November 5, 2001
Explore the Bible Series for Nov. 18
EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Standing firm on God's truth still is good advice
___2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
___By Pete Freeman
___First Baptist Church, The Woodlands
___Distraction always has been a weakness of Christianity. It has a way of causing us to forget what we're supposed to be doing.
___I recently heard about a man who was visiting New York City. He enjoyed eating at a different restaurant every time he was there. He decided to thumb through the Yellow Pages under "restaurants" and came across the name "Mission of God Grill."
___The name interested him. He asked the owner how they got the name. The owner said that some years before he and others started a mission in downtown New York. It was tough going, so they decided to sell chicken sandwiches after each service to provide money for the mission. After a while, the chicken sandwich business got so good they cut back on the church services. Eventually, they quit having services and just sold chicken sandwiches.
___Paul did not want these early Christians to be distracted by this matter we call "eschatology" (end times). His heart lay somewhere else. He wanted to concentrate on the salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. He realized preoccupation with the matter of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was not the primary calling of the church. Yet, then and even today, some Christians have gone to seed on this subject. They are too enamored with "end-time watching." This has affected their perspective in how they relate to others and even how they look at the Middle East.
___Finished with eschatology, Paul speaks about the tremendous respect he has for these early Christians. Since their Christian walk was consistent, he consistently "thanked God" for them. His usage of the emphatic "we" implies he is speaking for the entire body of Christ.
___Note the tender words of affection he has for them. They are "brothers and beloved" of the Lord. These are two words we don't hear very much anymore. Of course, the words we use are not as important as the spirit of brotherhood we project.
___The basis for everything Paul says in our passage is related to something we call election. He uses the word "chose" to articulate his understanding of the sovereignty of God as it relates to salvation. Put in its simplest terms, "salvation rests on the divine choice, not on human effort."
___We know from other texts that God chose "us in him before the creation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). It is impossible for us to adequately understand election. We are limited in that we understand "election" from a human perspective. The phrase, "from the beginning" refers to eternity past and reflects God's perspective. As well, we have other passages that offer salvation to "whosoever will" (John 3:16). What we are left with is a tension between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. Such tension leaves us with some unanswered questions.
___Jerry Batson says, "Some maintain that he knew who would have faith and chose on that basis. While that fits human logic, it is not stated in Scripture. The Scripture does teach that God is characterized by love and righteousness. While we may not be able to fathom the depths of the doctrine of election, we can affirm that God does all things well."
___Note the two means through which election works to produce salvation. The first of these is the sanctifying work of the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that brings conviction of sin and draws a person to the Lord (John 3:3-8). As well, it is the Spirit that guides us "in all truth" and "seals us unto the day of redemption." Therefore, Paul is speaking of the total work of the Holy Spirit as it relates to salvation (past, present and future).
___The second means is belief in the truth. The "truth" is the truth about Jesus Christ. There are things about Jesus Christ we must believe if we are to become Christians. We call these the kernel of the gospel seed. "Belief" is not just intellectual assent to the truths about Jesus, but involves the total will of the one believing. This second means gives balance to our understanding of election. The Spirit brings conviction, and each person has the freedom to believe.
___Paul ends this section with a number of matters related to what goes into a good relationship between believers. These include encouragement and prayer. It is obvious that the two things he is concerned with are their standing firm and holding to the teachings. "Standing firm" is the opposite of "unsettled" in verse 2. The word used here is an unusual one with an emphasis "on the firmness of the stand." It applies to every aspect of the believer's life.
___"Holding to the teachings" is connected to the truth related to Jesus Christ. It means to have a firm grip on what you understand and believe about Jesus Christ. The "teachings" are identified as those that were given by God to men. They didn't find their origin in Paul but came from the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
___Today, we have the complete record of God's revelation. We call it the Bible. It can be trusted, but it should not be worshipped. God speaks to our heart but never in a way that is contradictory to his word. As in Paul's day, we need to be very careful not to confuse our interpretations of the word of God with what it actually says.
___Questions for discussion
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