EVALUATE YOUR GROWTH
God is a good teacher and he makes learning fun. He gives quizzes everyday, but they are open book tests so we have no excuses for not passing.

We will know if we are maturing as New Covenant disciples by constantly examining our attitudes and affections for Old/First Covenant religion and by evaluating what we are learning. If we are reading with the right motives and an open heart, we will find some new and old treasures every time we read. The treasures will come in the form of revelations that explain dark sayings, proverbs and riddles, figures of speech, words of the wise and riddles, dreams and visions, enigmas and difficult problems, shadows, types and patterns, and symbols, signs and allegories.

God planted these mysteries in the Bible for a purpose: To refine and transform the hearts of men. And now it is up to those who say that they love God and want to serve him to take the test to learn if they love him with all their heart or only with their mouths.

We will find these treasures only when we ask “what does this mean, what is the symbolism of this?” when we encounter difficult scriptures. God does not give understanding, however, until we set aside our pride in thinking that we know and understand the Bible because we have read it and have listened to good teaching by knowledgeable teachers. This is important because if we think we have learned all the truth we need from a human teacher, or by our own intellectual study, God will not give us his truth. He is this way because he is very adamant (i.e. jealous) about his people listening to his voice and not to the voices of false prophets.

Students in all levels of academia are tested to document how much they have learned. Students of music and sports also have experts watching and rating their progress to determine if they are qualified to move up to a higher level of competition. And parents and employers constantly evaluate their children and workers to determine if they are living up to standards set for them. But when it comes to spiritual growth, God watches his people, of course, but does not give them a report card to help them understand how they are doing in obeying his laws and listening to his voice. Therefore, lacking an objective, external evaluation, disciples on are their own to look for spiritual clues that will tell them how they are doing. Plus, those who study together with others have the advantage of their insights and observations.

In this series of pages we will help New Covenant disciples find those spiritual clues. These clues fall into one or both of two categories regarding our religious lives:

When we begin to notice these changes, we should be encouraged that transformation of the mind has begun and that God is beginning to perfect us by opening our spiritual eyes and healing us from bondage to the sin of religion. These are good, positive effects of study.

At the same time, however, awareness of these changes might be uncomfortable to us for several reasons:

Uncomfortable as they may be, these feelings of doubt, mistrust, and alienation are good, positive signs that our studies are beginning to yield fruit. They are signs that we are beginning to die to our need for religion as we hear and respond to God’s voice.