It was disgusting and only corroborated my cibophobia (the fear of getting food poisoning). A few weeks ago, I was enjoying one of my favorite convenient meals: a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl. I was savoring the eggs, potatoes, and sausage, and I suddenly bit into something bitter. And I immediately spit it out without any hesitation! Thankfully, even after having COVID three times, my sense of taste is still healthy and it probably saved me from food poisoning. 

And there is a soul-sanctifying “taste” that all believers should possess—something that the Bible calls discernment. Discernment is having the spiritual sensitivity to spit out what is bad for us and our relationship with the Lord, and it will save us from soul-poisoning. When you bite into false teaching, discernment kicks in and says, “Spit this out right now! It’s no good for you.” When you bite onto sin, which always appears as sweet, discernment sounds the alarm and says, “This is poisonous and detrimental to your sanctification. Don’t take another bite.”

Believers are commanded throughout all the Scriptures to be discerning. “Do not judge by appearances,” said our Lord Jesus, “but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). Paul likewise admonished, “But test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21-22). John the apostle similarly told us that we ought not believe everything we hear: “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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:1-2). The writer of Hebrews said that we ought to feast on the solid food of God’s word so that our “powers of discernment” can be trained (Heb. 5:14). And the apostle Paul prayed that believers would abound “in all judgment [or discernment]; that ye may approve things that are excellent” (Phil. 1:9b, KJV).

To further clarify, discernment is being able to see things the way God sees them. Discernment is having a heightened sense of what is right and wrong so that you can see things that are wrong when they look right. Discernment is being able to see a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15). Discernment is seeing Satan when he disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Discernment is seeing the devil as a roaring lion when he appears as a cuddly kitten (1 Peter 5:8). Discernment is being able to see the appealing fruits of sin as the rotten and bitter fruits of demise that they truly are. Discernment is wearing the Bible as eye-glasses so that you can see the world, the devil, and the flesh for what they are.

Are you discerning?