dis·cern·ment
/dəˈsərnmənt/
1. the ability to judge well.
"an astonishing lack of discernment"
If your like me, the thing you may key on in that definition is the word "judge." We hear a lot about judging others, we aren't supposed to judge others right? Well that is only partially true, we aren't supposed to be judgemental in a way to assert ourselves above others, but I think we would all agree that we are also told to be discerning (judging) about who we choose to lead the church. You have to choose people of good reputation, moral standing, who walk with and listen to the Lord.
So this leaves us in a predicament when discerning truth, how can we judge and not judge at the same time? The answer I think leads us to reliance on the Holy Spirit, the spirit that we receive when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour. As Jesus said:
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
John 14:16-17
https://my.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.14.16-17
It is through the guidance of the Spirit that we can know truth, this helper is much like Jesus was for the disciples in shaping and forming them into Godly men. As pure as our intentions may seem, they are often full of our own desires and quite often we do not even realize it, but the Holy Spirit helps us to discern the right answers if we just ask for them. It will convict us when we are wrong, and affirm us if we are right, and point us to the answers when we are perplexed.
So, if your like me, at this point I am asking - how can I be filled with the Holy Spirit and discern truth? I'll try to help with that on my next post.
