1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10

Destined For Trials

Brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

I

find it intriguing to review religious dynamics which mark modern society and the faith of modern man. For instance, recent studies suggest that North Americans are among the most religious people in all the earth. In repeated studies a great majority of the population openly profess belief in God or at least in a higher power. Another great majority admits to praying. Yet despite the open confession of belief in God and the admission of reliance on divine power organised religion appears to be waning in both the United States and Canada.

In conversations with denominational leaders and theological scholars a common lament is that we are now in a post-Christian society; and to some extent I am forced to concur with that dark assessment. The institutional church continues to lose influence over contemporary minds, having scant influence on the public life as faith is privatised and the church is increasingly marginalised and as contemporary society adopts a laissez faire attitude toward religion.

One reason for this strange situation no doubt lies in the failure to provide instruction in foundational truths of the Faith. Perhaps this failure to instruct the saints in the great realities of the Faith grows out of our supermarket approach which encourages us to seek out and settle on the assembly wherein we should worship. Entertainment seems more avidly sought than does enlightenment. I have often been told that Christians will not sit for a thirty-minute sermon. Anything beyond fifteen minutes is lost on the modern worshipper. Perhaps there simply exists widespread ignorance of spiritual responsibilities within the Body of Christ.

Whatever the source of the situation, those who seek truth are often fed spiritual pabulum and their questions are left unanswered. This fact coupled with concurrent governmental-mandated indoctrination with the propaganda that truth is relative leaves professing believers with pronounced spiritual lassitude, rendering them susceptible to embracing every exciting teaching which appears. Thus the Faith is subject to increasingly grave distortions.

One of the great distortions of modern times which excite the modern mind is the teaching that real Christians will not experience discomfort or pain. This teaching is nothing less than the ancient heresy of Gnosticism reborn in modern guise. The apostolic church could only have looked with great consternation on the manner in which such teaching is so easily and so widely embraced in contemporary religious society. No doubt the Church would be better served to again receive the apostolic teaching of what may be expected in the Christian life and through being equipped to respond to the pressures anticipated.

The Modern Gospel of Ease and Self-Esteem — First, 'ere ever we initiate exposition of the text, consider what is being taught under the pretence of biblical doctrine in this day. Among the favoured teachers of Gnostic error are included such luminaries as Robert Schuller, Oral Roberts, Paul Yonggi Cho, Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth Hagin. Additionally, there are a number of lesser stars such as Morris Cerullo, Robert Tilton, Casey Treat, and Benny Hinn. Even in nearby towns may be found too many blind leaders of the blind willing to say what their itching ears want to hear [2 Timothy 4:3]. The message which is delivered by these deceivers is attractive to contemporary minds precisely because it promises secret knowledge which will make the possessor like God. It is a virtual fulfilment of the serpent's lie hissed to our first mother.

The previous statement is no exaggeration, for virtually without exception these modern Gnostics are bold in stating that those possessing the proper knowledge are little gods. If we are gods, then of course we ought not to experience any of the hardship associated with life. As gods we will rise above the trivial trials of this transient life. We can rebuke financial hardship, insuring wealth. We can rebuke family problems, insuring peace and familial submission. We can rebuke illness and injury, insuring health. Without doubt, the promise of health, wealth and prosperity are alluring. The message is a virtual guarantee of heaven now! Consider some of the outrageous lies advanced by these popular heretics.

Kenneth Copeland, in a book he published and entitled The Power of the Tongue, wrote: [M]an had total authority to rule as a god over every living creature on earth, and he was to rule by speaking words. His words would carry the power and anointing of God that was in him from the time he was first created. In a sermon tape he expanded this concept by openly stating: You don't have a god in you. You are one!

On the Trinity Broadcasting Network, July 7, 1986, Paul Crouch, in conversation with Kenneth Copeland, one of the more radical of the word faith teachers, stated: I have His name. I'm one with Him. I'm in covenant relations – I am a little god! Critics, be gone! As he exulted, Kenneth Copeland affirmed his error, saying: You are anything that He is.

Robert Tilton, on page 170 of his book God's Laws of Success calls man a God kind of creature … designed to be as a god in this world … designed or created by God to be the god of this world.

Morris Cerullo, in a January 6, 1988 broadcast on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, arrogantly stated: [God] made Dwight Thompson, He made Morris Cerullo a small miniature god. Of course! The Bible says we are created in the image of God. His likeness. Where is that godlikeness? He gave us power … He gave us authority. He gave us dominion. He didn't tell us to act like a man! He told us to act like a god!

Benny Hinn, on the same Trinity Broadcasting Network, stated: The new creation is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. The new man is after God, like God, godlike, complete in Christ Jesus. The new creation is just like God. May I say it like this: 'You are a little god on earth running around'?

Kenneth Hagin, writing in his religious publication, Word of Faith, December, 1980, says: You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was. Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.

It must logically follow from this distortion of the Word that if we are gods then any discomfort is ungodlike! A little god should have perfect health, full wealth, and absolute prosperity now! Therefore, the perpetuators of this heretical cult which is so appealing to modern theological lightweights are quick to castigate anyone whom they deem to be less than perfect. Some, such as Oral Roberts, even attempted to ban all individuals with obvious physical defects from his school. If you have illness, if you have physical injury or discomfort, if you have less than full financial security, it is your fault because you will it to be so. If your children have physical or emotional distress, it is your fault because you did not believe for them. If you experience financial reversal or suffer deprivation, you are responsible because you have not spoken the words with which to enrich yourself. If you have pressures in your family, in your workplace, among your friends, it is your own fault because you did not speak the word of faith.

Such a message is cruel in the extreme for those blessed saints who have patiently endured hurt and injury and distress. This message needlessly injures the faithful saints who commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good [cf. 1 Peter 4:19]. This thoughtless message insults the spirit of grace which leads us to wait patiently for the Lord [see Psalm 37:7].

This message of greed appeals to the modern mind set because it promises so much and demands so little. You need but have faith in your faith and you will be able to write your own ticket. You can manipulate God to do your will and you need never experience want, pain or discomfort. There is only a difference in the language between this and the success cult of Amway. There is scant difference between this teaching and that of New Age crystal gazers. The message is unadulterated paganism and the teachers are unabashed heretics. This is meant to be a serious warning to any who foolishly imbibe from this poisoned well. Of such heretics as these, John wrote: Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work [2 John 11]. Take heed.

The Inevitability of Trials — But what does the Word of God say? It is in the Word that we find the basis for our faith and the answers to each of our questions? In the Word are found the warnings necessary to avoid the pitfalls and snares of life which threaten to destroy the soul and to discredit the Faith. In the Word are found the instructions necessary for pleasing God. Therefore, let's appeal to the Word.

To this point in the letter the Apostle has spoken frequently of suffering and trials. At the beginning of the letter, he commends the work, the labour, and the endurance of the Thessalonians. He notes that it was in spite of severe suffering that these saints believed [1:6]. He observes that they suffered from [their] own countrymen what the Jewish saints had suffered [2:14]. Then, he speaks of personally being stopped by Satan when he endeavoured to return to Thessalonica [2:18]. Capping off the listing of pressures and trials he and the Thessalonians had experienced, in 3:1-5 Paul speaks of his constant concern for the Thessalonians during his absence.

So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless [1 Thessalonians 3:1-5].

This is an incredibly strong statement of concern in which the Apostle recognises the inevitability of testing for the child of God, the possibility that believers might be swayed by the pressures experienced, and in which he acknowledges the power of the tempter. To teach contrary to this is to expose followers to the certainty of deceit and to invite a disastrous fall. Nor is this the sole occasion the Apostle spoke of the certainty of trials and testing. In his final missive Paul warned: [E]veryone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived [2 Timothy 3:12,13]. During the first missionary journey, the missionaries, visiting the newly established congregations, warned, We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God [Acts 14:22b].

Where did Paul receive such negative teaching? The modern preachers of prosperity claim to receive their message from the Lord, but they must hear a different voice than that which is recorded in the Word of God! Jesus is on record as warning His disciples of trial and testing. Remember the words I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also… All this I have told you so that you will not go astray… I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you [John 15:20; 16:1,4]. After explaining something of the hardships they would shortly face, Jesus stated: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world [John 16:33].

The Apostles expected trials because of the faith they embraced and which they preached, and they were thus prepared. Prepared, they were enabled not only to stand firm despite the trials but to advance the Faith in ways that we can only consider as spectacular and even unimaginable today despite all our vaunted advantages of modern technology. I can only wonder whether one great reason for our lack of progress in advancing the cause of Christ in this day is our lack of preparation (to say nothing of our lack of willingness) to face opposition and even persecution!

Paul was aware of the teaching of Jesus concerning the response of the natural mind to the preaching of the Gospel. Were the warnings of Jesus somehow insufficient to equip his mind against the conflict which must assuredly come, he had the Holy Spirit of God resident within. In the heart of each believer ever and always lies the knowledge that he is an alien in this world. Peter wrote in his first letter to the churches, addressing those first readers as strangers in the world [1 Peter 1:1]. Later, in 1 Peter 2:11,12, he warns his readers against surrendering to the temptation to rest before the assaults of the inhabitants of this dying world. Listen again to the Apostle’s words of caution to the people of God. I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

What sort of charges did pagans level against believers during the early years of the churches? We know from contemporary accounts and from reading the New Testament something of the types of charges brought against Christians. Christ and His followers were accused of disloyalty to the government [John 19:12]. Christians were considered guilty of upsetting trade and opposing divination [Acts 16:16 ff.] and of teaching slaves to be free [Galatians 5:1,13]. They were accused of hatred of mankind [cf. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10] and of antisocial values and atheism [cf. Acts 17:16-20,32; 19:26,28]. Any one of these charges if substantiated would be viewed most seriously. When the deliberate calumny surrounding charges of cannibalism and licentiousness were added to these previously listed charges, it was a virtual guarantee that Christians would be assaulted and attacked, becoming pariahs within society as suspicion was fostered and as doubt and distrust of their message was encouraged.

I would not discourage anyone from becoming a Christian; but I would be a liar if I were to teach you that because you are a Christian you will be free of pain or assault. Because we are a fallen race, because sin reigns over the earth, because Satan is the god of this age, sorrow and grief and heartache are the common lot of all mankind, and believers are not immune from the common griefs of this life. We age, and with the ageing comes the slowness and soreness common to all mankind. We who are Christians in this great land experience the same financial pressures of everyone living here because of volatile interest rates and because of a weak dollar. We Christians are susceptible to illness and injury, as is anyone who permits himself or herself to become run down or who exposes himself or herself to illness.

I recall a fellow minister and his sweet wife who anxiously awaited the birth of their second child. The unborn child was diagnosed with serious renal failure and the parents were warned that the child would in all likelihood be born dead. Nothing appeared possible to prevent the death of the child as every indication was that the kidneys were not functioning. To my consternation and indignation the Director of Missions for that pastor's denomination chided the young family saying that they must have sinned greatly to merit such serious trouble. That Director of Missions has gone on to become known throughout Christian circles as a noted author. Not a single fellow pastor came to visit the young family; not a single fellow Christian visited them to pray with them. They were outcasts within their own denomination.

At that time I was no longer part of the denomination to which they belonged, yet I sat with them and wept with them. I prayed with them and pleaded with God to show them mercy. Together we looked upward to a Father too wise to make a mistake and too good to needlessly injure His own. When the little girl was born, surgery was immediately required to remove one non-functioning kidney. Within days the news was announced that the child would live because the other kidney had began to function. Today that lass is a lovely young woman of twelve.

We are not spared sorrow because we are Christians. The greater pain, never worn on the outside but nevertheless present, is that pain resulting from professors of the Faith who magnify our suffering through their woeful ignorance. One of the sweetest servants of God I know is a beautiful wife and mother painfully crippled with rheumatoid arthritis. Well-meaning Christians have sometimes suggested that her faith is defective or she would not be crippled so. May I suggest that her sweetness and effectiveness in training Christians may well arise from her painful affliction.

Painful though the trials common to all mankind may be, more painful still is the unwarranted attacks because of our Faith. What Christian has not known the sting of unjust criticism because they are a child of God? What Christian has not experienced the inward pain which attends ridicule and mockery because of the Faith? If you have not yet received such unfair attention, be aware that it shall come.

I recall a young minister who found it necessary to resign from his position as a missionary for his denomination. The denomination was determined to push ahead with unscriptural mandates for the congregations as they make concessions to the god of this age and that servant was unable to go along quietly with error. He was concerned how he will be able to provide for his wife and child as he was debarred from ministering within that denomination and since his credentials were withdrawn. I laughed as we spoke and told him that he must be doing something right or he would not have these problems. I pledged to help him in any way that I am able. He took a correct stand and he proved faithful to Christ. May I be as bold.

I recall a congregation of believers which first met in the living room of our home. A handful of people was present on that first Sunday; nobody else wanted them. We had no support and no means by which to build a church. The mother church which had given us legal protection for the first few critical months until we were able to obtain standing with the government came under severe denominational pressure and attempted to injure us by denying us income tax receipts for the giving of the first critical months. People wrote letters to the editor of the local newspaper against us, wrote letters to Revenue Canada attempting to have our registration denied, sought to intervene with municipalities to deny us rental facilities.

Denominational and Christian leaders so-called openly attacked us and even in the editorials of a well-known Christian broad sheet we were beset. A deacon of a local congregation ridiculed us saying that the people gathered were riffraff and it was good riddance to anyone stupid enough to worship under such conditions. Christians were instructed to go to our members to tell them stories made up about me and to malign the teaching I endeavoured to provide. I simply said that we invited close inspection of all that was taught and that we would welcome comparison to insure that what was taught was in accord with the Word; and I insisted on the freedom of every child of God to worship where the Spirit of God directed. If our people were happier somewhere else I would encourage them to attend there.

We persevered, continuing to do what was right, and a church was born and not a few were born into the Kingdom of God. Before I left that congregation the very denominations which had ignored us or assaulted us in prior years were coming around inviting us to join them. They all wanted those riffraff which was outgrowing their efforts. I was unfailingly gracious to their representatives as I stated my conviction that we had begun with God alone and we were quite content to continue as a congregation with God alone.

If you want peace with the world, you need to know that you desire enmity with God. James wrote long years before: [D]on't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God [James 4:4]. So long as we seek to live for Christ, honouring Him in action as well as in attitude we may anticipate opposition from the world. Peace at any price is peace purchased at a cost too dear. Perhaps that accounts for the powerlessness of the Church of this day before the unrelenting assaults of wickedness.

Why relate such stories? Why speak of opposition, especially from religious leaders? Why speak so plainly, so openly of trials and testing? Why provide such negative teaching? Should I not fear that I might frighten off any considering the Faith if I speak of attacks against the faithful? I am concerned about that, but I am more frightened still of disobedience to the Lord who appointed me to this ministry! I am much more fearful of failing to teach the whole counsel of God! I am much more afraid of failing to prepare believers for what they may expect from a world hostile to Christ the Lord! The Word is explicit in providing warning of what believers may expect and the faithful minister must declare that Word with a view to glorifying God and equipping the believers situated under his oversight. Believers cannot be fully equipped who are not prepared for hardship. As believers we are champions. As God's church we are His glorious creation and we must be ready for what shall shortly come.

Weathering The Stormy Trials We Encounter — In verse six Paul notes that Timothy had just returned with a report of the Thessalonians firm stance in the Faith, and Paul's spirits soared. No longer encumbered with worry for their well being he rejoiced. How did they manage to weather their storms of life? What did they do to remain firm before inhuman assault? If we can learn from them we may be yet better prepared to remain firm in our own faith when reversals appear to come and when we are besieged by others.

These saints drew strength from one another. They did not attempt the impossible feat of trying to stand alone as do so many of our contemporaries. When Paul addresses this letter it is [t]o the church of the Thessalonians [1:1]. It is not addressed to the individuals comprising the church, but it is addressed to the body collective. Throughout the letter, Paul employs the second person plural – you all. These persecuted and pressured pilgrims drew strength from one another. One of the great strengths available to every child of God is that mutual strength which comes from sharing the life of Christ as the Body of Christ.

During the days of the American Revolution when the colonies were drafting the American Constitution, it is reported that Benjamin Franklin spoke to the Colonial Congress saying: We must all surely hang together or we shall assuredly all hang together. Franklin was not a believer, but the sentiment he uttered does apply to us as believers in the midst of a hostile world. Either we shall be united or we shall be untied. I am bold in reaching out to each one of you to openly declare your identification with Christ by submitting to baptism. I am bold in calling each listener to open commitment to the Church. Join the assembly of the saints, not being content to merely associate with God’s holy people.

The Church had been prepared. Paul had warned them that they could anticipate trials – that they were in fact destined for them. Forewarned is forearmed, states an old adage. Christians should not be caught unawares by opposition or by trials … not if they have read the Word of God. The church of the Thessalonians had reasonable expectations. They made no accommodation with the world in order to avoid persecution. Paul, writing the young pastor of the church in Ephesus encouraged him with these words of invitation. Join with me in suffering for the gospel … Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus … This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal; and again adding emphasis: endure hardship [2 Timothy 1:8; 2:3,9; 4:5]. If we are prepared, we will endure.

They exercised faith. Upon arriving in Athens Timothy brought good news about their faith [3:6]. Faith is not a leap in the dark. A little boy in Sunday School defined faith giving a definition akin to that which many of us hold: Faith is hopin' for what you know you ain't gonna' get. No! Faith is confidence in the promises of God. Faith is reliance on the certainty of God's very character. Rather than a leap in the dark faith is stepping forward in confidence in the One whose promise is sure. Trials will come, opposition will come, pressures will come, but when they come let the child of God look to the Father knowing that He has promised that their faith will not fail because He is ever with them. Matthew's Gospel concludes with the comforting promise of our Lord: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age [Matthew 28:20b]. That is good enough for any saint!

They revealed love for one another and for God – not mere affection, but deep sacrificial love. Timothy … has brought good news … about your love [3:6]. Assuredly these saints loved one another and they likewise loved the Apostle. In short, they had a manifest love for the Church, the Body of Christ. This issue is not inconsequential. When under pressure from those in opposition to the Faith or when we are the recipients of hatred our view is liable to terrible distortion.

Were it not for love both for the Saviour and for one another we would likely begin to consider our situation unique and we would soon feel ourselves deserted by God and by man. It is only the knowledge of Christ's deep love for us which will stir our hearts to renewed devotion to Him and subsequently stir our hearts to renew our affirmation of love for the saints. Even when we do not feel ourselves loved we rest confident in His love, knowing the promise given. How can we do otherwise than show love to those whom Christ loved and for whom He died?

Perhaps you will benefit as you recall the instruction which the aged John provided in his first missive. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith [1 John 5:1-4]. Victory is assured to the one who is a divine lover. Victory is certain for the one who lives in love. Consequently, this is that active love which dares invest itself in one another and not that sickly, sweet, saccharine stuff which makes one feel good about himself.

The Thessalonians were focused on the Lord. The Apostle exulted in the knowledge that the Thessalonians were standing firm in the Lord [3:8]. What does it mean for the Christian to be standing firm in the Lord? The thought conveyed is that these saints had directed their focus to Christ. He was central to their aspiration and His will was regnant in their lives. The idea behind the phrase is that they were unswayed by events because they were grounded in Him.

The Word of God is adamant about the importance of standing firm in the Faith. Repeatedly does the Apostle speak of this matter of steadfastness, urging believers to stand firm in the Faith [cf. 1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 1:27; 4:1]. Believers have too often focused their faith on something other than the Lord. They stand firm in the building in which they meet. They cannot endure any change to the dear old building because of the memories. They stand firm in the membership they once held. They find it impossible to move their membership because of prior associations. They stand firm in the denomination. They silently permit the inevitable drift which comes because their faith is fixed on the institution.

Listen, saint! Every building will crumble to dust – and that includes this building. Past associations are gone – it is the living, present Body which we are taught to love and promote. All man's efforts are destined for dust. It is only Christ and His Church, the living community of Faith which He established and which He purchased with his blood, which shall endure throughout eternity. Stop focusing on that which is destined for dust and determine to fix your gaze on the Author and Perfecter of our Faith [cf. Hebrews 12:2].

I encourage the child of God to renew courage and to renew strength with this knowledge. Draw strength from one another. If you are not a member of this assembly, make this the day in which you join encouraging others by your decision and being encouraged by their strengths. Establish reasonable expectations, knowing what is yet to come. Exercise faith, being taught to rest in the rich promises of God. Demonstrate love, seeking to build one another in obedience to Christ. Remain focused on the Lord, standing firm in Him.

You who are yet outsiders cannot have such a hope. You have accommodated the world thinking that you have made adequate provision to avoid hardship. The world cannot hate you since you are of the world. Yet I am frank in stating that you must give an accounting to God; and what will you say before that awful assize? How shall you answer when called to account? Poor soul, what hope have you, for since you have never received the second birth the second death shall surely be yours. But that need not be. It is not too late to begin to truly live now.

God's promise stands forever sure: Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved [Romans 10:13]. How shall I call? you may ask yourself. The answer is quickly advanced to you. If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved [Romans 10:9,10]. This is wonderful news which sets us free from death and from fear of the grave and gives us the victory now. This is wonderful news which sets us free from the cowardice of being controlled by the distorted perceptions of fallen mankind. This is wonderful news which gives life and insures peace with God and makes us strong in the face of all opposition. Won't you believe today? Amen.