p. 131 | The Testing of Faith

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 26, 1885

The Testing of Faith.

THE trial of our faith is often spoken of in the Scriptures. "Why," we often feel like asking, "should God put men's faith to the stern test of manifold temptation?" He knows all about it. He knows whether it is genuine or not. Is not that enough? It seems as if we could only answer such an objection by coming to the frank recognition of a great principle of God's moral government—that God will, as far as possible, justify his ways to men. He will make clear to our moral natures that which his own nature dictates. It is not enough that God's justice in the forgiveness of sins should be manifest to himself. He will make it manifest to every moral creature, even though that manifestation demand the death of his own Son upon the cross. It is not enough that God should see our faith to be genuine, but he will make it plainly so by putting it to the test; and then if we stand the test, the conviction of its genuineness will be as strong upon our moral natures and upon the moral natures of the universe, as it is upon the heart of God himself. It seems as if it would not be unreasonable that the faith of every man who is saved should in some way be put to such test, that at last in God's great day faith shall be so evident before the moral creation that there will not be, even among the lost, a single voice to deny that this saved soul had true faith or failed to fulfil God's condition of salvation. This must be what the apostle means when he speaks of our faith being "found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." The genuine or false quality of every man's faith will be made manifest not only to the omniscient eye of God, but to the eye of every moral being. The approval of every moral nature, bad as well as good, every man's work being made manifest, will justify the judgment of God.—Christian at Work.