2 THESSALONIANS 12007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Thessalonians 1

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007.

This morning, we're starting Second Thessalonians. It's a new book, but it's not a new city. It's not a new church that we're considering and and reading about this morning. It's Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. A quick reminder of the background Thessalonica.

was located in northern Greece. It was a major city because of its location. It was a center of commerce, whether by land or by sea. They both went through the city of Thessalonica. Paul went there on his second missionary journey. We read about it in the book of Acts, chapter 17, verses 1 through 9.

He spent three weeks ministering there. And at the end of that three weeks, those three Sabbaths, he was driven out when envious Jews gathered a mob and attacked the house where Paul was staying.

And so Paul is driven out of Thessalonica. He goes down and hits a couple of different places, but ends up in Corinth not very long afterwards. And that is the place where Paul writes these letters and sends them off to the church in Thessalonica.

He wrote first and second Thessalonians fairly close to one another, probably within just a few months. And he wrote them after sending Timothy to find out how they were doing because of the great persecution that was taking place, because of the great tribulation that they were experiencing.

And of course, Timothy brought back a good report of their faith, love and hope that we saw over and over again in 1 Thessalonians. But he also shared with Paul some confusion that they had concerning the return of Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians is written really with similar conditions. He hears of their continued faith, love, and hope, and that's what we'll be looking at this morning. But there's still some confusion amongst them about end time events and the coming of the Lord. And we'll get into that next week as we look at chapter 2.

But this morning, Paul starts out verses 1 and 2 with very typical greeting. He says, As Paul is writing to this church, you'll notice that he's very comforting in his words.

First, he introduces himself and his companions. Of course, the Apostle Paul we're very familiar with, Silvanus. He's also known as Silas, and he was also with Paul when he wrote the letter of 1 Thessalonians, as well as Timothy, another well-known companion of Paul, who was again with him when he wrote 1 Thessalonians. And then he gives them his usual greeting, grace to you and peace from God.

We're familiar with this phrase and with this greeting because Paul uses it in all of his letters. He begins them with this greeting of grace and peace. Grace to you and peace from God. Think about for just a moment, though, the impact that this would have, even though it's familiar to us and probably was familiar to them. The Thessalonians are experiencing great trial and persecution.

to the extent that it was enough to drive Paul out of Thessalonica. It wasn't just a little bit of a problem or a little bit of an issue, but there's great suffering that is taking place. And that's really what this chapter is all about. Their endurance of these tribulations. You and I can somewhat relate to the church of Thessalonica because we all experience trials and tribulation. And so grace and peace...

even though it's commonplace to us and probably to them, would minister a lot and mean a lot to them considering the circumstances that they were in. Grace, often defined as undeserved favor and kindness.

When someone is greeted with this word grace to you, the idea is that may God treat you in great and wonderful ways that you do not deserve. It's really wishing God to do the best that he can do in the life of a person.

And how important that would be to someone who is suffering greatly, to someone who is experiencing tribulation and persecution. And peace from God. Peace describes the satisfaction of the soul or the quietness of the soul. One definite definition I looked up that I really liked is,

Put it this way. Peace is the tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot of whatever whatsoever sort that is.

It's a soul that's at peace, that's at rest in God, knowing that God is in control, knowing that whatever happens comes through the filter of God's love and that God is going to be glorified and that he's going to work all things together for good. This church, in the midst of trial and tribulation, they understand the need for God's grace and peace.

And this morning, as we finish off the chapter, we learn from Paul the necessary principles for enduring tribulation. But we'll also learn how to relate to those who are enduring tribulation. Two important things that we need to know as Christians. When we experience trouble and tribulation, when we experience hardship in our lives, what do we need to know and what do we need to keep on doing? What do we need to be practicing?

Paul will share with us. But also, on those other times where we're not going through difficult things, but instead there's people around us that are experiencing trial and tribulation. How do we relate to them? As Christians, how are we called to live and react and share with them? First of all, we're looking at enduring tribulation. It should come as no surprise to you, what is necessary to endure tribulation?

It's the things that we've been studying through 1 Thessalonians. Do you remember those three things repeated over and over and over again that I shared with you time and time and time again? What are they? Faith, love, and hope. Real quiet like. That's important. Faith, love, and hope. These same things that were so important in the letter of 1 Thessalonians that we saw time and time again carry over here into this first chapter of 2 Thessalonians.

This is what you need, Paul says, or this is what you have. And this is why I thank God, because you continue in these things. He says in verse three, we are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because of your faith or because your faith grows exceedingly. And the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.

Here we see in verse 3, faith and love combined together. Paul mentions them. Quick reminder, faith, what is that? Well, we defined it as obedience to God at his word. Love, that's an overwhelming concern for and desire to serve others. And hope is a confident focus on eternity. These are the things that you and I need in the trials and tribulation that we face.

We saw them over and over again in 1 Thessalonians and the different situations that Paul was saying that that's how he knew that they were saved. That's how he knew that God was continuing the work. And that's why he thanks God now, because he knows that they're walking with God, even though they're in the midst of these trials and tribulations. In these chapters...

or in this chapter rather, we really see the balance from 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians mentioned all three but focused mainly, and we talked more in depth, on faith and love. But here in 2 Thessalonians 1, faith and love are mentioned, but hope is what is described in length. We see faith and love mentioned in verse 3, but hope will be dealing with hope throughout verses 4 through 9.

And so Paul will emphasize the subject of hope and we'll get to learn more in depth what hope is and what it means for us to hope. The best thing for you, if you're going through trials and tribulations, if you're experiencing hardship, if you are suffering, that what you need the most is faith, love and hope. You need to be growing in these things, continuing in these things. It's what will be most beneficial for you in your trial.

Paul says in verse 3, we're bound to thank God always for you. See, here's how we know that they're doing well. Here's how we know that they're doing what's right and how we can learn from their example. Because Paul is reflecting on how they're doing in the middle of this trial and tribulation. And it requires him, he says, I'm bound to thank God for you because you continue to grow in faith. And your love abounds towards each other.

Your faith grows exceedingly. You're exceedingly obedient to God at His word. More and more, you're learning to be obedient to Him. More and more, you're faithful to obey His commands and to live by His principles and His ways. This is something we saw in 1 Thessalonians as well. The importance of never ceasing to grow in our Christian faith. That we don't stop growing. We don't stop growing.

Becoming mature. We don't stop growing in faith. Learning to be obedient. It's a constant growth, a constant battle to be obedient to God. But here, even in the midst of trials, we learn that it is important.

When you're going through trial and tribulation, don't toss out the commands of God. Don't toss out the principles of God. Well, a lot of good that did me, you know, got me into this mess. No, continue to be faithful to God and his word. Be people of faith. Paul is saying, hey, there's such significant growth in you. It's remarkable, right?

It's remarkable how much you're growing in your obedience to God. And so we're bound to thank God always for you. Now, in reality, you probably know that it's during trials and tribulations when we do grow the most. That's why James, in James 1, verses 2-4, he tells us, "...my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

James tells us, similar to what Paul is referencing here, Hey, count it joy when you face trials and tribulations. Not that you should be gleeful because you suffer, but count it joy because you know that through that, God is working in you to bring you to perfection, to bring you to completion. And so,

you know that during trials and tribulations is when God is causing you to grow the most. During times of ease and no problems and no tough situations, that's not usually times when we grow. That's when we kick back and relax and just enjoy life. And there's not much going on in our spiritual growth. But when we suffer, when there's hardship,

That's when we grow. As Christians, you and I are going to suffer. We're going to experience hardship. We're going to be persecuted. We're going to endure tribulations and trials. But we're to count it as joy because we know that through these things, God is working in us. He's working on us and he's going to be working through us. Are you going through difficulty? Perhaps like the family I shared about or maybe a different area, different situation.

situation? Are you experiencing hardship? What you need to do is grow exceedingly in faith. Be obedient to God at his word. Continue to trust in him, not just faith, but also in love. He says the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Love we defined as an overwhelming concern for and desire to serve others.

Here Paul recognizes that they're doing well in love. And it causes him to give thanks to God for them. I think this is a good test of our maturity. How do we treat others when we ourselves are experiencing difficult circumstances?

Oh, it's easy to love people when it's easy, when it's convenient. But it's much harder to love people when it's hard. I know that sounds like a simple statement. It's easy to love people when it's easy and it's hard to love people when it's hard. But you know what I mean. When you are experiencing difficulty, when you're going through the trial, when I'm experiencing the tribulation,

The tendency is me. You need to know about me and you need to minister to my need and you need to take care of me. But what Paul is saying is, hey, you guys are experiencing these trials and tribulations, but your love for one another is abounding. You're overflowing with love for one another. You're ministering to each other's needs. You're looking out for each other. You're serving one another and not demanding that everybody serve you because things are difficult.

They don't simply have love, but it abounds towards one another. And again, like faith, we continue to grow. They're continuing to grow and to overflow with love. And it's something important for us.

to do as well, to grow, but to overflow with love. And there's something that happens when people go through difficult situations together and we experience hardship together that does unite in love and create a bond of love that could happen no other way. You could ask some of those who went with us to Israel last year. There was a little bit of hardship right at the beginning of the trip.

Our flight was delayed. We missed our connecting flight. We had to run like crazy people all over London Heathrow Airport, the worst airport ever, in the middle of construction, going from building to building with really long security lines. We missed our flight, so we got a new flight that was going through Germany. We had to go there, get frisked about five or six times on the way to different terminals. Then we finally get to Israel. Twenty-four hours later, the

Of course, lost our luggage by that time. And we start the tour. We go a couple of days in the same clothes. You get the picture. There was a little bit of hardship and aggravation and irritation. And by the first couple of days of the trip, we were a pretty tight knit group. There was this bond of love. But it's an evidence of maturity.

It's an evidence of what are you going to do when you're in this? You're going to lash out at everybody and cause everybody to serve you and look to your needs? Or are you going to love and look out for one another? And there's the need for us, even though we're all experiencing things, even though we personally may be going through things.

To minister to the needs of others, to abound and overflow in love. Are you going through trials? Don't isolate yourself. Don't get off by yourself and just think that you need to be alone and that way no one bothers you or anything like that. But seek for ways to love others and to include others in your life because they will help you carry the weight and carry the burden as you experience that.

Now, Paul makes quick mention of faith and love, but now he begins to talk about hope. What is hope? Well, first, let's read verse four. It says so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.

This idea of hope. Now, Paul doesn't use the actual word here, but this is hope that he's talking about when he says your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. Remember, First Thessalonians, chapter one, verse three. Paul thanked God at that time, remembering their work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope. See, patience is a product of hope.

As a result of hope, you're able to suffer long, to endure, to have patience in the midst of trials and tribulations. Patience comes from hope. What is hope? Hope is a confident focus on eternity. A confident focus on eternity. And Paul says, hey, we boast among you because of your patience, because you're focused on eternity and not this life. You're able to endure hope.

These trials and tribulations. You're able to endure these persecutions. And that's the first point that I want to share with you. Four points this morning on the subject of hope. The first point is that hope produces endurance. Hope produces endurance. They have patience and faith in the midst of these trials and tribulations. They're able to endure because they're focused on eternity in the kingdom of God.

Hope is not limited to the end of a particular trial. It's not focused on the end of this situation. Wednesday, about 9 o'clock in the morning, I went to my scheduled dentist appointment. And you know I hate dental work. I couldn't wait for it to be over. They were doing a root canal on the very farthest tooth you can do. And so there was very much discomfort. And I could not wait for it to be over. Now, that's not hope.

Hope isn't, you know, once I get through this and that's what I was hoping for. No, that's not hope. Hope is the confident focus on eternity, not the next season of, you know, no pain or difficulty or people's hands in your mouth. Hope is the focus on being with God in eternity. Hope is on what God has in store in eternal life.

The scope is much larger than the current trial than we're experiencing. Now, when we're in the midst of the trial, that's not how the scope appears. Right. You know how it is. Your whole world is consumed with that trial. But in reality, hope, because it's confident focus on eternity, puts that trial back in perspective.

to, like Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we consider our light and momentary sufferings. Now, at the time, they don't seem light and momentary. We don't typically think of them that way. But when we have hope, when we have confident focus on eternity, it puts it back in perspective and we realize these things are just for a moment. These things are light afflictions.

Even though they may be the most difficult thing that we've experienced in our lives. The hope is the confident focus on eternity. And because we have that hope, because that's the scope that we keep our eyes fixed upon, we can put back in perspective the things that we're experiencing. Think about it this way. Think about Jesus's hardship or difficulty or pain.

If he was just focused on getting through the pain of the cross, understand that he could have come down from there at any moment. He could have called in a legion of angels and wiped out the whole Roman Empire. But he wasn't focused on just getting out of that trial. He was focused on eternity. He was focused on the result for the joy that was set before him. He endured the cross. Hebrews 12 tells us.

And because he wasn't just focused on getting out of that trial, he was focused on the eternal benefit and what was best for eternity. He endured. He continued on. He persisted through the pain, through the hardship, through the sorrow, through the difficulty. See, hope produces endurance. He endured the cross and he calls us to endure the trials and tribulations that we go through. Not simply looking for the immediate fulfillment or immediate removal, but

of our current pain and hardship but looking eternally at what god has in store and it produces in us endurance set your eyes on eternity not just the end of your trouble and you'll be able to endure persecution and tribulation just like the thessalonians so number one hope produces endurance number two as we go on into verse five we find that hope proves god's righteous judgment

Hope proves God's righteous judgment. Verse 5 says, Manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, or proof of the righteous judgment of God. Their endurance that's produced by hope is proof that,

Paul says, Paul says,

And this proves the righteous judgment of God. How? Well, it proves that there's a distinction between those who live for the kingdom of God and those who do not. It proves that a person can respond to the gospel message and be saved. It proves that the truth can be known. In essence, those who are persecuting the Thessalonians are saying, you are not one of us. You are different and we do not like it.

That's what Jesus said would happen in John 15, 19. He tells his disciples and you and I, if you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The world hates you because you're different. You're not of the world. You're separate and distinct. And the fact that they treat you that way, Paul says, proves God's righteous judgment.

proves that there's a difference, proves that there's a distinction, and proves that the truth can be known, that salvation is obtained by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul says, keep hoping. This patience that you have because of hope is proof of the righteous judgment of God. The patience and hope that you have are proof that you are a part of the kingdom of God and not of this world.

Now, what is God's righteous judgment? Well, he describes it for us in the following verses. And we'll look at verse 6 as well as verses 8 and 9. It says in verse 6, What is God's righteous judgment? Here it is. It's God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. But it's also...

For God to punish with eternal judgment those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel. We see that in verses 8 and 9. Here we find the third point about hope. Hope includes the righteous judgment of God. And I word it that way so that we have the understanding. Hope is not just kind of fluffy, good feeling type of thing.

Although we talk about hope as the confident focus on eternity and we look forward to our eternal state with God. And that's wonderful. And there's great things that God has for us there. But in our confident focus on eternity, there's more to eternity than heaven. Because also there is eternal state known as hell or the lake of fire. And a confident focus on eternity includes both.

Hope includes the righteous judgment of God. Now, this can be a difficult one. Sometimes we can have a difficult time with understanding God's judgment. And we'll look at that in these verses here, verses 6, 8 and 9. Paul says it's a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation. It's not an evil thing, but it's righteous. It's right for God to repay and it's God's right to repay.

Romans chapter 12, verse 19, Paul tells us, hey, brethren, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. It's God's responsibility. He owns the right to repay, to bring justice.

For what is taking place and what has been done. We're not to try to accomplish justice on our own. We must allow God to repay. We must give place for God to take wrath instead of taking it into our own hands. Now there's a lot that we could talk about as far as our rights as citizens. And Paul demonstrated that. He used his rights as a Roman citizen. But we need to keep the understanding that

Even though we have rights as citizens and so on and so forth, we need to keep the understanding that it's God's right to repay. We shouldn't look for justice to be done just here on this earth. But we should understand that there is a bigger picture because we have a confident focus on eternity and we know that God will make those things right.

It's a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, those who are coming against you because of the faith, those who are trying to take advantage of you. God will bring them tribulation. He will fight that fight. He will repay them for the injustice and the wrong that's done. And I think we can understand that for the most part, this part at least, because it makes sense. Those who persecute Christians...

those who give God's people hard times and difficulty, God has a right to make things for those people difficult. He has a right to punish them for what they have done. You know, we can understand this because it's similar to our justice system. If it works effectively, as it doesn't always do. But, you know, you do the crime and you do the time.

You receive the just penalty for what you have done. And the same is true with crimes committed against God and against his people. He has the right to give tribulation to those who have troubled Christians.

Where it gets more difficult to understand is here in verses 8 and 9. Verse 8 says, Now we're talking about more than just an eye for an eye. Now we're talking about everlasting punishment.

And this is the part that can be hard for many people to swallow, to understand, to grasp hold of. But this is part of hope. Part of having a confident focus on eternity is also recognizing the righteous judgment of God and eternal punishment. Now, this may not be pleasant to consider, but we need to understand it. It keeps us really in the fear of the Lord.

It motivates us to share with others and it gives us compassion for those who persecute us. As we understand and keep in our confident focus on eternity, the realization that there is a heaven and that there is a hell and it is eternal punishment, it will help us to fear the Lord.

To understand that we have to stand before him and give him an account of our lives. It will help us to be motivated to share with others because we do not want others to go to eternal punishment.

But it will also help us to have compassion on those who persecute us. You know, Jesus said to love your enemies in Matthew 5, 44. How can we do that? How is that possible? How do you love those who revile you and persecute you and do all kinds of evil against you? By remembering what awaits for them if they do not repent. See, the scope is bigger. On the one hand, we cry for justice because we want that immediate justice.

But on the other hand, because we have the love of God upon our hearts, because we're learning to love like he does, we can understand and realize that if they do not turn to Jesus Christ, they will spend eternity in punishment, in damnation, in separation from God. Understanding this gives us compassion for those who mistreat us. It's why we can love them.

Because ultimately, as much as we hate what they're doing and how difficult and painful it is right now, we don't want them to spend eternity in hell. God doesn't want them to spend eternity in hell. He's not willing that any should perish.

And so we need to have a confident focus on eternity, including the righteous judgment of God, because hell is real. There really is a place of eternal damnation. The Bible teaches it very clearly. And Paul describes or refers to two groups of people that will experience this righteous judgment of God. Two groups of people. Number one, he says, those who do not know God. Who's going to experience this?

Everlasting destruction? This punishment of God? Who's going to experience God in flaming fire taking vengeance on them? Those who do not know God. Now critics of the faith are always concerned about that one person in the middle of Africa that never hears the gospel message. This is really the answer for that question. How will God judge them? Remember that God's judgments are righteous. They're right. There will never be a time where you can look back and

As you enter into eternity and say, God, you weren't right in doing this. You are wrong in this decision. You are wrong in this judgment. No, that will never take place. As we look back, as we enter into eternity, even those who are condemned to eternal damnation will recognize it's right. It's just. It's fair. It's the right thing for God to do. Those who have never heard the gospel message are not judged according to the gospel message.

But they're judged according to their knowledge of God. Romans chapter 1 explains it to us very clearly. Paul says,

Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Paul says in Romans chapter 1, verses 20 and 21, No person, no human being has an excuse. Everyone is without excuse because the evidence in creation itself is sufficient for a person to know God.

But Paul says, since they didn't know God, although they knew him, they didn't glorify him as God. They became futile and their thoughts and foolish hearts were darkened. God will judge in flaming fire with eternal punishment those who do not know God. Those, even if they've never heard the gospel message before,

Who do not know God because there's sufficient evidence is sufficient enough and what God has already given for them to know God. The second group that Paul mentions is those who do not obey the gospel. These are the ones who have received the gospel message. These are the ones who have heard the message of Jesus Christ dying upon the cross for our sin.

But even though they've heard this message, they will not receive him as their Savior and Lord. They refuse to obey the gospel message. What does it mean to obey the gospel message? It means to believe in Jesus, that he is who he says he is, and to trust him for salvation, just like he told us to. That's the obedience to the gospel message. It's what's required for salvation.

Those who do not know God and those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ, God will take vengeance and flaming fire. They will experience eternal punishment, as he says here in 2 Thessalonians 1. Romans chapter 10 tells us, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For the scripture says, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Obedience to the gospel message is calling out, confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God has raised him from the dead and you will be saved. The consequences for not knowing God, for not obeying the gospel message are eternal. They're right and just.

There shall be punishment or these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. So hope produces endurance. Hope proves the righteous judgment of God and hope includes the righteous judgment of God. Fourthly, the final area of hope. Hope is fulfilled when Jesus returns.

Hope is fulfilled when Jesus returns. We see this in verse 7 as well as verse 10. Verse 7 says, Verse 10,

Again, hope is not limited to being focused on the end of our immediate trial. But when is hope fulfilled? He says in verse 7, when the Lord Jesus is revealed. In verse 10, he says, when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints. That's when hope is fulfilled. In that day, when Jesus comes, that's when fulfillment of hope takes place. Because it's the confident focus on eternity that is the beginning of

That is the beginning of the rest of eternity. God does plan to give the troubled rest, but his primary concern is not to give us rest here in this life. He may do that, and often he blesses us more than we deserve, but his ultimate goal is to give us rest in eternity because God has the eternal perspective in mind.

Again, we have a hard time seeing past the current hardship and pain and the hurt of right now. We would prefer immediate rest. But God sees all of eternity. He knows what's best for us in the eternal scope. And so when Jesus is revealed and when he comes in that day, that is when God plans to bring justice. That's when he will bring his righteous judgment.

And we will be able to look and say and agree, yes, Lord, all your ways are right and true. They are just. You have not made any wrong decision. Paul says in verse 10, because you believe the gospel, you will take part of this. This is your hope that Jesus will be glorified in you and that he will be admired by you. I like this word admired. It means to wonder, to marvel at something.

In essence, we'll be wondering and marveling, how can God be so good to us? It's like Ephesians 2, verse 7, which says that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. The exceeding riches of his grace. For the ages to come, he's going to be having us as trophies of his grace. We're going to look at one another. You're going to look at me.

You're going to know, even as I'm fully known, you're going to say, I can't believe. Look what God did. God saved you. God did that work in you. He did that work through you. We're going to be testimonies of God for the rest of eternity, that in the ages to come, we might see the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Oh, wow. Look what Jesus did. Look what God has done for us. Look how incredible and merciful God is.

Hope, the confident focus on eternity. Now, Paul ends verses 11 and 12, and we learn from him here, and I'll reflect on a few things throughout the chapter, how to encourage those who are in tribulation. It's not you in the trial right now, but there's someone around you, someone that you're in contact with that is experiencing tribulation. How do we encourage them? Verses 11 and 12, Paul says, therefore,

We also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We can learn a lot from Paul here in relating to those who are in tribulation. It's evident many times that Christians do not know how to deal with someone who is hurting and struggling.

Sometimes Christians condemn people who are experiencing hardship. This is the case with Job's friends. They figure, they calculate, hey, this only happens to people who are in sin. And so they accuse him over and over throughout the book of sin. And today it continues that way. Christians do the same. Hey, you're in sin. You must repent. You don't have faith. This is your fault. You know, you're the cause of this situation that you're experiencing. And that's the wrong way to approach it.

Christians sometimes were guilty of giving false promises, not really with bad intentions, but just to try to ease the pain. You know, we say it'll be OK. God won't let that happen. And on and on, we could go with different examples of these promises that we give when we really don't know if that's the truth. We really don't know if that's God's plan, if that's God's will, because, again, he has the eternal scope in mind and we only see what's right here and now.

And that's not right either. We shouldn't condemn people who are in difficulty. Nor should we give false promises. Or sometimes a third group...

Third way we relate to those who are in tribulation. Sometimes Christians, we just avoid those people altogether. Those people who are in hardship. Those people who are experiencing difficulty. Because we don't know how to deal with it. We don't know what to say. We don't know how to relate to them. We just kind of avoid them altogether and hope that they'll be alright. All three of these are the wrong way to relate to people in tribulation. We can look at the example of Paul. How we should relate to others who are hurting.

who are going through trouble, going through tribulation. Four quick points. First, Paul greets them with grace and peace. He greets them with grace and peace. He goes to them. He greets them. He's not waiting for them to come to him, but he sends the message. And he says, grace and peace. The grace of God be with you. The peace of God. Now, this is not a peace of your mind. This is the peace of God.

Greet them with the grace and peace of God. I was listening the other day to pastor's perspective and a woman called in who was sharing that I believe it's her mom or someone that she knew that they were sick and and she would come to church and every Sunday the same person would meet her as she was coming into the church. Did you receive your healing yet? And she would say no. And the person would say, I guess you just don't have enough faith.

And every week, week after week, this is how they were greeted. No, this is not how we're to greet one another. This is not how we're to greet those who are in trial and tribulation. Greet with grace and peace. Hey, may God bless you with wonderful things that you don't deserve. May you have rest and quietness for your soul as you completely trust in God.

And wait upon him for salvation. So first, Paul greets them with grace and peace. Second, Paul shares with them why he thanks God for them. He shares with them, really, hey, you guys are doing well. Look at what God is doing. I'm thankful to God for these great characteristics in your life. I'm thankful to God for your faith. I'm thankful to God for your love and for your continued hope.

Paul's thanking God for them and sharing with them why he's thankful to God for them. And that's important as well, as we greet those who are hurting, those who are going through persecution, that they know that there's reason to thank God for their life, for things that are taking place in their character and in their heart. Third, he points them to eternity. The whole focus of Paul here in chapter one is on eternity.

He's not telling them, hey, you know, this is going to be over. This is going to happen or just wait a few more months. And this persecution should, you know, be dismissed or whatever. He says, look to eternity. Look to eternity. Look to the righteous judgment of God. Look to when we're going to be with him. Look to when he returns. Look to when we're glorified in him and he's glorified in us. That's what we're praying for. He's just continually focusing them, pointing their attention to eternity.

And the same when we deal with those who are hurting and in tribulation. We don't have the answers for right now. And we don't know what God's going to do immediately. But what we do know, our hope, our confident focus on eternity is He's going to prove Himself righteous. And so we can confidently, with full assurance, point those who are hurting, those who are going through trial, to eternity. That's our hope. That is

is when his righteous judgment will be fulfilled. And fourthly, he prays always for them. He prays always for them. You know, Paul's very encouraging to them. We can see in this chapter, thanking God for them, boasting of them, praying always for them, pointing into eternity. He's very encouraging. And this is how we need to learn to be, to greet him with grace and peace.

To share with them why we thank God for them. To point them to eternity and to pray for them always. I love how the New International Version phrases Paul's prayer in verses 11 and 12. Allow me to read it to you. He says,

We pray this 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. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.