Establish and Keep You

 

 

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.

—2 Thessalonians 3:3-4

 

 

Paul is not saying in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 that nothing bad will ever happen to believers—that certainly is not true. But he is saying that the Lord is faithful to guard believers from the influence or control of evil. This protection is available to all believers, but we must respond in faith for it to be effective in our lives.

 

In the previous verses, Paul asked for prayer that the Gospel would succeed. There were “unreasonable and wicked men” who sought to stop the message of God’s grace. Paul often experienced their persecution. Even though Paul prayed for protection and success, he realized resistance would come. 

 

Paul suffered much hardship and persecution for preaching the Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:23-30). How did he handle it? How does anyone handle the hardships that come in life?  In 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Paul tells us how to deal with it. No matter what anyone else says or does, God is always faithful. The key to preserving joy during hardship is staying focused on God’s faithfulness instead of the unfaithfulness of others.

 

Paul revealed two parts of God’s faithfulness. 

 

First, God is faithful to establish us. The English word “stablish” was translated from the Greek word “steriozo,” which means “to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm” (Strong’s Concordance). In Luke 22:32, this same word is translated as “strengthen.” The Lord is faithful to “strengthen,” “set us fast,” and “turn us resolutely in a certain direction.” Our incentive to be firmly established in the Lord comes from Him. 

 

Second, the Lord is faithful to keep us from evil. Jesus told us to pray for this in Matthew 6:13, and He prayed this for us in His prayer the night before His crucifixion (John 17:15). God is faithful to establish us and keep us from evil, but that doesn’t mean all Christians will automatically experience this. To receive, we must believe by faith.

 

In the next verse, 2 Thessalonians 3:4, Paul speaks of our part to be guarded from evil’s influence. He told the Thessalonians he was confident they would follow what he had commanded them to do so they would experience God’s faithfulness. We must do what the Lord tells us to do to receive this protection. But we don’t follow God’s commands to be deserving of His faithfulness. That would void the grace that Paul preached so passionately, but we do have to cooperate with God. His blessings are not just automatically poured into our lives. God provides for our needs, but we must believe He is faithful.

 

In Paul’s previous letter to the Thessalonians, he told the Thessalonians what they needed to do: to abstain from fornication, not to cheat the brethren, and to work with their own hands (1 Thessalonians 4:1-11). In 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Paul gave another command—to withdraw from any one of the brethren who is “disorderly.” Paul explained what he meant by this in 2 Thessalonians 3:10-15 and applied this to the command he had given in his first letter about everyone working. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, he restated his command to say, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Paul continued with instructions about how to treat anyone who disobeys this commandment. 

 

Paul gave these commands to benefit the Thessalonians and to benefit us. Keeping these commands is not meant to win God’s favor. Keeping these commands is meant for our benefit. God has already favored us with the life of His Son. Jesus has established all we will ever need for an abundant life and to guard us against evil’s influence and control. But we must do our part and respond by faith to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must walk by faith in God’s instruction and not by our sight or feelings. We have been crucified with Christ. We no longer live in the flesh because Christ lives in us. We crucify the flesh’s desire by drawing upon the new life Jesus has given us. The Holy Spirit motivates us, and we put on our new nature created in true righteousness and holiness.

 

Don’t look at the Word as a list of do’s and don’ts. The do’s and don’t’s will bury you in your inability to keep them without fault. Jesus fulfilled all of those perfectly on the cross. He is the only One who kept them without fault. You can only live the do's and don't's by faith in His complete and thorough work. 

 

Don’t dwell on your faults and failures. Believe in the new life Jesus has given you and that your old sinful nature is crucified with Christ. Receive by faith His promise to establish and keep you. He will strengthen and purposefully instruct you in His perfect will. You won’t lean on your own understanding but only on His. You won’t be consumed by the fear of not keeping the rules but joyfully living in His grace. You will live by faith in the righteousness He has given you.

Jesus changes you from the inside out.

 

 

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