If you were to come visit me at my home, I would send you directions to my home. I’m a pretty darned good direction giver. I would give you a starting location and tell you about landmarks along the way. I would give you the street name and number for my home. I would even tell you which fork in my driveway to take to get you to my front door.
So, let’s assume I gave you those directions to my home, but I made one teeny, tiny error. I left one number out of my street address. Oh, not on purpose, but let’s blame it on auto-correct!! Danged auto-correct!!!
Suppose my street number is 7639, but I give you 639. Every other word of the directions is correct, except the street number. How difficult will it be for you to find me? Probably pretty hard.
But, but, I was almost right. What’s a little number between friends?
Well, friend, you just found out that there is a big difference between being right and almost right.
Theologian Charles Spurgeon said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”
We live in a culture that has blurred the line between right and almost right so much that the two are nearly indistinguishable. It would be wise for us to step back a few paces and ask this question: “how do we discern between right and almost right?” I believe there are 3 things we need to understand in order to do this.
God’s Word is Right and Truth
Scripture is the standard that we, as Christians, must use to determine right from wrong. God’s Word is unchanging. It does not pander to the latest fads or political correctness. It was spoken by God, lived by Jesus, and is authenticated in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. What was right for the people of Jesus’ day is still right for us in 2016.
You may not like that, and to be honest, there are times that I do not like it. But the truth is the truth. God’s Word is our standard and plumb line for our lives as Christ followers. Period.
Know What Right Looks Like
When a person is being taught how to discern if a piece of paper money, such as a dollar bill, is counterfeit, they are not initially shown the fake money. Instead, they are taught what the real thing looks like. They are schooled in the inks, paper, techniques of printing, and many other things. In order to know what the counterfeit bill looks like, they must know everything about the real bill.
So it is with you and me as Christians. We must be able to spot the ‘almost right’ in our culture and to do that we need to know what the ‘right’ looks like. We need to know everything we can about what is right, and the only way to do that is to study God’s Word. Spend time in Bible study. Sit under godly teachers of the Word who do not bend the truth or water down the Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to recognize the ‘almost right’ that is so prevalent in our culture today.
Determine to Stand Solidly on Truth
Friend, the more pages that fly off the kingdom calendar, the more difficult it will be to not only discern right from almost right, but the more difficult it will be to stand up for right. In the United States we are seeing the distinction between right and almost right; right and wrong, blurred until even Christians are being deceived. We are seeing highly sought after Christian speakers espouse philosophies and lifestyles that the Bible says are sin. The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being watered down so much that it is hardly recognizable flowing off the lips of some pastors and teachers.
You and I MUST stand solidly on the TRUTH of God’s Word. It may be difficult to do, but we must STAND ON TRUTH. It may cost us dearly, but we must STAND ON TRUTH. It may make us the object of derision and ridicule, but we must STAND ON TRUTH.
My heart breaks for the scores of people being led down a dangerous path of ‘almost right’ by Christians and unbelievers alike. Now, is the time for you and me to be warriors in prayer. We must fight on our knees for our nation, our state, our town, our church, our family, and our own hearts. Do not fall victim to the deception of Almost Right.
