The Inerrant Promise in the Furnace

When the assayer tests gold for purity, he does not guess at its composition. He subjects the metal to precise, measurable heat — 1,064 degrees Celsius — and observes what burns away and what remains. There is no ambiguity in the result. The fire tells the truth. Paul's words in Romans 5:3-5 operate with that same precision. He does not say suffering might produce endurance, or that endurance could perhaps develop character.…