To Encourage You

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

In Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8 we have parallel accounts in the so-called “synoptic gospels,” of what is known by such names as “the parable of the sower,” or “the parable of the soils.”  In these accounts Jesus teaches about how the “seed” (i.e., the gospel) can fall on four different kinds of “soils” (i.e., types of receptivity of the human heart). It is striking that of the four types of soils, only one is described as “good soil” in that the seed planted in it actually produces spiritual fruit. In the other three cases, the seed produces no fruit. In one case, the seed falls along the path, representing the heart that the truth of the gospel bounces off like water off a duck’s back. There is no receptivity whatsoever. That person shows no interest in the gospel and does not believe. Then there is seed that falls on rocky ground.  Here the soil (receptivity) is shallow, and the person receives the gospel with joy – at least initially – but because he or she has no root, when trouble or persecution comes, they quickly fall away. Finally, there is the seed that falls among the thorns. This represents the person who hears the word and begins to show signs of life, but then worldly cares and things like the love of money start to crowd out any growth that might come from the seed just like thorns and weeds choke out plants in a garden.

Three out of four that hear the gospel in this parable do not persevere.  What a stark reminder of how the broad way, which most people are on, leads to destruction and the narrow way, the hard way, leads to life, but relatively few find it.

But if the narrow way is so hard, why does anyone persevere, when there are so many reasons not to? Why not follow the crowd and turn away from the gospel of Jesus?  What on earth would keep us? Well, to this the verses above from 2 Thessalonians 2 speak.  In these verses, Paul urges the Thessalonian believers to stand firm in the faith, but along with this encouragement, he gives some wonderful reasons to do so. 

For one, he reminds them that they are “beloved of the Lord.”  What an awesome reality this is, that the Creator of the universe should love us.  The Bible tells us that God so loved the God-hating and sin-loving world that He gave us His only Son to bear the penalty for that sin and provide forgiveness and eternal life to those who would believe in Him.  Although we had absolutely no merit for Him to do so, God chose to save us from our sins and the wrath to come on that sin.  “For our sake he (i.e., God the Father) made him to be sin who knew no sin (i.e., Jesus), so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  As such, He sanctified us – cleansing believers from the sin that had bound them all their lives.

But He didn’t stop there. The verses above tell us that we will ultimately share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those who persevere will see Him with their own eyes, and at that moment they shall be transformed to be like Him in all His glory.  It’s such an awesome truth – the prospect of sharing in the eternal joy, peace, love, and life of the eternal Son of God while we deserve the exact opposite.  Paul reminds us that the “eternal comfort and good hope” that God has showered on us came to us by grace – God’s unmerited favor poured out so extravagantly on all those who believe. 

So why persevere?  Why endure when the vast majority quit? Why continue to follow our Lord when most turn their back and walk away? Because it’s the only choice that makes any sense to the true believer. When things get difficult or the cares of this world draw so many away from the Lord to other things, we persevere, for we know it will be worth it all in the end.  That’s the response of the good soil, the one that brings forth fruit to the glory of God, for the believer is convinced that there is only one way, i.e., the way of Christ. As Peter responded when Jesus asked him if he, like so many others, would walk away, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).  So, may we take Peter’s words as well as the words of Paul above, to heart, and above all else, come what may, stand firm!