2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
ESV
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
The Word Under Attack
The word of God is under enemy attack. There is an army of
people who are working for Satan, being used as his tools, whether with full knowledge
or not, who are on the offensive against the whole counsel of God, and who want
to destroy the full gospel message of our salvation from sin.
They are those who, spiritually speaking, are lazy,
fruitless, idle, and ineffective for God’s eternal kingdom. They are both
believing the lies of Satan, and they are spreading his lies, too, in
opposition to the truth.
For, the authority they are resting in is not the authority
of God and of the word of God (the whole counsel of God). But they are
submitting themselves to human authority, and to the authority of a spiritual
bond that is worthless and empty regarding the power to save human lives from
their sin. And, one day they will hear God say, “Depart from me, I never knew
you.”
For, although many of them have made a confession of Christ
as Lord, they do not submit to him as Lord. He is not the one in control over
their lives, for the flesh is still what is ruling their thoughts and actions.
So, they are not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance and for God’s eternal
kingdom, for they are still living worldly, fleshly, and self-centered lives.
The Rebuttal
But, the Word of God has something to say on this issue.
For, the Word of God is pure, upright, virtuous, and blameless. And, it has an
observation about these who are working in opposition to God’s word and to his
gospel message. And, it has an analysis of what is being taught, too. For, the Word
of God serves as the standard by which we are to examine the things being
taught by these who are attacking the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, we are to use God’s Word to examine what we are hearing
and reading to see if what we are hearing and reading is truth, i.e. if it is
in line with the teachings of Scripture under the New Covenant. But we must
study the Word of the Lord in context. For, many false doctrines are being
spread from taking Scriptures out of their context to make them mean something
other than what was intended.
So, when we examine what we are hearing, and what is being
presented to us, against the word of God, then if what is being presented to us
is contrary to the teachings of Scripture, as a whole, then we need to reject it.
Thus, we need to reject this gospel message which teaches a
superficial faith in Jesus Christ, which grinds up (pulverizes) the meat of the
Word, and which mixes it all together with insolence and disrespect toward God.
For, it teaches (or it implies) that we don’t have to leave our lifestyles of
sin behind us, that we don’t have to obey the Lord’s commands, and that we don’t
have to surrender our lives to Jesus, making him truly Lord of our lives.
The Counterattack
When we make these observations about what is being taught,
by examining their teachings against the Word of God (in context), and we
present our findings, and we expose the lies, and we proclaim the truth, we
will most likely be met with opposition. And, we may be accused falsely of
teaching works-based salvation, or of being legalists, or of being unloving,
intolerant, bigoted, and hateful, etc.
And, we may be kicked out of institutional churches, asked
to leave small groups, banned from church properties, lied about, yelled at because
we don’t conform to the majority, and falsely accused, put on church
discipline, and/or reported to authorities, etc. For, the worldly fleshly
church will not want us, for they reject Jesus Christ and his authority and the
authority of the Word of God over their lives.
For, those who are buying into an adulterated gospel message,
which permits them (gives free license) to continue living sinful lifestyles, they
will not want to hear the truth that says that faith in Jesus Christ means we
must die with Christ to sin, and that we must live for Christ and his
righteousness, and that this is why Jesus died on that cross (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph.
4:17-24).
They will not want to hear the truth that says that the righteous
requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who WALK according to the Spirit and
not according to the flesh. They will not want to hear that we, by the Spirit,
must be putting to death the deeds of the flesh if we want to have eternal life
with God. And, they will not want to hear the truth that says that if we live
by the flesh that we will die in our sins (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17).
The Drivers
Those who are the drivers behind this adulterated (cheap
grace) gospel are determined to continue to direct people on this course of no
death to sin and no obedience to Christ and of no submission to Christ as Lord.
They are pushing their false gospel hard, gaining many followers after
themselves who have chosen the broad road which leads to destruction, while
rejecting the narrow road which leads to eternal life with God.
They are pushers of this superficial faith in Jesus Christ
which provides fun and entertainment in place of true worship of God, and which
discourages its followers from getting too serious about God or about holiness.
For, it mocks, and it criticizes, and it treats with dishonor those whose lives
are dedicated to following Jesus Christ in submission to his will for their
lives.
For, the armor of God is not what these falsifiers of faith
in Jesus Christ take up. What they take up is disrespect for God, dishonoring
of his Word, playing games with religion, cheating God out of what is due him,
and mocking those who take God and his word seriously.
Rather than upholding the Word of God, they want to squash
it. They want to suppress it. Their goal is to hinder and to block the truth
from getting to the hearts of the people, and that is why they go all out on
the offensive against the true gospel and its servants and messengers. For,
they attempt to discredit the true gospel to deter anyone from believing it.
The Prayer
So, this is a call for prayer that the Word of God would not
be hindered, but that it would continue to spread so that many people will find
genuine faith in Jesus Christ, which will deliver them out of their slavery to
sin, and which will empower them to walk with Jesus in his holiness and righteousness,
and which will give them true hope of eternal life with God.
And, it is a call for prayer that the Word of God will be
honored instead of treated with disdain and disrespect. It is a prayer that
asks that people treat the word of God with respect by doing what the Word
teaches, too, and not just be “cherry picking” which Scriptures they will
adhere to. For not all have genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ.
It is an encouragement to those of us who are walking by
faith in Jesus Christ, in the ways of the Lord, according to his truth and
righteousness, that the Lord is faithful, even when humans are not. He will
carry us through every attack against us and against the Word of God, and he
will help us and strengthen us to remain faithful to him, despite all the
opposition against us.
And, it is an encouragement to those of us who sometimes are
called to suffer for righteousness’ sake, and for doing the right thing, that
we are doing the right thing by standing on the truth of God’s Word, and by
calling out the lies and exposing them, and by proclaiming the truth for all to
hear who will listen, so that they can find true hope of salvation. And, the
Lord will direct our hearts to the love of God and steadfastness of Christ.
Jesus Draw Me Ever
Nearer
Lyrics by Margaret
Becker
Music by Keith Getty
“Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I’ll follow, though I’m worn.
Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more…
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