Therefore...Stand Fast

Introduction

Paul has just finished reminding the church at Thessalonica of the blessed benefits of being a child of God. He reminded the Thessalonian believers that they were beloved, they were chosen by God, and that they had been called to glorification with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 15 he now begins to form an argument based on the truths he has just reminded them of. In light of these wonderful truths Paul urges them to continue to stand fast in the faith.

You and I, if we have placed our faith in Christ are also beneficiaries of the blessings that Paul spoke of and in light of this we ought to do as Paul instructed the believers in Thessalonica to do and continue to stand fast.

The benefits of knowing Christ should provide strong motivation for us to stand for the truth of God’s Word even in the midst of hardship and adversity.

Let us now examine Paul’s exhortation to the believers at Thessalonica as we recognize the exhortation is truly to all who believe upon Christ.

His exhortation begins with Paul imploring them to a:

Steadfast Stand (Vs. 15)

We have already witnessed the Thessalonians’ tendency to be drawn away to error just as each of us naturally have the tendency to be drawn away from the truth.

Paul now appeals to them on the basis of the goodness of God to stand fast in what they had been taught. This same instruction is given to the church at Philippi in Philippians 1:27/ Philippians 4:1 and to the church at Corinth (I Corinthians 16:13) and to the church at Galatia (Galatians 5:1)

Paul was not only concerned that the believers in these churches came to faith in Christ but also that they would hold to the truths that they had been taught.

It was Paul’s sincere desire that those he had led to faith would be steadfast in the faith and would not waver or fall to the error that was so prevalent.

There has always been and will always be erroneous teachings that contradict the truth and we must be careful that we do not succumb to them.

We must remember that at this time there were no New Testament scriptures so what the Thessalonians believed was directly taught to them by the Apostle Paul in person and in the letters that he had written to them.

This is a uniques circumstance that we must recognize is not the same today because Paul, as an apostle, had a unique role in the early church that would no longer be necessary once the canon of scripture was completed.

This is why we cannot simply take the word of man as the authority today. We have the completed scriptures and these must now be our final authority. Every word of man must be judged by the Word of God. Matthew 15:1-9- teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Traditions- teachings that were transmitted to them. We must be careful not to misapply this passage to imply that no tradition should ever change. There are many methods that have changed throughout the history of the church.

The truth of the Word of God however does not change and does not need to be modernized or made to conform to the culture of the day.

What Paul taught the believers at Thessalonica would ultimately be given to us in the pages of scripture that we now hold to as our final authority.

We must be determined to hold to the truth of the Word of God and to never allow men to draw us away from our stand upon these truths.

It is precisely because many professing Christians have refused to stand that we find ourselves in such dire circumstances today.

Let us take up a firm position on the truths of the Word of God and let us remain steadfast in our stance no matter the adversity we face, no matter the direction the winds of culture are blowing, no matter the opinions of men, no matter to pressure to conform to society’s viewpoint, no matter how we are mocked and called bigots or hated for our stance. “having done all, to stand. Stand therefore...” Ephesians 6:13-14

The believers at Thessalonica likely would have questioned “But Paul, how can we stand when there is so much opposition, so much persecution, so much adversity?”

Paul is confident that they will be able to stand, not in their own strength, but through the strength that God gives! He promises that God will be their:

Source of Strength (Vs. 16-17)

Paul once again reminds them of the love God has for them, and of the hope He has given them.

He then offers them the assurance that God will comfort them and will stablish them. What a joy to know that God does not expect us to stand in our own strength, but will enable us to stand by His power.

God through grace (unmerited favor) has given us everlasting consolation and good hope, having delivered to us eternal life for simply trusting Christ as savior. I Corinthians 15:10- Paul owed his success in ministry to the grace of God.

He will also comfort our hearts when we begin to be distressed and disquieted. It is often during these times of distress that many fall to false teachings and error in their search for relief.

Prosperity Gospel- times of difficulty, believe the false teaching that if you will just live right you will be blessed with wealth and health. Even though this clearly contradicts the Word of God.

It is God who will also stablish us in every good word and work as we yield ourselves to Him. God will give us the strength that we need to hold fast to the truth. It is He that will enable us to hold to right doctrine and to right behavior.

“Right belief begets right behavior”

It is through yielding ourselves to God and to the leadership of the Spirit of God that we will be able to believe right and to behave right. James 1:22- doers not hearers only.

We will never be able to stand in our own strength but when we yield to God and receive strength from Him we shall be able to stand confidently believing and living out the the truth of God’s Word.

I Thessalonians 5:21- Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.

Conclusion

God never instructs us to do something that we are incapable of doing. God will strengthen and enable us to stand upon the truth of His Word and will also give us the courage to live it out in our daily lives.

In times of adversity, in times of hardship, in times when there is fierce opposition and persecution, God will provide the strength that we need to stand firmly for truth and will enable us to live as we should so long as we rely upon and yield ourselves to HIM.

Paul had already seen the Thessalonian believers be drawn away by false teachings before, and yet he was confident that, by God’s power, they could still stand fast and hold to the truth. Colossians 2:6-7- rooted and built up in him