Holiness is not a harsh word; it is God’s love language. Holiness makes fellowship and relationship with God possible. The words “be holy” occur thirty-nine times in the Bible. Apostle Peter said, “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1Pt 1:15), and the writer of Hebrews warns that without holiness, “no one will see the Lord” (12:14).
Some will say that Paul’s warning was a negative confession and should not have been spoken. Some Church Growth “experts” tell us we will never grow a church by telling people at the outset that when they become believers in Jesus Christ, they will face opposition from Satan and secular society. Instead, they say we should keep it positive. Promise them peace and prosperity or health and wealth, but never tell them that in the world there will be tribulation or that those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
We can have faith to move mountains, but that does not negate the fact that this is war; it is a struggle against spiritual opposition. Though the outcome is not in doubt, the fact remains that while we can always be victorious, there is no victory without a battle. Furthermore, in verse 18 of our text, Paul tells us that while Satan cannot defeat us, he can hinder us. How does Satan hinder Holy Spirit-baptized, faith-talking, and Bible-walking believers of Jesus Christ? Paul doesn’t tell us exactly how Satan hindered him. However, we can surmise some things from the Bible that hint at the ways Satan can hinder God’s people.
When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are engaged in a supernatural act. Neither the message nor the power is our own, and the outcome is not dependent upon our elocution or rhetorical skills. When we open our mouths “to tell the old, old story, of Jesus and His love,” the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses (Ac 1:8). So, we can be sure that God’s word will accomplish what God has purposed, it will not return void (Is 55:11).
Paul, Silas, and Timothy had pure motives. They lived righteous lives because they never wanted anything they did or said to detract from the Good News that Jesus saves. As my mother told me when I was just a child growing up in the hills of West Virginia, God is always watching. Even now, when I return to my old home place, there is no cell service or internet. They call it being “off the grid,” but when it comes to God, there is no place where He does not know what we are doing, or saying, or thinking.
Author Steven Covey is credited with coining the phrase, “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” For Paul, the main thing, above every other thing, was the Gospel. It is significant that in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-9, Paul refers to the “gospel” four times. In Biblical interpretation, when a writer repeats a word, it usually indicates that he is emphasizing that point, and the point for Paul was that he and his team preached the Gospel in Thessalonica, and through the Gospel, a church was established.
If we lived in a world without Bibles, and the only thing anyone knew about Christianity was what they saw in the way we lived and heard in the way we spoke, what kind of Christians would there be in the world? We might argue that they should follow Jesus and not us, but in the first century, the main way people learned theology was through the disciple-rabbi relationship, where the disciples were expected to imitate their teachers. Paul was a follower of Jesus, and he endeavored to live "the Christ life." He tried to live the way he believed Jesus would live.
All of us want our church to be a thriving church, but in addition to being a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Jesus-preaching, praying church, we as members of this local body of Christ must be prepared to engage in works of faith and labors of love, while maintaining our patience of hope in Jesus Christ.
When Paul proclaimed peace over the Thessalonians, he did not promise the persecution would end. He was not saying that the culture was suddenly going to embrace them. He was not saying that their external realities were going to change dramatically. He was saying that regardless of what anyone did or said to them, they could remain Christlike. Irrespective of the cost or consequences of living for Christ, they could do it without living in constant fear, anger, or anxiety.
God has not stepped down or relinquished His power and authority to anyone. Therefore, as people with our faith and trust in God, we know that even in this life, God sees us, hears us, and responds to us when we pray. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him because He cares for us (1Pt 5:7). Today, we will look at Psalm 18, which affirms in no uncertain terms that God still hears and answers the prayers of His people.
