I & II Thessalonians

The purpose of this question is to see what students feel is important to them from these letters. Answers will vary but look for the following:

• Paul's thankfulness for their faithfulness in spite of persecution and trials. We gain encouragement to do the same.
• Paul defends his conduct against false accusations. We too must be ready to defend our actions as we faithfully apply God's word in our lives. We recognize we are not perfect and make mistakes, but we strive to live faithfully according to the teachings of Jesus.
• Paul's teachings about the return of Jesus. These teachings help us stay alert and faithful.
• Paul's teachings to remain steadfast. He further teaches that remaining steadfast requires that we practice faith each day and avoid false teachings.

• Pray that the gospel will continue to be spread. This remains a critical priority for us today therefore, we should pray for this continuously.
• Paul requested prayers for himself as he was persecuted for spreading the gospel. This personal prayer was not for physical relief, but rather so he could continue to fulfill his mission. See also Ephesians 6:19-20. We pray as well for relief from the challenges in our lives but we should do this so that we can offer even greater service to the Lord.
• Paul reassures the Christians and in doing so encourages their faith. We might not see immediate results from our prayers, but we must continue to pray because God will answer these prayers in His own time and way.

Paul commands (rather strong language but it shows the importance of the encouragement) the Christians to keep away from those who live an unruly (unfaithful) life. This includes laziness and an undisciplined and unrepentant life.

In doing so they not only protect themselves from unfaithfulness, but also identify those not living as our Lord wishes. Our desire is not to show ourselves better than others, but to teach by our example as well as our words how the Lord wishes us to live as faithful servants.

Paul points out the examples of the apostles in doing so. We follow the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the apostles as they applied the teachings of Jesus.

Paul further encourages them to not become discouraged. Christianity is a way of life. It encompasses all elements of our lives. God is faithful to His promise so we must take an eternal view of life.

Paul teaches us that we must discipline those who do not live as our Lord commands. This is done with love and with the goal of bringing back into obedience those who may have strayed. Discipline is not done through punishment but by teaching. Paul uses strong language in this passage as he states to not associate with the unfaithful. This should be seen as a last effort and not first. This is in keeping with our Lord's teachings from Matthew 18:15-17. If someone wanders from the truth and does not repent, our relationship changes from a fellow Christian to a teacher and his student. We must be careful, however, that our judgment of the situation is based on the standard of the teachings of Jesus and not our personal likes or dislikes, or our personal understanding. A person may understand a concept from scripture differently than we do. This is not necessarily to say they are unfaithful or wrong.

Paul concludes these letters with a warm and loving prayer that God's grace will continue to be shown to the Thessalonians. As we read these letters today, we can be assured that grace continues to be given to us as well.

The overall theme of Paul's teaching serves as a template for our faithfulness:

• Believe the truth (demonstrated by our obedience to the truth)
• Pray always (constant communication with our Lord)
• Stay busy doing good (our role is to serve…we must be busy doing so.)

Always remember: Stay faithful and give God the glory! In doing so, when our Lord returns, we will hear, "Well done good and faithful servant."