New Testament Corinth was filled with priests, priestesses, religious prostitutes, soothsayers, and diviners of the mystery religions who claimed to represent a god or gods and to have supernatural powers. Unbelievably, some of their dramatic and bizarre practices were mimicked in the church. People do not counterfeit what is not valuable. Satan counterfeits the Spirit’s gifts because he knows they are so valuable in God’s plan. One of the chief evidences of the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthian Christians was a lack of discernment. Today, we see the same lack of discernment in churches across America. We have been brought up under the teaching of tolerance, and acceptance. As a result, anyone’s opinion is as valid as another. We perpetrate all types of evil, and we simply say that, “We were lead by the Holy Spirit to our actions.” We MUST understand that the Holy Spirit will never lead us to do what God has already forbidden in His Word. John 14-16 clearly reminds us that Holy Spirit will only direct us in the Way of the Lord, and will NEVER exalt Himself in the process. If you are considering a path, that is clearly contrary to the Word of God, you need to understand that this is not a Holy Spirit led direction. 1 John 4:1 tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they ae of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” The measuring stick of truth is found contained in the Word of God (Bible), It is our absolute authority, and will never change, because it was given to us by an unchangeable God. May we bow to that God’s authority in our lives. Therefore, discernment comes from a clear understanding of what the Bible says.