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Tim Challies

The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment Paperback – December 19, 2007

by Tim Challies (Author), John MacArthur (Foreword)

166 ratings

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Spiritual discernment is good for more than just making monumental decisions according to God's will. It is an essential, day-to-day activity that allows thoughtful Christians to separate the truth of God from error and to distinguish right from wrong in all kinds of settings and situations. It is also a skill-something that any person can develop and improve, especially with the guidance in this book.

Written by a leading evangelical blogger, <i>The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment</i> is an uplifting, scripturally grounded work that explains the need for discernment, its challenges, and the steps that will cultivate it. Author Tim Challies does not do the discerning for readers; he simply shows them how to practically apply scriptural tools, principles, and wisdom so that their conclusions about everything-people, teachings, decisions, media, and organizations-will be consistent with God's Word.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crossway
Publication date

December 19, 2007
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.46 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1581349092
ISBN-13

978-1581349092
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tim Challies is one of the finest young evangelical thinkers of our day. He combines keen insight with theological maturity and spiritual depth. The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment should help form the Christian character of a new generation of evangelicals. Indeed, we must hope so."
―R. Albert Mohler Jr., President and Centennial Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Unfortunately, in our time, even among Christians, discernment is long in demand and short in supply. This is but one reason I'm so delighted to commend to you The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Tim Challies reminds us that the Bible commands us to cultivate discernment, but he doesn't stop there. He tells us how, biblically."
―Ligon Duncan, Chancellor and CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary

"The many fans Tim Challies has won through his highly regarded blog will discover in this book the motivation that drives his incisive analysis of cultural events and trends-a keen respect for truth and a passionate commitment to biblical discernment."
―Nancy Pearcey, author, Total Truth; Finding Truth; and Love Thy Body

"This book is simple, clear, well-written, accurate, and even insightful. I read it all. I liked it all. I will recommend it often."
―Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

"I've simply never read a more thorough, practical, and biblically sound treatment of this subject. Anyone wanting to study biblical discernment should not miss this book."
―Donald S. Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Family Worship; Praying the Bible; and Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

About the Author

Spiritual discernment is not just useful for making major decisions; it also enables you to distinguish God’s truth from error, and right from wrong, in daily situations. This uplifting work teaches you how to apply wisdom practically so that all your conclusions will be consistent with God’s Word. Tim Challies is a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere, having one of the most widely read and recognized Christian blogs anywhere. He is also editor of Discerning Reader, a site dedicated to offering discerning reviews of books that are of interest to Christians. A self-employed web designer, Tim lives with his family on the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crossway (December 19, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1581349092
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1581349092
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.46 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #103,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,207 in Christian Theology (Books)
- #3,099 in Christian Spiritual Growth (Books)

Customer Reviews:
166 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		71%
4 star		21%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Bruce Roeder

Pastoral and Practical

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2017

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I'm a fan of Challies. His writing style is easy to read, pastoral, and practical. As a biblical counselor I've read and recommended his little book on pornography to many men. Recommending The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment to the men who lead our small groups was an easy thing to do.

Why?

Personally, I think the evangelical church as a whole lacks in the important discipline of spiritual discernment. Instead of sound doctrine faithfully preached many evangelicals are treated with church growth gimmicks, a psychologized man-centered gospel, and sadly outright heresy that seems to be tolerated by those who should know better. At times it seems the term "evangelical" has lost its meaning.

What's the average person to do with such variation among those who label themselves evangelical Christians?

Answer

Learn to be spiritual discerning and that's exactly what Challies lays out in his book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.

Rather than regulating discernment to a certain "holy man class" Challies challenges ordinary Christians to learn the discipline themselves by first defining what it is, by studying truth (so you know what error looks like) and finally by giving the reader a case study.

The case study in particular resonated with me as a biblical counselor. At times, throughout my counseling career I've heard people say, "I just need to forgive myself."

The question Challies would ask is, where in the Bible do you see a need to forgive yourself?

Forgiveness of course is a huge gospel issue. Without forgiveness for our sins we have no hope for eternal life so the topic itself is critical but it still begs the question, is it biblical to forgive oneself?

Challies works through this example by going to the Bible and sorting through the passages that deal with forgiveness (there are other steps in the process like prayer) and only then does he reach a conclusion.

This is something that any Christian with a Bible and a concordance can do (and often should because truth matters).

Hint for those who want to cut to the chase. Forgiving oneself is a psychology concept not a biblical one.

I rate the book 5 stars because of its practically and how it fills what I believe to be a great need in the church today.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Chico Collie

Solid Introduction to Biblical Spiritual Discernment

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020

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I often cringe when I hear someone say ‘the Bible says don’t judge’ because I know that there is a sense in which this is true and a sense in which it is misinterpreted. After which, I spend the following moments trying to ensure that the difference between being judgmental and being Biblically discerning is appreciated. While in search of a book that surveys the topic clearly and comprehensively, I came across ‘The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment’ by Tim Challies.

“Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong.”

He aims to show that the Bible calls Christians to judge rightly and encourages the practice of spiritual discernment, “the skill of thinking biblically about life”. In pursuit of his goal, the author discusses the Biblical mandate to be discerning, describes its challenges, benefits, and dangers, and outlines characteristics of and practical steps toward becoming a discerning person.

“There are no Christians who are mature but undiscerning.”

“We can only know God’s will when we first know God’s truth, for what God desires and requires of us must always be consistent with his character.”

The scope of information is appreciated, particularly the author’s attempt to relate Spiritual discernment to Spiritual maturity (poorly pursued) and the Will of God (commonly misunderstood). After the early chapters, however, there is a slight but noticeable decrescendo in the convincingness of the discussion and the author misses an opportunity to directly exposit key passages (ex. Matthew 7:1-5). Nevertheless, the book is a solid introduction to the topic that I recommend to those who have never read a book on spiritual discernment.

3 people found this helpful

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David L Mobley

Solid and Biblical

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2017

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This is a solid and Biblical book that gives a good introduction to the area. I believe it's worth reading, though I don't think I benefitted as much as I thought I would -- I think in part because I was (for some reason, probably my own fault) expecting something that was somehow more "novel" and maybe pointed out new areas where I should be growing spiritually. In reality, this is more of a Biblical examination of decision-making and discernment and I was already familiar with the key ideas, so it served more as a good reminder than as something novel and profound that I'd previously been overlooking entirely. I suppose "novel" should be seen as "dangerous" since the Bible is God's Word and is unchanging!

I did have minor issues with the layout/logical flow in some places -- it just didn't make logical sense to me; concepts in some cases (especially later in the book) seemed repeated and I couldn't understand why. I think part of this may be that section/subsection formatting may not have come through that well in the Kindle edition so what was intended as a series of steps (??) came through looking more like unrelated concepts that were in fact highly related (??). This was a minor frustration, but enough I took off a star.

4 people found this helpful

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Shandel

Very organized in thought and actions for discernment!

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2019

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This is very action organized with bible verses , as well as thought organized to understand and walk out discernment in your life.
Many great examples are given throughout the book. No slamming of any person as some writers do. He keeps to the subject through out the book.
Get steps to follow when prayerfully discerning something.
Each chapter builds on the next. Learn what the bible says about discernment as well as how to be discerning using bible verses.
Very good teaching!!!

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Chola Mukanga

It's okay

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2017

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The book is helpful by highlighting an area that is usually taken for granted. But it could have been much shorter. He goes all over town and is unnecessarily polemical in some places. I also found the scope of discernment covered limited. Would have been good to consider different areas where discernment is need not just with preaching (e.g. visual arts).

Becky

An interesting book on an interesting subjest

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2013

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I enjoyed this book, (having ordered it from a very limited choice on this subject.) It covered the areas where I was looking for practical help, so I would recommend it to others.

Dawn

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2015

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I loved this, I got a lot of confidence from the information I already knew but hadn't connected.

LisaChrissy

A Must-Read for Those who Want to Uphold the Truth

Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2017

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This book was an amazing read. Challies doesn't list teachers/authors you should be wary of, but he lays out clear guidelines for you as you learn to be discerning. Every Christian looking to remain faithful to God's Word should read this.

Spacey

How To Be Discerning

Reviewed in Canada on November 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

Tim Challies has produced a gem of a book addressing an often overlooked aspect of the Christian life. Many believers are already familiar with the name Challies; he's the prolific blogger whose writing includes theology and social issues. There aren't many books that dig into the nitty gritty of how to be discerning, though there are many that exhort Christians to be discerning. Challies certainly does exhort, but he doesn't stop there. He tells us that discernment can be learned and points us on the way towards doing so.

Early on, Challies states his purpose in writing the book is "to show that discernment is a discipline, and like other disciplines such as prayer and reading the Bible, it is one that all Christians should seek to practice and should seek to practice deliberately". And his intended audience are "average Christians living in a culture and in a church where it so often seems that anything goes". This book is a cry to arms for "all those who believe that it is the duty of every Christian to think biblically about all areas of life so that they might act biblically in all areas of life".

To assist the reader to be a person of discernment, Challies first defines what it is and then demonstrates how it is to be done. After examining the words for discernment and their derivatives in the Hebrew and Greek, he states that "discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God's Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong". Towards the end of the book, there is a helpful final chapter demonstrating how discernment is to be done. Through the illustration of a case study, Challies holds up the idea of self-forgiveness against the light of Scripture to evaluate whether the Bible commands us to engage in the practice of forgiving ourselves for our sins. Those wanting to further their ability to discern will benefit from the appendix of additional resources and the accompanying study guide.

In closing, I want to leave you with another thought from Challies, underscoring the importance of discernment: "Discernment functions as the church's immune system, protecting the body from false teaching. When discernment is attacked and destroyed, a flood of opportunistic false teaching is waiting to attack through the weakened defenses. Nobody dies from lack of discernment or by not believing in discernment. Rather, a lack of discernment leaves people to wither under the attack of false doctrine. A lack of discernment leaves Christians unable to protect themselves and others, and allows sin to flood in."

We live in "an age when many consider spiritual immaturity a mark of authenticity.. associate doubt with humility and assurance with pride". We need to be discerning or run the risk of a church swarming with spiritual adolescents. Do you want to be discerning? Are you lacking in discernment? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need to read this book. May His Church be strengthened as you engage in the discipline of spiritual discernment.

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The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment Paperback – December 19, 2007

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