Purification Adds by Taking Away

By simple definition purification indicates the existence of something of value contaminated by impurities. Removing those impurities makes the valuable material purer and thus more valuable. Here is where the fires of destruction and judgment can be part of the purification process. When discussing precious metals, we think of those fires as the beginning cleaning steps. When we speak of peoples’ lives, we may remember testimonies of rough characters experiencing a complete turn-around: a drunk suddenly sober without detoxification, a drug addict clean without going through withdrawals, or the profane no longer swearing. All of which are wonderful, but then the Holy Spirit begins a deeper work to remove the remaining dross of wrong attitudes, lack of love, or perhaps hidden lust. The fires of purification do the finer work.

Let me state the obvious again: no fire is pleasant to go through. But in Fire that destroys the bad is a good thing, right? I explained destructive fire can have a huge benefit. The fire of judgment as explained in Baptism of Fire Type 2 separates what we think is right from what is truly right. Purifying fire takes what has been accomplished in the first two and takes the process a step further.

Sometimes we think we should be beyond the need of the fire. We tire of the struggles we face and long for a trouble-free path before us. I understand the complaining Israel did while walking around the same mountain for forty years. When I face a different version of the same struggle, I ask the Lord to help me get it right—once and for all. When that happens, the fire of purification must become hotter in order to bring up the deep-seated dross in our hearts.

King David wrote in Psalms 12:6 “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (NKJV). I love the imagery in this verse. We are God’s earthen vessels. He puts his pure Word in us and then proceeds to purify it in our lives. A story I heard years ago explains why the silver is said it’s heated seven times and how to know it’s pure. A person asked a silversmith how he purifies his silver. He heats it time and again, skimming off the impurities that rise and float on the surface. He knows the silver is pure when he can see his reflection on the surface of the silver. God is after that in us. Pretty awesome, huh?

Another real-life parallel involves a practice by some farmers and park districts. You may have seen black clouds of smoke in the distance and wonder what is on fire. If no news station carries a fire report, the fire most likely is a controlled burn. A field is set ablaze and allowed to burn out for two major benefits. 1) The fire cleanses the field of unwanted growth and seeds. And 2) The ash acts as a fertilizer to enrich the soil so a better crop or ground cover can be grown next season.

Likewise, when we go through the fire of purification, the dross—or unwanted growth, choking weeds of our lives—gets removed. But Jesus does not end his work there. He draws closer to us, rewards us with more of himself, and strengthens our faith as we allow his work in our hearts.

The fire of purification is a deeper cleaning fire. Hebrews 12:11 reminds us that “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (NKJV). As we endure and are exercised by it, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness, we are told. While it can look a lot like destruction and judgment, the fire of purification holds a greater hope and wonder, making it a category of its own. I think the David must have understood this.