God’s history as a test of how well you know his character

If you know someone’s character, you can accurately explain what they did in the past and why. A powerful test to assess the breadth of your knowledge of God’s character is to consider how well you can explain what God did in the scriptures. The first and most obvious question is: how familiar are you with the stories themselves? If you are not familiar with what he did in the past, it is unlikely you have any idea what he will do in the future.

For each story, ask whether you can explain what he said or did. Why didn’t he say or do anything else? Can you explain the differences between occasions when he was proactive, when he waited to respond to someone else, or when he remained silent or aloof ? Can you explain why he healed people when he did and how he did? Can you explain why and when he didn’t heal people? Can you explain why he sometimes received violence, sometimes resisted it, and other times inflicted it? Can you explain why he sometimes endured persecution and sometimes fled from it? Can you explain his behavior in the Old Testament, and seamlessly link it to the consistent character of what he demonstrated in the New? If your model of God’s character can’t explain why destroying whole cities and nations is the epitome of righteousness, your model is significantly limited.

Any of God’s recorded behavior that conflicts with your present understanding of him provides you with opportunities to get to know him better. If you can’t explain why Jesus did things in the past, how can you hope to predict what he will do in the future?