Fair Warning

II Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 

Paul now turns his attention to the second coming of Christ, just as he had in his former letter.  People get all excited when they think about this, and rightfully so.  But the things we get excited about are also the things we can get fearful about.  As followers of Christ, they had no need to fear.  There would be "fair warning" to His coming, including an obvious imposter. After describing the deceiver's delusion, Paul goes on to remind them that they were saved, being sanctified and sealed by the Spirit of God.  They were not to be shaken but stand firm and the faith and serve well until the Savior returns. The same is true of us.

Righteous Judgment

II Thessalonians 1:5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 

After a brief positive opening statement, Paul jumps right in to address the persecution that these believers were facing for their faith.  In his first letter Paul had written of the coming of Christ extensively, reminding them to live holy lives in light of that coming so that we are ready for His return.  As that persecution had increased, he now goes back to the other aspect of that coming: righteous judgment.  Their persecutors will receive what they rightly deserve, while they themselves, as believers, will receive the deliverance, the relief, the peace and rest.  But most of all God will receive the Glory that He deserves. Based on this, Paul prays for the grace we need to remain steadfast in hope and sanctified in our living. 

Diligent Waiting

 I Thessalonians 5:12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.  Be at peace among yourselves.  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil.

The end of chapter 4 and beginning of chapter 5 are all about the return of Christ, but Paul does not want the believers to slack off which waiting for Him to come back.  Waiting is an active thing. Positively, it means respect, love, encouragement, patience, doing good, rejoicing, praying, giving thanks, and clinging to sound doctrine. It also involves admonishing slackness and abstaining from sinfulness.  The call today is no different today than it was in that one.  As much as we may be sure that the “signs of the times” indicate His imminent return, we cannot let down our guard, but must diligently wait.  

Wherever You Are!

 

Psalm 137:4 How shall we sing the Lord's song
    in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

Psalm 138:4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

    for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

    for great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

    but the haughty he knows from afar.

In the past two psalms we saw what the pilgrims would sing when they got to Jerusalem.  What about those who were not able to make it? What about those people of God who had no temple to go to? Psalm 137 is a psalm from the heart of those who had been exiled after the fall of Jerusalem and Psalm 138 is a psalm attributed to David, who lived before the temple and was often on the run and could not go to the tabernacle to worship.  What we they to do? Worship God and sing His praises anyway, anywhere they were. They were to remember their calling to teach the songs of God to those foreign lands with foreign gods, even when those peoples mocked them.  The Joy of the Lord was to come out of their hearts and out of their mouths wherever they were.  May thanks and praise to God come out wherever you are today. 

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Praise and Thanks

 Psalm 135:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

    for his steadfast love endures forever;

We have now moved on from the Psalms of Ascent, sung by the pilgrims going up to Jerusalem, to those psalms sung together at the temple.  These psalms of praise and thanksgiving proclaim the goodness, greatness, and uniqueness of God. He is not like the wooden and metal idols of this world. Those are "dumb" in every sense of the world, and those who put their trust in them become just like them. God had shown them over and over again that He was much power powerful and personal than they; He is good in every way and always faithful.  May we view Him that way, and as a result, see His hand in our very lives. 

Remember Your Calling

 I Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

Every church has its issues. None of us are perfect, so collectively that multiplies the potential issues. Though this church had a wonderful testimony, they were no different. So Paul gave them (and us) a friendly reminder of what God's plan is for us: purity, self-control, forgiveness, and love for one another. Paul goes on in the remainder of the chapter to point us to the coming again of Christ as a reminder and motivation to live this life looking to the next.  Failure to do so leads to a laxness in living holy lives, but anticipating His return helps us live daily to please Him.

More of the Same

 

I Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Paul has already shared with this church how much he had been rejoicing over them in prayer, and how much he had enjoyed the time he had been with them and invested in them. Now that he had heard from Timothy that they were still continuing on in faith and love, he again slips into a prayer of blessing for them.  And what does he ask?  More of the same - that they increase and abound in love and holiness.  He reminds them of the ultimate goal: to live here and now with our sights on the coming of Christ, who will join us together with all the saints of all times and churches in the presence of God.  Whatever faith, love, and growth we have had in Christ, may God give us more of the same.