Testing of faith was required until AD70 in the last generation of the Law. Today we are already perfect in Christ by His faith.

The Bible epistles were not directly written to us.

They were written by Jews to the Churches who lived in the last generation of Israel’s law in the 1st Century.

That is why there are no Apostles or scriptures after the 1st century. All of that ended when the law passed away.

The believers were required to endure in faith, carry the cross, go through tribulation/trials, follow Jesus and fulfill the law (becoming like Jesus just like He fulfilled the law).

All the Apostles, including Paul, preached a similar message.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring”

Acts 14:22 “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We (Paul and believers) must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.”

Hebrews 12 “7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children…..And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Revelation 2 “3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary…..10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

James 1 “12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him……2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything….”

1 Peter 1 “6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

1 Peter 4 “12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

James 2 “8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”

Romans 13 “8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. …. 11 And do this, understanding the PRESENT TIME: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed….clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Romans 8 “18 I consider that our PRESENT sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us….22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the PRESENT TIME….29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, .”

They were called to suffer, endure, carry the cross, follow Jesus…to FULFILL the LAW…they had to be tested in their faith to overcome just like Jesus…to fulfill the law just like Jesus…to walk just like Jesus !!

They had to fulfill the law and overcome all the persecution and hardships JUST LIKE JESUS did on the cross !!

Matthew 5 “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Revelation 3 “21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

1 John 2 “6 Whoever claims to live in him MUST live as Jesus did.”

Ephesians 5 “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us”

Why were they asked to do all this?

It was because they were living in the LAST GENERATION of the Law and they had to fulfill the Law just like Jesus.

Hebrews 1 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son”

1 Peter 4 “The end of all things is near”

1 Corinthians 10 “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. …. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness…..11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the END of the ages has come. “

The 1st Century Church were just like the children of Israel who spent 40 years in the wilderness.

The 1st Century Church lived in the LAST DAYS of the Law….the end of the Age of the Law…..that is why their faith was tested during the great tribulation before the Law was removed in AD70.

Hebrews 8:13 “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

Hebrews 10 “36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. “

Hebrews 12 “28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God”

Hebrews 13 “12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”

They were looking forward to the destruction of Jerusalem (old covenant) and waiting to enter the heavenly Jerusalem (new covenant).

They were transitioning in the last generation of the old covenant and entering into the new covenant.

Galatians 4 “One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.”

The old covenant kingdom of Israel was destroyed in AD70 when the earthly Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed.

The Law ended.

The tribulation ended.

The trials of faith ended.

The need to fulfill the Law has ended.

The need to become like Jesus has ended.

The Law does not exist today.

Therefore we are not called to be like Jesus.

We are already complete and perfect in Christ.

We don’t need to be under trials of faith or endurance.

We don’t need to carry the cross or be tested.

We are saved by the faith of Jesus.

He carried the cross.

He did everything.

We are righteous without doing anything.

We are righteous by the faith (obedience) of Jesus.