The Bible, from the greek 'ta Biblia' meaning 'The Books' a collection of 66 different books, written by 40 Authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, and written over a period of 1500 years,

Cultures, Tradition, Usage, Language, Meaning is different today from what it was at the time the message was written, as such ordinary discipline for extracting meaning requires an academic tools and principles that are applicable Ancient Texts.

money is the root of all evil.

1 Timothy 6:10 'For the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil'

spare the rod, spoil the child?

Proverbs 13:24 'whoever spares the rod, HATES their children, but the one who loves, is careful to discipline them'

reference however is made to Proverbs 24:15 'Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of discipline will drive it far away'

Judge Not, Lest you be judged?

its is often said of and by christians and non-christians alike, do not be judgmental, because Jesus said don't Judge.

Matthew 7:2-5 'For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye'

Matthew 7:15-16 He is warning about false prophets 'by their fruit you shall know who they are'

Matthew 18:15-17 'If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private'

John 7:24 'judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment'

There are types of judgment encouraged in Scripture and others are not, for example hypocritical judgment in Matthew,

'We three kings of orient are,
Bearing gifts we trasverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star'

beautiful christmas carol, about the three wise men present at the birth of Christ, tradition named them Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar
unfortunately, spawned misconceptions about what transpired.
Matthew 2:1-15.
Matthew 2:1 'Now after Jesus was born Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold wise men from the East came to Jerusalem'

Matthew 2:11 'And when they had come into the House, they saw the Young Child, with Mary His Mother and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold, frankincense and myrrh'

1. Scripture, gives no indication of a number of wise nor of their names. the false implication is drawn from the number of gifts, an arbitrary basis.
Quite the contrary, number could have been more based on history of the time

2. The visit never occurred on the night and time of His Birth, could have been months or years after his birth
since they visited the Child in a 'House' not 'Stable'
Also supported in Matthew 2:16, when Herod orders for the death of every male 2 year old and younger.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me Phillipians 4:13

Probably one of the most famous inscriptions after John 3:16. An 'assurance' to prepare one in pursuit of one's aspiration, Joel Osteen says its to see you dreams fulfilled, and life to new heights

Unfortunately, as is commonly the case, its divorced from context, thereby losing the true meaning.

Paul's letter to the Phillipians is written while a chained prisoner in Rome, Phil 1:7, 14 facing imminent execution, this was after, being flogged with lashes by jews, beaten with rods, pelted with stones, shipwrecked thrice, gone without food, faced hunger thirst, been cold and naked.
At the time this letter is written he has seen it all, 2 Cor. 11: 23-28

Hence, in reading Phillipians 4:13, consider preceeding verses for example v.11

'Not that I speak from want, for I have LEARNED TO BE CONTENT in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me'

John MacArthur rightly states 'Christ's strength isn't some vague force in enabling Paul to whatever ends he desires'
The relevance is he strong enough to endure anything, in adversity and abundance, more so adversity considering the background of the epistle.

Our sufficiency is Christ Jesus in any outcome.

'God helps those who help themselves?'

strange expression, yet disturbingly common and more so, most used and applied by Christians.

This supposition that somehow a joint collaboration is necessary for God's intervention is false. And a classic example of twisting the Word to one's own destruction.

First, the expression is NO WHERE in Scripture.

Secondly, Nearly everything about the history of the man as revealed in Scripture is quite literally, God purposefully helping man, because man is incapable of helping himself. From the Fall of Man, to Coming of Christ to the Redemption.

Man's effort is at the very very best, none existent, in terms of helping, but certainly overly abundant in terms of self destruction.
1. In the beginning, God saw all His creation and it very was good, Gen. 1:31 when Man is entrusted, all creation now groans and labors with pains of childbirth, Romans 8:22

2. At the Fall, man sins and uses fig leaves to cover his shame Gen 3:7, but God makes tunics of skin and clothed them Gen 3:21

3. For atonement, Luke 5:31 the healthy have no need for a doctor, its the sick, I have not come for the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance.
For, Romans 8:20 by the deeds of the law shall no man be justified, BUT by Faith in Christ are we justified, SINCE 1 Peter 2:24 He bore our sins in his body on a tree so that we might die to sins, and live to righteousness. 1 Cor. 5:21 God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.

4. For sanctification, Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh,
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this, that HE WHO BEGUN, a good work in you, WILL PERFECT IT.

Little Known Fact;

Did you know the word 'Christian' appears only 3 times in the whole Bible, And only in the New Testament.
Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16.

And on all three occassions its used, its by unbelievers identifying believers.

Believers all through the New Testament identified each other with different words, brothers, sisters, children (if John was writing) but more importantly SAINTS.

The contrast is quite stunning when the usage is imported in today's culture
'Christian' includes pretty much all denominations related to or having some association with name JESUS CHRIST regardless of the merit of the belief, Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Coptic Catholics

'Saint' If, in Catholicism means a dead person declared so by Church procedure
The ordinary or common usage is someone exceptionally humble, unreservedly good, admired.
'oh he helped that poor hungry dog, his only sandwich, he truly a saint'
the good we see people do is quite, assigns the name.

HOWEVER Biblical Context is all that matters, because true meaning must be extracted, and it's done by first appreciating historical and cultural context

'Christian' it may be debatable, but given that it was used by unbelievers referring to believers, at the time its a fair presumption, based on human history, it was intended to be derogatory,
1 Peter 4:26, says if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ASHAMED.
nonetheless it was label with ill-intent behind it that was became a term of endearment, for good later Today.

'Saint' as used then and ought to be prevalent in the same context today is, from the greek 'hagios' meaning 'consecrated to God, holy sacred and pious'
its not based on what you do but on what and Who you BELIEVE.
1 Cor. 2, Eph 1:2, 4:12, 5:3, Rom. 16:2
All who believe in the Person and Work of JESUS CHRIST as revealed in the Gospel, sanctified that is, Set Apart in Christ.
67 times used by the Apostles to Living Believers and

to each other as Apostles and Disciples. The Faithful in Jesus Christ, called to be Saints.

Its not to say 'Christian' should not be used, by all means please continue, however one must always alive to the original intent otherwise meaning of the author is lost in Translation,

For me, to call myself a saint today, culturally would be perceived as egotistical, and yet that couldn't be far from the truth, in my Lord's eyes, having submitted to Him, Given that God calls me a Saint for believing His Son, as such i ought to embrace what He says about me more than what others would think. man's alteration of the meaning doesn't change His.

The Knowledge of God is invaluable therefore sound exegesis of His Message is imperative.

Discernment?

1 Cor. 12:4-11, talks of the gift of discerning spirits

Discerning, is ordinarily associated with some mystical ability that seems drawn out of some x-men movie, trying to rely on that verse.
Read on its own, apart from the complete Counsel of the Word, naturally one can infer that, then again anything read apart from context, one can infer anything.

That said, Discernment quite simply is, the ability to distinguish between truth and error. To reason critically with the Bible as the Authority

1 John 4:1 warns, 'Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they're from God, BECAUSE.. many FALSE PROPHETS have gone out into the world'

the meaning of 'spirit' is defined here, not only by the immediate verse but also by the author of whole letter written, who was trying to correct false doctrine within the Church.
'testing the spirits' is testing those persons who claim to speak for God, AGAINST the Word.

How are we to discern?

The answer is Only ONE..
2 Peter 1:3 'God has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Him who called us by His Own Glory and Excellence'

Jesus in His Glorious Prayer to the Father prior to crucifixion, said for the Church 'Now this is eternal life, that they may KNOW YOU, the Only True God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent'

1 Thess. 5:21-22 its the responsibility of every Christian to be discerning 'examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good and abstain from evil'

Otherwise, as Christian we're tossed about by every wave and wind of doctrine Eph 4:14.

Therefore let us rightly divide the word of God 2 Tim. 2:15, having the exhorted Berean Attitude Act 7:11 'who were of more NOBLE character, receiving the message with great eagerness, and EXAMINING the SCRIPTURES DAILY to see if what Paul SAID was TRUE.

Paul's admonition to Phillipi starts
Phil. 1:9 ' And this is my prayer, that your love may abou