Edward Donnelly
This is a subject that I have been treating at this conference for some years, working through the Epistles of Paul. The only ones left, after today, are Philippians and 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. So, if we’re spared, you’ve got an idea of what we’ll be looking at, God-willing, this time next year. For the benefit of those of you who are new to the conference, these are not expositions of the Epistles, nor are they overviews or surveys of the Epistles. We are treating them as pastoral documents. Paul is a pastor, these are his flock. How does he shepherd them? How does he advise them in their different situations? What can we learn about pastoring people from the example of the Apostle?
First of all, we look at 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I have entitled it “Encouragement for New Converts.” That phrase comes from Gresham Machen in his New Testament Introduction, a vastly underrated book. He doesn’t follow the modern fashion of giving us huge lists of footnotes and bibliography, but please don’t be deceived by the simplicity of that book. That is the distillation of vast learning. It’s a very valuable book, the New Testament Introduction. So, he calls it “Encouragement for New Converts.”
These Epistles have been described as the Cinderellas of the Pauline writings. They tend to be overlooked. They are brief. They don’t have passages of enormous theological depth, and yet, 1 and 2 Thessalonians are extremely valuable for at least a couple of obvious reasons. They’re among the earliest Christian writings in existence. We don’t really know which were the first books of the New Testament to be written. The candidates, as I’m sure you know, are Galatians, James, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and you can argue back and forth about which of those books were written first, but these are among the earliest parts of the New Testament that we have. They are written to brand new Christians, people who have been converted only a few weeks, and they are written to the only one of Paul’s churches which is facing serious external pressure. So, it seems to me that that gives them a distinctiveness and a value. The Apostle is writing to brand new Christians under pressure from outside. How does he pastor them?
You remember the story—Paul and Silas left Philippi, traveled along The Great Ignatian Way, which linked the East with Italy, 100 miles to Thessalonica, the capital of the province of Macedonia. In those days it was a city of about 200,000 people. It’s less than half that size today. He preached three Sabbath days in the synagogue. I think it’s probable that he stayed quite a bit longer than that in Thessalonica. I think it’s possible that Luke doesn’t give us a complete account, and he doesn’t profess to do so. We know that Paul worked with his own hands as a leatherworker, and earned his living in Thessalonica. And we know that on at least two occasions the Christians in Philippi sent him gifts for his support while he was in Thessalonica. Philippians 4:16, “Once and again you helped me in my necessity.” That would suggest that he may have been there more than two and a half or three weeks. In any case, he was forced to leave by mob violence stirred up by the Jews.
He went to Berea and then to Athens. He was very anxious about the spiritual welfare of these young Christians with whom he had spent such a short time. He had every reason to be anxious. He says in 1:6, “You received the word in much affliction.” This probably wasn’t official persecution, but it would be severe social pressure. Christianity was extremely counter-cultural. They separated themselves from the sexual morality of the day. They didn’t get involved in the trade goods which controlled industry and commercial life. They didn’t associate with the mystery cults. They had no allegiance to the civic gods on whose favor the prosperity of the city depended. So, they were seen as antisocial and treacherous. “They say that there is another king, Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Society would pressurize them, harass them, shame them, embarrass them, intimidate them in many ways to bring them back to normal, respectable living. “Get away from this strange, foreign cult, and live like ordinary people.”
They were only a few weeks old, as Christians. Would they be able to face this pressure? As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 3:5, “When I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the Tempter had tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.” He says again, “When we could bear it no longer, we sent Timothy to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions.” So, he’s deeply concerned about these young professing believers. Will they stand firm? Timothy catches up with Paul in Corinth. He brings him good news about the infant church, but he says that they still need encouragement, and that’s why Paul writes 1 Thessalonians. I think he’s doing what he sent Timothy to do, “To establish and exhort you in your faith.”
Shortly after that, he writes 2 Thessalonians to correct problems which are still existing. Andrew Young, in the introduction to the Let’s Study series, the Banner of Truth commentary on Thessalonians, says, “These letters are thoroughly pastoral in character.” Well, maybe not wise talking about “The Pastoral Epistles.” I’m referring to just three Epistles. These are all pastoral Epistles, and these are very pastoral Epistles. I think that’s the chief value for us. You may say, “Well, are we persecuted?” No, we’re not—yet. “Are we experiencing much affliction?” Well, no, we’re not—most of us. But, brethren, you know that the pressure of society against Christians is pervasive; and it is increasing. It is being increased year by year. I am coming to think that it’s far more damaging to our churches and to our people than we may realize, that we are subconsciously censoring ourselves and limiting ourselves without realizing what we are doing.
A few months ago, I was speaking to our children, and in the course of my talk to them I said, “Now, boys and girls, if you’re naughty, daddy will have to give you a smack.” One of the men in our church, a very, very godly man whom I admire, spoke to me afterwards with some concern, and he said, “Pastor, perhaps it would be wiser not to say that in public, because you could get into legal trouble now in the United Kingdom for saying something like that.” I said to him, “Well, the day is never going to come when I can’t say what the Bible says in my own church to my own people.” But, what worried me afterwards was that that good brother was beginning to censor himself. You see what I’m saying? It was getting to him. He didn’t realize it was getting to him.
I think there may be a lot more of that among our people than we realize. We may be noticing only the tip of the iceberg, and we may be hurting more from societal pressure than we are aware of. I think also that although many of our people may not chronologically be young Christians, many of them are immature, with not much Bible background, and not much knowledge. So, they’re functionally young Christians. So, if we are looking at Epistles addressed to young Christians under societal pressure, I think we’re looking at documents that are very relevant for our ministries. So, what I want to do is to take out five elements of the way Paul encourages these young Christians and to look at them with you briefly.
The first: Paul provides support. There was a classic form of literature in the Ancient World called “The Friendly Letter,” it’s sometimes called “paráklesis,” from the Greek word “to encourage or exhort.” This letter could have been written by a Greek philosopher, if the content was different. It’s the classic form (1 Thessalonians, especially 1-3) of “The Friendly Letter.” Paul—as much as already mentioned—he’s seeking to nurture and strengthen a loving relationship with them.
He annihilates geographical distance. He says, “We give thanks to God for you always, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.” “We’re thankful for you. We pray for you.” He commends them. “Your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope.” He reminds them. This was absolutely classical in the Greek writing—he reminds them of how they initially received the message. 2:13, “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of man, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” In other words, “Remember how our relationship began. Remember the word you committed yourself to.”
He didn’t want to leave them. They meant so much to him. He says in 2:17 following, “Since we were torn away from you, brothers.” “We were torn away from you, brothers—in person, not in heart—we endeavored more eagerly with great desire to see you face to face. Because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Before our Lord Jesus at His coming, is it not you? You are our glory and our joy.” See the warmth of that? The passionate love? That’s why he sent Timothy. That’s why he’s writing this letter, and it’s not a one-way thing.
He’s encouraged that the Thessalonians feel the same way about him! 3:6, “Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and your love, and has reported that you always remember us kindly, and long to see us as we long to see you.” Their spiritual well-being is his very life. 3:8, “For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.”
Later on, in chapter 3, he’s looking forward intensely to meeting up with them again. “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.” Brethren, this is very, very warm, positive, affirming, encouraging, emotional. He’s using emotional language.
Now, supposing you read language like this in an uninspired evangelical book of pastoral theology. Tell your people you love them; they’re dear to you; you long to see them. You would say, “This is some touchy-feely, feminine, positive-thinking, affirming kind of book.” Does that describe our ministries? Is this the sort of pastors we are? Do we say, “Oh, you don’t need to affirm people. You don’t need to command people. We believe in the perseverance of the saints. That’s a sissy, womanish sort of thing. We’re not into that. We’re manly, Reformed men. No time for feelings!” Well, Paul apparently didn’t feel that way. Paul understood that new Christians are very vulnerable. They’re in a hostile world, and they need to be told that they’re loved and valued. We think highly of them, and we’re not going to leave them to fend for themselves. They need to be supported and cared and loved. We need to pay attention to them. We need to reassure them over and over and over again. “We’re with you; we love you; we’re in this; we’re standing together.” Hands-on shepherding. Close contact. They’re not lions; they’re sheep. The cults understand this. How many people have we lost through pastoral remoteness or inattention? Support your people. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s apostolic. That’s biblical.
Secondly, set an example. Here’s where ancient education was light years ahead of modern. Ancient education, in the Greek model, involved showing as well as telling. It wasn’t purely academic. It wasn’t carried on purely in the classroom The philosophic teacher was expected to model the behavior that he wanted his pupils to follow. He did what he taught. He was the incarnation of his instruction, and that was the approach of all the Greek philosophers and all the Jewish rabbis. It was a given in ancient education. It was a feature of our Lord’s teaching. John 3:15, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” Profound statement in Luke 6:40, “Everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Not just know what his teacher knows, not just have the same information. He’ll be like him! He’ll be an imitator of him! And for all that we abominate clones and following men blindly, there is also a clear, biblical principle here: that we are to be like those who have trained us and taught us. Paul uses the same method.
1 Corinthians 4:16, “I urge you, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Philippians 3:17, “Join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” That’s the way babies learn. They imitate, and these are spiritual infants. So, Paul says in 1:5-6, “You know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord.” He doesn’t say, “You know what we taught you. You know what we said to you.” He says, “You know what kind of men we were, and you became imitators of us. You became imitators of the kind of men we were.” He set them an example.
Now, it might appear that the Apostle wasn’t a good example, because it’s clear that he had been criticized by his enemies in the city. They criticized him, obviously, as being a spiritual charlatan, somebody interested only in money, a coward who had run away when the going got tough, and had left his dupes to face the music by themselves. So, in chapter 2 he defends his character, you remember? “Our appeal does not spring from error or impurity; we speak not to please man. We never came with words of flattery nor with pretext for greed, nor did we seek glory from people. But we were gentle among you.” Paul said, “You’ve seen the sort of men we were. You know my character. You know my ministry.”
He’s exemplary also in a more active sense. Not just his character, his godliness, but in the sense of modeling the precise behavior that he wants them to follow. For example, he wanted them to witness courageously in the face of persecution. In 2:4 he writes, “Though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” He had done what he wanted them to do, and they had seen him doing it! He wanted them to be industrious and diligent in their daily work. So, he says in 2:9, “For you remember our labor and toil, we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you while we proclaim to you the gospel of God.” When he’s rebuking the idle, he’s able to say, “I wasn’t an idle now. I was hardworking.” He wants them to live holy lives.
He says in 2:10, “You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct towards you believers.” These believers learned the principles so well, that they in turn became a model or an example for other Christians. 1:6-7, “You received the word in much affliction, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” He set an example.
Now, it’s a commonplace, of course, that pastors need to lead exemplary lives in our walk with God, in our homes and families, in our relationships, in our behavior. We need to be men of transparent integrity: sexual, financial, every way. Too many pastors haven’t been, and we know what havoc that can cause. So, we’ve a heavy responsibility. We need constantly the grace of God.
What, perhaps, isn’t so widely recognized is the second part of the modeling: the power of practical example in teaching, showing people what we want them to learn, letting them see us doing it, so that they can copy us. That, again, is the way small children learn. A mother doesn’t say to her little daughter, “Now, you go up and make your bed.” She says, “You come up with Mommy and I’ll show you how to make your bed. You do it this way and you get the sheet and you do it like this.” The little girl watches that. Then she does what she has seen her mother doing. That could be the subject of our whole hour together.
It cannot be right to train ministers by taking them away from the environment in which they’re going to be working, by having 30 year old PhDs who have never preached or pastored being their sole instructors, and by putting them into a classroom and giving them cerebral instruction and nothing else. That simply can’t be the way to do it! That’s not showing. That’s just telling. Quite often, perhaps the ones who tell might be able to show. It speaks to us of openness in our pastoral work. That is the important thing.
Paul says in 2:8, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become dear to us.” We’ve got to be open and vulnerable to our people, and let them see the men we are. Men, you cannot be remote! No matter what it costs you. No matter how much you have to violate your own inhibitions. You can’t hide away from your people! Paul says, “We shared our own selves.” He was a fallen son of Adam like the rest of us, great man that he was! No doubt there were things his people saw that weren’t always absolutely perfect and wonderful, but he showed them.
More and more I think we’re going to have to show people how to pray, show people how to study the Bible, show people how to have family worship. It’s not just enough to say, “You must have family worship.” You’ve got to say to that young head of the home, “I’ll come round to your house, or one of the elders will come round to your house for three or four nights. He’ll lead the family worship. You’ll see how he does it.” It’s the with-him principle. Mark 3:14, “He appointed 12, so that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” I haven’t time to get into it, but it makes one-man ministry impossible. You cannot pastor a group of people if you’re only pastor, the only person. You’ve got to have several men. You can’t cover it. You’ll not be able to do the work. Setting an example.
Thirdly, he confirms their identity. Perhaps this is the most important aspect of pastoral encouragement here. What has God made them? Who have they become? Who are they? Paul says they are a separate people set apart by God from the rest of humanity. In other words, he stresses the difference, the separateness of it all. He begins by writing to the Ecclesia of the Thessalonians, “And God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The called out ones, the separated body, brothers, loved by God, He has chosen you.” They are the elect. They are the saints. They are the different people. They are the distinct community.
We heard the other evening that key-fold description in 1:9-10. “You turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.” That’s a magnificent statement of Christian conversion and life. The turning and the serving and the waiting. I know at least three implications.
As a separate people, they are to live differently from the world. 4:1, “How you ought to live and to please God.” 4:3 following, “This is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; not in a passion of lust, like the Gentiles.” 4:7, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.” 4:12, “Live properly before outsiders.”And from 2 Thessalonians, “Do not grow weary in doing good.” They’re in the world. They’re playing a positive role in the world, but their behavior is to be radically different.
Secondly, they are to disregard the praise and the criticism of the world, because of who they are, because of their identity. The world, are “the Gentiles who do not know God.” Paul describes them as the night, of the darkness, sleeping, drunk. That’s who they are. They’re befuddled, confused, unaware, ignorant people. 2 Thessalonians, “They’re perishing, because they refuse to love the truth.” Who would want the praise of such people? What is the praise of such people worth? Who would be intimidated by the criticism of such people? What does their criticism matter? He says, “Remember who you are, and remember who they are.”
Thirdly, he moves on to say that they should learn to accept suffering as a badge of honor. It’s not that they are deviant or abnormal or out of touch; it’s the reverse! This is the normal experience of the children of God. It’s not surprising; it’s absolutely predictable! “You, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things as they did.” Paul had warned them. 3:3 and following, “You yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction; just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.” “I told you this, guys.” He says, “This is the deal.” Instead of being disturbed by their sufferings, they should see this, in suffering, as a sign of God’s approval, attesting the reality of their salvation. “We boast about you in the churches of God,” (2 Thessalonians 1:4), “For your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in afflictions you’re enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God.” “Be glad you’re suffering, [he says] it’s a sign of your salvation. It’s a sign of God’s approval.” The laughter and mockery and intimidation of the world should lead you to go down on your knees and praise God. “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.”
In other words, brethren, this is war talk. The church is an embattled community, assailed by enemies. We are a different people. Now, most Christians in history and most Christians in the world today know that. If I were to say to Arif Khan, “Arif, as you live and work each day, has it ever crossed your mind at all that you’re in a hostile society?” What would he answer? See, brethren, we in the Western word, we have been lulled into a sense of security by living in a Christianized society in which the basic hostility to the things of God has been painted over and covered over, and we have been kidding ourselves that they don’t hate us and that they’re not against us. We have been seduced into seeking their praise and trembling at their criticism. We need to impress on our people our radically different identity. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we need a bit of the Anabaptist spirit, of a separateness. We are a separate people, a different people.
We need to point out to our young people who these stars of entertainment and sport and the media and academia really are. Why should we listen to these people? What do they know about anything? We need to stop squealing in protest when the world starts persecuting us. That’s what these parent church organizations do. They send out these enormous letters to get funds and support. Millions of dollars roll in. “Listen to what the cruel world is going to do to us.” Well, of course it is! We’ve always known that. “In this world you shall have tribulation.” We need to wear it as a badge of honor! We get into trouble when we forget who we are, and that’s why Paul is teaching these young believers. “Remember who you are. Remember who the world is.” Confirmed identity.
Fourthly, he builds community, and this follows from the previous point. This body, which stands separate from the world and against the world, needs to be solid and cohesive and united. We need to stand together. We’re disconnected from society, and it’s important to derive strength from each other. So, Paul assumes and encourages a high level of community involvement. You get the one-anothers (1 Thessalonians 5). “Encourage one another; build one another up, just as you’re doing.” “Be at peace among yourselves.” “Encourage the fainthearted.” Are you teaching your people to do that? “Help the weak, be patient with them all.” He makes the same emphasis elsewhere, “Minister to each other.” “Hold each other together.” “You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that, indeed, is what you’re doing. We urge you to do it more and more.” “Encourage one another with these words.”
He himself had set a good example before them. “For you know how like a father with his children we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God.” The leaders themselves need to be ministered to. The leaders themselves need to be built up. Respect those who labor among you and are over you. Esteem them very highly in love. Brethren, pray for us. Pray for us! It builds community, builds a strong, united, cohesive community.
Community building also has a negative side. 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “Any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the traditions you’ve received from us.” I don’t know why ESV translates it that way. “Disorderly” is a much better translation. The word is ataktós; it’s a military word. It means “not drawn up in line.” “Any brother who’s not standing in the line and in accord with the traditions that you received from us.” The British army was invincible in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries because of two tactics they had. They fought infantry, columns with a thin, red line, and they fought cavalry with squares. The British square was invincible. It didn’t work very well in America, but it worked pretty well everywhere else, as long as there wasn’t a gap. There couldn’t be a gap. There couldn’t even be a one-man gap in the square, because if there was a gap the leading horse would go through, and once he went through, the square would collapse in a minute. As long as the line stood steady and there wasn’t a gap, you couldn’t beat the square. The only thing that would beat it was artillery, but you’d never beat it with cavalry as long as everybody stood in the line.
That’s the word Paul uses here. If there’s a brother not standing in the line, you’ve got to deal with it. You can’t have a gap in the line, because if you have a gap in the line, the enemy will get in; and he will destroy you. You can’t tolerate it, for the safety of the body. “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” So, building community isn’t just positive; it is also negative. Church discipline is not cruel. It is kind. It is kind and loving and positive for the sake of the body.
I leave this with you to think over. Is it possible too that what we might call “the informal, social, brotherly discipline of the whole body” may be just as effective as the formal from the top-down discipline of the elders? Isn’t that part of what Paul is saying here? He’s speaking to all the body. Don’t just look at the disorderly brother and say, “Well, we’ve got elders. They can look after him or her.” No. Paul says, “You’ve a got a responsibility here.” So much good may be done in our people if they would exhort and advise and admonish one another. There would be a lot of issues that would never reach us, because they’ve been solved the best way.
We can’t have preaching centers where there’s no vital, multi-level interaction among the members. That is not a Reformed church, and there have been examples of that in the past, where there has been a notable pulpit ministry, people have come to hear the preaching, but there has been no body life, there has been no togetherness. When the preacher is taken away, then the preaching center disintegrates, because they were neglecting these principles.
This brings us to the last emphasis, which I’ve called, “clarify perspective.” You may have been wondering when I would come to this, because theologically, of course, the most notable feature of the Thessalonian writings is their eschatological and apocalyptic emphasis. A quarter of 1 Thessalonians and nearly half of 2 Thessalonians deal with eschatology. You’ll know, I’m sure, that 1 Thessalonians refers to the second coming towards the end of every single one of the five chapters. It is the major theme.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is one of the great passages. 2 Thessalonians 2 has unique information about the End Time, that we have nowhere else in the Bible. Why such a marked focus in a letter to young believers? Well, it seems to reflect the pattern of apostolic missionary preaching. They seem to have preached eschatology when they were preaching the gospel. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.” That seems to have been part of their gospel proclamation. It was more than personal salvation involved.
We’re living at the end of the present age of rebellion. God has acted in His Son. His Son is waiting at His right hand till His enemies are made a footstool. He’s going to return from Heaven in triumph. He’s going to render judgement for the wicked. He uses the Greek known parousia (of the return of Christ) six times. Parousia is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:25, and then in 2 Thessalonians 2:1,8. That Greek common word in the Greek of the day referred to the triumphal arrival of an emperor or an army in one of his cities. The day was coming when the emperor would come to his city, and actually, the Greek word “to meet” was a word which was used of the citizens of the city going out to meet the emperor as he approached the city, and exhorting him in triumph to claim his own possession. It’s fascinating that that’s the word Paul uses for us going to meet the Lord in the air: His subjects going out to greet Him and to accompany Him into His own realm.
So, this is a redemptive, historical gospel, and we all know that there are excesses and problems with that, but he sets their salvation in the realm of redemptive history. Why, then, does he emphasize it again as he writes to these new converts? Because he wants to clarify their perspective that they are God’s chosen people in the End Time. I want to make three points of that.
First of all, he does it to correct misunderstanding. Luke Timothy Johnson has a very perceptive and a comical statement which applies to a lot of our preaching. He says enthusiastic reception of his message did not necessarily mean a thorough grasp of it. So, remember that, brethren, “Enthusiastic reception doesn’t necessarily mean a thorough grasp.” What do we mean? Well, let’s think about this for a moment. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians that you’re to wait for His Son from Heaven, doesn’t he? Well, it looks as if some hearers took those words with absolute, exact literalness, and dropped their tools and gave up their work and started waiting. “The Apostle told us to wait, and we’re waiting.” I think that’s what happened! “Let us keep awake,” he writes in 5:6. “Right, that’s what the Apostle said? We’re going to focus on nothing else than the second coming of Christ.” “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Could be tomorrow, so they stop working. They misunderstood his teaching.
Or, again, Paul had spoken of their affliction. Thlípsis, that’s an End Time word, an eschatological word. You get it in Daniel 12; you get it in Matthew 24; you get it in Mark 13. There’s going to be affliction at the end. So, they’ve taken this word “affliction” and they’ve said, “Oh, we’re being afflicted. This must be the Great Tribulation. We must be living in the last days. This is what Scripture is forecasting.”
Or, again, some members, as you know, of the church, have died greatly disturbed about this. Have they missed the glory? Have they lost out on the Second Coming? So, Paul has to write to explain these things, to correct these misunderstandings, to set them straight.
We’ve always got to be aware of the fact that we may say one thing, but our people may hear something else. I learned that very early in my ministry when a young woman who had recently been converted asked to come and see me. She said, “I was very interested on what you said last Lord’s Day, that all the Jews would go to Heaven whether or not they ever believed in Jesus.” Until this day, it’s utterly beyond me how she got that out of anything I said. I went over my sermon notes. I’m not even sure that I mentioned the Jews. There was nothing that you could twist. That’s what she heard. I’m really thankful that she came and asked me about it, but it made me a very nervous preacher for the next few months! What are these people going home with? We’ve got to be aware. You teach somebody Reformed theology, six months later you’ve got a Hyper-Calvinist. “But you said that pastor.” “No, that’s not what I said.” So, this is pastoral clarification.
Secondly, he’s emphasizing this to put their present difficulties in context, and I’ll not take time over this, because we’ve covered it already. He’s saying to them, “People, your persecutors, they’re not strong, they’re not successful, they’re not triumphant. They’re moral, eschatological losers.” When they say, “Peace and safety,” sudden destruction will come upon them, and they will not escape. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. These people, they’re doomed, they’re gone. Look at it on the Day of Judgement. Look at your persecutors in the light of the Day of Judgement. Keep reminding yourself that these people are giving you a bad time. What’s going to happen to them?
Look at your sufferings in the light of the Day of Judgement. They’re going to add to your glory; they’re going to secure you everlasting honor. 2 Thessalonians 2:14, “For to this He called you, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Look at death itself in the light of the last things. We do not grieve as others who have no hope. God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. The dead in Christ will rise first. Encourage one another with these words! Whether we are awake or asleep, we live with Him! We’ve got to teach our people to keep looking at the Last Day and eternity and the things of Heaven more and more and more. These are brand new Christians starting out in their Christian life, faced with persecution. How does Paul pastor them? Teach them eschatology. It’s not an esoteric little subject that we come to when we’ve covered everything else. It’s right in there from the beginning.
Our forefathers centuries ago, when two or three children from every family died in their infancy and when disease and death was commonplace, they were more aware of eternal things and of life and death and the world to come than we are. And this is such a helpful emphasis from Paul.
Then, lastly, he’s explaining the nature of the eschatological life, and there’s a paradox here. On the one hand, he wants them to live—as one commentator says—on the eschatological edge. To live every second ready to meet the Lord, to be so aware of future realities that they’re with them at every minute. What will such a life be like? Here’s the paradox: it will be a diligent, hardworking, focused, productive, earthly life. You see the paradox? The more aware we are of the future realities, the harder we will work at our daily jobs. The more we’d be committed to our families and our communities, and to do our duty each day.
They were getting one side of it. We’ve got to be ready. They were neglecting their present life. He says, “The way to be ready is to be busy for the Lord here and now in this world.” I think that’s what he’s doing in 2 Thessalonians 2. I think what he’s doing there is that he’s developing a wider perspective. Here are people who are facing local affliction, and he’s saying to them, I think, in 2 Thessalonians 2, “Folks, this is not the climax to world history.” There’s more involved than the persecution of a single church. God works on a wider platform. God paints on a wider canvas, and there’s a great deal that has to happen before Christ returns.
It is true, verse 7, that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. That’s why you’re being persecuted, but it’s all going to culminate in the man of lawlessness, a Satanic parody of Jesus. He’s going to stage his own parousia, a pseudo parousia. He’s going to gather his own people. He’s going to take his seat in the temple of God. He’s going to imitate the Lord and stand in the place of the Lord. Don’t become obsessed with looking for signs of the end. Don’t listen to some fake prophecy or some fake Pauline letter. Not yet. There’s an indefinite period still to be lived through, and in the meanwhile, aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands, that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. Abstain from every form of evil.” “Do not grow weary in doing good.”
So, he’s explaining to them the nature of the eschatological life. It’s not ignoring it. It’s not becoming totally obsessed by it. It’s being constantly aware of it, and then living for God productively in the present. I submit to you that that is sane, wise advice. Thank you.
