Family Bible Studies

Notes by Deborah Disher

Why God Tests Us
7/6/07

Deuteronomy 8:2-9, 16
God intended all along to test Israel--before they reached the Promised Land. He wanted to humble them, and prove them—to discover whether they would live by faith, or  whether they would focus on physical things without trusting God.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Hebrews 3:7-4:11
Israel complained and griped the entire way to the Promised Land. It turned out those who left Egypt were a generation unworthy to receive blessings. God learned this about them during the forty years it took them to reach Canaan. That evil generation was not allowed into the Promised Land.

The situation is a lesson for us in the church. God is only giving eternal life to those He can trust. We must expect to be proven over the course of our lives, until our character reaches a point that God judges worthy to preserve forever. It will take time, just as children don’t grow up overnight into adults. 

God is a great teacher. A teacher first instructs, then tests to see if the lesson was learned. As we learn more, God will test us to see if we retain instruction and character. We should be learning to fear and obey God, trusting Him absolutely. 

James 1:1-4, 12-18, 1 Peter 1:6-7, 4:12-19, Hebrews 12:5-6, Romans 8:17-18
All Christians will be tried. Adam and Eve failed to pass the test they were given. God permits Satan to tell humanity lies, through many various means (Revelation 12:9). He is generally successful because people tend not to look to God for wisdom but to their own human reason, as Adam and Eve did. It is only when people rely on God and look to Him that they will not be taken in by deception. Adam and Eve failed because they didn’t believe that God knew best. They did not have God’s Holy Spirit in them. The church is able to ask for and to receive God’s Spirit (Luke 11:9-13, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)—and with Christ's help we can overcome Satan and the world (Revelation 3:21). We need to remember that God does know best, and to follow him no matter what tests or trials come our way. When Solomon asked God for wisdom, God granted it abundantly (2 Chronicles 1:7-12).  The same applies to us (James 1:5). 

The potential reward of being given God-plane existence and eternal life is exciting and awe-inspiring beyond measure. It is a position that carries immense power—and we must become trustworthy to use power only for good. We must be fully deception-proof against Satan’s way of thinking. The reward is to be given, under Christ, rulership over “all things” — the whole universe.
This Bible study was given by Matthew Kalliman on 7/6/07