When Paul says “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” (Eph. 5:6), it is not only a warning that there is a world system and an evil ruler of that system and individuals in that system that will attempt to pervert truth and delude others and destroy lives, but it is also a call to the battle of discernment. It is the bugle-sound to rouse believers to the vigilant fight of detecting error in the midst of truth.
The believer must be always thinking, always evaluating, always processing the thoughts and ideas that are presented to him as truth. Are they truthful? Do they correspond to the moral excellence of Christ and His Word? What is the end of these thoughts — will they result in God-exalting lives or will they result in dishonoring the name of God?
The believer in Christ is to be intentional to cultivate spiritual discernment.
Paul says similar things elsewhere:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ… (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
The battle of the believer is not physical, but spiritual, and it is against ideologies and philosophies and world views. We are to be aggressive and attentive to watch the kinds of ideas that are offered to us for our consideration hundreds of times each day. They are not harmless. Each idea and philosophy has a consequence. Destroy those philosophies that do not accord with the truth and be attentive to make every single thought of the mind correspond to obeying Christ.
So also in his two letters to his protegé Timothy, Paul regularly admonishes and warns him to guard the truth, to watch his life and doctrine, to be faithful to teach the truth in every circumstance and season of life, and to watch for those who have gone astray from the truth. Ideas have consequences. Be wary of the philosophies you embrace.
And the apostle John affirms this attention to discernment when he writes,
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 Jn. 4:1)
We are to look and test and examine every thought and concept because there are many who will attempt to lead us astray. It is essential for our growing spiritual lives that we cultivate discernment. We will never be able to flee from error until we first learn to identify the error. So be purposeful in learning to ask questions and evaluate and discern. Is this the truth of God?
The reason it is so important to guard our minds is that we will do what we think. It’s not just an idea — it’s the seed of our activity. The focus of our meditation and thoughts will germinate into action. If we cultivate bitterness and resentment in our hearts, we will bear the sorrowful fruit of angry words and hostility towards others. If we sow gratitude and contentment in our minds, we will reap peaceable words and encouraging fellowship with others. If we allow untoward thoughts to run rampant in our minds, we will move towards perverse deeds with our lives. We will do what we think. What we do is always the overflow of what we are thinking.
As you wrestle with the question of whether it really is so important to cultivate discernment, also remember this: the one who is deceived is not just foolish or inattentive. He has exchanged the truth of God for the false truth of another. He has rejected God in favor of someone or something else. Tim Challies expands this idea when he writes,
To lack discernment is to sin against God. It is an inevitable result of turning from him.…”to willingly neglect the truth and to live with our eyes closed shut while good and evil stare us in the face is to sin against God, ourselves, our families, and our church.…It is the responsibility of every Christian to learn, to be discipled in the Word, so that we can know how to be discerning. To fail to discern is to walk in darkness.” [quoting Pastor Phillip Way in The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.]
So fight to be discerning. Ask questions of every thought and desire in your mind and every concept presented to you by others as the truth. Do not allow yourself to be deceived. Not only are the words of the deceiver empty and vain and hollow (Eph. 5:6), but they also lead to a destroyed spiritual life.
Put a gate and sentry at the portal of your mind and be on guard with all diligence for every idea that requests entry. Your effectiveness in ministry and spiritual condition and fellowship with Christ are dependent upon the effectiveness of those guards.
Words of Grace 