discernment vs judgment

[lilmissmontana]

Ecclesiastes 8:5
respect for rulers

Whoso keepeth the commandment
shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's
heart discerneth both time and judgement.

wise men are concious and understanding (discerning) of the time and place

 

[lilmissmontana]

thought I'd bump this since stormy brought up judgement on the 'touch not mine annointed' thread ...

 

[lilmissmontana]

Jonah 4:11
God's lesson to Jonah

And should not I spare Nievah, sixscore
thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left
hand: and also much cattle?

Jonah 1:2
Jonah commissioned

Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city,
and cry against it; for their wickedness
is come up before me.

Jonah 3:2,3
Jonah's second commission

Arise, go unto Ninevah, that great city,
and preach unto it the preaching that I
bid.
So Jonah arose, and went unto Ninevah,
according to the word of the Lord. Now
Ninevah was an exceeding great city of
three day's journey.

Deuteronomy 1:39
God's punishment of Israel

Moreover your little ones, which ye said
should be a prey, and your children, which
in that day had no knowledge between
good and evil, they shall go in thither, and
unto them will I give it, and they shall pos-
sess it.

 

[lilmissmontana]

bumping in hopes it will be helpful

 

[lilmissmontana]

gift of discernment

Philippians 1:9-10
thanksgiving and prayer

And this I pray, that your love abound yet more
and more in knowledge and in all judgement;
That ye may approve things that are excellent;
that ye may be sincere and without offfense till
the day of Christ;

1 Kings 3:9
Solomon prays for wisdom

Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart
to judge thy people, that I may discern between
good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so
great a people?

1 Corinthians 12:10
Spiritual gifts

To another the working of miracles; to another proph-
ecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers
kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues:

Hebrews 5:14
an appeal to believe

But strong meat belongeth to them that are full of age,
even those who by reason of age have their senses ex-
ercised to discern both good and evil.

Isaiah 7:15
the coming Assyrian invasion

Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse
the evil, and choose the good.

Proverbs 15:14
the wise and the foolish contrasted

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh
knowledge:
but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

John 7:24
Jesus teaching causes division

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgement.

 

[Buzzy]

Glad you bumped this up, get so tired of the "don't judge me dude" stuff when you call sin what it is.

 

[SentinelNation]

I actually wrote the following post in another thread but I feel it fits in perfectly with this conversation as well:

One thing that I have noticed in charismatic circles is that many seem to mistake being a very sharp judge of character with spiritual discernment and, in doing so, have convinced themselves they are somehow prophetic.

By a sharp judge of character I mean, that a person is very good at reading and interpreting body language, emotion, expression, etc. to the point that they can easily predict your current predicament and / or possible oncoming pitfalls if you continue down a certain path. In other words, they don't need a word from God in order to "read your mail". I believe each and every one of us as humans possess the ability to do so however, some seem to be much better at it than others while others might appear completely clueless. You needn't look any further than a popular singles / dance club on a Friday or Saturday night in order to see numerous unsaved people operating in this "gift" on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I have encountered several in the church who seem to confuse being a good judge of character with possessing a prophetic gift. I have also witnessed the the unfortunate consequences of bad decisions made by church leadership because they have fallen into this trap of mistaking the flesh for something spiritual thus producing much unnecessary drama and tension among church leadership.

 

[lilmissmontana]

I actually wrote the following post in another thread but I feel it fits in perfectly with this conversation as well:

One thing that I have noticed in charismatic circles is that many seem to mistake being a very sharp judge of character with spiritual discernment and, in doing so, have convinced themselves they are somehow prophetic.

By a sharp judge of character I mean, that a person is very good at reading and interpreting body language, emotion, expression, etc. to the point that they can easily predict your current predicament and / or possible oncoming pitfalls if you continue down a certain path. In other words, they don't need a word from God in order to "read your mail". I believe each and every one of us as humans possess the ability to do so however, some seem to be much better at it than others while others might appear completely clueless. You needn't look any further than a popular singles / dance club on a Friday or Saturday night in order to see numerous unsaved people operating in this "gift" on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I have encountered several in the church who seem to confuse being a good judge of character with possessing a prophetic gift. I have also witnessed the the unfortunate consequences of bad decisions made by church leadership because they have fallen into this trap of mistaking the flesh for something spiritual thus producing much unnecessary drama and tension among church leadership.

yes, I mostly agree ... I would add, I've seen the ability used perfectly correct in most cases ... it seems the need to prove one has gift is a priority over the need for the gift ...

 

[lilmissmontana]

do no harm ...

Leviticus 19:15-16
laws of holiness and justice

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement:
thou shalt not respect the person of the poor,
nor honor the person of the mighty: but in
righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer
among thy people: neither shalt thou stand a-
gainst the blood of thy neighbor: I am the Lord.

 

[lilmissmontana]

Hebrews 4:12
the present danger of unbelief

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

our example is the Word ... it's how we know to discern Truth ... and leave out judgement ...

 

[lilmissmontana]

Leviticus 19:15
laws of holiness and justice

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement:
thou shalt not respect the persons of the poor,
nor honor the person of the mighty: but in
righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.

Zechariah 7:9
disobedience the cause of captivity

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute
true judgement, and show mercy and compassion
every man to his brother:

2 Corinthians 10:7
Paul speaks of his spiritual authority

Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?
If any man trust unto himself that he is Christ's, let
him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's,
even so are we Christ's

James 2:4
impartiality toward all

Are ye not then partial in yourselves,
and are become judges of evil thoughts?

note:
partial = prejudiced
evil thouhgts = unsound ideas

if we say a teacher's past or a pastor's past is fair game to be brought up over and over again ...

well, then ... we must also say our past is fair game to be brought up over and over agian ...
... regardless of repentance, or asking for forgiveness, or any other factors pertaining to each individual case ...

the Lord tells us the reason we can't judge another is because we can't know their heart ...
and they can't know yours ...

the Lord also tells us with what measure we mete out ...
is the measure that will be returned ...

the Lord tells us that if we don't forgive ...
we aren't forgiven ...

and that what we place judgement on ...
we best be able to live up to ourselves ...

we're, also, told to look at the sin ...
not the sinner ...

judgement must be fair and equitable

i.e. ... what's placed on one person ... must be placed on all ... including self ...

Paul would be a good example of why ... souls are renewed in Christ ... the old is the old ... the new is the new ...

 

[San54]

Amen... This thread has been a blessed morning meal for me.
God bless you all.
San

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Good discernment and righteous judgment is always done on the basis of the fruit of the Spirit, outlined in Galatians 5.
Love- do I love the person I am judging/discerning?
Does it give joy to you both?
Is there a sense of peace?
Is the judgment/discernment good in that it reflects Christ's goodness of character?
Is it given in a gentle manner?
Is it kind?
Am I being patient with the person?
Is it faithful to God's Word and His character?
Am I being self controlled in the manner in which I am presenting the discernment/judgment?

If any one of those components are missing, then my discernment/judgment is not coming from the Holy Spirit.