Article This Week:
11 October 2015
In 1 Thessalonians. 5:1-11 we are reminded to be prepared and persevering before our Lord returns to us on the Day of Judgement. The first way in which we need to be prepared is to be aware that we are in a battle. Spiritual warfare is very real, and our enemy does not easily accept people leaving his kingdom for God’s kingdom. He will use all kinds of ways and means to distract us from growing in our faith, including daily busyness, challenges at work or at home, to stop us from the regular habits of Bible reading and prayer that anchor us to God. Paul writes elsewhere in Ephesians 6 on the nature of this battle, and asks us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).
The Apostle Paul focuses on two specific pieces of the armour we can put on to be prepared to persevere. Like soldiers in God’s army “let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Faith and love are like a breastplate that covers the heart: faith faces towards God, and love, toward God’s people. Hope is a sturdy helmet that protects the mind so that “we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This hope is grounded in the completed work of salvation Jesus did for us on the cross to save us from all our sins, be they in the past, present or future. The unsaved fix their minds on the things of this world, while dedicated believers set their minds on Jesus, and the things above (Colossians 3:1-3).
Finally, we are prepared to persevere as a Church community, to “encourage one another and build up each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). The Thessalonian Church faced persecution from the society they were living in. In the same way, we too face challenges to our Christian faith. We can come together as a Church family to encourage one another about the certainty of the promise of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. We also ought to build each other up in the faith, supporting each other in the difficult issues and challenges we face in our lives. This mutual giving and receiving of love in the body of Christ keep the Church strong against the forces that attack it. God’s people always need to “stand your ground” and persevere together with one another as we anticipate Jesus’ return.
