Why Does God Test Us? (James 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:7)

Why does God test us as James 1:3 describes? Tests prove "the genuineness of our faith" (1 Peter 1:7). Read or listen to this material from Enduring Trials God's Way to learn how trials prove your faith! https://youtu.be/q05gPjFGMs0 Why does God test us as James 1:3 describes? Tests prove "the genuineness of our faith" (1 Peter 1:7). Read or listen to this chapter from Enduring Trials God's Way to learn how trials prove your faith! Table of contentsGod Tests Us to Prove Our FaithTrials Test Us and Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith to UsTrials Test Us and Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith to OthersTrudging through the Swamp of DespairTrials Test Us and Prove Genuineness of Our Faith to GodGod Tested IsraelGod Tested HezekiahGod Tested AbrahamDiscussion Questions I used to be a school teacher, and now I am a pastor. Both professions involve instructing others. I do not want to sound overly simple, but good teachers provide information people do not already have. If they already knew it, they would not need the instruction! Most letters in the New Testament are instructive. There is the occasional time an epistle will say, “I want to remind you...” but primarily they were written to provide new information. This is why James 1:3 is so unique! In the ESV and NIV it says, “You know that the testing of your faith produces [patience].” James 1:3 is not teaching something new. He was telling readers what they already understand about trials. They test our faith! There are weaknesses with the English language. One weakness relates to the word “know.” For example, I use the same English word when I say, “I know my dad” as when I say, “I know of Abraham Lincoln.” Obviously, I know my dad much differently than I know President Lincoln. We add the word “of” to differentiate between the types of knowing: knowing someone versus knowing of someone. The Greek word for “knowing of” is epistamai. It means, “To put one’s attention on, fix one’s thoughts on, be acquainted with.” This is knowledge, but with no personal interaction or relationship. The Greek word for “knowing” personally is ginōskō, and it means, “to learn to know, get a knowledge of, feel.” This is intimate knowledge. Ginōskō is used in Matthew 1:25 to say, “[Joseph] did not know (ginōskō) [Mary] till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.” Ginōskō is also the word James 1:3 uses for “knowing.” He tells his readers they know what trials do because they have experienced them before. If you have been through a trial, you also know—they test your faith. God Tests Us to Prove Our Faith Augustine said, “Trials come to prove us and improve us.” This quote identifies the two purposes trials accomplish. We discussed trials improving (maturing) us. Now we will discuss trials proving our faith. Let’s begin with two other important Greek words. Peirasmos is the word for “trials,” and it means, “proving, adversity, affliction, trouble sent by God and serving to test or prove one’s character, faith, holiness.” Dokimion is the word for “testing,” and it means, “the proving; that by which something is tried or proved, a test.” The definitions are similar because trials are tests and tests are trials. Consider the use of both words in James 1:2 and James 1:3: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (peirasmos), knowing that the testing (dokimion) of your faith produces patience.” Since the words are similar, the verses could say: Count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing the trying of your faith. Count it all joy when you fall into various tests knowing the testing of your faith. Dokimion only occurs one other time, in 1 Peter 1:6-7, which also contains an instance of peirasmos: In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials (peirasmos), that the genuineness (dokimion) of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The similarities between James 1:3 and 1 Peter 1:7 are strong: James 1:3 says, “count it all joy,” and 1 Peter 1:7 says, “greatly rejoice.” James 1:3 says, “[trials] test your faith,” and, 1 Peter 1:7 says, “[trials] prove the genuineness of your faith.” Peter does not say the genuineness of our faith is precious “like gold.” He says it is “much more precious.” Why does our faith have this value? We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Without faith, we have no salvation; therefore, nothing could be more valuable. Gold is considered a precious metal along with silver, platinum, and palladium. What do people do with these materials? They test them to prove their genuineness. Imagine someone thinks he is holding gold, but it is only pyrite or fool’s gold. Imagine a woman thinks her husband bought her an expensive diamond ring, but it is cubic zirconia: Dokimion means to put someone or something to the test, with the purpose of discovering the person’s nature or the thing’s quality. MacArthur, John F. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson, c2005, p. 1881. Dokimion was used for coins to determine their value or worthlessness. If our faith is even more precious than gold, then what will God do with it? As 1 Peter 1:7 said, He will “[test it] by fire” so “that the genuineness (dokimion) of [it] may be found.” In Isaiah 48:10 God said, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Our faith cannot be subjected to the same tests as cold metals. Faith cannot have acid poured on it, receive the scratch test, or be heated to a certain temperature; however, it can be subjected to trials that reveal its value or worthlessness: You know why men test gold, why they put it in the fire. They know that if it is gold, fire will not hurt it. Men do not seek to destroy gold with fire. They do not seek to harm it in any way. Instead, they try to prove beyond all doubt that it is gold. And that is what God is doing when He applies [trials]. He seeks to show...that they are true Christians. Wells, Tom. Christian: Take Heart! Banner of Truth Trust, Car-lisle, PA. 1987, p. 150-151. Thomas Kempis said, “Adversities do not make a man frail. They show what sort of man he is.” When trials test us, our faith is at stake. When we pass the tests, we prove the genuineness of our faith. The question is: to whom? Trials Test Us and Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith to Us As already discussed, we should expect trials. This is the case for believers and unbelievers alike. Even the ungodliest people survive some of these trials, and even the godliest people do not always survive trials. For example, cancer is a trial some unbelievers have survived, while some believers have not. This shows surviving (or not surviving) trials does not distinguish Christians from non-Christians. The question is not, “Did they survive trials?” The question is, “Did their faith survive trials?” When our faith survives trials we can be confident in the genuineness of it: In the "School of Faith" we must have occasional tests, or we will never know where we are spiritually. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. David C. Cook, 2007, Colorado Springs, p. 86. We do not want to wonder where we are going to spend eternity. We want assurance that we have saving faith. James 2:18b says, “I will show you my faith by my works.” While our works do not save us, they are one of the clearest indicators that our faith is genuine. Another indicator is when our faith has survived trials. Trials are painful, but one reason we can “count it all joy” when experiencing them is they give us confidence in our faith. George Muller said, “The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testing.” He learned to trust his faith because of what it withstood: If we have true faith we ought to be glad to have it tested and proved to be genuine. If I have genuine gold coins I shall welcome any test to which they may be subjected. Lenski, R.C.H. “The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistle of James” Augsburg Fortress Publishers, October 1, 2008. p. 525 Trials reveal the condition of our faith. If we are confident in it, we can welcome trials. When our faith passes the test, we can be blessed knowing it is genuine. Trials Test Us and Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith to Others In the Parable of the Soils, the seed represents the Word of God, and the soil represents our hearts: Matthew 13:5–6—“Some [of the seed] fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.” “Stony places” refer to shallow soil on top of a bedrock layer, where there is not much depth of earth. As a result, when this soil (or heart) receives the seed (or Word of God), it will not establish deep roots. Think of people who receive God’s Word enthusiastically—they are excited about their new faith and “immediately [spring] up”—but they do not last. Their faith does not have deep roots. It looks good at first, but trials reveal it was not genuine: Matthew 13:20–21—“He who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” Sadly, we have all seen people like Jesus described—joyful until they experience trials. How many times have you been at church and heard, “Hey, what happened to so-and-so?” Then someone replies, “Oh, they went through this trial, and they have not been back.” Without roots,