The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Foreword by John MacArthur)

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“We live in an age where too many who profess to be Christians rarely consider their spiritual maturity—an age when many consider spiritual immaturity a mark of authenticity, and when people associate doubt with humility and assurance with pride. Far too many people consider sound theology the mark of a person who is argumentative and proud. Far too many people are just like the audience to whom Hebrews is addressed. This letter draws a clear line connecting a lack of discernment with spiritual immaturity so that those who lack discernment are those who are spiritually immature. Scripture makes it plain: if you are not a person who exhibits and exercises discernment you are not a mature Christian.” (source)

“wisdom and discernment are inexorably connected as with the two sides of a single coin.” (source)

“There seems to be a progression from knowledge, which refers to bare facts, to wisdom, which refers to understanding moral and ethical dimensions of facts and data, to discernment, which is the application of wisdom. Wisdom is a prerequisite to discernment. Discernment is wisdom in action.” (source)

“Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God . Even more to the point:truth is the self-expression of God. That is the biblical meaning of truth. . . . Truth is theological.’⁵ Truth is what God thinks; it is what God does; it is what God is; it is what God has revealed of himself in the Bible. Truth is found in its fullest form in God, for he is truth; he is the very source and origin of all truth.” (source)