Faith in the Wilderness

Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church

Hannah Nation, Hannah Nation, Simon Liu

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781683596042
• eBook ISBN: 9781683596059
• Topic: Théologie et religion

天

Meditations on Hope

炼

Test of Faith

NOAH WANG

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 though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

—1 Peter 1:6–9

The world seems to be getting more dangerous and we are left asking many questions. Will there be an economic depression following a pandemic? Will war break out? Will the culture become more hostile toward our faith? We are uncertain where to focus our attention among these many unknowns and wonder how we can face all of the things that cause us to worry.

Faith turns out to be very important in a person’s life, and such faith becomes more complete only through trials, which usually come in the form of suffering. 1 Peter 1:6–9 contains only four short verses, but the apostle Peter mentions “faith” three times. Peter expresses that not only does suffering not rob Christians of the joy they have through faith, but that because of their hope, they will bear better fruit after their faith has been tested.

At the beginning of the passage, Peter says, “in this you rejoice.” The promise of salvation though the heavenly Father’s mercy is the reason for the Christian’s great joy. This includes an inheritance that never perishes, never spoils, and never fades; it is kept in heaven and is a living hope. Therefore, the Christian rejoices greatly.

When the church read this epistle from Peter, they were enduring intense persecution for their faith. Some had fled to other countries, some had abandoned their houses, some had lost their possessions, some had been forced to leave their loved ones, and some had even been arrested and killed for their faith. Peter comforts the recipients of his epistle, saying “though now for a little while … you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). In Greek, “various trials” refers to multiple colors. In a Christian’s life, the suffering he encounters is not single-faceted, but variegated. Some are troubled by chronic illness, some are emotionally wounded, some lose loved ones, some are born with disabilities, and some suffer persecution for their faith. Peter is telling the people that faith comes with a cost.

The Gospel of Luke records that while Jesus was traveling, large crowds followed him, and when he saw the multitudes, he stopped. Jesus told two parables. The first parable asks: If you want to build a house, will you not sit down and estimate its cost? The second parable asks: Will you be able to oppose the 20,000 soldiers that come against you if you go to war with 10,000 soldiers? Jesus concludes by saying, “If you do not give up everything you have, you cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is challenging those who follow him: “If you want to follow me, you will have to pay a price.”

No matter what age you live in, when a true Christian is ready to live a Christ-centered life and is serious about fulfilling one’s mission in life, one will run counter to this world’s selfishness, greed, and sin. Whether you are at home, in the workplace, or in the church, you may encounter a hundred different kinds of trials. You may be rejected, laughed at, treated unfairly, and misunderstood by others. You may even be caught and put in jail for your faith. Therefore, the Bible says that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

Paul exhorted Timothy and said that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). As a result, when you are prepared to pay the price for your faith, it is possible you will find yourself in an environment of sorrow. Originally, the word “sorrow” refers to the pain and mental stress you feel over something. In reality, even though we may have prepared to pay the price for our faith, we still feel pain, have sorrow, and are overwhelmed by stress to the point that we find ourselves out of breath when trials come upon us. We humans are weak. It is normal for us to sorrow in our sufferings. Paul tells us to weep with those who weep. When we see someone in the midst of trials of faith, we must learn to accompany them with a gentle spirit.

Peter mentioned the word “joy” previously, not as an imperative, but rather in the form of a narrative. His word expresses joy amid suffering, a state you can have all the time as a Christian. People tend to fall into the sorrow of suffering, which is normal; yet, Peter comforts his readers by saying that suffering, though it leads to sadness, is temporary. It will eventually pass.

The devil often gives people transitory pleasure but deprives them of eternal blessing; however, God often uses temporary loss to gain permanent blessing. God is not pleased for us to remain in suffering for long: suffering is only a process, not an end. What, then, is its significance? Peter says, “So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire” (1 Peter 1:7). This is the true meaning of the suffering that comes upon us.

炼

In its original context, the word “test” refers to something pure and without even the smallest adulteration. When faith falls into sorrow, it is very possible the sorrow mixes with things of the old self and of the world, or that faith itself is mixed with impure parts.

Adulteration means contamination. For the Chinese people, our concept of contamination cannot be clearer. For example, if melamine is put in milk to substitute for protein, this is a kind of contamination.24 If I claim to have written an essay, but either bought it online, plagiarized it, or had someone else write it for me, this is a kind of adulteration. Likewise, as Christians, our nature is a mixture of greed, self-righteousness, and vanity. The devil subtly hides it in your heart so that you are unaware and do not realize you have substituted false faith for genuine faith.

These impurities that remain in one’s faith are just like milk contaminated by melamine; they destroy your soul and cause you to fall into the devil’s trap. We are like children who never grow up and cannot fulfill life’s true mission. As long as such impurities are not removed, our spiritual lives will not be strong and healthy. And if our spiritual lives are weak and fragile, then our faith may be false.

How can we remove these impurities? Peter speaks of fiery trials, for only through trials can we see ourselves as we really are and recognize the true character of our faith. Faith is important in the journey of the life of a Christian. It is the only way for us to know God. Faith is the sign of true participation in the covenant of grace and the certainty of attaining grace. However, not everyone who claims to have faith actually has true saving faith. Some have heard and believed the gospel and come to church, but they come to church with various agendas in mind. Many people think they have received the gospel, but in fact, they have only accepted an idea, which is not the same.

Even if someone truly accepts Jesus and the gospel, their faith may be mixed with counterfeits and pretenses that even they themselves do not realize. Some pastors teach their members to petition God with faith, and God will grant their wishes. “The pandemic is here; it is difficult to find a job; and I am about to graduate from college. What am I going to do?” “Pray with faith, and God will certainly give you a very good, high-salary job.” The faith referred to in this kind of prayer is mixed with vanity and greed. In the midst of persecution, we are filled with anger in the face of uncivilized and brutal law-enforcement officers, and we pray, “O Lord, you are righteous; please manifest your righteousness.” But in our prayers, you will find that our faith is mixed with much self-righteousness.

Martin Luther says faith is a ring that closely clings to Jesus Christ, who is the diamond.25 He illustrates that one’s faith should be paired with the glorious Christ, and that any faith that is not matched with Christ’s glory is a false faith adulterated with mankind’s selfish desires. The Bible teaches that faith is not characterized by focusing on oneself; it is not about satisfying oneself, but about directing your attention to the Savior, Jesus. This redemptive faith is different from temporary faith; it is different from miraculous faith; and it is different from the faith of realism. This saving faith is about resting in the promises of the gospel. No matter how bad the situation is, and no matter how much it changes, I remain faithful to Jesus Christ, so that my life is a continual witness to the glory of God. As the psalmist says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

Some people ask, “God is omniscient. Why would an all-knowing God test me? If he did not test me, would he not know the extent of my faith?” The omniscient God does not need to test someone to know the extent of their faith. He also knows whether one’s faith is tainted. We often do not realize that our faith is mixed with falsehood from ourselves: self-righteousness, the flesh, and the vanity of comfort. God tests us to show us our own reality, so we can know ourselves deeply and clearly and rely on God more. God’s intentions behind testing people are good, for he causes people to grow through testing.

If gold is not refined, then its ore is no different from other ordinary ores and its value cannot be displayed. Gold is refined by putting gold ore in a furnace of more than a thousand degrees to burn. Eventually, the impurities inside are removed and the purest gold is extracted. Accordingly, Peter illustrates that impurities in faith need to be removed by trials. This is how faith becomes more precious than gold. As Psalm 66:10 says, “For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.”

Human nature is weak. Mankind inherently likes a gospel of the self, a “gospel of bread.” We naturally put ourselves in the center while keeping God on the periphery. Today is an era of rampant pragmatism. We often hear the saying, “Believe and it will be fulfilled,” meaning that we will not believe if it is not fulfilled. The Chinese people’s belief system has one fundamental purpose: “What benefit do I ultimately want from the God I believe in?”

This pragmatism invisibly affects many Christians. There are always some believers who have heard about the future of the kingdom of heaven, but who feel it is too far out of reach and are more concerned about what they get in the here and now. These people do not deny there is a God, and they go to church and gathering every Sunday. However, they limit God to a religious space inside the church. The rest of the time is all up to them. They do not want God to interfere with their lives.

During his travels to Hong Kong and Taiwan, Pastor Stephen Tong discovered that the enthusiasm of local believers for attending healing and prosperity gospel conferences greatly exceeded their enthusiasm for his theological lectures. This is the reality of contemporary faith. There is a Western proverb that says the devil’s greatest trick was to make you believe the devil does not exist. Today you feel that the devil does not exist, and tomorrow you will feel that God does not exist, either.

The Bible records the story of a mother named Hannah, who lived within a privileged family. Her husband had two wives, and he especially loved and spoiled her. You might say this gave her a great sense of superiority. But there was a fly in the ointment—Hannah was barren. Hannah must have prayed every day, “Lord, please give me a child.” But the Bible only begins to record Hannah’s prayers after she was insulted over her barrenness.

If she had been able to conceive a child normally in today’s world, Hannah would have begun designing her child’s future according to her middle-class lifestyle: attendance at a bilingual elementary school and a prominent provincial middle school, studies abroad to receive a doctorate from a university, and a return home. This plan would enable him to choose to become any kind of civil servant or go to any state-owned enterprise or joint venture. His future would be boundless.26

But God knew how to lead Hannah to dedicate Samuel to him and arrange to restore Israel through this son she would eventually bear. He began to give her trials of fire. Peninnah, her husband’s other wife, became her rival and provoked her. We can imagine how and why Peninnah provoked her. At mealtimes, perhaps Peninnah would use her children to irritate Hannah, saying, “Baby, come and give Mommy a hug. Baby, come on. Mama kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses.” Hannah would become so angry that she would stop eating and go back to her bedroom, weeping bitterly. The Bible tells us her husband went to her and said, “Don’t cry. Am I not more to you than ten sons?” But it was no use. All she wanted was a son to get rid of her shame. “Lord! Give me a child, and I will teach him to be better than Peninnah’s child.”

When God saw that the fire was not enough, he made it hotter. Scripture says Peninnah provoked her grievously. Hannah had no choice. She cried again, but this time she ran to the temple. When she finally arrived, she knelt and prayed to God, “If you give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.” And God said the fire could stop. Hannah became pregnant the next day. With this kind of faith, all the impurities are finally burned.

If God loves you, he will not allow you to remain in a stable faith environment. He will challenge you, just as he challenged the people of Israel in the wilderness who missed the leeks and turnips and garlic and onions of Egypt. Although they were willing to be slaves under Pharaoh in order to get those things back, the Lord cares whether you see the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, and whether you yearn for the land that flows with milk and honey. The words of God kept hitting them, and after a fiery trial, Caleb’s faith was focused on following the Lord and he won Canaan. Peter says, “You are tested by fire, and your faith will be more precious than gold.”

炼

In all suffering, the most difficult thing to believe is that God hears us and is with us. The Gospel of John records that Lazarus became ill and died and his older sisters, Martha and Mary, were anguished. After Jesus came to them, the first thing Martha said was, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” These words expressed the emotion in the sisters’ hearts: “Lord, when we were suffering, where were you?”

When someone reported to the Lord that Lazarus was sick and dying, Scripture says that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. After Lazarus had died and when Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, Scripture says that Jesus wept, “So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ ” (John 11:35–36). In his divinity, no affliction causes Jesus sorrow, and nothing can make him feel perplexed. But ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• 永
• Introduction: A Church Acquainted with Suffering
• 破: Meditations on Brokenness
• 赎: Meditations on Redemption
• 天: Meditations on Hope
• 永
• Author Bios
• Glossary of Chinese Characters
• 盼