I finally got through Tim Challies book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Just saying it that way makes it sound like a chore. In truth, it was work, not because Mr. Challies is a poor or uninteresting writer, but because the book deals with a topic that does take discipline.
I do believe it is an important book and well worth reading; even more, well worth practicing. Pastor John MacArthur gives a strong endorsement, saying, “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment is a truly important work-one that should be required reading not only for church leaders, but for all sober-minded laypeople as well.”
Challies’ chapters include the call and challenge of discernment, what it means to be discerning, the dangers to avoid, and how to develop and practice this discipline. He ends each chapter with a helpful summary of the key thought. A study guide is included to help you think through each chapter.
Following is a little of what I found especially helpful. He includes a section on determining what especially deserves our attention. While we are to test everything, there are some areas that are more important and deserve greater attention. He illustrates with this comparison:
“Just as it would make little sense to treat a man with a broken finger before treating one with a gunshot wound to the chest, it would make little sense to make the focus of our discernment issues that are disputable matters, all the while ignoring issues that are of far greater consequence” (p. 87).
The chapter on the dangers is a great addition to help us stay on the right track. He talks about the need to become more familiar with what is genuine rather than focusing too much attention on evil and error. There was a time in my life when I was working with youth that a friend and I immersed ourselves in learning all we could about hardcore rock bands in an effort to expose the evil. I now believe that is not the best way to go about it. We need to know something of the culture around us, but we do not need to immerse ourselves in it. Rather we need to focus on what is right and true.
His couple of paragraphs on the danger of guilt by association were worth the price of the book for me. This is a danger I’ve seen first-hand. When people choose to become discerning it is easy to fall into this trap. Challies explains the issue:
“Pastor Smith believes that Jesus is not God. Pastor Jones mentioned Pastor Smith’s book in a sermon once. Therefore, Pastor Jones does not believe that Jesus is God. The guilt of Pastor Smith has been applied to Pastor Jones because of some perceived relationship between them…Guilt by association is a trap people fall into when they are lazy in their discernment. Rather than understanding the beliefs of a particular individual and comparing those to the Word of God, they judge the person based on the beliefs of another person” (pp. 144-5).
I appreciate the chapter on practicing discernment. Challies lays out several steps to take in discerning good and evil. Better still, he walks the reader through the steps with a practical example. The book does an excellent job of combining theory(theology) and practice.
It is not a book to read for entertainment. It takes a little work to grasp the concepts he presents, but for the serious student of Scripture(that should increasingly be all of us!) it is an important and helpful book. The biggest drawback to reading this book is that once you understand how important it is from God’s perspective to be discerning and having been given the tools, you no longer have any excuse not to practice it. However, knowing it is the will of God for us, that should encourage us to do it. For those in my church, this book should be part of our church library in the near future. For the rest, you can find it on Tim Challies’ website or through various on-line bookstores.
Grace and peace,
Dave
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