Gold Tried in the Fire - Robert J. Wieland
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Chapter 4<br />
Faith: What Is <strong>the</strong> Real Th<strong>in</strong>g?<br />
One wonders if anyth<strong>in</strong>g has ever been talked<br />
about so much and yet understood so little as what<br />
faith is. Yet it is an essential <strong>in</strong>gredient of <strong>the</strong><br />
three-word formula, "righteousness by faith,"<br />
which has been discussed so much, that some th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are weary of hear<strong>in</strong>g about it.<br />
But s<strong>in</strong>ce New Testament faith itself is a world<br />
largely undiscovered, New Testament<br />
righteousness by faith is also a realm of truth<br />
largely await<strong>in</strong>g exploration. While it is dest<strong>in</strong>ed to<br />
enlighten <strong>the</strong> earth with glory, Christ assures us<br />
that at <strong>the</strong> present time we are actually "poor,<br />
bl<strong>in</strong>d, and naked" <strong>in</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g it, while we<br />
have imag<strong>in</strong>ed ourselves "rich and <strong>in</strong>creased with<br />
goods." Discover<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> fabulous secrets of <strong>the</strong><br />
gospel is a more fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g search than div<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
Spanish gold <strong>in</strong> sunken treasure.<br />
One reason so many f<strong>in</strong>d <strong>the</strong> topic<br />
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