According to the Bible, spiritual discernment is the competence of recognizing truth from error. Spiritual discernment means having wisdom. This comes when one saves his relationship with the Lord. Achieving spiritual discernment is crucially important in a human being’s life. Dr. Ronald T. Tyler’s legacy The Spiritual Discernment Guide expresses how the church is facing spiritual death due to false teachings that take Christian away from the Lord and His word. The book explains the criteria and principles of spiritual discernment and the skills needed to practice spiritual discernment. The wealthy first-hand knowledge of brainwashing techniques by false teachers and Age-type activities by Dr. Ronald T. Tyler will make many readers want to have spiritual discernment in order to remedy the apostasy that is infiltrating the body of Christ. There are keys to achieving spiritual discernment to help you bring back your faith towards Christ.
Seek God First
The first key to developing spiritual discernment is to seek God. Spiritual discernment is knowing the difference between right from wrong. Humans are not all-knowing, unlike God. We do not have knowledge that we inherit from birth. Human beings start from a blank slate. As we grow older, we are taught to do or understand things. It can be hard to identify right from wrong when one does not have a teacher or guide beside him to help. We need a teacher or guide that can help us achieve this. And God is the perfect person to teach and guide believers. Mankind must seek counsel from the Lord or his prophets as they always provide wise answers that can aid in one’s discernment. His words are what is right. His word is what teaches us to become better-living beings. His words will help lead us to achieve spiritual discernment.
Be Like God
To avoid falling from grace, people must practice spiritual discernment to unmask the web of deceptions Satan has put in place. God created mankind in His image. He desires for us to become like Him, be with Him, and to follow Him. In the Corinthians, Paul gives advice that by imitating God we can become more like Him, and the more we become like God, the better our spiritual discernment becomes. If a person is to disobey God’s warnings then the seeds of apostasy will penetrate that person’s mind. Hence, falling from grace. For a person to obtain spiritual discernment heeding God’s words and warnings is the way. One must embody God and His vision to achieve spiritual discernment.
Practice Making Good Judgment
Spiritual discernment pertains to having the capability of recognizing right from wrong. To simply put it, mankind must make good judgment all the time. We have entered the end-times apostasy. Satan and his followers are rampant and widespread. They are making use of God and His words as a facade for their crimes and hidden agendas intoxicating the faith of people. These false teachers can be convincing and can lead many to believe their words thinking that it is what God wants. For that reason, we must practice making a good judgment to identify these false prophets and teachings. Practice makes perfect, a mantra that people tend to use. Through practice, the more one can achieve spiritual discernment. Human beings have two types of decision-making. One is the head-based and the second is the heart-based. Head-based judgments are usually rational while heart-based are emotional. These two types have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, good judgment must take into consideration both types. Good judgment must respect the truth (God’s words) and love.