Good morning. Finally Paul is done with the end times. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. We were chosen from the beginning; it was not an afterthought by God. Remember Paul just got finished talking about people believing a deception. We however believed in the truth. He again mentions that sanctification comes by the Holy Spirit. And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were not called just to get our fire insurance. We were called unto sanctification. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught. Paul loves to tell people to stand firm. Sadly today believers are taught the traditions of men, not of God. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. God is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him. We need not fear the evil one, because God will protect us. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. Then something that sounds cruel in today's politically correct environment, but is actually very necessary in the church. Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the traditions which you have received from us. Remember that bad company corrupts good morals. If we associate with someone who leads an unruly life, it will eventually rub off on us instead of the other way around. We can pray for them at a distance. Father thank You that the reader stands firm and holds to the traditions he/she was taught. He/she has Your love and is steadfast like Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners

  Good morning. So, was the law a bad thing? We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully (not to control people, as some were), realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the Blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer etc. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. Formerly Paul was good in the eyes of the law, but unrighteous in the eyes of God. Despite that, God was more than able to use him in a magnificent way to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Father thank You that Your Grace is gre...
Read more

Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me

  Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
Read more

Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them.

  Good morning. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them. This is the area where Jesus had the discussion with the woman at the well. Remember from Acts 1:8 that after Jerusalem, Samaria was mentioned. Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews and considered more or less half Jews. A lot of the Jews of the northern kingdom were taken away and replaced by others who were not Jews. They intermingled with the Jews that were living in the northern kingdom. Even though Samaria was not far away, the disciples had not come there to preach the word before this. The disciples may have even thought that it was impossible for them to get saved, just like the Gentiles. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. Even though he was “just a deacon”, God worked throug...
Read more