“…that the trial of your faith, more costly than gold even though tested by fire, may be found to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
There is and must be, a trial of faith. Our faith has to be tried, just as gold is tried by fire, for the purpose of removing the impurities and proving its quality; to God, to angels, to demons and to ourselves. Christ’s faith was tried and so is ours. His faith was costly and precious, costing Him His life. We have our faith as a consequence of His faithfulness, so our faith is costly and precious also. Moreover, our faith, if it is faithful faith, will also cost us our lives.
That is why we are given trials; to prove our faith; to test if it is true faith or false faith. We are tested by our fleshly nature and fleshly habits; by the strong pull of the world and the extent to which we partake of it. These things also Christ suffered but proved Himself worthy, “Although being a Son, yet learned He obedience from that which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became to all those obeying Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrew 5:8-9).
He proved His worthiness in His resistance to the trials that were placed in His way and in His refusal of the temptations with which He was tempted. He was perfected in obedience “because I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me” (John 5:30) and because “I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28) and because “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:29).
He could say with confidence “If I do not do the works of My Father do not believe Me” (John 10:37).
The challenge for each of us who claim Jesus as Lord is to be able to say the same thing; “Don’t believe us if you cannot see the truth in our lives”.
“Be holy in all your manner of life and conduct” Peter writes (1 Peter 1:15). It should be visible and it should be different – to the world and to religion.
Just as He and the Father were one, so too, we are meant to be one with Him, “having purified your souls in obedience” (1 Peter 1:22).
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