The Assessments
Diagnostic tools for testing what you believe — and what you have inherited — by Scripture and the apostolic pattern.
Each assessment is a self-diagnostic, not a verdict. Answer honestly — not as you think you should, but as you actually believe — and each one maps where your convictions stand, where they may conflict, and where they differ from the traditions that shaped you. Nothing is graded; the goal is to see clearly what deserves testing.
They are arranged to move from inherited assumptions, to authority and interpretation, to the gospel and the apostolic response. You can take them in any order, but the sequence is designed to build one question upon another.
What Have You Inherited?
Most Christians receive their doctrine from many sources — churches, teachers, denominations, family, and experience — without ever testing whether the pieces agree. This assessment helps you trace what you have inherited and where it may need testing by Scripture.
Where Is Your Theology Coming From?
Every Christian believes his theology is biblical — yet the same Bible yields sharply different conclusions. This foundational diagnostic surfaces the authorities, teachers, traditions, systems, experiences, and interpretive habits actually shaping what you believe, so each one can be brought under Scripture.
The Inspired Word
Do you receive the apostles’ teaching as Christ’s own word — given by the Spirit, delivered once for all? A diagnostic on inspiration and inerrancy, the source and completeness of revelation, and whether the apostolic word actually governs your reading.
Under Christ’s Authority
Nearly everyone calls Jesus Lord — but where does His authority reach you, how far does it extend, and what does it require? A diagnostic on the source of His authority, its scope over your life, what submission demands, and who has the say now.
Interpretation
How do you read the Bible — and what actually decides what it means? A diagnostic on what governs a passage’s meaning, how you handle its context and plain sense, and where your definitions of biblical words come from.
Testing All Things
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” Do you test teaching, teachers, spirits, and experiences by Scripture — or by feeling, results, or reputation? A diagnostic on how you actually decide what to believe.
What Is Sin?
Is sin bad behavior, a wound, harm to others, or what a culture condemns? A diagnostic on what sin is and against whom, how far it reaches, what it deserves, and what actually deals with it — with a final unscored section on the questions the church has divided over.
The Gospel
There is only one gospel — but many messages travel under its name. Which do you actually believe? A diagnostic on what the gospel is, the problem it answers, the ground of salvation, and the response God requires.
What Is Grace?
Is grace God overlooking sin, an infused substance, the opposite of every human response, or a guarantee to presume on? A diagnostic on what grace is, how it is received, what it does, and where it leads — testing your view against the four common reductions and the opposite error of earning it.
What Is Faith?
Everyone speaks of faith — but faith in whom, believing what, of what kind, and coming from where? A diagnostic on the object of faith, its content, its living marks, and how it comes to be — testing your view against the four common reductions of faith.
What Is a Work?
Salvation is not earned by works — but is repentance a work? Is baptism? Must good works follow? A diagnostic on whether works can earn salvation, whether obeying the gospel is a “work,” the place of good works, and what Paul meant by “works.”
What Is Obedience?
Is obedience how we earn God’s acceptance, or the fruit of a standing already given? A diagnostic on to whom obedience is owed, where it comes from, what kind it is, and what it follows — testing your view against the four common reductions: legalism, moralism, indifference, and selective compliance.
What Did Jesus and the Apostles Command?
Whose commands bind you — only Jesus’ words, His and His apostles’, or whatever an age still finds agreeable? And how does obedience relate to salvation? A diagnostic on the authority of the commands, whether obeying is necessary, how much you must keep, and whether salvation is one decision or a continuing walk.
What Is Baptism?
Union with Christ and the washing away of sins — or a covenant sign, or a mere symbol? A diagnostic on what baptism does, whether it is necessary, who should receive it, and how it is administered.
What Is Perseverance?
Is enduring to the end a matter of personal grit, unbroken victory, or passive waiting? A diagnostic on what perseverance holds fast, where its strength comes from, what it looks like, and what it follows — testing your view against the four common reductions: stoic grit, triumphalism, fatalism, and withdrawal.
What Is a Christian?
Is a Christian anyone who believes — or a disciple who has obeyed the gospel and belongs to Christ? A diagnostic on what makes someone a Christian, the kind of faith required, the place of baptism, and continuing under Christ’s lordship.
Am I Saved?
How do you know your sins are forgiven, you are saved, and you have the gift of the Holy Spirit? A diagnostic that tests your assurance against the apostolic gospel and response — the gospel believed, faith, repentance, confession, baptism, forgiveness, the Spirit, and continuing in Christ — with a score for each area, flags on the critical points, and an estimate of the traditions your answers most resemble.
More Assessments
Additional diagnostics are in development — each tracing a doctrine to its scriptural and apostolic source. Start with the inheritance assessment, or follow the sequence above from authority to gospel to apostolic response.
How the Assessments Work
- Answer honestly. The point is not to appear consistent, but to see what you actually hold.
- Get a diagnostic outcome. Your answers are mapped to a pattern, with the tensions and differences named.
- See where you differ. Each assessment compares your answers to the traditions and teachers that shaped you.
- Download or share. Save a branded PDF of your results, or contribute your answers anonymously for research.
- Then test it. Every outcome is a starting point — take one tension it surfaces and test it carefully by Scripture.
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NKJV)