"Not by works of righteousness which we have done,but according to His mercy, He saved us...." -Titus 3:5

As Christians of the western world we are generally contented in our faith. Many of us have become satisfied with what we have been told.

"Jesus has done it all. Therefore there is no call on me to do anything in response."

The blood of Christ has been shed, the atoning blood of Jesus/Yeshua is the complete and finished sacrifice, the issue of the price of our redemption is settled. The matter of the covenant, paying the purchase price of our redemption, is finished. Our great salvation has been paid in full by the Sacrificial Lamb of G-D.

Our free ticket to heaven just fell out of the sky. Grabbing it, we do not stop to think on what this means. We are rich and popular and in need of nothing. We are jam packed full of religion, yet we do not know our G-D. Continuing to compromise with the powers of this world, we dodge the higher calling of our faith, unaware of the perilous situation we are now in. Enticed and seduced by Mammon, we proceeded to re-process, re-engineer, and re-package the message. The Gospel is now a "product" for sale to the masses. In order to sell our message it must be cooked, artificially sweetened, repackaged and rendered palatable and appealing to the average middle of the road carnal "Christian".

God is at work in His people even now. And in the fullness of time the true Bride of Christ will emerge. She is in the world now. She must go up onto center stage in the times to come. There she will bring her testimony before kings and rulers. History demands it.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14

So we as Christian believers are not passive in the covenant. We are His witnesses.Our Christian witness to the Good News is our side of the covenant. This response we have to the indwelling Christ comes by a ministry of His divine grace. It is not a matter of our "works". Our witness to His Great Salvation flows out of the blessings of the covenant. Our power to witness comes as we open our hearts to Him. And our witness is a response He produces in us by His Holy Spirit.

It is a response to His wooing. It is a response to His love.

This is the "rest of the story".

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1:1-3

"...the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him....." John 1:10-13

God doesn't value earthly success, prosperity, human skills, or large crowds as we do. Instead, He seeks out the weak and lowly who would best demonstrate His strength and wisdom. As Paul wrote,

"...not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty... that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Only a few poor shepherds heard the angels' joyous announcement and saw the newborn King. The highly respected men of Jerusalem neither heard nor saw the fulfillment of the long awaited prophesies. Content with their world and committed to their ways, they were oblivious to history's most momentous event and to the times in which they lived.

Much like today.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness 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." 1 Peter1:6-7

Testing the Genuineness of our Faith
Pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892

Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: Tempests are her trainers, and bolts of lightning are her illuminators.

When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship does not move to its harbor; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush and howl, and let the waters lift themselves, though the vessel may rock and her deck may be washed with waves and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway toward her desired haven.

No flowers are as lovely a blue as those that grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam as brightly as those that glisten in the midnight sky; no water tastes as sweet as that which springs up in the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.

Tested faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness if you had not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength if you had not been supported in the flood. Faith increases in quality, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Do not let this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: The full portion will be measured out to you in due course.

Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise Him for that degree of holy confidence you have now attained: Walk according to that rule, and you will still have more and more of the blessing of God, until your faith will remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

Days of testing are coming. Will you be able to say with confidence:

"When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." Job 23:10-12