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.

Introduction

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.

The Contrast: Beloved vs. Condemned

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.

Election from the Beginning

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.

Election Grounded in God's Love

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.

Characteristics of Salvation

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.

Belief in the Truth

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.

Continuing and Contending for the Faith

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.

The Means and End of Salvation

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.

The Apostolic 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.

The Apostolic Benediction

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.

Application: Believe on Christ

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.

Closing Prayer

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.

Scripture References

• Deuteronomy 7:6-8
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12
• 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2; 2:6; 2:12-16
• John 17
• Acts 2:42; 13:44; 13:48
• Romans 8:30
• Philippians 1:27
• Hebrews 6
• 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1:16; 2:1-2
• 2 Peter 3:18