on discernment

So the other day, my four-year-old asked me, "Mom? How do you tell the difference between a Honda and a Ferrari, because they're both red?"

Context: *We* have a Honda, and it happens to be red.

So we had a bit of a chat as to how to tell the difference between Hondas and Ferraris.

But the conversation made me think about things spiritually discerned, specifically how to tell the difference between moral people and those who are regenerate.

We all know some of them. Those people who are just so nice.

One of them was one of my best friends in high school. He was a good guy. Kind to everyone, sacrificial with his time and resources, generous, caring. He even mowed my mom's lawn in his spare time. You know the type. A really nice guy. My mom even said she wouldn't mind if I married him -- except for one little detail. He was not a Christian.

So what's the difference between those "really good guys" and those who actually have the Spirit of God in them?

Because there are those people, even many from religions other than Christianity, who have a very strong moral foundation from which they base their decisions. Yet they remain spiritually dead.

So how can we tell the difference? And how can we know that we are not one of them?

I suppose there are a number of ways to milk this cow.

One of them, of course, would be to go to Galatians chapter five, that passage about being led by the Spirit, and not gratifying the desires of the crucified sinful nature. It climaxes with the familiar list of the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22 and 23.

So that is one indice: fruit. Jesus alludes to it in chapter 15 of the gospel of John, saying that we cannot bear fruit unless we remain in Him.

Another sign? Conscience. Those who do not have the Spirit will not be bothered by their sin. But for those redeemed, eventually it will gnaw at them. Sanctification could slip into this category as well.

Then there is the issue of forgiveness. It takes a personal experience with divine and complete forgiveness to be able to truly forgive those who sin against us.

And of course we cannot neglect grace. Only by the grace of God in our lives can we extend genuine grace to others.

There are other indications that could be mentioned as well, but I suppose the unanswered question remains: Why could my son not differentiate between a red Honda and a red Ferrari? Well, in short, he has not been trained to be discerning. He had never been told what to look out for, what characteristics to take note of.

The more familiar he becomes with the unique shape and features of each car, the more easily he will be able to discern the difference.

It is the same with spiritual matters. The more time we spend in the Word of God, fellowshipping with believers and thinking upon all things good and lovely and true, the more easily we will be able to differentiate between truth and error, regenerate and worldly.