This multi-part expository study of the second epistle to the Thessalonians was preached at Flagstaff Christian Fellowship beginning in 2017. Audio and manuscripts are available for each lesson.
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January 22, 2017
There seems to be a shortage of healthy churches in our day. I get emails from people asking if I know of a good church in their city, but often I am hard pressed to endorse any. I often hear of or read about abusive churches, legalistic churches, dead churches, and shallow, feel-good churches. I read recently of a Baptist church in Washington, D.C. that called a married lesbian couple as its new pastors. More and more churches that claim to be evangelical are capitulating to the culture on biblical moral standards. So when I hear about healthy, solid churches that preach the gospel and teach God’s word, it brings me great joy and hope.
The apostle Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians a few months after 1 Thessalonians to a church that had come into existence out of a pagan culture about 12-18 months before. As you would expect, it was not free of problems. No church is. They were experiencing trials and persecution. They were confused over some false teaching regarding the day of the Lord. It’s amazing how quickly Satan infiltrates a church with false teaching! Some lazy church members were not working and were mooching off those who were. But in spite of the problems, it was a healthy church. They were growing in faith, love, and endurance under persecution. A simple outline is:
The opening verses (1:1-5) give us a brief sketch (although not a full view) of a healthy church:
A healthy church is distinct from the world, bathed in the grace and peace of the gospel, growing in faith and love, and persevering in trials as it looks to God’s kingdom.
2 Thess. 1:1: “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians ….”
A little over a year before, there had not been a church of any kind in Thessalonica. Now, because Paul, Silas (Silvanus), and Timothy had preached the gospel there, a church had been born. Although the Greek word for “church” was commonly used to refer to secular assemblies, it comes from two Greek words, meaning literally, “called-out ones.” Through the gospel, God has called His people out of this world to be distinct from the world’s values, morals, and goals. As Jesus prayed (John 17:14-17):
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
So, the church is in the world, but not of the world, even as Jesus was in the world, but not of it. The main thing that sets us apart (sanctifies us) from the world is that we have God’s word of truth. God’s word tells us how He wants us to live as holy people. We are to be distinct from the world in our values. The world values accumulating wealth as if this world is all that there is. But the church seeks to lay up treasures in heaven as we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matt. 6:33).
The world has relative moral standards that shift with the times. The world says, “It’s okay to live together outside of the lifelong covenant of marriage, as long as you’re in love.” The world reasons, “If two people of the same sex are in love, why shouldn’t they be allowed to get married? If a man decides that he really is a woman, what’s wrong with that?” And tolerance for every kind of behavior, no matter how morally perverse, is the world’s chief virtue. The world asks, “Why believe in the morals taught in an ancient book like the Bible?” We answer, “We believe it because Jesus believed it, and it is God’s word of truth.”
2 Thess. 1:1-2: “To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Although this is a typical greeting from Paul, as with all of his greetings and salutations, it is more than routine. And, although Paul does not mention or spell out the gospel here, it implicitly permeates this greeting. The gospel which Paul preached included the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that he could mention “the Lord Jesus Christ” right next to “God our Father,” without any explanation, shows that he had taught these former pagans that Jesus is fully God. As we saw in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 & 7 (see, also, 2 Thess. 2:13), he also taught them about the deity of the Holy Spirit. The Christian faith is decidedly trinitarian. One sure mark of a false cult is that it denies the Trinity: There is one God who exists eternally in three persons: the Father; the Son; and, the Holy Spirit.
Paul extends grace and peace to this new church from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s unmerited favor, shown to us in the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Grace means that God bestows all the blessings of salvation—eternal life, forgiveness of all our sins, and complete right standing with Him—as a free gift to those who deserve His wrath. We can’t do anything to merit or earn God’s grace. All we can do is receive it. As Paul says (Rom. 3:24), we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
Peace refers to total well-being, but especially to the spiritual well-being that comes from being reconciled to God through Christ. His shed blood paid the penalty of our sins so that we are now at peace with God. It also broke down all barriers between us and other people, no matter what their ethnicity, so that we have peace with one another (Eph. 2:14). And, knowing that our sins are completely forgiven by God’s grace alone gives us inner peace in the midst of life’s trials.
Through the gospel, we enter into a relationship with God as our Father. Like the father of the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:11-32), the heavenly Father is full of love and forgiveness when we repent and return to Him. He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exod. 34:6). And the gospel calls us to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord. He bought us with His blood; we are His slaves.
And so healthy churches stand distinct from the world. They are bathed in the grace and peace of the gospel that comes to us from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thess. 1:3: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater.”
By thanking God for their growth in faith and love, rather than congratulating the Thessalonians for their progress, Paul is acknowledging that these qualities come from God. While we are responsible to grow in faith and love, we can only do so as we depend on the indwelling Spirit’s power. Pray for yourself, your family members, and for other Christians that God would increase faith in Him and love for others.
Paul has a unique emphasis here when he says, “We ought always to give thanks,” and adds that such “is only fitting.” Ought means, “we are under obligation” to thank God because clearly, He is behind this growth. He may have added, “as is only fitting,” because he had heard that the Thessalonians were protesting that his earlier praise of them was excessive (F. F. Bruce, Word Biblical Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Thomas Nelson], p. 144). So Paul is encouraging them by saying that their evident growth in faith and love shows that God is truly at work in their hearts.
We come to God through initial faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe God’s promise that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life (John 3:16). But such faith is not a one-time event, where we believe and it’s over with. Rather, our faith in God and the many promises of His word must grow. The difficult news is that such growth usually comes through trials. You’re cruising along, thinking that you’re trusting in Jesus, when, “Wham!” you get hit with something difficult. It may be a health problem, the loss of a job, a family crisis, or something else that is beyond your ability to handle. What should you do? If you grumble and complain, accusing God of not caring about you, your faith will shrink. If you call out to Him as your loving, gracious Father, trusting that He has your best interests at heart in this crisis, your faith will grow as you see the sufficiency of His “precious and magnificent promises” (2 Pet. 1:4).
This is illustrated in Israel’s history. God miraculously delivered them from slavery in Egypt through the ten plagues. He opened the Red Sea so that they could cross it as if on dry land. He closed the sea back over Pharaoh’s advancing troops. Then they went three days into the wilderness and found no water (Exod. 15:22). What a great opportunity to trust in the Lord, who had just proven Himself to be a mighty deliverer!
So what did the people do? They grumbled at Moses, which was really to grumble at the Lord. The Lord responded by graciously meeting their need and giving them a further promise of protection. But they responded by further grumbling, accusing Moses of bringing them all into the wilderness to kill them by hunger. God again graciously responded by providing daily manna. But because of their continual grumbling, God eventually swore in His wrath that that generation would not enter into His rest (Ps. 95:7-11; Heb. 3:7-11). After citing this judgment, Hebrews 3:12 warns us, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”
When Paul says (2 Thess. 1:3), “your faith is greatly enlarged,” he uses a word that is only used here in the New Testament. It has the nuance of vigorous growth. As verse 4 mentions, this growth was taking place in the midst of severe persecutions and afflictions. So if you’re facing a severe trial, take care! You can either have an evil, unbelieving heart in falling away from the living God, or your faith can grow vigorously as you trust in Him and see His faithfulness to His promises.
Paul often couples faith and love (1 Cor. 13:2, 13; Eph. 1:15; 3:17; 6:23; Col. 1:4; 1 Thess. 1:3; 3:6; 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:5, 14; 2:15; 4:12; 6:11; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:22; Philemon 1:5). Increasing love for one another flows out of growing faith in the Lord Jesus, who commanded us to love one another even as He loved us (John 13:34-35). Paul had commended the Thessalonians for their love (1 Thess. 1:3); he prayed that their love would increase and abound (1 Thess. 3:12); and again commended them for their love, urging them to excel still more (1 Thess. 4:9-10). Now he had heard that their love was growing ever greater. This means that we never arrive at a point where we can check love off our list for prayer and growth.
We all tend to be like Linus: we love mankind in general, but can’t stand people in particular! The place where you can practice growing in love is with those who are in the closest proximity to you every day. Husbands and wives and parents and children always need to be growing in love. If you’re single, practice on your roommates. It will be good training for marriage if the Lord provides you with a mate!
Selfishness is the major impediment to love. So to grow in love, you must think about the other person’s needs ahead of your own. You must lay aside your rights and sacrifice your time and effort for the other person. As Paul told the Philippians (2:3-4), where two sisters in the Lord were having conflict (4:2), “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (See, also, Col. 3:12-14.)
Some point out that Paul fails to thank God for their hope, as he did in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, where he mentions their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” But hope is implicit in 2 Thessalonians 1:4: they were persevering through difficult affliction and persecution. (Perseverance is the same Greek word as steadfastness of hope in 1 Thess. 1:3.) Since they still had the effect (steadfastness), we can assume that they still had the hope.
Before we leave verse 3, ask yourself, “Is my faith in God in the midst of trials growing, or am I grumbling? Is my love for others in my family and in this church growing?” If you’re at odds with anyone, go to them as soon as possible and ask forgiveness for any wrongs that you have committed and seek to be reconciled to them. Jesus said that such reconciliation is even more important than your worship (Matt. 5:22-24)!
2 Thess. 1:4: “therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.”
Persevering in faith in the midst of difficult trials is not automatic! Trials test the genuineness of our faith. Jesus spoke about the seed sown on the rocky soil that withers when the hot sun beats down on the new plant (Matt. 13:5-6). He explained (Matt. 13:20-21): “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
The key is to send down deep roots in the word when times are easier so that you will not wither in a time of trouble (Ps. 1:3; Prov. 1:20-33). Jeremiah 17:7-8 also links persevering in a time of trial to our faith in the Lord and having deep roots:
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
The key to trusting the Lord and sending down roots is to do it daily in the smaller trials that we all encounter. Then you’ll have a pattern for faith when bigger trials hit. One of the most important habits that you can develop is to spend time in God’s word and prayer every morning. I try to read a Psalm, as well as a portion from both the Old and New Testaments. You’re free to do whatever works for you, but the main thing is to do it as consistently as you eat. God’s word is daily food for your soul.
I enjoy the Psalms because they were written in the trenches of life’s trials. For example, (as I write this) this morning I read Psalm 86. David begins by crying out to the Lord to hear and answer him, explaining that he is afflicted and needy. Later (v. 14) he specifies that a band of arrogant, violent men were seeking his life. Thankfully, I’ve never been in that kind of peril! But, I can apply the psalm by thinking about what my needs and trials are. Prayer is an acknowledgement that I’m needy. Maybe I’m only having normal, minor hassles or frustrations. But I should take them to the Lord in prayer, following David’s pattern of rehearsing God’s goodness, graciousness, and love. I prayed through the psalm both for myself and for my family, asking that they would seek the Lord in their trials. Doing that consistently with the minor issues of life develops a pattern for trusting God when major trouble hits.
Thus a healthy church is distinct from the world and bathed in God’s grace and peace through the gospel. It has growing faith in God and love for one another. It perseveres in faith in the midst of difficult trials. Finally,
2 Thess. 1:5: “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” Gary Shogren (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Zondervan], p. 246) translates verse 5: “[All of this gives] evidence that God will pronounce a right verdict, which will result in you being considered worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are also suffering.”
When we go through severe trials, we tend to think that God has forsaken us and is not working out His plan for us. But Paul is saying, “Quite the contrary!” He wants us to understand that suffering is often the means God uses to work out His eternal purpose and prepare us for His kingdom. Paul had already taught these new Christians that we are destined for such afflictions (1 Thess. 3:3). This was a common theme for Paul. When he and Barnabas revisited the new churches that they had just founded, Acts 14:22 summarizes that they were “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’”
The idea in verse 5 is not that suffering somehow qualifies us for being worthy of God’s kingdom. That would make salvation a matter of human works or merit. Rather, persevering in suffering is an evidence that God is working in us, preparing us for His eternal kingdom, when we will escape His righteous judgment through the blood of Christ, but unbelievers will be judged (vv. 6-10). G. K. Beale (1-2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 184, italics his) explains,
Their enduring faith through suffering is the badge (the evidence or sign) by which they will be counted worthy of not being judged but of inheriting the kingdom of God at the end of history. One will not be able to enter the kingdom without the badge of enduring faith and its accompanying good works.
Although at this time we’re not suffering persecution, we can persevere through whatever trials we may be experiencing if we’ll keep our eyes on the coming kingdom of God, when He will reward all who have suffered for the sake of righteousness and judge all the wicked. Writing to a persecuted church, Peter expressed a similar idea (1 Pet. 1:6-7): “In this [future salvation] you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
I recently had a message from my doctor’s office reminding me that it’s time for my annual checkup. I think I’m pretty healthy, but a checkup will either confirm it or reveal some problems.
Are we a healthy church? Paul’s introduction here isn’t a thorough checkup, but we should ask: Because of the gospel, are we standing distinct from the world? Are we bathed in God’s grace and peace through the gospel? Are we growing in faith and love? Are we persevering in our trials? And, are we viewing our trials in light of God’s coming kingdom?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
January 29, 2017
The doctrine of the eternal conscious punishment of unbelievers is probably one of the most difficult teachings in the Bible to comprehend and embrace. The thought of those we know and love, as well as other people around the world, suffering eternally seems out of character for a loving God. And what about the millions throughout history who never even heard the name of Jesus? Most of them loved their families and acted decently toward others. How can God consign them to eternal punishment? We may be prone to think that the punishment exceeds the crime.
The difficulty of this doctrine has led some evangelicals, such as the late, respected Anglican pastor, John Stott, to reject or at least modify it. The pastor of a popular evangelical church here in Flagstaff does not believe that unbelievers will suffer consciously forever in hell. Several years ago, a man who formerly attended here would stand in front of the church handing out a paper which argued that eventually, everyone will be saved. And in 2011, Rob Bell, who was then the pastor of a 10,000-member church, wrote Love Wins, which challenges both the traditional understanding of hell and of Christ’s substitutionary atonement.
Those who reject the eternal punishment of the wicked, but still claim to believe the Bible, have two options. Some argue that the wicked will suffer for a period of time and then be annihilated. This is also the view of the Seventh Day Adventist sect. Others use Colossians 1:20 (and other texts) to argue that through the cross, God will eventually reconcile all people to Christ. Some go so far as to say that eventually, even Satan and the demons will be saved! This view is called “universalism.”
In line with Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners,” I think that we struggle with the doctrine of the eternal punishment of the wicked to the degree that we do not understand or embrace the infinite holiness of God and the infinite heinousness of sin against such a holy Being. But when we realize that God is absolutely holy and just, then we know that He must punish all sin. And when we see that we all have repeatedly, defiantly sinned against this holy Sovereign of the universe, then we can understand why the punishment must be infinite.
Paul elaborates on God’s judgment of the wicked to bring comfort to these persecuted recent believers in Thessalonica. He appeals to the sense of justice that we all feel: Those who deliberately persecute or wrong others someday should pay for their crimes. God would not be God if He were not just. If He merely excused sins without punishment He would not be righteous. Either the sinner must be punished or an acceptable substitute may take his punishment. God sent Jesus, the Lamb of God, to be the substitute for all who believe in Him. But everyone else will be punished for their sins. Here Paul says that when the Lord Jesus appears, there will be two and only two outcomes:
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven, He will deal out eternal punishment to unbelievers, but share His eternal glory with His saints.
Before we work through this text, I should acknowledge that it presents a problem for us who hold to the premillennial view of future things. Paul states that when Jesus returns, He will judge those who do not know God, consigning them to eternal destruction. But, if that is so, then who (other than glorified saints) would be left to populate the millennial kingdom? Other Scriptures indicate that there will be people in that kingdom in mortal bodies (Isa. 65:20), and that some of them will participate in a rebellion against the Lord at the end of that period, followed by the final judgment (Rev. 20:7-15). So if believers receive resurrection bodies and everyone else is judged when Jesus returns, how can there be mortal unbelievers in the millennial kingdom?
Our text is not a problem for the amillennial view, which believes that the millennial kingdom is taking place now in heaven and that when Christ returns, He will judge the world and usher in the eternal state, consisting of a new heavens and new earth. But in my opinion, that position does not square with many other texts. I don’t have time in this message to go into the pros and cons of each view. (For a concise treatment, see Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology [Zondervan], pp. 1116-1121, 1127-1131; or, my sermon, “God’s Prophetic Plan,” 10/23/16.) While I recognize that many godly scholars argue for amillennialism, I think the premillennial view is the better view with the least problems.
But, then, if Christ judges the wicked when He returns, who will populate the millennium and who would be left to rebel at the end of that time? Those who hold to the premillennial, pretribulation rapture view say that the Jews who are saved during the tribulation will enter the millennium in their natural bodies. They will have children during that time, some of whom will not believe and will join the final rebellion at the end of the millennium, followed by the final judgment. I used to hold to that view, but I have difficulty finding two separate comings of Christ (one for the church before the tribulation, plus His second coming after) in Scripture.
Wayne Grudem (ibid. p. 1133), who holds to the historic premillennial view (a single, post-tribulation coming of Christ), says that while Christ will defeat His enemies at His coming, He won’t annihilate all of them. Some will surrender without trusting in Christ. Either they or their children who do not believe will constitute the rebel forces at the end of the millennium. My speculation is that perhaps when He returns, Christ will judge and send to hell all who have heard and rejected the gospel. Others, who have not yet heard (young children and those from unreached peoples) will enter the millennium in their natural bodies. Many of them will come to faith during that time, but others will chafe under Christ’s rule and eventually join Satan’s final rebellion. But Scripture doesn’t say that, so my suggestion must be tentative.
Turning to our text, we can affirm three truths:
Paul often refers to the coming of the Lord (Greek = Parousia, presence; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8). Sometimes he refers to His appearing (Greek, epiphaneia, “epiphany,” 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13). But here he uses the Greek verb apokalupto (“apocalypse”), meaning that Christ will be “revealed.” He is presently hidden from view in heaven, although not absent, in that He dwells in His people. But when He comes again on the clouds of glory, every eye will see Him (Matt. 26:64. Rev. 1:7). His coming will be bodily (Acts 1:11), visible, and glorious. He will be accompanied by His mighty angels in flaming fire, a symbol of judgment. Many commentators point out that the language used here is similar to that in many Old Testament theophanies, where the Lord appears in bodily form. Language used of Yahweh is here applied to Jesus, showing His deity.
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven, unbelievers will cry out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and protect them from the wrath of the Lamb (Isa. 2:10, 19, 21; Rev. 6:16). Believers will marvel, but unbelievers will be terrified. The point is, unless Jesus and the apostles were lying or mistaken, He is coming! Mockers will say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet. 3:4). But they will be shocked and terrified when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in power and glory.
Paul says (2 Thess. 1:6), “For it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you.” He adds (2 Thess. 1:8-9) that this will involve “dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” As I said, my speculation is that this punishment at this time may only apply to those who have heard and rejected the gospel. They will not have another opportunity to believe. Note three things:
Psalm 98:9 exults that the Lord “is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Paul refers to the Lord as “the righteous Judge” (2 Tim. 4:8). In Revelation 19:1-2, John hears the voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” Or, as Abraham asked rhetorically (Gen. 18:25), “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
No one can hide any deed, word, or thought from the penetrating gaze of the omniscient God (Heb. 4:13). So there will be no escape and no mercy for unbelievers on that day—only justice. God “will render to each person according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). None will be able to argue his case against the Lord. Every mouth will be stopped (Rom. 3:19). Each person will get exactly as he or she deserves.
Jesus taught that there will be degrees of punishment in hell, proportionate to the person’s sins and to the degree of light which he rejected (Luke 12:47-48). In a remarkable passage (Matt. 11:21-24), Jesus reveals that God knows not only what everyone did, but also what everyone would have done if they had had different revelation! He said that it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, and for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment than for the cities that had seen Jesus’ miracles and yet rejected Him, because if those ancient cities had seen such miracles, they would have repented!
The angels who went to Sodom to rescue Lot could have performed impressive miracles if that had been God’s will. And Jesus indicates that if they had done so, Sodom would have repented! But God did not grant such miracles and Sodom will be judged, although not as severely as Capernaum, which saw Jesus’ miracles! And the people of Sodom will have no grounds to accuse God of injustice because He did not perform miracles that would have led them to repent. He does not owe mercy to any sinner. Every sinner who is not covered by Jesus’ blood and righteousness will be judged by the righteous Judge of all the earth.
Some scholars think that these two phrases (v. 8) refer to two distinct groups: the Gentiles “do not know God” (1 Thess. 4:5), whereas “those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” refers to the Jews. But I agree with the majority of scholars who argue that such a distinction is too subtle and that rather, Paul is using synonymous parallelism here. Both phrases refer to unbelievers in similar language with slightly different nuances.
“Those who do not know God” does not refer to people who are innocently ignorant, but rather to those who have willfully turned away from the revelation that God has given them. They have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). As Paul argues (Rom. 1:20), God has clearly revealed His invisible attributes, eternal power, and divine nature through His creation. He adds (Rom. 1:21), “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” So people who do not know God are culpable. They do not know God because of the hardness of their hearts (Eph. 4:18).
Because they love their sin, such willfully ignorant people “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (1 Thess. 1:8). Jesus preached (Mark 1:15), “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” It wasn’t a helpful hint; it was a command. Paul told the Athenian philosophers (Acts 17:30-31), “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” To repent and believe the gospel is to obey the gospel.
Because it is “the gospel of our Lord Jesus,” believing the gospel entails obeying the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:36 equates believing in Jesus with obeying Jesus: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Paul referred to “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5; 16:26; cf. Acts 6:7). If someone claims to believe in Jesus as Savior but he isn’t submitting to Jesus as Lord, his claim is questionable. Those who live in disobedience to the Lord Jesus do not know Him and will face His judgment.
God will repay them with “affliction” (v. 6). He will deal out retribution to them (v. 8). And (2 Thess. 1:9), “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Those who argue that the wicked will suffer for a while and then be annihilated point to the word “destruction.” But the word does not mean that the wicked will cease to exist. If that were the punishment, the penalty of being away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power would be nullified, since they would not be conscious of it. It refers to total ruin.
Paul’s language in our text comes from different texts in Isaiah. Isaiah 66:15 prophesies,
For behold, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
In our text, Paul uses several of the words used in the LXX version that verse. G. K. Beale (1-2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 189) says, “This is noteworthy because only nine verses later comes the well-known description of those who have been judged—“their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched” (Isa. 66:24)—a clear reference to an unending punishment of conscious beings.”
The phrase Paul uses in verse 9, “away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” comes from the LXX of Isaiah 2:10, 19, 21, where it is repeated three times. Each time, Isaiah adds the description, “from the terror of the Lord and the majesty of His power.” Isaiah 2:19 predicts,
Men will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the ground
Before the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
In Revelation 6:15-17, John picks up Isaiah’s language to portray the terror of Christ’s return: “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”
All of this tells us that hell is not going to be a wild, eternal party, as the world often portrays it! All of the language of the Bible indicates that hell will be eternal, awful, conscious torment. No one spoke more about hell than Jesus. He spoke of the rich man in hell who was in torment and cried out (Luke 16:24), “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.” Using the imagery of Isaiah 66:24, Jesus also referred to hell as, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). If you ask, “Are the flames of hell literal?” my answer is, “I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out!” The language Jesus used is horrifying!
He repeatedly referred to the final state of unbelievers as the place of “outer darkness,” where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). Some try to argue that “eternal” in the Bible doesn’t always mean “forever and ever.” But Jesus referred to it (Matt. 25:41) as “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” He added (Matt. 25:46), “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” If eternal life lasts forever, then eternal punishment must also be forever. We dare not use softer language than our Savior did with regard to the eternal punishment of those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus! There is nothing but really bad news for all who reject Jesus Christ!
But there is also good news in our text:
There will be relief from the affliction of persecution (v. 7; “relief” in Greek is, anesin, from which the pain relief medicine got its name). But, also (2 Thess. 1:10), “when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.” “On that day” reflects language used in Isaiah 2:11, 17, the same chapter cited in verse 9. The Lord’s being glorified in His saints comes from Psalm 89:7 [88:8 in the LXX], where “holy ones” probably refers to the angels. But here, “saints” refers to believers, who are “holy ones,” set apart to the Lord from this evil world.
In Colossians 3:4, Paul states, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” In Ephesians 3:21, Paul prays, “To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” We will marvel at the glory of the Lord and give Him all praise when we see Him. But also, as His bride adorned for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:5-8), we will actually share His glory throughout all eternity!
We need to believe the biblical doctrine of hell to burden our hearts with compassion for the lost, to motivate us to share the good news with them. Paul was so burdened for the unbelieving Jews that he said that he could wish that he himself was accursed, separated from Christ, if it would result in their conversion (Rom. 9:1-3)! The point of the gospel is not to tell people how they can have a happier, more abundant life now. The gospel is God’s only means of rescuing people from His eternal wrath!
Whether a person is judged to suffer eternal destruction or can look forward to eternal glory hinges on the word that Paul repeats in verse 10: “believed.” He repeats it to reassure the Thessalonians that they had believed the apostolic testimony about Jesus. The same word is in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” As we’ve seen, believing in Jesus is not just intellectual assent, with no repentance. To believe means to entrust your eternal destiny to Jesus’ death as the payment for your sins. It means to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
So the crucial question is, “Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord?” If you haven’t, you should be terrified, because Jesus will deal out eternal destruction to you when He returns with His mighty angels in flaming fire. But, if you have believed in Him, you should be comforted, because no matter how much you may suffer here, eternal glory awaits you. It’s a no-brainer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
February 5, 2017
Do you pray the Lord’s Prayer? I don’t mean, “Do you recite the Lord’s Prayer verbatim?” Instead, I mean, “Do you use the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern for your praying?” I think that when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and He responded with what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:1-4), He was not giving us a prayer to recite mindlessly, such as, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” Rather, He gave us an outline to follow when we pray.
It is divided into two sections: Pray to the Father about His glory and purpose; then, pray to the Father about our needs. “Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2) asks for God to be reverenced and glorified; and, for His rule to be extended through evangelism and discipleship. The second half (Luke 11:3-4), “Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation,” focuses on our physical, relational, and spiritual needs.
But I have a hunch that we often reverse the order of the Lord’s Prayer and pray first for our own needs and then, sometimes, we get around to praying for God’s glory and kingdom. But Jesus tells us to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, not the stuff for which the unbelieving world seeks (Matt. 6:25-33). He wants us to bring our needs before Him, but our main focus should be on God’s glory and kingdom.
That was Paul’s focus when he prayed for the new converts in Thessalonica, who were going through severe persecution. His prayer in our text gives us not only a pattern for our prayers, but also a simple lesson in how to serve the Lord so that His kingdom and glory are our priority:
Serve the Lord prayerfully, out of godly character, joyfully in His power, and for His glory.
Paul assumes what many modern Christians seem to have forgotten, namely, that every Christian is to be serving the Lord in some way. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, He has gifted you for some ministry. Just as every member of your physical body has a purpose, as a member of Christ’s body, the church, you have an important function to fulfill. But, as I’ve mentioned before, every pastor is painfully aware of the “80-20 rule”: Eighty percent of the work in the local church is done by twenty percent of the people. Typically, eighty percent attend church, but never get involved in serving. I’m optimistically going to join Paul in assuming that you’re all serving the Lord and want to know how to serve more effectively. His prayer teaches four simple lessons:
2 Thess. 1:11: “To this end also we pray for you always ….” Prayer must permeate all service for the Lord. Paul, Silas, and Timothy (“we”) prayed always (repeatedly and often), because they knew that the Thessalonians always needed the Lord’s help. Note the emphasis on prayer in 1 & 2 Thessalonians:
1 Thess. 1:2: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers.”
1 Thess. 2:13: “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
1 Thess. 3:9-13: “For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
1 Thess. 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thess. 5:23: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thess. 5:25: “Brethren, pray for us.”
2 Thess. 1:3: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater.”
2 Thess. 1:11-12: “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thess. 2:13: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
2 Thess. 2:16-17: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”
2 Thess. 3:1-2: “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.”
2 Thess. 3:5: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.
2 Thess. 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”
Those are a lot of references to prayer in these two short letters! It is significant that in writing to new believers who were going through persecution, Paul never writes, “I pray that your persecution will end soon.” Rather, his prayers are focused on their growth in godliness and on the furtherance of God’s kingdom and glory through their perseverance in persecution.
In our text, Paul prays that God will do what it is certain that He will do, namely, that He will be glorified in these believers when Jesus returns. In Philippians 1:6, Paul wrote, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” So, if Paul was confident that God would perfect those whom He called to salvation, why did he pray for that very thing?
This is the mystery of interaction between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility. Why pray, if God has predestined everything? Why witness, if God has already chosen who will believe? It’s really no different, though, than the request in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come.” God has predestined that Christ’s kingdom will come. But He tells us to pray that it will happen. Hasn’t the Lord promised that He will build His church? Yes, but when we serve Him, we should pray that He will use our efforts to build His church. Frequent prayer should undergird and permeate all that we do for the Lord (Ps. 90:17).
2 Thess. 1:11: “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling ….” “To this end” may refer back to verse 5, where Paul has said that the persecution which the Thessalonians were enduring was so that God would consider them worthy of the kingdom. Or, it may refer to verse 10, to the goal that the Lord would be glorified in them at His coming. But either way, as Leon Morris says (The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans], p. 210), the meaning is, “that they may so live between this moment and the judgment that God will then be able to pronounce them worthy of the calling wherewith He called them.” Or, Paul is praying that at the judgment Jesus may say of them (Matt. 25:21, 23), “Well done, good and faithful slave.”
It’s important to keep in mind that being counted (or, “made,” ESV) worthy is a result of God’s effectual call to salvation, not the cause of it. The point is, we don’t walk worthily to obtain or merit salvation, but rather because God has graciously saved us.
Living worthily of our calling is a concept that Paul used often. In Philippians 1:27, he wrote, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” Ephesians 4:1-3 commands, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” In Colossians 1:9-10, Paul prayed, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” And, Paul had reminded the Thessalonians that he had encouraged and exhorted them as a loving father (1 Thess. 2:12), “so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
You don’t need to be perfect to serve the Lord. If that were the requirement, no one could do it! But you do need to be living in obedience to Him, seeking to glorify Him. If you’re living a double life, where you’re engaging in secret sin but putting up a front as a good Christian, then don’t get involved in serving the Lord. The enemy will exploit your hypocrisy to bring disgrace to the name of Christ. We’ve seen that repeatedly when some Christian leader is exposed for engaging in the very sins that he has denounced from the pulpit. Christian service should flow out of a walk that is worthy of the Lord.
Paul prays (2 Thess. 1:11) that God will “fulfill every desire for goodness.” The ESV has, “every resolve for good.” But such resolve stems from inner desire. The Greek scholar, J. B. Lightfoot (Notes on Epistles of St. Paul [Baker], p. 106) translated it, “delight in well-doing.” In other words, serving the Lord (“desire for goodness”) should not be a duty that you do grudgingly out of guilt, while you’d really rather be doing other things. Rather, it should be a delight: You serve Him joyfully from the heart. Psalm 100:2 puts it, “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
When God saves you, He puts desires for godly character and good works in your heart (Eph. 2:8-10). Psalm 37:4 commands, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” He will put His desires into your heart, so that your desires and His desires are one and the same. Sometimes new believers wonder, “Where should I serve God?” Part of the answer to that question is, “What do you enjoy doing? What kind of service for the Lord brings you satisfaction? When you do it, does God seem to bless it?” God doesn’t say, “Oh, do you like doing that? No, I want you to do something you hate!” Of course, even when you’re doing what you enjoy, it may be difficult. You will get weary. People will unfairly criticize you. Some parts of your service may not be your favorite thing. But, generally God wants you to serve Him joyfully in accord with your desires for goodness.
Paul prays (2 Thess. 1:11) that God will fulfill “the work of faith with power.” Genuine faith results in good works (Eph. 2:8-10; James 2:18-20). The fact that the works come from faith shows that we must rely on God for His power in everything we do to serve Him. Work hard, but at the same time, rely on God to work in and through you.
We see this interplay between our labors and God’s power in several of Paul’s letters: Philippians 2:12-13: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Colossians 1:29: “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” So, labor and strive in serving the Lord, but do it according to His power working in and through you.
Sometimes people are reluctant to serve the Lord because they feel inadequate to serve. Depending on what the service entails, it may well be that you need further training before you step into the role. If you’re going to teach God’s word, you need some training in how to study, interpret, and apply the Bible, along with some instruction in how to communicate that truth well. If you’re going to engage in evangelism, it’s helpful to have some basic training in how to do it. But no matter how much training you get, you’re still inadequate to serve the Lord in your own strength or wisdom. Regarding preaching the gospel, even the apostle Paul asked for prayer for boldness and clarity (Eph. 6:19-20; Col. 4:3-4)! He exclaimed (2 Cor. 2:16), “And who is adequate for these things?” A few verses later he explained (2 Cor. 3:5), “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”
It was forty years ago this month that I began to serve as a pastor, just shy of my 30th birthday. To say that I felt inadequate is a gross understatement! I had never taught the Bible verse by verse beyond a few short Sunday school lessons. I thought that I’d probably run out of gas after a short while. So I told the Lord that I’d try it for three years and see where I was at. By His grace alone, He has sustained me now for four decades and His people graciously have put up with me! But there is not a week that goes by when I do not feel overwhelmed with inadequacy as a pastor. I feel like I’m walking on water all the time. If I look at the waves, I’ll go under! So, don’t wait until you feel adequate to serve. Get some training if you need it. But then, serve the Lord prayerfully, out of godly character, and joyfully in His power. Finally,
2 Thess. 1:12: “so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him ….” This looks at our motive for serving the Lord. The aim of knowing and serving the Lord is to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus. To “glorify” the Lord means to make Him look as good as He really is. “Name” refers to all of the Lord’s attributes and character. Regarding our service for the Lord, Peter writes (1 Pet. 4:10-11): “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
So the aim of Paul’s prayer is that, as Leon Morris (p. 211) puts it, “The Thessalonians will be such a bright and shining testimony to the reality of their salvation that the Savior will be seen to be the wonderful Being He is.”
But my years of serving as a pastor have shown me that there are many other reasons why people serve. Some serve out of the desire for public affirmation. Some serve out of guilt or to try to earn acceptance with God. Once when I was in California, a couple that I had taken through premarital counseling wanted me to conduct their wedding, but they didn’t want to get married at our church in the mountains because it was winter and they feared that it might snow. So they picked a church down the mountain from us, where it rarely snows.
But the church they picked required that their pastor participate in the ceremony. So, before the wedding, I went into his office to get acquainted and talk about the ceremony. He lit up a cigarette and I noticed an ashtray on his desk overflowing with cigarette butts. And I noticed that although he was in midlife, his seminary diploma on the wall was fairly recent. So I asked, “Is the ministry a second career for you?” When he said, “Yes,” I asked, “What led you into the ministry?” With a clenched jaw, he replied, “Because I had to live with myself!” Apparently, guilt had driven him into the ministry to atone for his sins! But he didn’t seem happy about it!
I’ll never forget the ceremony, because as I was giving a short wedding message, a girl in the congregation snapped a flash photo. This pastor, who was standing on the platform with me, interrupted, “Just a minute!” He pointed his finger at her, and sternly said, “This is worship! No pictures are allowed during worship!” I think it’s safe to say that he was serving the Lord for the wrong reasons!
We have the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels (that’s us!) so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves (2 Cor. 4:7). But, even so, when we serve to glorify the Lord, He graciously shares His glory with us. He uses us as testimonies of His grace, so that others see Christ in us. Although our glory will not be complete until Christ returns, He does allow us to share in His glory in a limited way even now (2 Thess. 2:14; John 17:22; Eph. 3:21; Col. 3:4; 1 Sam. 2:30; John 12:26).
Paul wants us to serve the Lord prayerfully, out of godly character, joyfully in His power and for His glory (2 Thess. 1:12), “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Note, again, how Paul without explanation couples God and the Lord Jesus Christ, showing that Jesus is equal to God. Experiencing the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ is the main motive for serving Him. We don’t serve to earn acceptance with Him. We serve because He graciously accepted us when we trusted the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. None of us is worthy in ourselves to serve Him. Rather, we serve Him because He graciously made us worthy through Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
It is my desire and prayer that every person who attends this church would be serving the Lord in some capacity, according to how He has gifted you. It’s a mindset that results in action. If you’ve tasted God’s grace in Christ, you’re His blood-bought slave. Don’t come to church with the mindset, “What can I get out of it today?” Come and go with the mindset, “As Your grateful slave Lord, how can I serve You?”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
February 12, 2017
If you track with the news, it’s easy to become anxious about all of the widespread evil that takes place every day. ISIS in the Middle East is committing unspeakable atrocities. Al Qaida continues its campaign of worldwide terror. The Phoenix evening news usually has reports of murder, armed robbery, child abuse, and the like. Voice of the Martyrs reports stories of horrible persecution against our brothers and sisters worldwide.
You can come away from all of this news wondering whether God is really in control of the world. Although we are currently not suffering persecution, maybe you’ve gone through a difficult trial where you wondered, “Where is God in this? Does He love me?”
In our text, Paul shows that God is sovereign even over evil rulers and evil events. At the climax of history, the most powerful, hideously evil ruler ever will gain a worldwide following. Paul shows that this is all part of God’s prophetic plan. His point here is not to give us a timetable of end times events to satisfy our curiosity. Rather, he wrote to comfort these persecuted new believers with the truth. Leon Morris puts it (The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans], p. 229), “[Paul] is convinced that all men and events are in the hand of God…. He writes to assure them that whatever happens God is over all.”
But we need to grapple with a number of difficult interpretive matters in these verses. I’ll try to explain most of them as we work through the text. But I need to mention a major divide as we begin. Those who hold to the pretribulation rapture of the church contend that the problem Paul was addressing was that some false teachers had told the Thessalonians that they had missed the rapture and were now in “the day of the Lord,” which included the tribulation (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Moody Press], pp. 265ff.). So Paul is reminding them that he had taught them that that day would not come until the apostasy came first and the man of lawlessness was revealed. Since those two major events had not taken place, they could be assured that they were not in the terrible day of the Lord.
But there are several problems with this view, which I think reads a preconceived idea into these verses. First, if the Thessalonians thought that they had missed the rapture and were in the day of the Lord, surely Paul would have said, “Don’t you remember that I told you that we will be raptured before the day of the Lord?” Why would he tell them about these two signs to look for if they weren’t going to be around when they happened? (See Douglas Moo, Three Views of the Rapture [Zondervan], p. 189.)
Robert Culver mentions a second problem with this view (Systematic Theology [Mentor], p. 1134):
It is unreasonable to suppose that they thought the ‘rapture’ had occurred and all the congregation, including their elders and others who had endured much persecution for the Lord’s sake … had been ‘left behind.’ Did they suppose that Paul himself and perhaps Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:5), all of whom probably kept in communication with Thessalonica, had missed the rapture too?
A third problem with this view is that those who hold to the pretribulation rapture say that “the coming” (Parousia) of Christ in verse 1 refers to the pretribulation rapture, but the same word in verse 8 refers to His second coming after the tribulation. The burden of proof is on them to explain why Paul without explanation would use the same word in the same context to refer to two separate events (G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 198).
Also, it’s important to recognize that Paul’s teaching on the end times in the Thessalonian epistles is very likely based on Jesus’ teaching in the Olivet Discourse, which all commentators agree refers to His second coming, not to a pretribulation rapture. Dr. Culver (p. 1129) cites a source that lists 24 correspondences between Jesus’ discourse and Paul’s teaching. So it is unlikely that Paul’s two references to the coming (Parousia) of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:1, 8) refer to different events. Both refer to Christ’s coming after the great tribulation.
What, then, was the problem that Paul is addressing in our text? Dr. Moo (p. 188) says that the verbs suggest “that they were agitated and unsettled—abandoning their normal common sense and daily pursuits in nervous excitement over the nearness of the end.” Dr. Beale (p. 200) thinks that the false teachers were claiming that Christ’s coming and the resurrection had already happened, “so that there should be no present expectation of any future occurrence of either of these events.” He says that this conclusion is supported by the situation in Corinth, where some denied that there would be a final, physical resurrection of the dead. This also “may have entailed a belief that there would be no final coming of Christ at all.” He also refers to the false teachers in Ephesus who claimed that the resurrection had already taken place (2 Tim. 2:18).
A modern version of this false teaching called extreme preterism claims that Christ returned spiritually in A.D. 70 and thus He is not coming back again. I contended with a man from Flagstaff who wrote a short book defending this error. He’s cleverly deceptive, in that he says he believes that Christ is coming again. But when you pin him down, he means that Christ comes again spiritually every time we sense His presence. He denies the future bodily return of Christ. The warning that Paul gives in verses 1-3, “Let no one in any way deceive you,” applies to this modern version of this false teaching.
Because there is so much to cover in these verses and it’s difficult to break it into two sections, I cannot deal with all of the details in the text. I’ll try to explain the main issues. The main idea is:
Believers can have comfort in the midst of persecution or worldwide evil because God is sovereign over all and in His time will judge all evildoers.
As we saw when we studied 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8, the day of the Lord refers to God’s intervention in history for judgment on His enemies or for deliverance and blessing for His people. Sometimes these cataclysmic days of judgment found partial fulfillment when God wiped out Israel’s enemies and delivered His people from a military threat. But all such events pointed ahead to the culmination of God’s judgment and salvation in the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. The final day of the Lord, which Paul refers to in our text, begins with the tribulation and concludes with the second coming of Jesus Christ. Before Christ returns, two main things must take place: unprecedented apostasy; and, the man of lawlessness will be revealed. But before he is revealed, a third event must take place: the restrainer must be removed.
Paul explains (v. 3) that the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first. The word refers to a falling away by those who formerly professed Christ. He adds (v. 7) that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” “Mystery” refers to that which is hidden and only known by God’s revelation, which now has been given.
Beale (pp. 218-219) thinks that Paul is referring to the antichrist prophecy from Daniel 11, which he mentions in verse 4. Daniel’s prophecy was initially fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, who desecrated the temple and claimed to be God. But it awaits final fulfillment in this “man of lawlessness,” who will exalt himself above all gods, taking his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Although he has not yet appeared, Paul is saying that he is already working deception through these false teachers who were plaguing the Thessalonian church. All false teachers are preparing the way for the grand appearance of the man of lawlessness himself.
While false teachers have plagued the church since the earliest times, Jesus explained that just before His return, false teaching and apostasy among professing believers will increase (Matt. 24:9-13):
“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
The application for them and for us is, we need to be on guard at all times against false teaching. Satan uses both the frontal attack of persecution, and the more subtle attack of false teaching, in an attempt to unsettle believers. Although we may think that the error Paul addressed in our text was relatively minor, he was concerned. It was causing some to be shaken and disturbed in their faith (v. 2). Sound doctrine is essential for peace and steadfastness; being deceived by false teaching leads to anxiety, which makes a person vulnerable to further deception. As the day of the Lord draws near, we can expect a tsunami of false teaching.
The problem here is that Paul had taught the Thessalonians about the restrainer being removed, but he doesn’t tell us what he said! The problem becomes more complex because in verse 6 Paul refers to “what restrains him now,” using a neuter participle; whereas in verse 7 he uses a masculine participle. So, as you can expect, there are multiple views.
Most commentators think it refers to a power (neuter participle) and/or person (masculine participle) that restrains evil until this man of lawlessness is revealed. Different suggestions include (John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB edition [Thomas Nelson], pp. 1823-1824): (1) human government; (2) the preaching of the gospel; (3) the binding of Satan; (4) the providence of God; (5) the Jewish state; (6) the church; (7) the Holy Spirit; and, (8) Michael the archangel.
MacArthur (Commentary, pp. 278-279) understands it to be the Holy Spirit, but not removed with the rapture of the church (which he understands to happen before the tribulation). Rather, he argues that the Holy Spirit will continue His restraining work until the middle of the tribulation, when He will cease that work, allowing the man of lawlessness free reign during the last half of the tribulation. The early church father, John Chrysostom, said that the restrainer could be the Holy Spirit, but he rejected that view because Paul would not have been so enigmatic in referring to the Spirit. So he leaned toward the view that it was the Roman Empire (cited by John Calvin, Calvin's Commentaries [Baker], p. 332).
Beale (pp. 216-217) argues that the restrainer may be an angel who represents God’s sovereignty in restraining evil (“the gates of hell”), so that the gospel proclamation is effective during the church age. At the end of the age, God removes the angel and his influence, so that “all hell will break loose.” Since Paul alludes to the prophecy in Daniel 11 (in v. 4), by the restrainer he may have had in mind the angel in Daniel 10 who was resisting the demonic power that was over Persia. And, Paul has already stated (2 Thess. 1:7) that when Christ returns, it will be in the company of “His mighty angels in flaming fire.” So this view dovetails with the view that human government, under angelic authority, is the restrainer.
George Ladd (The Blessed Hope [Eerdmans], p. 95) suggests that “he that is taken out of the way” (v. 7) should be translated, “until he come out of the midst.” So it would not refer to the restrainer, but to antichrist. Ladd suggests that verses 6 & 7 are saying the same thing in parallel form:
6a: “And you know what restrains him now (God’s power);
6b: “so that in his time he (antichrist) will be revealed;
7a: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who restrains (God) will do so,
7b: until he (antichrist) comes out of the midst (is revealed).
The bottom line is, with all of these different interpretations about the restrainer, we can only be tentative. But to use these verses to argue for a pretribulation rapture of the church is to read that view into the text. Even MacArthur (who holds to the pretribulation rapture) does not interpret it that way.
What we can know from this text is that God sovereignly determines when the restrainer is removed so that the man of lawlessness will be revealed. Biblical prophecy is not a matter of God’s merely foreseeing what will happen, but rather of His predetermining what will happen. And yet, sinners aren’t robots. They are accountable for their sin. Once the restrainer is removed, the other factor in the coming of the day of the Lord will take place:
Some early manuscripts call him “the man of sin,” but since sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), both phrases mean the same thing. “Man of” means that this person is characterized by lawlessness. He throws off all regard for God’s moral standards. He is also called (2 Thess. 2:3), “the son of destruction.” “Son of” is a Hebrew expression also meaning that he is characterized by destruction. Jesus uses the exact phrase (in Greek, John 17:12) to refer to Judas Iscariot (the NASB there translates it, “son of perdition”). It means that both Judas (Luke 22:22) and the man of lawlessness were predestined to hell. And yet, at the same time, both men are responsible for their awful sin and rebellion against God.
Paul uses the same language of the appearing of the man of lawlessness as he does for Christ’s appearing. In verses 1 & 8, we read of the coming (Parousia) of Christ; in verse 9, we read of the coming (Parousia) of the man of lawlessness. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7, Jesus will be revealed (apocalupto) from heaven, whereas in 2:3, 6, & 8, the lawless one will be revealed. In 1:7, Jesus will be revealed in a display of power and glory; in 2:9, the lawless one will come “with all power and signs and false wonders.” Those terms are frequently used of Jesus’ miracles during His first coming. Thus, as John Stott (The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 172) says, “the coming of Antichrist [is] a deliberate and unscrupulous parody of the second coming of Christ.”
He will be empowered by Satan himself to promote widespread deception, lawlessness, and rebellion against Jesus Christ. As Paul says (2 Thess. 2:4), he “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” This is the “abomination of desolation” predicted by Daniel (9:27) and Jesus (Matt. 24:15).
But, this opens another difficult interpretive question: What does Paul mean by “the temple of God”? Many dispensationalists (who hold to the pretribulation rapture) believe that it refers to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which will be rebuilt in the end times. Robert Thomas (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], ed. by Frank Gaebelein, 11:322), for example, argues that the obvious connection with Dan. 9:26, 27; 11:31, 36, 37; 12:11 demands such an interpretation. This view would also demand that Jewish animal sacrifices will again be offered at such a future temple.
Beale (pp. 205-210), however, argues that this view has multiple problems. First (p. 207), 2 Thessalonians 2:3 “does not appear to be talking about an apostasy from the faith in a geographically conceived Israel.” Also (ibid.), “It is … difficult to conceive of 2:3 as alluding to an ‘apostasy’ of unbelievers among the nations who are not part of the visible church, since they possess no belief from which to fall away.” Rather, the apostasy seems to be a “yet future falling away in … the church throughout the world.”
Also, Beale argues (pp. 207-208), “The same phrase, God’s temple, is found nine other times in the New Testament outside of 2 Thessalonians, and it almost always refers either to Christ or the church. Not once in Paul (five other times outside 2 Thess.) does it refer to a literal temple in Israel of the past or future.”
Others (Stott, pp. 160, 164; F. F. Bruce, Word Biblical Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Thomas Nelson], p. 169; Gary Shogren, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Zondervan], pp. 282-285) understand “temple” in a metaphorical sense. George Ladd (A Theology of the New Testament [Eerdmans], rev. ed., p. 605) says that it is “a metaphorical way of expressing, in Old Testament language, his defiance of God (see Dan. 11:31, 36; Ezek. 28:2; Isa. 14:13).”
Paul explains (2 Thess. 2:10-12) that by his satanic miracles, this man of lawlessness will come “with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” “What is false” (v. 11) is literally, “the lie.” Because they rejected the gospel on account of taking pleasure in wickedness, unbelievers will believe the lie that the man of lawlessness is God Himself.
As a result God will send this deluding influence to insure their judgment. “God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). But, He uses even the demons to accomplish His sovereign plans and then He will judge them and all who are deceived by them (1 Kings 22:23)! Then, just when things are at their worst,
I can only mention two things that stand out here:
It is very clear here that God is not reacting to this evil ruler who momentarily has gained the upper hand. Rather, as Leon Morris, p. 227) says, “Throughout this whole passage the thought of God’s sovereignty is dominant.” God is in control of the whole process. In His time, He allows the man of lawlessness to come on the scene and deceive those (v. 10) who “did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” Also in His time, Christ appears, slaying the lawless one and judging all (v. 12) “who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” No one can ultimately thwart God’s sovereign will (Job 42:2). God uses even the powers of Satan to accomplish His purposes (John 13:27).
This is a reference to Isaiah 11:4, which says of Messiah, “And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.” In a similar way, John describes Jesus at His second coming (Rev. 19:15): “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” It won’t be a nail-biting battle, where we wonder which side will win! Jesus will win effortlessly and decisively when He returns. All who have opposed Him will be judged. All who have believed in Him will be delivered from all evildoers and will be glorified with Him forever.
As in the Book of Revelation, some of the details of Paul’s words here are debatable. But don’t miss the overall picture, which is clear: Jesus is coming back bodily in power and glory and when He comes, He’s going to win bigtime! Make sure that you’re not among those who “did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (v. 10)! Make sure that you’re not one “who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (v. 12)! Make sure that you are among those who have received the love of the truth by believing the gospel and repenting of your sin! Then you will have God’s comfort even in the midst of this evil world.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
March 5, 2017
Over the 40 years that I’ve been a pastor, I’ve sadly watched many who at one time professed to know the Lord turn away from the faith. Some have been pastors and other Christian leaders. Many have been involved in serving the Lord in some way. But now, they are not walking with the Lord and they do not go to church. They are critical of Christians. Often, they don’t know what they believe, but they are not evangelical Christians. They don’t want anything to do with the faith that they once believed.
That shouldn’t surprise us, in that Jesus told about the seed that fell on the rocky ground. It had no roots, so when the sun of trials or persecution beat down on it, it withered and died. Other seed fell among the thorns, picturing the worries of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth, which eventually choked it out so that it died (Matt. 13:19-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15). Jesus saw professing disciples turn away when He taught hard truths (John 6:60-66). The apostle Paul had many who deserted or turned against him (2 Tim. 4:10, 16). But, still, it’s always grievous when it happens.
After describing the disturbing events of the end times, when the man of lawlessness will come to power and deceive many with satanic miracles and God will send a deluding influence on them, so that they will believe the lie and come under His judgment, Paul now reassures these new converts that they will not be a part of the great apostasy because God has loved them and chosen them for salvation. God called them, not for judgment, but so that they may gain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13-14).
But, such certainty does not mean that they could kick back and coast into heaven. Rather, they needed to stand firm in the midst of their trials and persecutions, holding to the apostolic teachings (2 Thess. 2:15). Then Paul concludes this section with a prayer-wish that the Lord who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope through the gospel will comfort and strengthen their hearts in every good work and word (2 Thess. 2:16-17). We learn here how to stand firm in our trials:
To stand firm and not fall away in your trials, keep God’s perspective with regard to eternity and time.
The only command here to these persecuted new believers is in verse 15: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” Satan uses persecution and trials to get God’s people to doubt His sovereignty and His love: “If God really loved you, this wouldn’t be happening to you! Or, maybe He loves you, but He isn’t able to do anything about this trial.” So Paul here emphasizes both God’s sovereignty and His love. He sovereignly chose and called you to salvation through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:13, 14) because He loved you (2 Thess. 2:13, 16). Hold firmly both to God’s sovereignty and His love during your trials and the enemy will not destroy your faith.
Peter said the same thing to persecuted saints (1 Pet. 5:6-10):
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Peter emphasizes God’s sovereignty (His mighty hand, His calling you to eternal glory, His ability to bring relief from suffering) and His loving care for His suffering people (“He cares for you”). Resisting the enemy, firm in your faith, is the same idea that Paul here calls the suffering Thessalonians to: “Stand firm, and hold to the teachings of the faith.”
“Stand firm” is a present tense command, indicating that this isn’t a one-time need. We could translate it, “Keep standing firm.” In 1 Thessalonians 3:8, Paul wrote, “For now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.” (See, also, 1 Cor. 16:13; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 1:27; 4:1.) The first need when you encounter a trial is to stand firm in the Lord and the truth that is in Him. This does not mean that we should deny or suppress our emotions. It is not unspiritual to cry in a time of trial. But beneath it all, we should affirm, over and over if need be, “I know that God is good, He loves me, and He will bring me through this trial stronger in Him!”
I love the way David stood firm as he was in a cave, hiding from the troops of King Saul who were on a mad hunt to find and kill him. I doubt if I’d be writing songs at a time like that, but David did! Note how he repeats himself, as if he’s preaching to himself, as he stood firm in the Lord (Ps. 57:7):
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
The Scottish preacher, A. J. Gossip (1873-1954) displayed the balance between genuine sorrow and firm faith in 1927 when his wife died suddenly and unexpectedly. His first sermon after that great loss was the now-famous, “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” He concluded (20 Centuries of Great Preaching [Word], ed. by Clyde Fant, Jr. & William Pinson, Jr., 8:238-239):
I don’t think you need be afraid of life. Our hearts are very frail; and there are places where the road is very steep and very lonely. But we have a wonderful God. And as Paul puts it, what can separate us from His love? Not death, he says immediately, pushing that aside at once as the most obvious of all impossibilities.
No, not death. For, standing in the roaring of the Jordan, cold to the heart with its dreadful chill, and very conscious of the terror of its rushing, I too, like Hopeful, can call back to you who one day in your turn will have to cross it, “Be of good cheer, my brother, for I feel the bottom, and it is sound.”
A modern heresy called “open theism” tries to defend God from the difficult trials that people encounter by arguing that while God is good and means well, He doesn’t know or have any control over the choices that people make. So, if a drunk driver kills someone you love or commits some other crime, God weeps with you, but it shocked Him as much as it shocked you.
Some years ago I went to a funeral at another church here in town and the pastor said, “This young woman’s death was not in God’s will.” He meant to comfort the grieving family, but by denying God’s sovereignty over her tragic death, that pastor robbed them of comfort. As Paul has just shown, even the horrible evils that the man of lawlessness will bring on the world are under the sovereign control of our loving God. Knowing this, we can stand firm in trials.
Paul continues (2 Thess. 2:15), “… and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” “Hold to” means, “have a firm grip on.” But, what does Paul mean by “the traditions”? The word means that which is handed down or handed over. Thus, it points to the derivative nature of the Christian faith. As Leon Morris (The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans], p. 240) says,
It does not originate in men’s fertile imaginations. It rests on the facts of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ…. For us, these traditions are embodied in the documents of the New Testament.
As you know, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church put a great emphasis on the traditions that have been handed down from the early centuries of the faith. But often, these traditions supersede the Bible in authority. When the traditions contradict the Bible, they follow the traditions. So you end up with doctrines like transubstantiation, the immaculate conception of Mary, praying to the saints, idols and icons, purgatory, and other teachings that have no basis in Scripture. These churches point to verses like this to justify their emphasis on church tradition.
But Paul was referring to the fact that his oral teachings and written letters did not originate with him. Rather, he was passing down what he had received directly from the Lord (see 1 Cor. 11:2; 15:3; Gal. 1:11-12). In other places, both Paul and Jesus made it clear that traditions are not always good to follow (Mark 7:5-8; Gal. 1:14; Col. 2:8). The inspired word of God is our only source of spiritual truth. To the extent that traditions follow God’s word, they may be helpful. But if they contradict God’s word, they are false and must be firmly rejected. The word of God is our solid rock in times of trouble. Hold firmly to it!
But how? Paul shows that we need God’s perspective (as revealed in the Word), both with regard to eternity and to time.
When I was a boy and I complained about some difficulty or trial, my mother would often say, “Ten years from now you won’t remember it.” True, but that didn’t seem to help to alleviate my current problem! But it is helpful during trials to view them in light of God’s eternal purpose. Paul sweeps us back and then forward in eternity to help us gain God’s perspective on our momentary trials.
2 Thess. 2:13: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” In passing, note how Paul mentions all three members of the trinity in this verse without pausing to explain it. He had taught the Thessalonians about the trinity during his brief time there. Verse 13 stands in contrast to verses 10-12, where Paul describes God’s judgment that is coming on those who reject the gospel. Rather than facing judgment, the Thessalonians can look forward to salvation, because from the beginning, God chose them for it. Because of this, Paul was under obligation always to give thanks to God for them.
There is a difficult textual variant in verse 13. Some early manuscripts read, “from the beginning,” while others read, “first fruits.” If “from the beginning” is the original reading (I lean this way), it parallels Ephesians 1:4, where Paul states that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” (See Rev. 13:8; 17:8.) If “first fruits” is the original, then Paul was saying that the Thessalonians were some of the first converts to the gospel in their region in the Gentile world (see, 1 Cor. 16:15).
But, either way, Paul’s point is that God chose the Thessalonians for salvation. God didn’t look down through history and see that the Thessalonians would choose to believe, so He put them on His list. The Scriptures are uniformly clear that our salvation is rooted in God’s sovereign choice of us before the foundation of the world. We choose to believe because God first chose us.
Many Christians struggle with the doctrine of election, but Paul doesn’t mention it here to get into a theological debate, but rather to bring God’s comfort to suffering people. It’s a great comfort when you’re going through trials to know that you’re a Christian because the Father gave you to His Son and His Son promised that He would not lose any whom the Father had given to Him (John 6:37-40)! Note four wonderful aspects of this:
(1) God chose you because He loved you. Paul mentions this twice, once in verse 13 and again in verse 16. He is repeating what he said in 1 Thessalonians 1:4, “knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you.” In Ephesians 1:5-6, Paul says, “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself.” The concept goes back to Deuteronomy 7:7-8: “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
(2) God chose you for salvation. “Salvation” stands in contrast to the horrible condemnation that all who do not receive the love of the truth will face (2 Thess. 2:10-12). As Paul said (2 Thess. 1:9), “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” John Newton, the drunken sailor and slave ship captain who got saved and later became a pastor, painted above the mantle in his study Deuteronomy 15:15 (KJV), “But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” (Brian Edwards, Through Many Dangers [Evangelical Press], p. 181.) Remember what God saved you from!
(3) God’s choosing you makes your salvation secure. That’s Paul’s point here, to reassure the Thessalonians that because God chose them for salvation, He would complete the process. If God determined before the foundation of the world to save you, then His purpose will not be thwarted by the persecution of godless men who will face His judgment.
(4) God’s choosing you is effected through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. Paul may mention the work of the Holy Spirit before he speaks of faith in the truth because the Spirit must first work in a person’s heart before that person can believe the gospel (Morris, p. 238). The Spirit must first convict a person of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). Then He must open the person’s blind eyes so that he can see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Cor. 2:14). And, both faith and repentance are gifts from God (Acts 11:18; Phil. 1:29; Eph. 2:8-9). I understand “sanctification” here to refer to the positional sanctification which we receive at the moment of salvation. The Spirit sets us apart from this evil world unto God.
Sometimes people ask, “How can you know if you’re one of God’s elect?” My reply is, “Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from sin and judgment? Has He changed your heart?” If so, that didn’t come from you. It is evidence that God chose you for salvation and the Spirit imparted to you new life and faith in the truth.
So, Paul looks back to eternity past and says that the truth of God’s choosing you for salvation will enable you to stand firm in trials and persecution. He also looks ahead:
2 Thess. 2:14: “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul has already mentioned this in 2 Thess. 1:10 & 12, “when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day,” and, “so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Since we are so closely identified with Christ that we are “in Him,” when He is revealed in power and glory, we also will be revealed with Him (Col. 3:4). We will share His glory!
But the path to future glory often goes through present trials. It is through those trials that the Lord refines and purifies us. One writer put it (H. E. Hayhoe, “Sentence Sermons,” source unknown), “He will never allow a trial in your life without a needs be on your part and a purpose of love on His part.” To stand firm and not fall away in a time of trials, keep God’s perspective with regard to eternity.
In verses 13 & 14, the focus is on eternity. In verses 16 & 17, Paul’s prayer points us back and then ahead, with regard to time. Both the eternal and the temporal perspectives are helpful in trials.
2 Thess. 2:16: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace ….” In passing, note how Paul elevates the Lord Jesus Christ, using His full title and mentioning Him before the Father. Verse 16 refers to our past salvation. When He saved us, we came to know our Lord’s supreme love as seen in His sacrifice for us on the cross (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2, 25). There has never been a greater demonstration of love than when the sinless Son of God offered Himself to rescue guilty sinners from God’s wrath!
Also, when God broke into our lives with the good news about Jesus and we trusted in Him for salvation, He gave us eternal comfort, or encouragement. If you struggle with discouragement, think back to your salvation. You could still be taking pleasure in wickedness, facing God’s eternal judgment (2 Thess. 2:12). Instead, now you have come to know God’s love and encouragement. When you’re going through trials, look back on the wonderful salvation that God freely gave you in Christ!
Also, when He saved us, God gave us “good hope by grace.” It’s good hope because it is absolutely certain, based on God’s promises. It’s also good because it isn’t based on our merits or performance, but rather on God’s undeserved favor. It’s hope because we have not yet realized it. It’s still future.
He also prays (2 Thess. 2:17) that the Lord may, “… comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” Paul is praying that God will continue to work in our hearts and lives, both now and in the future. He’s praying that the positional sanctification which God bestowed on us when He saved us will be worked out in practical sanctification.
He mentions both our works and our words. Those two must always go together. If you’re all work but never open your mouth, people will think you’re a good person, but they won’t realize that your good works are because Christ has saved you. If you’re all words, but no works, people will rightly think that you’re a hypocrite and that the gospel doesn’t change anything. Your good works should open the door to speak a good word about Christ. Especially when people see you in the midst of trials, encouraged and strengthened as you do good works and speak godly words, they will realize that you have something that they want.
I’ve gained more by reading Christian biographies than from any other source, except the Bible itself. I’ve read twice Courtney Anderson’s, To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson [Little, Brown & Co.], which is one of the most moving stories you can ever read. Judson endured horrific trials in his labors to take the gospel to Burma. He lost two wives and several children. He was imprisoned for a year in a horrible death prison. He saw little response to the gospel. He said, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated suffering.” Judson also said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” (Both quotes on www.azquotes.com/author/22968-Adoniram_Judson)
We may never suffer as much as Judson did. But whatever our trials, we can stand firm if we keep God’s perspective with regard to eternity and with regard to time.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
March 12, 2017
It’s always cute to hear little children say their bedtime prayers. Often, they make sweeping, catch-all prayers that go something like: “God bless mommy and God bless daddy and God bless all my brothers and sisters and God bless all the missionaries. Amen!”
But, maybe your prayers sometimes sound like that, too. It’s a lot of work to get specific. It’s easier just to shoot up blanket prayers and let God sort out the specific needs. But in our text the apostle Paul gives us two specific requests that we can pray on behalf of missionaries, other Christian workers, and for all the Lord’s people. To sum up:
Pray for the word of the Lord to spread and that the Lord’s people, relying on His faithfulness, will stand firm in Him in the spiritual battle.
Paul knew that these new converts were going through intense persecution (1 Thess. 3:3-4; 2 Thess. 1:6-7). Also, false teachers were spreading spiritually damaging teachings in the church (2 Thess. 2:1-3). In light of this, note the flow of Paul’s thoughts here: After commanding them to stand firm (2 Thess. 2:15), he directs them to focus on praying for the gospel to spread through him and others, who also needed God’s protection from evil men; and, he emphasizes the Lord’s faithfulness along with the need for their continuing obedience. Then, he asks the Lord to direct their hearts into God’s love and into the example of Christ’s steadfastness, who obeyed God through the things He suffered (Heb. 2:10; 5:8; 12:3).
That’s a healthy way to deal with your own trials, or to help others who are going through trials. Get your focus off your problem and onto others’ needs. Especially, pray for those who serve the Lord in difficult places, who may be suffering on behalf of the gospel. And, get your focus onto the Lord’s faithfulness, love, and example of steadfast obedience when He suffered.
2 Thess. 3:1: “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you.” Paul’s “finally” is like many preachers’ “finally”: it doesn’t mean that the sermon is almost over! In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul says “finally” and then goes on for two more chapters (see, also, Phil. 3:1). The phrase means, “As far as the rest is concerned,” or, “in addition” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Walter Bauer, William Arndt, Wilbur Gingrich, & Frederick Danker [University of Chicago Press], 2nd ed., p. 480).
In asking for prayer for himself, Paul’s focus was not only for personal safety, but also that the gospel would spread so that God would be glorified, as had happened in Thessalonica. Even though he was a veteran apostle and the Thessalonians were new believers, Paul needed their prayers. He didn’t assume that his impressive spiritual gifts or his past successes would result in future success. Paul knew that he had to depend on the Lord through prayer.
When people respond in faith to the gospel, they glorify the Lord who gave that gospel to us. Verse 1 is really asking these new converts to pray the first part of the Lord’s Prayer on behalf of Paul and his fellow missionaries (Matt. 6:9-10): “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Note several other things about Paul’s request.
Rather, it is “the word of the Lord.” It comes from the Lord and centers on the Lord. It is the message that the eternal Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8) came to this earth, took on human flesh, and suffered and died in our place, bearing the punishment that we deserved for our sins. And God raised Him from the dead. The good news is that God offers forgiveness for all our sins and eternal life as a free gift to all who trust in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9).
Paul could say, “just as it did also with you,” because he saw that these former pagan idolaters had turned from idols to the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). If people profess to believe in Jesus but there is no observable change in their lives, they need to examine whether they truly believed.
The Greek is literally, “will run and be glorified.” Paul was probably thinking of Psalm 147:15, “He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.” Paul was writing from Corinth, which hosted the Isthmian Games. So he may have had in mind an athletic contest, where the winning runner received the prize and was honored. Paul wants the gospel to win the hearts of those who hear so that it, and the Lord who sends it forth, will get the honor and glory. For people to respond favorably to the gospel, God has to open their blind eyes and draw them to Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6; John 6:44, 65). Even a preacher as gifted as Paul knew that if God did not open the hearts of those who heard him preach, they would not respond (Acts 16:14).
Sometimes people object, “If God predestines all who will be saved, then why evangelize? Why pray?” But Paul mentions election, prayer, and evangelism in close proximity (2 Thess. 2:13; 3:1) with no need to explain the seeming tension. The Bible teaches that God ordains the means as well as the ends. He has chosen many to be saved, but they come to salvation through the prayerful proclamation of the gospel. We don’t change God’s mind through our prayers, but in a mysterious way God uses our prayers to accomplish His predetermined will (G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], pp. 242-243).
Paul was in the rough, pagan city of Corinth when he wrote this letter. He was afraid and thinking about leaving there before he suffered another beating or worse. One night the Lord graciously appeared to Paul in a vision and said (Acts 18:9-10), “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” So Paul settled there for 18 months, teaching the word of God among them (Acts 18:11). Later, he explained to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:10), “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” God has chosen those who will be saved, but He saves them through our prayers and proclaiming the gospel to them.
From the earliest times, Satan has infiltrated the church with teachers who promote a false “gospel” that is really bad news, not good news. In the churches of Galatia, the Judaizers had come in with the message, “Paul was basically right: we are saved by God’s grace through faith. But, also you must be circumcised and keep the Old Testament law.” Many were being led astray by this seemingly “slight” alteration of the gospel. But Paul forcefully wrote (Gal. 1:8-9), “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
Even so, there are many false “gospels” today: “Believe in Jesus and He will give you wealth and health!” “Believe in Jesus and be baptized, and you will be saved.” “Believe in Jesus and add your good works, so that eventually you will earn enough merit to get out of Purgatory.” So pray that the gospel that is being proclaimed will be the true gospel, not a perversion of it.
2 Thess. 3:2: [Pray] “that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.” As I said, Paul was not so much trying to save his own skin as he wanted to see the gospel continue to spread. If the messengers are protected from evil men, they have more freedom to proclaim the message. Granted, Paul evangelized the Praetorian Guard while he was a prisoner in Rome. And, the testimonies of many martyrs have resulted in many coming to faith through their deaths. But there is nothing wrong with asking for prayer for protection from persecution for those who take the gospel into hostile areas. The main aim is for the word of the Lord to spread.
Note the prominence of “the Lord” in verses 1-5. In verse 1, it is “the word of the Lord.” In verse 3, “the Lord is faithful.” In verse 4, “We have confidence in the Lord.” In verse 5, “May the Lord direct your hearts ….” In times of trial or persecution for the sake of the gospel, it’s important to remember that Jesus is the Lord, the sovereign of the universe. No one can harm you or kill you unless it is in God’s good and loving purpose for His glory.
Scholars differ over who these perverse and evil men who did not have faith were. Some think that Paul was referring to the unbelieving Jews in Corinth. Acts 18:12-17 reports how they rose up against Paul and brought him before the proconsul, accusing him of persuading people to worship God contrary to the law. When the proconsul wouldn’t listen to them, they took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue who had trusted in Christ (1 Cor. 1:1) and began beating him in front of the proconsul, who ignored them. So Paul may have been referring to the unbelieving Jews.
But other scholars (e.g. Beale, pp. 239-242) argue that he was referring primarily to false believers in the church, who were either promoting false doctrine or whose lives did not back up their profession of faith. Often, such people can cause more harm to the church from the inside than those who are outside the church. Jesus warned (Matt. 7:15) about false prophets who come into the flock disguised as sheep, but really are ravenous wolves. Paul warned the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:29-30), “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” He also said (2 Cor. 11:14-15) that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and his servants as servants of righteousness.
So the takeaway application from verses 1 & 2 is, pray for everyone in this church to have opportunities to proclaim the gospel and that God will bless those efforts with genuine conversions. And, pray that God will protect us from those, whether from without or within, who oppose the gospel and seek to harm those who proclaim it. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but rather against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). Also,
Paul turns from the faithlessness of men to the faithfulness of the Lord, a theme that he mentions often (cf. 1 Thess. 5:24; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:13). Since Paul has been asking for prayer for his own protection, you would expect that he would continue, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect us from the evil one.” But rather, he shifts to “strengthen and protect you.” This reflects his pastor’s heart, which was more concerned about these new believers than he was about himself (John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], pp. 349-350).
“Evil one” may also be translated, “evil,” but it’s more likely that it refers to the archenemy of our souls, the devil (see, 1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5; 2 Thess. 2:9). As Calvin observes (p. 350), “For it were a small thing to be delivered from the cunning or violence of men, if the Lord did not protect us from all spiritual injury.” Again, it’s a reminder that spreading the gospel engages us in a spiritual battle against satanic forces, which are too powerful for us in our own strength. We must rely on the Lord. Note three things:
2 Thess. 3:3: “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Paul reminded these new believers who were enduring persecution, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” Here, he again reminds them of this comforting truth, “the Lord is faithful.” After Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians, thousands of Jews had been slaughtered, and most of the others were forced into captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah (the most probable author) wrote Lamentations, expressing his overwhelming grief over the tragedy that he had witnessed. In the middle of that sorrowful lament, there is this well-known ray of hope (Lam. 3:22-24):
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
So when you’re under attack, whether from criticism or slander or outright persecution, rely on God’s faithfulness. Even when the enemy seems to be winning (as in Jeremiah’s situation), God is faithful and He will work it all together for good.
Paul assures us that our faithful Lord will both strengthen and protect us. “Lord” refers to the Lord Jesus. The fact that Jesus is able both to strengthen and protect his people all around the world when they are under attack shows that He is God. But Paul’s word of assurance raises a problem: If the Lord promises to strengthen and protect His people, then why do they suffer terribly under persecution? Why are there martyrs if the Lord is protecting them?
We need to understand that the Lord’s promise for protection is not a guarantee of deliverance from every enemy. In Luke 21:16-18, Jesus says, “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish.” By saying, “not a hair of your head will perish,” Jesus was not promising immunity from death, which He just said will happen to some. Rather, He means that if we are faithful to the Lord under persecution, even if they kill the body they cannot touch the soul (Luke 12:4-5). God has sovereignly determined the exact number of martyrs, and when that number is fulfilled, He will judge those who shed their blood (Rev. 6:9-11). So we can rely on God’s faithfulness as our foundation for standing firm in the spiritual battle.
2 Thess. 3:4: “We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.” Paul’s confidence was “in the Lord” regarding the Thessalonians’ continuing obedience. As an apostle, Paul could give commands (not suggestions!) to the churches. We now have those apostolic commands in the New Testament. In verse 4, Paul is laying the framework for what will follow, where three times he gives commands regarding those who were not working and sponging off the rest of the church (2 Thess. 3:6, 10, 12).
In our day, many professing Christians believe that if you teach the need to obey God’s commandments, you’re legalistic. I’ve been accused of that, even when I preface it by saying that God’s grace is the motivation to obey Him. They claim that God’s grace and their feelings exempt them from obedience. A young woman once told me, “My fiancé isn’t a Christian, but I prayed about marrying him and feel such a peace. So it must be God’s will.” She was disobeying the clear command that a believer should not be unequally yoked to an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14) to follow her feelings.
That’s like driving on the wrong side of the road and running red lights so that you’ll get somewhere faster. It may work for a while, but at some point, disobeying the traffic laws will result in severe consequences. It’s the same with disobeying God’s laws. You can’t live in disobedience to God and then, when you get into a difficult place, call out to Him to bless and protect you. Ongoing obedience to the Lord is the framework for standing firm in the spiritual battle.
2 Thess. 3:5: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.” By “fuel,” I mean that God’s love and Christ’s steadfastness fuel our desire to stand firm when we’re under attack. Again, keep in mind the context here. These new believers were under attack, both from direct persecution and from dangerous false teaching. In that context of spiritual battle, Paul prays that the Lord will direct their hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. Note three things:
“To direct” means “to clear away the obstacles” (Thomas Constable, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ed. by John F. Walvoord & Roy Zuck [Victor Books], p. 723) or “to make a straight path.” Paul used this word in 1 Thessalonians 3:11, where he asked that the Lord would “direct our way to you.” When you’re under spiritual attack, you need God to clear away the obstacles, because it’s easy at such times to get confused, turn away from the Lord, and follow worldly counsel to deal with your situation. God directs our hearts at such times through prayerful understanding and obedience to His word.
When you’re under spiritual attack, often the enemy will tempt you with thoughts like, “If God really loves you, He wouldn’t allow you to be going through this difficult trial.” At such times, you must rely on the many promises in God’s word that assure us of His great love. Don’t focus on the situation, but rather on the Savior.
The King James Version and a few commentators understand this to mean that we should wait patiently for Christ’s return. But it’s more likely that Paul is praying that the Lord will direct our hearts to focus on the steadfastness that Christ displayed as He faced the cross (Heb. 12:1-3; 1 Pet. 2:21-24). Jesus’ example of enduring the cross for our salvation should encourage us to be steadfast when we’re under attack for the sake of the gospel.
So, rather than just praying, “God bless all the missionaries,” pray that the word of the Lord will spread and be received. Pray that those who proclaim the gospel will be protected so that the gospel will continue to spread. Pray that the Lord’s people will rely on His faithfulness so that they might stand firm in Him in the spiritual battle.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
March 19, 2017
In the early 1960’s there was a popular TV show called “Dobie Gillis.” Dobie’s buddy was an unkept beatnik (this was before the hippies) with a goatee, who always wore a sweatshirt and tennis shoes, named Maynard G. Krebs. Whenever Dobie would forget and say the word “work,” Maynard would get a terrified look on his face and shriek, “Work!” He viewed work as an infectious disease to avoid at all costs!
Apparently the church in Thessalonica had some Maynard G. Krebs types who refused to work. They were probably sponging off the brothers who were working, creating tension in the church. Some translations describe these non-working folks as “idle,” but most scholars agree that the word is better translated “unruly” or “disorderly.” It meant to be “out of step.” They seem to have had a defiant attitude, because they were deliberately disregarding the commands about working that the apostle Paul had given both when he was with them and in his first letter (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:6, 10). They also may have been ignoring other apostolic teaching (“tradition,” 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6, refers to teaching handed down by the apostles).
In our text, Paul’s main concern was that these unruly brothers were not working, but acting like busybodies (2 Thess. 3:11). Many translate his wordplay as, “they are not busy, but they are busybodies.” He commands them to work to support themselves.
Why weren’t they working? Some think that like Maynard, they avoided work because they were lazy, although Paul doesn’t say that. Others think that these unruly brothers were evangelists who, unlike Paul and his colleagues, were demanding support from the church. But most scholars draw a connection between these non-working brothers and Paul’s teaching about the coming of the Lord. They think that they became so caught up with the idea that Jesus would return soon that they quit working. They didn’t want to “waste time” working, since the end was near. But then they had to rely on those who did work. And, with all their extra time, they were going around spreading gossip and perhaps also false teaching, which is why Paul calls them “busybodies.”
Paul was concerned both with the tension that this created in the church and with the bad witness it gave to outsiders, who would think that Christians are religious hucksters. So he devotes this extended section to deal with this problem. He’s saying:
To help an unruly believer, lovingly exhort him to work, don’t enable his irresponsible lifestyle, and exercise church discipline if he does not respond to correction.
This problem was present in incipient form during Paul’s time in Thessalonica. He mentions a rule that he had given them while he was with them (2 Thess. 3:10), “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” But it continued to be a minor problem, because in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 he wrote, “… make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.” Now, he deals with it more aggressively, emphasizing his commands in verses 6, 10, and 12.
Paul repeatedly uses the words “brethren” or “brother” (vv. 6, 13, 15), to underscore the loving family relationships that should characterize the church. Love should be our motivation in all ministry, including correcting an unruly brother. But biblical love does not mean being nice all the time. Rather, biblical love seeks the highest good of the one loved, namely, that he might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. If a person is disobeying God’s commandments, it’s not loving to let him go on without correcting him. If a doctor knows that his patient has cancer, it isn’t loving to hug him and say, “I love you, man!” Love requires gently telling him the truth with the aim of helping him get better.
Not working to provide for your family when you’re able to work is a serious sin! Paul wrote (1 Tim. 5:8), “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I don’t know of anywhere else, except in the case of the immoral Corinthian man who was having relations with his father’s wife (1 Cor. 5:1), where Paul refers to a sin as being worse than that of unbelievers. Even most unbelievers who have never heard of Christ work to provide for their families. If a professing Christian doesn’t work when he is able, it’s a bad witness to the unbelieving world.
In Galatians 6:1, Paul instructs, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” “You who are spiritual” refers to the spiritually mature, who walk in the Spirit and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their lives (Gal. 5:16, 22, 23). “Restore” has the idea of bringing healing. The process is to be done with gentleness (a fruit of the Spirit), not with harsh scolding or angry rebuke. And, it must always be done in humility, realizing that you, too, easily could fall into temptation. Don’t come down on the person as if you never sin, but come alongside as a fellow sinner offering help.
In order to correct a sinning brother or sister, you have to set an example of godliness. You can’t exhort someone to do something that you’re not doing. In verses 7-10, Paul refers to his own example of working to provide for his own needs when he was in Thessalonica. As an apostle, he had the right to be supported in his gospel labors, as other apostles were (v. 9; cf. 1 Cor. 9:3-14), but he set aside this right to provide an example to these new believers and to squelch any accusations that he was preaching the gospel to bilk people out of their money. In 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul tells churches to support elders who work hard at preaching and teaching. The apostle John encourages churches to support missionaries and evangelists (3 John 5-8). So there’s nothing wrong with a Christian worker receiving support. But Paul went the extra mile to provide an example of hard work to these new converts.
When Paul says that he did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, he does not mean that he paid those who invited him over for a meal! Rather, he didn’t presume on the hospitality of these new believers by expecting them to cover his room and board. He was an example to them of financial integrity and thus he had a platform to exhort them to the same level of integrity.
So if you’re aware of someone who is irresponsibly mooching off others and not taking the initiative to get a job, you need to go to him in love, show him what the Bible teaches about working for a living, and exhort him to look for work. But, what if he doesn’t respond to your exhortation?
2 Thess.3:10: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” He may need temporary assistance to get on his feet. He may need some coaching on how to get a job. But he should make it his full-time job to look for a job until he gets one. If he’s being irresponsible, don’t enable him to continue in his ways by giving him food or money. Don’t let him lay a guilt trip on you: “If you were a Christian, you’d love me and help me out!” Rather, if he refuses to get a job, he should suffer the consequences. This applies even to family members! To enable his irresponsible ways is not loving. Consider three principles here:
You may be thinking, “Man? What about women?” The biblical pattern is that men should support their families financially (Gen. 2:15; 3:17-19), while women are to be “workers at home” (Titus 2:5). Yes, this is radically countercultural! Married women may help contribute to the family’s income (Prov. 31:10-31), but when there are young children in the home, her work should not hinder her from rearing them in the Lord. Of course, an unmarried woman needs to support herself (Acts 16:14). Older women may work if they wish or if the family needs the income. But since marriage should provide a picture of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:22-33), and Christ provides for His church, men are responsible to provide for their families.
The Bible extols work as God-given. God assigned work to Adam in the Garden before the fall. After the fall, God didn’t curse work. Rather, He cursed the ground which the fallen man had to work (Gen. 3:17-19). So work became more difficult because of the fall, but it is still God-given. Even slaves are commanded (Col. 3:23-24), “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” The culture of Paul’s day despised manual labor, but the Bible consistently affirms the dignity of such work. It is significant that Jesus worked as a carpenter and He chose fishermen as his disciples. Paul made tents. So we are not to despise or avoid work.
At the same time, we should not be so consumed with work that our main aim is to become a success in our career or to make a lot of money so that we can buy more and more stuff. Jesus commanded all who follow Him not to seek what the Gentiles seek. Then He added (Matt. 6:33): “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Besides providing for our families, we should work so that we can help support the Lord’s kingdom work worldwide.
In his book, Life Work ([YWAM Publishing], p. xxi), Darrow Miller writes,
When we see our worth as determined by the marketplace and the amount of money we make, we often sacrifice what matters the most—family, friends, marriages, Christian fellowship—in pursuit of success, prestige, fame, power, and other goals prized by the world. All too often there is a direct relationship between our escalating material prosperity and our increasing moral and spiritual poverty.
So working is a God-given responsibility so that we can provide for ourselves and our families, which means that work is good. But, at the same time we need to keep in mind Paul’s warning (1 Tim. 6:9-10),
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Underlying Paul’s command for unruly brothers to work is a character issue:
Paul reminds them (2 Thess. 3:7) that he and his fellow-workers “did not act in an undisciplined manner among you.” By way of contrast, he confronts the unruly (2 Thess. 3:11), “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” Self-control or self-discipline is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23), which every believer should be developing. These unruly brothers were not working because they were undisciplined.
Have you ever thought about how self-control affects just about every area of life? A self-controlled person uses his time wisely in line with biblical goals. One key to spending time alone with the Lord each day in the Word and prayer is disciplining yourself to set aside the time to do it. Self-discipline is also required to get to work on time and be faithful to do your job well. Discipline also affects your finances, enabling you to live within your means and stay out of debt. It keeps you from buying stuff on impulse that you can’t afford. It helps you pay your bills on time.
Self-control also affects your relationships. People who lack self-control lose their temper and say things that damage relationships. Those who lack self-control look at pornography and sometimes are unfaithful in their marriages. A lack of self-control is behind drug and alcohol abuse. Self-control also affects your health: you eat properly and in the right amounts; you exercise to stay in shape. So it’s crucial for all believers to develop self-discipline or self-control. (For help in how to develop this quality, see my message, “Learning to Control Yourself,” 12/31/06, on fcfonline.org.)
Paul says, “If he won’t work, don’t give him food or money. Let him go hungry.” The Book of Proverbs commends hard work and thrift, but it mocks fools who are lazy and who spend their money unwisely (Prov. 6:1-11; 10:4-5; 13:4; 20:4; 21:24; 24:30-34; 26:14-16). While it’s fine to buy a meal for a hungry man, that is not helping him deal with the underlying problem of why he doesn’t have money for food. If he’s using his money for alcohol or drugs, we aren’t obligated to help him with food. The loving thing is to help him face his need for Christ or, if he is a Christian, to develop a self-controlled, responsible way of life.
Sometimes people will cite Jesus’ words (Matt. 5:42), “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you,” to claim that you should give indiscriminately to anyone who asks or that you should loan money to irresponsible people who will squander it and never pay it back. But in the context, Jesus is speaking against those who selfishly cling to their money, refusing to help people with genuine needs. As 1 John 3:17 rhetorically asks, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
But if Jesus and John meant that we are to give indiscriminately to anyone who asks, then Paul in our text (and many other Scriptures) would be contradicting them. To encourage further irresponsibility and sin in someone by giving to him every time he asks for more would be sin. Love seeks to help the person become an obedient, responsible believer. And Paul commands (v. 12, not suggests!) such irresponsible brothers to “work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.” They should stop being busybodies and get a job.
But, what if a person in the church ignores repeated exhortations to get a job? What if he continues to ask people in the church for money? What if he is a family member? Should you keep giving him more money? No,
Paul mentions this first in verse 6, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.” He elaborates further in verses 14 & 15: “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
What does church discipline look like? First, as we’ve seen, those who are spiritual should seek to restore the unruly brother by admonishing him (Gal. 6:1; Matt. 18:15; 1 Thess. 4:11; 5:14). If after repeated attempts from several individuals, he does not respond, the elders should command him by their authority in Christ to get a job (2 Thess. 3:12), warning him of the consequences if he refuses, namely that the church will not support him or pay his bills (v. 10). He will go hungry and end up homeless.
The practical difficulty, which Paul doesn’t address, is, what if he has a family? Should the church help the family with food and rent? This can be very emotional, because manipulative men will use their wife and children as pawns to elicit sympathy to get money for their needs. In spite of my many objections, for years my parents gave thousands of dollars to a deadbeat guy who used his kids to tug at my parents’ heartstrings. They countered me by saying that they didn’t want the kids to go to foster care, but eventually that is what happened. I think that our text says that in spite of the hardship on the family, we should not support an irresponsible man’s refusal to work.
If the lazy brother still does not respond, the church must be informed and withdraw normal fellowship contingent on his repentance, while continuing to admonish him (2 Thess. 3:14-15). This isn’t the final stage of church discipline, where the church excommunicates the person and treats him as an unbeliever (Matt. 18:17). Paul says not to cut off all contact (v. 15), but rather not to maintain normal friendly, “buddy-buddy” contact, as if nothing were wrong. Don’t invite such a person over for a friendly dinner, where you never mention his sin. Don’t include him in a men’s activity as if he’s part of the fellowship. He should be excluded, except for attempts to bring him to repentance. And, those in the church must be careful not to be wrongly influenced by the unruly man’s attitudes and behavior.
It’s difficult to know how to apply today Paul’s purpose (3:14), “so that he will be put to shame.” In the culture of that time, honor and shame were a big deal. The Thessalonian believers had already been shamed in their pagan society by being identified with the church. If the church rejected them, they would be doubly shamed (Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 355). Many Middle Eastern cultures today are still honor and shame based. But in our Western world today, the concepts of honor and shame are not so strong. The ostracized person would just go find another church to hit up for money.
Carl Laney (A Guide to Church Discipline [Bethany House], p. 80) argues that if the primary objective of the disciplinary action were to shame the offender, Paul could have used another verb that more clearly intends that meaning. The verb that Paul used sometimes means to shame, but also means, “to turn or direct.” Laney argues that the purpose of the church’s breaking off normal fellowship with the unruly brother was to get him to reflect on his sin and turn from it. The goal is restoration, not embarrassment. But, if an unruly man continued in his ways after all of the above steps to help restore him, the final step would be excommunication, in which the church would treat him as an unbeliever (Matt. 18:15-18). He may not be saved.
The gospel promises that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, but genuine saving faith is never alone (Eph. 2:8-10). When God saves us, He changes our hearts, which inevitably results in changed behavior in obedience to God’s word. A man who doesn’t respond to repeated attempts to correct him may not be genuinely saved.
Perhaps Paul adds v. 13, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good,” because dealing with an unruly, lazy man can be exhausting and frustrating. We may quit helping all needy people. But Paul tells us not to stop helping those with legitimate needs, even if we’re frustrated dealing with those who refuse to obey the Lord.
Also, it’s easy to grow weary of the difficult task of exhorting an irresponsible brother. They’re often manipulative and deceptive. They try to play off your emotions. They pit one person against another in an attempt to get their own way. If they would work as hard at getting and keeping a job as they do at trying to pry money out of soft-hearted people, they wouldn’t need the money! But we must not grow weary of doing good.
I hope that we never need to apply these principles as a church. But if we do, I hope that we’ll be faithful for the glory of the Lord, the good of the church, and the good of those who are unruly.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
March 26, 2017
It’s always fun to watch our children and grandchildren grow. They get so excited about their progress: “Grandpa, watch me do this!” “Grandma, I drew you this picture!” (Which usually goes on the refrigerator). As they get older, especially with the girls, it’s like watching a beautiful flower unfold before your eyes.
It’s also gratifying to watch believers grow in Christ. I especially enjoy watching someone who has come out of a difficult past gain victory over some sin or see them serving the Lord in some way. And while as we grow older in the Lord the changes may not be as visible, Christian growth should continue until the day that we are with Jesus.
As Paul wraps up this second letter to these new Thessalonian believers, he offers his fourth prayer for them in three chapters (see 2 Thess. 1:11-12; 2:16-17; 3:5). He prays (2 Thess. 3:16), “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” Then, after a verse authenticating himself as the author of this letter, he adds (2 Thess. 3:18), “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
Paul’s frequent prayers show that we must depend on the Lord’s grace and strength in every situation, both for our own growth and for the growth of others we care about. Also, God’s grace and love are recurring themes in Paul’s prayers. Those qualities are the prime motivation for spiritual growth. While it’s not comprehensive, Paul’s concluding prayer and his authenticating signature to this letter give us a short pattern for Christian growth:
To grow in Christ, seek His peace in every situation, seek His presence every day, submit to His word as your authority, and saturate your life with His grace.
2 Thess. 3:16a: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.” The Thessalonians were going through persecution, battling false teaching, and dealing with unruly church members. Each of those situations can create tension and strife in a local church. In this battle, Paul prays for the reality of the Lord’s peace continually and in every circumstance. While his prayer has an individual application, the primary application in this context is for the church to experience God’s peace.
This is the only time the phrase “the Lord of peace,” (referring to Jesus) occurs in the New Testament (but, see Eph. 2:14). More often, the expression is, “the God of peace,” referring to God the Father (Rom. 15:33, 16:20; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20). The Holy Spirit is also the source of peace, which is part of the fruit He produces in us (Gal. 5:22; see, also, Rom. 14:17). So all three members of the trinity are the source of peace for believers. The Hebrew concept of “shalom,” which was behind Paul’s thinking, referred not just to the absence of strife, but to overall well-being or wholeness. Peace has three dimensions:
By birth and because of our sins, we all were hostile toward God, alienated from Him in our thoughts and deeds (Rom. 8:7; Col. 1:21). But by His grace, Christ obtained our peace with God through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20). Thus Paul states (Rom. 5:1), “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
People outside of Christ may have a false sense of peace because they think too highly of themselves and too lowly of God, who is absolutely holy. They assume that their good works will get them into heaven. After all, they’re not mass murderers and rapists! They’re basically good people! And there have always been plenty of false prophets who tell people, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). But as Isaiah (57:21) declares, “‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” The Puritan Thomas Watson put it (A Body of Divinity [Banner of Truth], p. 262), “The seeming peace a sinner has, is not from the knowledge of his happiness, but the ignorance of his danger.” So peace with God comes first through justification by faith in Christ.
Also, peace comes through sanctification by the Holy Spirit. As Paul prayed (1 Thess. 5:23), “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We cannot enjoy peace with God while we’re living in known disobedience to His commands. David was clearly a believer when he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered. But in Psalm 38, he goes on for verse after verse describing the turmoil and lack of peace that engulfed him because of his sin. Again, as Thomas Watson graphically puts it (ibid.), “You may as well suck health out of poison, as peace out of sin.”
The solution, as Watson again pointedly states is (ibid., p. 265), “If you would have peace, make war with sin.” But then, once you’ve confessed your sin and turned from it, don’t trust in your own righteousness for peace. Rather, as Watson goes on to remind us (p. 266), “Go to Christ’s blood for peace…. That blood of Christ which pacified God, must pacify conscience. Christ’s blood being sucked in by faith, gives peace.”
Concerning the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles in the church, Paul wrote (Eph. 2:14), “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” The dividing wall was a chest high wall in the temple that divided the court of the Gentiles from the court of the Jews. There was a sign on it warning Gentiles that if they ventured beyond that point, they were responsible for their own deaths! But in Christ, that barrier is removed, so that in the church (Col. 3:11), “there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”
But even though Christ is our peace, peace among believers is not automatic. Because of our different personalities, backgrounds, and perspectives and because of residual sin in our hearts, we need constantly to work at peaceful relationships (Col. 3:12-15). Paul’s command (2 Thess. 3:14-15) for the church to discipline unruly brothers who refused to work could have resulted in discord in the church, as people who were friends or relatives of the disciplined members may have come to their defense. But Paul’s approach was not to achieve peace by avoiding confronting sin. That would have resulted in bigger problems later. Rather, his approach was to deal with sin and then pray for the Lord’s peace to be experienced in every circumstance.
I’ve seen believers who avoid conflicts with other believers by just moving on to another church. Sometimes after repeated conflicts, they become so disillusioned with the church that they drop out altogether. I’ve also seen marriages where the husband and wife allow tension to build up over the years without working at resolving conflict God’s way. I’ve seen pastors who dodge conflict by not confronting sinning members. But dodging conflict without dealing with sin never results in lasting peace. We should do all that we can to seek peace with others (Rom. 12:18), but not by glossing over sin or major doctrinal errors.
I hope that you apply often Paul’s prescription for anxiety (Phil. 4:6-7): “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Don’t forget the “thanksgiving” part! Even though you may not feel thankful for a trial, you can thank God by faith that He will work it together for your good. Thankful prayer results in inner peace, even in the midst of difficult trials.
So to grow in Christ, seek peace with God through faith in Jesus’ shed blood and by turning from all known sin. Seek peace with others, not by avoiding conflicts, but by working through them in a godly manner. And seek inner peace through thankful prayer.
2 Thess. 3:16b: “The Lord be with you all.” One of my seminary professors once told us that he thought that it was dumb to pray for the Lord to be with us, since He promised to be with us always. But we pointed out this verse to him and he had to recant! On the one hand, Christ has promised to dwell in us forever (John 14:18, 20, 23; 15:4); yet on the other hand, Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17). I think that he’s praying for us to know experientially the fact of Christ’s indwelling presence. He dwells in every believer, but we need daily to experience the reality of His indwelling presence. Note three truths:
In Exodus 33, after the incident with the golden calf, the Lord tells Moses to continue on toward the land of Canaan, but the Lord says (Exod. 33:3), “I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.” But Moses, who spoke with the Lord face to face (Exod. 33:11), pled with God and said (Exod. 33:15), “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” He goes on and boldly asks the Lord that he might see His glory.
Ryan Lister’s excellent, The Presence of God [Crossway], convincingly argues that from the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem, the theme of God’s presence with His people ties together the storyline of the Bible. He says (p. 25), “God is working to establish a people and a place for his presence.” The church is God’s temple, where He dwells. What distinguishes the church from every secular group is the presence of God in our midst! But, do we experience this? We should have a sense of holy awe when we come together each Lord’s Day because the living God is here in our midst!
This is true both individually and as a church. Of course, we wouldn’t ever sin if we remembered that God is with us! When David sinned with Bathsheba and finally came to repentance, he cried (Ps. 51:11), “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” While the Lord promised that the Holy Spirit would be with us forever (John 14:16-17), we forfeit the experience of His presence if we harbor known sin in our hearts. If we have bitterness toward those who have wronged us or if we have not asked forgiveness and sought to restore relationships where we have wronged others, we will not experience God’s presence in this church, in our homes, or in our personal lives. Don’t let any sin rob you of experiencing Christ’s presence!
Individually, Jesus promised His followers who help fulfill His Great Commission (Matt. 28:20), “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Hebrews 13:5 assures us, “for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” At the end of Paul’s life, when he faced execution and everyone had deserted him, he wrote (2 Tim. 4:17), “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me ….”
David Livingstone, who suffered incredible hardships taking the gospel into the uncharted heart of Africa, relied often on the promise of Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He said (cited in A Frank Boreham Treasury [Moody Press], compiled by Peter Gunther, p. 107), “On those words I staked everything, and they never failed!” The same text also supported John Paton, who encountered many life-threatening dangers as he took the gospel to the cannibals of the New Hebrides Islands (ibid. p. 123). The promise of Christ’s presence should sustain us in every difficulty we face.
But also, as a church we need to experience God’s presence in our midst. Anything less is just going through the motions. Paul said (1 Cor. 14:25) that when an unbeliever comes into our assembly, the result should be that “the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.” My prayer is that we won’t just run through the program each week, but that God will show up and that everyone will know that He is certainly among us.
So to grow in Christ, seek His peace in every situation. Seek His presence every day.
2 Thess. 3:17: “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.” Paul had been dictating this letter to a secretary. Now Paul takes the quill and writes the rest of the letter in his own hand to authenticate that the letter was truly from him. This was necessary because the church had already received a letter purporting to be from Paul that was spreading false teaching (2 Thess. 2:2). So, as Gene L. Green (The Letters to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 359) writes, “Much more than being a personal note, the subscript was a weapon in the war against heresy.”
That war continues. False prophets today in charismatic churches claim to have revelations from God that are on a par with or even override Scripture. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches elevate their traditions over Scripture. But the apostolic testimony as found in the New Testament is our only authority in matters of faith and practice. Make sure to compare every teaching against God’s authoritative word. John Stott (The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 196) writes, “There is nobody in the church who has an authority which even remotely resembles that of the apostles of Christ; nor has there been since the last apostle died.” He concludes (p. 199), “For to despise the Word of the Lord is to despise the Lord of the Word, to distrust his faithfulness and to disregard his authority.”
Submission to God’s word is our only compass in this confused and rebellious world. How do we know that abortion is wrong? We know because God’s word reveals that He is the giver of life and that every person is created in His image. How do we know that homosexual behavior is sin? We know because God’s word clearly spells that out over and over again. I recently had a woman from another city call me. Her husband is planning to become a woman and wants her to stay married to him and she was wondering what she should do! God’s word, not modern opinion, is our only guide. The same applies to every other moral and ethical issue we face in this world that has rejected God’s word of truth.
To submit to God’s word, you need to know His word by continually reading and studying it. To apply it correctly, you first must interpret it correctly. To grow in your Christian walk, submit all of your life to all of God’s word or you will be carried along by this godless culture. Finally,
2 Thess. 3:18: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” This closing verse is identical with 1 Thess. 5:28, except for the addition of “all,” which includes even the unruly. They need the Lord’s grace. The entire church needs the Lord’s grace to deal with persecution, false teaching, and with the unruly members. As Gary Shogren (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Zondervan], p. 343) writes, “For Paul there is no experience of God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ and his grace.” And John Stott (p. 198) observes, “There can be no peace without grace.” Three brief observations:
I’ve often heard Bible teachers say that grace is the balance point between legalism on the one hand and licentiousness on the other, but that is not true. Legalism and licentiousness are flip sides of the same coin, because both are manifestations of the flesh. God’s grace operates through the Holy Spirit, changing our hearts, giving us the desire to please and obey Him. Jesus Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ, so His grace is not opposed to submitting to His lordship over every area of your life. God’s grace does not give us the freedom to sin (Rom. 6:1); rather, it frees us from sin (Rom. 6:14).
In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul wrote, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” He would later write to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:1), “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Paul usually begins and ends his letters by invoking God’s grace on the readers, which was more than a formula or formality. He never got over the wonder that as the chief of sinners he found God’s undeserved favor at the cross.
Neither should you! That’s especially true for those of us from Christian homes. It was God’s grace that gave us Christian parents who loved us, shared the gospel with us, and taught us the ways of the Lord. It was His grace that convicted us of our sins, opened our eyes to the love of Jesus, and saved us from trusting in our own righteousness. Bathe yourself daily in the Lord’s abundant grace so that you’re motivated to obey and serve Him.
If you have experienced the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel, you’re now a channel for that grace to flow to other sinners. With the self-righteous, who think that they’re good enough to get into heaven, you may need to preach the law, as Jesus did to the Pharisees. But with the broken, who are burdened with their sin and guilt, Jesus always extended grace, and so should we. He invites all sinners (Matt. 11:28), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” The almost final verse of the Bible (Rev. 22:17) invites, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” And the very last verse of the Bible is (Rev. 22:21), “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
Not only should we extend the grace of the gospel to others, but also, those who have experienced God’s grace should be gracious toward difficult people and toward people who are enslaved to sin. It grieves me when I see Christians being harsh, judgmental, and condemning, whether towards other believers or towards those in the world. Yes, we need to hold the line on God’s absolute moral standards. But if it were not for God’s grace, we’d all be violating those standards. Everyone you meet has difficult struggles of some sort and so everyone needs God’s grace. You’re the channel for that grace to flow to them.
Someone has defined a rut as a grave with the ends knocked out. It’s possible that some of you are in a spiritual rut. But the Lord wants you to be growing. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer who survived the Gulag, wrote (goodreads.com), “The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.”
The Lord wants you to develop your soul by seeking His peace in every situation, by seeking His presence every day, by submitting to His word as your absolute authority, and by saturating your life with His grace.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation