Faith is Only Strengthened in Trials

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There's a statement that a faith that's not tested can't be trusted. God tests faith not because He wants to find out how strong it is. Instead, he tests the faith of Christians so they could find out how strong the are and how God plans to make them stronger. The whole point is that an authentic faith stands true to the trials. Christians have authentic faith that grows but there are times of doubt. The feelings of Christians are feeling and they may feel "unsaved" even if they're saved.

Here are verses concerning trials:
1 Peter 1:3-8 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. wherein ye greatly rejoice, 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: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
James 1:2-3 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

Gold is purified by fire and olive oil is only extracted by beating. The Christian is subject to several testings because their salvation is genuine. It's just like that only a real diamond is subjected to such difficult processes because they were proven to be real diamonds. Job acknowledged in Job 23:10 that he's tried like gold. Only by heating can the dross be removed. Fool's gold would perish during the trials but the real gold is subjected to more purification. Why is real gold subjected to more purification? It's because real gold survives purification. The fact that it's real gold alone calls it to be purified because the dross is getting in the way.

Another description of faith surviving the trials of life is in John 15:1-8. The fake branches are immediately thrown away into the fire but guess what happens to the true branches? Because they are true branches, they're kept and trimmed continuously so they can bear more fruit. Anything that comes in the way between the Christian and bearing fruit is immediately and lovingly chastised by the Heavenly Father. What keeps a Christian from bearing more fruit are worldly obstacles so God's grace preserves the Christian in the times of trial. Real gold doesn't only become real gold after it's heated. It survives the whole purification process because it's real gold. Authentic faith grows stronger in the purging and purification because not to become authentic but because it's authentic.

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