thecrump

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5

Last time in our walk through 2 Thessalonians we read Paul's admonition to pray for them to be delivered from evil men. Our verses today finalize that thought with a view of God's faithfulness.

"But the Lord is faithful..."

One of my favorite old hymns is Great Is Thy Faithfulness (yes I'm a rocker and I love hymns too). Why is this my favorite? Well one reason is it is so very true in my life. While I have ebbed and flowed in my walk with the Lord and have both praised Him and sinned against Him - He is faithful. The verse in context is speaking about God's ability and will to "establish you and guard you against the evil one." This is an act of power and sovereignty over us and the evil one, and we can rest in this incredible promise. When we are faced with the evil glare of the enemy, whether through temptation or trial, we can stand fast knowing that it is God who will guard us and establish us.

In verse 4 I love the way Paul words that his confidence is "in the Lord concerning you." He did not say, "I am confident in you" but rather he showed his confidence in the ONE who we can truly have confidence in - God.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." Philippians 2:13

It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we should have confidence in - not our own ability. God's ability to change us and equip us is what we should rely on...not our man made schemes and flesh centered ideas.

At the end of verse 4 we see what this confidence is directed toward - "both that you do and will do the things we command you." Now this may be a tough one for some people to swallow, and if that is the case then you may be dancing with pride, but the fact remains that we are called to listen and obey our pastors. Obviously, if you are under a bad pastor/teacher then you may need to find a one who you can sit under and submit to because this is an important part of living the Christian life. I know some people think they can church hop or go to church but not submit to leadership, but this flies in the face of biblical Christianity. Even if you do not agree with EVERYTHING the pastor says, if you agree on teh essentials then you can submit because it is what God commands of us.

On a personal note let me say that there is a freedom in that truth that is lost in our "Christian" subculture today. I think that so many people desire to be free of any sort of accountablility that they often buck authority in order to keep their "freedom." They struggle with the dying to self concept and this bleads over into their view of authorities. Understand, if you are not submitting to your pastor and other leadership then you are NOT submitting to God. This does not mean that you do not speak your mind if you have a concern or desire to understand more of the Biblical reasoning behind a pastor or a leaders stance, but in the end (unless there is gross sin or biblical negligence occuring) you must obey. Your pastor has a higher accountability towards God on account of His church. He will be held accountable for every word, action and teaching he has presented before God's bride. So rather than taking him to task for changing the pulpit or not saying "hi" to you that one time. Pray for your pastor who is dealing with more than you or I can ever imagine.

Let's pray, like Paul, that we would be guarded against the enemy and that we would have confidence in the Lord for the ability to obey the teachings that we have been given both in the scriptures and through the one's who are bringing us the scriptures - our pastors.

One final thought. Verse 5 finishes out this section with a prayer for God to direct our hearts in love and patients. This should be our attitude within the body as well as in the world. Love unconditionally and be patient with all. Whether a friend or leadership, sometime you will not be happy with an action or a decision...but you must show love and patience. We are all fallen, sinful, wretches who have been saved by grace. Yes, we should act in the Spirit but we all still stumble. Let's be gracious with one another and love each other because of Christs love for us.