We Are Not the Spiritual Police

I think sometimes we misunderstand what biblical discernment is supposed to look like.

Scripture absolutely tells us to watch out for false teaching. It tells us to test what we hear. It tells us there will be false prophets and false teachers, and there are absolutely times when false teaching needs to be called out.

But I don't believe that means God called us to become the spiritual police.

We were never given a mandate to jump from church to church, ministry to ministry, or preacher to preacher deliberately looking for something wrong.

There is a difference between being watchful for error and hunting for error.

And I think that difference matters.

Scripture Tells Us to Test What We Hear

Paul writes:

“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21

Notice what Paul says.

Test everything. Hold fast to what is good.

The purpose of testing isn't simply to discover what is false. It is to recognize what is good and true so we can hold onto it.

John gives a similar warning:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God...”— 1 John 4:1

Again, this is a warning about what we receive and believe.

Scripture isn't telling us to spend our lives searching for false teachers. It's warning us not to blindly accept everything that someone says simply because they claim it came from God.

There is a big difference.

Look at the Bereans

One of my favorite examples of biblical discernment is found in Acts 17.

Paul came preaching Christ, and Scripture tells us that the Bereans:

“received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”— Acts 17:11

I love this because the Bereans weren't listening to Paul looking for a reason to attack him.

They weren't saying, “Let's see if we can catch Paul saying something wrong.”

They listened eagerly.

Then they went to Scripture.

Their question wasn't, “How can we prove this man wrong?”

Their question was, “Is this true?”

That's biblical discernment.

And I think there is another lesson here that we sometimes miss.

When I take something back to Scripture, I shouldn't only be testing the preacher.

I should also be willing to test myself.

Maybe I misunderstood something.

Maybe I've been taught something incorrectly.

Maybe I have a theological tradition that I assumed was biblical but never actually examined for myself.

True discernment has enough humility to say:

“God, if they're wrong, show me. But if I'm wrong, show me that too.”

Jesus Did Warn About False Teachers

We shouldn't swing so far in the other direction that we pretend false teaching doesn't matter.

Jesus said:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”— Matthew 7:15

Paul warned church leaders about those who would distort the truth (Acts 20:28–31).

Titus 1:9 says leaders should be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it.

So yes, there are times when false teaching must be confronted.

There are wolves.

There are dangerous doctrines.

There are teachings that can hurt people and lead them away from Christ.

But recognizing a wolf when one appears is different from spending your life looking behind every tree hoping to find one.

We Can Become So Focused on Error That We Stop Looking for Truth

This is where I think discernment can quietly become something God never intended.

If I'm constantly listening to sermons looking for mistakes, watching ministries looking for problems, and examining other Christians looking for something to expose, eventually I'm not really listening for truth anymore.

I'm listening for error.

And that's dangerous.

Because while I'm examining everybody else, I can forget the person Scripture repeatedly tells me to examine:

myself.

Jesus warned:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”— Matthew 7:3

Paul wrote:

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”— 2 Corinthians 13:5

That's interesting to me.

We sometimes become experts at testing everybody else's theology while rarely allowing God to test our own hearts and understanding.

Discernment without humility can very quickly become pride.

Correction Is Supposed to Lead Somewhere

Even when correction is necessary, Scripture gives us instructions about how we do it.

Paul told Timothy:

“The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”— 2 Timothy 2:24–25

That doesn't sound much like spiritual policing.

It sounds like someone who loves truth and loves the person who has misunderstood it.

Galatians 6:1 says:

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”

Notice the word:

Restore.

The goal isn't humiliation.

The goal isn't winning an argument.

The goal isn't getting a viral clip proving somebody wrong.

The goal is restoration.

That's something I have to remind myself of too. If my correction leaves me feeling superior to another believer, I need to examine my own heart.

Because I can be right about the issue and still handle it in the wrong spirit.

We Are Not the Spiritual Police

Maybe that's the simplest way I know to say all of this:

We are not the spiritual police.

God didn't appoint us to patrol His Church looking for everyone who gets something wrong.

We are members of the Body of Christ.

We are brothers and sisters.

We are disciples who are still learning ourselves.

That doesn't mean we ignore false teaching.

It doesn't mean doctrine doesn't matter.

It doesn't mean we stay silent while people are being deceived.

It means our pursuit should always be truth rather than fault-finding.

When something comes before us, test it.

Take it to Scripture.

Pray about it.

Look at the fruit.

Seek wise counsel when necessary.

Hold onto what is good.

Reject what is false.

And when something genuinely needs to be confronted, speak the truth with humility, remembering that we don't know everything either.

I think our prayer should be something like:

“God, don't just show me where everyone else is wrong. Show me where I am wrong. Don't let me seek error just so I can expose it. Teach me to seek truth so I can follow You. Give me discernment without suspicion, conviction without pride, and enough humility to let You correct me before I try to correct everyone else.”

Because ultimately, the goal of discernment isn't proving that I'm right.

The goal is making sure that I'm following Him.

Pastor Scott