Page 37 of 76

The Man of Lawlessness

October 9, 2016 / Allan Babcock

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawless is revealed . . . ” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3b).

In the first quote above, a secular educator predicts this century “could well become a period of lawlessness” (for blog and entire article see https://theoldpreacher.com/the-rebellion/) In the second, the apostle writes about a sinister “man of lawlessness” to be revealed.

The Thessalonians, persecuted for their faith , feared that “the day of the Lord” had come, and they had missed Christ’s Second Coming, which would save them from suffering. Paul, though unsure how that rumor started, warns them against being deceived.

Hard for us to relate, no? We’re not panicked over missing Jesus’ coming. In fact, caught up in our crowded calendars, it seems we care too little about his return or the world’s conditions leading to it.

For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (2 Thessalonians 2:3b-5).

This “man of lawlessness” will be a man (Greek, anthropos) empowered by Satan (“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders . . . “), who openly defies God (“opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God”).

Why is lawlessness called a “mystery”, especially when we see evidence of it in Washington (when politicians violate the Constitution, lie under oath to Congress, etc.) and in Syria (when Syrians and Russians brazenly slaughter innocent civilians) and in the streets of Chicago and Baltimore and Ferguson (when protesting gangs defy police)? Because lawlessness is a power at work “beneath the radar.” One day, according to God’s purposes, it will be fully and visibly unleashed. The results will be catastrophic. Until then lawlessness and “the man” are restrained . . .

And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

Unlike the Thessalonians, we don’t know what or who the restrainer is. Commentators have made educated guesses—the church, the Holy Spirit, gospel preaching, governments and so on. I’m rather intrigued by governments and governors being the restrainer. As long as they maintain a modicum of law and order, lawlessness and its “man” are relatively restrained. But if governments descend into chaos lawlessness will result and “the man of lawlessness” will be free to assume authority.

Paul doesn’t describe the suffering that unrestrained lawlessness will bring. But just think of the horrors men of lawlessness (who wrote their own laws and set themselves up like gods)—men like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot—inflicted on the world! And they were only precursors of “the man of lawlessness” to come!

Nevertheless, his dominance will be short-lived and easily ended (“the lawless one will be revealed, whomthe Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his [that is, the Lord Jesus’] coming”).

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

Upon those who “refused to love the truth and so be saved” God sends “a strong delusion. ” Its purpose? , ” . . . so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Note the choice made by unbelievers isn’t just intellectual or “spiritual”. It’s hedonistic, specifically one of pleasure. Those who found greater pleasure in what God calls “unrighteousness” will be condemned in final judgment.

Paul draws from Daniel.

Lest we think “the man of lawlessness” is a biblical outsider mentioned only once in Scripture, he recalls Daniel’s prophecies in the 6th century B.C.

“As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, |
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time”
(Daniel 7:24,25).

“His power shall be great–but not by his own power;
and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does,
and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.
By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
and in his own mind he shall become great.
Without warning he shall destroy many.
And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes,
and he shall be broken–but by no human hand.”
(Daniel 8:24,25)

“And the king shall do as he wills.
He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god,
and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.
He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished;
for what is decreed shall be done.”
(Daniel 11:36)

These prophecies find multiple fulfillment. First, during the Macabbean wars in 167 B.C., when Antiochus Epiphanes (“the visible god”) attacked Jerusalem, sacrificed a pig on the temple altar and tried to exterminate the Jews. Second, when Rome attacked Jerusalem in 66 A.D. and, after protracted war, destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. And, third, still to come in the last of the last days when the “temple” will be profaned by the ultimate “man of lawlessness.” (Those who hold that Jews will rebuild a literal temple in Jerusalem believe “the man of lawlessness” will sit there. Those who hold that “temple” refers to the church, as it does often in the New Testament, hold that his sitting is metaphorical but just as offensive.)

Last of the Last Days’ Lawlessness.

It should concern us, maybe even frighten us. Contrary to popular thinking, the world is not evolving up. We didn’t start in a primal swamp and develop into a better and better humanity. The opposite is true. God created the first man and woman “very good.” It’s been downhill ever since. Humans who created the Smart Phone are killing each other like barbarians. And times will worsen.

Our only hope lies with the One who is coming again . . .

For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will by no means precede those who have died.
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command,
with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet,
will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up in the clouds together with them
to meet the Lord in the air;
and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, NRSV)

And then the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth,
annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming . . .
So then, brothers and sisters,
stand firm and hold fast to the tradition
that you were taught by us,
either by word of mouth or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who loved us
and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
comfort your hearts
and strengthen them in every good work and word.
(2 Thessalonians 2:8,15-17, NRSV)

What Good Is Private Faith?

October 6, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Last Tuesday Democrat Vice-President nominee Senator Tim Kaine debated Republican Vice-President nominee Governor Mike Pence. It turned out more combative than the pundits led us to believe. Pence won hands-down and should be the presidential nominee.

Senator Kaine showed up as Hillary Clinton’s attack dog. It wasn’t his irritating 70 interruptions of Governor Pence that got to me though. What bothered me most was his abortion position. He claims to hold to the traditional Roman Catholic position of the sanctity of life. Privately he’s “pro-life”, claiming to be “personally opposed” to abortion.

Yet when it comes to politics and public policy he is ardently “pro-choice”. “I strongly support the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions and, for that reason, will oppose efforts to weaken or subvert the basic holding of Roe v. Wade.” Kaine has “a 100% pro-choice voting record for his time in the Senate from both NARAL and Planned Parenthood.” He argues he doesn’t want to “mandate” his personal faith on anyone.

Agreed that the Senator must uphold the laws of the land. But, if his faith is central to everything he does (as he claims), why not vote against pro-choice positions? Why stand so ardently for pro-choice? If he truly believes in “life” for the unborn, why not work within the system for “life”? The only answer is: politics takes precedence over the sanctity of life. The argument that women have the right to make their own reproductive decisions is like saying humans have the right to murder. Both result in the death of an “innocent”.

I’m reminded of the apostle James’ jolting question: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him (James 2:14)?

James expects the answers “no good” and “no”. Faith that doesn’t evidence itself in works is worthless. It cannot save. Private faith—faith that does not inform one’s living and show itself in one’s actions—is not true faith at all.

Senator Kaine is not alone. Who doesn’t struggle to translate his faith into action? Such a battle is part-and-parcel of the Christian life. But when one argues that he can hold to faith while insisting outward action isn’t necessary—indeed contrary action is permissible—that man is deceiving himself.

Lord, give us leaders who believe the truth as you have revealed it in your Word and who devote themselves to obeying that truth even when politically unpopular!

The Rebellion

October 5, 2016 / Allan Babcock

The night before a family vacation to Paris, 8-year-old disobedient Kevin was banished to bed in the attic. Unfortunately, in the chaos of leaving the next morning, nobody remembered attic-sleeping Kevin. The boy awoke to a strangely empty house, Worse, he was the only one left to fight off two bumbling thieves. So starts the hilarious movie “Home Alone”.

The Thessalonians, too, faced a strange situation; but no one was laughing. A spreading rumor had shaken them out of their wits: “The day of the Lord has come!” Yet no one had heard an archangel’s voice or God’s trumpet or cry of command from the descending Lord (1 Thessalonians4:16,17). Had they been “left behind”?

Learning of their predicament from Silas and Timothy, who’d returned to Corinth after delivering Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote to calm their fears . . .

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thessalonians 2:1,2).

“The day of the Lord” is the day of “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him” as Paul had written earlier: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).

Their alarm seems bizarre. How could they think they missed such a momentous event? How could they think they might have slept through a cataclysm of Christ’s Second Coming with its attendent grandiosity and his terrifying wrath on his enemies?

It seems bizarre, too, because frankly we don’t think much about the day of the Lord. Christ’s Second Coming has been eclipsed by more immediate day-to-day concerns until it’s become more a matter of theological speculation. But the apostle warns against being deceived, either by heretical teachings or preoccupation with passing-away things.

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things (2:3-5)?

To calm the Thessalonians, Paul reminds them that the “day of the Lord” will be preceded by two unmistakable events. First “the rebellion comes.” Second, “the man of lawlessness is revealed.” These two events will go “hand-in-glove.” One will foster the other. Perhaps the rebellion will occur first, then the man of lawlessness will be revealed as one to quell the rebellion.

The original Greek word behind “the rebellion” is apostasia, also translated “revolt”, “desertion”, “defection”, “abandonment”, or “apostasy”. Before Christ returns “the rebellion”will come.

Jesus prophesied it to come at the end of this present age: “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12).

Years later, Paul provided more detail. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3,4).

Such vices mark the “last days” since Christ’s first coming, but presumably increase like birth pains. We can expect, then, a falling away from the faith until, like Old Testament Israel, only a faithful remnant remains. In other words, the church is destined for increasing minority status.

However, this “rebellion” may include far more than the church. F. F. Bruce (Word Biblical Commentary) writes: “It appears more probable . . . that a general abandonment of the basis of civil order is envisaged. This is not only rebellion against the law of Moses; it is a large-scale revolt against public order, and since public order is maintained by ‘the governing authorities’ who ‘have been instituted by God’, any assault on it is an assault on a divine ordinance (Romans 13:1,2).

To that point an online article (“Lawlessness and Disorder: An Emerging Paradigm for the 21st Century”) by Phil Williams (holds the Wesley W. Posvar Chair in International Security Studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and is the director of the University’s Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies) is prescient. Williams begins with this paragraph:

“The 20th century will probably go down in history as the exemplar of geopolitical interstate conflict with two World Wars centered in Europe followed by over four decades of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. The 21st century, in contrast, could well become a period of lawlessness and disorder—a century in which states are in long-term decline; new violent actors challenge states and one another; resources such as food, water, and energy become a central focus of violent competition and of large illicit markets; demographic and environmental trends pose challenges to sustainability, security, and stability; and the severity of problems is significantly increased by the interconnections and often perverse interactions among them . . .”

Williams continues by citing the following “megatrends” as evidence of future increased disorder in society . . .globalization, population growth and demographic trends, urbanization, natural resources and global climate change, the decline of the state and the rise of alternative governance. I disagree with some of William’s argument, but agree that it lends a credible secular view of the biblically-prophesied coming rebellion. (You can read the entire essay at http://mercury.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/163854/ichaptersection_singledocument/0217aa14-981b-41a6-86a0-0ab0c2ca9046/en/convergence_Ch2.pdf.).

Next time we’ll take a close look at “the man of lawlessness”. Meanwhile, we would do well to give heed to Paul’s conclusion to the Thessalonians: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). For us I take that to mean . . .

Don’t take your Christianity casually.
Follow the news with your Bible in hand.
Prepare to live as part of a minority community in the world.
Faithfully follow Jesus and his Word even when the majority turns away.

For the Bible Tells Me So

October 1, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Andy Stanley, senior pastor of Atlanta’s North Point Community Church, recently preached a sermon, “For the Bible Told Me So.” If I understand correctly, this was his thesis: we shouldn’t believe Jesus loves us because the Bible says he does, but because the apostles were witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection and, therefore, everything Jesus taught is true.

Confusing? Uh, yeah. But more importantly, potentially dangerous. If we can’t stand on biblical truth, how do we know Jesus rose from the dead? How do we know the apostles were witnesses? How do we know Jesus loves us? Are we to treat the Bible like a Chinese menu? (“I believe in Jesus, but not in Jonah’s fish or John’s Revelation!”)

This link http://www.albertmohler.com/2016/09/26/bible-tells-biblical-authority-denied/ takes you to Dr. Albert Mohler’s response to Stanley. In the 8th paragraph you’ll find a link to Stanley’s sermon on video. You should watch. Then read Mohler’s response. Then, if it’s not past bedtime, finish off with my comments.

* * * * *

If you’re still with me, a few final comments . . .

Archaeology. Undoubtedly, as Stanley asserts, some dates in Scripture don’t seem to add up. Archaeology has yet to prove the historical authenticity of certain sites or events. Stanley warns if the Bible is the foundation of our faith, “as the Bible goes, so goes our faith.” It’s a “fragile house of cards” that comes tumbling down.

As I see it, archaeology is confirmative not determinative. I’m not an archaeologist, so I may be wrong. Because archaeologists haven’t yet found remains of Jericho’s fallen-down walls doesn’t mean they won’t or that the walls didn’t fall, no matter what a high school teacher or college professor may claim.

Bibliolatry. Bibliolatry is the worship of the Bible. Sometimes I fear some of us get so Bible-centered we forget it’s meant to point beyond itself to God and what he’s said and done. Stanley may have something to say to us there. What he does say is this: “Christianity does not exist because of the Bible anymore than you exist because of your birth certificate. It’s the other way around.”

Well, duh! Whoever said Christianity exists because of the Bible? The Bible records what God has done in human history through Israel, through the church, and primarily through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Book exists to bring us to the Person. Who doesn’t know that?

“Contradictions”. Take the age of the Earth. Some Christians emphatically believe, by counting biblical generations, that the Earth is 4,000-6,000 years old, while scientists insist the age is billions. Can we believe the Bible about Jesus if science “proves” it wrong on this? No time to delve into possible explanations. Let me just say this about these apparent “discrepancies”.

A long time ago someone told me, “Treat the Bible like a friend. When you come to something that doesn’t seem to ‘fit’, just trust and wait. Keep the friendship. Sooner or later you’ll understand.”

Or how about this? There’s a great deal about the universe we don’t understand. Do we conclude it’s not truly the universe because of contradictions or “missing pieces”?

Good Heart, Unfortunate Approach. I assume Stanley’s motive is good: he’s trying to reach people turned away from Christ because their simple childhood faith can’t stand against the onslaught of intellectuals determined to prove the Bible untrustworthy. Unfortunately, by treating the Bible as of secondary importance, Stanley undermines the very source needed for mature faith.

Payback

September 30, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Benjamin hurried down the narrow street toward home as dusk fell over Thessalonica. It wasn’t safe for a Christian Jew alone. Suddenly he sensed he wasn’t. A glance behind was met with fists assaulting his face and back. Kicks to his legs felled him. On the ground the punching persisted. He couldn’t defend himself against four men. “Blasphemer! Traitor! Jesus is not Messiah!” Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Benjamin was left on his back, bleeding and alone, his money-purse gone. The cost of believing in Jesus Messiah had intensified in the last months.

Why does pain come with following his Son? Why do the “bad guys” win and the “good guys” lose? Should we just throw up our hands in defeat and admit “life is unfair”? Makes you want to “get even”, to pay back the perps pain-for-pain.

Of course, I don’t suffer like Benjamin. My enemy is a chronic illness, a disability. It, like Benjamin’s beaters, tests my faith. Life isn’t fair. I want to take revenge. But on whom?

One way or other many of us occasionally feel a burning desire to “get even”. Yet, the Lord forbids us: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

But Paul has more to say. In today’s text, he announces a coming “payback” day . . .

“Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so 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” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-12).

Evidence of God’s Payback

“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God . . . ” What’s the evidence? Paul presents two pieces of proof. #1— The Thessalonians’ steadfast faith in the face of persecution cries out for justice to the righteous God. #2—“God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant relief to you who are afflicted”. The evidence supports the promise: God will judge with justice. Which brings us to the . . .

Ground of God’s Payback

God is righteous. Twice Paul reminds us. “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God . . . ” and “God considers it just . . . ” Both words translate the Greek dikaiosunay—“morally right, upright, just, fair”. Payback day’s ground is rock solid. The solid rock is not changing circumstances. Not fallen man’s idea of justice. But the righteous nature of God himself that demands judgment.

Anticipation of God’s Payback

For what are these Christians suffering persecution? Why has Benjamin been beaten and bloodied on an empty street? ” . . .that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering . . . “. They are suffering “for the kingdom of God”. They are suffering so when Jesus returns and consummates his kingdom, they may be considered worthy of it.

“Worthy” translates the Greek kataxio-o—“to be considered worthy or deserving.” This is not worth-by-sinlessness but worth-by-faithfulness. If they faithfully endure the persecution, they will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12). “To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21).

Christians, then, are a people looking forward to Christ’s kingdom while being beaten down in the kingdoms of this world.

Two Parts to God’s Payback

Part One.

” . . .repay with affliction those who afflict you.” “Repay” is the Greek antapodidomai, “to give back as an equivalent, repay, return.” As the persecutors have afflicted Christians, so they will likewise be afflicted. The bullies don’t win in the end. Yet worse will come for them . . .

” . . .inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might . . . ” Not just the persecutors will be judged. Those disobedient to the gospel and who, therefore, do not know God (this will include the persecutors, of course) will be driven from the Lord’s presence and his glorious power. Justice will be served and the punishment will be more than the guilty can bear.

Part Two.

” . . .to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us . . . ” “Relief” is the Greek anesis—literally, “mitigation, freedom”; figuratively, “rest, relaxation, relief.” To the afflicted the Lord will give freedom and rest from all affliction. A permanent oasis in the desert. A secure fortress in war never to be breached.

” . . . to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.” The Lord Jesus will come with all his holy ones; that is, the sinner’s justified and sanctified. ” . . . may [he] establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13). “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). ” . . . provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Christ will be glorified in us and we in him!

The Time of God’s Payback

God will repay “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire and when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed”. When that will be no one knows but the Father (Matthew 24:36). But it will come!

* * * * *

So, bleeding Benjamin lying broken in the street, guilty of nothing but acknowledging Jesus as Messiah, silence that rising roar for revenge. Vengeance is the Lord’s. He will repay. Remember Jesus: crucified for no guilt of his own. But vindicated on the third day. Raised to reign.

He’s coming again. And he will raise you up, Benjamin. He will take vengeance on your enemies, who are, in fact, his enemies, because you are his. Then, justice will reign forever. Wrongs will be righted. Because our God is a God of righteousness and justice!

Jesus is coming!

“Afflict” translates the Greek thibo—literally, “press hard, rub together”; figuratively, “oppress, cause trouble to”. “Affliction” is trying to stand on a mobbed subway car, hanging on to the strap for dear life, while the jostling of the train slams people into you and you into people from every direction. “Affliction” in persecution is a mob threatening your life because of your faith.

The America We Once Knew

September 28, 2016 / Allan Babcock

I’m old enough to remember at least vestiges of those Rockwell America days. (TV’s “Leave It to Beaver”, “Ozzie and Harriet”, “I Love Lucy”. Charles J. Johnson’s Chicago Tribune article below saddens me; it’s a reminder that those more “innocent” days are forever gone.

I hope you at the not-yet-fifty mark find this article informative. Indeed, I hope we all will. We can’t recover “the good old days” (probably they weren’t as good as we recall); but as Jesus’ followers we should be aware of the far-reaching changes that have snuck up on us like an overnight fog. They now define this country where we live. I hope to soon read The End of White Christian America, a book whose title captures one aspect of the sea-change America is undergoing.

These changes, of course, don’t change the Gospel. But they should change how we contextualize it and understand the people who need it. And they should better inform us of the kind of society in which we’re called to follow Jesus in the obedience of faith.

What millennials know: We can’t return to Rockwell’s America

Charles J. Johnson Chicago Tribune

One wants America to be a Norman Rockwell painting again. The other also wants a Rockwell painting, but with maybe a woman, or even two women, carving the turkey at the head of the table.

But Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton want to steer us away from where we find ourselves, to another time, a different America. On the stump, they both describe a rosier period when the middle class was stronger, the military more incisive and America’s elected leaders more in tune with the metaphorical farmers’ fields they left when taking up office.

Neither is describing an America that is familiar to me or to other millennials who share the same national signposts.

I’ve been an American citizen from birth, but my life as a political citizen began when I stepped off the school bus in seventh grade into the arms of my crying mother. At first, I was confused because she should have been at work that Tuesday in September. American flags were out on all the neighbor houses.

The day we first bombed Afghanistan, my mom had to drive me to the mall. When we invaded Iraq, I put down my French homework and watched television while the boy I was baby-sitting slept. When Lehman Brothers failed, I was starting to look for jobs, which was also when I noticed a lot of my classmates’ parents losing theirs.

I have lived my entire political life with my country in a state of war, my entire career in an economy that feels hollow and debt-burdened, in which anxiety and not future fortune is the overriding sentiment.

Over my lifetime, government dysfunction has become so commonplace it’s laughable. But Brooklyn and Baton Rouge, instead of laughing at Congress, now seem hard-wired just to laugh at each other without realizing the anchor of Washington’s incompetence is tied to all of our ankles.

Whatever Rockwellian time campaign speechwriters are selling, I’m not familiar enough to buy.

I’ve never known an America that didn’t speak Spanish — parents of friends who asked their children to translate sleepover pickup times; the kitchen crew that taught me Mexican curse words and brought me conchas on Fridays; immigrant classmates, including Ivy League-accepted ones, disappearing to live with other relatives.

These are not abstracts to me. This was high school.

I am told there was some other America before this, when ranchero music didn’t blast from construction sites and factory jobs could send kids to state colleges, but I don’t know it. The idea that yanking people off Glen Ellyn landscaping crews or from behind taqueria counters and plugging native-born Americans into their $11-an-hour jobs will restore some decades-past social contract strikes me as somewhere between naive and racist.

A taco truck on every corner doesn’t sound like a dystopia. It sounds like lunch in my America.

I’ve never known an America that wasn’t at war in the Middle East, often in more than one country.

I am told there was some other America before this, where U.S. military power could stop the slaughter of innocents and return yoked peoples their national sovereignty. The America I’ve known is the one that doesn’t win wars so much as sledge them into smaller pieces. Then it stands astride, picking through the sharp pieces to see what can be glued back together for something like a finished product.

Wars don’t really end in my America. They just become something else.

I’ve never known an America that wasn’t fighting a drug war. I sat through D.A.R.E. classes, part of the first generation of Nancy Reagan’s disciples to trudge off from middle school imbued with the notion that street drugs were a cancer, that trying them put you on track for addiction, and that those who bought them were criminals. All this despite the fact that I could go to any pharmacy in America with a busted leg and walk out with orally administered heroin.

This was considered good medicine, as long as it could be afforded. As long as the employer-provided health insurance lasted.

I am told there was some other America when lawmakers stepped in to prevent dangerous products from making their way to public markets. That Congress was a check on corporate America’s at-times inhuman profit motive, the kind of thing that could upend a world economy or turn a nation of football players and aging steelworkers into junkies.

I am told these same people will now devote themselves to reining in the cash that floats their political careers — muscled, if need be, by a president whose political and personal fortunes also have been quietly nurtured by bankers and pharmaceutical executives.

I’ve heard of other things about this different America: how 26-year-olds could routinely afford to buy houses, and how a mass murder at a movie theater or school wasn’t an every-other-month part of life. I am told there was a time when the fundamental failure of our bedrock institutions was the exception, rather than a rule.

I have little confidence in those who say they can return us to a time they and their generation undid.

Neither major party candidate seems to grasp that the country and the world have changed. America is different for us who don’t know what it was like before this reality.

Our institutions’ abilities aren’t what they were. Neither candidate seems like a good option to lead the America we have now — the one I grew up in — the one whose reality is very different from the nation I hear described at campaign events in high school gymnasiums in Florida, Ohio and Iowa.

The America they hope to lead? I’ve only seen it in paintings.

@Charliemagne

charjohnson@chicagotribune.com

Growing Faith, Increasing Love

September 27, 2016 / Allan Babcock

In what kind of soil does faith grow best and love increase most?

The question isn’t academic. For years I’ve endured my life’s toughest faith-test. Some days my faith feels as weak as my body. I need growing faith. Immersed in my own needs, my love for others shrinks. I need increasing love.

After greeting the Thessalonians (1:1,2—https://theoldpreacher.com/grace-and-peace/), Paul gives thanks to God for them . . .

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. (2 Thessalonians 1:3,4)

“Ought” (Greek, ophaylo) makes Paul’s thanks seem obligatory. “Right” (Greek, axios—worthy, fit, in keeping with what should be done) reminds us thanks is a moral obligation before God for what he’s done. Thus, even though thanks is an “ought”, it’s in keeping with how we should respond to God for his goodness. These brothers believed the Lord’s message because it came empowered by God the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Consequently, they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9b,10).

Are you a believer? Thank God!

Paul, however, thanks God for the Thessalonians’ “faith [that] is growing abundantly” and “love . . . for one another [that] is increasing”.

Abundantly Growing Faith.

The concept of growing faith raises a question: How to measure faith? Jesus did when he spoke of faith’s size. ” . . . if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:21). Again, “When Jesus heard [the man’s reply], he was astonished and said to those following him, “‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith'” (Matthew 8:10). Faith, therefore, can be “small” or “great”—and still accomplish astounding results.

On the other hand, Hebrews 11:36-38 commends the faith of those who suffered. No sensational miracles there! Or were there?

In any case, faith is challenging to measure. But one thing is clearly true: abundantly growing faith is a virtue for which to always thank God.

Increasing Love.

As faith is God’s gift (Ephesians 2:8,9), so love is the Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5:22,23). Love is also the expression of faith. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6). This is why Paul thanks God for the Thessalonians’ increasing mutual love: it is the Spirit’s fruit and the expression of God-given faith. We should also note Paul speaks of love, not as a feeling, but an action. It’s an observable virtue seen in how the believers treat one another.

Growing & Increasing.

Is God the only actor in growing faith and increasing love? Do we play no role? Listen again to Paul: “Therefore [because of your growing faith and increasing love] we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.” Paul doesn’t say, “We boast about God”, but “We boast about you for your steadfastness of faith . . . ” Implication: Christians have a part to play in growing faith and increasing love. The part to which Paul refers here may be surprising.

The Soil.

I’d prefer my faith growing and love increasing sitting comfortably at my desk prayerfully pouring over God’s Word. Probably that would have been the Thessalonians’ preference too. But see the soil where the Thessalonians’ faith grew and love increased: “we ourselves boast about you . . . for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.”

What kind of faith were they growing in? Steadfast. The Greek is hupomonay—used of steadfast adherence to a course of action in spite of difficulties and testings; “patient endurance, perseverance.” Jews who disbelieved in Jesus Messiah abused the believing Jews (and probably the believing Gentile “dogs” too). But the believers clung to Jesus in faith. They chose to keep trusting him no matter the cost. So like weathered trees high up on the tree-line, their faith grew tough. There’s a world of difference between faith grown only in the soil of Scripture’s pages and faith grown in the soil of affliction!

A Dilemma.

In affliction I feel faithless, not as if my faith’s growing. I quote Jesus: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I ask, “Why me? Why this? But heaven’s silent. I’m left with God’s Word on printed page reminding me he’s at work for good. But I see no good no matter how I strain my eyes.

Yet it’s precisely at this point I face a choice: keep trusting despite not knowing or shipwreck my faith once and for all. And it’s then a still, small voice whispers: where will you go if you turn from trusting Jesus?

Grace and Peace to You

September 25, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Hello . . . good morning . . . hi . . . what’s happenin’, dude? . . . wazz-up, brotha? . . . grace and peace to you. Common greetings. Even that last one that makes this look like one of those what-term-doesn’t-belong-in-this-group test. But the one we’d chuck out is the one Paul began all of his 13 New Testament letters with (in some form). Here it is in his second letter to the Thessalonians . . .

Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:1,2).

Silas and Timothy have returned to Paul at Corinth after delivering his first letter to the Thessalonians. In response to their report, Paul pens 2 Thessalonians. He begins with his typical greeting, the second part of which we’ll look closely at.

First, an important question: Is “Grace and peace to you” similar to our “Good Morning”, just a common greeting? Or does it carry weighty theological content? From a practical standpoint, if “Grace and peace to
you” is similar to our “Good Morning”, we can continue to gloss over it as we normally do. But if these are weighty words, we should pause and ponder them. I think they’re weighty. I think Paul used them to speak a “greeting/blessing” over the church because the Holy Spirit inspired Paul, and he doesn’t mumble to a passer-by “Grace and peace” out of compelled politeness. So let’s look more closely at those weighty words . . .

What is “grace”?

The Greek charis can be translated “grace, kindness, goodwill, mercy, favor, gift.” Luke uses it of the Jerusalem population’s attitude toward the new believers—“[the church was] praising God and having favor (charis) with all the people” (Acts 2:47). The citizens were treating the church with kindness and good will.

Paul uses it in the familiar text of Ephesians 2:8,9—“For by grace (charis) you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Here grace is God’s “gift”—God showing mercy to sinners in the sacrificial death of Christ.

Paul also uses charis in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when he records the Lord’s answer to his prayer to be rid of his “thorn in the flesh”: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Here’s a dimension to grace we easily miss. When God is grace-giver, grace is more than an undeserved gift; grace is power that gives strength in human weakness.

What is “peace”?

The Greek eiraynay is translated “peace, harmony, order.” Corresponding to the Hebrew shalom it means “health, welfare.” (Eiraynay is so used especially in greetings.) In Romans 15:13 Paul uses it of a state of inner rest and harmony with God—“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace . . . ”

Luke records the angel and a multitude of the heavenly host saying in announcement of Jesus’ birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). Here eiraynay is used of the last days’ salvation in which sinners are reconciled to God.

Who is the source ?

God, of course. “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is, God the Father is the ultimate source with grace and peace being mediated through him to those who believe. Paul’s not writing of the church being gracious to one another so they can enjoy peaceful relationships. He’s writing about supernatural grace and peace coming from God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

He makes it more personal by writing, “To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The church is in God, meaning at least in union with God. And the God grace and peace are received from is not just the Father, but “our” Father.

Knowing this of Paul’s blessing/prayer would likely have greatly encouraged the Thessalonians. They first had “received the word in much affliction” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). Since then, persecution has grown. Paul refers to
” , , , the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering” (2 Thessalonians 1:5) and “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (1:6).

Did Paul expect the Thessalonians to actually receive “grace and peace”?

Yes. Paul expected, through both the proceeding words of his letter and the working of the Holy Spirit, God would give a measure of grace and peace to the Thessalonians. If not, his blessing/prayer was nothing more than “May all your dreams come true”.

How can we use this blessing/prayer in our lives?

As a benediction. The pastor can use it in a worship service. A father could recite it over his family at the dinner table. (It’d take courage. Teenagers would moan something about sounding like Puritans!) But worth it, right, if we enjoyed more “grace and peace from God”?

As a prayer. “God our Father, please give us your grace for these difficult days. And may we then be able to rest in the peace that the world cannot give. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.” Reflect on this Scripture while listening to the Youtube video in this post.

As a greeting. Not as an empty mantra. But as a sincere greeting to everyone on Sunday morning. A hug or handshake and, “Grace and peace to you, my friend.” Certainly more meaningful than “wazz-up, brotha?”

Preach It Again, Paul

September 23, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Early in my pastoral ministry, I assumed if I preached on 1 Thessalonians 4 (or any other passage) the congregation “got it”. They heard it, right? Certainly they “got it”. (How naive!)

We’re ready to embark on a journey through 2 Thessalonians. We’ll discover Paul addressing some of the same issues he did in 1 Thessalonians. Granted that he wrote 2 Thessalonians in 51 or 52 A.D., a mere six months after writing his first letter to them. Not a lot of time to reflect and practice. Nevertheless, it would appear the Thessalonian believers didn’t quite “get it” all the first time through.

Example One.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Paul wrote, “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. They “received the word in much affliction,” he wrote.

Now in 2 Thessalonians 1:4,5 he writes, “Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.”

The Thessalonians suffered persecution in a hostile environment from the start. Now, six months later Silas and Timothy have returned from delivering Paul’s first letter. They report to Paul in Corinth of increased persecution in Thessalonica. So, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul again encourages them to remain steadfast in the faith and adds additional thoughts in view of additional persecution.

Repetition remains a key means of our learning God’s Word. We may hear our pastor preach another time from the same text or on the same theme from a different text. That’s because we didn’t “get it” all the first time. And it’s also because God uses what he’s taught us before as a foundation for more he wants to teach us.

Building on the persecution theme, Paul writes, “This (your enduring all your persecution and afflictions with steadfastness and faith) is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God . . . ” (2 Thessalonians 1:5). In 1 Thessalonians Paul said that receiving the word in much affliction with Holy Spirit joy made them examples to others believers. In 2 Thessalonians Paul tells them their steadfastness and faith in afflictions is evidence of God’s righteous judgment that they may be considered worthy of God’s kingdom.

Our suffering while holding on to faith makes us an example and, taking it one step further, proves God’s righteous judgment to come when, if we hold on to the end, that suffering marks us as worthy of God’s eternal kingdom. In a suffering world, such truth deserves repetition and building upon.

Example. Two.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:3,4 Paul wrote, “For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not to please man but to please God who tests our hearts.” In short, Paul wanted the Thessalonians to be sure they could trust what he wrote, especially about Christ’s Second Coming. With that in mind he wrote, “Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For your yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1,2).

But now, something has happened demanding a “refresher sermon” with some new information thrown in. So in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, Paul writes, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?”

Someone had sent the church a letter purporting to be from Paul. It whispered that the day of the Lord had come, and they’d missed it. Paul reminds them it was counterfeit (Paul would never talk out of both sides of his mouth!). Then he reminds them what he had told them in person: namely, that the day of the Lord would come only after “the man of lawlessness is revealed.”

Like the Thessalonians, even without a deliberately-deceptive letter, we need the Second Coming message reinforced. First, because we easily get bogged down in confusing details about it and consequently pay little attention to the core message—that Jesus is coming again. Second, because day-to-day living in this “real” world makes Jesus’ coming seem unreal. So it gets shoved to our mind’s back-burner. Rather than a boring rerun this is great news about a most momentous event!

Example Three.

In1 Thessalonians Paul had mildly and briefly rebuked believers who refused to work because Jesus was coming soon. “But we urge you, brothers . . . to aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on nobody” (1 Thessalonians 4:10,11). And again, “admonish the idle” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

We now discover in 2 Thessalonians that the “idle” didn’t “get it” at all. Now Paul’s rebuke is lengthier and stronger. “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 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. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 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. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:5-15).

If a believer is able to work, he must. No sponging off a sympathetic church or soft-hearted believer. Not signing up for a welfare check if you can find a job. The church is to rebuke and even shun a fellow Christian “who is walking in idleness.” Paul’s letters twice reminds us.

* * *

Maybe you’ve read the Bible from cover to cover. Maybe more than once. Think you “got it” all? Maybe you’ve heard several sermons from 2 Thessalonians. It’s a short letter. Surely you “got it”, right? I’ve read it often, too. And preached from it several times over the years. But I’m expecting to learn more from traveling through its three short chapters in days ahead. I hope you are too. Our Father, in his graciousness, patiently teaches us again and again. Not only because we’re slow learners, but because his lessons call for diligent study over and over again. With a child’s humble attitude let’s learn life’s deepest lessons!

God Will Change Us

September 17, 2016 / Allan Babcock

God wants to change us. Not our first choice. God’s blessing on our life, yes. But not our whole person transformed. Sounds uncomfortable. Yet that’s what God wants. Here’s how Paul put it . . .

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification . . . “
(1 Thessalonians 4:3a)

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit and soul and body
be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:23)

That’s the change: sanctification. Here in his benediction to the Thessalonian church, Paul uses the verb “sanctify” and the noun “sanctification.” The Greek verb is hagiasai—“to set apart, make holy.” What does that kind of change look like?

Here’s a picture. When the LORD instructed the Israelites to make a sanctuary in the desert (Exodus 25:8), his blueprint included this directive: “Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place” (Exodus 26:33). Two chambers. A “Holy Place” and a “Most Holy Place.” Same old desert ground. No somber, mystical music mysteriously drifting through. In themselves, ordinary places. But both were set apart for the Lord’s use only. That’s what “holy” means—“set apart from the ordinary for the Lord.”

This is God’s will: our being “set apart from the ordinary for the Lord.” This is Paul’s benediction for the church: ” . . . may the God of peace himself set you apart completely for himself . . . “

The scope of sanctification is “completely”: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.” We see the same scope again: ” . . . and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless . . . ” The Greek word for “completely” is holotelays—“wholly, entirely, through and through.”

Commentators tend to get stuck discussing what Paul means by “spirit and soul and body.” Does he mean man’s being is three parts? If so, “spirit” would be that part of our being that perceives the spiritual God. “Soul” is the sphere of our will and emotions. “Body” is obviously our physical being. However, I don’t think Paul is dissecting humans. Rather, he’s stressing the state of being completely “kept” (tayreo) “blameless” (holoklayros) “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The goal of sanctification is blamelessness when we stand before the Lord at his coming.

How in the world can we pull that off? With David I have to admit, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:3). How, then, can I possibly be “blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ”?

Look closely at Paul’s benediction . . .

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit and soul and body
be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

May God sanctify you. May God himself sanctify you. If that blessing isn’t enough, Paul adds this promise . . .

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it (5:24).

Pistos is “trustworthy, faithful, dependable.” Because it is God’s nature to be faithful, “he will surely sanctify us completely and keep us blameless at the coming of our Lord. Another word here is significant—“calls.” God initiates our relationship with him. He calls us to save us from sin and death. And that relationship (in which we are being sanctified) continues, not by our merit, but by his grace and faithfulness.

This is what Paul wants to be ringing in the Thessalonians’ ears (and ours) as we reach the end of his letter. Jesus is coming again. We must be found blameless at his coming. God will sanctify us and keep us blameless so we are ready for Jesus.

Paul then closes his letter with four remarks . . .

Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
I put you under oath before the Lord
to have this letter read to all the brothers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
(5:25-28)

Knowing the missionaries will face more opposition as they continue to preach the gospel, Paul asks the brothers to pray for them. He asks them to “greet all the brothers with a holy kiss”—this kiss being like that between members of the same family. It’s important everyone hear his letter’s content, so he puts the recipients “under oath before the Lord” to be sure it’s read to all. Finally, he blesses them with “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Two “take-aways” from 1 Thessalonians stand out to me today. One, Jesus is coming again. Human history will end, not with an all-destructive war or Planet Earth run out of resources or the seas flooding the continents from global warming. It will end with the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ for his followers.

Two, God is progressively sanctifying us now and will keep us blameless for the day of Christ’s coming. “He is faithful; and he will surely do it.” With that in mind, we can turn Paul’s benediction into a prayer that expresses God’s will for us living in this fallen world . . .

“O God of peace,
you yourself, please sanctify us through and through,
to preserve our whole spirit, soul and body
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In his name we pray, Amen.