Watchout For WOLVES: Keys To Discerning Authentic Ministries & Evaluating Doctrinal Trends
area and need to exercise their spiritual senses to discern. We are often good at exercising our physical body, but we need to be even better when it comes to exercising our spiritual senses. The Greek word dokimazo literally means to test, examine, prove or scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not) as with metals. It is possible for something to look exactly like gold, but, in reality, it is fool’s gold. If you take what you perceive to be a gold ring into a pawn shop for cash, the first thing they will do is test it for gold content. It may be pure gold, it may be a mixture of gold with another metal, or it may not contain any gold at all. This is what we are to do with ministries and doctrines. Jesus fully expects us to be able use discernment in a spiritual way, not simply a natural way. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Luke 12:56 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits , whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
Test all things ; hold fast what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. – Msg
Discernment Needed Today
If ever there was a time that we needed discernment, it is now. The devil would like nothing more than to pollute the Church. The closer we get to the return of Christ the more he is in panic mode. He knows that his days are numbered and he is throwing everything he has at the Church.
12
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker