Discernments

Leafrivermac · 07-23-2006, 08:12 AM

I feel there are two different levels of spiritual discernment. One is the gift of discerning of spirits, given only to some. The other is a low-level spiritual sixth-sense that steers christians away from evil influences. The question is, what are the specific characteristics of each one? How do you know if you have the gift? Has the normal christian guidance away from evil ever been mistaken for the gift?

Chuck7 · 07-23-2006, 08:37 AM

Leaf....
Here is my understanding toward your question..which I believe is a good question.
IMHO

Gift of discernment....this person at times can actually see in the spirit world at times. I do not have that gift but I know some who do..not locally though. They can discern evil spirits and casting them out would SEEM to go along with that gift .Why would God equip oneto see but do nothing about it. The person I have in mind had both.the power to discern and cast out. Thier love was extraordinary as well.

Normal discernment....Paul says this comes from exercising God's Word. It comes with walking in the Spirit. We all have this at times{At least I would hope so} The mature should be living in it. You know when to speak , when to shut up. You know when you hear false teaching or manipulations.Like I said before You can't fool a real Christian .They have the wisdom of Christ. They are not ignorant. Carnal Christinas do not have this .There Christianity is for thier own gain. They are shifted with every wave .
c7

onthemend · 07-23-2006, 08:49 AM

The Bible teaches that all True Believers have Spiritual discernment. The degree of that is not mentioned in detail. With that said, having Spiritual discernment can come at a great cost. When one mentions the false teaching of the likes of Joyce Meyer, James Dobson, James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, Joel Osteen, Creflow Dollar, Billy Graham, and Chuck Colson, one is setting ones self up for attack, but as Paul charged, we must stand in face of false teaching that seeks to tickle the senses, while ignoring the Gospel Truth.

Alex The Hawk · 07-23-2006, 12:14 PM

Remember the old biblical injunction, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Mt. 7:1)? It made good sense before, but now apparently it makes even more. According to a study by psychologist John J. Skowronski and colleagues, published in the April 1998 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, judging other people--more specifically, gossiping about them--has a boomerang effect. The traits you describe in other people will be applied to you as well by the person(s) you're describing them to. Tell someone that so-and-so is a deadbeat, for example, and the person you're telling will think you're kind of shiftless yourself. The researchers have given this "common, but apparently mindless, psychological phenomenon" the name of spontaneous trait transference.
The researchers describe this transference as "irrational and largely outside of conscious awareness." Be that as it may, the gist of the study is that "when you gossip," says one of the researchers (quoted in Science News), "you become associated with the characteristics you describe, ultimately leading those characteristics to be 'transferred' to you."
This transference should be borne in mind the next time you're describing a person to some third party. You must describe that person with care. For example, tell people that "if John was any dumber he would have to be watered twice a week," and they might think that you could use a hose turned on you. Say something like "Jane loves nature in spite of what it did to her," and they might think that you got a raw deal yourself. Or refer to someone with a disparaging remark like "the wheel is spinning, but the hamster is dead," and folks might associate you too with a rodent.

onthemend · 07-23-2006, 02:08 PM

So Alex, when you call someone a wolf in sheeps clothing, like you did in another thread, are you basically saying that you do a good job of hiding your tail???