For Woodfin, this pragmatic channel constitutes the evidential confirmation of the validity of Christian belief about God revealed in Jesus Christ by the examination of the practical impact of such belief.
According to Woodfin, this pragmatic approach appears frequently in the New Testament. For instance, Woodfin cites, Nathan's question to Philip, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" and the response "Come and see." (John 1:46) The response demonstrates that the "proof is in the pudding" so to speak. The response is a call on the part of Philip to observe the practicalities of the life, which Jesus lived as a verification of his own identity. Further, Woodfin points to a sermon by Dr. Daniel Fuller in which he examines the Acts narrative, which describes Barnabas as a "good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And (as a result), a large company was added to the Lord." Barnabas' faith had so convincingly impacted his life that others were compelled to believe also.
Moving beyond the biblical material, the writings of Justin Martyr also employ the pragmatic test:
After our conversion by the Word . . . we who devoted ourselves to the arts of magic now consecrate ourselves to the good an unbegotten God; we who loved above all else the ways of acquiring riches and possessions now hand over to a community fund what we possess, and share it with every needy person, we who hated and killed one another and would not share our hearth with those of another tribe because of their different customs, now, after coming of Christ, live together with them, and pray for our enemies, and try to convince those who hate us unjustly, so that they who live according to the good commands of Christ hay have a firm hope of receiving the same reward as ourselves from God who governs all. (Saint Justin Martyr, The First Apology, in The Fathers of the Church, trans. Thomas B. Falls (New York: Christian Heritage), 1.14. p. 47)
