Does the Lord evaluate everyone “… who is called by My name” the same?  Does He “know” all church people with the same level of  intimacy?  If not, does He use a particular method to distinguish between believers?  True seekers of Truth know that the answer is “Yes.”  That method is commonly called “testing.”  God uses His testing method to distinguish between good and bad people in “the church,” all of whom call themselves “Christians.”  I used the same method when identifying and evaluating good and bad students, which I had to do in order to evaluate them.  Without a testing system I would have had to ask those in my classes to identify themselves as either good or bad students.  Had I used that system I suspect that all would have been “A” students.  If asked who within a church is a “good Christian,” I doubt that anyone would admit to being a “bad Christian.”  Ironically, so-called sinners saved by grace identify themselves as “good Christians” due to the fact that they believe in Jesus, attend church regularly, read the Bible, pray, etc.  while admitting that they sin at will.  When asked if one is a Christian, a churchite will invariably “prove” one’s Christianity by declaring the name of their religious organization.

The globally popular “I’m o.k., you’re o.k., we’re all o.k.” belief works with people, but not with the Almighty.  He commands that we prove our “o.k.ness” by passing the tests He sends our way.  What usually appears to be a coincidence is often one of God’s tests which come in a variety of forms designed to test us in the areas of our individual weaknesses.  Like a drunk “finding” a bottle of libation, the Lord arranges for us to face our weaknesses and, hopefully, to overcome them.  In this way we prove to Him that we are worthy of a positive attitude toward us.  Let us examine some Biblical examples of such divine testing and the positive or negative outcomes that result from either passing or failing His tests.

The first recorded human test of obedience to the command of God took place in the Garden of Eden.  When given the choice between doing the right thing or the wrong thing (the crux of all divine testing), Adam and Eve failed the test, were put out of the Garden and made to do field work to survive.

When the Lord tested the children of Israel by keeping Moses atop Mt. Sinai for an extended period of time, the Israelites failed miserably.  God killed 3000 of them.  When He told them to enter the Promised Land where they would have to fight giants, they refused to go.  He sentenced them to 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert.  When He laid a chunk of gold and some fine clothes before Achan he took them and hid them in his tent.  God had the people to stoned him, his family and his animals to death.

Upon entering the Promised Land (Canaan), Joshua failed to follow God’s command to have no dealings with the people of Canaan.  Instead, he was told to force them out.  However, one group fooled him into allowing them to remain where they were.  As a result of Joshua’s failing God’s test, the people of Israel were forced to protect them from their enemies.

The preaching of God’s messengers is an effective method of mass testing.  Recall that God Himself spoke to the three million or so Israelites upon their arrival at Mt. Sinai.  He told them that if they would obey Him He would bless them.  They agreed to do so.  However, when Moses stayed on the mountain longer than they expected, they failed God’s test, had a sex party, built an idol and prepared to follow it back to Egypt.

Following the break-up of Israel into two camps, the Lord sent an unnamed prophet to Jereboam, the leader of the ten tribes of Israel living in Samaria.  The prophet was commanded to deliver a message to the king, then to return home without either eating or drinking anything until he arrived home.  The prophet, after watching the Lord perform two incredible miracles, left for home.  But before he got away another prophet insisted that he eat a meal with him before leaving.  After much refusal, the unknown prophet failed God’s test by eating a meal with the other prophet.  On his way home the unnamed prophet was killed by a lion.

Some might not believe that, under the New Covenant, God still tests those who claim to be His people.  This is one of Satan’s lies designed to make people feel that God is punishing them for no reason–that sickness, accidents, etc. are simply “just the way life is.”  Let us look to the New Testament in order to dispel that notion.

Judah Iscariot was a thief.  He was already a thief when he joined Jesus and the other disciples.  The object of his lust was money.  In order to help him overcome his deep-seated sin, Jesus appointed him as treasurer for the group.  All money given to them went into a bag which Judas carried.  Scripture tells us that he stole from the bag.  Jesus had placed the group’s money in the hands of Judas in order to help him overcome his craving for money.  Judas failed–twice.  As every Sunday School student knows, Judas hanged himself

In the early church in Jerusalem there was a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who, having sold sold a piece of land, had claimed to have given to the church the full amount received for the land.  They had actually held some of it back.  As He had done with Judas, God tested them with money.  They failed the test, prompting God to kill both of them.

We of this modern era are not exempt from God’s testing program.  He knows our weak areas and will test us in those areas repeatedly in order to enable us to overcome them.

In the Book of Deuteronomy the Lord explains one of the tests He performs relative to false prophets and believers’ willingness to follow them.  In chapter 13, verses 1-4 He says that if a prophet announces that a particular “wonder” will take place.  And the wonder comes true, what will the people do if the prophet asks them to follow him in worshiping other gods.  Today that would mean to join a particular denomination, church system, etc. because the prophet belonged to that religious group.  God tells us: “You must not listen to that prophet simply because he works miracles (has a large church, a t.v. ministry, etc.).  He explains that He (God) is “proving” (testing) us “… to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  You must walk after the Lord your God, fear Him, keep His commandments, obey His voice, serve Him and cling to Him.”  He tests us to see if we will obey His Word even when a miracle worker asks us to join his denomination.

As a recipient of many of God’s tests, not all of which I passed with flying colors the first time around, I can attest to the fact that the closer one gets to the Lord, the more and the deeper is the testing.  Understand this, only those who have been tested mightily and have passed the tests will enter the Kingdom of God.  Though Judas had sinned repeatedly, if he had confessed, repented and walked holy from that time forward, he would have been accepted by the Lord.  Passing God’s inevitable tests, repentance of sin, followed by a life lived in obedience to God’s Word, is the key to spending eternity with Jesus Christ.  L.J.