The Proving of Our Faith

After reading our last post the question was asked by a reader "to whom are we proving our faith?" I gave a short answer and promised to develop the idea more fully in another post. Here goes.

The short answer is that we are not proving our faith but rather God is. We had noticed in the last post that God gave Satan permission to tempt or try Job within limits. It was also pointed out that Job maintained his faith and character throughout the ordeal. (read the book of Job). Here is my understanding of how it works, according to the scriptures.

In Job 1 Satan is before God seeking permission to tempt. Peter writes in I Peter 5:8 that the "devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" These two passages agree fully. Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:31 that Satan had asked permission to go for Peter that he "might sift you as wheat:" These passages show clearly that Satan must have permission to tempt. It is declared in Job 1, and Luke 22:32 that God sets limits. This is also supported by Paul's writing in I Corinthians 10:13 which states that God will not allow us to be tempted above which we are able to bear.

So lets put it all together. When Satan asks permission to tempt God says ok but only to this point. God knows how much we can stand and he also provides the way of escape to assist us. It could then be said that God has confidence in us. He knows that we can overcome or find the way of escape. Doesn't it give us encouragement to know that God thinks we are able to deal with the temptation in a victorious way!

To whom is our faith being proved? To us! God is all knowing therefore he does not need to have our faith proved to him. People around us will know our faith by our works so they do not need to have it proved to them. (James 2:18, Matthew 5:16) Who is left? Ourselves! In Mark 9:24 Jesus is about to heal the epileptic boy. As Jesus speaks to the father of the child he exclaims to Jesus "I believe, help thou mine unbelief". The boy's father believed but realized that his faith could be stronger. It is my prayer that my faith will also be stronger and yours as well dear reader.