A lot of Christians experience frustration as they make an effort to walk with God. They sincerely love the Lord but they are not getting the desired or promised results. Meanwhile, you see others enjoying and profiting from the Christian experience. What could the problem be? Is God at fault? Are His promises trustworthy? The simple answer is that you may be failing in the many tests in the scriptures.
Here you are, believing you know your bible. And yet you had no idea that there was more than one test in the book. You only know of the Abram test. In that, God asked that patriarch asking him to go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice his son, Isaac. Since you cannot do well in a test that you don’t know exists, is precisely why this teaching is important.
Particularly since you cannot enjoy God until you start to do well in the many tests in the scriptures. This post intends to share a small sample. But because there are so many of them, it will also give you identification tips. That way, as you study the bible, your mind will be alert to the tests.
Of course, once you discover the tests, you have the option of choosing to work on them. Or you may choose to ignore them. But at least, we would have shown them to you, or shown you how to identify them. The rest is up to you; you remember that God created us with free-will.
John 3:16 Contains One Of The Many Tests In The Scriptures
I am willing to bet that this subheading surprised you. John 3:16? A test? Most definitely and we start there exactly because it is so popular. Here is what it says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Unless you are an expert in seeing the many tests in the scriptures, you probably missed the test there. Okay, let us do this like an expert. Please note that in your bible, there is no period after the only begotten Son. We put it there to prevent Yoast, our SEO coach, from flagging the verse as too long. That change does not materially affect the fact that the verse contains a test.
In the first part of the verse, you see God doing His part like He usually does. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Now, ask yourself, who did God love? He loved the entire world. And because of that love, He did something for the whole world; He gave His only begotten Son. So far so good.
The next question you have to ask to start seeing the many tests in the scriptures is this. Does the whole world believe in Him? Since the answer is in the negative, you know that something happened there to differentiate between people. That is the test that God put in that verse. “Whoever” is the test in John 3:16.
Those Who Do Well Have Everlasting Life
Those who do well in that test believe in Him. Of course, they are then saved from perishing and have the gift of everlasting life. Those who fail that test refuse to believe in Him and their end is that they are condemned already, as we see in a later verse.
This is just one example of how exciting bible study can be. Now you know the strategy of the many tests in the scriptures, only you can stop yourself from pleasing God. And of course, enjoying Him and your Christian life. There are many others, the many tests in the scriptures.
My favorite is in Romans 8:1, not only because it contains two tests but because it removes condemnation from me. That verse says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Those) who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Please note our nod to Yoast in this verse also in the punctuation marks.
How To Identify The Many Tests In The Scriptures
By now, you start to have an idea of how to identify the test points in this verse. Who are the people who are free from condemnation? The whole world? No. So, who? Those who are in Christ Jesus. That is the first test. You must be in Christ Jesus to be free from condemnation. When you do well in that test, you get to laugh at satan when he brings an accusation against you.
But because satan is a stubborn devil, God put a second test in this one verse. Those who do not walk according to the flesh. To sustain your victory over satan, you must do well in this test also. It is one of the many tests in the scriptures. We can go on and on. However, the time is now to share tips to allow you to personally identify the many tests in the scriptures
Consider the very popular verse in Deuteronomy 28:1. It says: “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.”
“If You” Is One Major Test In The Scriptures
Most praying congregations will likely yell “Amen” when they hear the promise in this verse. But they miss the point. The promise is based on doing well in the test, one of the many tests in the scriptures. By now, you may be able to pick out the test. You see, the bible is a book of conditions. If you do this, God will do that. Except for salvation, where He provided Himself a lamb for the sacrifice. And that lamb is Jesus Christ.
All other promises after that, are predicated on “if you” as you see in this latest verse. The person who aces this test is the one who diligently obeys God’s voice. The promises follow. There is no point yelling “Amen” unless you are obeying. But this is only one of the many tests in the scriptures. Another popular example is in Isaiah 1:19. It says “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” So, you want to eat the good of the land? The test is to be willing and obedient.
To see the others, type “if you” (or “if thou” or “if ye,” depending on your bible version) into your bible app. It will bring up 366 instances, some of the many tests in the scriptures. Then, start doing your best to get an “A” in each of them. You will immediately start to enjoy God and your walk with Him
Maranatha!
