1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 - Unbelievers will not escape the coming Wrath of God, but it will come upon them suddenly
Summary
So sudden will be the coming of the Son of Man that it will catch those who do not see fit to watch for Him completely off guard. They will be utterly destroyed—they will not be able to resist, no one will help them, and they will not get up after being felled. Their doom has been foretold, and it will surely come to pass.
Content
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 is not the only place in scripture where we hear about the sudden destruction of those who refuse to follow God (and therefore the path of true righteousness). For example:
There are also other passages of formal prophecy (rather than just general principles) dealing with destruction:
Isaiah 47 deals with the destruction of so-called “Mystery Babylon”, a powerful nation in Revelation drunk on its own prosperity. (Cf. also Revelation 17). It will be utterly destroyed in judgement, even though people will think it too big to fall.
But here in 1 Thessalonians 5, we are talking about the “Day of the Lord”, the day of righteous Judgement, and the vindication of God’s people. As I say, I line up this passage in 1 Thessalonians with Christ’s return immediately preceding Armageddon in Revelation 19:11ff. Hence the focus on destruction here.
Unlike in pop culture portrayals of Armageddon, it will not be a clashing of two armies, or even a battle at all. No, indeed, Revelation 19:21 makes it clear that this is a one-sided slaughter: Jesus Christ utterly destroys all those arrayed against Him. They will be cast down in a moment, unable to resist in the slightest against the Son of God returning in glory. Jesus will not be coming as the Suffering Servant this time (cf. Isaiah 53). Quite to the contrary—this time He is coming with the Crown. The long-prophesied coming of Israel’s Savior will come upon the world, and then Christ will establish His perfect rule from Jerusalem.
We might also compare Matthew chapters 24 and 25—the so-called “Olivet Discourse”—which is also prophecy concerning these same events. Jesus will come “as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west” (Matthew 24:27). In fact, the entire point of Matthew 24:36ff. is to exhort us to be attentive and watchful, so sudden will the Son of Man appear. Just like the flood came and utterly destroyed the wicked—without the slightest possibility of escape or even resistance of any sort—so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. And in this way, His return will catch off guard all those who do not see fit to keep watch for Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 - We are children of the light, so unlike others, should stay awake and sober
Summary
In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11, Paul exhorts us to be awake and sober, for we are not children of darkness, but children of the light. Despite modern Christianity’s distaste for and avoidance of eschatology, we need to do our homework here and be watchful, so that we will be ready for our Master’s return. Our waiting should be marked by faith, hope, and love, because “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, NIV11).
Content
On the need for watchfulness, and its relation to the end times
In our previous discussion of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, we discussed how those verses—alongside, for example, Revelation 19:11ff. and the Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapters 24 and 25—indicate that the return of Christ will catch off guard all those who do not see fit to keep watch for Him. The forces of wickedness will be completely annihilated upon the sudden return of the Son of Man, whom they will be powerless to resist. Because this time He is coming with the Crown, having been exalted to the right hand of God the Father.
But in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 (basically directly in parallel with Matthew 24:36ff.), Paul tells his audience in Thessalonica (and us, by extension) that we are not children of darkness so that this day should surprise us like a thief. Instead, we are children of the light, and are to be awake and sober. To flesh out this concept of watchfulness a bit more:
- Matthew 24:43 speaks of a homeowner keeping watch, so as to not let his house be broken into.
- Matthew 24:45-51 speaks of the faithful and wise servant who does as he ought even when his master is away. He does need need to fear his master’s return.
- Matthew 25:1-13 speaks of wise virgins waiting to meet the bridegroom (a custom in their culture), prepared with extra oil so that they might properly greet him upon his arrival, no matter how late it may be. Contrast the foolish ones who did not bother to make proper preparations, and therefore ran out of oil and missed the bridegroom’s return. (For Christ as the bridegroom of the Church, compare, for example, Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29-30; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7).
- And then there is Matthew 25:14-30, the Parable of the Talents. It too speaks of a master going away on a journey (just as Christ is now veiled from us). The sense of this parable too is that we ought to put to good use all that God has given us, so that when Christ (our master) returns to settle accounts, we will have nothing to fear.
The point of all of this is that we must be aware and alert, always prepared for the return of our master. In our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we briefly touched on the false doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture, and argued that believing that particular false teaching inherently makes one spiritually complacent… the exact opposite of the attitude that 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 (and Matthew 24:36ff.) would have us adopt! For if God will just take us from the world before Christ “actually” returns anyway (His annihilation of the armies of evil at Armageddon being the culmination of a years-long series of judgements rendered against the world), why bother worrying about all this dark prophecy stuff? It can all be completely academic to us if we won’t have to live it.
Modern Christianity’s distaste for and avoidance of eschatology
If you think I’m exaggerating the carelessness modern Christians have when it comes to looking into the interpretation of Revelation and other eschatological prophecy, consider the last time you heard any sort of actually substantial teaching about the end times.
I suppose there are those who “teach” about the end times… in the sense of lining up current political figures with the antichrist, getting all exercised about blood moons and ancient calendars and whatnot, and other such nonsense. The crazy sort of end times “interpretation”, if one can even grace it with such a label. More like well-intentioned (if completely misguided) teaching based on gross misunderstanding at best… and outright fleecing of the sheep at worst, intentionally making things up and twisting scripture to gain money and power and the like.
And then, as a response to the stigma end times teaching gets as a result of the above, the vast majority of the Church visible completely avoids teaching on eschatology. People (rightly) point out that it is very complicated—far, far more so than the very elementary principles that most churches never really go past in their teaching these days. (But hey, props to them for at least teaching something, even it is basic. Plenty of churches never even graduate past teaching nothing much at all—unless one counts pop psychology, anecdotes, motivational speaking, and flowery rhetoric as “Bible teaching”).
Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, but rather than just choosing not to teach much about these matters themselves, many people have decided that since they don’t know how to interpret complex prophecy generally and involved eschatological timelines specifically, then anyone who claims to know what it all means must either belong to the crazy group, or is breathtakingly arrogant to claim they’ve figured out what apparently many other supposedly “great” theologians over the centuries have given up on. That is, despite probably not saying such with their lips directly, people in practice very much reject any formal teaching in this areas as impossible for us as humans to know with certainty.
“No man knows the day or the hour”
A variety of arguments are used to support this implicit belief that matters of eschatology are fundamentally unknowable, but none is used more often than proof-texting with Matthew 24:36. People will smugly say “Matthew 24:36 teaches that no man can know the day or the hour!”—with the implication being that we must throw up our hands and acknowledge we know nothing of eschatological chronology, because the Bible makes this statement.
One problem with proof-texting with this verse to condemn looking into matters of eschatology is that this verse is specifically in reference to Christ’s return, and there are far more events described in, say, Revelation, than just that one. (Although it is true that this is probably the future event that we Christians look forward to more than anything else). Put differently, this verse makes it clear that we cannot know exactly when Jesus Christ returns, but not roundabouts when the Tribulation begins, when the Great Tribulation begins, and so on. On what interpretive basis—that is, by what hermeneutic principles—do people apply this verse to more than Christ’s return specifically? I’ve never received a convincing answer to such a question.
But even more than that, the real problem with proof-texting with this verse to support the position that we cannot know with certainty anything at all (or at least what amounts to such) about end times events is that Jesus contradicts that very notion several verses earlier, when He speaks of the fig tree and seasons, saying “So you also, when you see all of these things [the things previously described before Matthew 24:32ff.], know that it (i.e., the return of the Son of Man) is near—at the doors!”. And then all the verses after this one (even into the next chapter) exhort us to be sober and watchful, which makes no sense if it is impossible for us to make sense of anything by paying attention.
So no, we won’t know the exact time of Christ’s return, since the timeline will be cut short for the sake of the elect—cf. Matthew 24:22. 1 Not even the angels (who have way more knowledge and perspective than us) will be able to know or guess the exact time that Christ will return. But the notion that we won’t be able to know that it is near? That we won’t be able to to recognize the clear signs of the end times around us (like, for example, the worldwide lightning and worldwide earthquake prophesied to occur as the world falls into judgement, the antichrist’s inescapable worldwide persecution of believers during the Great Tribulation, and so on)? Complete rubbish, that—as the context of Matthew 24:36 makes crystal clear, when one reads it in context, as one obviously ought to.
Context is always important in proper interpretation—and that’s not some debatable principle, but literally hermeneutics 101.
One of the easiest ways to spot weak arguments is when people pull verses out of context in an attempt to prove a point they’ve already decided upon in their minds, as here—when they strip verses from their context in the quest for “ammunition” to prove their predetermined conclusion. We must always interpret scripture through the lens of other scripture, and we don’t ever get to cast aside this approach for expediency’s sake. We must draw our conclusions out of the Bible (so-called “exegesis”), not read them into it by ignoring context (so-called “eisegesis”).
We should take this verse more or less literally then—like the verse says, it is the exact day and hour that we will remain in the dark about, not, say, the month or the year. For scripture in fact has such an abundance of information concerning the end times (when properly understood and painstakingly arranged into one comprehensive timeline) that once the Tribulation begins (which will be obvious to all—cf. Revelation 8:5, and see here for explanation), then based on knowing that start time, the precise information we have would actually let us accurately discern the timing of our Lord’s return, were the days not cut short like Matthew 24:22 says they will be. That is a far cry from us “not being able to know things” about the end times!
The claim I just made made—namely, that we would actually know the timing of Christ’s return were the days not cut short for the sake of the elect like Matthew 24:22 says—may seem to be a bit outrageous. It is really not all that complicated though. The reasoning goes something like this:
- The Bible teaches that the Tribulation will last 7 years, and the Great Tribulation 42 months (i.e., exactly half that = 3.5 years = 3 years 6 months).
- The exact starting point of the Tribulation will be very obvious to all due to the worldwide signs prophesied to occur. (See again the the explanation already linked above).
- Christ will return at the end of the Tribulation, right before Armageddon
So unless the days were shortened, we’d just start a timer for 7 years after the clear starting point of the Tribulation, and that would be that. But since the days will be shortened, that won’t work, exactly.
However, since the Bible is clear on the 42 months, the “shortening of the days” will be just that—days, not months. Otherwise it would no longer be 42 months, as prophesied. So “we will not know the day or the hour” means literally the day and the hour, not the time generally, QED.
Ichthys makes much the same argument in the following quote:
[T]he passages “no one knows the day or the hour” (Matt.24:36; cf. Mk.13:12), are often misunderstood. They are to be taken literally. The exact day and the exact hour of our Lord’s return is not revealed in scripture even though we have a very good idea of generally when He will return. After all, the second advent will occur after the Tribulation is over, and that event will last seven years, with its second half, the Great Tribulation, lasting forty two months, as we know from a variety of places in scripture (see the link). In the same context of the passage you ask about, our Lord also had said this:
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
From the above, we can say for certain that 1) there is a precise time-table; 2) it has been slightly shortened at the end for the sake of the elect (that is, to preserve the lives of believers who are still alive on earth at the Tribulation’s end); and 3) this shortening is, literally, a matter of “days” rather than months (since the 42 months is confirmed repeatedly in scripture; see prior link).
And this is why we need to stay watchful and sober: because we can know when the time is near! It is quite literally the opposite of the aforementioned negative attitude towards eschatology that worships uncertainty. So the shoe here is, in fact, very much on the other foot. That is, since the Bible clearly exhorts us to be watchful in this area, then failing to properly study these matters so as to prepare makes one like the foolish virgins of Matthew 25:1-13. In other words, presupposing some degree of study here is really where the discussion should be starting from (i.e., asking questions like “Exactly how much time should we focus here on eschatology, as opposed to studying other matters?”), not whether or not we should be looking into matters of eschatology to begin with. That ought to just be a given.
How do verses 8-11 fit in with what we just talked about?
If we buy the above—that we are to be awake and sober, awaiting the long-prophesied return of our King—then how are verses 8-11 related?
After having made the point that we are children of the day, Paul here goes into more detail about how we should act given that fact. Being sober, he tells us in verse 9, involves “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of of salvation as a helmet.” 2 So being awake and alert as we await the return of Christ ought not be marked by worry and anxiety, but by faith, hope, and love. (For more on these three cardinal virtues specifically, see here).
And why can we act in such a way—why should we put on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet? Because “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, NIV11).
We have been given an immeasurable blessing, and we need to respond to it in the proper way:
- By exercising our faith in believing that God actually has saved us and redeemed us.
- By looking forward in the hope of blessed expectation to our eternity with God.
- By letting our love overflow in our lives and interactions with others, as we more and more come to appreciate how much we must love others in the same way God loves us.
And because God has saved us from wrath and appointed us to salvation—dying for us all so that we might forever live with Him—for that reason we are to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). For we are all one body as the Church here in the world (cf. 1 Corinthians 12), but our unity will be even greater on the other side in eternity, when we share perfect fellowship with not only God, but also each other.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a - Respecting pastor-teachers
Summary
Just like we are called to respect our parents and respect government authority, so too are we called to respect pastor-teachers—those who have spiritual authority over us. We ought to respect them on the basis of them carrying out their duty to teach the Word of God; we ought to respect those who teach the Word of God more and better to a higher degree than those who talk a good talk but don’t truly walk the walk. This respect and deference we owe those who actually labor in the truth on our behalf is not optional, but required.
Content
Introduction
Paul says to acknowledge and respect pastor-teachers (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a).
As Christians, we are to respect our parents (cf. Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:1-3, among other passages—and also see this other study I have up on the matter). We are also to respect government authority, for it too is put in place by God (cf. Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). And, most apropos to our focus here, we are to respect pastor-teachers (cf. also 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17).
Respecting them does not mean blind obedience. It means acknowledging that this is how God has seen fit to structure the Church—that is, with pastor-teachers exercising spiritual authority over their flocks as under-shepherds of Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd (cf. 1 Peter 5:1-4). Unless you are yourself someone with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher (only given to men: see 1 Timothy 2:12)—and have prepared and studied to the point you can largely “feed yourself”—all Christians are to submit to teaching authority, and properly respect it. Not to put too fine a point on it, but not doing so is actually arrogantly rejecting God and His Plan for the Church. For this organizational structure is what God commands in His Word.
To emphasize the critical point again, it is the role we respect (cf. verse 13—“hold them in the highest regard because of their work”). It is not about them as individuals, our like or dislike of them as individuals. Instead, it is the office that we need to salute. One might compare the respect afforded the office of the President of the United States… no matter what one might think about the individual occupying said office.
Respecting the office is about respecting those who actually carry out their responsibilities as they ought
Now, with this being said, the “because of their work” bit rather crucially narrows the mandate to pastor-teachers who do the work they are called to (compare again 1 Timothy 5:17). In other words, people who want to stick “Reverend” in front of their name and parade around as if they ought to be listened to and respected just because they claim the title can be freely scorned… if in fact they are not acting as the Bible clearly calls for pastor-teachers to act. In fact, not only can you scorn such people, but you should. That is not arrogantly failing to submit to biblical teaching authority. It is instead respecting actual biblical teaching authority by not treating charlatans as the real deal.
To put it more explicitly, we ought to respect the men shouldering this burden to the exact extent that they do what God expects of them in the office (first and foremost revolving around the responsibility to substantively teach the Word of God). We are not beholden to respect everyone who claims to be a pastor, in other words, but only those who are actually carrying out their duties as befits the much stricter judgement they will face on account of their authority (cf. James 3:1).
In our times, it can be hard to find pastor-teachers worthy of your submission and respect
Unfortunately, in our times, it can be hard to find pastor-teachers carrying out their duties in this way that befits the stricter judgement they will face—that is, pastor-teachers worthy of your submission and respect. Most of mainstream Christianity disagrees with my take here, but I firmly believe that most pastor-teachers today are not at all effectively fulfilling their office in the way God would wish, primarily in that not many focus upon the Word of God as they truly ought, instead letting their flocks shift their time and attention to other things (which things may not always be inherently bad or sinful per se, but simply have no right to displace the teaching of the Word of God as the central purpose of Christian assembly). And so it is that much of the Church visible today is mired in spiritual infancy, never advancing from “milk” to “solid food” (cf. Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:2). Churches may have music that does well at stirring emotions, many faux-profound rituals (rituals that pretend to great importance—making one feel a manufactured sense of awe or transcendence—but all the while putting the focus on physical objects and actions rather than the spiritual truth we ought to be about as Christians), pleasant social interaction, lots of activities and events and “opportunities to serve”, and even put on a good show of “helping the community”… but if the Word of God is not kept front and center, it is all for naught. For no amount of easing of material hardship or lip service to the Word of God will truly help people in the eternal ways that actually matter. People need the truth to save them and then effectively nourish them spiritually thereafter, and absolutely nothing can substitute for it. Nothing.
Yet, is it any surprise really that many pastors avoid keeping the focus strictly upon in-depth teaching of the truth? For doing such is inherently bad for numbers and money. You see, the truth inevitably divides people (cf. Matthew 10:34-35), and many people simply do not really want to hear the truth (cf. the “itching ears” mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:3). So pursuing such a path is a surefire way to “fail” according to most physical metrics of church success. As a pastor in our lukewarm times, you are more likely to be scorned and spit upon than honored for staying 100% committed to teaching the Word of God… by most people, that is. Oh, these people will talk a good game, to be sure, but they really have no interest in growing up in the truth, of doing the hard work of Bible reading and Bible study that is necessary for substantial spiritual growth. Their actions belie their words, for they always spare little time for God and spiritual growth in their lives (as compared to other things such as social events, watching TV shows/movies, watching sports, playing video games, browsing social media, and whatever else people put on the thrones of their hearts other than God).
Let us not be these people! We do not need to follow others into this folly. Instead, we need to take pains to properly respect and submit to those teachers who are doing things the “right way”, no matter the individual cost to them. Regarding all the others… well, it is not arrogant or judgmental to call a spade a spade (despite all the loud and insistent claims you are sure to hear to the contrary). I can assure you that I very much wish I could be less harsh with regard to most of what passes for Bible teaching in our country, but I can’t, and nor should you. Because you have a duty to respect those actually teaching the Word of God, and equating the pale simulacrum that merely pretends to the real thing is gravely insulting to the real thing. They are not the same—not in how God views them, nor in how you ought to allocate your respect.
We still need to respect our teachers even when they are strict with us
I shall close this discussion by noting that Bible teachers sometimes need to be strict and say some things that are difficult for us to hear. When we are sore tempted to be cross with them for it, we ought to try to remember back to our days in the classroom as youths. I don’t know if you ever had a strict teacher growing up as a child, but I did—a couple times in fact. I would not probably have nominated them as my favorite teachers at the time, but boy did I learn a lot. And it has only been in adulthood that I’ve realized that everyone’s favorite teachers as children were not perhaps always the ones who taught us the most—the ones that we honestly should have respected in their capacity as teachers. Because, fundamentally, the telos of teachers (if you will) is not to be your friend, but to teach you. And so too with Bible teachers. We should bear this in mind as we go about submitting ourselves to some worthy pastor-teacher so that we might grow up in the truth of the Word of God: what matters is how well they teach us the Word of God, and nothing else. For that is their main purpose within the body of Christ, and the sole basis upon which we ought to evaluate them and have respect for them.
1 Thessalonians 5:13b-14 - How ought we relate to different groups of people?
Summary
1 Thessalonians 5:13b-14 conveys information about relationships—how we ought to relate to various groups of people. First of all, we are to live in peace with each other (verse 13b). But we are also to:
- Warn those who are idle and disruptive
- Encourage the disheartened
- Help the weak
- Be patient with everyone
This page goes into detail about these matters.
Content
Introduction
First, as a general principle, Paul says we are to “live in peace with each other” (cf. also Psalm 34:14; Matthew 5:9; Mark 9:50; Romans 12:18; Romans 14:19). It is hard to focus upon spiritual growth without peace, is it not? And, moreover, in light of eternity and eternal rewards (which God can give freely to all without scarcity of any kind), what cause exactly do we have to quarrel with one another down here in the world (which ought to hold very little value to us when compared to the weight of eternal glory)? It is simply illogical, if we have the right perspective.
But past that, in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul gives some instructions regarding how we are to deal with various groups. We are to:
- Warn those who are idle and disruptive
- Encourage the disheartened
- Help the weak
- Be patient with everyone
Warn those who are idle and disruptive
In our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 we covered the concepts of minding one’s business and working with one’s hands. These things are what we ought to keep in mind when warning those who are idle and disruptive—that is, we should tell them to knock it off and mind themselves in these two ways. For God has things that He wants each of us to do, and we will never accomplish those things by interfering in the lives of others or by sitting on our hands without working hard.
Encourage the disheartened
Introduction
As to encouraging the disheartened, we ought not look at this one with blinders on, as if it only applied in some particular set of circumstances. People can be disheartened for many reasons: grief at losing a loved one (even if said loved one was a believer), grief at family members rejecting the gospel, physical pain and ailments, mental health challenges that one desperately wishes one did not struggle with (depression, anxiety, and so on), and just general suffering of all kinds. (It can be especially hard to keep one’s head up when it is suffering of the undeserved variety, as it was with Job, for example).
What we need to do in all such cases is channel the love of Christ, and be there for our brothers and sisters to share their burdens. This is what it means for us to be one body (cf. 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:1-16). It can be hard to view this sort of support as being a privilege and an opportunity (rather than a burden), but that is how we need to strive to see it, for God is in fact giving us in all this a chance to fulfill His Will and, in so doing, win eternal rewards that will last forevermore. And in truth, if we actually love our brothers and sisters (like we presumably claim we do), comforting them and encouraging them should come naturally to us. That is, we should legitimately want to do it. But in all of this, we need to keep our speech seasoned with the Word of God, and base our encouragement off of that source and that source alone. In it lies much encouragement, so it is not as if this is a terribly limiting rule to impose. But it is important, so that our encouragement might have a sure and firm foundation. Else we risk doing more harm than good when we try to encourage our brothers and sisters.
The importance of the Word of God in this ministry (like all ministries)
I should note that what I just said often goes unappreciated (or at least underappreciated) in this area in practice. To phrase it more bluntly, you cannot properly comfort and encourage people except through the Word of God; if you have not reached spiritual maturity through diligent effort such that you know what the Word of God says and teaches, you are not capable of being as effective in this ministry of providing comfort and encouragement as you otherwise would be.
Far be it from me to say that newer believers aren’t “good enough” to comfort and encourage others! The point is not that you have to be able to pass some sort of test before you can start loving others in the body, or acting out that love in practice. The point is in regards to this area (which is undoubtedly a ministry the Holy Spirit empowers us to be successful in)—just as in all other ministries too—God expects us to do things “His way”. That is, insofar as our part to play here is concerned, we must endeavor to learn the Word of God as much as our circumstances allow, rather than shirking that duty. So while there is absolutely nothing condemnable about new believers acting out their love for their brothers and sisters from day one, there is indeed something condemnable about people who have no excuse of newness of belief remaining perpetually ignorant of the Word of God, and consequently being much less effective in their ministrations on that account.
To use an analogy, would you fault a young child for their obviously well-intentioned (if perhaps somewhat clumsy) attempts to comfort a younger sibling? That situation right there is what baby believers acting out their love for others in the body of Christ will probably look like. But you sure ought to fault adults for being callous or careless in such a matter, and causing the distressed younger child harm. Because they ought to know better, and are completely without excuse if they do not.
And so it is that both of these statements are completely true (and without contradiction):
- Even from our earliest days as a believer, we should seek to do all we can for the body of Christ, without overmuch second-guessing whether we are able or qualified. For we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and He is plenty capable of making up for any shortcomings on our part, so long as we are pleased to submit to Him in faith, and let Him take control.
- Yet in this area (just as basically all others), the importance of learning the Word of God must never be minimized in the slightest. For God is better able to make use of prepared individuals in building up the body of Christ; if you wish to be most effective in a given ministry, you cannot skip the spiritual growth part. Only then can God use you as He would wish, rather than being forced to hold back potential ministry opportunities (and so on) on account of your spiritual immaturity.
Pulling it all back together
In this area of ministry (just like others), God is able to use even the newest of believers to carry out His Will, so long as they are willing in their hearts. Though we may be unqualified to do something, He most certainly is not. We just need to be pleased to have faith that God is able to work through us—not our ability, but His. If we were arbitrarily restrictive, we would be directly contradicting Jesus’ example of calling not Jerusalem’s most illustrious scholars as his twelve Apostles (for example), but uneducated fishermen, a tax collector, and even a famous persecutor of the early Church.
However—and this is a very important however—the twelve Apostles (the initial twelve disciples, less Judas, plus Paul) did not see fit to sit on their hands after He called them, but grew in the truth until they were the most capable of all tools—until God could use them according to the massive call of Apostleship He had placed upon their lives. So no, they did not shrink back in cowardice even though the world looked at their pasts and said that these men ought not do XYZ because they were not qualified (be it due to past sin, lack of education, or whatever else). Instead, even from the beginning, they were bold in the truth—for they knew who it was who stood behind them: the very King of the Universe! But they were not content to leave things at just that. Instead, they worked tirelessly day and night to grow in the truth, so that they might better be able to serve the Church.
And this too is what we should do. From our earliest days as new believers—still experiencing the joys of salvation, having come from death into life—we can be bold in the truth, just as the Apostles were. We too do not need to worry about what other people think, since just like them, we can have confidence that God has our back. But also just like them, we too must apply serious effort to grow up in the truth so that God might use us ever more effectively to serve the body of Christ.
And once we’ve endeavored to do that, then we will find that our efforts to comfort and encourage other brothers and sisters in the body of Christ are that much more effective. Not because we ourselves have become so much better (such that we can take any of the credit). But because having grown spiritually, we are much better able to let God work through us (the credit is His). This is what all true Christian ministry is, after all—namely, the Holy Spirit working through us according to the gifts and callings we’ve variously been assigned (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6). It’s just that we need to grow spiritually in order to let the Spirit more fully guide our actions and words. There is no substitute—all effective ministry is only accomplished through the Spirit taking ever more control, and that in turn is only made possible through spiritual growth, so therefore all effective ministry essentially has spiritual growth as a formal prerequisite.
And a ministry of comfort and encouragement for our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ is no exception to this principle.
Help the weak
We ought to view helping the weak in much the same way as encouraging the disheartened, in that we also ought not look at things with blinders on when considering what exactly “weakness” is. For example, while scripture is chock-full of verses about standing up for orphans and widows and sojourners and the poor (e.g., one might start here), we hardly ought to restrict ourselves to only these specific groups of people. Instead, we ought to help all of our brothers and sisters who are disadvantaged and downtrodden.
What is in view with this “help” is not at all some sort of patronizing minimization of these people’s character or moral backbone. This is not about some sort of relative comparison between our perceived strength and their lowlier position, but about being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ here upon the Earth. Let me be even more blunt: helping the weak is not looking down upon them as inferior, of viewing oneself as their better. It is instead acting willingly as a servant of another, according to the command of our Lord. It is putting their good above your own, and being willing to suffer whatever is necessary to see them safe and well, even if you are not recognized or repaid for your efforts (by them, or by others). Because the one we do this for is God, not man (cf. Matthew 6:1-6).
And those being helped have some responsibilities here too. An attitude of entitlement or anything of that sort is to be avoided. And people need to be pleased to let God use others to help them (that is, gracefully accept godly offers of assistance when it is prudent), rather than getting it through their heads that they always have to be the ones to help themselves, and do it all alone. For example, there is a decidedly harmful form of extreme feminism that preaches that women do not need men. People are different (so, for example, not all are called to get married)—and that is well and good—but the problem is when this hyper-feminist notion of complete independence from men gets in the way of, for example, biblical teaching about marriage roles… for those that actually are married! Within marriage, both men and women need each other, but that hardly works if one side of the equation is convinced they have no need of the other. Of course, some arrogant men have been thinking that way about women since time immemorial, but the point is that the solution to that (very real) issue isn’t to have women join them in such folly, but is instead to upbraid those arrogant men for not acknowledging the clear truth that women bring essential things to marriage that they lack. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
In this way, “willingness to be helped” is a variable in the mix as well. The wider point is that we are all nothing more than servants just doing our job (cf. Luke 17:10), so there is no room for posturing here, either on the part of those helping, or those being helped. There is only room for the family of God supporting itself in genuine love.
As to some additional specifics:
- Biblically speaking, women are to be protected by men, provided for by men, and cherished by men, but this does not mean they do not have fire and iron within them just as much as men. To put it somewhat crudely, women are not inherently sissies in the sense that insult is usually meant, and are therefore not uniformly in need of rescuing by men. One scriptural example that comes to mind is Priscilla, who is basically always mentioned in the same breath as her husband, Aquila. The Bible is pretty clear that those two were a powerful ministry team together, and she is a good counterexample to any who think that women are somehow only helpless damsels rather than co-heirs in Christ. I daresay she did a good bit more for the truth of Christ than most of the men around her, then and now. I am not saying that women are supposed to claim authority and lead (in fact, the Bible is plenty clear that that ought to be the responsibility of men alone—cf. 1 Timothy 2:12); I am just making the point that the submission women owe men as a general principle and the protection and provision men owe women as a general principle do not somehow mean that women are in any way inferior to men. So when brothers in Christ help sisters in Christ (who, even to this day, face certain challenges men tend not to), there is no justified basis for either side getting either prideful about the situation or resentful of the situation. For in all this, the goal of both the helper and the one being helped should be to honor Christ.
- So too with foreigners/sojourners (we may perhaps call them immigrants nowadays). Such people tend to be in somewhat vulnerable positions socially—especially when they first arrive. But it is not as if these brothers and sisters are necessarily stupid or incapable. If we were uprooted and dumped in another culture overnight, we’d be vulnerable too. Oftentimes, a hand we reach out here can do far more than we might ever know. And so we should seek to serve these brothers and sisters, to show them the love of Christ in a time they may desperately need it.
- So too with children who have lost their parents (orphans put up for adoption, kids in foster programs, and so on), people who have a lack of education and therefore more limited opportunities, people who are sick or unwell (physically or mentally), the elderly, the poor, and many other groups who are more vulnerable for one reason or another. In all these cases, we are duty-bound as Christians to step in and help these people. Not because we are inherently better than them, but because God has seen fit to lay these opportunities before us. If we can help brothers and sisters who are in a position of weakness or disadvantage (for whatever reason), we are called to do so as Christians—not merely as a suggestion, but as a command. For Jesus makes it abundantly clear that whatever we do not do for the the least of our brothers and sisters, we do not do for Him (Matthew 25:40-45).
Be patient with everyone
And now we are back to a command without a specific group referent.
We need to exercise patience in all our relationships with others—our marriages, our families, our wider church communities, and so on.
Straightforward enough, but by no means easy. Patience is a virtue, as they say, but like most virtues, it requires hard work and determination to live out properly.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 - Returning good for evil
Summary
Rather than personally seeking vengeance upon those who wrong us, we are to pay back good for evil, and trust that God’s Justice will always catch up with those in need of consequences. Praying for the salvation and ultimate good of our enemies may be terribly difficult, but it is what the Bible calls us to. This doesn’t mean we are not allowed defend ourselves or stand up for justice though (physically, in court, or otherwise)—the idea is more that we aren’t to act maliciously towards others (wishing for their personal harm), even if they have in fact objectively wronged us in the past.
Content
Introduction
In 1 Thessalonians 5:15, Paul tells us to not pay back wrong for wrong, but instead always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Returning good for evil is something that can seem mad to third party outsiders who do not look with eyes of faith. They may perhaps mistake it for weakness, and think that Christians are merely pushovers too spineless to stand up for themselves.
But what they think does not matter, for God is plenty capable of handling everything. It is not our business to take revenge, since God will avenge the righteous without us having to even lift a finger (cf. Romans 12:17-21).
Let me run through some practical reasons why this practice of stepping back and just leaving it to God is the only safe course of action:
- If you feel someone has wronged you, well, you are a fallible human being, and we all suffer under delusions of our own greatness. It is completely possible that pride is blinding your eyes. So if you go off and “get even” with someone, what if you were actually completely misguided in this? Now you have harmed your brother or sister without any cause.
- Sometimes we are blind to the consequences of our actions due to our very limited perspective. We may think our punitive response reasonable and just, but what if we overestimate or underestimate the consequences of our response, and “get it wrong”? If we take matters into our own hands, suddenly there is all this potential for us to misjudge things—even if we have the very best and purest of intentions—simply because we are finite human beings that cannot know the full consequences of actions with certainty. So, for example, what we might think to be a nothing more than a slap on the wrist might completely crush another person in a different set of circumstances, or vice versa.
- In fact, our lack of knowledge extends far past just evaluating consequences of actions. For example, how are we to know what response is most likely to reform the problematic behavior of the other person? Should we be very stern, or instead try to patiently explain logically and rationally why their actions hurt us, or perhaps take some other approach altogether? We cannot see inside their hearts or read their thoughts and intentions. Maybe there are circumstances that person is going through that we simply are not aware of. Not that sin is ever really excusable on account of circumstances, but the point is simply that there can be far more than meets the eye—matters we as humans will never be able to factor into our evaluations of situations, no matter how well we think we know the true state of things.
One might go on. The point is that we are just as likely (if not more likely) to make a mess of things in trying to figure out how to properly respond to being wronged as we are to take any action even remotely approaching appropriate. And that is precisely why leaving things in the capable hands of the Lord is always the safer and better option. He is the one other human beings are accountable to, after all, not us. And because He is Omniscient, He always judges rightly, unlike us.
Returning good for evil does not mean we do not defend ourselves physically, legally, etc.
I should note that just as with the “turn the other cheek” passages (cf. Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:27-31), legitimate self-defense is not really the thing in view, but rather slights to pride and ego and the like. In other words, if someone breaks into your home and starts sexually assaulting your wife, do you think you should offer the violent criminal your daughter as well, just as you might offer your other cheek to be slapped, or offer your coat in addition to your shirt? I hope that thought makes you curl your lip in disgust just as much as it makes me do so. Yet some people, as best I can tell, really do believe that “turn the other cheek” means “there is no such thing as justified resistance under any circumstances”. They would be wrong—very wrong. Strict pacifism has no place in biblical Christianity, ever. Full stop.
One wonders if these people have ever read how Jesus will return in Revelation 19:11ff. to slaughter the enemies of God. The idea that somehow violence is always unjustified is in fact itself an incredibly unjust notion. Evil must be punished by the sword just as much as righteousness must be rewarded.
It drives me nuts that so many people all but worship self-styled martyrs in the news who refuse to defend themselves in circumstances when they obviously ought to “because they are Christian, and it is not what Jesus wants” or some other such drivel—that people laud this sort of irrational behavior as some sort of cardinal Christian virtue. People who are martyred by the state are one thing (for government—even corrupt government—has been instituted by God; resisting corrupt government is a decidedly complex matter of spiritual discernment, if ever it might be justified). But when people refuse to stand up to the wickedness of straight-up criminals? That’s just moral cowardice, and there’s nothing praiseworthy about it whatsoever. Quite to the contrary.
Calling evil good is in fact a defining characteristic of true evil. I can tolerate faux holiness and self-congratulatory crowing about one’s excellent moral witness (when instead the witness is in fact very much the opposite) much less than I can tolerate evil that at least does not pretend to holiness. These people are why the name of Christ is mocked. If I thought Christianity was all about that nonsense rather than standing up for Justice and Truth and Love, I’d want no part in it either.
So please, stop saying that “returning good for evil” means that we must allow horrific evil to run about unopposed! Not only is it not true even one bit, but it makes others think that Christianity somehow requires such illogical madness. And promoting that false witness is not something you want on your record before God when Judgement Day comes knocking, I’d wager.
Instead of constantly doing our best impersonation of doormats (as the above terribly misguided position insists we must), the idea is more that we can pray for someone as we call the police on them, or even shoot them in self-defense. The point is that it is not vengeance in our hearts, but a legitimate desire for their eternal salvation.
The same general principle holds any time justice is perverted in any way—in situations where legal proceedings (or the like) may need to be undertaken to see the law upheld. Just as we may physically defend ourselves and those who rely on us without at the same time necessarily making it about vengeance, so too may we take legal action against someone to see justice wrought, while at the same time not doing so out of any particular thirst for harming them personally. For example, suing a predatory contractor whole stole from you and defrauded you is not “paying back wrong for wrong”, even though it may see the individual face serious consequences if they are found guilty. In fact, not taking legal action against the predatory contractor might lead to other innocent people being hurt in the future!
All this to say, we should not make this about behavioral inaction (so to speak) so much as our heart state. We should not harbor malicious intentions towards others, even if they have in fact objectively harmed us in the past. So long as we act not out of a desire to hurt the other person because they first hurt us—but instead out of a true and legitimate desire for their ultimate spiritual good—then we will have followed the spirit of the command to not pay back wrong for wrong. No doormat impersonation necessary.
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This verse is another one that clearly shows the falseness of the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture. Since this verse would make no sense if believers are raptured before the tribulation and hence not even in the world. That is, why would God cut the days of the Great Tribulation short for the sake of the elect if there are no elect in the world? ↩︎
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For more on the idea of Christian virtues being analogous to military equipment, compare Ephesians 6:10-17. ↩︎