The Ohio Independent Baptist, January 1972

( n lud d From P g 10) ti~.._ tl,1~ Jtri"1l l' n11ll I a1 ni11g f r "t1r n "d, ,\ tld it tl,t1, t "stilt, i1, tlll Tl"f111i11c ,,t,ll ,t1cngtl1c11i11g - " t ,111 1,,1tl1. ~ - ,, \; n1a)' 1il !1l"l" tilt.. l'f" l l'r l'sti111atl' l 11 it. anti UC:tltlittCl\ Cl)\ltll it a)l ll'\ . ~ . ..... l < lit'Ver..., (1/'C I( C()/11[>1 ·l,c,1,l 1 ,,1i11{! a, 1 re cl,,., i11~l! pa tic, , c. " , l . 16 ,,, , ta ts ~,re t) he tind rst d · ( 1 ) 1·1, t pri11 ,pie ,,· tl1,1t <>/ pr,,,·- 1111...· , • J begin.. ,,1tl, the prc, ent f'ldTlh.'tJ1lc .. kn ,,•tng ·· ( ~ir1<)Sh <J t1tcs). , ~1rc, 1ot1 1, p inted tit. HKn0\\- 1nc." ,. an c ten.. , n f \ , . 2 - the ... te ting, hr1ng about e ·perience , l11 h 1, .. ·t1 1n our being able to r cogn1z . di..,cern. and thu to un- ... der" tand and di tingui h the va lue in the n11d t of te ting . We a re able t under tand that there i purpo e 1n ur being in the crucible of te t– ing. ,, hether God-cau ed or God– all ,, ed. The re t of v . 3 proceed to p int out that the te ting of our faith work paience. Note two thing : 1) Tl1e instru1r1ent o f proving, the KJV reads ' the try ing of your faith. . . .,, The word ren– dered " trying" is d okimion, ,vhich designates "that by which omething is tried or proved". See the idea in P salm 12: 6; Prov. 27 : 21. The word translates the O]d Te tament term " furnace" - or crucible for smelting, refining. Hence this Scripture teaches us that testings are a mean s of try– ing or proving our faith, with the purpose of r~fining it, bring– ing out its genuineness. This we ,na)' k now. This brings u s to: 2) The object of proving, as specifically pointed out by the words "your faith" ( humon teis pisteos). It is the faith of the believer which is the real object of the testing, i.e. to which is applied the heat and pressure of the refining fires in the furnace of testing. This is not done in order to satisfy some whimsical desire on God's part to see how much we can stand without breaking. There is no question of what we are able to endure ,;vith God - He knows our limi– tations already. This is no game with Him. But He does subject our faith to the rigors of testing in order to establish its genuine– ness. to make it stronger, more durable and more mature, to in– crease its confidence, to bring out in clear ou tline that genuine part of our faith which lays bold of the Word of God, which stands up to the testing, and JANUARY, 1972 • ctl 111 'S tl1r )\tgl, as ~, ~11cc1111t'n 1t tric"t val11... a11<.l , , hol cson1c- 1,l ~s. , h,t,iting a ·l1 ,\rac tc1 tl, at is a11 t (l\Cli t,y l(){I rrh,, &lltl stt".1 tc, t 1,c ,cc. 11<.I n1ca n1ng o f tl1e tc1 111 <l <J k11111<>11 . and , how'\ tl1c ol1jcc t <.1f the tc, t1ng, the re,,, n for the trial . very t i1nc ,, c arc tcstccJ - whenever we arc placed in the crt1cible o f .. n1elt1ng - it 1, the genuinenes f t1r faith th a t i refined , puri– fied, n1atured , f o rtificd . One lea rn.. thi throt1gh the e~pcrience f the te ting, and the e plana– tion of it i given by the e terna l od in Hi Word . So finally: ( 2) T/1 e prodi, c t of tl1 e testing is patien ce: as et forth by the word "worketh patience". This verbal ex– pre sion i a most interesting one, and should be fully understood by C hristian s. The testing in every case "works patience" in us . The verb is katergadzetai, " work down" - i.e. achieve an end, accomplish a purpose, do the job by working it down to its finest point, as a man works down his razor's edge to its most effective, sharpest , finest s tate on the honing stone. Then that blade does the work it is intended to do, and does it well - not pull– ing, scratching, hurting , cutting, or injuring in any way. Our faith is thus refined, the dross is removed , the impurities and impediments taken away, the jagged edges filed down , the rough protrusions rubbed off and polished - and after a while the work of refining begins to show its effects, the results take shape, the real product begins to appear: the patience becomes a present reality. Obser ve carefully that the verb is a present tense: the testing work is not over in a moment, but is a process of trial , it continues to occur, going on and on constantly. These trials are ever and always in our experience, and they will continue to come in varying de– grees, so that the quality of our fa ith will be sure to keep appear– ing. The tes tings accomplish some– thing vital , they a re never meaning– less, purposeless - they are the means of producing patience. Here, the word "patience" is supo– monei , a remaining under the pres– sure of testing without succumbing to its pressures and pains, its anxieties and agonies. Instead of giving up to its rigor, and being crushed by its \veight - we learn to remain under it with a dogged steadfas t con stancy that does not s i11k tlo\vn anll hrcak 11n{lcr the tri nl . l1 l1t re ogni,c~ its pt1rposc anll trt1 sts ,oll, lcarni ng alI ot1r \Vcight u1Jon tl1r11 We keep o n \vith an cndtarancc th a t is no t given to cowardi ce a n<l (lcspo ndcncy, not cngL1lfcd by the darknc5s of misery and pain, not overwhelmed by the mi gl1ty \vave of adver':)ity and op– poc; ition . This refining procec;s is not in vai n, it is not fruitless, it is not a ll for nothing. It accompli hes it end, reaches its goal, produces it product . And the product 15 that ho nest, steadfast constancy which remains under the testing wi th a ll its torture and severity, without giving up to it - but r ather cou nting it all joy because it brings out that treasured genuineness of faith. We pray for patience, and thi i'i the way it comes to us . .. Accepts Call To Erie, Pa. Rev. Kenneth Andrus has res igned as pastor of the Blessed Hope Baptist C hurch , Spri11gfi.e]d, Ohio. He pastor– ed there for five and one-half years. He has accepted a call to pastor the Bethel Baptist C hurch of Erie Penn– sylvani a . His ministry there begins on February 1st. While servi ng at the Springfield church , Brother Andrus was most ac– tive in our OARBC fel lowship. He was one of the original Youth Com– mit tee that founded Sky View Ranch. H e erved with the OARBC Com– mittee for one year, was Sky View R a nch Secretary, Registrar a nd Trus– tee for three years. He ser ved as Secre– tary to the OARBC Council of Ten and ctid an excellent job. Brother Ken also p astored in G rove C ity, Penna. At one time he was the A s i ta nt Pastor of the Emmanuel Baptis t Church in Toledo. We a re confide nt the Lord wil l ble s hi min– i try in Erie. We jt1 ·t hate to ee him leave Ohio! THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST