(October 20) -- Paul said, be at peace among yourselves! Is that what YOUR church is like? Reading: 1 THESSALONIANS 5 1 THESSALONIANS 5:8-9 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Keep in mind that when Paul wrote his Epistles, there were neither verse nor chapter separations. Paul continues, But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. We are introduced to two great truths. First, it was common knowledge that the setting of dates for either the rapture or Christs return was strongly discouraged. When Jesus was with His disciples and talking about end-time prophecy, He said in Matthew 24:36, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. The Bible nowhere encourages us to set an exact date for when Jesus comes in power and majesty to set up his earthly kingdom; that includes the rapture. Second, we are introduced to the phrase, THE DAY OF THE LORD. This refers to the final judgment, which is the time when none other than our Lord Jesus Christ returns as Messiah and Judge. Whenever we see that phrase, day of the Lord, we should know it is a time of judgment. It is only mentioned one more time in the New Testament by Peter in 2 Peter 3:10, where the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. This day is more like a period of time that does not just happen in one 24-hour day, but nonetheless a short time. When Paul spoke of the Day of the Lord, believers would have been very familiar with it from the teachings of the Old Testament, especially mentioned by the latter Major and Minor Prophets. Consider just a few of the many quotes you could look up yourself: Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. ... Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; ... Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. ... Amos 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. ... Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORDs anger. It is in the light of this that Paul tells us in verse 5 that the believers are all sons of light, and sons of day: we are not of night, nor of darkness. This is where our featured verses come in. If we are truly Christians, GOD DID NOT APPOINT US TO WRATH! This should be a comfort to us. In verse 27, Paul charges by the Lord that this epistle be read unto ALL the holy brethren. That means EVERYONE WHO IS A TRUE CHRISTIAN. That means we should listen to Pauls final admonishments. Theyre contained in verses 12-22. First, he asks to get to know our pastors and to esteem them highly in love. He took on a very serious calling. Then he said to be at peace among yourselves! Is that what YOUR church is like? The following, from verses 14-22, is Pauls complete list of things to do for all believers in a peaceful church: warn the insubordinate ones, comfort the feebleminded, sustain the weak, be patient towards all, see that none render evil for evil, follow that which is good, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing; In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you; do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesies, test all things; hold fast to the good, and finally, keep back from ALL form of evil. Obey these and you will always be ready for your meeting with Jesus!
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 02:19:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015