Today we begin the second letter to the Thessalonians. This letter was written just weeks after the first letter. In that letter, Paul wrote about Jesus’ return to encourage them and to answer two questions about it.
1. What will happen to those that die before Jesus returns?
2. When will Jesus return?
It appears that they needed a good bit more instruction about this, so Paul dedicates almost this entire second letter to the subject of Jesus’ return.
In chapter one of 2 Thessalonians we find how Jesus’ return is related to the suffering of persecution for the faith. We see great rewards for faithfulness and devastating punishment unbelief and disobedience. The return of Christ issues in the end of the world, the fullness of the kingdom of God, relief to those who are persecuted for the faith, and punishment for those who are persecuting the faithful, who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We begin by summing up with John Pipers comments:
• First, all affliction is designed to make us worthy of the kingdom of God -- our long-term holiness is vastly more important to the Father who loves us than is our short-term comfort.
• Second, no evil will triumph in the end: those who spurn the Gospel will in the end be brought to ruin, as verses 8 and 9 describe in tragic and terrible terms: the Lord "will inflict vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion form the presence of the Lord and form the glory of his might."
• And finally, the suffering of God’s people will be rewarded in the end with the stupendous privilege expressed in verse 10: the Lord will come "on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed."
No more suffering. The kingdom has come. The church has been made worthy by her trials. The enemies of truth are swept away in eternal destruction. The saints are given everlasting rest. And Jesus Christ is glorified on his throne for ever and ever.
Next let’s consider a few other things the Bible says about suffering persecution and the Christian:
John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you, ’A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Acts 14:22 …strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
Romans 8: 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
2 Tim. 3: 12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
No one wants persecution. Jesus himself prayed for God to take the cup of suffering away, but he said, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” But Jesus did teach us, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” What are we to make of these scriptures and others like them that teach us to expect to face persecution and conflict as we live for Christ in this world?
First, let’s admit that there is an expectation in the Bible that there will be persecution for Christians in this world.
Second, let’s look at ourselves honestly and biblically and ask the hard questions of faith.
Do I know God and am I obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
As we see plainly in our text of 1 Thessalonians 1, there is a lot riding on where we take our stand. And we must decide! It is not a question of living in such a way that we can avoid persecution for the kingdom of God and still remain his faithful subjects; it is a matter of whether we will take our stand on the word of God and submit to the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ or not.
So… As we look at our privileged, prosperous and peaceful community here on Signal Mountain and in this area, how can we identify with a message about persecution and relief that we read about here with our brethren in Thessalonica? I don’t know about you, but I can actually get a little uncomfortable just thinking about how we are blessed with comfort and peace. When I consider the many passages of the New Testament that point to trials and persecutions of the saints almost as a way of identifying the true Christians, I wonder what exactly God wants us to learn and apply here.
Look at what was happening with the Thessalonians. In the midst of persecutions and afflictions their faith is growing greatly and their love toward one another is increasing.
I believe there is a direct connection between their suffering and their spiritual growth in faith and particularly their love for one another. They are bonding on the battleground together. You make acquaintances in the day to day world. You build friendships when you spend time doing things together such as work or play, but you form your deepest bonds when you suffer side by side by those with whom you share the same cause.
Nothing builds deeper love and respect than sharing suffering together.
After the civil war, men from both the Confederate and the Union army continued to return to the battlegrounds and reminisce. They had bonded together in battle with the lasting bonds of suffering.
The Lord of the Rings movie depicts this well. As the circle of heroes endures terrible difficulty, pain and struggle with evil they form a bond of love and respect that reaches the depths of their hearts for one another.
Even God has experienced this bond in Jesus’ suffering and the Father’s offering on the cross. God invites us to share in the sufferings of Christ so that we may also enjoy that deepest of bonds with him, where love and reverence for God are purified in the fires of affliction. No wonder Paul wrote to the Philippians: 3: 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
God puts persecution to work for us. It is not simply something to avoid. While it is certainly not something to seek, (we are never called to look for trouble) neither is it something to be ashamed of.
Christian persecution is alive and well today in our schools and in the work place for anyone who dares to stand out because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
You who are young and in school, what would happen if you simply carried a Bible around with you everywhere you went? How would you be treated if your clothes are out of fashion… or, if instead of knowing all the latest worldly songs or what happened on all the latest movies, you know all the latest Christian songs and what is happening in the mission fields for Christ?
Peer pressure is a kind of persecution pressure. Your natural desire to fit in and be cool can be almost overwhelming. Your entire lives can be influenced by it. Almost every choice you make is rooted in it. It is like a drug or voodoo power over you. You are applauded for being in conformity, and if you step out of line you are ignored or worse.
How do you deal with it? Many young Christians just cave in. When in Rome… But imagine forming strong friendships and fellowship with Christians where you stood up for one another and protected one another. Imagine standing with other Christians and actually encouraging one another in your faith as you face the pressures around you. Imagine sharing with one another on the deepest level of relationship where love and respect are genuinely formed.
This is the way Jesus built his relationships with his disciples and they built their relationships with one another.
What about in the work place? Some jobs put you into foul company where the talk is immoral and godless and where Christian faith is mocked or at least disrespected. There can be backbiting, gossip and where Christ is far from the hearts and minds of those who work there. Churches are considered full of hypocrites and Christians are considered self-righteous or worse. What would happen if you carried your Bible around in a place like that, or offered invitations to church to those who worked there?
I remember in the late 70’s working for Dixico in Memphis as a quality control inspector. It was a big factory that printed and coated food wrapping paper and plastic. All kinds of people worked there. Some were pretty scary. I remember bringing my Bible to work with me and reading it on breaks and at meal time. The QC booth was in the center of the plant and lots of workers came through. I got a reputation pretty quickly when they saw me reading my Bible. Some were friendly and others tried to test me. I specifically remember walking by one of the machines to pick up a sample and one of the guys hollered, “Look, there goes Jesus.” I just smiled. He didn’t know it, but I took that as an incredible compliment. I found a lot of strength from four other guys in the plant who were also Christians and we encouraged each other. The Lord was with us through that experience and made even the testing work for our good.
2 Thessalonians tells us plainly that our testing an trials not only have a positive impact for us, but God pays attention to us. He knows what’s happening. Every Christian is in God’s hands and you can’t step on God’s fingers and get away with it forever. There is coming a day of reckoning. Our participation in trials and afflictions will not last forever. But while they last, God works in us and for us. He considers us worthy of His kingdom if we are willing to suffer for it. He will also punish those who make us suffer.
Jesus is coming. He will judge the living and the dead. Now is time for us to prepare for his return. We need to help as many as possible to come to Christ while there is time.
Listen to Paul’s final prayer: 11 To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power;
12 in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
