We have a number of Scriptures to read to start with. First is Luke 6.
Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father also is merciful.
And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: remit, and it shall be remitted unto you.
For there is no good tree which bringeth forth corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree which bringeth forth good fruit.
For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Then we want to turn to a parallel passage in Matthew 7. This whole section in Luke 6 and Matthew 7 can be compared very well; they are very similar. Matthew 7 is part of the Sermon on the Mount.
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but He that doeth the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Let all that ye do be done in love.
But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.
And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.
It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.
Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.
For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old set forth unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
Lord, we come on the basis of Your mercy. We thank You that we have been accepted in the Beloved. We come together and tremble at Your word. We pray that You would have a free way to speak Your word to us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
A couple of months back, we looked into the subject of forgiveness. One thing we emphasized very strongly was that all forgiveness is actually in Christ. The way God forgives us, He forgives us in Christ Jesus. We do not receive forgiveness outside of Christ, so our experience of forgiveness is always in Christ.
In the same way, to forgive one another, this is the secret. The Bible says, “Forgive one another, even as God also hath forgiven you in Christ.” The way we forgive one another is the same way: we forgive them in Christ.
We can try and try, but we will explode like a volcano, because it will all come back up. But if you forgive in Christ, then you know Christ has never done you any wrong. You can never be bitter. All you see is Christ. It is true forgiveness—forgiving and really forgetting.
One of the concepts involved with forgiveness is that forgiveness is not lacking discernment. Forgiveness includes discernment. Sometimes, even though there is complete and utter forgiveness, there is also discernment.
Today we want to begin looking at discernment, hopefully balancing this out with forgiveness. But thank the Lord we looked at forgiveness first, because mercy really triumphs over judgment. When we come to discernment, it is all based on already having forgiven. There is no discernment without forgiveness, without mercy.
If we think we have discernment on our own, we will have condemnation. The term judgment in the Bible is actually a neutral term. It can be used for condemnation, but it can also be used for discerning.
We might say, “What do you judge the length of this room is?” We use the term judge in English for discerning and understanding. So what we want to consider is discerning judgment, not condemning judgment.
The passages we read say to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. When it says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” that judgment is condemning judgment. Luke 6 follows it by saying, “Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned.” There is a difference.
As individual believers, we do not go around condemning. That is contrary to being merciful. But right after that, there is reason for discernment.
Matthew 7 shows that there is discernment, but first you have to be discerned before the Lord. If you have a log in your eye, first that has to be dealt with.
The first chapter of Philippians is sometimes called the prayer of discerning love. Paul’s prayer is that their love would abound more and more in full knowledge and all discernment. Even as love grows, discernment increases.
First, this starts with us and benefits us, because it helps our growth in the Lord. We can be blameless before the Lord at His coming. If we grow in discernment, we can know what is of Christ and what is not of Christ.
So we need discernment for the sake of growing in the Lord. We do not just think everything is okay. We need to discern, “This is the way of the Lord.”
After being discerned by the Lord, we see another reason for discernment in Matthew 7: to be able to help our brother. Our brother may have a speck in his eye, but in true discernment, the Lord has revealed it to us.
Discernment is by the Holy Spirit. If we can memorize a phrase concerning discernment, it would be this: discernment is always given by the Holy Spirit. Discernment is always in the Spirit.
Naturally, people can discern, but being a merciful people, most of the time we should close our eyes. But when the Holy Spirit brings something to your attention, there is a reason for it.
If He brings something to your attention concerning yourself, it is so that you may mature. If He brings something to your attention concerning another person, and it is from the Lord and by the Holy Spirit, then it is to minister to that person.
There is another reason for discernment in Matthew 7. Verse 6 says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine.”
Sometimes we read that and think it comes out of nowhere, like a little saying from Proverbs. But really, it is another side of discernment. Discernment is given for ministering to others, but it is also given for protection.
If we have been entrusted with holy things, if we have pearls, we need to discern the situation and the people with whom we are sharing them. Otherwise, those things may be treated flippantly or lightly. They may not be used well, and it may even come back against us.
Today, this is more what we want to cover: discernment for protection. God willing, another time we may consider discernment unto ministry—ministering to others.
Who are the dogs and who are the pigs? We do not want to call anyone names, but the Bible uses these pictures. We are not looking at people we know and saying, “Okay, that is a dog.” We are looking at the Bible and asking, spiritually and in our own circumstances, what are these pictures referring to?
Throughout the Old Testament, and even sometimes in the New Testament, a dog is used as a picture of an unbeliever. In Israel, Gentiles were sometimes called “dogs,” because at that time the believers were associated with the nation of Israel.
According to the laws of clean and unclean animals in Leviticus, dogs do not meet the qualifications for clean animals. They do not part the hoof, and they do not chew the cud. Dogs are unclean through and through. This is a picture of the unbeliever: outwardly an unbeliever and inwardly an unbeliever.
With such ones, we do not share holy things. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5 through 7, the teachings are the life of Christ in the believer. They are extreme because they reveal the life of Christ.
You do not share with an unbeliever, “Turn the other cheek,” as though that were the gospel. With an unbeliever, you share the gospel of grace. You share what is appropriate, because otherwise they may not understand. They may even manipulate what you have said and turn around and bite you with it.
We need discernment. If we are with an unbeliever, we should not speak in the same way as when we are with a believer. Instead, we share what is appropriate.
We all love dogs, of course. A dog is called man’s best friend. But once you are saved, you have a new best Friend. Proverbs says that there is a Friend Who sticketh closer than a brother, and that a friend loveth at all times. This is our Lord Jesus.
I still like dogs a lot, but who is our best Friend? It has to be the Lord Jesus. So we do not want to be offended by the biblical picture.
Then there are the swine, or pigs. According to the Levitical laws, pigs are halfway there: they part the hoof. Outwardly, a pig appears clean. But inwardly, it does not chew the cud. Outwardly it may look almost like a cow, as far as its feet are concerned, but inwardly it is not like a cow at all.
Typologically, the pig can picture a nominal Christian: someone who calls himself a Christian, attends Christian meetings, and perhaps tries to act like a Christian, but inwardly is not truly born again.
I was a Christian before I was a Christian, if that makes sense. For a couple of years, I was really into being a Christian, and then finally I received Christ. I was more like a pig: outwardly identified with Christianity, but inwardly I knew I was not born again.
A pig can also picture a Christian who is truly saved but is not inwardly walking with the Lord. There is no longer that life of Christ being expressed inwardly. They have set it aside.
This passage tells us not to share our pearls with such ones. When a pearl is made in an oyster, something has gotten inside—some sand or something irritating. In a way, it is a cross.
By covering it over and over, that experience of something painful becomes a pearl. A pearl is not something you simply dig from the ground. It has come from the experience of the oyster.
A pearl, for a Christian, is our experience with the Lord. As we have experienced the Lord, something precious has been formed. This is a pearl.
If you share it with just anyone—especially with Christians who are not walking with the Lord, or Christians only in name—it is like giving a necklace of pearls to a pig. A pig does not know what to do with it. It will just trample over it.
It is like the proverb concerning a gold ring in a pig’s snout. It does not belong. It is just yucky.
Perhaps this has happened to you. You share something from your heart, something the Lord has been doing in you, and the person treats it flippantly and carelessly. They simply skip on to something else, and you feel that you have been trampled on.
We need discernment when sharing with believers, especially if they are not walking with the Lord. The Lord may give you something else to share.
I am not saying that you never share your experience of initial salvation. You share that even with dogs, because that is sharing the gospel. I mean the precious things that are presently taking place between you and the Lord. Sometimes we need to know when to close our mouths. This is protection.
Sometimes you are at a table or at lunch, and you can share freely because the fellowship is rich. Everyone has eternal life, people are listening, and they are really soaking it in. You are all sharing in the Lord.
But at other times you are at a table, and you dare not share anything. Everything is a joke. Everything is careless. If you share something, they will turn it into something else. The Lord gives us discernment for the sake of protection.
Later in the Bible, we see the dog and the pig again. At the lower level, discernment protects what we share and what we do not share. But in 2 Peter 2 and Jude, the dog and pig are pictured in a more serious setting.
There are false prophets, false teachers, ones with the spirit of antichrist, and apostates. An apostate is one who has fallen away. There are different degrees of falling away.
Some may fall away deeply, even denying and rejecting their own salvation. But in 2 Peter 2 and Jude, these ones are described as denying their only Master and Lord. It does not say they have denied Him as Savior.
These may be people walking around as Christians, but they have been deceived and are now deceiving others. Some may never have experienced Christ, but some may have truly been saved.
Second Peter 2:1 says that they “deny the Master that bought them.” This shows that some of these ones have been bought and have experienced Christ, yet they have fallen away in this manner.
Jude likely wrote after 2 Peter. Second Peter says false teachers will come, while Jude says that certain men have crept in. The warning had become a present reality.
Let us keep our Bibles open in Jude for a little while. We need discernment. We may be at the point of 2 Peter 2, needing warning for future things, or we may be in the situation Jude describes, where people are already trying to come in. We need discernment to know what to do.
The final letters of the apostles, and some of the Lord’s final words, give warnings. Especially in the last days, corruption comes in.
We are in a condition like the Laodicean church of Revelation 3: lukewarm. The church is neither hot nor cold. The Bible speaks of leaven coming in and corrupting. A little leaven leavens the whole loaf.
I do not make bread, but people tell me that for leaven to work, the temperature must be lukewarm—not very hot and not very cold. That is the condition in which leaven can spread. If the church is in that state of lukewarmness, a little leaven slips in and corruption spreads more and more.
What is really on my heart is Jude 3:
Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.
Jude wanted to write about our common salvation, and that is wonderful. But the urgency of the Lord was that he should exhort them to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Though we may want to dwell mainly on our common salvation, sometimes we need discernment even for protection. We need to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, because certain men have crept in unnoticed.
Contending is not arguing with those who are trying to lead people astray. Second Timothy 2 says that a servant of the Lord ought not to strive. We should not be argumentative or quarrelsome.
The contending in Jude is different. It is like fighting the good fight of faith. It is like Paul saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course.” It is pressing on toward the goal for the prize.
This contending is positive. What is the faith once delivered to the saints? In the Scriptures we see the fullness of what has been passed down. We see the way things should be. We see the height to which the church is to rise.
In Ephesians 4, we see that we are going on unto the unity of the faith, until the saints are matured and grow up into the Head. This is contending earnestly for the faith.
We do not take things casually because, praise the Lord, we have common salvation. We are after something. We are vigilant and watchful. We do not want to be careless with what has been entrusted to the saints. We want the highest—the height of Christ.
Perhaps we are a little extreme as Christians, but we are contending earnestly. We are not casually going to finish our days on the earth as Christians, merely thinking, “Praise the Lord, eternity is secured.” We are after something.
We want to mature. We want to grow in the Lord. We want to know His word more. We want to help the saints grow more. We are contending earnestly. We are really after the Lord in a passionate way.
We have passion for His house and zeal for His house. Our whole life is lined up with this. We want to be hot, not lukewarm like Laodicea. We need the fire of the full gospel, of all Christ—Him as our passion.
The Lord has given us things by which we can discern and watch, so that we are not deceived and do not let anything come in unnoticed.
If we are vigilant and watchful, pressing on in such an earnest way, and seeing Christ thoroughly as we go on, then we recognize what is not of Christ. When you see the real thing, you know what is fake.
It is like counterfeit money. You study a real dollar bill, a real hundred-dollar bill. You study the real money. Then, when you see something counterfeit, you know that it is not right.
If we go on after Christ in a positive way, pressing on, then we can recognize when something is not of Christ, not of the gospel, and when something else is coming in.
First John 2 speaks of fathers, young men, and little children. I want to use these as pictures of what the Lord has given us for discernment.
The word to the little children, who are brand-new believers, is that even though the spirit of antichrist is at work, they have the anointing. They have the unction within. They have the Holy Spirit.
Even as a brand-new believer, you may know only one Bible passage—the passage through which you were saved. Yet sometimes, when you hear someone say something, the anointing within says, “That is false.” You hear it, and you simply cannot say amen.
Brand-new believers often feel as though they know the Lord’s will all the time. The Lord gives special grace. Perhaps they are also dealing with obvious outward problems that need to be dealt with.
But even as brand-new believers, we have the anointing and the Holy Spirit. This should increase as we mature in Christ. Discernment by the Holy Spirit should increase as we grow in spiritual life.
With the young men, it says that the word of God abides in them. They are overcoming, strong, and mighty in the word. The Lord has given us the Bible for discernment.
Something false does not match Scripture. Something not of Christ does not match up with the word of God. Our frequent question should be, “What does the Bible say?”
If we are confused, we search the Scriptures. If it does not match the Scriptures, then something is wrong.
Satan himself quoted Scripture when he tempted the Lord Jesus. He masquerades as an angel of light, and those who follow after him can also masquerade as angels of light.
The Scriptures must be taken as a whole. When Satan quoted Psalm 91 to the Lord Jesus, the Lord answered, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” That is the key: it is also written.
When someone quotes Scripture in a false way, we need to know what is also written. A text out of context is a pretext. You can almost preach anything from the Bible if you pull words from here and there without their context.
Do not assume that because someone gives you a Bible verse, what they say is definitely right. We need to know what the whole Bible says. This is why we read the Bible through and through: we need the whole scope, a panoramic view of the Scriptures.
At the end of 2 Peter 1, just before the chapter concerning false teachers, Peter says that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. The prophets and apostles were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The whole Bible was written by the Holy Spirit. There are many human writers, but there is one divine Author. That is why we must take the Scriptures together. If we focus on only one portion and forget the rest, we become imbalanced.
The fathers in 1 John can picture the church. The word fathers gives the sense of shepherding, parenting, and helping the little children. They have known Him Who is from the beginning. They have experience with the Lord Jesus.
Coming to the church is a real safeguard. Many saints have gone on before us. Many know more than we do, perhaps more of the Bible as well. They can bring out Scriptures we have not considered.
The saints may simply say, “That is not right,” and there is safety in that. We do not trust every single thing every Christian says, because anyone can be off a little here and there.
But if the whole church sees something differently, we really have to question, “Am I being deceived?” If mature saints in the assembly see something differently, we should take it into account.
These three safeguards balance one another: the anointing, the Scriptures, and the church. The saints share according to the Scriptures, and if they share from the light of the Lord, the unction within witnesses. You say, “Amen, I see it. That is what the word says.”
All of these things can be corrupted. We should not become proud and say, “I have the anointing. I have learned to hear the voice of the Lord. Now I know this is the Lord.”
This is a big danger. As we learn to follow the Lord and recognize the intuition of the Holy Spirit, we may feel that we know the Lord’s voice and cannot be wrong because it feels as it did before.
But we can be wrong, and we should be humble. The Holy Spirit is always perfect and right. He never speaks wrongly. But our human spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwells, can be polluted.
Second Corinthians 7:1 speaks of cleansing ourselves “from all defilement of flesh and spirit.” The human spirit can be polluted. Usually this means that it is not pure; something else has been added in.
Often the soul is mixing in or overtaking us. The mind, will, and emotions can affect the conscience and make it difficult to distinguish the Lord’s leading.
For example, Romans 14 describes those with a weak conscience. They may believe that eating any meat is sinful. That thought in the mind affects their conscience, so if they eat meat, they feel condemned. It is not the Holy Spirit convicting them; it is a wrong mindset polluting their conscience.
Sometimes your own will is involved. You want something so badly that you reason it out with your mind and harden your conscience. You say, “I do not feel bad about it, so it must be okay.” But there can be pollution in the conscience.
Sometimes emotions overwhelm us. We feel so good doing a certain thing, or being with a certain person, that there is no room to hear the Lord’s soft, quiet, convicting voice.
The same applies to intuition. If we will not consecrate ourselves, if our minds are not renewed, and if we insist on thinking that something is acceptable, we will not know the will of the Lord properly. Our discernment can be corrupted.
The soul itself is not wrong. It is neutral. When emotions are used by the Lord, praise the Lord. In worship, we may feel in our emotions as well.
But emotions must not become the standard for the presence of the Lord. You may feel wonderful emotionally and think, “Now I am in the Lord’s presence.” The next day you may not feel emotionally wonderful. Are you then outside the Lord’s presence? Can you abide in Christ even when emotionally it does not feel like it?
Our spirit must be pure. A song may move us emotionally and lift us up, but if we are not right with the Lord, an emotional response is not necessarily the presence of God.
We must be humble. The Lord has given us the anointing and the unction, but what we sense must also match the Scriptures, and we should fellowship with the saints. These three balance one another.
Let us look again in Jude. We are considering some pictures of what false teaching and deception can look like in the last days of the church, so that we may have discernment for protection.
Jude 8–10 says:
Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities.
But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil and disputing about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed.
Second Peter 2:10–12 similarly says:
Especially them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities.
Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord.
But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed.
One thing often seen in false teachers, false prophets, and those who are deceived is despising lordship. They are bold and self-willed.
If we understand spiritual authority, we tremble before the Lord. We know that only by His authority can anything be done. Michael the archangel is an example. Though he is mighty and will fight Satan and his angels, he did not act presumptuously. He said, “The Lord rebuke thee.”
This is the way of authority: recognizing lordship. But if someone does not recognize the lordship of Christ, they begin to feel like they are master and lord. They become bold, self-willed, puffed up, and powerful in themselves.
When people are careless with the spiritual realm, we need to wonder whether they are despising lordship. Christ has defeated all the works of the enemy at the cross, and all spiritual warfare is based upon His finished work. But we do not step outside of Christ and speak boldly in ignorant ways.
I was once at a Bible study where we prayed for a woman who had spent much of her life as a witch hunter. She tried to hunt down witches, pray against them, attack them, and knock them out spiritually.
Her heart may have been for the Lord, but she was deceived. She had so many nightmares and could not rest at night because she felt overwhelmed by attacks against her. She was out from under the Lord’s covering, acting on her own, speaking railingly against things she did not understand.
There is a time to cast out a demon, as we see with Paul. But Paul was under the authority of the Lord. The seven sons of Sceva tried to use the name of Jesus “Whom Paul preacheth,” and the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” Then the man overcame them.
Unless we are under the authority of the Lord, walking in His will, and truly coming in His name, we should tremble and know that we are not strong in ourselves. We have nothing in ourselves.
Jude 11 says:
Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.
The way of Cain is not first of all that Cain murdered Abel. Trace it further back: it is the sacrifice he brought. Cain thought he had something to present in himself.
Cain brought the best of what he had, the fruit of the ground. But Abel knew that he must come by the blood. Because of sin, there had to be a sacrifice. Adam and Eve had been clothed through the shedding of an animal’s blood. Abel knew that there must be blood if we are to approach and worship the Lord.
The way of Cain is saying, “I am good. I am fine. I have something to present.” At its furthest point, it says, “I do not need the cross. I do not need the gospel. Just be a good person, go to church, do good works, and you will get to heaven.”
That is a gospel preached in the world, but it is the way of Cain. It treats man as though he is something in himself, rather than coming humbly through the sacrifice of the blood.
This can also come after salvation. Some say, “I can do whatever I want because I have grace.” Romans 6 rejects this: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”
Others go the other direction and say, “I had an experience, and now I will never sin again.” If sin is manifested, they call it something else because they cannot admit that sin remains.
But the way of Cain can also be thinking that after we are saved, we can do good in and of ourselves. We can become good people and present ourselves before the Lord on the basis of our own goodness.
We come boldly into the Lord’s presence only by the precious blood, accepted in the Beloved. We do not come presenting our vegetables, our works, and the things we have done. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags.
The Judaizers taught something similar. They said, “Yes, be saved by the Lord Jesus, but after that, keep the law and be a good person in order to remain a Christian.” This is the way of Cain.
The gospel does teach that Christians do not have to sin. We dare not say we will never sin, but there is no need to sin as we live by the life of Christ. We have been crucified with Christ; we have newness of life.
If we do not abide in Christ, we will sin. Romans 7 explains this conflict: “I do not do what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” No good dwells in the flesh. But praise the Lord, Christ dwells in us—our hope of glory.
The old man has been crucified in Christ. This is an accomplished fact. The old man is the corporate Adam. Christ is the second Man and the last Adam.
Though people are still born into Adam, Christ took Adam to the cross. At the fullness of time, that corporate old man was finished in God’s sight in Christ.
So we can say that the old man has been crucified, but only in Christ. If we abide in Christ, we can say, “Praise the Lord, the old man has been crucified.” But if we do not abide in Christ, the flesh rises up.
Galatians 5 says that those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. As we walk by the Spirit and live by the Spirit, we deny ourselves and our own way, which is against God’s way.
Under the lordship of Christ, with the Holy Spirit leading, spirit, soul, and body are at peace. The soul is not eradicated; it is brought under the lordship of Christ. The Lord renews the mind, uses emotions in their proper place, and brings our will into harmony with His will.
If someone preaches another way of overcoming besides Christ in us—besides “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me”—then it is another gospel. That is the way of Cain.
They may not say it directly, so we must discern spiritually. What is the flavor of it? Is Christ glorified? Does Christ have the preeminence? Is Christ the focus?
Jude says that these ones “ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire.” Second Peter 2:15 says:
Having left the straight way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrongdoing; but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man’s voice and stayed the madness of the prophet.
Balaam was after the reward of unrighteousness. He was promised money and greatness if he would curse God’s people. He was a genuine prophet, and his prophecies were correct, but his heart was not right.
Someone may be gifted, but they may use their gift for reward—for money, prestige, or building their own empire. This is the way of Balaam.
Balaam could not simply speak anything in the name of the Lord. Yet because his heart was corrupt, he advised the king how to entice Israel into idolatry, so that the Lord’s protection would be removed from them. He acted deceitfully for his own gain.
This is often seen in false teachers and false prophets. They are after wealth. Frequently, to go in this direction, they preach a prosperity gospel.
If someone’s heart is after prosperity, what will they preach? They preach the same thing. They manipulate passages such as “Give, and it shall be given unto you,” and turn it into, “Give me five hundred dollars, and the Lord will give you one thousand dollars.”
That becomes an empire, but it is not according to the whole of Scripture. Paul said in Philippians 4 that he knew both how to be abased and how to abound.
Paul also testified of cold, nakedness, and lack. Christians may be poor, especially through persecution. Sometimes all their possessions are taken away. This does not mean that they are outside of the Lord’s will.
Sometimes the Lord allows persecution for the sake of the gospel, for many reasons, and even to purify the church. The Scriptures contain poverty, and they also contain those who have resources. Those with resources are exhorted to be generous.
The Christian life is not a health-and-wealth gospel. Sometimes you have money and use it as a steward for the Lord. Sometimes you have no money and thank the Lord. Our treasure is in heaven. We cannot love God and mammon.
The same applies to health. Sometimes in the Bible there are healings, and sometimes there are not. Paul had the gift of healing, but he had a thorn in the flesh. Timothy had a chronic stomach weakness. Trophimus was left sick at Miletus.
Sometimes the Lord heals, and sometimes He does not lead that way. There are different reasons for sickness, and we should look to the Lord for discernment.
The Lord Jesus sometimes healed people directly, and sometimes sickness involved a demon. But He did not cast out demons in every case of sickness. With the blind man, He said that the situation was not because of the man’s sin or his parents’ sin, but that the works of God might be made manifest.
Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh, but the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Sometimes, instead of removing weakness, the Lord increases grace, and Christ shines through. “When I am weak, then am I strong.”
Jude also says that these ones perished in the gainsaying of Korah. This is another aspect of despising authority.
Korah and his company rose up and challenged those whom God had established. They wanted leadership and authority for themselves. There was a heart to be somebody.
But Christ is the only Somebody. Let us all be brethren. When people leave the lordship of Christ, they are no longer humble. They begin to say, “Who are these ones in authority?” There is despising and mocking.
Jude 16 says:
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.
When murmuring is going on, whom do we usually murmur against? Often it is leaders, preachers, or those in responsibility. Murmuring and complaining easily become gossip.
What is in our heart when we are murmuring? Are we full of love? Are we praying for the people? Are we full of mercy? Are we forgiving?
When you hear a stream of murmuring and complaining, recognize that it is not of Christ. The way of Christ is merciful, patient, and forbearing. We should be sensitive when the Lord gives discernment.
Jude 17–19 says:
But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.
These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit.
The Lord Jesus warned that this would come in the end, and the apostles also warned it would come. These may be dogs or pigs. They may truly not have the Spirit, or they may not be walking according to the Spirit.
We can recognize by fruit. Sometimes the fruit is obvious. Sometimes the pig is rolling in mud, or the dog is returning to its vomit. But sometimes it is not obvious.
We need to look at the source of the fruit. There are poisonous berries and edible berries that may look alike. Is the source by the Holy Spirit?
Someone may have joy, but what is the source of that joy? Is it joy in the Lord, or are they merely naturally joyful? An unbeliever can be joyful, but the fruit of the Spirit is different.
When you see joy that is from the Lord, there is a witness within. You say, “Amen, that is joy in the Lord.” The same is true of love. There is natural affection, but love from the Holy Spirit is recognized inwardly as the love of Christ.
Sometimes the love of Christ hurts us, but we know that it is love. It is like the difference between a parent correcting a child in love and a parent striking a child in wrath. You can tell the difference.
Because we are born of the Holy Spirit, we can recognize the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the fruit looks very similar outwardly, but if we discern spiritually and look to the Lord, we can recognize that something is not of Christ and is not glorifying the Lord Jesus.
Jude 20–21 says:
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
This is what we have been saying: contend earnestly for the faith. Increase in maturity. Build yourselves up. Edify yourselves. Grow in the Lord.
Having seen these things that may be going on, or may be coming, what do we do? Do we go around scared and hiding? Do we go around constantly looking for falsehood in everyone?
No. We are very merciful, very forbearing, and gentle toward all. But at the same time, we increase in spiritual life. We grow in the Lord.
Our focus is Christ. Our focus is unto the reward of Christ. We are pressing on. If we go this way, we will be safe. It is when we relax that things can slip in and deceive.
This is the encouraging word: contend earnestly for the faith. Do not become bogged down only with, “Is this right? Is this wrong?” Instead, pursue Christ. Then, naturally, by the Holy Spirit, we will recognize what is not of the faith and what is not of Christ.
Jude 22–23 says:
And on some have mercy, who are in doubt;
And some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Another rendering says, “And some convict, when they contend with you; and some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
Either way, the principle is the same. What is our way with those who have been deceived, or those who are going around deceiving others?
Second Timothy 2 says that a servant of the Lord ought not to strive, but should be gentle toward all, apt to teach, forbearing, and in meekness correcting those who oppose themselves.
Perhaps God may grant them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will.
In meekness, we set right those who oppose. This is love. This is real love. We do not let someone simply continue in deception, but after praying, caring, and sensing the genuine love of the Lord, we come in meekness.
Galatians 6:1 says the same thing:
Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Those who are spiritual are those living by the Spirit. Perhaps they are more mature, but sometimes this applies to any of us. Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
We must be humble and merciful. We must realize, “I can be tossed to and fro as well.”
There is hope. We do not struggle against flesh and blood. We do not make the people themselves our enemy. We see the concepts and deceptions, but we love the people enough to go to them.
I want to tell you from my own experience. One time, I did get into deception. I went somewhere and had a powerful experience. I was knocked off my feet.
But afterwards, the result was different. I went around very bold, and my fruit was different. Sometimes when the Spirit is manifesting in revival or in other settings, there can be all kinds of manifestations. That is why discernment of spirits is needed.
But I did not discern. I did not know the difference between spirit and soul, or between what was of Christ and what was not of Christ. I became very bold. I preached the gospel boldly, but it was not the boldness of the Holy Spirit.
“Did I not prophesy in His name? Did I not do many works of power? Did I not teach in His name?” But one day the Lord met me and said, “I never knew you. You are a worker of lawlessness.”
When I saw that, I saw that the Lord loved me so much that He would grant me repentance. The Lord made it exposed.
At that moment, you have a choice. Will you receive the light that hurts, that shines so brightly on you? Will you come to the light? Will you wake up out of slumber, that Christ may shine on you?
When Christ shines on you, it hurts so much. There is such embarrassment and such humbling. But if you receive it, He gives repentance. You can reject it, but you can also receive the light.
The Bible says, “O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you?” Who has tricked you? We can all be deceived. When the light shines in, it is worth everything to come after the light—to come after Christ.
Receive His rebuke, whether it comes through the saints, through Scripture, or in another way. There is hope.
Jude closes with this wonderful word:
Now unto Him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of His glory without blemish in exceeding joy,
To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.
Praise the Lord. He is able to keep us. This is not something by which we keep ourselves. It is He Who grants us repentance. It is He Who keeps us from being deceived. It is He Who gives us spiritual discernment.
We simply worship the Lord. We say to Him, “Be all the majesty and all the glory.” We look around with merciful eyes and say, “We are all in the same way. We all belong to the Lord, and He is able to keep us.”
We love the brethren. We are merciful toward one another. And we must discern.
Let us pray.
Oh Lord, we really worship You. We want to focus all our attention on You. To You be all the glory and majesty.
Lord, even though we have considered these times and how deceptions can come in, we look away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We look to You and worship You.
Lord, we praise You that it is Your heart to bring us all the way through to the finish. We pray that You would humble us, and that in our hearts we would truly be meek.
May we walk in this way of forgiveness. May we walk in this way of discernment. Lord, we worship You in Jesus’ name. Amen.