Baptist City Blog

Things of God or Man

Mark 8:33

"But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."

One of the things that every Christian must learn to be successful in is to discern whether something is of God or man. Peter was like most Christians in that early in his Christian life he had no discernment in this area. Jesus questioned Peter to teach him how to discern whether something is of God or man. Jesus asked Peter, "But whom say ye that I am?" After Peter answered, Jesus responded by telling His disciples that He would have to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. However, Peter took exception to Jesus saying He would die and rebuked Him. Yet, in the verse above Jesus began to teach Peter how to discern whether something is of God or man.

The first test of discernment is to determine whether it is about you or God. Verse 34 says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Discerning whether a work is about man or God is to see who gets the glory for the work. If man gets the glory, then the work is of man. Every work should be about God getting the glory. Whatever you do, only get involved in works that will bring glory to God.

The second test of discernment is to see whether the work is trying to impact the immediate or the future. You will see in verse 35 that the future impact is God's main concern. You will find that there are many things that are only concerned with the immediate results. For instance, one of the biggest problems you will see in the political realm is how politicians are more concerned with the next election cycle than they are with the future of their country. This is a very dangerous way to live. God's Word was written with the future in mind. Most of God's works will not have an immediate impact, but all of His works will have a good impact on your future.

The third test of discernment is to see if the work will cause you to have to change your soul to profit. Verse 36 asks, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Your soul is who you are; it is your character. When you have to change who you are for the sake of profit, then this work is not of God. God never asks you to sacrifice your character for His work. If you have to sacrifice your character for a job, then the job is not right. If you have to sacrifice your character to marry someone, then that person is not the right person to marry. If you have to sacrifice your character to be successful in your business, then you are joining the wrong business venture. Always remember that God's works put character before profit.

The last test of discernment is to see if the work is being done for perception instead of right and wrong. Verse 38 makes it very clear that God does not want us to be ashamed of His Words. When you are more concerned with perception than you are with truth, then you are working for the wrong reason. Truth should ALWAYS be your major concern. Don't ever let your perception cause you to compromise truth.

Having the discernment to determine whether something is of God or man is imperative to your Christian life. Until you acquire this discernment, you will find your Christian life to be unstable. Start using these four principles to help you determine whether something is of God or man.