In some ways, this is the hardest Sunday of the year in terms of targeting one’s audience. Today is Mother’s Day . . . and the last Sunday before a number of our students who are members will be gone for the summer, doing a variety of things, and the last Sunday some of our students will be with us at all, and a time when some of our members are just getting ready to head to college. Even taking the topic of Mother’s Day itself, motherhood is not a one-size-fits-all task. Some are awaiting the birth of their child, others are mothers of grown children, others are struggling with a newborn, others weary of the toddler years, and still others are experiencing the task of raising teenagers (or a mixture of all of the above). Even if we were to focus simply on our own mothers and not necessarily simply mothers in this room, then our experiences would be all over the map as well. Just as thinking about our mothers might be one to tears of joy, so it may well also bring another to tears of sadness. And the rest of you aren’t students or mothers at all, and you’re simply trying to deal with your own lot in life.
So, how in the world do you address this crowd? Thankfully, I’ve bailed myself out a bit with our commitment to preach through the whole Bible. And over the past fourteen plus years, we’ve preached through sixty-four of the sixty-six books that make up our Bibles. In just a few weeks, we’ll finish the Psalter, as Aaron preaches Psalm 83. This means that the decision about what to preach on this Sunday has been somewhat taken out of my hands by our plan to preach the whole canon of Scripture. There’s only one book left to preach – 2 Thessalonians. And in that book, we have to start with chapter 1.
However, if we were looking for a text that might address all the groups I’ve outlined above, by taking up a topic that all of them (and all of you) can relate to, I think that 2 Thessalonians 1 might actually be a text one might choose. The reason why is because it deals with the issue of enduring through suffering and affliction. And if there’s any topic that everyone can relate to, it’s suffering, isn’t it?
But 2 Thessalonians 1 isn’t simply a chapter in the Bible that tells us suffering will be part of our lives. Rather, it addresses endurance in suffering, how we can endure, why enduring is important, and one important thing God is doing when he brings suffering into our lives, which (according to Romans 5, which we read earlier) produces endurance. Therefore, this morning, I want to highlight these things to you from this first chapters of 2 Thessalonians.
However, before diving in, let me give you a bit of background. Paul preached there and some Jews, a number of God-fearing Greeks, and some prominent women believed (Acts 17:4). However, the unbelieving Jews soon because to go after Paul so that he left and went to Berea. Even there, the unbelieving Jews tried to stir up others against Paul so that he left Berea and went to Athens. While in Athens, Paul sent Timothy to check on the Thessalonians, especially in light of the affliction and persecution they were no doubt enduring in light of what Paul had tasted. Timothy’s report was that they were doing well (1 Thess. 3:1-9), and Paul wrote to them his first letter.
In 2 Thessalonians, we find Paul’s second letter, where it seems the Thessalonians were continuing to face affliction, and some had grown concerned that possibly Christ’s return had somehow already happened. Therefore, Paul’s letter is written to correct them in their mistaken theology and encourage them in the midst of their suffering. It is this last element that we see in chapter 1. Thus, with that said, let’s look at these truths that should encourage us as we strive to persevere in faith and in faithfulness as we walk through times of suffering and persecution. I simply want to note four things. The first is this:
Paul begins the letter with a somewhat customary greeting for him in verses 1-2. Then, in verses 3-4, he notes that God is due thanksgiving for the endurance that is being shown in the Thessalonians’ faith. He writes, “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.”
Now, note a few things about these verses. First, what’s happening with the Thessalonians is the exact opposite of what could be happening as they face persecutions and afflictions. Consider, for example, what happens when we go through suffering as individuals, sometimes severe, as we seek to follow Christ. There can be a temptation to decrease in faith. Perhaps we start to ask if God is present, why he’s allowing this, why he won’t deliver us, or the like. And we can begin to resent other believers who are not facing the level of suffering we are. We might complain to God, asking why this person gets to walk through life with relative ease, while for you to be obedient means to suffer greatly. That is, we can watch our faith weaken and our love for others decrease. But what Paul has found with the Thessalonians is that during their persecution and affliction their faith has actually grown, and their love for one another has increased.
This brings us to a second note I want us to see about these first two verses. Paul speaks about the Thessalonians as if they are responsible men and women who have made godly decisions and sacrifices in order to grow in faith and love. Note that Paul says in verse 4 that he has gone around to other churches boasting to these other churches about the Thessalonians’ steadfastness and faith. You don’t boast to a church about what other believers are doing unless you think of those other believers as making boast-worthy responsible decisions, sacrifices, and the like. Paul treats the Thessalonians as those who are morally responsible people, making significant choices, sacrifices, and decisions to continue pressing on in faith despite persecutions.
Now, I’ve made both of these observations to make this last one that I want to stress. Paul sees the Thessalonians’ steadfastness in faith and growth in love as a gift of God’s grace to them. That is, when he asks why it is that the Thessalonians are growing in faith and increasing in love during persecution, his first answer is that God is giving them the grace to grow in faith and increase in love. God is giving them the grace to be steadfast in persecutions. And the reason why I think we can say that is because of Paul’s declaration in verse 3 that when he sees their faith growing and love increasing, he feels compelled to thank God (“ought to give thanks”) and think it is right of him to thank God for it (“as is right”). And the only reason one would be compelled to give thanks to God and think it is right to give thanks to God for another’s growth in faith and love is if you think that God is the one who enables them (through his gift of grace) to grow in faith and love.
Again, don’t forget what we’ve noted earlier. This doesn’t mean the Thessalonians are not responsible for their growth. They have acted responsibly and their actions are worthy of Paul’s boasting in the other churches. But Paul knows that their faith and love and growth therein is a gift of God’s grace. Therefore, when he sees these things, he is compelled to offer thanksgiving to God in prayer for what he sees in these believers.
So, this is the first truth that I want us to hold to as we consider enduring in faith and faithfulness during times of suffering. As we endure, it is a manifestation of God’s gift of grace to us. It is a manifestation of his gift of strength and empowerment to us. It is his way of saying to us, “You’re holding on because I’m holding on to you.” Therefore, if we ever find ourselves (or other believers) enduring in the midst of trials, we have reason to pause and thank God.
Steadfastness in faith is a reason to praise God. This kind of thing should fill our praises. This doesn’t mean that it’s wrong to thank God that our cancer is gone, that our bills have been paid, or that we made it through that week of three tests and two papers. But it does mean that we have greater reason to praise him if we’re growing in faith and love while battling cancer, when we don’t see how our bills are going to be paid, and when we’re in the midst of struggling to finish those papers and do well on our tests. We give thanks for what we value most, don’t we? And it seems like Paul would tell us that we should value more our growing and enduring faith and increasing love more than we should our relief from trials. Let us recognize that one of God’s greatest gifts to his children is enduring and growing faith and love in the midst of our trials. We hold on to him because he’s holding on to us.
But that’s not all that should encourage us in steadfast faith and love in the midst of trials. We can also note that,
Now, this point may not make sense as you’re just hearing it, but let me describe what I mean by telling you what I think verse 5 means. Then, I hope you’ll be able to see why I’m making this point the way I’m making it.
Paul writes in verse 5, “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.” So, let’s break this down in steps.
1. The Thessalonians are going through suffering for the sake of Christ. This is why Paul says that on account of the kingdom of God they are suffering.
2. Their suffering isn’t surprising because Paul had encouraged others in Acts 14:22 to continue in the faith, saying that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
3. On that final day of judgment, Christ will tell these Thessalonian believers, in the words of Matthew 25:34, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
4. Christ will then declare why they are “worthy” of entering his kingdom. Or, we can say, Christ will provide “evidence of [his] righteous judgment” that these Thessalonians should be admitted into the kingdom of God.
5. One piece of evidence for his righteous judgment that will show they are worthy of the kingdom of God will be that they were steadfast in faith and grew in love, even during times of persecution and affliction in their lives.
That’s what I think Paul means in verse 5. Yes, like you and me, the Thessalonian believers were saved by faith in the finished work of Christ alone. However, when the Lord welcomes them (and all other believers) into his kingdom on that day, he’ll point to evidence in our lives as vindication of his righteous judgment. He’ll point to evidence of works that vindicate our faith. In Matthew 25, he does this by noting that these believers had fed, clothed, and visited the least of their brothers when they were hungry, naked, sick, or in prison. Similarly, when he welcomes the Thessalonians into his kingdom, he’ll say, “Come into my kingdom for you were suffering yet grew in faith and love.” That will be evidence of his righteous judgment.
Therefore, when the Lord brings you through times of suffering and pours out his grace on you so that you grow in faith and love, he is blessing you with a gift that he’ll bring up on that final day. He is blessing you with a gift to be able to demonstrate that you indeed have been made alive in Christ. As the Lord brings suffering in your life and (though you hate the suffering) you endure and grow in faith and love by his grace, he is doing that so that on that final day he might say to you, “Welcome into my kingdom, for you held fast to your faith and grew in love even as ____________ (fill in the blank).” We might say, “Even as you suffered great loss of a loved one,” or “even as you battled through great sickness,” or “even as your own family abandoned you and persecuted you for your faith in me,” or many, many other things. But all of these situations wherein God gives you the strength to endure and grow, though we might hate the suffering, are gifts from God that he will hold up of his righteous judgment concerning you on that final day. He’s giving you works that he’ll speak of to vindicate your judgment of righteousness on that final day.
And though these first two truths serve to encourage us to endure in faith in suffering, there is still more we need to see. We can also say from this text that:
Part of the difficulty of suffering is its length, isn’t it? As terrible as it is to battle a twenty-four hour stomach bug, at least we hold on to the likelihood that it’ll be gone in twenty-four hours. And most trials are like that in our lives. They last a season. But not all of them last a season, do they? Some seem to fill our lives. Some may well last a season, but from our current perspective there is no end in sight.
But Paul reminds us (as he reminds the Thessalonians) that there will be relief one day from our afflictions. Since he’s made reference to our judgment on that final day in verse 5, he goes on to describe what will happen in that final act of judgment in verses 6-10. He writes, “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 those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
Now, your first reaction might be to say that these verses do mention God granting relief to those who are afflicted, but the emphasis seems to be on afflicting those who afflicted us. After all, these verses speak of the Lord repaying those who afflict believers with his own affliction, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know the Lord and do not obey his gospel, and the Lord punishing them with eternal destruction away from his presence. Moreover, that note that “they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” (v. 9) does not mean they’ll simply be destroyed in terms of annihilation. The book of Revelation mentions the unbeliever experiencing torment day and night forever, and the only other time this phrase “eternal destruction” occurs in biblically related literature is in 4 Maccabees, which it speaks of individuals having “torments” that would “cling” to them “for all time.”1 This is confirmation for how the church has historically understood hell – as eternal torment and suffering for the unbeliever.
So, why, if the majority of these verses speak of the suffering of the unbeliever, do I stress that these verses remind us that our salvation means our relief from suffering? Well, I say this because salvation for the believer in the Bible is almost always cast against the backdrop of Christ’s enemies being judged. Just a brief survey will show this. The first promise of salvation in Genesis 3:15 is a promise that the serpent will be crushed. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt happened by the Lord destroying the Egyptians. David’s salvation of Israel came by him slaying a giant named Goliath. And in the book of Revelation, the saint’s rest at the end of the book is prefaced by a celebration of the Lord destroying his (and their) enemies. Finally, ultimate salvation will come only when Christ destroys the last enemy, which is death.
So, although it feels to us a bit odd to think of salvation as that which comes when the Lord, in one moment, both judges our enemies and gives us rest, that is indeed how salvation is given to us in Scripture. Therefore, when Paul writes to a group of persecuted believers and tells them their persecutors will be judged because God sees it just to punish those who afflict his people as he comes to grant relief to his own, that is a declaration by Paul to these believers that their salvation is coming.
All that to say, the Lord isn’t telling us to endure amidst suffering forever. He’s telling us to endure now, but there will be a day when he’ll take it away. So, hold on. It will end. It may only end when our life in this wasting away body is over, but it will end. The Lord is coming back, and one reason he’s coming is to grant relief to his people.
So, Paul shows us that our steadfast faith and enduring and growing love is given to us by God in the midst of suffering, that times of enduring faith and growing in love in the midst of great suffering is used by God to vindicate his righteous judgment of us on that final day, and that that final day will mean relief for us from all suffering, loss, and pain. But there is one more element we see in this text that I think can encourage us as we seek to endure and grow in faith and love in the midst of great trials. It is this:
After noting all that the Thessalonians have done to cause him to boast of them and all that God has done in them, Paul then tells them some content of his intercession. That is, when he prays for them, he not only thanks God for them, but he makes requests of God. So, what does he ask God for in those times of prayer? Paul writes, “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” (vv. 10-12).
Here we get a great insight into what Paul prays for as he goes to intercede for other believers. The first element of his prayer – that God might make them worthy of his calling – could be confusing. But a few notes might help us. When Paul speaks of believers being “called” he always means “saved.” In Paul’s letters, to be called is to be saved. Moreover, Paul never envisions someone being worthy to be called/saved prior to being called by God. Rather, what Paul is saying is that he’s praying that the Lord would now fashion those whom he has already called to himself by making them more and more conformed to the image of his Son, something that will only be complete when Christ returns.
What does that look like, then, for these Thessalonians? Paul continues by noting that he asks the Lord to “fulfill every resolve for good” and “every work of faith by his power.” See, Paul is assuming that these Thessalonians, who have come to faith, have new desires. Before they may have sought out ways to gratify their flesh, but now, they long to do good. They long to obey the Lord whatever the cost. They have dreams about how the Lord might work in their lives to honor himself. They long to do good works by faith. Paul assumes that because he knows that the inner transformation that happens in a believer. So, when he prays he prays that God might empower them according to his grace to be able to fulfill every resolve they have to do good in order that their lives might bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ.
You see, Paul doesn’t just assume God is working in them and that they’ll do good. He prays for these things. Paul sees prayer as God effective ordained means to bring about persevering obedience in the lives of his children. Therefore, he prays for this.
This, then, leads us to ask ourselves two questions. First, do we think about prayer the same way Paul does? That is, do we simply assume that our brothers and sisters will be made more like Christ, will walk in good works, and will persevere in faithful obedience and so fail to pray for them? And, second, if we do pray for our brothers and sisters, are these the kinds of things that we pray for them?
We noted in verses 3-5 that we typically give thanks for those things we most value. We might also add that we typically ask God for what we most value. So, if we took the content of our thanksgiving and the content of our intercession, what would they show we value. Perhaps good health? Perhaps our material prosperity? Maybe the material or academic success of our children? I don’t mean to suggest that any of these things is wrong to give thanks for or to ask God for, but if these are the things we give thanks for and the things we ask God for to the exclusion of the kinds of things we see Paul praying for here, then perhaps it shows that our values have become a bit out of balance.
Don Carson has insightfully asked the question, “How will [our] values appear thirty years or forty billion years from now?”2 It may be best to allow the content of our requests to the Lord in prayer to be guided by what things we might be valuable for eternity. Your cancer might not go away, but your growth in faith and love in the midst of battling cancer is an eternally valuable and glorious thing.
Therefore, how do we find strength to endure in faith and love and even grow in faith and love in times of great trials, affliction, and suffering? Let us realize our endurance is a gift of God’s grace, recognize that our suffering provides an opportunity to walk in faithfulness so that the Lord may well use these times in our lives to vindicate his declaration that we are worthy of his kingdom on that final day, realize that we only endure in this life since final judgment will bring us eternal relief, and, finally, we pray for these things. We pray that God will strengthen ourselves and others to fulfill every resolve for good, walk in faithful obedience, endure in faith, and grow in love.
And one more thing I must mention is that in all of these things, we never lose sight of the fact that if our faith is in Christ’s finished work of living, dying, and being raised for us, then we have been forgiven of our sins and credited before our judge with the very righteousness of Christ. Therefore, let us come to the table now, with our eyes fixed on our Savior, declaring that we have indeed heard and received his glorious Word this morning. Amen.