This morning I'm sitting in a Barnes & Noble about to pick up a book for my son we ordered and reading a little. I always like to venture over to the "Christianity" section to see what passes for a "Christian" book these days among popular culture. It's always an interesting perusal.
Of all the books that were located in their section labeled "best sellers" or "top sellers" within the Christianity section, I think there is only one that I would recommend. And, that was a compilation book of some of CS Lewis's works. And, that's out of about 20 or 25 books on the shelves. And, that doesn't even include the devotional section (don't get me started!)
Among the so-called "Christian" section as a whole, there are books by those who are solidly biblical, and then there are those that are, well, shall we say, not so biblical in their approach.
Dear brothers and sisters, the call for spiritual discernment is as important today as it ever has been. Spiritual discernment is the ability to discern (make judgments, evaluate according to biblical criteria) truth from error (Hebrews 5:14). Tim Challies defines it this way: "the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong." The subtlety of Satan's deception is that he disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) giving a little bit of what is true to suck in unsuspecting readers and slowly but surely going in for the kill to destroy a person's spiritual life and eventually seek to sever their connection to the bible as the ultimate standard of spiritual truth. The cover of the book might be colorful or even not so colorful, but it might be just that, a cover--the clothing of a wolf on the inside (Matthew 7:15-20). Just because it's under the "Christian" label, it may not be truly biblical.
Know the bible. Read the bible. Understand the bible. Read books with discernment.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour"
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