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You can turn in your Bibles to 
the book of 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Just for those who know what 
Paul is writing about in this chapter, you don't have to worry. 
We will not be dealing with the detailed exposition of who the 
man of sin is. but rather we'll be focusing 
on verses 13 to 17. And Paul's transition here from 
those who are unrighteous who do not believe the truth to those 
who are brethren beloved by the Lord, those who are righteous 
because of Christ and for Him, and those who do believe in the 
truth. But for the sake of context, 
we'll pick up reading at verse 1 of 2 Thessalonians chapter 
2. Now, brethren, concerning the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to 
Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either 
by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the 
day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any 
means, for that day will not come unless the falling away 
comes first. And the man of sin is revealed, 
the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all 
that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as 
God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you 
not remember that when I was still with you I told you these 
things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be 
revealed in his own time. for the mystery of lawlessness 
is already at work. Only he who now restrains will 
do so until he is taken out of the way, and then the lawless 
one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath 
of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of 
Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all 
unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did 
not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And 
for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they 
should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who 
did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren 
beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose 
you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the 
truth, to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining 
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, 
stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether 
by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ 
Himself and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us 
everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts 
and establish you in every good word and work. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank 
you that we can consider now this passage of Holy Scripture. 
We thank you that we have this portion of Holy Scripture before 
us. We pray, Lord God, that you'd help us, that you would send 
the ministry of your Holy Spirit, that you would open up our hearts 
and our minds to receive the truth. Lord God, that he would 
edify and encourage the saints that are within these four walls, 
and God, that he would save sinners by the preaching of your word, 
by and through your Holy Scripture. We pray these things in the name 
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, this, of 
course, is Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, most likely 
written in or around 52 AD. 52 AD, one of the earliest writings 
in the New Testament, or certainly of Paul's epistles, probably 
as early as Galatians and James, but no doubt written around 52 
AD. And his second letter, and what 
Paul is doing in his letters to the Thessalonians, among other 
things, he's correcting certain errors and certain wrong doctrines 
and wrong approaches to eschatology that were going on within the 
church at Thessalonica. And what Paul is doing, certainly 
at the beginning of his epistle here, is that he is correcting 
an error that came into the church at Thessalonica, and we see something 
of that error, or something of the confusion and deception that 
took place at verse 1 and 2. Now, brethren, concerning the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to 
Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either 
by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the 
day of Christ had come. Many believe, many commenting, 
and many theologians believe that some were writing under 
the guise of the Apostle Paul, or under the names of Apostles, 
writing to the Church at Thessalonica, trying to shake them up, trying 
to trouble them, and writing concerning bad eschatology, or 
bad doctrine concerning the last days. and he describes a coming 
judgment upon the man of sin and upon those who followed after 
him. Now, we'll talk about verses 
13-16 for a moment, but just to note on verses 1-8 of 2 Thessalonians 
chapter 2, most likely who Paul is writing about here, or what 
Paul is writing about, is a contemporaneous issue that affected the church 
in Thessalonica. Paul is not writing in chapter 
2 about a future coming of the Lord Jesus Christ or his second 
advent, but rather it's something that the Thessalonians would 
see in their own context within their own time. He writes at 
verse 6, And now you know what is restraining, that he may be 
revealed in his own time, for the mystery of lawlessness is 
already at work. And I would side with those who 
would identify the man of sin as Nero Caesar, and those who 
followed him were those who did not believe, but those who received 
the mark of the beast in Revelation. Those who followed Caesar and 
did not follow Christ within the Roman Empire. But you can 
talk to me about that afterwards. We're going to get to the better 
portion, not the better portion, but the portion for our focus 
this morning, which is the contrast between brethren beloved by the 
Lord and those who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in 
unrighteousness. Notice that Paul contrasts here, 
or transitions, right at the beginning of verse 13. We have 
a wonderful but. But we are bound to give thanks 
to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord. He had closed 
with talking about those who will be condemned with the man 
of sin those who did not believe and those who had pleasure in 
unrighteousness. Very often what we have throughout 
the epistles are those like transitions where Paul illustrates an unfortunate 
truth or an unfortunate reality that there are those who do not 
believe the truth, those who walk in unrighteousness, those 
who walk according to the way of this world, or those who are 
the sons of disobedience, those who are children of wrath. and 
he'll issue a contrast between those and those who are the brethren 
beloved by the Lord. Hebrews chapter 6 is an example 
where the same language is used, where he talks about those who 
have or who will enter into apostasy. Those who were within the church, 
those who received preaching, the preaching of the gospel, 
those who were told of Christ, and of his glorious gospel, those 
who even received the benefits of being in the church, communion 
with the saints and everything else, but he'll write about the 
fact that they will fall away, having certainly not been believers 
to begin with, and then he'll say, but brethren, we believe 
in better things concerning you. those who are actually Christians, 
those who believe the truth. And that's something that Paul 
is doing here. He says that there are those 
who will be judged, those who will be judged along with the 
man of sin when the Lord Jesus comes to destroy him by the breath 
of his mouth and by the brightness of his coming. And then he identifies 
them again as those who do not believe the truth, but have pleasure 
in unrighteousness, who will believe the lie And then he says, 
but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren 
beloved by the Lord. And he gives us some reasons 
as to why he gives thanks to those who are the brethren beloved 
by the Lord. And notice it's always, the thanksgiving 
is always related to the gospel. It's always related to salvation 
by a gracious God, salvation by a merciful God, salvation 
by a loving God. Notice the because here. Because God, from the beginning, 
chose you for salvation. Now, it is not just the intent 
of the Calvinistic preacher to speak about rich theology and 
just to leave it at that. Or, when the Calvinist mounts 
the pulpit and he seeks to preach about election and predestination, 
it is not just some dogmatic rigidity to a system of believed 
truths. No, when we approach the doctrine 
of election, we're touching upon the unchangeable love of God 
the Father. When we spoke a number of Sundays 
ago about the perseverance of the saints, paragraph 2 of chapter 
17 of our confession, the perseverance of the saints does not depend 
upon our own free will, but upon the immutable decree of election 
flowing from the unchangeable love of God the Father. When 
we speak about election, it's not some cold rigidity to doctrine. It is rather out of giving glory 
and praise and being thankful for a God who would elect according 
to his eternal love. And notice here, and again, that 
this election is not based upon sanctification by the Spirit 
and belief in the truth, but rather those things are fruits 
of election from the beginning chose you, God, chose you for 
salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the 
truth. Election was not because of these 
things, but unto the end of these things, and for the attaining 
of the glory of Jesus Christ. Just to see that election flows 
from the love of God the Father, let's have a look at an example 
of Old Covenant Israel, and you can turn there if you're so inclined, 
Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 7. Just to 
understand something from an example of the Old Covenant, 
that election does not depend upon merit, it does not depend 
upon intrinsic goodness, it does not depend upon the ethical actions 
or the ethical goodness of a body of people, but rather it is dependent 
upon the love of God the Father. Deuteronomy chapter 7, this is 
God speaking to His covenant people. Deuteronomy 7 at verse 
6. For you are a holy people to 
the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen 
you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all 
the peoples of the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His 
love on you, nor choose you because you were more in number than 
any other people, for you were the least of all peoples. But 
because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath 
which He swore to your fathers, has brought you out with a mighty 
hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand 
of Pharaoh, king of Egypt." So notice there, it was not because 
of the people that God's elective purpose fell upon them, but rather 
it was because of the love of God, because the Lord loves you, 
and it was also because of His covenant faithfulness, God's 
covenant faithfulness, and because you would keep the oath which 
He swore to your father. So it flows from God's love and 
from God's faithfulness does election. It does not flow from 
God foreseeing the ethical righteousness or the faith of believers. So 
again, God elects according to his love. God elects not because 
of sanctification or belief in the truth, but he elects first 
for those things. Faith, regeneration, justification, 
sanctification, glorification, all of those blessings of salvation 
are fruits of God's elective purpose, electing because of 
His love and unto and for His glory. And brethren, it ought 
to always be the case, because we are often maligned, by we 
I mean Reformed Christians, we are often maligned for our cold 
dogmatism with respect to election and predestination. And it ought 
to never be the case that we are cold, we should be dogmatic 
and righteous in a wholesome way, but we ought to never approach 
this doctrine as something of a wrongful, wrongfully being 
puffed up in our Christianity. We've got the truth, we've got 
the doctrine, we know what election is, we know what predestination 
is, and all of you, all of you errorists out there are wrong 
and you stink. that isn't the way that we should 
approach theology. We should approach, for example, 
this doctrine of election in a posture of being laid low before 
a massive and a sovereign and a righteous and a holy God. That 
he would set his love upon anybody is an amazing thing. And that 
he would set his love upon me a worm, a wretch, a sinner, dead 
in trespasses and sins, blind to it, loving sin, loving the 
darkest, hating the light, that God would visit such a sinner 
with love and mercy and grace ought to amaze us. And so when 
we approach election, we approach it as brethren beloved by the 
Lord, and as those who find the elective purpose not in our own 
ethical goodness, but rather in the love of a holy God. Now 
secondly, notice what this salvation is unto, or the characteristics 
of this salvation. God, from the beginning, chose 
you for salvation, and notice, through sanctification by the 
Spirit. Now, we're not just elected unto 
salvation and then left to go our way doing whatever we're 
going to do. Christians are to be characterized 
by something, and that something is sanctification. What does 
that mean? Well, it has to do with holiness. 
Well, what does that mean? Well, it has to do with the Spirit, 
in this case, setting us apart unto Christian living. When Peter 
is quoting Exodus in 1 Peter, he says, Be holy, for I am holy. He quotes God speaking to his 
old covenant people. They were to be holy. Why? Because 
God himself is holy. In other words, we are to emulate 
the ethical holiness of God. We are to find, to learn, to 
study those attributes of God that are communicable. His mercy. his kindness, his love, all of 
those things that characterize God, we, although as fallible 
creatures, are to emulate those. We saw one this morning. Jesus 
Christ, God manifested in the flesh, is merciful to his people. We are to follow after that. 
We are to be merciful. We're not to be like the Pharisees 
in trying to find among the brethren here, those who will, you know, 
trying to find reasons to accuse people. Oh, let's watch, let's 
observe, let's watch. Oh, you fell, now I'm going to 
hammer you. No, to be merciful. Yes, we are to exercise a wholesome 
rebuke if there is sin. gross or otherwise, but we are 
to be merciful. We're not to look if their pants 
are too high, or if their skirt is too high, or if they're wearing 
nail polish, or if they're doing any manner of anything that does 
not fall within the bounds of God's righteous precepts. We 
are to be merciful. We are to exercise indifferentism 
for those things that do not touch upon the transgression 
of God's holy law. But we're not, and we're not 
to be like those Pharisees who would heap up upon the Sabbath 
law things that God never intended. But the idea here of sanctification 
by the Spirit is that there is to be first that emulation of 
God himself. Secondly, sanctification means 
growth. And you can turn to 2 Peter for 
a moment. Sanctification implies or entails growth. And throughout the letters we 
have various examples of the letter writers exhorting believers 
to increase, to grow, to be advancing in the kingdom, to be advancing 
in the way everlasting in their works, in their deeds for the 
praise of Christ. Verse 18 of 2 Peter chapter 3. We pick up at verse 70, "...you 
therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware 
lest you fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error 
of the wicked, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ." We pray this all the time, that 
we might grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, that 
those young believers New believers, new converts to the blessed religion 
of Jesus Christ would grow in their grace and in their knowledge 
of Jesus Christ. This is sanctification. It is 
progressive. The saint progresses in the kingdom 
unto that day of glorification, and that progression is constantly 
putting sin to death and living unto righteousness. So constantly, 
it is a walk. The Christian walk is a growth, 
an increase in holiness. We will never be as holy as God, 
certainly not, but we are to emulate God in His holiness, 
in His mercy, in His kindness, in His good deeds to the sons 
of men. Thirdly, sanctification is to 
be marked by an increase in love. An increase in love. In Paul's 
first letter to the Thessalonians in chapter 3, we have him writing 
concerning this. verse 12 of chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians, 
and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another 
and to all, just as we do to you, so that he may establish 
your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. One 
of the things that we are to be characterized by is what Paul 
writes of here, abounding in love to one another. Now, this 
is something that you might be saying, well, yeah, of course. But it is something that we can 
so often give lip service to, but then not follow after in 
our walk. It's one thing to say, yes, I 
love my brother, or I will love my brother, or I do love my brother. It's another thing to actually 
do that. And we are to be those who not only talk the talk, but 
also walk the walk. and we are to love our brother. 
Not only are we just to exercise love, generically speaking, but 
we are to be abounding in it. It's not just to be some sort 
of simple love or some sort of love confessed, but there is 
to be an external and an outward abounding in that love. We are 
to exercise love to our brothers, and one of the three things that 
John does in his first epistle One of the three things is that 
he says that basically you're not a Christian if you do not 
love your brother. One of the things that characterized 
the Errorists in his day was a lack of love for the brethren. There was no love, and that was 
one of the marks that they were not of them. They were not of 
the Way, they were not of the Christian community, because 
they did not love their brothers. It ought to be the case that 
people could look upon our church, if they were to roll with us 
for a while, they would say, man, do they love one another. 
And so let us strive for that, brethren. I don't have any prescriptions 
of what you can do right now. Well, I do, but we might be here 
for a while. But nevertheless, we are to exercise, 
we are to show love for one another, build each other up in our most 
holy faith. Visit, call, love. There's so 
many things that we can do, but the general exhortation here 
is Paul's. May the Lord make you increase 
and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to 
you. And might that resonate and echo 
in our heads, not just yours, because the preacher has all 
of his love ducks in a row, but that all of us, that that would 
echo in our heads, and that we would seek actively to love one 
another, and not only that, but to abound in it. in our own families, 
yes, in our workplace, sure, but in our own church. We're 
not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and we 
are to build each other up in our most holy faith. Sanctification 
by the Spirit, and notice the second thing that salvation is 
characterized by. Actually, I apologize, 1 Peter 
2.2, the fourth thing with regards to sanctification, it comes by 
the Word. We can talk all about growing, 
we can talk all about increase, we can talk all about abounding, 
but if it doesn't happen within the safe confines of a body of 
objective truths revealed to us by God, then it's hard to 
call it sanctification. It comes by something. 1 Peter 
2.2 tells us what that comes by. 1 Peter 2 and verse 2 Therefore, 
backing up to verse 1, laying aside all malice, all deceit, 
hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire 
the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed 
you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. So that growth, 
Peter might as well have said, as newborn babes desire the pure 
milk of the word, that you may be sanctified. We are to grow 
in our sanctification by what? By the word of truth. That's 
what Jesus prays in John 17. Sanctify them by thy truth, thy 
word is truth. Sanctification does not come 
without the word and without the spirit attending to that 
word, through that word and by that word. So, sanctification 
entails growth It is characterized by an emulation of the holiness 
of our great God, it is marked by an increase in love, and it 
takes place, or it happens, within the safe confines of the Word 
of God. And notice also that salvation, 
our walk in the way everlasting, is characterized by a belief 
in truth. A belief in truth. It's one thing 
to say that you're saved, but if you do not have the truth, 
and if you do not walk in it, that is an empty and a vain profession. We need to walk in the truth. 
We need to believe in the truth. Christians are those who believe 
the truth. We believe in Christ. We say with Peter, Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God, and we believe the gospel 
of that Christ. the gospel, the good news of 
Jesus Christ, that he came into this world, sinners to save, 
that being a wholly acceptable saying, and also the gospel or 
the faith of the gospel. Not our, again, our intellectual 
assent to truths, but rather that body of truths, the body 
of Christian religion, the body of objective truths revealed 
to the Church for its protection and for its propagation. the 
Godhood of Jesus Christ, the triunity of the Godhead, the 
Trinity, salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ 
alone, all of those blessed doctrines that touch upon God's nature, 
His character, His activity, redemption, salvation, all of 
those things we are to hold onto, we are to grip onto, we are to 
grasp it as a precious thing. Acts chapter 2, we are to continue 
in doctrine. Two things. First off, we are 
to continue in doctrine, or we are to continue in a belief in 
the truth. One of the things that characterized the early 
church, that ought to characterize us, is a continuation in doctrine, 
in teaching. After the day of Pentecost, when 
many were saved, we notice many particular things, but one thing 
that touches upon belief in the truth, verse 42, and they continued 
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. We've 
read from that many times before, but that ought to be something 
that marks the Christian. It has to be something that marks 
the Christian, that we abide in, that we continue in the Apostles' 
doctrine. And, of course, what is being 
referred to there is the same thing that Paul is referring 
to in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, the belief in 
the truth and the traditions which were revealed to them by 
the Apostles. So there is to be a belief in 
the truth, a continuation in it. But not only that, brethren, 
there is to be a jealous defense of the truth. A jealous defense 
of the truth. Yes, it is one thing to continue 
in it. But it's another thing to be 
actively pursuing a wholesome defense of it. And that's one 
thing that Jude exhorts his recipients, the recipients of his letter, 
to do. Remember what was going on in Jude. First off, Jude wanted 
to originally write to his audience about their common salvation. 
Maybe a doxological letter like Ephesians 1. He wanted to praise 
the God of amazing grace for the fact that he called those 
sinners from out of darkness and into marvelous light. He 
wanted to write about justification by faith, all of the blessings 
of the gospel. But he didn't do that, or he 
couldn't do that, because Many people or errorists were creeping 
into the church, ungodly men who were seeking to pervert the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So what is his intention now 
for writing? I found it necessary to write 
to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which 
was once for all delivered to the saints. So not only are we 
to continue in the faith, not only are we to believe in the 
truth, but we are to earnestly contend for the faith which was 
once for all delivered to the saints. It is activity in believing 
and it is wholesomely active for the cause of the defense 
and the propagation of the truth. Again, those two characteristics 
that Paul brings forth in the second epistle are sanctification 
by the Spirit and belief in the truth. And then notice here we 
have an end goal. First of all, we have the means 
by which the elective purpose of God takes place, and that 
is verse 14, to which, salvation, to which he called you by our 
gospel. So there is a way that this elective 
purpose finds fruition. It is through the calling of 
God by the gospel of the apostles. Now by that I don't mean that 
the apostles came up with the good news, but rather they were 
the commissioned preachers of that good news, commissioned 
by Christ for the propagation of the message. He called the 
sinners, he called those in Thessalonica, he called all of his people by 
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there are two callings 
in the Gospel, and to get an understanding of what Paul is 
alluding to here, you can turn to Acts chapter 13. Here we have both callings that 
the Bible refers to, and the one of which Paul is referring 
to here in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Acts chapter 13, beginning 
at verse 44. On the next Sabbath, almost the 
whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the 
Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicting 
and blaspheming. They opposed the things spoken 
by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, It was necessary 
that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since 
you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, 
behold, we turn to the Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded 
us. I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should 
be for salvation to the ends of the earth. Now when the Gentiles 
heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, 
and as many as had been appointed to eternal life, believed. two 
callings in this particular account by Luke, the writer of Acts. We have a general call, a general 
call, the preaching of the gospel as we read at verse 44, the whole 
city gathered together to hear the word of God. That first calling 
is God, by his ministers, by his preachers, preached the message 
of Jesus Christ, him crucified, him resurrected, him now ascended 
with all authority and power. The second calling is that efficacious 
that powerful call, that infallible call, whereby the Holy Spirit 
brings that sinner, by the preached message, unto salvation in Christ 
Jesus. And that is the calling that 
we find here in verse 48. Now, when the Gentiles heard 
this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as 
many as had been appointed to eternal life, he lead. Notice 
the connectivity there between this passage and the 2 Thessalonians 
13 passage. We have God, according to His 
love in 2 Thessalonians, choosing those saints for salvation, Acts 
13.48, appointed to eternal life. And then we have the result, 
or the efficacious fact of that calling, that those who had been 
appointed to eternal life believed. And so the calling, or rather 
the fact that these saints in Thessalonica were the possessors 
of salvation, was a result of the fact that God eternally decreed 
it, and also a result, or the means by which that came about, 
was through the calling of God by the Gospel preached by the 
Apostles. Now notice what the end goal 
of this salvation is. The end goal of this salvation, 
Paul closes verse 14 with it, for the obtaining of the glory 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. What that is no doubt referring 
to is glorification. Remember what the Apostle Paul 
does with actually like language in Romans chapter 8. He says, 
those whom he predestined, these he also called. Those whom he 
called, these he also justified. Those whom he justified, these 
whom he justified. These he also glorified. Speaking with past tense of the 
fact of a future glorification, there is certainty in God's unbreakable 
chain of salvation. Election, predestination according 
to the immutable and unchangeable love of God the Father, regeneration, 
justification, faith, sanctification, all of those things, the end 
of which is glorification. When the full realization of 
that salvation finds itself in Emmanuel's land with believers 
before the glory of Christ, praising Him into eternity." So we have 
here a stark contrast. Those who did not believe the 
truth, those who worked on righteousness, will be judged, will perish, 
they already perishing, they'll be judged when the Lord comes 
with the breath of His mouth and the brightness of His coming, 
but those beloved by the Lord are participants in an unbreakable 
chain of salvation, or are the blessed recipients of that unbreakable 
chain of salvation, chosen from the beginning for salvation by 
God, through sanctification of the Spirit, belief in the truth, 
that coming about by the calling through the Gospel and unto glorification 
or the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then there is an 
exhortation. And then there is an exhortation. And this is apostolic 
pattern throughout the epistles in the New Testament. The glories 
of salvation are communicated. The glories of the amazing and 
victorious grace of God are communicated unto the recipients, those who 
are the recipients of that salvation. And then there is an exhortation. 
There's always a therefore. And rightfully so. They're not 
just to realize the glories of salvation and then go off and 
not act in a manner that is conducive with it. No. All of these glorious 
truths are true for you. They are realities for you. Therefore, 
verse 15, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which 
you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. The exhortation 
here is to stand fast as an army, as those who are in competition 
or as those who are in battle for something that is important. 
And this all the more stresses the importance of doctrine, of 
theological truths. They are to stand fast and hold, 
one, the traditions which you were taught by word or our epistle. They are not to be carried away 
by the lies of anyone. whether an errorist within their 
own ranks, whether by the imperial cult of the Roman Empire, whether 
by the unbelieving Jews that are seeking to speak blasphemies 
and to oppose them, as we read in the Book of Acts. They are 
to stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether 
by word or our epistle. One of the things I've used before, 
one of the imageries I've used before, I'm going to use again 
now with regards to this language of stand fast. I was driving 
Doing a study on Philippians at the Linwood, and the specific 
text was Philippians 1.27 that ends, that you stand fast in 
one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the 
gospel. That's the same language that Paul is using here. Striving 
together, standing fast in the faith of the gospel. One of the 
things that I realized, I was driving along the highway and 
I got a wonderful providential illustration to use as I was 
driving. And I told you this before, there's a small little 
mouse that decided to come up onto the highway. And it came 
up onto the one shoulder on the left-hand side and it just started 
to run across, people speeding along the highway. and it ran 
under the first car, and I said, it's done. Road kill. But the 
first car drove over it, it did some somersaults due to the turbulence 
and whatever, picked itself up again, started to run into the 
next lane, while the next car ran over it, and I said, okay, 
lightning doesn't strike twice on the same highway. It's all 
over for the mouse now, but this car drove over it, the mouse 
did some rolls, ran over the shoulder and down into the farmland. 
It was amazing. But that's a perfect example 
of standing fast or striving for the faith of the gospel. 
We might get rolled over, we might get beaten up, whether 
it's by afflictions and trials in our own lives, whether it's 
by constant battles with family members trying to combat, debate 
them theologically, whatever it may be, we might be beaten 
up, people might oppose us, people will oppose us, but nevertheless, 
we are to pick ourselves up and keep running. We are to stand 
fast. in the faith of the gospel, we 
are to hold on to the traditions which came to us through apostolic 
preaching. And that's Paul's message to 
these in Thessalonica, that they are to stand fast, they're not 
to waver, they're not to fall, they're not to be drawn off by 
every wind of doctrine, but rather they are to march forward as 
an army for the cause of Christ and his glorious gospel. Now 
notice, in closing, that Paul does what he does elsewhere, 
what the Apostles do elsewhere, is that he now renders a benediction 
to the people. He blesses them. It's doxological, 
it is filled with praise, and it's also filled with benedictory 
address. He comforts these who will, who 
no doubt are, and who will go through many trials and persecutions 
at the hands of the Jews and at the hands of the Roman Empire. 
Here's the benediction, verse 16, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ 
himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us 
everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts 
and establish you in every good word and work. It's always the 
pattern of the apostles, to illustrate or to bring forth glorious truths 
regarding God and His Gospel. Then, to exhort them unto particular 
activity, then to comfort them and give them a benediction that 
the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father will do this. 
Now, Paul's confident here. He's not saying, now may our 
Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father do these things. He's 
confident that God will, that Jesus Christ will. He speaks 
of that confidence when he writes to the Philippians, being confident 
of this very thing, he says. And so we have here Paul rendering 
this benediction, knowing that God blesses his people, gives 
strength to his people, and notice that Paul sort of brackets these 
particular texts with the love of God, who has loved us and 
given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Now we 
need to see here, again, another example of the certainty of salvation 
and the certainty of the perseverance of the saints. Not because of 
their own strength, but because of the God who loved them and 
has given them, richly, many things. An everlasting consolation. An everlasting consolation. It's 
not just a consolation that is contingent upon things. It's 
not a consolation that might fall away, that might fail, that 
might waver. It is an everlasting consolation 
and it is good hope by grace. Now two things here, that everlasting 
consolation, just to fortify in our minds the fact that it 
is impenetrable, that it cannot be broken, that it cannot be 
taken away. First Peter, you don't need to 
turn there, First Peter Blessed be, Peter renders a doxology, 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according 
to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance 
incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, 
reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God 
through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. We have clear affirmation of 
the fact that salvation is impenetrable. Notice the language, an incorruptible 
inheritance. It is not defiled, it is something 
that does not fade away, and it is reserved in heaven for 
you. Not only that, but you are kept 
by the power of God through faith for salvation. And notice that 
language there as it ties into Paul's text in 2 Thessalonians 
2, through faith for salvation. What does the Apostle Paul write? Well, that God chose them for 
salvation through belief in the truth, or faith. And so we have 
the impenetrability of that consolation and good hope by grace. And that 
biblical good hope again, brethren, is not the hope that your favorite 
sports team will win game six of their playoff series. Oh, 
I really hope they're going to win. No, that's not biblical 
hope, as it is in Christ Jesus and our great God. It's the certain 
expectation that the promises of God will come to fruition. the certain expectation. That's 
hope. Our Christian hope is not some 
fallible hope that we're just really wishing hard. No, it is 
the certain expectation that God's promises will come true. 
Why? Because He has sworn by an oath. 
And He has sworn by no name greater, because there is no greater name 
other than His own. And so we have an everlasting 
consolation and hope by grace. Our hearts are comforted and 
we are established for every good work and for every good 
word. And this is to be in contrast, brethren, with those who do not 
do good words or good works. Those of verse 12, that they 
all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had 
pleasure in unrighteousness. And if you're here today and 
you are a sinner, maybe you're a child, maybe you're an adult, 
you do need to realize that you are, if you are a sinner, if 
you are not resting in Christ, that you do have pleasure in 
unrighteousness. Whether it is kids disobeying 
your parents, whether it is kids hiding things from your parents, 
seeking to live in darkness, not having those things exposed 
by the light, you are identified as those who will be destroyed 
by the breath of Christ's mouth and who will be destroyed by 
the brightness of His coming. Oh, that's mean, Pastor Porter. 
No, that's true. You will be destroyed by the 
breath of Christ and you will be consumed or destroyed by the 
brightness of His coming if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. And it's reverberated, it's echoed 
from this pulpit, it's not done so just for the sake of annoying 
familiarity. It's reverberated by this pulpit 
because we're commanded to preach it and because we want all of 
you, children or adult, to believe in our Redeemer. children, trust 
in our Redeemer at an early age. Don't say, oh, I'll put them 
off, I'll enjoy the passing pleasures of sins until I'm 64, then I'll 
believe. No, you don't want to enter into 
eternity having latched onto the sinful pleasures of this 
world. You want to enter into eternity knowing that you will 
be in the presence of Jesus Christ. The riches of Christ, the excellencies 
of Christ are much greater than the treasures in Egypt. Whatever 
the treasures of Egypt are for you, whatever sin, whatever idolatry, 
whatever love you may have for the things of this world, they're 
garbage, they're dumb compared to the riches and the excellencies 
of Christ, which do not fade away, which moth cannot eat away, 
which do not rust, and which are not defiled. So believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, do not be found as those who walk in 
unrighteousness, who will be destroyed by the wrath, the righteous 
wrath of Christ, but rather be those who are brethren beloved 
by the Lord, who are the recipients of sanctification, of belief 
in the truth, of glorification, of all of these wonderful consolations 
and hopes. Believe in Christ, you shall 
be saved, and you will enter into eternity, singing the praises 
of the King of Kings and of the Lord of Lords. Let's pray. Father, 
we praise you and we thank you for the truth of Holy Scripture. 
We thank you, God, that page after page, chapter after chapter, 
it points to our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, working out the 
salvation of sinners perfectly. We ask, Father, that you would 
cause those who have heard this message today, who aren't to 
be yours, Father, that they would bend the knee by amazing and 
victorious grace to the King of Kings, to the Lord of Lords, 
that they, having entered in this place at enmity with you, 
hating you and your law, that they would leave this place singing 
with us, Hallelujah, what a Savior. We ask, Father, that you go with 
each and every one of us, that we would not just speak of salvation 
or find ourselves as being those who are saved and not walk in 
a manner worthy of that gospel. We pray, Father, that we would 
abound in love towards one another. We ask, Father, that you would 
help us to be those who are growing, who are increasing in our sanctification, 
who are growing in our grace and in the knowledge of Jesus 
Christ. We ask, Father, that you would help us to be those 
who emulate the holiness of our great God. We just pray, Father, 
that you go with each and every one of us now, help us to even 
now, Father, as we leave, as we discuss, as we speak with 
one another, to exercise that love, and that we might, Father, 
be lights in this world, shining forth the glory of our Father, 
who is in heaven, who blesses his people with peace, and who 
does give strength to his people. We pray all of these things, 
Father, for the sake of Christ, and in his most precious name. 
Amen.