. This is the very reason why Christians are often the most gullible and easily deceived). We need to realize that the Bible says to “test the spirits” and warns very strongly that the Last Days will be a time of “seducing spirits” and great deception. So how can we become more alert to these things? I believe that God has placed within every human being at least a measure of an inner “warning system” to protect us from being easily deceived – just as He has given us all a conscience. It is something that He has built into every one of us, in His mercy. (I guess a lot of it is simply ‘common sense’).
However, Christians should have an even greater advantage in this area, because we have the “inner witness” of the Holy Spirit, and the ‘still small voice’ of the Lord speaking to us every day. But what I have found again and again with people who give themselves over to some form of deception is that they often “override” these inner alarms. They go against their ‘better judgment’. They ignore the little voice deep inside them that is telling them that there is something wrong. Christians today do this all the time. That is how they get themselves involved in such foolish deceptions.
This may all sound very obvious, but I am telling you, this one basic area alone could wipe out half the deception in the church right now. If only people would listen to these internal ‘alarm bells’ and act with common sense, half of it would be gone overnight.
The Bible is very clear that the Last Days are a time of such widespread deception that it would “deceive if possible the very elect”. It also shows that much of this deception will arise from WITHIN the church – luring believers who have “itching ears”. Do we see evidence of this kind of thing taking place today? Absolutely! In fact, some of it is at a level that is truly shocking. And yet it is all accepted as perfectly “normal” by many Christians.
One of the problems, of course, is that those who bring in these deceptions are ‘trusted’ by the congregation. They have a reputation and they put across some very convincing-sounding arguments and surround the whole thing with Biblical terminology. And thus the deception is harder to spot. (After all, if it were not “deceptive” then it would not be called ‘deception’!) People see spiritual power operating and assume that it “must be God”. But this is a very dangerous assumption to make in these days.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16… 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned (diakrino) only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments (anakrino: scrutinize carefully in order to make a judgment) about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Our roles as watchmen in this generation
Ezekiel 3:16-19 (Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman)… 16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.