How would you expect that chapter then to end? Antichrist coming. The whole world’s going to be deceived. The spirit that animates him is already at work in the world. What then is the conclusion to Christians? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, I’m sure there are plenty of answers that pop into people’s minds when they hear a question like that. Yeah, wring your hands and say, well, the world is getting worse and worse and worse. And it’s not like it used to be and what’s happening to the country and so forth. I think many Christians would say, I know that ultimately Christ will be the victor, but then there’s that in-between time. And that becomes a sort of another form of gloom and darkness and all the rest of it. And the way that the chapter does end, which is so striking to me, is that Paul says, after all this stuff about the darkness, therefore we thank God for you, brothers and sisters. Thankfulness to God for every Christian and for every church. That’s the first thing. And therefore stand firm. Not give up, not withdraw. Stand firm. Because the great light, the great blessing, the great reason for thanksgiving is that God has his people even in the darkness of the world and that he’s able to make his own people stand. That is good news. And we’re going to hear about that as we go a bit further into 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and this time between verses 13 to 17 as we begin the message, The Family of God Standing Firm. Here’s Colin. We’ve been looking at the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians and discovering their strength for staying the course. And then in the last couple of weeks looking at the second chapter in which we are gaining wisdom for discerning the battle. We’re coming to the end of chapter 2 today. This has been a tough chapter, has it not? It is one of the toughest chapters, I think, in all of the New Testament. We’ve been learning about Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, a person who will appear on the scene shortly before the day of the Lord. We’ve been seeing that human evil is going to come to its ugliest and most horrible climax in this person, that he will exalt himself over all religion, verse 4, that’s over everything that is called God, everything that is worshipped. In other words, he will say as he emerges on the public scene at some point in the future, he’ll say religion is the problem. That’s the problem in the world today. He’ll say religion produces intolerance and intolerance produces violence. Religion in itself is the nut that we have to crack if we are to have world peace and therefore he will exalt himself over everything that is worshipped. He will exalt himself over Islam, he will exalt himself over Christianity, he will exalt himself over Judaism, over all religion. He will say a plague on all your houses. And when he says that, millions will flock to him. And I think we agreed as we pondered this together earlier in this series, that as we look at the world situation today and there are millions of people who would long to be released from the shackles of their repressive religion, that a man who came with that message would immediately attract a transcultural following on a massive scale and that is exactly what is being described here in 2 Thessalonians 2. It will not be difficult therefore for him to set himself up, verse 4, in God’s temple proclaiming himself to be God. The whole world will go after him. Now after that grim look at the work of Antichrist, we looked last week at the desperate position of a man or a woman who is without Jesus Christ we saw in verses 10 through 12 of this chapter, these seven descriptions, deceived, perishing, refusing to love the truth, delighting in wickedness, under a powerful delusion, believing the lie and ultimately outside of Jesus Christ condemned. So you put these two things together, this is a grim chapter. It is about the devil, it is about his works, it is about the perversity of sin, it is about the darkness of this world and it is about the future culmination of evil. Now question, how would you expect that chapter then to end? Antichrist coming, the whole world is going to be deceived, the spirit that animates him is already at work in the world. What then is the conclusion to Christians? See, there’s a certain kind of view of the world that looks at world events and then says to Christians something like this, well, it’s all down to you. You’re the last line of defense. Hope you’re up for this. That kind of preaching rolls onto the Christian’s shoulders an intolerable burden, a burden you cannot bear. I want you to see as we look at how this chapter does end that very wonderfully what God does through the Apostle Paul here, he does not roll the intolerable burden of the evils of the world onto the church. What he does is he brings to us the most marvelous statement of confidence in Almighty God. Remember that the whole of this chapter is about wisdom for discerning the battle. Most of it we’ve been seeing the dark forces that we are up against that are already at work in the world. Now God wants us to know how we are to stand firm in the darkest days of our lives. That’s the point of verse 15, which is right at the center of the passage before us today. So then, brothers, stand firm. Well, that’s clear enough. The question is how do you do it? And there are two answers to that question. How are we to stand firm in the darkness of this world? Sandwiched either side of verse 15, verse 13 and 14, we are to remember who we are in Jesus Christ. And then verse 16 and 17 that we’ll look at much more briefly, we are to receive what we need from Jesus Christ. So that’s the conclusion of the chapter that we’re going to look at today. And I hope that it will come as refreshment and as encouragement to your soul if indeed you are a Christian believer and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s look then at verse 13 and 14. Remember who you are in Christ. But, says Paul, verse 13, after all this catalog of darkness and the satanic work that is going on and the perversity of the unbelieving world, but, he says, we ought always to thank God for you, brothers. Now, what does Paul do when he sees the secret power of sin at work in the world? Answer, he gives thanks for the church. We give thanks for you, brothers. He’s writing to the church in Thessalonica. And why does he give thanks to God for the church? Answer, because while Satan is working, Jesus Christ is also at work. And what is the work of Jesus Christ in the world? He states it clearly, So don’t miss this. When you sit around the television and you’re hearing news and the world seems to be getting darker and the conversation in the family goes gloomy, you know, oh dear, what’s next? When you see the world get darker, here’s what you do. Verse 13, you give thanks for the church. You savor more deeply what Jesus Christ is doing. While Satan’s work gets darker, so Jesus Christ also is at work in the world. Value what Christ is doing among his people. That’s the point of verse 13. But, in all this darkness, we ought to give thanks for what? For you, for the church. So now, out of this dark and difficult passage on the mystery of sin in the world and the works of Satan, Paul launches into one of the most wonderful expressions in all of the New Testament of thanksgiving and praise for the redeeming work of God in Jesus Christ. And we’re going to savor it together. He gives a seven-fold description of who we are in Jesus Christ. And there is nothing that will do you more good in the darkest days of your life than to take this in and to savor it and to own it for yourself. Look at these verses with me again, please. Verse 13 and 14. We ought always to give thanks for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message, The Family of God Standing Firm. It’s part of our series, Staying the Course When You’re Tired of the Battle. And if you ever miss one of our messages in the series, you can always go online. Come to openthebible.org.uk. There you can download any of the previously broadcast messages. You can also find them as podcasts. Go to your favorite podcast site and search for Open the Bible UK. Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll receive regular updates. Back to the message now. Here’s Colin. In Jesus Christ, you are loved, no matter how dark it is around you. In Jesus Christ, believer, you are loved. He says, brothers, loved by the Lord. Slow down for a moment and try with me to take this in as I’ve tried to take it in this week. God loves you. As Spurgeon points out, I find this so helpful. He says, this is more than pity. It is a wonderful truth that God pities us. He feels sorry for us. But this is more than pity. God loves you. This is more than compassion. This is more than benevolence. It is a wonderful truth that the heart of God is moved by our plight. It acts in relation to our plight and does something about it. But this is more than compassion. God loves you. Brothers, sisters, loved by the Lord. Try and take this in. The quality of love that you experience in this life is determined by the capacity of the people who love you. Now it is simply a reality that some people can only love at a shallow level. And other people have a capacity to love very deeply. If you are loved at all, it is a great blessing. If you are loved deeply, it is a marvelous gift. Now think about this. Think about the capacity of Almighty God to love. God loves you. Brothers, loved by the Lord. Friends, you will spend eternity trying to take in the marvel of this love that fills you with joy for all eternity. So start savoring it now. And never better than on the darkest day of your life. Second, he says, in Christ you were chosen. Look, I’m just reading what he says here. Brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you. Now he’s writing to ordinary Christians in this town of Thessalonica. Folks just like us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. From the beginning of time, he says. They’ve only been Christians a few months. But he says, from the beginning of time, God chose you. And here is something to make us worship and to make us wonder. It is something that the Christian knows not only from the Bible where it is stated so often. But also from his or her own experience. See, when you lay hold of Jesus Christ, it will not be long before you come to the conclusion that he has laid hold of you. You’ll begin to experience what Jesus said to the disciples. When he said, you did not choose me, but I have chosen you. And what’s very striking to me here is that these Christians knew that they had been chosen. And they knew that they had been chosen because they believed. That’s the sign of it. And Paul reminds them of this marvelous truth. Because it is a truth given to believers precisely because we need it in the darkest of days. See, when I face the toughest times of my life, my confidence is not on my grip on God. Because my faith is sometimes very feeble. In the darkest days of my life, my confidence is based on the grip of the hand of God on me. That’s the basis of Christian confidence. He has laid hold of me. The strength of his hand holding mine. Not the strength of my hand holding on to his. Then he says, in Christ you are saved. You’re loved. You’re chosen. You are saved. Chosen from before the beginning of time to be saved. We saw last time that this world is deceived and perishing and refusing to love the truth. And delighting in wickedness and under a powerful delusion. And believing the lie and ultimately condemned. And Paul says, but God loved you. And he has chosen you. And he has saved you. He has saved you from all of this. You say, well now how has God done this for me? This fourth jewel here. In Christ you are sanctified. How have I been saved? Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Now, whenever the word sanctified comes up, I think for many, many Christians we immediately say, ah, that’s one thing I’m not. Right? Because it’s like saintly and we immediately and rightly associate the use of the word sanctified with holiness and purity and so forth and so on. That’s one of two meanings that it can have. And so I want to just remind you of the other one, which is the one that is being used primarily, I believe, here today. The word sanctified can mean made holy or it can mean set apart. It can mean set apart. And just so that you always remember the lesser known meaning of the word sanctified, I’ve brought along some of the very best British candy. Maltesers. Now, if you folks haven’t discovered these, this is a great, great discovery, I’m telling you. They are really good. Chocolate covered malt. There we are. And I’d like to give them to you, or at least to whoever would like them. I’m just going to claim a few for myself. These ones are mine. The rest you can have. This doesn’t work very well on the video, by the way. Very sad in that regard. Thank you, Pastor Matt. Do you know what I just did? I sanctified these maltesers. I laid hold of them for myself. I claimed them. I set them apart from the others. That’s the meaning of the word. It can mean made holy as well. But its primary meaning here is exactly what we’ve just seen in that very, very simple little illustration. This is what God has done for you in Jesus Christ. He has said, I’m claiming you for my own. I’m going to reproduce the very image of my son in you. And what greater privilege could there be than that? And you say, now wait a minute. Of whom is this true that God claims them for his own answer? Sanctified by the Spirit through belief in the truth. So here’s the fifth wonderful, wonderful truth and reality. In Christ, you are believing. These people believed. These things are true of everyone who believes. What’s true of you as you believe? You are loved by Christ. You are chosen by Christ. You are saved by Christ. You are sanctified by the Spirit of Christ. To those who believe, Paul says, know this. You are saved by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. You say, now how did they come to believe? How did any of us come to believe? He gives us this next answer, number six. In Christ, you are called. He called you to this through our gospel. And the gospel is simply the good news that Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins. That he rose again to bring us new life. And God calls people to himself through the gospel. That’s what it says here. That’s why the gospel almost must be at the center of the life and ministry of the church. As you believe the gospel, these gifts are yours. And you will find that indeed you are loved. You will begin to experience and know that you are chosen, that you are saved, and that you are sanctified through believing the gospel by which Jesus Christ lays hold of you. And all of this is so that in Christ you will be glorified. That you might have, verse 14, the share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here’s the ultimate outcome of God’s redeeming purpose. Not only that you will see his glory, but as we saw earlier, that you will share his glory. That you will be glorified in him forever. Now friends, the whole magnificent range of God’s redeeming purpose in Christ is set out here for us in just two verses. Isn’t it marvelous? James Denney calls this a system of theology in miniature. And I think that’s what it is. Think of the word salvation as being like the treasure chest in which God places the priceless jewels of justification and sanctification and forgiveness and adoption and reconciliation and glorification. Salvation is the chest that holds them all. It’s the big word that contains all of these great blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ. And how are we saved? Our salvation, Paul says right here, comes through the gospel. God calls us through the gospel, the good news of Jesus crucified and risen. But what lies behind the gospel? Why is there a Christ who was crucified? Why is there a Christ who is risen? The answer is that God set his love on you. The answer is that God chose you from the beginning of time. Why did Jesus come into the world? There is only one explanation. The love of God who has chosen to redeem a people for himself. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. This is why Jesus came into the world. This is why he died on the cross. This is why he rose from the dead. And if we are to think forward, what comes from this gospel? What is the fruit of this gospel? As this gospel was proclaimed to these folks in Thessalonica, what happened in their lives? Two things happened. The Spirit sanctified them and they as sinners believed. This is what has happened in your life, Paul says. This is the miracle that has happened to you. This is your salvation in Jesus Christ. And this is what is true of you on the darkest day of your life if you belong to Jesus Christ today. What an encouraging place to pause our message today. You are loved, cherished, saved, sanctified. And next time we’ll continue this message to see how you are also called and glorified. So I hope you’ll be able to tune in for that. If you ever miss any of our messages, you can always go online. Come to openthebible.org.uk. You’ll find all of our previously broadcast messages and you’ll be able to go back and listen to them again. You’ll also find Open the Bible Daily, which is a series of short two to three minute reflections written by Pastor Colin Smith and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish. There’s a new one on the website every day. And both of those things are also available as podcasts. Go to your favourite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners. And if that’s something you feel you’d like to do, this month we’ve got a special offer for you. In return for setting up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to send you two copies of a book called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. And Colin, who is this book for? Well, it’s for anyone who wants to bear witness to Jesus and anyone who has questions about Jesus, which ought to just about cover everyone who’s listening to the programme today, I’m sure. This is a marvellous book. More Than a Carpenter has a story behind it. And the story is that the author, Josh McDowell, actually set out to disprove Christianity. That was his aim. And what he found when he set out on that journey was that the evidence for Scripture and for the claims of Jesus Christ was so compelling that he himself was converted and became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is a great book for helping anyone who wants to be clearer and more confident in their testimony to Jesus. And it’s a marvellous book to be able to give to anyone who’s a sceptic or is asking honest questions about the Christian faith. And that’s why we want to send you two copies of this book, More Than a Carpenter, one for you and one to give away. That’s our gift to you if you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more. Full details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. How did you become a person who believes in Christ? It’s not simply a result of your background or your friends. Find out why next time on Open the Bible.