“Tests of Faithfulness”
A prospective customer walks into the automobile showroom and inquires about an automobile. After obtaining the details he “test drives” the car to see if it is to his liking. Another might walk into the local Best Buy and inquire as to the details of a computer, or an HDTV. He may “beat out some keys,” or “flip through the channels” before purchase. Then there are those who take a walk up and down the isle of the local Sam’s Club, sampling the “snacks” available for testing, before making a purchase of some featured item. When I travel to Russia or India I exchange dollars for rubbles or rupees, and the banker “tests” my $100 bill to determine if it is genuine. We could go on, but I think you get the point. Why is it that so few seem to care whether or not their religion is genuine? Did not Paul tell us to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:20)? The New Testament repeatedly warns us to “test” what we hear lest we be led astray to the loss of our soul (Matt. 7:15; 2 Cor. 11:14-15; Rom. 16:17-18). In 1 John the beloved apostle tells us that he wrote that epistle “that our joy may be made full” (1:4), “that ye may not sin” (2:1), to warn of those who “would lead you astray” (2:26, 3:7), and “that ye might know that ye have eternal life” (5:13). The entire epistle is polemical in its nature, written to help us recognize some of the dangers that would lead us away from God. The epistle abounds with such words as “truth,” “love,” “light,” “born of God,” and “abiding in God.” There are at least three “tests” that John sets forth by which we may determine the authenticity of our faith.
First, there is the test of obedience. Simply stated it is: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1:7). Elsewhere the apostle wrote, “And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (2:3). Any attempt to lay claim to knowing God while failing to keep his commandments brands us as a “liar,” void of truth and walking in darkness (2:4). There may be occasions when we sin; to deny this is equivalent to making God a liar (1:10). But if the tenor of our life is one of submission to God’s will, those little “bumps in the road” will not derail us from our journey toward that heavenly home. How are you doing with regard to the “test of obedience”? Do you attend services faithfully? Are you reading God’s word on a regular basis? Do you shun every appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22)? Do you reign in selfishness and focus on being a servant to others? Do you love the things of the world or do you love God supreme? (cf. 1 John 2:15-17). What about the name you wear religiously, the things you engage in while worshipping God, your moral behavior, or the very words that proceed from your mouth? You see, obedience to God covers a wide range of behavior. The person who “walks in the dark” is of the devil, but obedience to the will of God is evidence that he is a child of God.
Second, there is the test of love. “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him” (2:9-10). The love of which John speaks is not the emotional, better-felt-than-told emotional twinge that rushes upon one in the heat of passion or infatuation. The word John uses for “love” is ‘agapao,’ and is “wholehearted, unconditional, devoted” love (Mickelson’s Enhanced Strong Dictionary). One bother commented, “It appears that many of the Christians [to whom John was writing, TW] were tempted by the false teachers, the Gnostics, to a loveless arrogance of the kind referred to by Irenaeus: ‘They tell us that they have sublime knowledge on account of which they are superior to others.” How are you doing when it comes to the test of love? Do you weep with those that weep? Do you genuinely miss those who miss services week after week? Do you pray for them? Visit them? Do you seek to serve others, or do you desire to be served? You see, beloved, there is something unique about our love one for another; so much so, that our Lord told us, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Are you passing the test of love?
Third, there is the test of belief. More specifically, this test focuses upon what we believe. There were evidently some of the Christians who had been influenced by the Gnostics, and had come to question whether or not Jesus was real. The “antichrists” had arisen, and “gone out from” the faithful (2:118-19) drawing disciples away after themselves. Their particular error appears to be that they denied that “Jesus is the Christ” (2:23). Having turned away from the truth, they were leading others astray. It would appear from 1:2 that some of the Christians had been persuaded that Jesus had not come in the flesh; that He was an aberration, or some kind of “illusion.” This would explain why John begins his epistle with these words: “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen without our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life. And the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father…that which we have seen and heard” (1:1-3). Those who had been influenced by the Gnostics believed in something – but they did not believe the TRUTH! There are multitudes who believe in something; but they do not believe the truth! It is the truth that makes us free (John 8:32-34). When a man believes and embraces error, he is not free; he is still a bondservant to sin. How many unsuspecting souls with whom we associate every day have been taken captive by the Devil for no other reason than the fact that they believe error? Borrowing from the author of Hebrews, “time would fail us” if we were to list the false doctrines that have infiltrated the body of Christ over the past five decades and destroyed those once faithful followers of Christ. What we believe and practice in matters of religion is a test of genuine Christianity.
How do we fare when it comes to the “tests” of genuine Christianity? Will your faith sustain you in the trials and tribulations of life? Will it see you through the judgment to that glorious home that awaits the faithful?
The battle of Jutland turned the naval aspect of WWI in favor of the Allies. The H.M.S. Lyons was one of the Britain’s finest battleships. When she returned to port, escorted by tugs, she had no bridge, guns or mast, only gaping wounds in her side. Out of the crew of 1100 only 25 were left to accompany her on deck as she entered the port. But, there they stood, solidly erect, saluting what remained of the Royal Ensign still flying. Alan Redpath witnessed that remarkable return, and wrote: “There was a terrific welcome for that ship, that old battleship, who had ‘stood her ground.’” When this life is over, and we have sailed our last voyage, fought our last fight, and finished our course, will we receive the victor’s crown? Will it be said that we “stood our ground”? Will we have passed the tests mentioned abouve? The same apostle who wrote the epistle from which we have gleaned the truths for this article wrote: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lord shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Rev. 17:14). In short, they are the ones who will have passed the test and gained entrance into that heavenly abode.
by Tom Wacaster