1-Thessalonians

Lord Willing

“He who does the will of God abides forever”  1 John 2:17

When people speak of the “will of God” they sometimes speak as though it were mystical and almost unknowable or that it is limited to the Ten Commandments. In some instances there may be a little truth in this but the Bible is jam packed with details concerning the will of God.

There are some very clear statements in the Bible concerning knowing the will of God, like: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” and “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18).

Every command that God has given is an expression of His will and every description of the Divine Nature is an expression of God’s will concerning our attitudes and behaviour. Every description of the sinful nature also describes for us that which is not the will of God.

The difficulty may be that we are not interested in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and holy living but only in what He can do for us. How mercenary is that?  We would like to know other kinds of details, like career path, marriage partner, role in the church or ministry in the church. There is nothing wrong or unspiritual about wanting God’s will for these areas of our lives and we should seek His leading but we will not discover His will if we are not interested in Him as a Person.

One of the first things I learned about driving buses is that one cannot see where the bus is on the road by looking ahead. That only tells me where I am headed. Where I am is seen by also looking in the two rear view mirrors at the white lines painted on the road and/or curb.

The Bible gives us the forward view so that we can set our course but we must regularly check our rear view to observe where we really are in our walk with the Lord. This does not mean we go on a “witch hunt” for sin but make an honest and genuine appraisal of how we are travelling. If we are deviating off course we are better off noticing it sooner rather than later.

There are many aspects of the will of God that are not specifically given in the Bible. We may only see His will in hindsight. Oswald Chambers wrote, “The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and his apparently free choices are God’s fore-ordained decrees.”

When the World Rejoices

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” 2 Thessalonians 2:7

There is a day approaching when the world will find cause for unrestrained joy. It will be the day that the Lord removes all believers in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul describes that day in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the lord.”

Jesus mentioned this day years earlier and His words are recorded in John 14:3,”I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

What Jesus and Paul are saying is that there will be a day when there are absolutely no believers in the world. That will be a day of rejoicing for the world but the rejoicing will be short-lived. In the verse at the head of this article Paul tells us that what is restraining evil in the world will be removed. That will be the opportunity for wickedness and evil to blossom unrestrained.

We are not left solely to our imaginations. Paul gives a brief outline of the character of the world in that day. It may appear to have already come but it is not yet the total character and full expression of what it will be. The presence of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s church still restrains wickedness and evil. The preaching of God’s word is contrary to the way the world wants to go and it currently acts as a restraint. The world is finding less opposition than in the past but there is still considerable restraint on wickedness through believers. When those who love Jesus Christ, teach His word and faithfully witness to the risen Christ are removed, those whom the Lord has given over to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12) will have their day. What will the character of the world look like when all godly influence is removed?

Paul gives us a brief description in 2 Timothy 3:1-4. People will love themselves. This means that they will have no concern for anyone but “number one.” They will have a love for money and they will boast in their achievements full of pride. They will give no credit to the grace of God but take all credit to themselves. Children will be disobedient and rebellious toward their parents. People will be unthankful, unholy, unloving unforgiving, slanderers and totally without self discipline. They will be brutal toward each other, hate that which is good, treacherous in relationships, trampling over others and laughing at those they consider weak. Their one great love is themselves and this will be expressed in an insatiable love for pleasure with little or no thought for others or their Creator.

You may say this is a current description of our world. In many ways it is but there is still a restraint. Imagine what it will be like when there is no restraint! The good news in this account of the future world is that Jesus Christ will intervene to fulfill His covenant with Israel and redeem multitudes, both Jew and Gentile, out of this corrupt world.

Abounding Grace

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:28

The Apostle Paul ends most of his letters with this or a similar prayer. Grace is one of the attributes of God and as such we should not be surprised to learn that He is always gracious toward us.

From time to time I discover myself saying something like, “God was gracious when He …” Oh, isn’t He always gracious? The fact is that God is always gracious but we tend only to recognise the fact when something goes our way and we receive benefit that makes us feel good.

Was God ungracious when (speaking hypothetically) I was sacked, was He ungracious when I lost my wallet, when my car was stolen, when my house burned down, when that car ran into me, when I contracted cancer?

God is always gracious and we need to look carefully at our motives for commenting on what we perceive as His gracious acts because we may inadvertently be suggesting that there are times when He is not gracious toward us. Is it really thankfulness for a kind and undeserved favour; or is it an attempt to make me appear more deserving of God’s favour than others (in which case it isn’t God’s grace at all but my boasting); or is it an attempt to flatter God into doing more that pleases me rather than what He knows is good for me?

We live in a fallen world where both pleasant and unpleasant things happen but they do not mean that God’s grace has been increased, paused or stopped. When we give thanks for God’s gracious acts toward us let us not stop there but thank Him for His grace even when we do not recognise it. Maybe we even think that He has forgotten us when the reality is that His grace is as abounding as ever.

The attributes of our God are always in action toward us whether we recognise them or not. God is love so His love is always reaching out to us; God is merciful so He is always merciful toward us; God is forgiving so He always forgives when we repent; God is righteous so His actions toward us are always according to righteousness; and so on.

Yes, by all means thank God for His grace toward you when you become aware of it but be very careful that there isn’t an underlying complaint that suggests that at other times He has not been gracious with you. If we only knew the extent of the wickedness of our hearts we would never suggest that God’s love, grace and mercy have been anything other than in abundance beyond words and measure.

The Road Ahead

“Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey” Numbers 9:22

It would be a rare person who had no interest in what lay ahead in their lives. It would be so rare that we might consider that person not sound of mind. Historically people have tried and tested many methods of discovering their future for both short term and long term. Our daily papers and other media pamper to this desire in people. Even though they all fail the test of 100% accuracy many people still turn to them in a vain attempt to quieten their anxiety. The opposite seems to be the case. They become more anxious.

God says to us through the Apostle Paul, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). The fact is that we can either remain anxious or pray and trust the Lord.

The Lord told Abraham what He was about to do in Sodom (Genesis 18:17, 18) because he was His friend (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). The Lord tells believers future events for their comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:18) and not be anxious. This is one of the reasons God has told us things before they happen. He also tells us things ahead so that we can discern that it is truly Him speaking (Deuteronomy 18:15-22). The test of a true prophet of God given in this passage is 100% accuracy. All other future tellers are false.

A new generation of Israel that did not know slavery in Egypt was growing and, like all of us, had a tendency to be anxious about the future. This generation had not seen the signs and miracles in Egypt or the Red Sea crossing but they would have to learn to trust and obey the Lord. People will only voluntarily obey one whom they trust. To build this trust and obedience the Lord led Israel through the wilderness areas for forty years. They did not know from day to day whether they would remain camped or be on the move. What they learned through this was trust and obedience. They were warned to stay away from others who claimed to tell the future because that would have destroyed their trust in the Lord and their obedience to Him. This did happen in later generations in varying degrees.

We can either trust Him or be anxious. We can either come to Him in prayer or go to the soothsayers of our day. Which we do will decide our enjoyment in life. The one who trusts the Lord will find great joy, peace and pleasure in obeying Him and they will love life. If that is true of us then we should expect that our faces will reflect that.

Each evening when we go to bed thank the Lord for His gracious leading and presence for that day and in the morning wake up expectantly for His gift of a new day. We may think we know what is going to happen today but in reality we only have plans that can be changed or destroyed in a moment. The Lord knows every detail ahead and if we believe Him to be trustworthy then we will trust Him and enjoy the journey no matter what surprises enter our day.

Israel was essentially forced to obey. Where the pillar of cloud or fire was, that was where the manna would be next morning. Each individual’s enjoyment of the night and day was dependent upon their level of trust in the Lord. It is the same for us.

Compassion of a Mother

“We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” 1 Thessalonians 2:7

There are a number of comparisons in relationships to that of a mother to her child in the Bible. The Lord Himself compares His compassion for Israel with that of a mother for her nursing child, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will never forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). It is most unlikely that a mother would ever cease to have compassion for the child she has nursed. The Lord states that He will never cease to have that kind of compassion for Israel. The Lord used a mother’s love and compassion for her child because it is the nearest earthly evidence available that compares to His own kind of love and compassion for Israel. Had there been a better illustration available he would have used it.

The other side of the coin is that the love and compassion a mother has for her child is evidence that she is created in the image of God. That a mother might forget is a consequence of the fall which has corrupted the image of God in mankind but that was never a part of the original creation.

Paul also uses a mother’s love and compassion for her nursing child for comparison (1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8). In an attempt to remind the Christians in Thessalonica of his own love and compassion for them he speaks of the great affection that a nursing mother has for her child and the pain she suffers upon separation or rejection. He, too, could find no greater example of tender compassion than that of a mother for her nursing child. Clearly, the context reveals that he would be broken hearted if they turned away from him and the teaching he had given them.

The greater the love one has for another, the greater the pain when the object of love suffers. A woman suffers pain in child-birth but it doesn’t end there. “A foolish man despises his mother” (Proverbs 15:20), “a foolish son is the grief of his mother” (Proverbs 10:1) and, “a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Proverbs 29:15).

Not all pain for a mother comes from the foolish behaviour of her child. Mothers feel more acutely than others the suffering of the child they have given birth to and nursed when they suffer injury, are ill or suffer abuse at the hands of others. Mary knew this kind of suffering. Simeon told her before it happened that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:35). The context is Simeon’s prophecy of the opposition and persecution that Jesus would endure. Mary’s pain no doubt was at its worst when Jesus was on the cross and the spear pierced His body. It would be as though a sword had pierced her own soul. Her pain turned to joy when she saw Jesus risen from the dead (Acts 1:14).

“God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Without the witness of mothers our comprehension of our God and His Divine Nature would be the poorer.

Prepare for His Coming

“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)

All of the New Testament writers make mention of the Lord Jesus’ return. The reasons for their reference may vary a little but by their mention of Jesus’ return they reveal that it is not just a theological or doctrinal concept but a very real and personal expectation even in the face of mocking and criticism.

That Jesus would come on two occasions is camouflaged in the Old Testament but is made clear by Jesus Himself. In John 14:3 Jesus is emphatic that He will both leave His disciples for a time and will come again to receive them at a later time.

On several occasions the Apostle Paul mentions the second coming of the Lord Jesus for His church. In 1 Corinthians 15 he comments that in an instant all living believers will be changed from this corrupted humanity to a body without corruption and from mortality to immortality (vv 51-54). In this wonderful chapter on the assurance of resurrection for believers Paul associates our bodily resurrection with Jesus’ coming again (v 22).

The second coming of Jesus was a source of comfort and joy for Paul in regard to his love for believers (1 Thessalonians 2:19). He reveals that Jesus’ coming for believers is before the outpouring of God’s wrath on an unbelieving world (1:10; 5:9). It is also motivation for fervent prayer for believers (3:13) and comfort concerning believers who have died prior to His second coming (4:16; 5:11). This letter appears to be preoccupied with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and what that means for Christians. Indeed, he too is emphatic regarding the return of the Lord Jesus (5:24).

James mentions the return of the Lord Jesus with regard to our manner of life while waiting (5:7, 8). Waiting as a farmer waits for the rain suggests that we should be using the waiting time to prepare for His coming. John affirms this as a right response to the revelation of His imminent return (2:28).

Peter also affirms the second coming of Jesus as faithful teaching (2 Peter 1:16) and that the scoffers that arise through the years before the event will be thoroughly discredited when He does appear (3:1-13). Peter is not referring to Jesus coming for the church but to Israel to establish His earthly kingdom. The two are linked as the Day of the Lord but occur a little more than seven years apart.

Peter tells us that the world will scoff at the notion of Jesus coming again inferring that He is a liar, impotent or unfaithful to His promises. Their argument is based on wishful thinking and the apparent delay in His coming. Peter reminds such thinkers that the delay is to give people, including the scoffers, opportunity to have a change of mind and heart and not for any lack in Jesus. “The Day of the Lord will come,” writes Peter, and when Jesus comes nothing will impede Him in the slightest.

As James encourages, let us prepare ourselves for Jesus’ coming without regard to the scoffers. Each day brings us inexorably a day closer to His coming when we shall see Him face to face. Surely this is joy and comfort to all who Know Jesus Christ.

A Dam Ready to Burst

“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked …” (Genesis 18:25)

Resistance to anything that relates to God, the Bible and Jesus Christ is growing more rapidly day by day. At all levels of Government we have men and women who openly oppose anything that reflects the glory of God. Paul admonishes Christians to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Abraham prayed that God would not pour out His wrath on Sodom for the sake of just ten righteous people. Keeping in mind that there were probably at least ten people in Lot’s immediate family it is sad to discover that there was only one righteous person in all of Sodom. Even so, in mercy God removed Lot from Sodom before He poured out His wrath.

Sodom’s fate came as a result of two key contributing factors: The people loved an ungodly and sinful lifestyle and Lot was an extremely poor witness to the glory of God. These two factors seem prevalent in Australia in our time.

Many people in political power find no resistance to the ungodly minority groups because they are committed to a secular philosophy and reject any notion of a Creator to whom they will be held accountable. This is just like the people of Sodom in the day of their destruction.

Much of the church has turned away from the Bible as the final authority on all matters it addresses and have turned  to the “wisdom of men.” Therefore it has no clear “Thus says the Lord …” voice against the vocal wicked and ungodly men. Lot had lost his godly voice such that people laughed at him and did not take him seriously when he warned of imminent judgment.

Why had he lost his testimony? It was because he chose material comfort and wealth to the exclusion of faithfully revealing the glory of God. In the end it cost him everything; his wife, his children, his grand children, his home and all his material wealth.

It is possible today that many Christians are sacrificing their children and grand children to the god of wealth and comfort.

The outpouring of God’s wrath on our country is a dam ready to burst. All that restrains is the minority that are righteous before God in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Paul writes to warn us: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

Sodom laughed at God before God destroyed them all. Lot cared not to be a faithful witness, even to his own family, and they were destroyed.

Paul warns us that these are days for sober living (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8) and Peter writes, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1Peter 4:7).

Ignorance No Excuse

“They are without excuse” (Romans 1:20)

When the apostle Paul wrote his letters he made it clear that there was no need for Christians to be ignorant or unaware of many facts such as his personal program (Romans 1:13); God’s plan for Israel (Romans 11:25); how Israel’s history has application today (1 Corinthians 10:1); concerning spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1); concerning his own sufferings (2 Corinthians 1:8); concerning the departed saints at the catching up of the remnant church (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Why is it that many Christians are ignorant of God’s Word and that biblical knowledge in the church appears to be on the wane?

God does not want us to be ignorant. Therefore He has brought into being the Bible for our knowledge, understanding and obedience (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the Holy Spirit to make this possible (John 16:13).

One problem is that there are teachers and authors who are not first and foremost students of the Bible. Instead of discovering what God has said they start with their own opinions and try and find a phrase or verse that seems to support that view.

A secondary problem is that their students then pass that teaching on as authoritative with little or no scrutiny and comparison with the Bible (cf Acts 17:11). Thus we end up with many who believe a particular doctrine not because the Bible teaches it but because someone with a name said the Bible teaches it.

This practice is common within the Christian community and may be a key reason why many Christians are ignorant of what the Bible really teaches. Many think they know what the Bible teaches when in fact they only know what someone else has said the Bible teaches.

The purpose of the Bible is manifold but its existence must be because God does not want us to be ignorant of what is true. What will prevent our hearts from being troubled (John 14:1)? What will bring comfort to an unsettled heart (1 Thessalonians 4:18)? The only thing that can is the truth clearly stated and rightly understood.

The Bible is written for our knowledge, understanding and obedience and therefore it must surely be written according to the normal rules of literature. Read and study your Bible for yourself, believe what God says in it and you will not be deceived or mislead.

Lasting Peace

“When they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

The “they” and “them” in this verse is Israel but it also has application to the unbelieving world. The apostle Paul is writing concerning “The Day of the Lord.” It is a day that will most certainly come. It is the time culminating in Jesus returning in all His glory. Paul looked forward to this day with great anticipation and joy.

Who of us can remember an American president who did not try to bring peace in the Middle East? Ever since Israel declared nationhood in 1948 there has been no lasting peace. At best there has been a cessation of hostilities for brief periods. The current attempts to bring peace in the Middle East will not bring lasting peace. We who are “sons of light and sons of day” (v 5) know that there will come a day when peace will be declared between Israel and the surrounding nations. However, it will not last.

Daniel prophecies, “Then he [the Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one week [of years; i.e. 7 years]; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (Daniel 9:27). In Revelation six John records Jesus’ prophecies concerning this same period. In verse two the Antichrist conquers by the threat of war (bow, no arrows) but later (verse 4) he conquers with violence.

Will the current talks bring peace to Israel? At best we can expect a reduction or lull in hostilities. Will these talks lead to the commencement of “the Day of the Lord?” Only hindsight will reveal that.

The Bible says that Israel will have a peace declared by world leaders but that it will be broken after a short while. Only when the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, appears will there be lasting peace in Israel and the world. We do not look for presidents to bring peace on earth because they are unable to change the hearts of men. Only Jesus can bring peace to a person’s heart and only then to nations.

There is a time coming, perhaps very soon, when in the false belief that it is safe and secure Israel will neglect its defences and then sudden destruction will come. But it will not be complete because Jesus Christ will not permit that. He will come again.