A complete salvation 7: to be a saint (4): pass the tests (1): God discipline us as His children and refine us as silver and gold.

Dear All:

All glories, praises and thanks be to God.

A complete salvation 7: To be a saint (4): pass the tests (1): God discipline us as His children and refine us as silver and gold.

After knowing the concepts, it does not mean that we can live by them right away. We want to crucify the old self, but it never refuses to die; we want to fight against the pride of self, but it sneaks out occasionally when we don't pay attention to it; we want to reject the deceitful ideas and temptations, but they are everywhere. We can never be a saint through our own efforts and we must rely on God. Pray more to God, focus our eyes on Jesus Christ, follow his example and let his Spirit to be in charge of our life.
"But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,..." (2 CORINTHIANS 1:9)
"After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (GALATIANS 3:3)
"...live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (GALATIANS 5:16)
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness." (ROMANS 8:26)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)

After we became Christians and try to be a saint, it does not mean God will then spoil us to live a rich and easy life and we won't meet with much difficulties and sufferings. On the contrary, we will be given tests and hardships. Because we need to grow up and
build up good characters if we want to please God and be acceptable by God to live in His ever-lasting light. It takes time and effort to fulfill this journey. We need to build up characters through our experience of life day by day. Certain environment can help one to grow and hardships can build up good characters. That's why God allow tests, hardships and even sufferings to come to us.

Remember we are His children. And if you are a wise parent, how will you treat your child to help him/her to grow up healthy and sound? Although your children want you to hold and carry them, you will put them on the ground so that they can learn to walk. You even hide yourself to let them take the steps. Even when they fell, you would wait to let them get up bravely by themselves. In the whole process, you watch them closely. You really love your children and care about their every movement. Likewise, God watch us more closely when we are in the hardships though we might feel like He is away during that time.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire; you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God," (ISAIAH 43:2)

If even an average parent has such knowledge, how about our heavenly Father who love us much more and whose wisdom cannot be fathomed?
"Our fathers discipline us a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness." (HEBREWS 12:10)
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?" (HEBREWS 12:7)
"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." (PROVERBS 13:24)
"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." (PROVERBS 19:18)
"I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me." (PSALMS 119:75)
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." (HEBREWS 12:5-6)
"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." (REVELATION 4:19)
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."(HEBREWS 12:11)
"Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;" (PSALMS 94:12)

We know that due to the original sin and the death of spiritual life to God, a little bit left for the communication from God is our conscience. As a Christian with new spiritual life, our consciences
become sharper than before after baptizing. We should listen to our consciences and follow the discipline and endure the hardships.
"Who loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." (PROVERBS 12:1)

Hardships are even bigger blessings in a lot of cases in terms of making one understand more about the truth and bringing one closer to God. A successful, rich and powerful man will be proud and think himself smart and powerful and can control everything and get everything he wants. Spoiled in all the abundant blessings that he received from God, he might even think he don't need to know God. Only when he fell down or even got an incurable disease, he would realize the truth he refused to accept before: all what he had are granted gifts even his life. That's why Jesus Christ gave the teaching about who are easier to enter the kingdom of heaven: Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, mourn, meek (MATTHEW 5:3-5) and poor, hunger, weep (LUKE 6:20-21). And also together with, which part are better understood and accepted by people than the former part: blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and who are persecuted because of righteousness and the name of Son of God. (MATTHEW 5:6-10) (LUKE 6:22)
"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (PROVERBS 30:8-9)

Frankly speaking, we are all beggars in front of God. While if one might not be sure whether one will be in heaven or not, we are sure that the beggar Lazarus (LUKE 16:19-31) is in it. Guess he has the proper self-knowledge in front of God. But how big a fight is needed for a millionaire to achieve the same self-knowledge and give up the pride of self. While it does not mean that we should become a real beggar in order to enter heaven, we should have that self-knowledge and humble attitude.
"The fear of LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor." (PROVERBS 15:33)
"Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor." (PROVERBS 18:12)
"Since they have humbled themselves, I (God) will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance."(2 CHRONICLES 12:7)
"I (God) live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." (ISAIAH 57:15)

We should sincerely appreciate all blessings God have granted us and give all thanks and praises to Him. While in all the hardships, we should take the chance to learn and grow up.
"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (ROMANS 5:2-5)
"make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love." (2 PETER 1:5-7)

Another kind of test is temptation. As mentioned before, we have both a failure example - Eve and Adam as a warning and a successful example - Jesus Christ that we should follow. Also, we should not be led astray by money, fame, power and pride of self.
"let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus," (HEBREWS 12:1-3)

God refine us like silver and gold. We should pass the tests and not fail them.
"I have tested you in the furnace of affliction." (ISAIAH 48:10)
"we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." (PSALMS 66:12)
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart." (PROVERBS 17:3)

"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver." (PSALMS
66:10)
"The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them." (JEREMIAH 6:29-30)
"Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes materials for the silversmith;" (PROVERBS 25:4)
"I (God) will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities." (ISAIAH 1:25)
"'I (God) will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.'" (ISAIAH 13:12)
During each breakdown, we should get rid of some of the dross in ourselves. After each rebuilt, we become better and closer to the image that we should be in God's mind.

Pass the tests (2): rejoice in God only and hold on to the faith in God firmly.

To be continued...

All glories, praises and thanks be to God.
God bless us all to pass the tests and grow up.
in Jesus

servant of Christ