My junior high and high school years were back in the late 1960’s. I graduated from a small town in Oklahoma in 1970. Back then you went to school all day and you had a different class each hour. The school bell would ring and you had ten minutes to get to your next class. Some classes were mandatory and other classes you could choose as electives. I received a very good education. I can recall half a dozen times during my school years when my teachers gave us an open book test. An open book test means just that. You’re given graded test questions and you’re allowed to “open” your class textbook and look up the answers. The teacher always assured the students beforehand that the answers to every question were in the textbook.
Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.
Isaiah 33:6 – Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.
Let’s say you have twenty questions on the open book test worth five points each for a total possible score of 100 points. It’s relatively easy for every student in the class to look up the answers and score 95-100 points on the test every time with minimal effort; without even having to pay attention to any of the class lectures or study the textbook. Now if you only have three or four tests in each class year to determine your final grade then a good score on an open book test would raise your overall average so you pass the class with ease. An open book test is just a way to level the playing field for all students and ensure that every student passes the class.
Isaiah 43:11 – I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.
Psalm 18:31 – For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?
Personally, I hated open book tests at the time and I saw no reason to have them. I’m competitive by nature and I went into every class like it was mortal combat with all the other students. I was determined to be the last one standing. My goal was to always be the number one student in each class and I almost always ended up in the top three with that mindset. Since I was such a good student I resented open book tests because they stifled my competitive edge. It took away my advantage over the other students. Open book tests make it more difficult to identify the knowledge level of each student and in my mind it cheapened all my hard work to be the best in class. Back then I was totally self-centered and selfish. Everything was about “me” and what I wanted and needed. I really didn’t care about anyone else.
Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 144:4 – Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Looking back now I have a different perspective. I see now the teacher was only using the open book test as a way of letting students learn in class, kind of like homework done at school. An open book test never really affects how students are ranked in the bell curve of a normal class grading system because everyone scores well. In order to not discourage the better students all the open book tests I participated in had some bonus questions at the end of the test for extra points. It wasn’t mandatory to answer the bonus questions and many didn’t bother. These were always the tough essay questions where the answer wasn’t in the textbook. You had to know the material in the textbook as well as the lecture material to ace the bonus questions. You had to actually think and come to logical conclusions based on the facts instead of regurgitating answers from memory. Some points were awarded for partially correct answers.
Psalm 53:1 – The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
Psalm 119:18 – Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
I haven’t relived my school years merely for nostalgia reasons, but to make a point. I want to make an analogy between taking an open book test during my school years and our brief lives on this planet. The life we’re living is an open book test whether we recognize it or not. When God gave us our life at conception, both physically and spiritually, there were strings attached. Our job in life is to understand what those strings are. At birth we’re all enrolled in the class called “life”, which lasts as long as we live. Being in this class is the price we pay for being alive and it’s an independent home study course. The life class isn’t graded on the curve; it’s strictly pass or fail. We are accountable only to our teacher, Jehovah God, who alone decides our grade. Our teacher created a textbook for the “life” course which we refer to as the Holy Bible. God assures us that all the answers to get a passing grade are in the textbook. There is only one question on the open book test of life; with a binary choice: “Will you serve God or will you serve Satan?”
Psalm 139:14 – I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
Philippians 3:20 – For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our teacher and he created the open book test of life we all must take. Because of God’s actions we understand that God wants us all to get a passing grade on the test. God confirms that in his word, our Holy Bible. In fact, the Bible is one long love letter from God telling us how much he loves us and wants us to be with him in heaven forever. God makes the test so easy with only one question on the test we need to answer and a textbook with the answer explained clearly. If you select “God” on the open book test it means you believe Jehovah is the one true God of this world and Jesus is his son. By choosing God it means you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This gets you a “passing” grade for the class of life. This means all your sins against God are forgiven. The sinner’s prayer is in the Bible and following it is the well known process of salvation unto eternal life. Google sinner’s prayer and then do what it says.
Ecclesiastes 2:14 – The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.
1 Corinthians 1:18 – For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The sinner’s prayer is also on the last page of every Christian tract from chick.com. God has intentionally made salvation easy for us. It’s not rocket science. Believe in God and his son Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus came down from heaven and died on the cross for our sins. Accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As a believer you’re gifted eternal life and when you die you’ll go to heaven to be in the presence of Jesus for all eternity. You become an adopted child of God making you royalty in heaven. Salvation is only by faith but all believers still have to stand before the bema judgment seat of Christ on the last day to receive their rewards for works done in the body. These rewards determine what position and privileges we receive in heaven for all eternity. The number one good work for God is witnessing the gospel of Christ to nonbelievers.
Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Proverbs 14:25 – A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.
Think of witnessing for Christ as earning bonus points on the open book test of life. You’ve already passed the class and gone from eternal death to eternal life. Working for God after that is all for extra credit. The difference is God commands us to witness for Christ and those treasures we build up in heaven as a result of our service will last for all eternity. When you stand before Jesus he will ask you point blank, “Have you shared the gospel message with nonbelievers?” To get any kind of reward in heaven you need to be able to answer “yes” to that question. God leaves believers on earth primarily to save lost souls for the kingdom of God. As a foot soldier for Christ you must be worth your salt. Other good works we do for the kingdom of God like helping the poor and needy are just icing on the cake. Witnessing for Christ is the cake. When we reap souls for the kingdom of God and when we sow the gospel seed that ultimately becomes a link in the gospel chain that leads to someone being saved for the kingdom of God then we are building up treasure in heaven which we’ll receive on the last day. Think of our witnessing as making a “giant cake” in heaven. Without the cake the icing from other good works is useless and you might as well throw them in the trash. If we don’t do the main thing God requires of us, which is to share our witnessing for Christ with nonbelievers, we cannot please God. It’s that simple.
Isaiah 1:18 – Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Choosing God is the correct answer! If you select “Satan” on the open book test of life then all your sins will remain with you which means you get a “failing” grade on the open book test of life. At conception God gives everyone a piece of himself; a spirit that is eternal because God is eternal. Our physical body dies because of the sin in our body inherited from Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden due to his original sin against God. At death our immortal spirit must come out of the corpse and return to the God who made it. We belong to God. God has decided our eternal spirit, the real us, will reside in one of two places. We will spend all eternity in either heaven or hell. There is no third choice. The spirit of all believers who pass the open book test of life will go directly to heaven when they die to be in the presence of Jesus Christ forever. On the other hand, anyone who fails the open book test of life by selecting Satan will wind up in hell immediately upon death; for all eternity, in constant pain and torment. The Great White Throne judgement is just for nonbelievers whom God will resurrect bodily on the last day. All the damned of all ages; all those who failed the open book test of life, will stand before Jesus Christ for eternal judgment.
Isaiah 46:9-10 – Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel will stand, and I will do all My pleasure.
Jeremiah 17:10 – I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind. Even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
All who have rejected the saving grace of God are without excuse when they stand before Jesus on the last day. All the right answers were right there in front of them all the time; in the textbook of life we know as God’s Word (the Holy Bible). God put eternity in the hearts of men so we would know there is a God and search for him. All nonbelievers who will stand before Jesus at the Great White Throne judgment will have no excuse because God made us to know deep down in our souls that he exists. God made the heavens and the earth which clearly carry his fingerprints. God made man and we are indeed wonderfully made. Do you really believe man evolved from one cell organisms? Give me a break. The human brain is the greatest computer in the universe and we still can’t figure out exactly how our mind works. Man only uses 10% of his brain capacity which totally destroys the theory of evolution and fits in perfectly with the story of creation found in the book of Genesis.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Psalm 8:3-4 – When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?
Over and over the Bible says God made man so why not believe the literal truth of God? It’s the simplest and most logical answer. Knowing that all this information about God is available in the Bible to anyone who seeks it can any nonbeliever have the audacity to stand before Jesus and honestly say they don’t know about God? Ignorance is no excuse. After being sentenced by God to eternal damnation on the last day every nonbeliever will be grabbed bodily by an angel of God and hurled into the lake of fire and brimstone forever. Visualize that happening to you; because it will if you don’t belong to God. Please don’t let that happen to you! Seek God’s salvation unto eternal life while you still can. By the way, if you failed to pick either “God” or “Satan” on the open book test of life then you have picked Satan by default. Your punishment is the same as if you had selected ‘Satan.” You have failed the open book test of life. Let me repeat myself. You only pass the open book test of life and go to heaven if you make a positive choice to serve God while you live. There is no do-over on the test. You only get one shot at this so don’t blow it. God is not mocked.
Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Zechariah 12:1 – The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.
The really sad thing is the vast majority of human beings don’t even realize they’re taking an open book test with their life. If they did most people would pass the test with ease. So why don’t they realize it? Because Satan is the god of this world and he has put scales on the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see the truth of God. Satan has done a good job of diverting the truth of God from mankind through his lies and deception as evidenced by the fact the vast majority of people are on a path straight to hell. Satan has sponsored all the fake religions and false gods throughout history to fool man by hiding the truth of God. Our job as believers and witnesses for Christ is to open the eyes of nonbelievers about their test status on the earth and show them the truth of God before it’s too late. All the fake religions and false gods throughout the centuries have blinded countless millions of souls so they never found the grace of God. It’s so tragic and sad. As believers we know the truth of God and we feel the weight of all those lost souls on our shoulders. We feel the burden to tell nonbelievers about God. We must work God’s harvest field and save all we can. It’s our reasonable service for the grace of God we have received.
Proverbs 3:19 – The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.
Psalm 84:2 – My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Before our salvation we care mostly about ourselves but now as believers we love every soul God has made because we know they are our brothers and sisters. We know we are possibly the last chance nonbelievers have for salvation unto eternal life. As believers we can’t bear the thought of someone burning in hell forever when we could’ve helped them find the truth of God. We witness for Christ out of love for Jesus and what he has done for us and also out of love for the lost. The chances for one on one witnessing are usually few and far between, especially in this age of the covid-19 virus. Find other ways to share your witness for Christ; be creative. I do “passive” witnessing through my Christian blog site and by distributing Christian tracts I purchase from www.chick.com. Find you own way to serve the Lord. Make it your mission to seek and save the lost souls of this world. Pray for God’s guidance and serve God where he leads you.
Psalm 63:1 – O God, You are My God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
Psalm 107:9 – For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
For Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and all other followers of fake religions and false gods of the world, I challenge you to prove me wrong. My God versus your god; like Elijah facing off against the priests of Baal. Your god stands lifeless and mute before the living God (Jehovah). Your souls are at risk by following a false god. Only my God Jehovah has proven he is God. Only Jehovah has fulfilled over 500 prophecies from the Bible whereas all the other false gods combined have fulfilled exactly zero prophecies in all of human history. They can’t because they’re all false gods from fake religions. Only Jehovah says to come taste him to see that he is good. Only Jehovah is unafraid of competition and examination because he is the truth! In Isaiah 1:18 and Isaiah 45:22 God clearly challenges man to check him out and he will come to the realization that he is God. Nobody can afford to get this decision wrong because eternity is a long time and being in hell in constant pain and agony is too horrible to imagine.
Jeremiah 29:13 – And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Anyone who reads the Bible twice with an open mind will find God and become a believer because the Holy Spirit of God is always there when the word of God is read. 98% of the people reading the Bible in its entirety for the first time, at some point, will come to the realization that they are holding the word of God. I still remember when it happened to me. Always cherish the moment. Even those few hardheads who make up the remaining 2% will know the truth of God by the end of their second reading of the Bible. I’ve never run across anyone who has read the Bible multiple times who isn’t a believer. On the other hand, I’ve never run across an atheist or agnostic who has ever read the entire Bible even one time so how can they be so sure they’re right? As a nonbeliever, when you read the Bible ask God to speak to your heart and reveal the truth of God to you. Don’t just take my word for it. Try if for yourself and see that I’m right about God. God has promised to reveal himself to you if you keep asking and patiently wait for God to answer. God says he will answer you and God cannot lie. This can be done even if you only have that small amount of faith God gives all men. Look at the thief who was crucified alongside Jesus. His faith was small yet he was saved. As you read the Bible all you have to do is pray and the small amount of faith you have will bring forth the truth of God if you give it time.
Psalm 143:6 – I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land.
Psalm 42:1 – As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God.
I was on the internet last night and there was an article on AOL listing the rich and famous who didn’t believe in God. Their money, fame and, in some cases, great power has gone to their heads. In their pride and arrogance they think they know better than God. Not one of them has ever read the entire Bible so what makes them an authority on God? Satan has blinded them so they only do what’s right in their own eyes and they’ll reap the whirlwind as a result. In the eyes of God they are fools. All that money, fame and power will mean nothing when they’re on their deathbed. Death is the great equalizer. I know from personal experience from people I’ve witnessed to and from books I’ve read about how the rich and famous died and I can’t recall even one instance where a nonbeliever died happy and at peace. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
Everyone has a fear of death but especially the nonbeliever. No matter how cocky nonbelievers are now they’ll become terrified of the unknown as death approaches, whereas believers are at peace because they know they’re going home to be with Jesus. Nonbelievers will not go gently into that good night. Angels will escort believers to heaven when they die and nonbelievers who die will be escorted by demons to the pit of hell where they will face unimaginable horror for all eternity. I ask all nonbelievers to turn to God now and avoid the coming terror they will face at the end of their lives. I implore and exhort all nonbelievers to accept God’s saving grace and avoid eternal death in the lake of fire and brimstone where they’ll be in pain and agony forever.
Proverbs 1:25-27 – Because you disdained all My counsel, and would have none of My rebuke. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
Psalm 34:8 – Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!