Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to the book of Hebrews and chapter
five. That is page 1113, if you have
one of our free Bibles. Hebrews chapter five and verse
14, particularly the latter part of this verse. their senses exercised to discern
good and evil. The whole verse reads, but strong
meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil. Their senses exercise to discern
good and evil. When the Lord begins with a person
in a saving way, he gives them eternal life. He gives them spiritual
life as a gift that is not built upon learning, it's not built
upon the old nature, it is a new nature from above. It is all of grace, it is God's
gift. Our Lord Jesus said, I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of mine hand. Our Lord in John 3 is very, very
clear that we must be born again, and that birth is to be born
of the Spirit, a spiritual birth. The Apostle Paul in the chapter
that we read to the Corinthians He's very clear that there is
a spiritual man, there is a natural man, and the natural man that
he cannot discern, he cannot know the things of God because
they are spiritually discerned. He does not have the capability,
the facility to be able to grasp or understand those spiritual
things. He needs first the new birth,
he needs a new man, a spiritual man. And in the context of the
verse of our text, he needs spiritual senses. We know that when a baby
is born naturally, they are given senses, natural senses. And as they grow, then they learn
to use those senses and their growth evidences that they have
those senses. In the context here, the apostle
is comparing those that have need of milk. We know a baby
starts off with milk and then goes through to stronger meat,
solids. And he equates this in a spiritual
way. There are those basic, simple
truths, foundation, principles of the Gospel. But then there
is a moving on to more deeper truths and discernment of both
good and evil. And it is in that sense that
the Word is before us this evening, this morning. It is having spiritual
senses, but having them exercised. Because the implication here
is, here are those that are born again, they do have these senses,
but they are not exercised. And because they are not used,
then they do not have the ability to discern or to write the judge
or prove what is good and what is evil. And the question we
may ask ourselves, are we born again? Do we have spiritual senses? What are those senses? And do
we exercise them? How do we exercise them? And are they of use to us, discerning
good and evil, or do we just swallow anything and not really
able to judge whether it is good or whether it is evil? So that is the thought this morning. And so in looking at this word,
I want to consider first what spiritual senses are, and then
secondly, consider how they are exercised. Our text says that
it is by reason of use, and then using spiritual senses to discern
or have good judgment of good and evil. Let us first consider
what spiritual senses are and in that way there is a very direct
parallel to that which our natural senses, that which we have in
our bodies in a natural way, God has given it, that there
is a counterpart in a spiritual way. There are actually seven
senses that we have in a natural way, and they each have a counterpart. Some would think there's just
five, five are what we mostly think of, but there are actually
seven. The first one is sight. We have our sight, we can see
naturally, but we need spiritual sign, and spiritual sign is really
what faith is. It sees what cannot be seen with
the natural eyes. How the psalmist prayed, Open
thou mine eyes, that I might behold wondrous things out of
thy law. We think of the word early on
in Hebrews, but we see Jesus and how the Lord said of his
disciples, blessed are your eyes for they see and what they saw
and were able to realise what they actually saw, how many saw
our Lord Jesus Christ and never realised who he was or saw in
him the Son of God. It is a blessed thing to then
be given those spiritual eyes to actually see the things of
God. And this is one of the senses
then that are very clear in the word in a spiritual sense. Have we got spiritual sight,
faith? The second is hearing. Mine ear hast thou opened. What a blessing it is to have
hearing in a natural way. We're able to hear sounds and
distinguish sounds, but we ought to have that in a spiritual way. Our Lord says in John 10, My
sheep, they hear my voice and they follow me. The ear trieth
words. It is a blessed thing then to
have a spiritual ear open by God to hear the things of God. The third is a sense of smell. How lovely it is when we, in
a natural sense, smell the flowers and things that are pleasant,
but we also are able to smell those things that are unpleasant. And in a natural way, God has
given us that sense of smell that very often tells us what
is good for us, and what is not good for us. And in a spiritual
way, Christ's sacrifice especially is set before us as a sweet smelling
safer. When Paul writes to the Ephesians,
he says, walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given
himself for us. an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling savour. And then the contrast, but fornication
and all uncleanness, let it not be once named among you as becometh
saints. That is not a sweet savour. Solomon speaks of the fly in
the ointment of the apothecary bringing forth a stinking savour. When Noah came out of the ark
and he offered a sacrifice, those sacrifices that pointed to Christ,
the Lord smelled a sweet savour. And he said that he would no
longer smite the earth with a flood. And that sea time and harvest,
summer and winter, cold and heat, that they would not cease while
the earth remained. We have a natural, blessing of
a sense of smell and that is has it counterpart in a spiritual
sense as well. Then we are blessed with the
sense of taste to be able to taste something and the pleasantness
of taste and of course with the COVID one of the symptoms of
having the virus was that the sense of taste was lost and people
could eat something and there was no sense of taste. In a natural way, many of us,
we've never known what it is to actually lose that sense of
taste so that those things that enter into our body, each one
of them is tasted first. and gives a pleasant sensation,
or maybe as soon as we taste it, then it is spit out, it is
judged as not being good for us. And Peter, he speaks of,
if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Often think with the times you
might go round a supermarket They're trying to sell a new
product, maybe a new cheese, and they've got a plate and there's
just little pieces of cheese on that plate. And they'd like
you just to have one. They give you one. They want
you to have a taste. They know if you like that, just
the taste of it, just with a small little bit, you're liable to
go down that aisle and to buy that product. And once bought
it, you'll keep buying it. And men know the value of what
it is to have a taste of something and to like that taste. The fifth
sense is that of touch. We all think of the woman that
pressed through the crown, if she might but touch the hem of
the Lord's garment. And there are many others also
that knew that they could be healed if they could but touch
him. And so touch is feelings, it's
a sense of, a feeling of something. And we are given that sense again,
so vital for our existence here, in all that we do, in actions,
we need that sense of touch, by that we Know if something
is hot, dangerous for us. If we know something is sharp
and likely to do us damage. Able to hold things and to move
things and to actually convey to others as well a sense of
love or affection. In many, many aspects of our
lives, touch comes to some of the most tenderest and most close
of sensations and feelings. And in a spiritual way as well,
it comes to the most tenderest of the affections and feelings
of the soul. By nature, our hearts are hard,
an unfeeling and when we know what it is to have the sensation
of touch and then to feel where before there's been no feeling
at all. Then there is the sixth one which
is vestibular, which is movement. and balance. It is governed by
the inner ear. It is that which a baby or young
child, at first they can't crawl, then they can crawl, but then
they need to walk and they need to get their balance, be able
to stand upright, to be able to move. And even a baby being
moved up and down, jogged around by its parent, it's slowly getting
that sense worked so that it can know how to balance itself,
how to walk properly. We need that sense to be able
to even stand upright and to walk. Then we have the, and we
think of that in a spiritual sense, that if we are to walk
in the things of God, if we are to have a right balance of the
things of God, then we need that sense, the whole Life of a Christian
is to be walking in the ways of the Lord. What would we think
in a natural sense if a baby was to always remain in its chair? Well, actually, this sense even,
we need that to stay upright sitting in a chair. But without
that, in a spiritual sense, there could be no walking, no growth,
at all in the ways of the Lord. And then the last one is the
proprioception, which is the body position. It is in that
way that we could close our eyes and we could touch our nose and
we'd know where our nose was, or that we could walk without
actually seeing our feet, because our senses would tell us where
our feet actually were without seeing them. So each of the body
parts, we have a sense where those parts actually are. And so in a spiritual sense as
well, if we're given that sense, then We know basically where
we are spiritually in Adam or in Christ. We have a sense without
even looking as to where we actually belong. And the people of God
are to have that as a built-in sense of a knowledge mirroring
that which is in a natural way, that for all of us in a natural
way is a subconscious thing. If we are to have an assurance
in any way, or a certainty is like the man that was born blind. One thing I know, whereas I was
blind, now I see. And there's a very distinct knowledge
of where his position is or really where he is actually walking
after, what he is doing. It may be that we just sometimes don't really
know what we're doing or what we're going after or have no
sense of what our members are. If you see someone is afflicted
in that way and their arms or legs don't go in the way that
they'd want them to go, or there's not a sense of where they are.
But in a spiritual sense, we should be mindful, not just of
part of us, but as a whole body. What way that we are going, how
we are walking. Paul, of course, he gives us
those illustrations in Romans and to the Corinthians of the
whole body of Christ. And each member of that body
is working together and acting together and for the strength
and blessedness of the whole. But we can even bring that back
to ourselves spiritually as well. And if there is a coordination
and a walking together, then there won't be the inconsistencies
that really are fighting against each other in ourselves. So there's these seven senses,
having that mirror with us naturally, but spiritually they're being
given us as a blessing, but on their own. Paul, he says here
that those senses are to be exercised, they are to be used. We know in a natural sense, especially
in a child learning to walk, then the exercise of those senses
is very vital. We think of those that gymnasts
or runners or using some intricate skills, motion skills, that those
learn by being exercised again and again. If you think of someone
learning to play the violin, they're not all the time looking
at the ridge or where the bow is, their hand movements with
the bow are matching exactly the movements with their fingers
on the fret. They, by practicing, their ear
is trying where their finger should be on the string to get
the correct note. And all of these senses are going
together, their sense of balance, standing upright, holding that
violin, holding it in the right way, their sight, they're looking
at the conductor, they're looking at the music, and they're bringing
all of these senses in together. And those especially that are
playing professionally have many, many hours of practice. And so
that each of those senses that they can tell immediately if
the note is not in tune. They can tell immediately if
their finger is not in the right position. You see someone first
starting to play the violin and the screeches and the bow slides
down the string and the violin's not held in the right position.
The things are just not right. You think of someone learning
to Drive a car. And what, for those who have
driven years, is just everything is just automatic. They just
do things without thinking. I remember when I first learned,
there seemed to be so many things to do. I remember writing it
down once. All of the different things have
been processed and done and thought all at once, simultaneously. How could ever anyone do that? Even just driving the car, let
alone knowing where to go or what to do. And yet after we
have practiced and practiced and had the experience and used
those various senses, we don't have to think where our hand
is. Well, it's on the gear lever. You don't have to think what
our feet are doing. We don't have to be looking at our feet
all the time. It just does it. And we're used
in our lives all the time not only having senses, but exercising
them, using them, so that then it becomes second nature. We actually can do it without
thinking. And those things that we are
given and all men have by the exercise of them, brings us much
more useful, whether as a driver, or as a player of a musical instrument,
or whatever it is. Exercising those senses is then
of a use, and in our text it says, is to be used to discern
good and evil. But what is it then, in the second
place, to have those senses exercised in a spiritual sense. Our text says it is by reason
of use. In what circumstances, in what
ways, has God ordained that His people should be using these
senses, and we may ask as to the opposite way, how could it
be that God's people are not using them? Are not using them. Sometimes you can see more clearly
in the other way. I greatly fear that today, in
a day of great spiritual declension, There are many that would come
in and out of the house of God. They'd hear the word, but they'd
go home and there'd be very little, if any, meditation or thought
on it, very little prayer life, very little of reading or meditating
upon the word of God or other books. Their lives would be very
much in the world, the things of the world, the secular employments
and things like that with very little of a spiritual exercise. And so thinking of that, how
is it that God has ordained that his people have their spiritual
senses to be exercised. One of the ways is in prayer. The Lord has ordained that his
people should pray, that they should be those that have close
communion with him in prayer. And as they pray, they are mindful
of the condition of their own souls, they're mindful of hearing
what the Lord would say, we read in the Psalms, those that really
pray, their whole desire, very often it's expressed, Lord, hear
me. Or the thought is that they want
to hear what the Lord would speak unto them. The answer to the
prayers, the many times that David asked direction and guidance
of the Lord. Sometimes he had two petitions
that were bound up together and the Lord only answered one. Then
he goes back to the Lord and he asks about the other as well. And it's very evident that his
ear was open to discern of what that answer was and whether it
was fully answered or not fully answered. It is through prayer,
we hear the Word of God, prayer, we come to the Word, we have
a sense of touching the Lord. Sometimes it may be like the
heavens are brass, we get no access, no entrance to the Lord
at all, but to actually gain that access, to come nigh unto
the Lord, that sense of touching Him, It is through the exercise
of prayer that many of the senses are realised. Real prayer, not
just rote prayer, but that time with the Lord. Also in reading, through the
Word of God, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word
of God. Reading the Word of God. and
of good books. Through that the senses are actually
exercised as that word is read. We think of the preaching of
the word, how vital it is that we hear that word to be preached. I read years ago with a new minister
that had come, I think it was a Scottish congregation and he
was young minister but there were some ladies that attended
and they felt that he was not preaching Christ. They were listening,
they wanted to hear his voice. They wanted to see the Lord Jesus
Christ through the lattice of the word. Like the two on the
way to Emmaus, the Lord in all the scriptures, the things concerning
himself. And they left the young minister
a note, and it said this, what the Greeks asked the apostles,
sir, we would see Jesus. And the minister took the hint,
and he saw then to preach Christ and to set Christ forth in the
scriptures. We think of what we read with
the apostle determining not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Preach the word. Well, after
a while, those ladies, they gave him another note. They said this,
then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. And you
know, they were coming to hear the Word of God, but they were
coming looking for Christ. They were coming to the means
of grace exercised, that they should see, that they should
hear, that they should know something of the sweet savour of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. that they should touch the hem
of his garment, his righteousness, that which he is to the people
of God. We think of the fellowship of
the people of God. How often it is, as iron sharpeneth
iron, so the countenance of a man his friend. When we speak one
to another, then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another
of the things of God. We think of the Bereans that
were more noble than those of Thessalonica. They searched the
scriptures daily whether these things were so. And in doing
that, they were exercising those spiritual senses. They weren't
just hearing the Word, forgetting it and going away. They were
pondering it. When we meditate upon the Word,
the Apostle Paul gave that direction to Timothy. Meditate upon these
things. Give thyself wholly to them that
thy profiting may appear unto all. It is not just hearing and
not just listening to a service. but those senses actually be
exercised in it, in meditation, in thinking, in hearing the word. The ear trieth words and we go
over what we've heard and then compare that with the scriptures. We think of that sweet savour,
the sacrifice of Christ, and that again will be discerned
as we hear the Word of God. What kind of a savour does it
bring forth, sitting under the Word where we hear Christ set
forth, our souls drinking into it, tasting the graciousness
of the Lord, knowing something of the love of God shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, been softened by the goodness
of the Lord? What about when we have interaction
with those that are around us, whether it is those in the world
or those in the church? Sometimes, and I've proved this
many times in secular employment, the soul is kept much more exercised
than even with God's people because you are challenged again and
again. You're asked why you do this,
why you don't do this, what do you believe, why do you believe
it? And the soul is all the time
exercised in the Word of God. Careful how we walk because the
world is watching how we walk and what we do and what we say. We can often be much more exercised
and those senses exercised as we interact with the world. Watching
in providence as well. A dear brother once said, he that
will watch providence will never lack a providence to watch. That
is God's dealings, the things that happen in our lives. and
we're taking notice of them. Mary, we read the things that
happened with our Lord Jesus Christ in his early years, he
pondered them in her heart, laid them up there. These things in a spiritual way,
the senses are actually exercised. What would be the opposite way? How would it be that they would
not be exercised? There are some, you know, that
even make a profession in the Lord's house. If you went to
their place of work and spoke to those that they worked with,
they'd probably be surprised that they ever were a Christian
or that they walked in the ways of the Lord at all. Their life
is like a compartment. They have a religious life, and
that exists just on the Lord's Day, or when they meet in the
Lord's house, and then they have a secular life. And those that
know them in that life don't realise of what the other is. They gain no benefit at all. There's no exercise of any of
the spiritual senses in interaction with unbelievers or those that
know not the things of God. Regarding providence, if we go
through this world and in actual practice, we think that things
just happen. We don't see God's hand in it. But if we believe, as the hymn
writer says, my life's minutest circumstance is subject to his
eyes. And we're watching these things.
Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it. We're hearing a
voice in small things, things that happen, things that are
said, things that are done. We're realizing that when we
walk in ways of sinfulness, when we're careless and indifferent,
then it brings bitterness and sorrow. And we link the two things
together. And we're actually profiting
and learning from those things we pass through. There's many
that will pass through things in their life and they're not
learning from them because they're not exercised. Their senses,
their spiritual senses are not exercised in those things at
all. They're touched but they don't
feel the touch. They don't realise those things
that are bearing upon them and those things that should be registering
with them. They should be smelling, they
should be tasting, they should be hearing. They are not registering
these things at all. And so the Lord has given primarily
the ordinances, the means of grace, the Christian, the people
of God in the world, but not of the world, but walking as
his people, salt and light. And as they walk in this way,
they will have those senses exercised. They are being used. They were
being walked in all the time. How much experience do we have
of being the people of God in the world? When the Lord says,
I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them. Have
we experienced that? Have we known what that is? Or has it been we've hidden the
word of God? Have we been like Peter denying
the Lord? Or have we been those like Stephen
that has declared the word of the Lord and then known what
it is to have those even religious ones rise up against us? How much do we use those spiritual
senses the Lord has given us. Where is the hope, the joy, the
love? Where is the life that touches
our souls? Let my soul live and it shall
praise Thee. Where is the feelings in our
souls? Are they being exercised in the
very things that we may do? Or are we just doing them as
a door upon its hinges coming to and fro? I want to look then lastly at the use,
using spiritual senses to discern or have good judgment of good
and evil. The Word tells us that we are
to prove all things, hold fast to that which is good, and that
the ear trieth words. The ear trieth words. It's a
blessed thing to have a good discernment. We spoke of those
women listening at the service. They couldn't hear Christ. They
registered that. They were looking for that. They
didn't hear it. They were kind, they were gracious,
they gave that direction to their minister. But are we like that? Or would we hear faithful preaching
and then hear that which is just of the world and not actually
be able to discern between the difference? Would we go amongst
those that are God's people whose conversation is in Christ, who
feed upon him, who speak of him one to another? Or would we go
amongst those that their religion is basically a religious social
club? They cast the name of the Lord
in the sky. We mustn't be too religious or
mustn't live too godly. We have to have a good time and
fellowship one with another. And you look on the church calendar
and every day of the week, there's something going on. But do we have discernment and
think, well, how much real spiritual life is here? How much of the
real walking with the Lord? Is there a tasting of his graciousness? Is there a hearing of his sacred,
precious word? Is there that fellowship one
with another? And it's actually using those
senses to discern, to separate. Is it of the world? Is it truly
of the church? Is it truly of the redeemed church
or is it just of those that like Paul wanted to avoid, just learned
God's truth in a natural way and didn't know it spiritually
at all. And so it's using those senses
to discern between what is truly of the Lord and what is not. Thinking of it in a natural way
with a meal, we sit down at the meal, immediately we have two
senses that we're using. We're using sight and we're using
smell. And then when we taste that meal,
immediately there's another sense, a sense of taste. And before
that food comes into our body to do good or to do evil, it's
been through three senses to make sure it is right for us.
And God has given that naturally. And yet there are many that maybe
will say, well, the soul is worth more than the body. It's more
precious than the body. And yet will take no heed or
no thought of what they hear, what they imbibe, what they ingest
in a spiritual way. How the apostle wrote to the
Galatians, he said, Galatians, ye Galatians, ye had received
the gospel, ye heard it from me, that by grace ye are saved. It is not of works. It is through
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and believing on him alone. But they had those that say,
no, except ye be circumcised, ye cannot be saved. He said,
this is another gospel. It's not the same gospel. They
couldn't discern it. They couldn't see it. He could
see it. He could see the danger of it.
And so he writes to them and he warns them with the Corinthians.
They're the party spirit. I'm a Paul. I'm of Apollos. And he says, you're carnal. If
that is your spirit, I discern this is not of the true faith
of God. This is evil. This is not good.
It's not to your strength. And he can discern it, but they
cannot. And this is where the senses
are used to discern, and especially with hearing the Word of God. If we are to be fed, if we are
to be strengthened, then we are to weigh it up in the balances
of the sanctuary. Is this that has sent me home
with the sweet savour of Christ? Is this that has mortified the
world to me? Is this that has made me hate
my sins because it has brought me into the fellowship and the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is this that which has made me
to long for more like the supermarket? I've had little taste and I've
gone home from the house of God And I want more. I'm sad the
sermon is finished. I'm sad the Lord's Day's finished.
I want another Lord's Day. I want to know a little bit more
of these things. It's whetted my appetite. And
those senses have been exercised. And therefore, you know what
is good. You know what has done your soul
good and satisfied your soul. And so it is in this way. that
where senses are exercised, then we may discern good and evil. We may know whether the spirit
of the Lord truly is in a place. We may know what is good for
our soul, what is not good for our soul. Sometimes it may be
in ways that we're desiring to walk, knowing the Lord's direction,
and the very spirit of the ones that we're dealing with, or how
that we feel in prayer over the matter, having no liberty, having
no freedom of the spirit. Because we walked in ways we
know by our senses, this does not feel right. There's something
wrong with it. It doesn't quite add up. And we draw back. O to be made tender in the fear
of the Lord, to be given that discernment between good and
evil. Remember the devil is said to
come in as an angel of light. He's very hard to discern at
times. Is it him or is it not? And maybe then have very clear
senses in that, be able to sense whether there be as the prophets did in Elisha's time. Oh man of God, there is death
in the pot. Death in the pot. So what did
the man of God do? Cast in meal a beautiful time
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those things that cannot be drunken. You think of the bitter waters
of Mara. Such disappointments. But again
the tree cast in, and they could be drunk then. Natural senses
have that comparison with the spiritual senses. But may we
be given that discernment, otherwise we'll end up walking in ways
of evil, feeding upon that which is for the detriment of our spiritual
health and welfare and overtaken by the devil, deceived by him. Has the Lord blessed us with
spiritual life? Has he blessed us with senses
spiritually? Do we exercise those in all the
means of grace? Are those senses exercised? And if they are exercised, do
we use them Are we able to use that to separate between good
and evil? May the Lord bless this word
to us and that in the blessing of it we be kept in the right
way and that we be given that store against all the attacks
of the devil. and that we be led forth in a
right way, recognising the Lord's people and cleaving to them and
actually growing more and more. And by communion with them, our
senses exercised even more. May the Lord bless the word to
us. Amen.