John Stott says, “Let the devil mount his fiercest attack on the feeblest saint, let the anti-Christ be revealed and the rebellion break out, yet over against the instability of our circumstances and characters, we set the eternal stability on the purpose of God.” (Stott, John, R.W., The Message of 2 Thessalonians, Bible Speaks Today, IVP, Downer’s Grove, p177)
Paul wants the Thessalonian Church, and us, to understand that the stabilizing power of the Gospel transcends our circumstances. Everything in our world, perhaps in our experience, tells us this cannot be. We may think peace can only be found when our circumstances are at peace. But that is not the message of the Bible or the experience of countless saints through the centuries. Many followers of Jesus have lived in horrible suffering, persecution, and martyrdom. How can they still pray? How can they still trust? How can they bless their captors? How can they sing to their deaths? Because they trust in the eternal purpose and the divine initiative of their Lord. The Gospel is the stabilizing power of our lives.
Some people may think that focusing on God’s purpose and initiative should simply make us kick back and relax. No. Not at all. Look at what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”
The image that we should get from this encouragement to “stand firm” is like standing in a hurricane. When you are faced with the storm, when the strong winds are pushing you off your feet, you need something substantial on which to hold. You need something that really enables you to “stand firm.” Again, John Stott is helpful. He points out, “Since the storm may rage for a long time, they must keep on standing firm and keep on holding fast.” (Ibid, 178)
Poor teaching, false teaching, and corrupt theology never give us a solid, stable foundation. Theology that strokes our egos and seeks to lull us with platitudes and half-truths will never stabilize us. Prosperity preachers have little to say when hard times come. Theological liberalism offers no comfort when you’ve been tossed out of your canoe. There is only one teaching that can offer hope and stability—the Apostolic teaching. This is the teaching that has been passed down to us in the Bible. It is the Word of the Lord. When the storms of life threaten our stability, the word we need to cling to is the Word of the Lord.
But also notice where Paul places us with the Word of God –in community. It may seem minor, but notice that this entire passage is plural. In 2nd Thessalonians 2 verses 13 and 15 he speaks to them as “brothers”. He speaks to the entire church throughout this letter, not just to individual believers. By doing this he is emphasizing their need for community. He is showing them (and us) that the context for standing firm and holding fast to the apostolic teaching is in the context of the Christian fellowship –the Church.
Sometimes our natural reaction to hardship, pain, and the storms we face is to isolate and to draw back from Church. But Paul is calling us to the opposite. The truth is, especially in hard times, we need the Body of Christ. We need community. It is the family of faith, nurtured by the Word of God, focused on the eternal purposes and call of God, that is God’s appointed means of helping us stand firm with the stability we need in unstable times.