Huss and Jerome were heroes of the Reformation years. They worked in Bohemia, and their witness preceded that of Martin Luther in Germany. The writings of Wycliffe influenced both men.

Not long after John Huss began to preach the gospel with great power, he was joined by Jerome, who had been in England.

As the preaching of John Huss became more widely known, he was summoned to Rome to give an account of his teachings. Huss was given a safe-conduct, but after his hearing he was thrown into prison anyway. Offered the opportunity to recant, he refused, and before many weeks had passed, he was burned at the stake. His persecutors scattered his ashes in the Rhine River and hoped in vain that they had silenced his voice.

When Jerome heard that his friend was in peril, he hurried to Rome, not waiting even for the safe-conduct that had proved so ineffective for John Huss. Upon his arrival, he, too, was thrown into prison and kept there for many months. His courage failed, and he accepted the opportunity to recant.

Then he discovered an amazing thing. There is something worse than being burned at the stake! And that is not to be burned at the stake-to live with the remorse of having denied the Lord.

Jerome recanted his recantation and went singing to his death. When the executioner stepped behind him to kindle the flames, he cried, “Come forward boldly; apply the fire before my face. Had I been afraid, I should not be here.”

The story of Huss and Jerome has much to teach us about genuine faith. There is a pseudo-faith, popular today in the world and in the church, which is not faith at all but positive thinking. It would lead you to believe that faith consists of just believing that what you want is going to happen, that if you can find anything in Scripture that looks like a promise, you can claim it for your own.

Frank Sinatra sings of this “positive thinking” in his song “I Did It My Way.” Even within our own church, you can find the positive-thinking version of faith, proclaiming, “You can do it.”

But the Bible’s position is that not every promise is for you at this time and under these circumstances. If claiming promises is all that we need for deliverance, then Huss and Jerome blew it. Isaiah 43:2 has a wonderful promise they could have claimed:

“When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” - Isaiah 43:2

But Huss and Jerome went to the stake-not because they lacked faith, but because of their faith.

Faith still trusts God even when things don’t work out the way we want them to. It’s easy to trust God when life is going smoothly. The real test of faith comes when our prayers seem unanswered.

“The Lord would have you trust in His love and mercy amid clouds and darkness, as well as in the sunshine.” - Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 274.

In our humanity, we can’t help preferring the story of Daniel in the lions’ den to the account of John the Baptist. We find it hard to understand when we read that

“of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.” - The Ministry of Healing, p. 478.

We like the first part of Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, but we have trouble with the last part. Yet the last part is still there. Have you read it lately? After the glowing accounts of the deliverance God wrought for His people in various crises, it goes on to talk about the “others.”

Never forget the others!

“Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” Hebrews 11:35- 39. (Emphasis supplied.)

The spiritual promises-for forgiveness of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for power to do His work-are always available. But the promises for temporal blessings, even for life itself, are given on occasion and withheld on occasion, as God’s providence sees best. Are you willing to be among the “others” if God should call you to join with them in the deepest test of faith?