Divisiveness vs. Discernment - by John MacArthur

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. MacArthur intends to explain discernment in this excerpt. It is very odd that he ignores the principal Scriptures about discernment, and selects Hebrew and Greek words that do not explain discernment; or perhaps, his explanation avoids the actual word definitions. 

It is a very strange explanation. Dr. MacArthur doesn't quote a single Scripture. It mystifies us how a supposed Bible teacher can teach the Bible without quoting the Bible.

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If we are going to be discerning people, we must develop the skill of discriminating between truth and error, good and bad. (This is a correct statement. We shall do Dr. MacArthur's documentation for him. He. 5:14:

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Let's see how, or if, Dr. Macarthur explains this.)

The original languages of Scripture convey this very idea. The main Hebrew word for “discernment” is bin. That word and its variants are used hundreds of times in the Old Testament. (Where? Give us an example.)

It is often translated “discernment,” “understanding,” “skill,” or “carefulness.” (Where is this information found?)

But in the original language it conveys the same idea as our word discrimination. It entails the idea of making distinctions. Jay Adams points out that the word bin“ is related to the noun bayin, which means ‘interval’ or ‘space between,’ and the preposition ben, ‘between.’ In essence it means to separate things from one another at their points of difference in order to distinguish them.” (Yes, this all may be true, but where is this information found?)

Discernment, then, is a synonym for discrimination. In fact, the Greek verb translated “discern” in the New Testament is diakrinō. (**Sigh** That word is found here.)

It means “to make a distinction” and is translated that way in Acts 15:9. (Finally a Bible reference, but a very odd choice. Let's quote it, since Dr. MacArthur doesn't bother. Ac. 15:8-9: 

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

The reader can see why this is an odd choice, if Dr. MacArthur's purpose is to explain how discernment works in our lives. This verse is talking about God's action to not distinguish between Jews and Gentiles regarding the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

This explains nothing about how we must develop the skill of discriminating between truth and error, good and bad. If Dr. MacArthur wants to teach about discernment, maybe he should select verses that teach about discernment.

One of the main texts regarding discernment is 1Co. 12:10, which describes the spiritual gift of discernment:

to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits...

"Distinguish" is dikrisis, a somewhat different word than diakrinō, to which diákrisis is related. It means,

1253 diákrisis (from 1252 /diakrínō, see there) – properly, a thorough judgment, i.e. a discernment (conclusion) which distinguishes "look-alikes," i.e. things that appear to be the same. (Note the intensifying force of the prefix, dia.) See also 1252 (diakrínō).

The spiritual gift of discernment is the supernatural empowerment to be able to distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit in the spiritual realm.

By the way, the same word, diákrisis, is used in He 5:14, cited above, and Ro 14:1, cited below.)

So discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. (This is true, but incomplete. The kind of discernment to which Dr. MacArthur refers is actually

2919 krínō – properly, to separate (distinguish), i.e. judge; come to a choice (decision, judgment) by making a judgment – either positive (a verdict in favor of) or negative (which rejects or condemns).

An example of this word is 1Co. 6:2:

Do you not know that the saints will judge [krínō] the world? And if you are to judge [krínō] the world, are you not competent to judge [krínō] trivial cases?

It seems to us that Dr. MacArthur wants to divert us to his preferred way of thinking about discernment by defining it differently. He provides us with a partial truth and leads us to think that this is all there is to it. 

That seems dishonest to us.)

The discerning person is the one who draws a clear contrast between truth and error. Discernment is black-and-white thinking—the conscious refusal to color every issue in shades of gray. No one can be truly discerning without developing skill in separating divine truth from error. (This also seems deceptive to us. To suggest there aren't shades of gray in discernment is quite incorrect and unbiblical. Ro. 14:1-5:

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment [diákrisis] on disputable matters.

2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn [krínō] the man who does, for God has accepted him.

4 Who are you to judge [krínō] someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man considers [krínō] one day more sacred than another; another man considers [krínō] every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Notice that these things are personal judgments, i.e., shades of gray. This is a separate topic from discernment, the spiritual gift.)

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