Biblical Discernment

I served as a counselor at a summer camp and one memorable conversation I had with a camper was surrounding the idea of discerning right and wrong in the world. I think his specific question dealt with watching secular movies or maybe even listening to secular music as a Christian. He wanted to do what was right but obviously you cannot flip to Ephesians 2:13 and read Paul’s take on Hollywood. So how was he supposed to navigate the 21st century in a God honoring way?

**As an aside, these are the fun conversations when it comes to youth ministry as opposed to dealing with disappointed parents, or the boy crazy 13-year-old teen girl. Ok back to the post now.

I took him to Philippians 4:8 and was able to walk him through what I felt was the answer to his question. Paul is writing to a Philippian church that needed to navigate a city and culture which was anything but conducive to spiritual growth. His advice centered around two instructions. In Philippians 4:8 he told them to think a certain way and in Philippians 4:9 he told them to act a certain way.

First, he wrote, “[W]hatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Now, this idea of “thinking” involves more than just pondering a concept. It has more to do than committing oneself to a thought or even deciding upon something and determining to believe it. My advice for my camper was to put whatever activity or thought that he was unsure about and running it through the grid of Philippians 4:8. It was super fun watching that concept click in his mind and seeing him process (maybe for the first time) that the Bible is for today. It isn’t just a book of parables or fables that teach moral principles. It is a book that shares God’s truth for His children to live every moment of every day. My camper was going to have to be sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction and if he wanted to listen to a song, it better be true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. This is quite a strict standard, but it is an amazingly freeing standard.

Second, he wrote, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9) For Paul, the Christian life was not just a mental exercise. The Christian life required active commitment and determination. Paul wanted the Philippian church to put into practice what they had first witnessed in his life and then put into their own lives (individually and corporately.)

Is Philippians 4:8 only for the 15-year-old summer camper? Certainly not. Whether you are a teenager or an 80-year-old senior saint, Paul’s list of Christian virtues is the standard against which everything must be checked. This is a life that will bring honor to the Savior and a life that is characterized by biblical discernment.

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