As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Good judgment is a function of wisdom, and exercising it—in the form of discernment—is a Christian duty. The Psalmist prays for discernment (Psalm 19:12), Proverbs exalts it (Prov. 14:8), and Paul prays that believers will abound in it (Phil. 1:9).
Tim Challies’ definition of discernment is as good as any I’ve seen (I have not yet read the book):
“Rachel Gilson is the author of a fascinating book entitled Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next. She spoke specifically on something the Bible describes that we are saved from: confusion.” - Breakpoint
“Such good old days are often talked about in passing, and most people agree how much better it would be if only we could return. We don’t realize the damage at stake in allowing our brains and hearts to live in this imagined land of yesteryear.” - Desiring God
“Every generation since Adam and Eve has experienced forms of post-truth thinking, as humanity has attempted to rewrite the script of truth with their own opinions. As Proverbs says, ‘All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits’ (16:2).” - Sara Barratt
“through mountains and valleys, through trials and triumphs, through ecstasy and agony, we hear one common, beautiful thread: praise. In the throes of fear, praise. In the vulnerability of uncertainty, praise. In the darkness of doubt, praise. Even in the heartache of betrayal, praise.” - Desiring God
Some years ago I was invited to deliver the high school graduation homily at my daughter’s graduation. Her classmate, who issued the invitation conversationally, called it a “brief address thingy.”
Since she put it like that, how could I refuse?
I didn’t really need any persuading. Having attended quite a few graduations before that, I’d had occasion to ponder what I’d want to preach at a graduation if I ever got that opportunity.
“Caught between the (semi) proverbial rock of Ham and the hard place of LaHaye, many Christians–especially American fundamentalists and evangelicals–have been progressively conditioned to resort to conspiracy as an explanatory heuristic” - Conciliar Post
“…Michael Horton’s latest book, Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us… argues that we can only conquer the wrong kinds of fear by embracing the right kind of fear, and that’s what he means by sanity.” - TGC
“One of the first steps is to emphasize power over morality. An easy way to do this is to characterize the situation as an emergency, requiring a dispensing of the ordinary norms of behavior.” - Russell Moore
“The Cross… also reveals, in history’s most transcendent moment, that Jesus’ focus is not on trying to evoke feelings in others. Nor is it on stoically demonstrating timeless truth.” - TGC
Discussion