DISCERNING WHAT YOU READ:Velvet Elvis as a test case

WHY DO PEOPLE GET LEAD AWAY?

Often false teachers have very appealing sheeps clothing

Ephesians 4:14

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTSBan Books?

Isolate Ourselves?

NO THANKS!

A PRIME BIBLICAL EXAMPLE

Paul

Had read both a Cretan prophet and Athenian philosophers and poets.

Acts 17

Titus 1

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT?

Simply: the ability to discriminate between right and wrong and make choices in light of that understanding.

Discern = an idea reflected in the Greek word diakrino

Found in Matthew 16:2-3.

MATTHEW 16:2-3

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT?

Just by looking at the sky they could determine the weather.

Discernment, then, is the ability to be exposed to a particular teaching and then determine if it is of God or not of God.

Simply: the ability to discriminate between what is spiritually right and wrong and to make choices in light of that understanding.

HOW DO I GET DISCERNMENT? Discernment presupposes regeneration.

1 Corinthians 2:14-15a

But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things

Discernment is empowered by the Spirit.

HOW DO I GET DISCERNMENT? Discernment requires spiritual maturity through practice in the Word.

Hebrew 5:12-14

First principles = ABCs of Gods revelation

Part of spiritual maturity, i.e. sanctification, is the ability to discern good from evil.

This only comes through constant practice - being skilled in the Word.

CAPTAIN OBVIOUS TIMEIf practice in the Word is vital to both spiritual maturity and discernment

Then, if you dont know the Word

A. You currently need help discerning.

B. You need exercise in the Word.

HOW DO WE DO DISCERNMENT?1 Thessalonians 5:21

Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good.

to test, by implication it means to test for the purpose of approving or disproving.

to take possession of

Dave translation: Test everything with which you come into contact; take possession of what is good.

POINT OF NO RETURNA book fails to be helpful when it:

Violates the fundamentals of our faith.

Deity of ChristVirgin Birth Substitutionary AtonementChrists Bodily ResurrectionInerrancy of the Scriptures

Causes us to sin (i.e., think wrong thoughts Phil. 4:8)

APPLYING DISCERNMENT TO CHRISTIAN BOOKS

Research the author.

Read the content carefully, always comparing it with Scripture.

Read the footnotes.

That it was published by a Christian publishing house means nothing!

VELVET ELVIS, OUR TEST CASEAuthor: Rob Bell

A pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI.

Wheaton College and then Fuller Seminary

Seeds of Compassion Event

VELVET ELVIS

Repainting the Christian Faith

RED FLAG #1: THE VIRGIN BIRTHWhat if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologists find Larrys tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if, as you study the origin of the word virgin you discover that the word virgin in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word virgin could mean several things

VIRGIN BIRTH, CONTINUED And what if you discover that in the first century being born of a virgin also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse? What if that spring were seriously questioned? Could a person keep on jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian? Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live? Or does the whole thing fall apart?If the whole faith falls apart when we reexamine and rethink one spring, then it wasnt that strong in the first place, was it?

RED FLAG #2: BIBLE AS FINAL AUTHORITY

This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that Scripture alone is our guide. It sounds nice, but it is not true.

RED FLAG #3: DEPRAVITYOF MAN

God has an amazingly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of amazing things.

RED FLAG #4: THEOLOGY PROPER

I have been told that I need to have faith in God which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that Jesus believes in me.

RED FLAG #5: SOTERIOLOGY

And when Jesus died on the cross, he died for everybody. Everybody. Everywhere. Every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people group. Jesus said that when he was lifted up, he would draw all people to himself. All people. Everywhere. Everybodys sins on the cross with Jesus.

Sound good so far?

RED FLAG #5 CONTINUED

So this reality, this forgiveness, this reconciliation, is true for everybodyThis reality isnt something we make true about ourselves by doing something. It is already true. Our choice is to live in this new reality or cling to a reality of our own makingHeaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people.

POINT OF NO RETURN?Velvet Elvis fails to be helpful as it:

Violates the fundamentals of our faith.

Virgin Birth The AtonementInerrancy of the Scriptures

***********Research the author.

Who is he?Where does he minister?Where did he go to college? What other books has he written?

Read the footnotes!

Who are the authors teachers? What books does he like?

Read the content carefully, always comparing it with Scripture.

Does this book strengthen by spiritual understanding? Is this of God or not of God?

****Here the footnotes are quite important!

He cites an article written by Bishop NT Wright, one famous for popularizing the New Perspective on Paul.

The particular article he cites teaches that the text of Scripture does not have authority in itself, rather it is only authoritative when it functions in community. This is a bridge between the traditional Catholic and Protestant position.

It is really an attack on Sola Scriptura or the Bible as our only rule of faith and practice.

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