Now when He (Jesus - mlw) came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"

But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John - where was it from? From heaven or from men?" 

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?"  "But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." (Matthew 21:23-26 NKJV)

What Say You? is about your knowledge and understanding of God's word, the Bible.  We would do well to ask ourselves a similar question as posed to the chief priests and elders by Jesus - "The spiritual and religious beliefs I hold to be true, where are they from?  From heaven or from men?"

To the left of this page is a link entitled Self-Evaluation.  It is simply a series of questions and readings of relevant Scriptures to help you understand whether or not the things you believe to be true are from heaven (God) or men.

Paul exhorted the Christians at Corinth, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?-Unless indeed you are disqualified" (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV). The need to examine and test ourselves is as vital to our salvation today as it was for Christians living in the first century.

The evaluation itself contains no trick questions.  This self-paced study does have a purpose and the questions and readings are directed towards meeting that end.

To the left of this page are links to the Answers and Comments for each section.  These can be viewed at anytime.  However, three of the purposes of this study include:

1. Evaluating your own knowledge of Scripture

2. Learning for yourself what God's word teaches

3. Drawing your own conclusions based on personal study.

In this way, you will own what you believe having studied and confirmed such truths for yourself. (Acts 17:11-12)

The apostle Peter reminded Christians whom he called "pilgrims" (1 Peter 1:1 NKJV), or sojourners, (the idea of being a temporary resident upon this earth), that they were to "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." 

Again I would ask, are the answers you give for the hope that is in you, are they from heaven or men?  If from men, will such beliefs really bring about the hope that is in you?

Regarding the self-evaluation, four things will be required of you: honesty, humility, an open mind and of course, an open Bible.

As for the requirement of a Bible, use a version most familiar to you.  Scripture references and quotations noted in the Self-Evaluation are from the New King James Version (NKJV).

Ultimately, I believe the study and self-evaluation will bring you either to a place of comfort, or to a point of concern.

Regardless of the end result, you owe it to yourself to examine your beliefs in light of God's word (John 12:48-50; Revelation 20:12).

Best Wishes,

Michael Wilk

theholyspiritsgift@gmail.com