Tested Faith

Socrates once said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." Inquisitive fellow that he was, I assume he meant that we must all be on a quest for understanding ourselves and the world around us. Someone said something to me about the testing of the faith and this Socrates quote to mind. My mind began to shuffle Socrates' words to fit the Christian life. Here is what I came up with, "An untested faith is not alive."

Many of us seem genuinely surprised when facing difficulties. Peter responds to our surprise, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Pet 4:12, ESV). The fiery trial Peter addressed was persecution, but author of Hebrews reminds us that all hardship is to be endured as discipline from the Lord (Heb. 12:7). When we understand testing (trials/difficulties) as discipline, and remember that God disciplines those he loves, difficulty then becomes a confirmation of God's love for us.

I have to stress here that there is a real difference between punishment and discipline. Discipline is meant to bring about correction, to form, and to shape. Discipline is restorative; its function is reconciliation. Punishment is meant to bring about justice. Punishment is retributive; its function is to penalize wrong doing. Also, it is important to stress that not all hardship in a believer's life is the direct result of sinning. We do, however, have to remember that every follower of Jesus Christ is a redeemed sinner and that the Holy Spirit is continually at work in us to eradicate our sin nature (this is the process of sanctification). We need to make these distinctions so we will understand that God is not punishing us for our sin (he has already punished Christ for our sin), but he is disciplining us (correcting us) so that we may reflect Christ's glory.

How does this understanding help us in the midst of a trial? If we understand trials to be a sign of God's love for us, his desire to cleanse and accept us, and his continual work in us, then it should bring us great joy that we are undergoing difficulty. You may ask, "How can it bring us great joy?". James commands, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-4, ESV). How can we count it all joy to suffer trials? Because we know the trials are being used by God to make us into fully matured followers of Christ who possess all they need.

Peter reminds us of our "inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven" for us (1 Pet. 1:4, ESV). He goes on to say, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes thought it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:6-7, ESV). Thus Peter calls on us to reflect not on what we have suffered, but on what we are about to gain when Christ appears. Our joy comes from the knowledge that we, as saved sinners, are being fashioned into glorious saints, and that the trials that we go through are preparing us for Christ's return.

Let's return to our statement, "An untested faith is not alive." What does it mean? It means that if we are not be tested we are not truly of the faith. As the author of Hebrews stated, "If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (Heb. 12:8, ESV). If a person can continually habitually live in unrepentant sin, and not undergo the severe discipline of the Lord, then that person has no reason to believe that they truly know the Lord. If there is no conviction of sin, no desire for repentance, and no perception of the need of reconciliation, then there is no life. A faith that is not tested is a faith that will not grow; a faith that does not grow is not alive.

Rejoice the next time difficulty comes your way, because the Lord is at work in you. Ask the Lord, "What lesson would you have me to learn?", "What sinful behaviour or attitude must I depart with?", "What must I do to make it right?". Listen for the answers and then respond in obedient faith. Remember God is not out to harm you, but he is in the process of transforming you into the image of the Son.