The Christ-Follower Pop Quiz
Am I a True Follower of Jesus Christ?
By David Drury
Have
you ever wondered whether you’re going to heaven or hell? Have you ever paused to ask yourself: am I really a true follower of Jesus Christ? Sure, you prayed a prayer or went to an altar
or checked a box or did whatever the pastor told you to do to signify that you
were becoming a Christian. But perhaps
there’s a bit of doubt in your mind.
Perhaps you don’t know if you’re really
on-board?
Or
maybe you have the opposite problem.
You’re maybe too sure of
yourself. You think that because you did
certain things way back when you’re “in” and it’s a done deal. You think you have more than just blessed assurance—you’ve got fire insurance. Guess what, you may need to take this quiz
too and check yourself out.
We
all need to keep asking ourselves if we are truly following Jesus Christ. That’s what it’s all about. So take this quiz and find out where you
stand on the Christ-follower meter below.
(If the whole premise of this quiz bothers you please go down to the
note at the end marked with an asterisk)*
_____________________________________________
The Christ-Follower Pop Quiz
[You may wish to print this off to take the pop quiz]
Give
yourself from 0-10 points on each category.
A full 10 points for “this is absolutely true about me” and 0 points for
“this is absolutely false about me.”
There is no “extra credit” on the Christ-Follower Pop Quiz.
QUIZ SUBSECTION 1: ORTHOPRAXY
RIGHT PRACTICE—A follower of Jesus Christ will live like Christ
did. They will be “like Him.” The word “Christian” means “like
Christ.” So if you’re asking “how do I
know if I’m a Christian” you have to simply say, “how much am I like Jesus
Christ?” This is largely a matter of
your actions. The things you do.
This isn’t about what you think or intend… it’s all about what you actually end up doing. Some people would call this your “orthopraxy”—your
“right practice.”
____ An
impartial observer would say that I am following all the commands of Jesus
Christ in the Bible. I am not practicing
any outward intentional sins.
____ Those
that know me best would say that I have repented (changed my actions) when it
comes to my past sins. In Christ I’ve
overcome them.
____ I engage
privately in every spiritual discipline God calls me to and I consistently
connect with God in a way that makes me more like Jesus Christ.
Total score for RIGHT
PRACTICE: _________ (out of 30 possible pts.)
Categorized tips on improving your
orthopraxy based on your score:
0-9 Seek
out someone to disciple you and teach you the fundamental life of
Christianity. Start by admitting some
things you do are sins, then replace those sinful actions with some simple
spiritual disciplines in your life.
10-19 Seek
out more rigorous accountability and support to cease sins that continue to
have hold of your life. You can also
your small group, class or pastor for help in living as Christ lived. Consider how you might overcome your areas of
spiritual weakness with your areas of spiritual strength.
20-29 Continue
to live as Christ did. Grow every
day. Make small improvements and don’t
get down on yourself when you don’t measure up—there is God’s grace to cover
any sin you commit, and God’s power to help you live out the actions you
omit.
30 You
may need to repent of your spiritual pride about your religious practices and
ask God to show you where you might improve in living out the right practice of
your faith.
QUIZ SUBSECTION 2: ORTHODOXY
RIGHT DOCTRINE—A follower of Jesus Christ will believe who he said
he is. They will take him at his word
and worship God for who God has revealed himself to be, rather than trying to
“invent” a system of belief that is more palatable to popular culture or
contemporary thought. A Christ-follower
must believe some things—having a right doctrine—about God. Without such beliefs a follower will fall
into heretical paths. Some people have
called this orthodoxy—your right doctrine.
____ I have a
completely biblical view of who Christ is: He is the Son of God, born of the
Virgin Mary, was crucified, dead and buried.
He then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. I do not doubt these things and take them as
facts about Jesus, whom I am following.
____ Those
that know me would say that I help them to believe in God more. I help others to strengthen their faith,
rather than tearing it down.
____ I believe
in God fully and submit even my opinions and reasoning to the shared doctrine
of Christ’s Church.
Total score for RIGHT
DOCTRINE: _________ (out of 30 possible pts.)
Categorized tips on improving your
orthodoxy based on your score:
0-9 Read
some books on the basic nature of Jesus Christ and the role of the Church. Meet with a pastor or theologian who might be
able to guide you to greater faith in God.
Instead of spreading your doubts to others, seek out the Truth of God
within community. And be sure to click this.
10-19 You
may need to spend some more time testing your faith. Join a discussion group about tough questions
and doubts you have. You might also try
reciting the Apostle’s
Creed once a day for an entire month or more. Pray for God to strengthen your faith in
Him. Just praying this will increase
your faith.
20-29 Continue
in your strong faith in God. Grow to
have full confidence in Jesus Christ and who he says he was. If your doctrine ends up being your highest
score, consider whether your lower scores in spirit and practice might
actually point to an unknown flaw in your beliefs.
30 You
may need to repent of your spiritual pride about your religious beliefs and ask
God to show you where you have doubted him and have not fully surrendered to
Him and His Church.
QUIZ SUBSECTION 3: ORTHOUSIOUS
RIGHT SPIRIT—A follower of Jesus Christ believes things and does
things for the right reasons. We cannot
simply “obey” our way into heaven. We
cannot simply “follow in the dust of our Rabbi Jesus” and do as he did and go
through the motions and expect that to “cover us.” We must have our hearts in the right
place. Other people may look at our
outward appearance or our stated beliefs—but God looks at the heart.
Others may score you at 30 in this category when in reality you may be a
0. When it comes down to it, so much
depends on having the right motives.
Though this isn’t a real word, to follow our format so I’m calling this orthousious—or right spirit.
____ When I do
a good deed for someone else I never hope they will notice it and think better
of me. I do good deeds because they
honor God, not because they help me gain anything in this life.
____ I believe
what I believe because of faith—not because it will get me anywhere. I do not ever assent to public beliefs while
still having private doubts.
____ I am not
a hypocrite. I do not point out the
“speck” in other people’s eyes when in reality I have a “plank” in my own eye
to deal with. When I see the sins of
others I deal with them out of love and respect and kindness—instead of taking
pleasure in the weaknesses of others.
Total score for RIGHT
SPIRIT: _________ (out of 30 possible pts.)
Categorized tips on improving your
orthousious based on your score:
0-9 Everyone
else may think you are doing fine spiritually but you know you are not. Inside you feel rotten about your false
motives. A time of confession is
needed. Find a group of 2 or more
believers, perhaps a small group, perhaps even an entire church, to confess
your false motives to and then ask God to give you the right spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His true
motives.
10-19 You
may need to stop doing some actions or faking your belief in some doctrines in
order to be more authentic. Stop doing
things just because they are expected—and start doing them for the right
reasons. As a discipline, do one good
deed each day for a month that no one could ever find out you did for them and
do not tell anyone about it.
20-29 Continue
do good deeds and believe for the right reasons. But also check yourself on whether you intend
good things but don’t actually follow-through.
If this is your highest score in this quiz ask yourself if your lack of
faithfulness in the other areas actually points to problem with your
heart-motivation.
30 You
may need to repent of your spiritual pride about your religious motives and ask
God to show you where you might improve in having the right spirit.
QUIZ SUBSECTION 4:
RIGHT RELATIONSHIP—A follower of Jesus Christ has a right relationship to, in
and for God. Some people talk about having a “relationship
with God.” You might consider this
phrase to be a verbal shorthand for having a right relationship to, in
and for God… they relate to Him, they
live in Him and they act for Him.
____ I have
asked God to forgive my sin and I live my life for Jesus in the power of His
Spirit.
Total score for RIGHT
RELATIONSHIP: _________ (out of 10 possible pts.)
Categorized tips on improving your
orthopraxy based on your score:
0-2 You
can take a moment right now to do exactly that: ask God the Father to forgive
you and begin to live your life for Jesus in the power of the Spirit.
3-6 You
may have made some past decisions to “become a Christian” but you may not have
fully grasped the gravity of it or truly committed your whole heart, mind and
soul to it. You can take a moment right
now to recommit your life to Christ.
7-10 Remind
yourself that you have already done this: that God has truly forgiven you, you
live your life for God and you have the power of God to live it as he wills you
to. Don’t live in a constant state of
guilt—but instead have that blessed
assurance through total dependence
on God.
Total score for ALL 4
SUBSECTIONS: _________ (out of 100 possible pts.)
*Of course, it is totally impossible to boil down
whether one is a true follower of Jesus Christ to a simple ten question quiz
like this one. It’s ludicrous
really. But the reason for this quiz is
not to give you an authoritative way to know if you’re in or out—but rather to
help you assess where you are in your life when it comes to following
Jesus. It can help you find your areas
of growth and your areas of strength.
More than anything I hope you’ll see that a Christ-follower must have
all of these areas present in their life.
One cannot have a right doctrine and spirit but be drastically lacking
in right practice (we lawless Christians and hypocrites might fall in this
category). One cannot also have a right
spirit and right practice but be drastically lacking in right doctrine (we who
flirt with heretical views and doctrine might fall in this category). And likewise one cannot have a right practice
and right doctrine without also having the right spirit about it all (we
Christians who have a false motive would fall into this category.)
So, my real hope is that you would crave a balanced
Christian life and integrate those three areas within your forgiven
Christ-following way of life.
_________
© 2006 by David Drury
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