Let us turn once more to God's
Word in that portion that we were considering this morning
in the first chapter of this first general epistle of Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1 and we are
considering verses 6 and 7 1 Peter 1, verses 6 and 7, wherein
ye greatly rejoice, as we said, he is here of course referring
to those things that he's spoken of in the previous verses, that
being blessed by God according to His abundant mercy, begotten
again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
What's cause of exultant joy is that great work of regeneration,
the power of God that comes into the soul of the sinner. And not
only the great work of regeneration, but also we consider that inheritance,
spoken of in verse 4, that God has reserved in heaven for His
people. This again is cause for great
joy. I have not seen nor heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things that God hath
prepared for them that love Him. But then also they have cause
to be joyful in regard to the keeping power of God, how He
preserves His people. They are kept, He says in verse
5, by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Here then are reasons wherein
they should be exultants, they should be greatly rejoicing,
though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through
manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold, that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ. And so this morning we were particularly
considering what he says here concerning the manifold temptations
that are the light of God's children in this world. James says something
similar in the opening part of his epistle. He speaks of diverse
temptations how there are many and various temptations and testings
that come into the lives of the children of God and we considered
how God himself is there, he tests their faith, how he tested
the faith of Abraham who is the father of believers the great
pattern of faith and that faith was so tested by God in many
ways there was the delay of course with regards to the fulfillment
of the promise he was 100 years old when Sarah, who was well
past the age of childbearing, brought forth the promised seed,
Isaac. And then, there in Genesis 22,
that strange testing that comes when Abraham is commanded to
sacrifice his son, his only son. And he receives him, Paul says
in Hebrews 11, He receives him again from the dead in a figure.
He doesn't sacrifice him. There is that that is provided
in the way of substitute. There is that ram that is to
be sacrificed instead of Isaac. But it is as if Isaac is raised
again. But what a test, what a trial
it was that came to Abraham. God does test his children. He tests them in their faith. And also we remarked how there
are those temptations of the devil himself, how subtle of
foe he is, how he can so quickly come and so unexpectedly gain
the advantage over us when we least are aware of him. He's upon us and he finds so
much in us that he's able to take cruel advantage of. There are Many then, and diverse
temptations, and we considered that, we considered also how
they're heavy. We are in heaviness, he says,
through manifold temptations, how the child of God is burdened
with these things. A strange creature, the Christian,
and that enlarged hearts, that feels the heaviness of the trial
and yet in the midst of that can also be rejoicing. That apparent contradiction in
the Christian's experience, the paradox of it all. Feeling so
burdened and yet able to rejoice in all that God is and all that
God has done for him. And not only are they many and
heavy, but we also observe those two things that stand out so
plainly. They are but brief. Or they're only for a season. They're only for just now. Now,
he says, for a season, for a short while, a few days. But there is in prospect, of
course, that blessed inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled
and that fadeth not away, that's reserved in heaven. All the affliction
then is but light. Our light affliction, says Paul,
which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. They are but brief and yet we
also observe this morning concerning these temptations these trials
and testings that they only come as they are seen by God to be
necessary there is a need and there's an if it's only if they're
necessary how wise God is in his disposal of all these things
and I want us to continue in a sense with the same theme as
we move on to The next verse, verse 7, where he speaks of this
trial. Manifold temptations, he says,
and then he speaks of this in terms of the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than the gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The trial of faith. Faith is that grace that is so
much tried. And in this do we not see how
that faith is clearly a preeminent grace of the Spirit of God. Paul to the Corinthians, remember,
can say, now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the
greatest of these is charity. Yes, love is the greatest of
all, But he mentions there the abiding of faith and of hope. Our preeminence is faith in the
experience of the Christian. Why do we not often describe
Christians as believers? That's the word that we use to
describe the child of God. He's a believer, she's a believer.
They are men, they are women of faith. Whatsoever is not of
faith, says Paul, is sin. And now these who are saved from
their sins are they who are in possession of faith, without
faith. Says the Apostle again, without
faith it is impossible to please God or the preeminence of faith. By grace are you saved through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. It's God's gift, this faith. It's not only God's gift, what
God only can give to us. It is also God's work. In Colossians 2 verse 12 we read
of that faith that is of the operation of God. We cannot give
ourselves faith. We cannot manufacture faith for
ourselves. It is such a preeminent grace,
is this grace of faith. And where faith is tried, so
other graces are cultivated. Even by the trying of faith there
is the cultivating and the growing of other graces. And so James
says it there in chapter 1, My brethren counted all joy, when
ye fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect
work, that she may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. The trying of faith works patience,
works endurance. And it's not only what James
as to say we have the same truth also as we said this morning
in the Apostle. There's no jarring contradiction
between James and Paul. These men, they speak the same
language, they write of course under the inspiration of the
same Holy Spirit. And so, look at what Paul can
say to the Romans in Romans chapter 5. Verse 3, Not only so, he says,
but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope,
and hope maketh not us shame, because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Here is tribulation, here is
trial, here is trouble, the trying of faith, the consequence, patience,
experience, hope, love, how these various graces are all cultivated. Where God in his wisdom is pleased
to come and try and test the faith of his children. Well,
let us consider something of the trial of your faith. First of all, we see here the
comparison, or the figure that the apostle is making use of. The trial of your faith, he says,
being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire. Now gold is, of course, a precious
metal, and it's precious because It's rare. It's something that
is rare, that causes it to be of great value. If there was
an abundance of gold, it would not be so precious. And so too with faith. Really,
faith is a rare thing, true faith. God's people is very much a remnant,
is it not? Lord Jesus himself says to the
disciples, fear not little flock, it is your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. God's true church in that sense
is remnant. Those who have faith, there might
be many who claim to have faith, but is that faith genuine, is
it real? Is it that faith of the operation
of God, that faith that is the gift of God? How many have a
faith that's really nothing more than presumption? They've given
themselves faith. They've made some sort of decision,
some sort of commitment, and they imagine that's faith. No,
the comparison here is with gold, and gold is a rare thing. And
that's what makes it so precious. But then that precious gold is
also purified. It puts in a crucible and heat
is applied to it and it melts and in the process of melting
there is the separation of any dross that's mixed in with the
pure metal and the whole point and purpose of the crucible is
to remove the dross it's tried with fire we read here in the
text that it might be found the trial of your faith being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried
with fire might be found the gold is found in the trial
and it's interesting the word that's used here and it's that
word we might remember it from school days remember the story
of Archimedes and running through the streets when he makes his
discovery saying Eureka! Eureka! I found it! I found it! Well, that's the word that we
have here to find. Here is something that is discovered
and it's discovered in the purifying process, the preciousness of
the gold. This is the figure I say, but
of course he's not so much speaking of the metal gold, he's speaking
here really of the preciousness of the faith. The preciousness
of the faith is what's being spoken of. The trial of your
faith being much more precious than of gold that perishes though
it be tried. with fire might be found unto
praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."
Now why? Why is this faith so precious? Well, it's precious because of
its rarity, but it's precious also because it is that that
comes from God. Peter has much to say about precious
things. Not only here does he use the
word precious, but we find it also when he writes at the beginning
of his second epistle, he speaks of that precious faith once more.
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them
that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. To them that have obtained like
precious faith. Now we've remarked on the words
that he used there on a previous occasion, probably more than
once, but the verb that he has, to obtain, they've obtained like
precious faith. Now the word to obtain is one
that is derived from the practice of the casting of lots. That's
the root of the words, to obtain. to obtain by the casting of a
lot and as children we would do that sometimes when we were
playing with friends we might have to decide on a particular
individual how could we do it fairly we'd say well let's draw
lots and we'd probably take straws and the one who drew the shortest
straw was the one upon whom the lot fell it was to us but a chance
thing it might be one it might be another There was no control
over it, but we know from scripture that nothing comes by chance.
As the hymn writer says, the fictitious powers of chance and
fortune I define. My life's minutest circumstance
is subject to is I. Nothing is of chance. There is
no such thing as luck. God is sovereign. And the scripture
reminds us that God is sovereign even in the lot, the casting
of the lot. Proverbs 16 verse 33, the wise
man says, the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing
thereof is of the Lord. All which the Lord's doing. And
you see that precious faith of which the Apostle speaks there
at the opening of his second epistle? They obtained like precious
faith, how did they obtain it? It's all in the sovereign disposal
of God. It was God. It was God from whom
they obtained it. It was what God himself had appointed
for them. It was God who gave them that
precious gift. Faith of the operation of God. Oh, the preciousness of faith.
When we think of Him from whom faith comes, even God Himself. By grace are you saved. Through
faith and that of yourselves it is the gift. of God and it's faith of God's working
I say again the Apostle John in the last chapter of his first
epistle tells us whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world
and this is a victory that overcomes the world even our faith whatsoever
is born of God this faith is born of God it's God's work the
gift comes from God and that gift comes from the hand of God
and it's pure all faith as God works it in the soul has got
nothing of any dross in it it is all pure gold but alas! alas! so God is the one who gives
the gift and God is the one who works the faith in our souls
we do believe we do believe And what happens when we believe?
Why is there not in us, alas, that mixing of unbelief with
our faith? And we can understand then something
of the cry of that man who comes to Christ in the Gospel and cries
out, Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief. We need God to
help us. And how does God help us in our
unbelief? Now does God purify our faith
so that that dross that we've mixed in with it is removed?
It is by the trial. It is by the trial. Now look
at the language of the Apostle as we have it here in the text. He speaks of the trial of your
faith and he doesn't just say it's precious Nor does he say
it's more precious. He says it is much more precious. Much more precious than gold. Is gold precious? How much more
precious is this fife? And as we've said that gold has
to be tried and tested in the crucible. The fire has to be
applied to it in order that it might be pure. And so too with
this faith. It has to be tried. And God is
the one who tries and tests it. Now, when we're in the midst
of the trial the trying of our faith. I'm sure it must have
been like this with Abraham when he received that strange commandment
from God in Genesis 22 to take his son, his only son, the son
of promise. He had other sons. He had Ishmael,
didn't he? But this is the promised seed,
you see, Isaac. And he's told to take this son
and to sacrifice him there upon Mount Moriah, the very spots
where in the days of King Solomon the temple would be erected. What a strange commandment. Was that experience, in Abram's
case, something precious? I doubt it. The time of the trial
is not very precious to us, is it? Is it not somewhat like chastening? Paul says, concerning God's chastening,
no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Or the trial is not a joyful
thing, it's a grievous experience. Nevertheless, he says, concerning
the chastening afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness to them who are tried thereby, peaceable
fruit of righteousness. You see the reality of the faith
is that that is being proved in the trial. This faith that
is put to the test is the real faith. When God gives to His
children faith, He gives them that faith that He's going to
try. He's brought these things, the
faith and the trial, together. And what God joins together,
men should not put asunder. Remember the words of the Apostle
at the end of Philippians chapter 1, as he writes there to those
believers in Philippi, he reminds them, unto you it is given, he
says, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on his name,
but to suffer for his sake. Two things, you see, are given
on the behalf of Christ. They're given faith to believe,
to believe on his name. But at the same time, that faith
is going to be put to the test, they're going to suffer for the
sake of Jesus Christ, all that will live godly. in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution. This is what God himself has
said, this is what God himself has ordained, this is what God
sees to be right and necessary in order to any growth in grace,
and in the knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the one, of course, who is there refining
and purifying that faith. We have that picture of it right
at the end of the Old Testament in the prophecy of Malachi. In Malachi chapter 3 we read of the refiner sitting
at his crucible. Malachi 3 verse 2, Who may abide
the day of His coming? That is the day of the coming
of Him who is the messenger of the covenant. Who may abide the
day of His coming? Who shall stand when He appeareth?
For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap, and He
shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. and He shall purify
the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they
may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Oh, it is
the Lord God Himself, it is Christ, who is the refiner, who watches
over that metal as the heat is applied, as the metal becomes
molten, And he sees, you see, that the heat is not too excessive,
everything is carefully weighed. Isn't this the way of God? Why
in the day of his rough wind he stayeth his east wind, says
the prophet. All these things are dealt in
measure. Again Isaiah 48 and verse 2, Behold, I have refined
thee, he says, but not with silver. I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction. Why were to make our calling
and our election sure? How can we make our calling and
our election sure? We have to examine ourselves,
improve ourselves and know ourselves. What do we know? What do we know
of God's trial and God's testing? He has made choice of his people
in the furnace of affliction. We're not to be surprised in.
when God comes and acts in ways that seem to us to be so contrary
and so difficult. We have our disappointments,
the things that we would desire don't come to pass. And sometimes
we can feel rebellious against God and yet in all of these things
what he's got doing is testing us. We have to look to him and
commit the matter to him and trust in him. The Lord trieth
the righteous, says the Psalmist. There is something precious there,
even in the way in which God tests His people. He tries them. As gold from the furnace, He'll
bring thee at last to praise Him for all through which thou
hast passed, says the hymn writer John Kent. Oh, how true it is. He'll bring us forth. That's a very Strange expression that we have
at the end of chapter 4, the chapter that we read, it says
there in verse 18, if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly appear? If the righteous scarcely be
saved. Now, I like the remark that is
made by Richard Sibbes, a Puritan, he says concerning that word
scarcely, It is not a word of doubt, but of difficulty. Now true, we're not to think,
you see, that there's any doubt that God will save His people. Are they not kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, as we read here in verse 5? Are they not in Christ? Are they
not those who are in Christ from all eternity in the eternal covenant
chosen in Him before the foundation of the world? Are they not those
who in the fullness of time come to trust in Him as their Saviour? They are given that gift of faith
and their faith rests in Him. They can never be lost. They
can never be lost. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, says Christ, in that cometh to me. I really
know why he's cast out. No man is able to pluck them
out of my hand, he says. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of
my Father's hand. That word then, there at the
end of chapter 4, if the righteous scarcely be saved, doesn't in
any sense indicate to us that there's some doubt concerning
the salvation, the eternal security of those who are true believers.
But the old Puritan is right, is he not? It indicates that
it's a difficult way. Oh, it is a difficult way. But the comforting thing in the
midst of all of that is that in the trial, in the trial the
believer discovers something more of God. He finds God in
the trial. That's what it says here, does
it not? The trial of your faith, being much more precious than
the gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might
be found, discovered, and to praise and honor and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ. Doesn't Christ himself appear
in the trial? Isn't Christ the great object
of faith? Isn't this what God is teaching His children when
they're being tested in this fashion that they must look more
to Christ and trust more in Christ? Has He not given His promise?
Remember that precious word of promise that we find in the opening
part of Isaiah 43. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. when they walk us through the
fire, they shall not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel."
Oh God, you see, is that One who is there even when His people
are put into that crucible and the heat is applied The fire shall not consume them. They
shall not be burned. Neither shall the flying kindle
upon them. God himself preserves them. Here
then we have the comparison that's made throughout the verse. The
figure used is that of that precious metal that we call gold. that is so rare a thing, that
rareness that makes it so valuable a thing. And here it's likened
to faith, the preciousness of that faith that is the gift of
God, the work of God, the preciousness of that testing and that trying
that God applies to the lives of his children in order to to
purify to purify that grace in them because alas with our fallen
nature we're mixing so much of ourselves and so much of our
accursed unbelief in it. But what is the conclusion of
the matter? What is the conclusion of the
matter? Well the end of the trial is
clearly Christ. Christ himself who is the object
of faith, found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ. Verse 9 he goes on, receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. It is Christ you see. who is
at the end of all these things. This is the conclusion of all
these things. It is Christ who is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. We're told in Romans chapter
10. He's the end. It all terminates in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so what is this faith? It's
that faith that has to do with Christ, that faith that is ever
always looking to the Lord Jesus Christ we're familiar with those
words in Hebrews 12 too, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith He is the one who begins faith He is the one who
ends faith and we are to look unto Jesus. And you remember
the force of the particular verb, to look, as we have it there,
it means to look away. To look away from every other
object. To look to one only object, and
that one object is Christ, the person of Christ, and the work
of Christ. Look unto me, he says, and be
ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there
is none else." Oh, this is what God will teach us then. He'll
teach us more and more this, the preciousness, the preciousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The preciousness of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us, to purge us from all our
sins. Think of Job and Job's experience. If ever a man knew what it was
to have his faith tried, that man was Job. And his friends,
they came and they say many wonderful and remarkable things, the friends
of Job, and yet they're such poor comforters. Why his situation
is one that they seem to have no proper understanding of at
all. Of course, we can read the book
from beginning to end and we can see that God was in all of
these things. It was not so easy for those
men. It was certainly not easy for Job. How that man was tried
and tested. And when we're first introduced
to him, of course, we see him as a true child of God. He's a man of faith. And he has
that justifying faith, does he not? There was a man in the land
of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright,
and one that feared God and eschewed evil. Perfect and upright. He was a righteous man. And he
wasn't his own righteousness. It was the righteousness of Christ
that made him what he was. That man was perfect and upright. He was accounted righteous because
he had faith in Christ. And he speaks of Christ, does
he not? I know that my Redeemer liveth.
He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. He had faith
in Christ. But how his faith was sorely
tried and tested. And remember what he says concerning
that that God was doing to him and with him. He knoweth the
way that I take, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth
as gold." Job 23 verse 10. Here is his confidence. God knows
the Word. God is the one who knows exactly
what he is doing. He's trying all but his faith. His faith is He strengthened
and increased in the midst of the trial in that sense. I shall
come forth as gold, he says. The trial of your faith being
much more precious than of gold that perishes. Gold does perish,
faith never perishes. Where that faith is true faith,
it will not be destroyed. Oh yes, it will be turned into
sight ultimately. When the believer leaves this
scene, this worldly scene, and is taken into the immediate presence
of his God and Savior, no more faith in him, swallowed up in
sight. But he can never perish in this
life. But how it is tried. We read those words in chapter
4, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that
is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. We do conclude that it is a strange,
mysterious way that the Lord has with us. What does He go
on to say? Rejoice in as much as ye are
partakers of Christ's offerings, that when His glory shall be
revealed Ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." It's the
same as we had in those words that we referred to the ends
of Philippians 1. It is given in the behalf of Christ not only
to believe on Him but to suffer for His sake. Shall Christ my
Lord suffer? And shall I repine? asks John
Newton. All the believer, you see, looks
beyond. Looks beyond the things of this present world. We look
not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not
seen. The things that are seen are temple. The unseen things
are eternal, the apostle tells us. We're seeing him then who
is invisible. That's faith. faith sees him
who is invisible and what he's got doing in the midst of all
this trial he is teaching us more and more about that life
of faith that the trial of your faith being much more precious
than the gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire
might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearance
of Jesus Christ whom having not seen So it's the invisible God. Whom have ye not seen, ye love?
In whom, though now ye see him not yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh, it's seeing the
invisible God. It's waiting upon God. It's living that life that we
see in a man like Joseph. How Joseph had to learn to wait. to wait upon God to wait upon
what God had said to him spoken to him by means of those dreams
but he has to wait for God's timing we have it there in the
105th Psalm until the time that his word came the word of the
Lord tried him how God's word tries us sometimes we read it
and we see these exceeding great and precious promises what Peter
speaks of exceeding great and precious promises and we want
to know that these promises are for us we're not to snatch at
them are we? we're to ask that God would make
them real that we might know God's gracious application of
them to our souls and how does God make them precious to us
when he takes us into the way of fiery trials, troubles, tribulations,
difficulties, contrary providences. This is all the trial of faith
wherein, he says, he greatly rejoiced, so now for a season,
if need be, he are in having us through manifold temptations
at the trial of your face, being much more precious than the gold
that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."
Oh, the Lord be pleased then to appear for us and to appear
in us. May the Lord bless His Word to
us.