The Test

By Herbert Shattuck

THE TEST takes a look at ten commonly discussed Christian topics in the form of a short true or false quiz. Each chapter examines how the Bible would stand on each question. The answers may surprise you and get you thinking in ways that will astound you. Here are the quiz questions. Will you pass THE TEST?

1) The moment we believe on the "Finished Work of Jesus Christ" all of our sins, past, present and future are completely forgiven.
True False

2) As Christians, we remain sinners, but now we are sinners saved by grace. True False

3) No one is righteous. All of our righteousness is considered "filthy rags" by God. True False
4) Justification is the saving event; and is determined by a one-time, irrevocable, proclamation by God when He declares us righteous. True False

5) Our right standing before God is solely based on Jesus' righteousness. True False

6) God loves everyone and desires that none perish, but all might come to faith in His Son. True False

7) God loves believers unconditionally. Nothing can separate us from the God's love for us. True False

8) Some believers will be saved even though all of their works will be burned up at the judgment. True False

9) Works (Deeds) have nothing to do with our salvation.
True False

10) Once saved, all believers will persevere until the end because Jesus promises that He will complete what He began. True False

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543958300

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Herbert Shattuck

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 978-1-54395-829-4

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54395-830-0

Contents

Before You Read This Book

A VERY Short Introduction

The Test

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Question 1:

Chapter 3

Question 2:

Chapter 4

Question 3:

Chapter 5

Question 4:

Chapter 6

Question 5:

Chapter 7

Question 6:

Chapter 8

Question 7:

Chapter 9

Question 8:

Chapter 10

Question 9:

Chapter 11

Question 10:

Chapter 12

Before You Read This Book

Here are a few questions that I would ask you to contemplate. I believe they are important and will determine not only how much you will get out of this book, but they will serve you well generally.

Do you truly believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God?

If so, are you willing to submit to whatever it says?

Does the true believer ever stop searching for the deep truths of God?

Do you think the deep truths of God are like low hanging fruit that take no effort or striving to discover? If not, are you pursuing them?

Do you tightly surround yourself with those who hold to your theological view and block out other opinions so you don’t have to deal with uncertainties and differences?

When you encounter verses that appear to contradict one another, do you set aside and ignore the ones that do not support your position?

When you encounter verses that clearly do not agree with your position do you go to a commentary written by someone who does agree and accept whatever interpretation it presents? Even if that interpretation does not do justice to the clear language of the verse?

Are dissenting opinions threatening to you? Are you comfortable with potentially being wrong about a passage or subject?

Are you eager to learn and grow or do you desire comfort and acceptance above the former?

Finally, are you willing to stand for the truth of the gospel even if it will cost you friendships, associations, and reputation? It always will.

A VERY Short Introduction

Knowledge puffs up. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge only leads to Phariseeism and division. It produces pride. In short, it can destroy both the gospel and the soul. On the other hand, Paul describes Israel’s failure as being due to the lack of knowledge. So when used properly, knowledge is vital to salvation. In Romans 10 he states:

Romans 10:2-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

² For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. ³ For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

Have you been told the truth regarding the gospel? Or are you believing a something false? A lie. Enthusiasm for Jesus will not be enough. Even if it results in all kinds of worship, adoration and praise. Israel did that in spades. Jesus told them that with their lips they honor God. But because they believed the doctrines of men rather than the doctrines of God, their worship was in vain. If your zeal for Jesus is not built on a foundation of accurate knowledge and truth, you are deceived and your end will be one of shock and horror. The Bible warns again and again to pay closer attention and to take heed of the words of The Book and follow them exactly…lest you fall. Are you doing that? Have you really examined what you have been told? This book was written to shed light on some commonly held but lethal myths. It will allow the reader to better know about God’s righteousness rather than following the example of Israel in establishing your own. What you might learn from these pages is not an end, but a beginning. A beginning of a journey. The intent of this book is to equip the reader with some of the proper provisions so that he might use them to complete the course laid out before him by the Lord.

Okay. Are you ready? Let’s begin!

The Test

1.) The moment we believe on the Finished Work of Jesus Christ all of our sins, past, present and future are completely forgiven.

2.) As Christians, we remain sinners, but now we are sinners saved by grace.

3.) No one is righteous. All of our righteousness is considered filthy rags by God.

4.) Justification is the saving event; and is determined by a one-time, irrevocable, proclamation by God when He declares us righteous.

5.) Our right standing before God is solely based on Jesus’ righteousness.

6.) God loves everyone and desires that none perish, but all might come to faith in His Son.

7.) God loves believers unconditionally. Nothing can separate us from the God’s love for us.

8.) Some believers will be saved even though all of their works will be burned up at the judgment.

9.) Works (Deeds) have nothing to do with our salvation.

10.) Once saved, all believers will persevere until the end because Jesus promises that He will complete what He began.

Chapter 1

Are You a Christian?

It is quite simply the most important question of your life. Get it wrong and, well… Many will. What is a true Christian? Is it anyone who simply calls on the name of the Lord at some point? Or is there more? Are there any requirements that must be met? How do we find out what they are? Is there room for error? If so, how much? Are you sure you have the right answers to these questions? Roman Catholics say they do. Southern Baptists say they do. Presbyterians say they do. Eastern Orthodox say they do. Lutherans say they do. Nondenominational Evangelicals say they do as well. If God doesn’t really care all that much then why don’t we all just merge into a single church? If He does care, we had better figure it out. What it comes down to is whatever your authority is. If it is church tradition then that is what you will live or die by. If it is what the Reformers taught, then by that you will stand or fall. The only reliable authority is the stated authority of the scripture. It is the one source for truth and instruction leading to life. The truths of the gospel are only unlocked by a humble and steadfast reliance on the Spirit of the Living God to reveal what flesh and blood never will. So, if that is agreeable to you, let’s go.

Let’s say you need to get to an important event. The first thing you do is log onto Google Maps and put in your destination. Within seconds, you are viewing step-by-step instructions beginning with which way to turn out of your driveway. What if, of the ten directions just two were incorrect? What if instead of heading south on the 101 for one hundred miles, Google told you to head north? What if they instructed you to make a left when it should have been a right? Now imagine that someone changed all of the road signs to conform to the Google Maps app rather than accurately reflecting the true topography. How would you ever know you were on the wrong route? What if there were a lot of cars on the road all using the same directions? The observation that there are a lot of cars using the same wrong directions makes the matter even more confusing. Everyone including yourself would be driving along thinking you’re getting closer to your desired destination, but instead you are all getting more and more lost.

A few years ago I had a conversation with a local pastor regarding the gospel. He was of the common opinion that for salvation to truly be a free gift, then it must carry an implicit guarantee of completion. After working through a passage of scripture that we both agreed stated the exact opposite, he looked at me, smiled and said, Well, I like my gospel better. Which to his surprise, I replied, So do I! Honestly, I too like a gospel that tells me that Jesus did it all from beginning to end, much better. It tells me that although I am still a sinner, all my sins will always be covered no matter what. Not only do I not need to do anything, nothing that I will ever do can change the fact that my name is written in the Book of Life. I like that gospel much better than To whom much is given much is expected. The only problem is, are these things representative of a gospel that actually can save a person? Have you been given much? If your pastor tells you that nothing is expected of you now, does that cause you any concern?

But even suggesting something as seemingly cut and dry as going to the Bible for our answers these days is not as straightforward as one would expect. People, even most pastors, are very reluctant to sit down, open the Word and discuss what a passage means. Perhaps there is already an awareness that the theology they have bought into has numerous flaws and inconsistencies. Perhaps they are not confident in what they believe and do not wish to be exposed. Perhaps they have abandoned the pursuit of real truth long ago and just want to be left alone to lead a kind of social club under the guise of helping and caring for people. But as long as point one of their doctrinal statement claims the Bible as their authority, they proclaim their responsibility to be accountable to it.

Here are the dodges that I frequently receive when the simple offer to open the Bible together is posed.

Are you versed in the original languages?

Who else believes as you do?

Haven’t these things been debated for centuries?

Can anyone really know truth absolutely?

Do these things really matter that much?

John 16:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…

When Jesus told us that He would send to us the Spirit of Truth who would lead us into all truth, did He really mean that?

Does the Spirit of Truth lead one group to one truth and second group to another? Are there acceptable variations on the Truth?

Was there an asterisk that we missed somewhere which told us that the Spirit would only deliver truth to those who knew the original languages?

Is following the Spirit into all truth all that important? Does Jesus really care about truth?

Or have we left the Spirit of Truth standing by the wayside and pursued the study of the Holy Scriptures with our human intellect alone? I think that any reasonable person would agree that if Jesus was serious about us all arriving at one truth, something is seriously wrong.

The Spirit of God working within a man’s spirit to enlighten and reveal great truths through the Scriptures over years of study, contemplation, and life experience is the key to understanding and living the true gospel. Allowing the words of the Scriptures to penetrate and saturate deep within the soul; striving and wrestling under the direction of the Spirit of Truth is the only way to come to a knowledge of the unknowable. But a well-rehearsed theology will trump the Scriptures every time.

I hope that your curiosity as well as your passion for truth are both stirred up by this point. Set before you is a short quiz. Its purpose is not to demean or to accuse. Its purpose is to get you to think; to reexamine concepts which have been left dormant and unchallenged. And to be clear, the