October 15, 2024
“For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 ESV). Paul warned the believers at Thessalonica about those who “walked in idleness.”
October 15, 2023
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT). Although Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians in Greek, as a Jewish background believer he almost certainly had the Hebrew word, “shalom,” in mind when he
October 14, 2023
“He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14 NLT). What is glory? The dictionary defines it as “high renown or honor,” with an accompanying aspect of “magnificence or great beauty.” The apostle Paul wrote to the
October 14, 2021
GET A GRIP ON GOD’S WORD Paul told the Thessalonian believers to “stand firm” and to keep a “strong grip” on the Word of God that he had taught them. Standing firm on God’s Word we build our life on its gospel truth and instruction. Keeping a strong grip on the Word, we cling to
October 14, 2019
GET A GRIP ON GOD’S WORD Paul told the Thessalonian believers to “stand firm” and to keep a “strong grip” on the Word of God that he had taught them. Standing firm on God’s Word we build our life on its gospel truth and instruction. Keeping a strong grip on the Word, we cling to
October 15, 2018
A BENEDICTION OF SHALOM
Although Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians in Greek, as a Jewish background believer he almost certainly had the Hebrew word, “shalom,” in mind when he offered this benediction of peace. Certainly, the word includes the idea of a cessation of hostility, but even more it means that all things are well and at rest. It is the “Lord of Peace” who gives us this peace. For in Christ we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). After His reconciling peace makes us right in our vertical relationship with God, it works inward to give us peace in our minds and hearts and then outward to work peace into our horizontal relationships with others. The Lord Jesus Himself is our shalom, our peace. When we abide in Christ, we have shalom in our souls.
October 13, 2017
Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica. In all the things he prayed for them, he prayed that Jesus would get the glory for it. Three questions/observations concerning this glory:
1) What is glory?
Some synonyms are: Honor, credit, renown, praise, worship, beauty, splendor. What is this glory? It is about who gets the honor and who gets the praise.
2) How might Christ’s name be glorified “in you?”
It begins with your self-acknowledgement that all you are and all you have comes from Him. You glorify Christ in your heart. Then, it radiates outward into your words and deeds, so that the name of Christ is glorified in all you say and do.
3) How are you to be glorified “in Him?”
Is this true? Will we share in Christ’s glory? Yes, but not because of our own accomplishment, but “according to the grace” of God, accomplished in Christ. By faith we have become God’s children and “joint heirs” with Christ, so that all that is His, is now also ours, including His glory. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Rom. 8:17). So, this glory is part of our inheritance in Christ!
If we live for our own glory, we will not share in Christ’s. But if we live for His glory, according to His grace, then we will share in Christ’s glory forevermore!
November 6, 2016 | 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18 |
Work. Many of us consider work something we have to do in order to pay for the things we really want to have and to buy the time to do the things we really want to do. Americans have made play a higher goal than work. But that’s a low view of work. It diminishes it to an activity that we have to put up with, rather than a fulfilling and meaningful purpose for living. We place such a high value on entertainment and recreation that it has become a kind of idolatry. We celebrate idleness over work. We have made an idol of idleness!
God has a much higher view of work. As Jesus said, “My Father is always working, and so am I” (John 5:17). As soon as God made man, He gave him a job to do. And He has a job, a purpose for your life too! In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he told them to stand firm in doing the work to which God had called them. We can stand firm in the work that God has given us to do.
October 30, 2016 | 2 Thessalonians 2:13 - 3:5 |
We can be confident and not easily deceived or shaken if we are rooted in the Word of God. We can be confident in our salvation, and then get a firm grip on sound biblical teaching in order to pass the baton of the Gospel on.
October 23, 2016 | 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 |
Perhaps you’ve been alarmed and shaken by today’s headlines. Terrorist attacks, non stop news about the upcoming election, hurricanes and flooding. And that’s just last week! How are we supposed to face these things? And what do we do about all the fear-mongering that we hear people offering? The apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica not to be shaken by the false teaching that they were hearing concerning Christ’s return, but instead to continue to stand firm.