Even Though Tested By Fire

[Christsfreeservant]

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6-9 NASB1995)​

Jesus said that if we follow him with our lives that we will be hated and persecuted as he was. He was attacked and harassed continuously by the religious rulers and teachers of the Scriptures and people of power and influence in the temple and in some of the synagogues. And many of them, who were Jews, tried continually to trip him up with his words so that they would have cause to accuse him of wrongdoing. And they did accuse him falsely of wrong and called him of the devil, and his family called him crazy.

Why? Well because he was different, for one. He was not like them. He did not conform to their likeness and he didn’t do things like they did, so he was odd to them. Also because he professed to be God, which is who he was/is, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And because of all his miracles and his temporary popularity among the people, they feared that their own positions of power might be in jeopardy. And they didn’t like it because he called them out and confronted them in their sins.

But the persecution of Jesus Christ didn’t stop with his death on that cross and after he was resurrected from the dead and he ascended back to heaven. Many people today who profess him as Savior and Lord deny him by their actions, and they are unfaithful to him, living in spiritual adultery against him, still living for the pleasures of the flesh, living their lives to please self, and not God. And they are rejecting him and his teachings and his miracles of grace, for they reject his gospel message for a lie.

So, if we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, doing and saying the kinds of things he did and said when he lived on the earth, following his example, teaching the Scriptures in their correct context, and refuting the lies of the enemy, we will be treated like he was treated. We will be sinned against, hated, rejected, cast aside as unnecessary and as unwanted, thought odd and peculiar, called crazy, falsely accused of wrong we did not commit, and called a liar, even by other “Christians” and “pastors” of “churches.”

But just because you are being ill treated and persecuted by “the church,” it does not naturally translate to you must be the one in the wrong. You might be, but Jesus’ biggest opponents and persecutors were the religious rulers and people of power and influence in the temple of God and in some of the synagogues. And he was treated horribly by them. Why? Because he was in the wrong? No! Because he wasn’t like them. He was different. And he didn’t conform to their ways of behaving and thinking, and he spoke truth to them.

And in the times in which we now live here in America (USA), where I live, the character of God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is being altered to conform to the flesh of humans, to make him more like the people, rather than the other way around. And his church, the body of Christ, and his gospel message, are also being altered to make them more acceptable to human flesh and in order to not offend the ungodly of the world who they are trying to attract to their “church services.”

So, the popular “gospel” being taught and received today by many who do profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, barely resembles the gospel of Christ that he taught and that his New Testament apostles taught. They do usually teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but not always that he is God. And they do usually teach that he suffered and died on a cross and that he was resurrected from the dead so that we can be forgiven our sins and have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God when we die.

Jesus said if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, put sin to death daily, by the Spirit, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, provided that we continue in those walks of faith in obedience to him and to his commands until the very end of time, in his power. (see Luke 9:23-26)

And Paul taught the same message throughout his teachings in the New Testament. Here is a summary of what he taught in Romans 6:1-23:

By God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God.

And we learn in 1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” And in 1 John 2:4-5: “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”

And in 1 John 3:7-8,10: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” So we need to take this to heart.

But, if this is what you are teaching, and not the altered and diluted gospel message which is so popularized today, and if you are following the leading of the Lord and of the Holy Spirit in what you do, and in how you live, and in what you share with others, and if you are sharing the Scriptures in their appropriate context, to the best of your understanding, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will be persecuted, attacked, falsely accused, hated, rejected, cast off as unwanted and as unnecessary, and/or called crazy.

But we are to rejoice. We are to accept that our faith is being tested by fire, so that it may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. For, although we do not physically see Jesus, we love him, and we believe in him, and so we want to serve him with our lives, even if it means being hated, persecuted, rejected and treated as though we are a throwaway. And so we rejoice in the Lord, even in our sufferings, for we are obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

Caution: This link may contain ads

Even Though Tested By Fire
An Original Work / April 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love