2 Thessalonians series - Faith, Love, and Perserverance

 

Faith, Love, and Perseverance

2 Thessalonians 1:3-10

Giving thanks to God is a given for every believer. It comes in our honoring him in everything we do. Whether it’s prayer at a meal, receiving or giving something, but mostly because he is our Heavenly Father who gives us eternal life through His Son. As James said, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...” (1:17) Paul, as the overseer of these new churches, knew what a blessing it was to see and experience a church growing in their faith and love for one another. So let’s look at the first portion of the text, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” Paul was still in Corinth when he penned this second letter to the Thessalonians. Timothy had returned with a great report of their stable perseverance and steadfastness to the gospel in the midst of persecutions. It was love for the Son and the Father that spurred these believers in hope, faith, and love. It was in these trials and tribulations that the presence of the Holy Spirit was clearly evident. For their faith in Jesus Christ was bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love and forbearance in patience. As Paul told the Galatians, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Gal. 5:6b)

It was through the trials that the Thessalonians were shining as Paul and Peter had also said to other believers, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (1 Peter 1:7, Rom. 5:3-5) 

Application - I watch the churches in other countries of the world where persecution is a real fact of life: a Nigerian woman watch her pastor husband killed in front of her eyes, and then forced to run with her children to another country, yet she stands firm in her faith even when everything is taken away, or the small churches in Bangladesh having to meet in a tomb in a graveyard for church service because of persecution of believers in their rural areas. They give thanks to God for their lives and all that God provides. They truly love God and each other. I haven’t heard of any persecution of this type in our westernized churches. But as Paul stated in Philippi, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (4:12-13) We must give thanks in everything, whether bad times or good, as Paul had told the Thessalonians in his first letter about God’s will, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thes. 5:16-18)

We all will face persecution one day for our faith in Jesus Christ, and it is in perseverance and forbearance that we will stand firm for the Gospel and our love for everyone, especially for those who persecute us. 

Second, Paul again addresses the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look at the next portion of the test, “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”

Paul was reassuring the believers in Thessalonica because of persecution and the probable deaths that have occurred because of their faith in Jesus. They had learned that the believers who were still living would be caught up with those who had died in their faith to meet Jesus in the cloud with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thes. 4:16-18) 

Now, Paul talks about God’s judgment concerning the believers and unbelievers. God’s judgment is right in that God the Father will provide the promise he gave through the Son. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  (Jn. 14:1-3)

All who believe, whether in death or alive, will not experience the wrath of God upon the wicked, but will enjoy the revelation of their Lord Jesus and the ensuing rest and fellowship with him in glory, as participants of the divine inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Thes. 5:9-10)

Paul explains again the second coming of Jesus, this time as the conquering king at the end of the age, “…He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction…” Paul again exhorts the believers that God is just, he will repay all who have persecuted the believers and have not believed and have denied and not obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will experience the wrath of God and everlasting destruction and eternal damnation “shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.” and to all those who didn’t believe will see Jesus in all his glory and either regret or curse the day of the wrath of the Lamb for all of them stubbornly refused to bow their knees before Christ or confess His lordship over their lives, “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.” “ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… “Immediately after the distress of those days“

‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” “...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledges that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face 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 can stand?'” (Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24:27-30; Phil.2:10-11; Rev. 6:16-17)

Paul knew the power of the gospel “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16) and the testimony of Jesus’ work in his life for it was the evidence of the power and glory of God working by the Holy Spirit through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application - The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will take place, no matter what all those in the world want to believe, and it will not be a time of peace as the Antichrist will sell the world on as he deceives the world. As Paul encouraged the believers in Thessalonica with the blessed hope of Christ’s coming for His bride, the church, we too can be encouraged in our days as well. God the Father is right in his judgment upon sin, the devil, and unrepentant mankind. He will deliver all believers from the suffering they have incurred for their faith in Jesus Christ and gospel. “As a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.” (v.5) It is the unrepentant and the unbelieving world and the demonic that will encounter the wrath of the Lamb of God. God the Father is just in punishing all who have not heeded the gospel message, but have swallowed the deception of the evil One. For they will react in astonishment Christ’s revealing in the fiery sky filled with an angelic army. For the justice of God will be completed, “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord.” They will bear the tribulation of God, and they will bear the everlasting destruction God foretold of in the book of Revelation and Holy Scripture. They will experience what is like to be shut out of the presence of a loving God, and face the wrath of an angry God,  “For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

For all who have persevered through the suffering for your faith in Jesus Christ and for the gospel, the writer of Hebrews gives us great encouragement, “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.  You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,“In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”

(Heb. 10:32-37)

No one knows the day or the hour that the Father has planned all of this to happen, but He tells us to be ready and about the work he has called us to do, and to look up for the redemption of our Lord and and Savior, “for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” (Romans 13:11)

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. And he wants to empower you with the Holy Spirit. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second, B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis