God worked in me as I wrote this post. I started writing about good and evil, about how we, as Christians, should be able to tell the two apart. How we should discern a good person from a bad one. But as I worked through my thoughts, God stopped me. Measured against His Standard, none of us belong on the good side. So now, this post is about the need for salvation instead.
Discernment is the God-given ability to judge well, to separate truth from error and distinguish between right and wrong. In Scripture, discernment is not a personality trait, but a spiritual skill that requires practice.
“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” – Hebrews 5:14
Christians practice discernment by testing everything against God’s Word, the standard by which we’re called to live. We practice it when we ask God for wisdom to make right choices and when we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions rather than follow our own instincts.
Where people are concerned, Scripture gives us a clear standard for discerning right from wrong. In Galatians 5, Paul lays out two distinct ways to live. We can walk in the Spirit, or we can operate in the flesh. There’s no third option.
Jesus described the same two paths in different words.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
Walking in the Spirit or operating in the flesh is the difference between eternal life with God and eternal separation from Him. Understanding these two paths lets us discern a person’s true character rather than relying on what they say about themselves. More importantly, it allows us to measure our own character against God’s standards. Discernment helps us recognize which one of the two roads we’re on.
When it comes to judging character, we often quote Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” We use it to excuse evil, to explain away sin in ourselves and in people we’d rather not confront. But I’m not convinced that’s what this verse was meant to do. Matthew 7:2 cautions us against the implications of verse one:
“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” – Matthew 7:2
Jesus isn’t telling us to stop discerning good from evil. He’s warning us to apply the same standard to ourselves that we apply to everyone else. The Bible calls us to practice discernment, to know good from evil, to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. By its very definition, that involves judgment. The question was never whether we should judge. It’s whether we’re willing to be judged by the same measure we judge others.
So what does that measure look like? Paul gives us both sides of it in the same chapter.
The Fruit of the Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23
Love is selfless and sacrificial. Love that desires the best for others, no matter the personal cost to you. It is not just a passing feeling, but a deliberate choice, an action, and it is unconditional. It is the kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross for undeserving people like me.
Joy is a deep, intimate sense of peace and gladness in who God is and what He has done, despite everything that happens around me.
Peace is the wholeness that comes from being reconciled to God. It is not the absence of strife, but the knowledge that I am in the hands of Someone bigger than my troubles.
Longsuffering, or patience, is the willingness to endure wrongdoing or difficulty without lashing out. It’s having a slow temper, holding back anger for a long time, and patiently bearing with people the way God wants me to.
Kindness is how I express God’s love, mercy, and compassion in the way I treat other people. It goes far beyond just being nice.
Goodness is moral integrity. It’s doing what’s right even when no one is watching, even when it costs me something.
Faithfulness is trustworthiness and reliability. It’s keeping my promises, showing up, and staying loyal regardless of changing circumstances, the way God stays loyal to me.
Gentleness is strength under control. It’s power submitted to God, instead of being used to dominate others. It’s not weakness, but a meekness, having a calm spirit.
Self-control is the ability to master my own desires, impulses, and actions rather than being controlled by them.
It is good to memorize the Fruit of the Spirit so you can keep them on your mind, so they may inform all your decisions and direct all your actions. When you carry this in your heart, you don’t have to remember the other list, because if it’s not on the first list, it’s on the second. These are the things to avoid.
The Works of the Flesh
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.” – Galatians 5:19-21
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lewdness cover every misuse of my body, and every sensual desire outside of how God designed intimacy to function.
Idolatry and sorcery put something or someone in the place that belongs to God alone, whether that’s an object, a person, an ambition, or a search for control outside of Him.
Hatred, contentions, jealousies, and outbursts of wrath describe a heart that does not love the way God wants me to.
Selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, and envy describe a heart that can’t stand someone else having what I can’t or don’t have, giving rise to factions, slander, corruption, and sabotage, all born of malice.
Murder is hatred carried out to its ultimate end, against someone made in God’s image. It can be physical. It can be emotional.
Drunkenness and revelries describe a life given over to excess, a life without order and self-control.
Note that Paul doesn’t close the list with a period. He adds “and the like,” showing us that this is not an exhaustive list. It follows patterns. If it looks like this, it’s from the flesh, whatever name it goes by.
If you have never trusted Christ before, and you find you have more in common with the flesh list than the Spirit list, that’s OK. God enables us to recognize and name our shortcomings. That recognition is the first step toward salvation.
See, God provided a way for us to be saved, even with all these mistakes staining our past. Jesus came to earth, born as a man. He died on the cross on our behalf. He took our sin onto Himself and reconciled us to God the Father, so that we can come before Him on the day of judgment forgiven, righteous, sinless. White as snow.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” – Isaiah 1:18
So, if you’ve read through that list of the flesh and saw yourself in it more than you’d like, you’re exactly who this Good News is for. The next step is repentance. By His grace, God invites us to come to Christ as we are. If you honestly admit which list best describes you, and you ask Him to change your heart, Christ will trade your record for His, and you’ll be saved.
‘But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ‘ – Romans 10:8-11
If you already belong to Christ, and the works of the flesh still have a claim on you, don’t be discouraged, because you are not alone. The war we are in doesn’t end on the day of salvation. It continues every day you choose to walk in the Spirit. Every time you choose good over evil.
‘For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.’ – Galatians 5:17
Whichever list describes you today, be of good cheer. There is a God in heaven. He is faithful. He promises not to forsake you. He has overcome, and He will finish what He started.
“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6