Articles
25 Tests for Discerning Good from Evil
25 Tests for Discerning Good from Evil
(Heb. 5:11-14; 2Cor. 5:14-17, 21; 1Thes. 5:21-22; Phil. 4:8-9; 1Tim. 4:16)
1. SCRIPTURAL TEST - Does the word of God approve or forbid the action? 1Peter 3:15
2. IDENTITY TEST - Will this activity identify me with Christ or His opponent? Gal. 2:20; Matt. 5:14-16
3. SACRIFICIAL TEST - If I do this, will it pollute the sacrifice? Rom. 12:1-2; 1Cor. 6:15-20
4. PERSONAL TEST - Will doing this trouble my conscience, thus causing me to sin? Rom. 14:22-23
5. EVANGELISTIC TEST - Will my doing this hinder me from leading others to the Lord? Matt. 5:13
6. PRACTICAL TEST - Will this decision be desirable and helpful in every day life? 1Peter 3:10-11; Eph. 6:1-3
7. UNIVERSAL TEST - If everyone else was doing this, what kind of world/church would this be? Matt. 20:25-28
8. STEWARDSHIP TEST - Will activity be a waste of my time, ability, potential or money? 1Cor. 4:2
9. INFLUENCE TEST - Will my example help or hinder other Christians? 1Tim. 4:12
10. CHARACTER TEST - Will this build my integrity and strengthen my spiritual backbone? Phil. 1:20-21
11. FAMILY TEST - What effect will this have on my family? Gen. 18:17-19; 1Tim. 5:8, 14
12. BLASPHEMY TEST - Will my unfaithfulness lead others to blaspheme the word? Titus 2:1-5
13. PUBLICITY TEST - Am I be willing for my parents or fellow Christians to know that I am doing this? Eph. 5:11-12
14. FINANCIAL TEST - Will this keep me from giving as the Bible commands? 1Cor. 16:1-2; 2Cor. 9:7
15. COMMON SENSE TEST - Is this activity foolish and nonsensical? Prov. 1:20-22, 2:10-11
16. FAIRNESS TEST - Is this activity honest and fair to others, as well as to myself? Matt. 7:12; Rev. 21:27
17. MILLSTONE TEST - Does this decision make my brethren loathe me? Rom. 14:13, 20-21; Matt 18:6-7; Phil 2:3-4
18. CONSISTENCY TEST - Is this in character with what I say; does it prove my spiritual stability? Eph. 4:13-15
19. WEIGHT TEST - Is this activity slowing down my growth as a Christian? Heb. 12:1-3
20. APPEARANCE TEST - Does this activity carry a hint or suggestion of evil? 1Thes. 5:22; Gal. 5:21
21. FLESHLY DESIRE TEST - Will this activity cause me to dwell on carnal thoughts? 1Peter 2:11
22. CHILD PARTICIPATION TEST - Do I want my children doing this? Prov. 14:26, 1
23. AWARENESS TEST - Do I mind that God sees and knows that I am engaged in this? Heb. 4:13
24. COMPANIONSHIP TEST - Will this activity put me in with the wrong company? 1Cor. 15:33
25. YOKE TEST - Will this decision bind me so that I must abandon my relationship with God? 2Cor. 6:14-18
The Vanishing American
Some years ago during the Depression, a government agent traveled through the Tennessee mountains making small allotments to impoverished farmers for seed, stock, or needed improvements. He found one woman who lived alone, scratching out a bare living on two acres of barren ground. “If the government should allot you $200.00, what would you do with it?” he asked her.
The woman thought for a moment. Her cabin had no floor, its windows were covered with tar paper, light came through the broken walls. Finally she looked up and said, “I reckon I’d give it to the poor.” (Emerson Andrews, Atlantic Monthly)
A Moments Wisdom
--Anybody can be a heart specialist. The only requirement is loving somebody.
--Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young in spirit.
--The loneliest place in the world is the human heart when love is absent.
--Love may not make the world go around, but it sure makes the trip worthwhile.
--It is no chore for me to love the whole world. My only real problem is my neighbor next door.
--One of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to the facts. (C.S. Lewis).
--In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning, such as in the meaning of a sacrifice.
--You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes; you can steer yourself in any direction you choose. (Dr. Seuss)
--When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. (Fred Rogers)
--Conformity is doing what everyone else is doing, regardless of what is right. Morality is doing what is right regardless of what everyone else is doing.
--Why does it seem that the people who know the least, know it the loudest?
Test Your Bible Knowledge of the Battles of Israel
1. We took this city by marching around it and making noise. __________
2. We lost the first battle against this city. __________
3. Moses held up his hands to help us win this battle. __________
4. In this battle, God stopped the sun until Israel won. __________
5. This battle was fought because a woman died from abuse. __________
6. In this battle, Israel lost the Ark of the Covenant. __________
Upcoming Sermons
7/17/22 AM & PM - What the Adversary Knows (Parts One & Two)
7/24/22 AM - Some Surprising Scriptures; PM - Angry with the World
7/31/22 AM - “Showing Integrity and Incorruptibility”; PM - Guest Speaker: Doug Sanders - Why the Devil Won’t Quit
