Looking for what the Bible says about discernment? You're in the right place. This page brings together key Scripture and principles on discernment from across many different books of the Bible, along with practical commentary and everyday applications that can transform your life. Because this commentary is excerpted from Study and Obey's verse-by-verse book studies, every verse here has already been interpreted in its full context. As you study God's Word on discernment, we encourage you to reflect on how to apply what God is teaching you. Enjoy!

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What Is Discernment?

Hebrews 5:12-14 — "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

The image is something like that of a piano student. The student goes to lessons regularly and sits through "listening" to his teacher. She gives him homework and asks him to practice during the week. The next week she finds that he hasn't improved at all. Not only has he not improved, but he doesn't even seem to remember the previous week's lesson. This happens over and over and over. Eventually the teacher feels like teaching the student is just banging her head into a wall repeatedly because no matter how hard she tries, he is not paying close attention and he is not practicing and he is not improving. In this case, it was necessary to teach them the basic principles (milk) again because they weren't doing it.

This shows us that practice makes perfect. We have to train ourselves to chew on the meat of the Word. A baby is not born knowing how to chew meat. The first time it is a bit difficult, but after doing it several times it becomes second nature. As adults, we don't even think about how to chew (do you?), we just do. Almost every learned ability is like this including: language learning, walking, riding a bike, math, etc. We can challenge ourselves mentally. We can listen to sermons. We can read books. We can meditate on the Scriptures (even ones that seem tough to understand). We can engage in each of the five ways we can use to understand the Bible (hear, read, study, memorize, meditate). At the very beginning when a person starts to read the Bible, he or she may find that it is difficult to understand. But the more you study it, the easier it will become until it becomes second nature.

What is the purpose of this solid food? Of this practice and this training? The purpose is so that we can become righteous. Discerning good and evil is not just a mind game. It is the way by which we make decisions. Discernment is like wisdom. It is seeing into the heart of a matter. A discerning person will discover the truth and then he will act on that truth.

Application — Are you growing in Christ as much as you would like? Do you sometimes get "stuck" at a certain spiritual level? What are some causes why you don't grow as much as you should? How can you begin to partake of more solid food instead of milk? How can you train your spiritual senses and sharpen your spiritual discernment? What can you do to "chew" on the meat of the Word?

— From our Bible study on Hebrews 5:7-14

Testing What We Hear and Are Taught

Acts 17:11 — "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

One of the principles of the Reformation is Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone. Scripture is the believer's objective authority and not a person. And every person is free to read and interpret God's Word for themselves.

Paul was a famous apostle and missionary. If anyone could be believed without double-checking, it should be Paul. But notice that Luke (the writer of Acts) does not condemn the Bereans for double-checking Paul's message with Scripture. Instead, he commends them! He calls them noble-minded. It is a good and respected quality that they have to study the Word for themselves. They are opening the Scriptures themselves to verify personally the message they are hearing.

In today's day and age, this is more important than ever. The internet, radio, AI, television, and e-books make it easy for anyone to spread their teachings, whether true or false. A suit and a tie do not guarantee that a preacher speaks the truth. However, most false teachers will absolutely hate the question, "Where does the Bible say that?" False teachers appeal to their own authority. When questioned, they point to their credentials or own trustworthiness rather than Scripture. When you ask the question "What does the Bible say?" and the person you ask is upset, this is perhaps the best indicator that they are off track.

Application — Study God's Word for Yourself

Don't rely on AI for Bible study. AI can be a useful tool at times to look up Bible references or give some historical background. But AI does not have a soul. It is not saved, and the Holy Spirit does not indwell it. It is essentially a compilation of everything that people have ever said on a topic. And people say a lot of things that aren't correct. While there are many types of helpful tools, there is no shortcut to personal Bible study.

It is good to listen to sermons. It is good to value the opinions of respected pastors and teachers. Yet we should never say that we believe something because "Pastor so-and-so said it." Learn to study the Bible and develop a deeper understanding of it over the course of your life. When you are studying Scripture, try not to go to a commentary first. First, read it through on your own and think about what God is saying. Later, go to a trusted commentary to gain more insight.

When you are listening to a sermon, train yourself to think, "Does the Bible really say that?" And when you are in a Bible study, frequently ask the question, "What does the Bible say?"

— From our Bible study on Acts 17:1-15

1 John 4:1 — "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Just as the Holy Spirit is behind good teaching from the Word, Satan and his demons are behind evil teachings, heresies, false prophecies, and lies. While we do not see these spirits face to face, we must realize that they are there. They exist. So it would also be accurate when commanded to "test the spirits" to say we should "test the teachings" or the "teachers" we are exposed to.

Do not blindly believe everything we hear or read. This was bad enough at the time of John when false teachers would infiltrate fellowships to spread their heresies. It is many times worse now. Why? Internet, radio, TV, and the like make it extremely easy for false teachers to have a platform for spreading their views.

Recently I have heard many cases where young believers searched for things about the Bible online only to encounter false teachings. But they themselves maybe didn't know they were false teachings since they were a new believer.

Application — What test should we perform to see if we should believe something?

The test John gives is to see what the teacher says about Christ. Does he confess Christ? His deity? His humanity? If someone really believes in Christ, then they will believe everything that Christ says as well. So if someone is teaching something contradictory to what Jesus taught, he is a false teacher. In other words, logically speaking, a person who confesses Christ must also believe everything Christ taught as well as all of Scripture. So if you are not sure what to believe, compare what the false teacher says with what is taught in the Bible. If it doesn't agree, the teacher is not from God, but is being used by Satan.

— From our Bible study on 1 John 4

Seeking Heavenly Wisdom

James 1:5 — "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

True wisdom comes from God and not from ourselves. The world offers the appearance of wisdom, but only when looking at things through temporal eyes. God wants us to succeed and to follow His will by making the right decision. Therefore, God will give us true wisdom from Himself when we ask Him to. The problem is sometimes we don't want it.

In fact, we all lack wisdom quite often. The first test is to see if we will admit it or not. A prideful person seldom prays because he thinks he can solve problems on his own and with his own logic. When we are humble, we realize that there are so many variables we don't understand and can't control. We will realize how little we actually know and be motivated to turn to the Lord in prayer.

God will give generously and without finding fault. This phrase, "without finding fault," is quite interesting. He seems to be saying that God won't blame you for your lack of knowledge. A child may ask his parents for help with his homework, and that parent may blame the child for not knowing the answer already. Here we see that God will not do this. Instead, He welcomes our questions and requests. He wants us to ask Him for help rather than going it alone.

Do we really believe God can and will answer our prayers? Do we really believe He is listening? Do we really believe He is all-powerful and all-good? These are questions we must ask and solve before we approach God in prayer. We should then pray confidently, knowing He hears every word we speak and will answer. His answer may not be exactly what we want or hope for, just as a parent does not always give his child the candy or ice cream he asks for, but His answer will be exactly what is good for us, exactly what we need.

— From our Bible study on James 1:1-11

James 3:17 — "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."

Verse 17 looks like a list of Christian virtues. What does it have to do with wisdom? A Christian wisely living out his faith will be doing these things.

• Pure - Similar to without hypocrisy. Full of integrity, sincere. Proper motivation.
• Peaceable and gentle - The opposite of aggressive and assertive. Jesus is the prime example.
• Reasonable - Bible teacher John MacArthur says, "The original term described someone who was teachable, compliant, easily persuaded, and who willingly submitted to military discipline or moral and legal standards. For believers, it defines obedience to God's standards."
• Full of mercy - James already discussed that those with true religion will look after orphans and widows in their distress.
• Good fruits - The faithful person will bear fruit.
• Unwavering - We won't give in when we face trials.
• Without hypocrisy - Being a hearer but not a doer, or blessing God and cursing man with the same mouth.

James here continues his series of points on practical Christian living, focusing again on action instead of knowledge, doing instead of hearing. Who is wise and understanding among you? In this case, you need to ask yourself the question, "Do I consider myself wise and understanding?" If you answer "no," then we obviously need to work on becoming wiser. If you answer "yes," then he hits us with the phrase, "let him show by his behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom." In other words, if you are really wise, live it out.

So, what is worldly wisdom like? Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition both indicate a competitive and combative spirit. You want what others have. You desire to push yourself forward no matter who you step on on the way. You look out for your own interests ahead of others. In conversations, you will probably boast about your worldly successes and discuss how to make more money and get a higher status. Earthly wisdom focuses on earthly riches.

I knew a lady who was very business savvy. She was especially clever with real estate. Buying and selling homes was how she made money. And every time I met her, she would talk about this, giving tips on how to make money through real estate. Most of her conversation was focused on profiting through real estate. She was earthly wise.

There are two different sets of wisdom because the assumptions about life we base our decisions on differ. Evolutionists believe that there is no God. They will never be judged or held accountable for their decisions. After life, there is nothing more. Right and wrong are relative, they say, because there is no absolute standard; it is defined as what is good or bad for you or perhaps for society at large. Now if you live with this set of assumptions, the wise course of action would be to pursue your own pleasure and your own selfish ambitions. Whatever makes you happy, do it.

But the Christian has a completely different foundation for living. We believe there is a God. We will be judged for how we live our lives. There is life after death. There is an absolute standard. Truth is absolute, not relative. Right is not about what is pleasant for us but what pleases God. Our actions are eternally significant. We are commanded to be unselfish and to put others first. We need to understand the HUGE differences between heavenly wisdom and worldly wisdom when making choices.

Application — Do you want to make decisions with earthly, natural, demonic wisdom? Who is going to say "yes" to this question? Who is going to say, "Yes, I want to follow demons." No one will say this, but the one who follows worldly wisdom is doing precisely that.

You must not simply follow the majority or go along with culture. We must instead critically check every decision we make and, most importantly, evaluate our lives to see if they align with our beliefs.

• You want to go to college and get a degree. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself if God wants you to do that. Don't just do it because everyone else does.
• You want to take the first promotion that is offered in your career. Ask yourself why? Ask yourself if God wants you to do that? Don't just do it because everyone else does.
• You want to wait till late in life to get married? Ask yourself why. Ask yourself if God wants you to do that. Don't just do it because everyone else does.
• You want to buy a house. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself if God wants you to do that. Don't just do it because everyone else does.

The list goes on and on. Culture is powerful. But worldly culture is against God's kingdom culture. It is earthly and, many times, demonic.

Application — In what area do you need more wisdom from above? How will you get that wisdom?

— From our Bible study on James 3:13-4:10

Ephesians 5:15-18 — "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,"

Wisdom in the Bible is not about IQ. Instead wisdom refers to moral discernment, the God given ability to apply His principles to our daily lives. It is actually much more closely related to obedience than it is to intelligence. A wise person obeys God's instructions. Paul goes on to talk about one way God expects believers to be wise, that is in our use of time.

Life is short. In James 4:14 our lives are compared to a vapor which appears for a little while and then vanishes. One need only turn on the news to see how many people's lives are snuffed out unexpectedly. You may have even been surprised one morning to wake up to unexpected news, such as when Kobe Bryant and several others had passed away in a sudden helicopter crash. They were going to his basketball center to play hoops, never imagining that their lives here on earth were almost at the end.

A person once compared people to candles. Two candles represented two people's lives. One candle was tall, almost new, having only burned for a short time. The other candle short, almost spent. The tall candle represents a young person who likely has most of their life in front of them while the short candle represents an older person. Both candles have something in common. Each day they keep burning. And each day they are one day closer to finally burning out.

Our lives are the same. God has put us onto this earth for a reason. He has prepared certain good deeds, missions if you will, which He wants us to accomplish for Him (Ephesians 2:10). Every day is an opportunity to fulfill the missions God has for us that day. But if we do not do them, they are gone and will never come back again.

Application — Do you make a habit of redeeming the time? When you have completely free time what do you normally do? Is there anything in your life which you feel wastes your time or distracts you from using your time well?

— From our Bible study on Ephesians 5:15-33

Discernment in Decision-Making

1 Kings 3:9 — "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?"

Solomon is known as the wisest person in history. 1 Kings 3:16-28 immediately follows God's answer to Solomon's prayer for wisdom. It is written to illustrate Solomon's wisdom in action. There would be many such cases of quarrels between the citizens of his country. Each and every case needed wisdom to deal with. Keep in mind that at that time there wasn't DNA evidence or closed caption video or fingerprinting or other elaborate methods for determining the truth. A lot of times it boiled down to one person's word against another. Creative ways of finding the truth needed to be implemented to be sure that justice prevailed.

Throughout the whole story of Solomon's life, interjections about his great wisdom are made. This is clearly a main point of these chapters. In addition to these verses, we can also see the results of his wisdom, including the establishment of a powerful and rich kingdom, complex alliances, and sophisticated architectural achievements. Also, we have the book of Proverbs largely written by Solomon and Ecclesiastes completely written by him.

God in fact used Solomon to relay to us many enduring truths and principles about the world which we can find in these books. Keep in mind that wisdom still needs to be put into action. It is possible that at times Solomon's mind was telling him doing something wasn't wise (such as marrying all of these foreign women), but his fleshly side ignored these warnings and continued on anyway.

— From our Bible study on Solomon

Discernment in Knowing God's Will For Your Life

How can I know God's will for my life? This is one of the most common and most important questions believers should ask. Of course, not all believers ask this question. Sometimes we instead seek our will and then pray for God to bless it.

James 4:13-17 — "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."

The people in question make their plans without considering God's will. They use their own logic and wisdom to plan out their future. Perhaps, after they have a plan they will ask God to bless it. But that is not sure, and it most definitely is not enough. Each of us at all times in every area of our life should say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." Seeking God's will in decisions should be a lifestyle. By doing it again and again, it should become second nature.

God does have a will for your life. And He wants you to find it. He did not leave us blind, to fend for ourselves. At every step, He always gives us the resources we need to follow His will. We will look at five methods for discerning God's will.

The Word — The primary way God leads us is through Scripture. It is His revealed will. In it, He gives both positive and negative instructions, telling us things we should do and things we should not do. Every search to know God's will should start in Scripture. To know God's will, we need to build up our knowledge of the Bible through Bible study. But knowing God's will also requires that when you face a decision, you intentionally open the Bible to seek wisdom from its pages.

Prayer — God wants you to know His will. And He also wants you to ask Him what it is. There will be many times in your life that you don't know what to do. You will face crisis, temptations, trials, decisions, stress, and an uncertain future. In these times of indecision, do not be hasty. Slow down. Step back. Quiet down. And pray. Ask God for wisdom.

After the restoration of Judah from the Babylonian captivity, Ezra heard some terrible news. The people had started intermarrying. He was afraid that this new rebellion would bring about God's judgment on the recently restored nation. In his grief, he collapsed, ripped his clothes and tore hair out of his beard. Ezra was a man completely distraught. For the better part of a day, he did not get up. He was grieving. Finally, he was ready to take action. He rose from his self-abasement. Then what?

Ezra 9:5 — "Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed."

See that? Ezra rose up. He was ready to take action to deal with this situation. But what was his first action? Falling down again, this time to pray. He didn't rush off to solve the problem himself. He didn't storm out of there and start rebuking the people who had sinned. He sought God's will. Next time you face a decision and you don't know what to do, pray these simple words, "God show me your way." If you are sincere in seeking Him, then He will answer.

Godly Counsel — Asking counsel is mentioned throughout Scripture. Two are stronger than one. When making a decision we may not see all of the facts ourselves. Or we may be biased and subjective. It could be that since we are in the middle of a situation, our emotions are clouded and our logic is faulty. Therefore we should ask mature believers to give us advice on important issues. Their experience and wisdom can reveal things that we do not see. Note that we should ask the opinion of godly believers. The counsel you receive is only as good as the person giving it to you. And be on guard against seeking counsel only from "easy" Christians whom you know will agree with you. Ask mentors who will not be afraid to give you the unvarnished truth.

Circumstances — Circumstances is the only method mentioned which functions solely as a negative indicator. That means that circumstances are a way that God will tell us not to pursue a specific course of action. But circumstances, no matter how amazing they may be, are not enough to show us that we should do something. I once heard of a person who woke up at 7:47 in the morning. He instantly thought, "God is telling me to take a 747 jet to the mission field." This is not the best way to make decisions. Circumstances are primarily a negative indicator. If you are seeking God's will with all of the other ways then He uses circumstances to shut the door. It may be a failed interview or exam. It may be a buyer who does not sign on your house.

I knew a person who lived abroad working to share the gospel. He started courting a lady in the country he served. The very same day his visa was canceled and he had to leave. He could not get in the country and she could not easily get out. They had prayed for God's will. They had looked at Scripture. They had expressed willingness to do whatever God led them to do. Through this way God shut the door on this relationship.

He has given you what you need. Make it a lifestyle to use all five of these methods and the light from God will lead you each step of the way.

— From our Bible study on How Can I Know God's Will?

Spiritual Discernment Requires Prayer

Lot is one of the worst decision makers in the Bible.

Genesis 13:10-11 — "And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east."

Abram and Lot became very wealthy. Because of their great number of flocks, there was increasing tension and conflict between their herdsmen. Abram wisely took note of this and sought to keep the peace by putting some distance between them. As the head of the family, Abram was the authority. He could have told Lot what to do and because of the culture norms of the day Lot would have been obligated to obey. But Abram graciously gives his junior the first choice.

Reflect — How should Lot have responded to Abram?

Here are a couple of responses that would have been wise.

"Thank you for your great kindness. But far be it from me to take up this decision. Abram, my father, you choose which way to go and I will go the other way."

"What counsel do you give me?"

"This is an important choice for our future. I must consider the impact it will make on my family, my wife, and my children. Please give me one week. I will seek direction from the Lord and respond to you."

Any of these responses would have showed humility and discernment. But Lot did none of the above. Instead he made a decision purely on what looked good to him. He looked around, saw what he thought was best, and then took it for himself. Lot made the decision how most people make decisions, by leaning on his own understanding. He weighed the choices using a worldly scale of value. Lot trusted his own judgement, used his own logic, and kept his own counsel. Not only was Lot's choice a selfish one, but it was highly impudent and prideful to presume upon Abram's good graces in this way. And it was reckless to make this decision without prayer or counsel. Lot made a hasty decision without consulting God or Abram and paid the price as his family was disastrously affected.

Lot's bad decision was because he did not:

• Seek Godly counsel
• Pray
• Surround himself with good influences

You have likely heard of Dunkirk. Germany had launched a fast sweeping attack against the Allied British and French army, driving them to the coast. The Allied army of over 350,000 soldiers was trapped in Dunkirk and faced the possibility of total annihilation or surrender. Transport ships were too large to bring to shore to evacuate the army. So an amazing rescue attempt was launched, Operation Dynamo, on May 27, 1940. 861 small vessels, fishing boats and motor boats, etc. were used to ferry the men from shore out to the transport ships. It was an amazing rescue and 330,000 soldiers were saved and lived to fight another day.

This is the part of the story you probably know. What you may not know is that on May 26 England had a national day of prayer, one of only two they had during the whole war. It was requested by King George VI. People responded and churches overflowed with people praying. Long lines were outside as people came out to pray. They not only prayed for deliverance. But they confessed their sins, nationally and individually. And God answered. The German army inexplicably stopped pressing the attack and for 3 days stood by, giving time for the evacuation attempt. Cloud cover prevented the German air force from attacking. And calm seas aided the rescue attempt. Many of these same soldiers would come back and liberate Europe four years later. In this piece of history, we see how important prayer is in making decisions and taking actions. We do not see that Lot ever prays when making a decision. He sees and he acts.

Do not trust your own judgement. Do not use only your own logic. Do not keep your own counsel.

• Do seek godly counsel (Proverbs 15:22 — Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.)
• Do pray (James 1:5 — If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.)
• Do surround yourself with good influences (Proverbs 13:30 — Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.)

— From our Bible study on Making Wise Decisions

We hope you enjoyed this Bible study on discernment. May God use His Word to speak into your life and give you strength to follow it. Please take some time to reflect on the questions below and consider leaving a comment with your key takeaway or insight.

Reflection Questions

• How can you train your spiritual senses and sharpen your spiritual discernment?
• How can you practically apply this principle to examine the Scriptures daily?
• What test should we perform to see if we should believe something?
• Share an example of a time when you needed wisdom. What did you do?
• How would you define "discernment"?
• In what area do you need more discernment? How will you get it?
• Do you make a habit of redeeming the time?
• What was your best decision this past year? What was your worst decision this past year?
• How can you know God's will for my life?
• Is there anything in your life which you feel wastes your time or distracts you from using your time well?

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