Thinking About Discernment
Psalms 119:65-72
November 21, 2021
Last time we studied this segment we called it “Appreciating Affliction”
And certainly that is what this entire segment is about.
But since we have studied that and exposited it last time,
Tonight I want to focus in on one aspect
Of what this stanza discusses, and that is DISCERNMENT.
And to begin our study
I first want you to be aware of the fact that Deception is Everywhere.
A brief journey through the New Testament will make that obvious.
1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,”
• Paul there speaks of “deceitful spirits” and “doctrines of demons”
1 Timothy 4:7 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;”
• There he warns of “worldly fables”
1 Timothy 6:4 “he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,”
• There he warns of “controversial questions and disputes about words”
1 Timothy 6:20 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”
• There it is “what is falsely called knowledge”
2 Timothy 2:23 “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”
• We see “foolish and ignorant speculations”
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
• Paul says men will love “myths”
Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
• Here it is “philosophy and empty deception”
Acts 20:30 “and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
• That is a warning against “perverse things”
As you can see there is A REAL ISSUE in this world, even in the church,
Regarding the presence of deception.
• Satan is called the father of lies. (John 8:44)
• Lying is all he knows how to do.
And he is really, really, REALLY GOOD AT IT.
• He masquerades as an angel of light.
• He looks good
• He feels good
• He sounds good
Just ask the couple in the garden
Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
What Satan offered WAS A LIE, but it sure sounded right.
It WAS A LIE, but it seemed to make sense.
It WAS DECEPTION, but it felt so good.
And we live in a world that is DOMINATED by his deceptive doctrines.
We even live in a church age where much of his teaching is accepted.
I think about the political realm.
• The most recent election has literally blown open the discussion on political
things.
• And today, if you have a basement and a video camera you are qualified to be
a journalist.
• And I’ve listened to several of these guys.
• They promise all sorts of thing that are coming and are about to happen.
But you listen because a lot of what they say is what you want to hear:
But I start to listen closer
• One guy talks about alien encounters,
• Another talks about how he is a multi-dimensional being,
• Another states that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are
inspired by God.
And even though much of what they say is what I want to hear,
I have to acknowledge that in many areas these people are deceived.
They are either being lied to by someone
Or they are deceiving themselves.
It is everywhere.
AND WE CERTAINLY SEE IT IN THE SECULAR REALM.
This week I read a Facebook post that cut me deep and grieved me.
It was written by a woman who attended this church about 17 years ago
When Carrie and I first came here.
Her post simply said that
For the past 3 years she has been what she called “A deconstructing Christian”
I had no clue what she meant
Because I’m obviously not very “woke”
Or too caught up in the lingo of the day.
So I had to google it.
But basically the process of “deconstructing” (as I understand it)
Is a new modern fad name for those who are questioning sort of the normative beliefs that have been “constructed” by society.
It’s a catchy phrase that sounds highly intellectual and humble.
And filled with honesty and vulnerability and compassion and insight.
Now, the girl didn’t actually share too much in her initial post that I would argue with,
Especially in an open social media comment section,
But the response she generated was huge.
It became clear to me that the idea behind “deconstruction”
• Is to basically ask the hard questions,
• To question everything,
• To break down sort of those traditional robotic beliefs
• And maybe even to try to think for yourself.
I’m new to the idea, but this is sort of how it read to me.
While I am new to the idea, the idea itself is not new.
In one sense, it is even Biblical.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
Scripture itself affirms the need for discernment.
• That you should never just believe everything you hear or read.
• That you most certainly should test and examine everything carefully,
• And this even includes age-old traditions.
We love to celebrate and discuss the Reformation.
In many ways the Reformation was a time in which
There was some form of a “deconstruction” process.
Those that speak of this “Deconstruct Christianity” movement
• Like to use words like “Radical”
• And like to even point out that Jesus was radical to the normative beliefs of His day.
• They might even argue that Jesus “deconstructed Judaism”.
AND THERE IS MUCH TO THAT IDEA THAT WE WOULD AFFIRM.
What else can you call a sermon
In which Jesus repeatedly says, “You have heard, but I say…” anything but a word to deconstruct bad doctrine and replace it with true doctrine?
SO WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF THE TERM DECONSTRUCT.
What does greatly trouble me is the careless and uninformed
And misguided movement that seems to be coming with it.
As I read some of the comments on the post, I read things like:
When one person encouraged her to be careful in the journey because Satan seeks to isolate us,
She responded by saying, “As part of my journey I no longer believe Satan is real.”
At another point she commented “I came to a place where I found that the god I was connected with did not align with much of what the faith of Christianity taught.”
At another point she commented “I think for some folks Jesus is the truth, for others it is Buddha or Mohammad. In the end, it’s more about the way we love”
In fact the entire comment section is filled with what you might call disgruntled ex-church members who no longer believe the basics of Christian doctrine.
It is dangerously close to FULL BLOWN APOSTASY.
So while we are not afraid of the term “deconstruct”
THE MOVEMENT IS ACTUALLY HORRIFYING.
They seek to question things,
But what is apparent is that there is no basis
To be able to know when something is actually truth or not.
AND SO THIS ALL BRINGS UP A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION:
“What dictates what you believe?”
• “What is your standard of truth by which you measure what you hear?”
• “What do you use to discern if something is true?”
• “When you deconstruct something, what tool are you using?”
Discernment or testing everything is not a bad thing at all,
So long as you have an accurate standard of measure
By which everything is tested.
THAT’S THE REAL QUESTION HERE.
THE REFORMERS were clear what their standard of measure was.
They developed the cry “SOLA SCRIPTURA” – Scripture Alone.
• They said that Scripture would be the defining criteria by which things would be measured to be true.
JESUS is the author of Scripture and so He measured truth by Himself.
But this is where the danger lies
In such “woke” movements as this today.
They jump into discernment without first determining what the standard will be for that discernment.
A couple of weeks ago I heard parts of a sermon from a preacher named Todd White who absolutely butchered the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:21
He read the verse and his assessment was that on the cross Jesus actually became a sinner. He said Jesus became pedophilia and a hater of God and other blasphemous assertions.
Another man commented on this sermon and said, “His preaching is like giving a hammer to a 2 year old.”
The idea is that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about
And in an attempt to preach, he’s actually destroying everything.
That is a good way to describe this movement.
They go swinging the sword at things like Christianity,
But they don’t even know what they are swinging at.
They want to be discerning, but their standard for discernment is corrupt.
So we ask again:
WHAT DICTATES WHAT YOU BELIEVE?
I’ll likely never get the opportunity to talk with this woman regarding her post so I may never get a straight answer from her.
• Though I would suppose that her standard of belief is most likely her own heart.
• I would guess that her own heart (which is highly influenced by the culture) is
where she goes to determine if things are true or not.
AND THIS IS TERRIBLY DANGEROUS.
But this is what I want to discuss with you tonight.
In this segment our Psalmist has a very interesting prayer request to God.
(66) “Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments.”
That’s a great request.
• “Team me good discernment…”
• “Teach me [good] knowledge…”
It is not just a request to have knowledge and discernment
But accurate knowledge and discernment.
And as we have now seen, that is vitally important.
The world has plenty of knowledge.
The world has plenty of discernment.
The question is whether it is accurate knowledge?
The question is whether it is good discernment?
Throughout this stanza we see the same word used 5 times.
It is the Hebrew word TOB (tobe)
• In verse 65 it is translated “well”
• The other 4 times it is translated “good”
You know it as the word God used to describe creation before the fall.
SO
• The Psalmist is NOT ASKING for what is considered good to the culture.
• The Psalmist is NOT ASKING what is considered good to his own heart.
• The Psalmist wants to know what is considered good to God.
He wants God’s discernment.
He wants God’s knowledge.
“discernment” is the Hebrew word TA’AM (ta-ham)
It literally means “taste” and is also used of “judgment”
When David faked madness before Ahimelech the Scripture says:
1 Samuel 21:13 “So he disguised his sanity before them…”
“sanity” there is TA’AM
David disguised his judgment
David disguised his discernment
David made himself appear to be one
Who didn’t know the difference between right or wrong.
You understand further then the request of the Psalmist.
I don’t want the world’s taste or judgment or discernment or sanity.
I want God’s taste or judgment or discernment or sanity.
I want true and good discernment.
I want true and good knowledge.
NOW THAT IS A GOOD VERSE TO REMEMBER
Because it is the criteria for discernment.
When you come to the decision to “test everything”
Or if you are motivated by the culture to “deconstruct”.
Then the thing you must solidify in your mind is
What will be your criteria for doing this?
What are you going to recognize as your standard
By which everything will be tested or deconstructed?
• Are you going to look at your own heart?
• Are you going to take a survey?
• Are you going to listen to the news?
And bear in mind this is IMPORTANT
Because as we noted, DECEPTION IS EVERYWHERE.
Well obviously you already know where this is headed.
We are going to affirm, with the Reformers,
That our standard for truth will be Scripture.
We are going to affirm:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
We are going to believe the words of Jesus when He said:
John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
But this stanza is NOT ABOUT
Proving to you why the Bible is true or why the Bible should be trusted,
Or why the Bible should be your standard.
The Psalmist assumes you already know this.
The problem the Psalmist addressed is
Why so many believers, who would affirm that Scripture is true,
Still fail to read it and through their ignorance of Scripture
Fail to have good discernment.
LISTEN,
• The Bible has never led anyone away from Christ.
• The Bible has never caused anyone to stop believing Satan is real.
• The Bible has never caused anyone to believe in Buddha or Muhammad.
• The Bible has never caused anyone to abandon the church.
The PROBLEM IS NOT what the Bible teaches,
The PROBLEM IS that people don’t know what the Bible teaches.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT
Many false prophets have misrepresented what the Bible teaches.
I’m really excited that in a couple of weeks
We are going to start a new study of 1 John.
John was actually dealing with this very issue.
• John faced deceivers.
• John called them anti-christs.
• John said they had left the church.
Now the difference was that in John’s day
They left they church because they claimed a higher knowledge (Gnosticism).
In a weird way this deconstruction movement
Claims a lesser knowledge as their reason for leaving.
(They can no longer be certain about anything)
But 1 John is all about the obvious truth of Christianity
Which is clearly taught in the Scripture.
And so all throughout the book John uses the same phrase,
“And you know” “And you know” “And you know”
What is he doing?
He is cutting through the nonsense and seeking to call the church back to basic simple Christian truths that they knew.
He was imparting discernment
And he was doing it by calling them back to Scriptural truth.
This is what the church needs.
This is what believers need.
You need a knowledge of God’s word.
You need to know what the Bible says.
(Oddly enough this girl who has left the faith said the beginning of her journey started when she attended Bible college and they taught her about the canonization of the Bible and she finally released her belief in the inerrancy of Scripture)
It’s not a surprise that one who started to believe the Bible isn’t true ended up on Facebook proclaiming to have left Christianity.
THE SCRIPTURE IS IMPORTANT
AND YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT SAYS.
BUT THERE IS THE PROBLEM
• People are lazy…
• People are busy…
• People are distracted…
• People are bored…
And for whatever reason it is the tendency of even believers
To fall into ruts in their life where they neglect the Scripture.
They fail to read it…
So they don’t know what is true.
They lose their ability to discern truth from error.
They forget what God says is true.
But all the while “the god of this world” is whispering his doctrines
Into their ears and over time they lose their discernment.
The solution is faithful study of God’s word,
But believers fail to do it.
IF ONLY THERE WAS A TOOL THAT WOULD CAUSE BELIEVERS TO FAITHFULLY STUDY GOD’S WORD…
Welcome to Psalms 119:65-72
• (71) “It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
• (65) “You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word.”
• (67) “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.”
What we get in this stanza is a song of thanksgiving to God
Because God has seen fit to bring affliction into his life.
If you want to see the current affliction, here it is:
(69-70) “The arrogant have forged a lie against me; With all my heart I will observe Your precepts. Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Your law.”
The Psalmist is being lied about.
“The arrogant have forged a lie” about the Psalmist.
That means they took the truth,
And put in the forge and heated it up,
And then they pulled it out and twisted it
And beat it and manipulated it until it was no longer the truth.
And the Psalmist was the victim of their attack.
The Psalmist says “Their heart is covered with fat”
• I heard one preacher refer to them as people with “high cholesterol”
• Arteriole Sclerosis is what we call “A Hardening of the Arteries”
These men have hardened hearts.
These men have thick hearts.
These men have undiscerning hearts.
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT IS TRUE
But they are happy to spread what is not
And our Psalmist is the victim.
No one likes to be misrepresented
No one likes to be lied about
• We certainly don’t like it if those lies cause us to be treated differently or to reap negative consequences.
But that is where the Psalmist is.
He is being lied about and it hurts.
And yet, the Psalmist says, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
What does he mean?
The affliction that I have experienced has 1 outcome,
It drives me to God’s word.
And the Psalmist says this is a good thing!
(67) “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.”
That is why LAST TIME we called this study “Appreciating Affliction”
Namely that a man ought to learn to see his affliction differently.
He ought to be able to see the value in it.
It is that which drives us to God’s word and that is a good thing.
It would be nice if we were faithful and committed without being prompted
But the fact of the matter is, sometimes we are not.
But this affliction drove the Psalmist to God’s word.
Someone has lied about him and caused him grief
So he goes to the One who knows the truth about him
That he might have comfort.
And he found a treasure.
(72) “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
And so at the very least we learn a principle
That affliction can produce in us a love for God’s word
Because affliction is designed by God to drive us to His word.
So that’s a good thing.
BUT TONIGHT we discuss the issue of discernment.
This Psalmist has learned the dangerous effects of lacking discernment.
He has been the victim of fat-hearted people who don’t know the truth.
The Psalmist used that to evaluate his own life and he prayed:
(66) “Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.”
That is an interesting request.
• He doesn’t go to God and say, “Stop their lies”
• He doesn’t go to God and say, “Let the truth come out”
What does he pray?
“Team me good discernment and knowledge”
His first prayer is,
• “God, don’t let me be deceived like them.”
• “Trim the fat from my heart”
• “Give me good discernment”
• “Give me good knowledge”
The Psalmist has seen the reality of deception.
But he does not think himself beyond it.
He doesn’t say, “God I could never be deceived like they are.”
On the contrary, he is well-aware that
He is just as prone to being deceived as the next guy.
SO
• He runs to God.
• He thanks God for the affliction that has driven him to God’s word.
• And he asks God to grant him good discernment.
SO THERE’S THE QUESTION TO THINK ABOUT TONIGHT.
We live in a world that is filled with deception.
Satan is the god of this world and he is the father of lies.
Do you understand that you are susceptible?
• Do you understand that your heart will lie to you?
• Do you understand that the culture will deceive you?
• Do you understand that what looks right and feels right may not be right?
That is the grievous mistake of this woman on Facebook.
• She has abandoned the Scripture and she has abandoned the Church
• And instead she is purely looking inward (and to some curious spirit she attributes to be god)
• And she is judging truth by if it aligns with her inner thoughts.
She is operating on the basis that
She will intuitively recognize truth when she sees it.
Is that what you think?
DO YOU THINK that you can listen to the ramblings of the world and just intuitively know if it’s true or false?
DO YOU THINK that you can fill your head with worldly logic and you’ll just know if it’s right or not?
1. Are you confident that you will spot every demonic doctrine?
2. Are you confident that you will spot every deceitful spirit?
3. Are you sure that no one can slip a “myth” past you?
4. Do you know that “perverse teaching” will be obvious to you when you hear it?
5. You are certain that you will be spot what is only the “commandments of men”?
6. You are certain that you’ll see the difference between truth and “speculations”?
7. There is no concern that you might get deceived by “controversial issues”?
8. There is no concern that “worldly fables” won’t such you in?
9. You are absolutely impervious to “what is falsely called knowledge”?
10. You are immune to “empty philosophy”?
If you think that is the case you are in a world of hurt.
I hate to tell you but your inner fact checker is fallen and flawed.
I hate to tell you but your personal discerner is wrongly calibrated.
AND IT IS PURE ARROGANCE TO ASSUME
That you’ll recognize deception based on some internal intuition.
Isn’t that what the Psalmist said?
(69) “The arrogant have forged a lie”
Tonight I simply want you to think about discernment.
I want you to understand WHY YOU NEED IT
And I want you to understand WHERE TO GET IT.
You must be devoted to God’s word.
You must be devoted to learn God’s statutes.
Paul had the best statement on this.
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”
• We hear these “speculations”
• And we take them captive “to the obedience of Christ”
That is to say, we force those speculations through Scripture
And that is how we know if it is true.
And beloved you need this now more than ever.
There are many false prophets in the world.
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
There is a bunch of them and they will be highly successful.
And they will take a lot of people to judgment with them.
You need discernment.
And so we thank God for anything that drives us to the word.
And we thank God for the affliction that drives us to the word.
Because we will not survive without it.
So, are you in the word?
Are you studying it?
• Can you say, “I delight in Your law”?
• Can you say, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces?”
YOU NEED THAT.
If for no other reason than to save you from being deceived.
“Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments.”
