By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I discuss the common phrases “Judge not!” and “Only God knows the heart” used by those defending false teachings. I argue that such phrases taken out of context often are attempts by individuals to shield themselves from confronting uncomfortable truths about their beliefs. I discuss the importance of discernment and correct judgment, skills which protect the Church from false doctrines and promote spiritual integrity.
Continue reading “Thou Shalt Judge”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
Christian celebrity culture is complex, with historical examples like John the Baptist and Paul showing genuine fame while Simon Magus demonstrated misguided fame. While some ‘celebrity’ leaders genuinely point to Christ, others succumb to deceit and false teachings. Christians are urged to examine their leaders’ character, ensuring alignment with godly principles and repentance practices, and also to constantly examine one’s own self.
Continue reading “The Double-Edged Sword of Christian Celebrity-ism”By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
A reader had asked me a question, my response focuses on the significance of the spiritual gift of discernment within the church. This gift helps identify and warn against false teachers, which is crucial given the prevalence of false doctrine in the New Testament. A by-product of training one’s self in discernment is that the Christian values the word of God even more. All believers should cultivate discernment, recognizing the balance between vetting teachers and focusing on Jesus.
Continue reading “Understanding Spiritual Gifts: The Role of Discernment”By Elizabeth Prata
A man I follow on X asked “Do you think God still uses visions and dreams today? Even if it’s non-normative?“
I answered “No. The scripture as given is sufficient. He speaks through His Gospel, not direct revelation at this time. Heb 1:1-2. Rev 22:18-19, 2 Tim 3:14-17, 2 Pet 1:19. There is nothing that a vision or dream could say to us directly that would be better truth than what is already written.“
Another lady piped in and replied to me that SHE hears His voice. “He reveals things directly to me and to many other Christians. The Bible tells us “my sheep hear my voice.“
This verse is a vastly misunderstood and overused excuse for people who do not think the Bible is enough to cling to as a defense for their voice-hearing activities.
I said, “You’re not an actual sheep, so you’re not actually hearing God’s voice. Interpret both sides of the verse the same. Heb 1:1-2a says, ‘God has spoken to us in His Son’ which means the Bible. More here, please watch 18 minutes of truth why you’re not hearing Him.“
And I linked to Justin Peters’ wonderful video series titled Inigo Montoya Series. The series, Peters wrote, “dives deep into the world of commonly misinterpreted scriptures, carefully unraveling misconceptions and providing clear, biblically grounded explanations.” The pertinent entry I’d linked to was My Sheep Hear My Voice.
She replied, “I’m not going to watch a video. I read the Bible. And I have a relationship with Jesus.“
Maybe it’s just me. But if someone said I’m doing something that is against the Bible, or, if I’m following someone who teaches falsely, I’d investigate. I’d consider the advice. Jesus is too important to reject the possibility out of hand. But in discernment work, too often that is exactly what I’ve found that people do.
Hers was a typical reply. The person defending a false notion or a false teaching never reads the verse or the link and comes back to address it in the conversation. We must reason together over scriptures, it is the only common ground we have for truth (IF the person is saved it would be common ground, if not, then they need scriptural truth anyway.) Always bring the Bible verses into the conversation as quickly as possible.
So I told her that “I’d gently suggest that the Bible warns constantly about the dangers of deception. You may indeed have a relationship with Jesus, OR you may have a relationship with an entity that is pretending to be Jesus, who as you claim “reveals things to you” outside of the Bible. Mat7:21-23“.
Her reply, “You probably shouldn’t assume that about people you don’t know.”
Again, ignoring the verse that has been offered, not using verses in her reply, and making an accusation flung back within seconds is par for the course in discernment conversations. Prayerful conversation seems to be out of fashion. Careful consideration of the scriptures seems out of fashion.
I’d replied (and I’m not including the entire conversation here), “I am not assuming anything about your salvation, and in fact I’ve already said you may be saved or you may not be, I said watch out because deception is warned of constantly in the Bible. Matt 7:21-23 is real. God is not speaking to you. 😦 You’re being deceived if you think so…
There were a few more replies, one which misused a verse in Jeremiah and a statement that said she doesn’t want a relationship with a “silent and powerless God”. It is sad to see that she believes if God is not speaking directly to her that God is ‘silent and powerless.’
Posting Justin Peters’ famous quote seen below only elicited a terse reply “That’s a false teaching.”
This lady has a podcast. It’s with her husband. It’s fairly new and thankfully does not have a lot of followers yet. But this is the thing. Discernment is more important than ever as opportunities for us to be deceived abound. Opportunities also abound for us to damage our witness either by promoting false doctrines or false teachers, or by our behavior in our defense of the truth. You have to know when a conversation has run its course and when to bow out, and that moment hopefully occurs before I get angry or sarcastic or fling an ad hominem accusation of my own.
Continuationists are wrong, but as to the person who believes the miracle gifts continue, it isn’t usually a salvation issue. (It can become one later, though). But the unteachable attitude is unbiblical. The accusations also are not warranted. The youngster (and she was young) declaring with full confidence “‘Justin Peters’ quote is false teaching’ or as she stated flatly later “You are absolutely wrong” is sad to see.
We speak the truth, in love. We gently bring people along,
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 2 Timothy 2:24.
I do a lot online and I need to remember these admonitions also. Be kind, be firm but loving, don’t take things personally. When the conversation becomes pointless or you’ve shared scripture that has been rejected, move on.
Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
Proverbs 14:7
The successful pursuit of wisdom presupposes at least earnestness and reverence. The scoffer shuts himself out from the capacity of recognizing truth. ~Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Go from the presence of a foolish man—when the time comes that you see you can do him no good; for “evil communications corrupt good manners.” Thus Samuel “came no more to see Saul,” when he saw that remonstrances were unavailing with him, though he continued to “mourn” for him, remembering from what high estate he had fallen. ~Ellicott’s Commentary
By Elizabeth Prata
Yesterday I wrote about a Q&A I’d had from a reader and promised to post the other questions and answers today. Here is yesterday’s part 1- Decoding False Teachers: Types of Wolves in Christianity- Reader Questions & Answers part 1
I love when I receive questions. It encourages me because the queries show me that there are women out there who care about discernment, about Jesus, and about the purity of their walk with Him. That’s all discernment is: a process of training one’s self to have an ever more pure walk with Jesus. To learn who and what to go toward and who and what to stay away from in order to attain a more clear view of Him.
Here are the other two questions and my answers. I certainly do not have a monopoly on answers or final knowledge of the Bible. How would you have replied? What is your stance on some of these things?
Can a wolf be saved? Is there a hope for them in terms of genuine repentance, and saving faith?
I’ve often wondered this. Quite a bit, actually. Not knowing the answer and only surmising as to some notions as you’ll see below, I still do pray for the false teachers the Lord burdens my heart with.
Now, God CAN save anyone. He saved Saul the persecutor and turned him into the most productive evangelist and missionary in the history of the world. Jesus pronounced woes and invectives upon the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes (so did John the Baptist). But Sadducee Joseph of Arimathea and Pharisee Nicodemus were more than likely genuine believers by the end.
However … my personal feeling of the actual false teachers, the ones embedded in Christianity and profess to love Jesus, is no, they will not be saved. Here are my reasons:
First- Jude 1:4 seems to indicate that at least some of these false teachers were deliberately raised up for God’s reasons, and were always marked for condemnation. After all, “There must be heresies among you so that those who are approved might be made manifest” (1 Corinthians 11:19). 2 Peter 2:1 seems to indicate the same. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says these hypocrites have a seared conscience.
At some point, Jesus turns the rebels over to their sin. (Romans 1:21). Of course, we do not know the point if and when it occurs in various individuals.
Secondly, as to the seared conscience and also remembering Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, these false teachers, if they actually had the Holy Spirit in them, they would not persist in their evil teaching ways. The Holy Spirit always points us toward truth. It might take weeks, months, or in some rare cases a year or so, but someone cannot and does not persist for 40 years as a false teacher and then suddenly repent.
Romans 1:25 says they know God, but they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
I’ve never seen a long-term, false professing Christian teacher repenting, and I’ve never heard of it. It is more likely that they are seared in conscience, hardened in heart, and being used by God as a judgment. Here is Paul Washer on false teachers. clip is 5 min, here is the beginning of it-
Washer transcript: “False teachers are God’s judgment on people who don’t want God, but in the name of religion plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires. That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up. Those people who sit under him are not victims of him. He is the judgment of God upon them because they want exactly what he wants and it’s not God.”
God allows false teachers so that it may be manifest those who are true. There must be heresies among you so that those who are approved might be made manifest. (1 Corinthians 11:19).
Can a person truly be a wolf if they believe in and teach sound doctrine?
Let’s look at the word “believe”. The demons believed in Jesus. In fact in Mark it was demons who assigned to Jesus the highest praise name of all- the Holy One of God. Judas believed sound doctrine. The issue is, they did not submit to it. They are rebels. So we need to be careful using the term ‘believe in Jesus’.
Let’s look at the word “doctrine”: All false teachers mix truth with the false. They all twist doctrine in some way, some more skillfully and hidden and others more easily detected (Example, Beth Moore- skillfully twisting her doctrine to make it seem sound, Todd Bentley- false doctrine easily detected). So it depends on what is meant by ‘sound doctrine’. Also, new converts might believe Louie Giglio is sound or a Beth Moore but as they grow they realize their doctrine is not sound. So while soundness is soundness, our perception of it is a continuum.
No doubt, false teachers may be difficult to recognize in the moment. If we don’t have access to their personal lives, or their doctrinal compromises haven’t yet been manifest publicly in their behavior, we may find it difficult to know whether they are true. But time will tell. They will be known by their fruit — not the fruit of ministry quantity and numbers, but quality and endurance — and ultimately the quality of their own lives. ~Dave Mathis, The Surprising Truth about False Teachers
Rick Warren appeared to teach sound doctrine. So did David Platt. For a while. Billy Graham appeared to teach soundly for a long time but secretly held heretical beliefs. Ravi Zacharias appeared to teach sound doctrine, in fact was noted for it, but was living a grossly immoral secret life. Look at lifestyle as part of any assessment of a teacher of the Bible.
Apollos was a diligent student of scripture and knowledgeable, and he taught, but he did not have the full story of the new covenant, only John’s Baptism. Did his lack mean he was false? No, because his teachableness and humility when approached by Priscilla and Aquila were also indicators of his status as true teacher. He did not reject the fuller knowledge, in fact, he hastily absorbed it and went on in humility to become a noted true teacher of the Gospel.
Beth Moore knows the full story of the Bible but chooses NOT to teach it even when urged, reminded, alerted, and corrected. Romans 1:25 applies to her.
All in all, false teachers are bad. They should not be tolerated, even a little bit.
And in the Scripture they are never tolerated. They’re never tolerated as sort of partially right and needing to be helped along to the fullness of the truth, they are totally denounced, condemned to eternal damnation. ~John MacArthur, Portrait of False Teachers part 1
Conclusion
The best thing to do is to train in discernment and to:
–stay in the word frequently if not daily
–appeal to the Holy Spirit daily for help in interpreting it rightly
–pray for growth in discernment
The Lord will give these good gifts to His children, because they are aligned with HIS will.
Further Resources
Portrait of False Teachers part 1, MacArthur sermon
Lessons I’ve learned from False Teachers, Tim Challies, essay
How to Identify False Teachers if you Don’t Know the Truth, For the Gospel, Costi Hinn essay
False teachers, Just Thinking Podcast
Decoding False Teachers: Types of Wolves in Christianity- Reader Questions & Answers part 1 The End Time
By Elizabeth Prata
I love when I receive questions. It encourages me because the queries show me that there are women out there who care about discernment, about Jesus, and about the purity of their walk with Him. That’s all discernment is: a process of training one’s self to have an ever more pure walk with Jesus. To learn who and what to go toward and who and what to stay away from in order to attain a more clear view of Him.
The other day I received some questions and after mulling for a day or so, I answered. I certainly do not have a monopoly in answers or final knowledge of the Bible. How would you have replied? What is your stance on some of these things?
There were 4 questions. I’ll answer 2 today and 2 tomorrow.
Are wolves pastor-teachers only or can they be lay people within the congregation?
We read of wolves in Matthew 7:15, Acts 20:29-30, and Luke 10:3 where that term is used.
The word wolf is used in reference to and sometimes synonymously with the terms false prophets, false teachers, deceitful workers, deceitful spirits… The Bible seems to emphasize that such people frequently appear in leadership roles – likely because that is where they can do the most damage – but they do not appear exclusively in that role. Galatians 2:4 indicates that false brothers were brought in further, the reason they came in- to spy and to enslave-
Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. (Galatians 2:4).
Paul recounted that one of his many dangers was from from false brothers, 2 Corinthians 11:26.
Paul said in Acts 20:29-30 “Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.”
Jude 1:4 notes, For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones…
As to the term used “false brothers” – quoted from the Greek Lexicon, “The term “pseudadelphos” refers to someone who pretends to be a brother in faith but is not genuine. It is used to describe individuals who infiltrate Christian communities with ulterior motives, often causing division or spreading false teachings. The term highlights the danger of deceit within the church and the need for discernment among believers.”
So while the wolves who appear as pastors present false doctrine to lead astray, the false brothers cause division and lead astray. Wolves have various roles and can and do appear anywhere.
Every New Testament book except Philemon warns of false teachers who appear in some form or another.
Matthew 13 describes the parable of the weeds (tares). “and the weeds are the sons of the evil one”; Satan sows deceitful workers. ALL hypocrites and unbelievers in the church are the work of Satan, whether they are called a wolf or any of the other names noted above. Thus, a wolf can describe any person, not just a teacher, seeking to undermine Jesus’ teaching, and we know from 2 Peter 2:3 their main motivation is greed or personal gain.
Do wolves come in varying degrees of “badness”? Are there are certain wolves that are worse than others?
In Matthew 7:15, the Greek term “harpax” is used in the verse when speaking of ravenous in ‘ravenous wolves’.
Quoting the Lexicon, “It’s used in the New Testament to describe individuals who are greedy, grasping, or who take by force. It conveys the idea of someone who is not only eager to possess more than they have but is willing to do so through unjust or violent means. This word is often used to characterize those who exploit others for personal gain.”
In Acts 20:29 Paul used the term “savage wolves”. In the Greek Lexicon savage “is used to describe something that is heavy or burdensome, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. It can refer to physical weight or to something that is difficult to bear, such as a severe trial or a grievous situation. In the New Testament, it often conveys the idea of something oppressive or hard to endure.”
Wolves are bad, we know this. But then the Apostles specifically warned that the wolves who come in are especially bad. Through and through. There is no such thing as a gentle wolf, a kind wolf, or a baby wolf cub so cute we don’t need a warning about handling them. Even in Song of Solomon 2:15 we read that even little foxes can ruin vineyards. (Commentary here).
Some false teachers expose all their badness earlier while other false teachers hide it longer, but while outside they are whitewashed, inside they are all tombs. Professing false brothers, hypocrites, wolves, false teachers- which are all synonyms- are an abomination to Jesus. They are all bad all the time, no matter how ‘good’ they appear. They produce evil and garbage.
If you were presented with three casseroles at a potluck; one perfectly cooked, one with a little fecal matter in it, or one totally full of fecal matter, which would you eat? ALL wolves are bad and are bad for you. Their character is all the same, no matter what version they appear in (teacher, helper, student, disciple, etc). They are arrogant, immoral, promote immorality, and are propelled by greed. We read this characterization in both 2 Peter and Jude.
Remember, they MASQUERADE as sincere, helpful, kind people. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). The undiscerning sometimes can’t see through that, OR they have helped in the heaping up of these wolves and don’t wish to see how bad the false teachers really are. (2 Timothy 4:3).
For some people it is hard for them to reconcile the vivid descriptions of false teachers in the Bible to the smiling, toothy visage of a Joel Osteen, or the excited energy of a seemingly friendly Beth Moore, or the longevity of a Charismatic Benny Hinn, but indeed, inside they are ravenous wolves. Remember the term “masquerade”.
Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of changing one’s form or appearance was not uncommon, often associated with theatrical performances or philosophical ideas about the nature of reality and perception. The New Testament usage of ‘disguise’ reflects a deeper spiritual reality, emphasizing the contrast between genuine transformation in Christ and superficial or deceptive changes.
We are always at risk. We are sheep. False teacher wolves have been hunting believing sheep for millennia. They know how to trick, deceive, disguise, and play the cunning helper. It’s why we need the strength, wisdom, and word of God to protect us. Discernment is important.
By Elizabeth Prata
Discernment is important.
Let me rephrase that.
Discernment is important.
Discernment is:
Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong. ~Tim Challies
Charles Spurgeon drills down even further:
Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.
Though ALL believers must train in discernment (Hebrews 5:14), some believers are given a heightened ability to discern by virtue of possessing a gift from the Spirit.
and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:10, underline mine).
For spirit-gifted discerning believers AND all others, we must practice discernment in our walk. (1 John 4:1, Philippians 1:9-10, Romans 12:2). That means both identifying it AND acting on it. It’s non-negotiable.
Sheep, or Wolf? A Call to Discern
by Dr. Colin Eakin
Discernment: The Neglected Imperative
Where does God command believers to exercise spiritual discernment? Perhaps a better question is, where doesn’t He? The answer is Philemon. Of all the books in the New Testament, this letter of twenty-five verses is the only one in which there is no instruction for the believer to be on guard against falsehood. All remaining twenty-six books of the New Testament (and many of the Old Testament) exhort the believer, to a greater or lesser degree, to discern truth from falsehood and to act upon it.
Satan downplays the importance of discernment. How? He twists scriptures such as the ones under discussion today, two of the most abused scriptures in the Bible, plus one more-
Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1)
And this one:
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. (Matthew 18:15).
And this admonition based on nothing in the Bible but bandied about as if it was:
Be nice. Jesus ate with sinners, you know.
Sadly, when I write an essay discerning a false teacher, or speaking against a false doctrine, inevitably I receive a slew of comments from women who insist I perform one or the other of the verses above. This makes me sad, because I know from such comments these women are not operating at peak Christian condition. Their insistence that I employ one or both of these verses usually reveals two things about them:
— they hold to an errant understanding of the verses above
— they hypocritically have failed to follow their own advice and ‘come to me privately’, and to ‘judge not’.
Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster. (Proverbs 10:14).
Here is my rebuttal to the commenters lobbing the most abused discernment verses:
‘Do not judge’ cannot mean ‘do not discern.’ There are calls to discern in every book of the New Testament except Philemon, and many of the Old. (1 John 4:1, Philippians 1:9-10, Hebrews 5:14, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Kings 3:9, & etc.)
So, ‘Judge not’ can’t mean do not judge, because in John 7:24 we’re told to judge. Wisdom would suggest that rather than there being an inconsistency in the Bible, there is an inconsistency in our understanding.
So if Matthew 7:1 doesn’t mean not to discern and it doesn’t mean judge not, what does it actually mean? Well, first, read the verse in context. Here is Matthew 7:1-5,
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
It means when we do have to judge something, as in test, discern, check, etc, do not do so hypocritically, harshly, or wrongly.
Resource here: GotQuestions- What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?
In this one, commenters are referring to a section in Matthew 18, where the Bible outlines procedures for church discipline. Here is the passage:
If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17 NASB)
This verse is about church discipline, when one member of a local body has sinned against another person in the local body. It is a local, internal procedure. It is not referring to our response to book reviews or other public statements false teachers have made in public.
Phil Johnson explained here, in a 2006 blog essay:
It would be a serious mistake to imagine that a private meeting is always a mandatory prerequisite before any Christian can legitimately express public criticism of another believer’s published work or public behavior. On the contrary, sometimes—especially when we’re dealing with a public and scandalous transgression—open rebuke may be warranted as a first response (cf. Galatians 2:11-14). Matthew 18:15-17 outlines instructions for dealing with private sins and personal offenses. These are not guidelines for dealing with false teaching or public behavior that might cloud the truth of the gospel or besmirch the reputation of the whole church.
Here is a link to a pdf “Editorial on Abusing Matthew 18” by Don Carson
Here is Tim Challies with an easy button version of Don Carson’s essay on Matthew 18 abuse.
Strangely, in a third most abused verse in the discernment world, many of them say ‘Be nice. Don’t condemn. Jesus ate with sinners.’ What they are referring to is Mark 2:16.
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
If you think about it, you realize how massively ridiculous their statement that one should not cry out against false teachers or false doctrine is.
The only sinless person who ever lived was Jesus. Of COURSE He ate with sinners. He ate with sinners every time He ate. Jesus eating with sinners verse was about the Pharisees complaining that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and prostitutes whom the Pharisees believed were “sinners”, outcasts unworthy to be in polite society, while at the same time believing that they themselves were NOT sinners and thus worthy to grace Jesus with their presence.
Jesus ate with sinners, having compassion on them, because they were lost sheep. However, He never expected them to remain in their sin. He told the adulteress to ‘go and sin no more,’ for example. He also was very harsh with many other sinners. He whipped up a fury against the merchant greed-mongers in the temple. He called the Pharisees blind guides, fools, wicked, and greedy.
Of course we (forgiven) sinners will eat with (unforgiven) sinners because we are to be in the world. But if we see a friend involved in a false doctrine, do we eat their food but leave them with a poison in their soul? No.
Jesus, Friend of Sinners: But How?
By Kevin DeYoung
As precious as this truth is—that Jesus is a friend of sinners—it, like every other precious truth in the Bible, needs to be safeguarded against doctrinal and ethical error. It is all too easy, and amazingly common, for Christians (or non-Christians) to take the general truth that Jesus was a friend of sinners and twist it all out of biblical recognition.
Jesus was a friend of sinners not because he winked at sin, ignored sin, or enjoyed light-hearted revelry with those engaged in immorality. Jesus was a friend of sinners in that he came to save sinners and was very pleased to welcome sinners who were open to the gospel, sorry for their sins, and on their way to putting their faith in Him.
More:
Why is it significant that Jesus ate with sinners?
It’s the biggest problem.
People ask me this all the time, “What is the greatest need in the church today? What is the most compelling need? What do you see as the biggest problem in Christianity? The biggest problem in the church?
It’s simple for me to answer that. The biggest problem in the church today is the absence of discernment. It’s a lack of discernment. It’s the biggest problem with Christian people, they make bad choices. They accept the wrong thing. They accept the wrong theology. The are prone to the wrong teaching. They’re unwise in who they follow, what they listen to and what they read. ~John MacArthur, Principles for Discernment 2002.
You can enhance your discernment through constant training, (Hebrews 5:14), prayers for wisdom, (James 1:5) and staying in the word (Psalm 119:11). Then perhaps at some point you can help advise a sister and encourage her in her discernment walk. 🙂
By Elizabeth Prata
I am conferenced out. I had the wonderful privilege of attending the National G3 conference a few times and I enjoyed it. But as I age, I am finding that being in a cavernous building filled with thousands of people overwhelms me more quickly than it used to. My energy drains away faster than two shakes of a lamb’s tail.
As an older women a few years away from retirement, it seems lately that all I want to do is come home from work and sit down. Sunday go to church. Repeat. LOL. However I am also grateful for the opportunity through the wonderful invention of the internet, to be able to consume material from present day solid ministries and past ones that have been uploaded, such as at Monergism, Grace Gems, and the like.
Being careful but savvy about what to consume on social media allows a woman to develop her discernment. As long as we are in the word, studying, reading, singing, and in church worshiping, we can extend our learning by testing it with material we find online. This includes buying books and listening to music, whether through Spotify, Pandora, Youtube, or Apple.
In that vein, below are a few links offering a wealth of information about women for women.
Always wise, always measured, and with a right-heart attitude, Amy broaches the subject that many women unfortunately stumble on, hearing God’s voice: Ladies, No One Is Whispering to You by Amy Spreeman at Berean Research
Grace Sutton muses on the different states of being as an adult- singleness and marriage. Desiring one over the other isn’t necessarily making an idol nor would it be sinful. God set apart some for singleness and many for marriage. Here’s Grace working through the issue: Let Me Be Single essay at For the Church
When the blog Pyromaniacs was going, some years ago Phil Johnson wrote about women and discernment. LOL, Don’t blame the messenger: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Discernment Divas by Phil Johnson, essay
Aussie Daniel Schricker writes and speaks about cults because he grew up in one. Here, he identifies the markers and makings of a cult, and applies the scholarly information to a well-known woman on seemingly every social media there is, The Transformed Wife, Lori Alexander. The Cult of Lori Alexander, essay by Daniel Schricker, Ph.D
With all the brouhaha of gender studies in the recent past, documentary satirist Matt Walsh published a film asking ‘gender experts’ the simple question… What is a Woman? full documentary by Matt Walsh
Great conference content coming up for women I wrote about this yesterday, we can review the sermons and talks afterward on social media, blessedly. Good stuff here!
In 2013, Sunny Shell of Abandoned to Christ ministry wrote the following essay. It was scriptural and humble. She said that consuming Piper’s material “requires more discernment than I currently possess.” She said she loved him and considered him a brother, but she couldn’t follow him any longer, not while there were so many other good ministries out there. Sunny received a LOT of push back, even though there was not an accusatory bone in the whole essay. She took it down and it stayed down for a number of years. A few years ago she put it back up.
As for me, I do not follow Piper either. His continuationism and his multi-step justification stances gave me pause some years ago as to following him or consuming his material. Never mind his lack of discernment in inviting or sharing platforms with Mark Driscoll, Beth Moore, Rick Warren etc. an issue that Sunny pointed out in 2013. Recently, Piper spoke at Pastors’ Workshop and his recorded remarks are causing consternation among the more solid theologians. Here, Ekkie points out the conundrum in a short tweet. Below, find Sunny’s humble but accurate article. Though at this time I consider Piper a brother, I do warn that he has had many confusing stances in the past and of late. Too many bones… Why I no longer follow John Piper or Desiring God ministry
By Elizabeth Prata
As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout, So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. (Proverbs 11:22).
It’s obvious what this means. But…is it obvious?
That’s the beauty and the wonder of God’s word, especially Proverbs. On the surface, it’s easy to understand what it’s saying. But the word of God is living and active, so digging into it yields further depths of understanding.
Bibleref explains the overall sense of the proverb: “The comparison made here is meant to be slightly shocking, as pigs were considered unclean animals. Beauty is represented by something small and insignificant, as compared to the disgusting, filthy, and enormous problem of indiscretion.“
I find that if I ask questions of the text, it will yield answers. I wondered after reading this proverb as part of my daily Bible reading yesterday, I asked myself, what exactly does the proverb mean by ‘discretion’?
I like Biblehub.com because it has the Bible in every translation, commentaries, original languages, lexicon, word dictionaries and much more, all in one spot. I looked up the word discretion in Strong’s Hebrew:
Usage: The Hebrew word “taam” primarily refers to the sense of taste, but it extends metaphorically to denote discernment, judgment, or understanding. It is used to describe the ability to perceive or evaluate situations, often in a moral or spiritual context.
Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Hebrew culture, the concept of “taste” was not limited to the physical act of eating but was also a metaphor for experiencing and evaluating life. Just as taste helps one discern the quality of food, discernment helps one evaluate moral and spiritual matters. This metaphorical use reflects the holistic view of human experience in the Hebrew mindset, where physical senses often parallel spiritual insights.
“Just as a gold nose ring in a pig’s snout is incongruous, even so indiscretion in a beautiful woman is incongruous. Outward beauty should be accompanied by inward virtue. The negative illustration is Jezebel while the positive is Abigail.” Gingrich, R. E. (2005). The Book of Proverbs (Volume I) (p. 29). Riverside Printing.
Discernment is important. Yes, the proverb is alluding to a woman’s virtue, taste, and beauty, but a key point is her ability to evaluate spiritual and moral situations.
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).
Discretion, or discernment, or using proper evaluative methods, are important for the biblical woman. Far from the improperly used ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’ verse (out of context) a Proverbs woman or wife who lacks discernment is as ugly as a pig’s snout. We can dress her up with jewelry and fine clothes, but her inability to cling to hat is good will make her ugly as a pig, which is offensive to the Bible people because as stated, pigs are highly unclean.
Peter makes this same point in the New Testament:
1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, / but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
A women attains unfading beauty by communing with God and training her senses to distinguish between good and evil so as to better obey and love what God loves and hate what God hates. This is discernment.
And Jesus made the same point in Matthew 23:27-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. / In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Prettying up the external does a man or woman no good if the internal is devoid of discretion.
1 Timothy 1:5
The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
By Elizabeth Prata
I was asked about the Lifeway Bible Study “When You Pray.” The study involves a collection of authors, who wrote a chapter each. They are- Kelly Minter, Jackie Hill Perry, Jen Wilkin, Jennifer Rothschild, Jada Edwards, and Kristi McLelland. It is a 7-session lesson designed for small groups, self alone, or a retreat accompanied by the separately purchased ‘Group Experience Kit’. Each session was written by the different author listed above. It includes a video component for each session. The study uses 6 different Bible translations, including the NLT.
GotQuestions: FMI and Review of the NLT here.
It is not best practice to use multiple translations in one study.
Using many translations in one study: AI says, “A Bible teacher should generally not use six different translations in one study as it can be overwhelming and confusing for students, potentially detracting from the focus on understanding the text rather than comparing translation nuances; it’s usually better to stick with one primary translation and only reference a few others when necessary to clarify meaning or highlight translation variations in specific passages.”
I thanked the questioner for the query and for the encouragement and for reading my material here on the blog. Discernment is always good.
I am sorry to say that uniformly, almost anything from Lifeway is going to be bad. They unashamedly platform false teachers. A while back Lifeway published a spate of “heaven tourism” books where people who said they’d died were given a tour of heaven, some of them claiming to have met Jesus. Lifeway continued to publish these books for years until a big outcry finally pushed them off Lifeway’s shelves. Their years-long persistence in publishing these books, some of which contradicted each other and all contradicting the Bible, despite appeals, petitions, and rebukes, displayed a wanton lack of concern for the spiritual state of their customers, a lack of discernment, and a prioritizing of greed over truth.
As for this specific study titled “When You Pray”, I’ve written several times about the authors Jackie Hill Perry, and Jen Wilkin. Both are egregious Bible twisters. Perry came out with an announcement that she receives direct revelation from Jesus and was instructed to tell people the different pieces of news ‘He’ tells her. Like this: “Ok ok. I’ll say this. God primarily deals with me in dreams. I’ve been enlightened, warned, and led to intercede for others through them.” She has since removed this Twitter announcement. You can read a transcript of it at the link above.
G3 on Why Modern Prophecy is False
Jen Wilkin is obsessed with two things, preaching and women. This equals women preaching, she twists almost every sermon, Q&A, panel, or interview into a women need to be leaders WITH men (in roles the Bible denies us, of course). In one famous sermon she likened period blood (excerpt) from women to the blood on the cross, saying women have a better understanding of the gospel because of this. I am not kidding.
As for Minter & Rothschild, Michelle Lesley has written about them, discerning that these women preach to men and they support and promote false teachers. She does not recommend either of these women.
Alternatives to Lifeway’s When you Pray ‘study’ might be:
At Ligonier, there is a 6-week lesson series with video etc, called Prayer, where RC Sproul “uses the acronym ACTS and the Lord’s Prayer to teach us how to pray” 24 min each. It costs $9.00/month.
https://connect.ligonier.org/library/prayer-27945/about/
G3 Ministries has small group studies, https://g3min.org/resource-category/small-group-study/?
The Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre is a classic gem, video on youtube (https://youtu.be/ODz1aOo6EOk?si=-P_LP270APU8PqwN and 39 page book can download for free at Chapel Library, https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/hlop/hidden-life-of-prayer-the-macintyredavid?
Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney is a small book and 5-min youtube videos by the author go thru how to pray daily without falling into the rut of saying the same old thing. https://youtu.be/A-HziKu5Ot0?si=yU70QoTBvrklUrbw
Grace Community Church led by MacArthur has a huge small group ministry section for men and women, many of the lessons are taped or video’d and have accompanying pdf or notes.
I’d say any of those alternatives are better than Lifeway. 🙂
Lifeway is not a trustworthy source for any Christian material, sadly.
the-end-time.org 