~ Taken from Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians ~
Paul reminded the Thessalonians over and over again that they would be persecuted as Christians. Trials could cause some people’s faith to become “unsettled.” This effect can follow for a number of reasons. Perhaps after suffering a period of mistreatment, some simply do not wish to suffer anymore, and would consider abandoning whatever it is that invited the persecution in the first place.
Another reason for becoming unsettled may be false expectations associated with the Christian faith. Some people might expect an increase in wealth, popularity, respect, and all kinds of natural blessings once they come to believe in Christ. After all, they have now come to the side of truth. Why would not everyone like them? If they suffer persecution, does this mean that there is something wrong with what they believe? Paul tried to eliminate the surprise and bewilderment that could come from suffering persecution by reminding them that this would be part of their experience as Christians: “In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know” (1 Thessalonians 3:4). Once educated by sound doctrine, Christians are less likely to assume that there is something wrong with their faith or religion when persecution comes.
Although persecution comes from non-Christians and false Christians, who are hostile to the truth and opposed to holiness, as with everything else, it happens by God’s sovereign and immutable decree. He decides what would happen and he causes them to happen. Our firm grasp on the goodness of God toward us as revealed in the gift of Jesus Christ provides us with a principle of interpretation by which we may understand at least the broad meaning and purpose of all things, including persecution. When we hold fast to both the sovereignty and the goodness of God, then we understand that the persecution we suffer is ordained by God, and because it is ordained by God, because it is not something that happens outside of his control or agenda, we also know that he ordains it for our good and not for our destruction.
God ordains persecution for believers, among other things, for their training and education, for his own honor, and to increase the punishment against unbelievers, who persecute his people. Thus when rightly perceived, the idea that we are “destined” (1 Thessalonians 3:3) for persecution generates in us, not bitterness or despair, but great peace, strength, and consolation.
The Christian’s perseverance under persecution deserves some attention. All of us would like to think that we will remain faithful under persecution. In our prideful and careless moments, we might even imagine that our commitment to the Lord is unique – so strong and special that it is in a class of its own. And we become more vulnerable when this confidence is founded on and expressed in terms of our superiority over other disciples. But a faith that is measured by perceived superiority turns religion into a competition among men, when it should be about worship toward God. This kind of faith is an illusion and will not persevere under persecution.
Our perception of our own faithfulness, for various reasons, can be inaccurate, as when Peter said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will” (Matthew 26:33). But Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (v. 34). Yet Peter did not finally fall away, for even before his empty outburst of confidence, Jesus had prayed for him. And he does not say to Peter, “I have prayed to God about you, to assure God that your faith will not fail.” Rather, he tells Peter, “I have prayed for you (asking God to uphold you and to thwart Satan’s assault against you), so that your faith will not fail” (see Luke 22:31-32).
There is one point about this that has received scant emphasis, and that dramatically increases the importance of this subject. That is, faithfulness under persecution is obligatory, not optional. It is not as if God expects it from only a few whom he has endowed with special power and courage. The Bible does not say that we are to “hold firmly to the faith we profess” (Hebrews 4:14) only when it is convenient. As Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” It has to do with one’s salvation, and the genuineness of his faith. The stakes cannot get any higher than this.
At this point, many people might find it a frightening prospect that they might not be able to persevere when the time comes, when intense persecution indeed happens to them. Here the difference between confidence in ourselves and confidence in the Lord becomes clear. When our confidence rests on our own ability to withstand persecution, then this confidence can rise only as high as this perception, and even then it may be a delusion, since we sometimes think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Therefore, this confidence is limited, and in fact useless and ineffectual.
How much easier it is, and how much more realistic it is, to believe in God’s ability to preserve us when we face persecution. Our proper perception of God’s greatness and God’s grace becomes the extent of our confidence when we face persecution. As long as we are not distracted from this way of thinking, our confidence becomes and remains limitless, just as we perceive that God is limitless. Thus we read:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need….Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 4:14-16, 10:23)
We must not look within ourselves for the strength to remain faithful in persecution, as if to impress God with what we can develop apart from him and in distinction from others. Rather, to remain faithful to God, we must look outside of ourselves and to him, trusting in his grace and power, that he is both willing and capable to complete the work that he has started in us.
Proper confidence is produced when we direct our mental focus away from ourselves and toward God instead. We persevere because God preserves; therefore, a genuine and effectual confidence that we would persevere is derived from the knowledge that God would indeed preserve us. And since his grace and power is greater than any suffering that man can inflict, there is the basis for the confidence that we would remain faithful to him under persecution – not that we are faithful in ourselves, but that he is willing and powerful to keep us faithful.
Paul discovers that the Thessalonians are indeed “standing firm in the Lord” (3:8). This must refer to both doctrine and behavior. People who are polite, honest, diligent, and charitable, but who do not insist on any particular belief, probably will not suffer much persecution, if any at all. But regardless of character and behavior, those who promote teachings that are widely hated will be persecuted. So to stand firm in the Lord is first a matter of affirming the right doctrines even in the face of opposition. But it also means to adopt practices that are consistent with these doctrines, and to persist in these practices in the face of opposition.
Although we may distinguish doctrine and practice for the sake of discussion, they cannot be entirely separated. This is because Christian doctrines claim divine inspiration and authority, and therefore demand complete obedience. And some of the actions demanded by Christian doctrines are distinctively Christian, so that they cannot be performed without reflecting, some more clearly than others, the beliefs that stand behind them. Examples that illustrate this include prayer, preaching, church attendance, breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord, and so on.
This in turn means that one cannot claim that he is standing firm in the Lord if he compromises Christian doctrine or practice as a result of opposing pressure or persuasion. Now a clear and extreme example would be a person who loses his faith in the very existence of God and becomes an atheist, and still calls himself a faithful Christian. He is, of course, not “standing firm” in the Lord at all. This is only to illustrate again that doctrine matters – it is the defining factor in whether a person is remaining steadfast in the faith. Likewise, a person who becomes convinced of the theory of evolution or who comes to reject biblical inerrancy, cannot be called a faithful Christian, if a Christian at all. He is, rather, a traitor to the Lord and to all Christians, and must be addressed and dealt with as such.
Another indication that the Thessalonians are standing firm in the Lord is their “pleasant memories” (3:6) of those who brought them the gospel.
Christians usually agree with the idea that we should not exalt men, who are only servants and instruments by which God delivers his word to us. However, the reality is that Christian circles are often characterized by a sectarian spirit, so that each group defines itself according to the person that it follows – that it idolizes and worships. Addressing this problem in the Corinthian church, Paul writes:
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)
Likewise, in our churches we hear people say, “I am of this theologian,” or “I follow that philosopher.” They are so accustomed to categorizing people in terms of the person that they follow (since this is how they must think of themselves), that if a person refuses to raise a banner other than that of Jesus Christ, they will associate him with a person of their choosing by force: “Now, surely you are of that professor!”
Once everyone is neatly placed under a Christian idol, the factions are now defined, and war ensues. Although the arguments are often about doctrines, and anyone should notice that I regard doctrines as occupying the highest place, this is not the way to define ourselves or to handle disagreements. Paul writes that these people are but spiritual infants, and they are not ready for spiritual meat. It is more urgent for them to repent and to learn in silence, rather than to present themselves as great defenders of the faith, crushing all others in the name of their favorite theologian, philosopher, or apologist. They are not qualified to engage controversy. They are spiritual children, and should be treated as such.
That said, there is a place for a proper kind and a proper degree of respect for the messengers of the gospel. Just because we are to glorify God and not men does not mean that we are to treat those men as rubbish. Indeed, it is our attitude toward God that matters, but our attitude toward his servants is one indication of our attitude toward God. By preaching the gospel to them, the apostles brought turmoil and suffering to the Thessalonians, not that the gospel itself would do this, but it incited violent reactions from those who remained in unbelief. Nevertheless, Timothy finds that these converts harbor fond memories of these preachers who altered their lives forever in the name of the Lord Jesus.
This attitude is appropriate. It does not sinfully glorify mere men when it is acknowledged that God is the one who has sent his Son to atone for our sins and that God is the one who has sent messengers to tell us about it. The men are mere instruments, but it is right to honor even the instruments that God has chosen, not as saviors but as servants. As it is written, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” (Isaiah 52:7). Or, as Paul writes to Timothy, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner” (2 Timothy 1:8). Therefore, we are to hold in high regard those who minister the word of God, and this is an indication that we hold him who sent them in high regard as well (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
Contrast this against the attitude of the Israelites who were brought out of Egypt by Moses. Rather than rejoicing in their freedom from slavery and their freedom to worship their God, they beautified their past bondage and complained about their present: “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Exodus 16:3). They were angry against the Lord and were bitter because his servant Moses had convinced them to take this new direction.
They were like those professing believers who have forgotten how miserable they were before they were brought out of their previous lifestyle and environment by the gospel. They have forgotten that they were slaves, abused and in bondage. They conjure in their minds a romanticized version of their old life, and complain about the unmet expectations about this new life, as if the Lord Jesus and his servants have deceived them. Are these actual Christians? Is their faith real? Doubtless they are nothing like the Thessalonians, who retain fond memories of Paul and his companions even as they face severe persecution for their faith.