The Take Home Test

QUESTION 1
Write out 1 John 1:8:
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How do you think of yourself? Choose all that apply:
I know I’ve sinned. Who hasn’t? No one’s perfect. But I really try to
do the right things, and I’m sure God considers me to be a pretty good
person.
When I stand before God on Judgment Day, I think my good deeds
are going to outweigh the things I’ve done wrong. God judges the
heart, and He knows I’m basically good at heart.
I know I’m a “sinner,” but I don’t really think I’ve done anything so
bad that I would deserve to go to Hell. Besides, I always ask God’s
forgiveness for my sins.
I feel awful when I’ve done something wrong. I ask God’s
forgiveness and I try to never do it again.
If anyone knew what I’m really like on the inside, they’d never speak
to me again. Even the thoughts I have are so impure I’m scared to
death to face God.
Other:

1 John 1:8 is more than just merely acknowledging, “I’m a sinner.”

Perhaps the most important sign of genuine Christianity is a depth of
understanding of your own state before God.
A genuine Christian does not think of himself as a good person. He no
longer justifies himself saying, “Oh, I’m not so bad. There are a lot of
people far worse than me.” Instead he sees every personal violation of
God’s Law as if it were a splash of red paint on a white wall.
Ask yourself how you did on this question. If you have trouble really
seeing the depth of your own sin before God, this could be a warning
sign.

QUESTION 2
Write out 1 John 1:8:
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How do you think of yourself? Choose all that apply:
 I know I've sinned. Who hasn't? No one's perfect. But I really try to do the right things
and I'm sure God considers me to be a pretty good person.
 When I stand before God on Judgment Day, I think my good deeds are going to
outweigh the things I've done wrong. God judges the heart, and He knows I'm basically
good at heart.
 I know I'm a "sinner," but I don't really think I've done anything so bad that I would
deserve to go to Hell. Besides, I always ask God's forgive-ness for my sins.
 I feel awful when I've done something wrong. I ask God's forgiveness and I try to
never do it again. If anyone knew what I’m really like on the inside, they’d never speak to 
me again. Even the thoughts I have are so impure I’m scared to death to face God.

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In your life, do you actively strive to obey God’s Commands? Do you work to force
yourself to obey Christ... even if it causes you pain? Do you diligently police even your
thought life to make it obedient to Christ? Take some time to think about this:

QUESTION 3
Write out 1 John 2:15:
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This is a tough one, especially when we live in such a materialistic
society, but here are some questions you can ask yourself:
Does your money belong to God first, or to you first? How tightly are
you holding on to material possessions? How easily and quickly could
you leave everything you own to go onto the mission field (if that’s
where God called you to go)?
And here’s another angle... Do you laugh at raunchy humor? Do you
love watching a television show that’s not God honoring? Do you pay
to see movies containing blasphemy and sex?
Can you think of some ways that you find yourself loving this
world?
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Do you love this world and the things of this world? Only you (and God)
can evaluate where you stand on this question, but God’s Word tells us
that if we love the stuff of this world—God’s enemy—then we are at
odds with God.

QUESTION 4
Write out 1 John 2:23:
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Who is Jesus? Choose all that apply:
Only a historical figure.
Only a prophet. and good teacher.
A Christ.
The Christ.
A son of God.
The son of God.
Fully God and fully man.
An angel.
The Archangel Michael.
The brother of Satan.
God the Son, the second person of the Trinity along with God the
Father, and God the Holy Spirit.

“Jesus Christ is God Himself. God is three persons – distinct, separate – yet one.
Co-existing. Co-eternal. If you do not understand that Jesus… you don’t have the
Father. We’ve got to know who the right Jesus is. Second John is loaded with the
understanding that if you don’t have good theology and a right understanding of
who Jesus Christ is, you’re not believing in the right God. You might as well
believe in a carved idol. You’ve got to have good theology about Jesus Christ.” –
Todd Friel

QUESTION 5
Write out 1 John 4:15:
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Depending on the translation you’re using, the Greek word homologeo
(Strong’s NT 3670) in this verse may be translated “confess,”
“acknowledge,” or “proclaim.” The same word is used in these two
verses:
Circle the word “confess” in both the following verses.
Matthew 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Luke 12:8
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men,
him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

These two other passages help us understand that 1John 4:15is

not talking about simply speaking the words “Jesus is the Son of God,”
it has to do with proclaiming that fact to other people. Genuine
Christians tell others about Jesus Christ. Hopefully they don’t just wait
for someone to ask, they intentionally share the gospel with the
unsaved.
It would be as if you had cancer ravaging your whole body. You’d
been told you only have, at most, a few weeks to live. A friend tells you
to try this new herbal drink that some group is claiming can cure
cancer. What do you have to lose? You try it. Within seconds you can
feel your body becoming stronger. Over the next hour, all symptoms of
the cancer fall away one by one. You become so excited that you rush
to your Doctor. He verifies that you are completely cancer free. You are
going to live! Could you contain your happiness? Could you prevent
yourself from telling every cancer patient you know about this miracle
drink?
Someone who has been saved by Christ from eternal Hell cannot
help but tell others about the miracle God’s done for them.
This scripture clearly states that if we fail to proclaim Jesus Christ
being the Son of God, we don’t live in God. In fact, Charles Spurgeon
said, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not
saved yourself. Be sure of that.”

“You know, when I heard this, I wasn’t sharing my faith either. And I said, ‘You
know, God, I’m going to prove it. I’m going to prove it. And I’m going to get out
and start talking to people about Jesus Christ. And I’m going to look like an idiot.
I don’t care.’ I don’t have a choice. How can I not? I have the words of eternal
life. How can I not share? How can I not? Imagine a Doctor that knows the cure
to cancer, but he’s too busy furthering his studies to share it with people. Cursed
Doctor! You have the words of life.” –Todd Friel

QUESTION 6
Write out 1 John 3:14:
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Genuine Christians love other Christians. That’s not to say we don’t
love non-Christians as well, but there’s something especially deep
about our love for our brothers in Christ.

Write out 1 John 1:7:

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Here again we’re told that one of the signs that we’re walking in the
light is that we’ll have fellowship with other Christians. If you’re a
Christian, you just enjoy hanging out with other Christians.
If it annoys you to be around people who just want to talk about Jesus
all the time, this could be a pretty profound warning sign.

QUESTION 7
Write out 1 John 3:8-9:
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To expand our understanding, and to add clarity, here are the same
two verses from the Amplified Bible:
[But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil
[takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned
(violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son
of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen,
and dissolve) the works the devil [has done]. No one born
(begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually]
practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life,
the seed God has planted, remains permanently within him]; and
he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
This is one of the toughest ones to tackle. It basically says that when
people “keep on” sinning it shows they belong to the Devil.
The Amplified Bible brings out a little more of the meaning in Greek.
Look again at this section:
No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually]
practices sin,
This passage is not saying that Christians never sin. That would be in
conflict with the rest of the Bible. (Just look back to QUESTION 1.)
However, if you’re living a lifestyle of lust, fornication pornography,
lying, cheating, embezzling, grumbling, gossip... whatever it is... If you
are deliberately, knowingly and habitually practicing it, you are proving
that you’ve not been born of God.
Have you been living a lifestyle of sin, and perhaps comforting yourself
with one of the following ideas?
I believe in Jesus, that’s enough.
I’m saved. I said a prayer. I was baptized.
I’m just a “carnal” Christian.
I’m backslidden, but still saved.
It’s no big deal... God forgives me.
If you answered “yes,” then please go back and re--read the verse
we’ve been discussing.
We will never reach perfection until God redeems us, but we should be
growing in holiness.
In his sermon, Todd says, “The Christian walk is not about perfection,
it’s about direction. And if you’re not moving in a direction of holiness,
you’re not in the truth.”
Are you progressing in the right direction? Are you more holy than you
were a year ago? If you have to honestly answer that you’ve not been
progressing in the direction of holiness... that’s a pretty serious
warning sign.