Chapter 69

The question may be argued, “Does God test me?” The answer is, of course, YES. The argument against this truth is so bad that it would not deserve to be taken seriously except for the fact that so many otherwise intelligent people have been duped by it. This is a common question often asked by new Christians though, and as such it deserves a gentle, loving answer. The first thing to notice is: There is a critical (and even subtle) distinction between being tested and being tempted; though they sometimes appear to us similar in nature, they are quite different. God does NOT tempt, but He DOES test. And for a more specific explanation, we’ll need to take a quick tour of all 66 books in the Bible in which we are told literally hundreds of times that we will be tested.

Temptations (or invitations) to commit evil are in their nature nearly infinite (from our point of view), and so in one sense there are many different ways of going wrong. But there is only one possible way of going right. It is easy to miss the mark but difficult to hit it. On such a subject, it may be unwise to pronounce dogmatically that the man who has no hint of correct philosophy goes through life imprisoned by the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his culture, or from the convictions which have grown up in his mind without cooperation or consent from his deliberate reason. To such a man, unfamiliar possibilities are usually contemptuously rejected anyway. But nonetheless here it is, a person’s religious beliefs are derived from either: 1. Something they read. 2. Something they heard. or 3. Something they made up. Though obviously sometimes there is a combination of all of the above. The best source of our beliefs should come from what we read in the Bible for ourselves… so that being said, let’s get started.

The first instance of testing that we find begins with Adam and Eve; their faithful, willing obedience was tested –and, they failed. The next instance is with Abraham and his son Isaac in Genesis 22:11 which says, “Some time later God tested Abraham.” (NIV) Another reminder of Abraham’s testing is found in Hebrews 11:17 where it says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.” (NIV) In Exodus 15:25, when talking about the wandering Israelites it says, “…There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there He tested them.” (NIV) In Deuteronomy 8:16 it says, “…to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.” (NIV) In Deuteronomy 13:3 it says, “…The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (NIV) In Judges 3:4 it says, “They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands…” (NIV) In 2 Chronicles 32:31, when talking about Hezekiah it says, “…God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.” (NIV) In Psalms 66:10 it says, “For You, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” (NIV) In Proverbs 17:3 it says, “…the Lord tests the heart.” (NIV) In Job 7:18 it says, “You examine us every morning and test us every moment.” (NIV) In Job 23:10 it says, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (NIV) In Isaiah 48:10 it says, “…I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (NIV) In Jeremiah 11:20 it says, “But O Lord Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind…” (NIV) In Ezekiel 21:13 it says, “…Testing will surely come.” (NIV) In Luke 8:13 it says, “…They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” (NIV) In 1 Thessalonians 2:4 it says, “…We are not trying to please men, but God, who tests our hearts.” (NIV) In James 1:3 it says “…because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (NIV) In James 1:12 it says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (NIV)

Now here is the other side of the coin, God does NOT tempt us. In James 1:13 it says, “When tempted no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” (NIV) In Luke 22:46 it says, “…Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (NIV) In Hebrews 2:18, when talking about the temptation of Jesus and His suffering it says, “Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” (NIV) In 1 Corinthians 10:13 it says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (NIV)

So this is what we find: Temptation comes from the devil, and he tempts us to kill, steal, and destroy. Testing comes from God, and He tests us so that our faith will mature, so that we can be purified, and so that our trust and dependence on Him will grow. God tests what is in our heart, to find out our true motives and agendas; he tests our character and integrity to see if we will lovingly obey him; and the results from our tests reflect what is in our hearts –both good and bad. Here is a simple analogy: At the end of the semester, a tempter will try to get you to give up, cheat, lie, and/or abandon all hope; whereas, a teacher will test you to see how you’re doing and help you sharpen your skills. If we use this analogy to understand God’s mercy, we should be appreciative that His testing of us is an open book test (so to speak)… our trusty little Bible has everything in it we need to know if we just know where to look. Here is another simple analogy to help us understand how God works with us: It is like a mother’s gentle, guiding hand over a child’s hand as she teaches him how to hold his crayon correctly and form the letters of the alphabet. The child will sometimes get impatient and scream and yell, squirm in the chair, then yank the crayon away and scribble all over the page (this is what addicts do), but thankfully God is rich in mercy and patience and slow to anger. In Exodus 34:6 we find this teaching from God, “…I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy, who is kind, who doesn’t become angry quickly, who has great love and faithfulness…” (NCV)

In summary: God is a merciful, trustworthy, loving Creator that understands our different levels of faith in our work with Him, and He is able to carry us through temptations if we will only learn to trust in Him. God is the tester that checks if our faith is alive or dead, active or inactive; and the devil is the tempter that wants nothing more than to see our downfall so he can mock our faith and God. So, what are we to do? We should have faith, learn, grow, pray, act according to the way we know we should, and wait for God’s deliverance.