Thirsting Souls Bible Teaching

 (2Th 2:3)  “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”  This speaks of the anti-christ. The name given here is interesting. He is the son of “perdition”. Perdition means “ruin or loss”. He will be the son of him who ruined his own life; the son of he who loss greatly because of his own sin. He is the son of the devil. Sin ruins. Sin makes us losers. We lose the blessings that come with being God’s!

(2Th 2:3)  “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, …”  Are we living in such a day? Jesus said of the people of His day, (Mat 15:8) “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Jesus also told us the evidence of our love would be, (Joh_14:15)  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Here’s where the falling away is found. Professing believers living according to their own will (what they think) instead of God’s will (what He has said). Churches today are filled with people who will say, “I know what the Bible says, but….” Yes, we are in the last days.

(2Th 2:1)  “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2)  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”  Why would they be troubled by such news? Because the Day of the Lord is judgment, the tribulation period followed by the judging of the nations. If you “hope” you are saved, then you need to be sure, for the day is at hand!  You can be sure. Just deal with the Lord in sincerity of heart, willing to turn from “all” of your old life to have Christ Jesus and salvation. He died because of the sins of that life you have lived in pleasure of your own will. Ask His forgiveness and for the gift of everlasting life. Believe not only in His payment for your sins  and resurrection but also in His willingness to save you!

 (2Th 2:1) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,”  The Holy Spirit is about to say, “Since you know this, don’t worry about that.” In other Words, you know you are His and He is coming for you. There are truths that are foundation and should be held to, not cast aside in our minds and hearts. Salvation is one of them. We base our faith upon the knowledge that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, paying its price, was buried and then arose from the dead; that if we would turn in our hearts from our sinful ways He would forgive us and give us eternal life. Not life, but eternal life. We then read some verse that seems to say, “Do this or you will lose it.” We are shaken from our foundation upon which we trusted. God did not promise us “life”. That we could lose. He promised use “never-ending life”. That cannot be taken away, for it does not end. It seems the Bible is the only area of learning where people have a tendency to throw away the foundation for what they seem to learn later. “Since you know this, don’t worry about that.”

(2Th 2:1)  “Now we beseech you,…..”  It is easy to “breeze” by such a statement as this thinking Paul is imploring them for something. Remember, Paul is not writing this; Paul is penning this, acting as a scribe for God. God is imploring (begging) those He has saved, those who have received unmerited favor, those bought back from sin by His Own blood. Should He have to implore us? It reveals how sinful our old nature really is, that He could not simply ask and expect to receive! All the excuses man has for not obeying the Lord sickens me. God help us!

(2 Thess 1:12)  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”   Every saved individual glories in the word, “grace”. It means “underserved favor bestowed”. No person is given the gift of everlasting life because they deserved it. What each of us, no matter our age deserve, are the agonies of hell fire. Jesus paid for sins. He took what we deserve – death – on the cross. Thank God for “grace”! 

 (2Th 1:11)  “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: (12)  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him,….”  So, the saved are uplifted, “glorified”, as they obey “all the good pleasure of His goodness” – doing what pleases Him. People have a tendency to give glory to the servant of God rather than the Master. I say to you, “Reflect the glory. Give it unto God.” Remember, the servant is nothing, the Master is everything!

 (2Th 1:11)  “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: (12)  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Notice the primary goal was not the saint, but the saint’s Lord! Your purpose in life in not your pleasure, your happiness, your achievement, but the glorification of He Who gave His life in payment for your sins! It is to be lived for the glorification of the only living and true God!  

(2Th 1:11)  “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:”  The work of God’s children is done two ways upon this earth. There are those who work through the flesh, fulfilling the task before them. And, there are those who look to their Father to bless the work, giving them strength, wisdom, and ability for the task, and…..to bless the task to the recipients. The Lord has said, “….. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,…” (Zech 4:6). This is what the Lord means when He says, “….and the work of faith with power:”