Earlier today I scrolled through some posts on a discernment blog that, in times past, I highly respected. Other bloggers that I regard as sound recommend this blog publicly, thereby implying that it’s a standard in discernment blogs.
For the second week in a row, however, this blog has favorably linked to another self-proclaimed discernment blog that (if I may be so blunt) frequently slanders other ministries in the name of discernment. Both blogs cause me to wonder if they’re genuinely discerning or if they exist merely to throw stink bombs at those with whom they disagree.
Certainly, we need courageous people to name false teachers and stand against the harmful trends that engulf so many evangelicals today. Just as we needed Luther, Calvin, Tyndale and the other 16th Century Reformers to take back Christianity from the Roman Catholic Church, so we need 21st Century Christians to call out deviations from clear Biblical teaching.
Discernment blogs, done properly, serve as an invaluable tool for the Body of Christ.
But discernment blogs that do nothing but expose false teachers and decry unbiblical practices can easily become unbalanced. Once they degenerate into mere heresy hunters, we must begin questioning their actual discernment abilities.
Case in point: the blog I read this morning willingly linked to the much less reputable blog, citing it as an authority on the false teaching they sought to refute. Okay, yeah, that particular teaching does need to be publicly denounced. I get that. But their choice to link to a website known for irresponsible journalism left me doubting their discernment.
Yes, the Reformers said some nasty things, particularly about the pope. But decrying their opposition wasn’t the sum total of their ministry. Rather, they emphasized getting people back into Scripture. For them, confronting the false doctrines and practices of Rome had importance only if they led people back into the doctrines of God’s Word.
Sadly, I see less and less emphasis on Scripture in the blog I read this morning and absolutely no concern with it in the blog they linked to. Hopefully I’m mistaken, but it appeared to me that both blogs just wanted to discredit the opposition without providing healthy teaching in its place.
Again, I’m all for exposing false teachers and standing against anything that distorts the Word of God. If I see things that deviate from Scripture, rest assured that I’ll get my keyboard smoking as I write about it. But in between such posts, may the Lord give me grace to direct attention back to His Word, and therefore back to Him.
The Outspoken TULIP 