2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father... comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

From the doom of the man of sin to the glory of our salvation—a study in the God who loves, chooses, sanctifies, and calls.

From the End Times to Our Great Salvation

The opening verses of 2 Thessalonians 2, which we studied last week, dealt with the things that are to come—eschatology, the study of the last days. Paul spoke of the coming man of sin, the son of perdition, whom we commonly identify as the antichrist, whose coming is "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." He will one day deceive the unrighteous so thoroughly that, because they received not the love of the truth, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe the lie—most likely the lie that the antichrist is God, standing in the temple presenting himself as God. Paul told these things beforehand so that those alive in that day would not be deceived.

The study of the end times is interesting, and over the last century—especially since Israel became a nation again and took Jerusalem in June of 1967—prophecy has reached almost a fever pitch. There are prophecy conferences, updates, seminars, and thousands of books, and churches can focus solely on the prophetic. But Paul was balanced. He could say, "I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God." Prophecy is important, but it should not be the total focus of the church. So Paul now turns from damnation to the great salvation we have in Christ.

Bound to Give Thanks for Their Salvation

"But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation." Paul speaks again of his indebtedness to give thanks. In chapter one he gave thanks for the Thessalonians' maturity—their faith, hope, and love. But why was he indebted to thank God? Because their growth was not due to Paul's abilities or even their own devotion, but to God's faithfulness. As he said in 1 Corinthians 3:7, "neither is he that plants anything, nor he that waters, but... God who gives the increase." And in Philippians 1:6, "he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Here in chapter two, Paul gives thanks not for their maturity but for their salvation. These two instances—thanks for their sanctification and thanks for their salvation—remind us of a vital truth: our salvation is completely a work of God. We must understand salvation in its three tenses. Justification is the past work Christ accomplished on the cross, where He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might receive His righteousness; we now stand guiltless before God. Sanctification is His present work, cleansing us by the washing of the water of the word, for we all fall short daily. Glorification is His future work—when we see Him we shall be like Him, changed in an instant, this sinful flesh done away with. How many are looking forward to that day?

Salvation Is a Gracious Gift

"For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:8–10). God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. Salvation comes as a free gift; it is not earned by works. Damnation, by contrast, is the reward of unrighteousness, for the wages of sin is death.

You can choose to relate to God based on your works, or based on the work He did in Christ Jesus. I will be quick to say I choose His gracious work. I do not want to stand before God in my own flesh saying, "I've been a good person." Revelation 22 describes the great white throne judgment, where the books are opened and also the book of life. Everyone not written in the book of life is judged by the books—by their works, words, thoughts, and motives—and cast into the lake of fire. But when a person puts their faith in Christ, receiving His gracious gift, all those things are erased and their name is written in the book of life.

Four Reasons They Enjoyed Salvation

These two verses are pregnant with theological importance. The Thessalonians enjoyed the salvation of God for four reasons.

First, because God loved them. "Brethren, beloved of the Lord." Love is the root of God's salvation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). And love is most displayed at the cross: "God demonstrated his love towards us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Second, because God chose them. "God has from the beginning chosen you." The choosing of God is often debated, and unfortunately divisive—especially since the Reformation, leaving two camps in the church: those leaning toward God's sovereignty in election, and those leaning toward man's free will. Election is clearly taught in Scripture, so why the division? Because of the tension between God's sovereign electing and man's free will in salvation.

The Choosing of God and Free Will

At Calvary Chapel we believe both God's sovereignty and man's free will are clearly observed and taught in the Bible, so we hold a more moderate view. We believe that God has sovereignly given man free will to choose to be the chosen. We do not hold to unconditional election—the view of the Reformed tradition, often called Calvinism after John Calvin. The phrase is not in the Bible, though the word "election" is. Unconditional election is the logical outgrowth of the first point of Calvinism.

There has been a recent resurgence of Reformed theology, in part a reaction against the pendulum swinging far to the seeker-sensitive movement and the packaging of evangelicalism as a product. It affects us locally; here in Escondido we have Westminster Theological Seminary, and on a recent podcast professors and Reformed pastors from Santee specifically singled out Calvary Chapel as a target for proselytizing, since they find our people often have a good understanding of Scripture. One of my major concerns about Reformed theology is that those who hold it are often more interested in proselytizing the saved than evangelizing the lost.

Calvinism's five points are remembered by the acronym TULIP. The first is total depravity, rebranded today as "total inability"—that man is so fallen he is absolutely unable to choose faith in God, and therefore must be unconditionally elected. The problem is that this view also holds that God has unconditionally elected the rest to hell, with no opportunity to be saved. I have great problem with that. In a recent debate, the atheist Christopher Hitchens—author of the bestseller God Is Not Great—told a Reformed pastor that "Calvinism makes God no different than the Allah of Islam... an unloving, all-powerful wretch... a tyrant... a dictator."

I believe unconditional election is neither revealed in Scripture nor in line with the nature of God. It is similar to the Pharisees, who believed they were the elect and the rest were fuel for hell. Yet election and predestination are clearly in Scripture. I believe they are two sides of the same coin: when we come to passages about God's choosing, we teach what they say; when we come to passages about man's free will, we teach those. The fact remains that God loved the world, gave His Son, and "whosoever will may come."

Set Apart by the Spirit, Called by the Gospel

Third, because God set them apart. "Chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit." To sanctify means to set apart. There is progressive sanctification, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, where Paul prays God would sanctify them wholly—the ongoing work of cleansing and transforming us into the image of His Son. How many can attest that since becoming a Christian your attitude, thoughts, speech, and actions have changed for the better? But the sanctification here in 2:13 refers to the Spirit's work in leading an unbeliever to faith. Peter said we are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit."

It is the Holy Spirit's work to convict the sinner. Too often well-meaning Christians want to do that work, watching everyone's failures and pointing them out. The Holy Spirit doesn't need our help, and there's no job opening in that area. Jesus said in John 16, "When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." If we say the Spirit needs to do a better job, the answer is that we must be involved in prayer. God prepares the ground of a heart so that when we sow the seed of the word, it takes root and produces fruit. So pray that the Holy Spirit would work on hard hearts.

Fourth, because God called them. "Whereunto he called you by our gospel." This places great emphasis on the proclamation of the gospel. "How shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Romans 10:14–15). One problem with Reformed theology—especially hyper-Calvinism—is that it frequently neglects evangelism, reasoning that the elect will be saved anyway. This was the view that tried to discourage William Carey; when he announced his desire to bring the gospel to India, a man stood and said, "Young man, if God has ordained for them to be saved, they'll be saved; you don't need to go." How thankful I am Carey disagreed, went to India, and saw the Scriptures translated into more than forty dialects.

Some today call themselves "evangelical Calvinists," saying we still preach the gospel only because God commissioned it. I believe God commissioned us to preach because through the gospel men are saved. That is why Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). We don't decide who is elect and preach only to them; that is God's decision. Paul charged Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season," for the time will come when men "will not endure sound doctrine" (2 Timothy 4). It does not matter that some will harden their hearts—we are still called to preach, because it is by the gospel that God calls men to salvation.

Man's Response and Responsibility

Seeing all this is God's work, we may wonder what our part is. Some of the Reformed view would say, "There it is—let God be God." But notice the end of verse 13: "through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." What response does man have? God loved us, chose us, sanctified and called us—but we must respond to the call, believing the truth, placing our faith and confidence in Jesus. If the Thessalonians had not responded in faith, it would have revealed they were not the chosen of God.

What further responsibilities do we have? Verse 15: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." Stand fast in the gospel truth. Paul told the Ephesians to put on the whole armor of God and, "having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6). Notice: the last point of Calvinism, the P, stands for the perseverance of the saints—that the elect will inevitably persevere because God ordained it. But if that is a given, why did Paul repeatedly exhort the church to persevere, to hold fast, to press on? The exhortations themselves point to our responsibility.

God Comforts and Establishes Us

I'm thankful our perseverance is not wholly dependent on us. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work." We are not only saved by grace but given a good hope through grace—that we will be with the Lord eternally and will not receive the damnation of verse 12. That hope keeps us enduring.

God's comfort is not a warm axiom but an active work. Jesus promised in John 14 to send "another Comforter," the Spirit of truth—"I will not leave you comfortless." Paul calls God "the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:3). How does He comfort us? By His word (Romans 15:4), by His Spirit (John 14–16), and by His saints (2 Corinthians 1:4), so that we may comfort others in any trouble.

He also establishes us. To establish means to make stable, to set firmly, to strengthen. God establishes us by gifted and called leaders in the body of Christ, by ordained testing and trials, and by His grace (Hebrews 13:9). Consider a tree in a greenhouse with perfect conditions—it grows nicely, but its roots go deepest when tested by wind and weather outside. So with us: we send down deeper roots when tested by the things of this life.

Pray That the Word May Run Freely

"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." Paul—an apostle, missionary, pastor, teacher, and church planter—made his number one request that the church pray for him. In eight of his letters he says, "Brethren, pray for us."

His requests here are specific. First, that the word may have free course—run unhindered. This makes us wonder how often the work of God is restrained because of the prayerlessness of the church. Isaiah 55:11 says God's word will not return void; there is nothing wrong with the word. Could it be that we don't see the movement of earlier eras because the saints are not praying? Amos 8:11 warned of a famine, "not of bread, nor of thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." There are over 300,000 churches in America, yet many pastors have departed from the simple, sincere word of God for programs and pithy sayings—offering placebos from the pulpit instead of the milk and meat of the word.

Second, that the word may be glorified. God has exalted His word above His name, so what does Paul mean? "Even as it is with you." In our day the word is not magnified, honored, and celebrated by many in the church or nation. If preachers set their Bible down and never look at it—"Thank you for coming; we have a great little story for you"—then the people in the pew will not honor it either, and we see the result in our nation. The word is to be exalted, praised, and glorified by those who preach it.

Third, that we might be delivered from unreasonable, wicked, and unbelieving men. Such men hinder the free course of the word—seeking to legislate against it and use the courts to bring it down. "All men have not faith," but the Lord is faithful. I'll be honest: I have a much shorter temper than God; if men were constantly rebellious toward me, I'd reach for the "smite button." Be thankful I'm not in His position. The Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and keep you from evil. This does not mean He keeps us from difficult circumstances that appear evil to the flesh—the Thessalonians were in persecution—but He keeps us from the evil one and from the judgment that comes upon evil.

Stand in Rank—Withdraw From the Disorderly

Paul had confidence that they would continue in what he taught: "We have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." Yet patience does not mean idleness: "Now we command you, brethren... that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us."

"Disorderly" means out of rank, out of step—a military term. Those with military service understand marching together in unity. We are, in a sense, the army of God—not bringing the kingdom by military might, which Jesus forbade, but recognizing we are in a spiritual battle and called to march together in step. Some at Thessalonica had walked out of rank. After receiving the word about the Lord's coming, amid persecution, they simply stopped working—they could work but would not—relying on the abundant charity of the body. They had also become busybodies.

Paul gives himself as the example: he labored night and day so as not to be a burden, and commanded, "If any would not work, neither should he eat." A busybody is one always with their nose in another's affairs. "Them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." If you are relying on the charity of others and refusing the work the Lord has given you—be quiet and get to work. "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing." And if any man will not obey, "note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." Set him aside so he may be ashamed and desire to walk in step again—not as an enemy, but coming alongside to correct.

Grace and Peace to the End

Paul finishes as he began—with grace: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." He commends them to the grace of God, in which we are to grow (2 Peter 3:18). He also prays for peace: "Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all." Again, they were in tribulation; this peace does not remove them from trial but gives, in the midst of trial, "the peace... which passeth all understanding," guarding their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Remember Jesus' words: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). "Let not your heart be troubled... I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14). And His parting words: "Lo, I am with you alway" (Matthew 28). As we go through trial, the Lord is with us and gives us His peace.

What does this look like? This past Friday I had the privilege of praying with a dear sister at Children's Hospital. She is in the ICU—her liver and kidneys shutting down. Without a transplant she will die, and though she's at the top of the list, her body is so weak they fear she couldn't receive one. Her door was the only one in the unit that was closed. When I went in, she was so filled with joy and excitement in the Lord that it blew my mind—a seventeen-year-old in great pain, very possibly going to die, yet possessing the peace of God that surpasses understanding. Her nurse said the door was closed because she was so loud she bothered others—but added that the other nurses come in to be encouraged, because everything else they see is so draining. That is the peace that comes from the Lord and from His promise that this is not all there is. May we enjoy that peace and endure whatever trial we face.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for such examples. I thank You for the grace that You give to us to endure and go through trial. Lord, we thank You that You have loved us, chosen us, sanctified and called us. We thank You that we've had the grace to receive and to follow You, and we pray that You would strengthen us to be bright, shining witnesses in this world. Whatever trial we face, help us to stand strong, and having done all, to stand. Help us to stand therefore. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.