The Jesus Test

Open to every good gift. Anchored in Christ.

“…test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”

The voices have changed; the challenge has not. From Abraham to Daniel to Paul in Athens, God’s people have always lived among competing voices — and ours now fit in a pocket. This first lesson in the series follows Paul into a city full of idols and ideas: he didn’t run, and he didn’t accept everything. He listened, recognized what was true, tested it, and brought the conversation to Jesus.

1. 1

   Every Religion Asks: How Do I Reach God?

   The System

   Human beings have always been searching — Who is God? Why am I here? What happens when I die? How do I get to God? The answers have produced systems: meditation, discipline, ritual, pilgrimage, moral achievement, enlightenment. Not mocking any of them. People are searching. Three out of four people on earth identify with some religion — the search is as alive today as it was in ancient Athens, where Paul preached (Acts 17).

2. 2

   The Gospel Begins With God’s Love

   The Savior

   Before the Gospel tells us what we must do, it tells us what God has done. He came toward us because He loves us. The story of salvation begins not with humanity searching for God, but with a God whose love moves Him toward His creation — the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. At the center of Christianity is not a man climbing a throne. It is God stepping down from one.

3. 3

   Paul Didn’t Run From the Voices

   Acts 17:16–34

   God’s people have never lived in a world with only one voice — Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Jesus, Paul. Paul’s story is told in Acts 17:16–34. He walked into Athens, the great Greek city, full of idols and the latest ideas — and he observed, listened, reasoned, and engaged. He quoted their poets without accepting their whole worldview. He listened, recognized, tested, and redirected — and brought the conversation to Jesus.

4. 4

   Jesus Must Remain at the Center

   The Jesus Test

   Paul’s Athens was a city full of competing voices. Ours fits in our pocket — YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, podcasts, and more, all on one phone. We don’t suffer from a lack of information; we suffer from an abundance of voices. Tradition, culture, teachers, experience, and opinion can’t be the center. John doesn’t say believe every voice — and he doesn’t say be afraid of every voice. He says, “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1–3). And the test always comes back to Jesus: he must remain at the center.

5. 5

   Test It. Keep What Is Good. Leave What Isn’t.

   1 Thessalonians 5:21–22

   A critical spirit listens for what to reject. A discerning spirit listens carefully enough to recognize what is true. We don’t have to surrender our convictions in order to listen, and we don’t have to reject a person in order to disagree with them. Embrace the greater. Talk through the lesser. Jesus belongs at the center.