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Preached in Markham Baptist Church, January 6, 2008

There was a time when I could tell my kids anything and they would believe me.  They were little children - they didn’t know the truth yet so I could tell them any fancy story that came to mind.  “You want to know where snow came from?  O, it’s clouds that got too heavy and fell to the ground.”  “Why do geese fly south in the winter?  O it’s because they are actually called snow birds and they are going down to get a tan.”   And they would sallow it as truth.

But when they became older and more mature they weren’t so easily fooled.  They’ve studied and they know how the world works and the laws the govern it.  They no longer accept my nonsensical answers as truth.  They’ve reached a level of maturity that has enabled them to ignore my nonsense – and accept my other words of true wisdom. 

It is what comes from maturity – the ability to discern the truth.  And just as we are to mature physically and mentally, God calls us to mature spiritually.  We are not to remain as little children spiritually so that we are “tossed back and forth by every wave” of an idea that comes our way and “blown here and there by every wind of teaching” that we happen to hear (see Ephesians 4:14).  No, we are to grow up and have a mature attitude toward who God is and who we are in Christ and how we are to be.  So we read in 1 Peter 2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  (1 Peter 2:2,3)

Unfortunately spiritual maturity is often rare in the Christian church and is becoming more rare as so many churches are focusing on attracting seekers and forgetting to grow disciples.  Christian maturity is becoming more rare as people demand what I call a TV dinner spirituality – prayer is only pulled out of the pantry when nothing else is available, Bible studies need to be quick and easy, sermons need not have too much meat but a lot of gravy, and truth is disposable. 

But we are called to something deeper, we are called to spiritual maturity – to grow in our faith.  Listen, there should come a time in our spiritual life when, if you have been bored with worship you are able to say “I am no longer bored with worship”.  There should come a time in your life when you are able to be patient with those people who try you.  There should come a time in your life when spending daily time with God in prayer and Bible reading is no longer a chore – but something you look forward to.  There should come a time in your spiritual life when you are able to step out in faith, trusting God. 

You see if none of those things never happen you have got to ask yourself – why is it so?  Could it be because I am immature and haven’t grown in my relationship with God?  Could it be that I haven’t taken steps to feed my soul and spiritual life so that I do indeed grow? 

We need to know that we are called to grow spiritually and be mature  - and we need to know that it is attainable. 

I believe that the call to spiritual maturity is at the heart of our passage today in 2 Thessalonians. 

The problem is that the Thessalonians have been shaken – that’s what it says in verse 2 – they have been easily unsettled and alarmed by a report – given either through a sermon or a word of prophecy or by letter, we don’t know for sure – but they’ve been told and they believe that the Lord has already come.

In 1 Thessalonians they were worried that those who had died would miss the coming of the Lord now in 2 Thessalonians they are worried that the Lord has come and they have missed the coming of the Lord according to verse 1.  And Paul says, “Whoa, whoa! Remember the truth that we gave to you.”

And in verses 3 through 5 Paul will remind them of the truth they have received and learned.   (And this brings us to our first point – spiritual maturity is gained through holding on to the truth of God’s Word.)

Paul has to correct this untruth and says at verse 3 the Day of the Lord has not come because before that happens two things need to happen. First the rebellion needs to take place – that is, a wholesale rebellion against everything that is pure and good and lawful. 

The seeds of this rebellion have always been around but we see it most recently in Pakistan and Kenya, Turkey and Bolivia. It’s the kind of thing that will happen. 

The second thing that needs to happen (verse 3) is that the “lawless one” has to be revealed.  We understand that this lawless one is the same as the Antichrist described for us in 1 John 2:18-27.  He is described there as the one who teaches lies and who denies the Father and Son. 

What does our text say about the lawless one?  Well, first he is lawless – presumably that means that he will have no regard for the moral law of God – all truth is relative.   And he will have little patience for civil law of the land – every one should be free to do as they please - anarchy.   

We also learn that he will be revealed – that means that he will be seen. He may be at work right now in our world in the background but one day he will be revealed and seen for what he is. 

We also learn in verse three that he is destined to destruction. Even though he is powerful, his fate is destruction.

Verse 4 tells us that the lawless one will take over every altar, every god and declare that the worship given to them must be given to him.  He will even take his seat in God’s temple and declare himself to be God!

We don’t know what Paul means by the temple of God here – it may be the church.  Ephesians 2:21 calls the church the temple in which God dwells.  If it is the church, then the Antichrist will somehow place himself at the head of it.

It may be the temple in Jerusalem – somehow it is rebuilt and the Antichrist will rule from there. Really, it’s not important that we know – what is important is that we understand that the Antichrist will take what rightfully belongs to God and call it his own and call himself God.

So Paul says at verse 5 – “Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?”   He is saying, we’ve covered this already, hold on the truth that have.  Grow up so that you are not blown here and there by every wind of teaching.

Isn’t that the way to Christian maturity?  Believing that what we have in God’s word is the truth and holding on to that truth.  If we don’t believe we have the truth then we will not grow in maturity.   If we don’t believe we have the truth, then we are in a constant state of doubt and refuse to step forward in faith in God’s promises.  It is as we believe that what we have in God’s word is truth that we are able to believe, able to step out in faith and hence able to grow in Christian maturity.  

Yes there are lots of mysteries in God’s word that we do not understand.  Yes there are difficult passages that are hard to understand, but if we allow ourselves to ignore God’s Word, if are ignorant of the truth we will be blown here and there by every wind of teaching. 

Pastor Edwin told me the other day that he is worried for his son Christian.  I said “Why?” 

“I’m worried that he will get kicked out of school.” 

I was shocked, and worried, “Why what has happened?”

“Well, Christian goes to a Catholic school and he is being pressured to take part in the confirmation classes.  And he refuses.  He has stood up to his teacher and said, “Show me in the Bible where it says I need to be confirmed and I will be confirmed!” 

That’s holding on the truth! 

What we need to realize is that what we have in God’s word is the truth and we need to have a tight grip on it allowing it penetrate our hearts and minds so that we grow in maturity.  Billy Graham tells a story, an old story now, but one that greatly influenced me in my life. He tells of a time when as a young preacher he was faced some doubts about the truth of the Bible.  So he took his bible and went out into the woods at night.  He found a stump, placed his bible on it and kneeled down and prayed. He said, "God there are many things in this book I do not understand.  There are many problems with it for which I have not solution.  There are some seeming contradictions.  There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science.  I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions that people are raising.   But Lord I’m going to accept this as Thy Word – by faith!  I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be your inspired Word.”¹  (139)

Billy Graham had decided in his heart to proclaim God’s word as truth! 

And so he has for a life time proclaim the truth of God’s Word – so that when you hear him preach he says over and over again, “The Bible says, the Bible says, the Bible says.”  He is unswerving in his dedication to the truth of God’s word. 

My friends, some of us need to say that prayer.  Some of us need accept God’s word as truth – by faith!  Let us take a tight grip on God’s truth and allow it penetrate our hearts and minds so that we grow in maturity.  And when that happens we won’t easily be deceived, shaken, or alarmed by false prophets who perform great signs and miracles and proclaim that Jesus has come. (See Matthew 24:24-25).  

This is what our text seeks to help the Thessalonians and ourselves with – to get a firm grip on the truth so we can grow in maturity and not be tossed here and there by every wind of teaching.  This is what Paul is saying between verses 3 and 5. 

You see it’s when we lose our grip on the truth of God, when we stop believing God’s word to be true that we become immature.  We become mature as we trust God’s word and act on it accordingly.

In Verses 6-8 I think he gets a little more particular. Not only does he say hold on to the truth of God so that you can grow in your Christian maturity – but hold on the truth so that you can grow in your Christian maturity regarding the power of God.  

In verse 6 we learn that there is one who is restraining the lawless one.  We aren’t told who this is. The Thessalonians know – Paul has already told them “and you know what is restraining him” so he doesn’t feel he needs to repeat himself. 

As a result there are all sorts of good biblical theories about what or who this restrainer is.  It could be the church.  It could be the Holy Spirit.  It could be government, the power of the state, the civil law.  Certainly in Romans 13 Paul refers to the government as an authority set in place by God to bring punishment on the wrong doer. (See Romans 13:1-6). 

But in my opinion, I don’t think it’s that important that we do know, because in the end the restrainer is God.  I can’t tell what particular means He will use to restrain the lawless one - it may be through the government.  He may restrain through the church, or the Holy Spirit whatever means he uses - the one who is in ultimate control here is God.  He is the one who says when the lawless one will be revealed. He is the one who determines how much leash the lawless one is given. 

You know the story of Job. Satan comes to God and says, “Let me at him”.  And God says, “Okay. You can do this and this and this but you can’t lay a finger on him.” (See Job 1:10-12).       

God is control. That’s the truth that we are called to hold on to here.  People say, “Everything is falling apart! AHHH, what is our world coming to?”  

Look, that’s a sign of immaturity.  And the word of God says, “Look, God is in control, He is all‑powerful, not the lawless one.” 

Sure, Paul says in verse 7 the whole principle of lawlessness is already at work.  The denial of all that is good and pure and holy is already present and at work but it is on a leash – it is being restrained by God. 

One day God will lift His hand and restrain no longer and when that happens, verse 8 says the lawless one will be revealed.  But don’t worry, Jesus Christ will destroy him with the simple breath of His mouth.  The simple breath of His mouth will cause the lawless one to whither.   

It’s not because Jesus has bad breath.  In the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie Captain Sparrow breathes on Will Turner and his breath is so bad that Will falls backwards into the sea.  It’s not because our Lord has bad breath – it’s because our Lord’s word is so powerful – at His word there was light were there once was darkness.  At His word the sky was hung in place, the seas roared forward,  plants sprang up, At His word a million galaxies came into being and stars were allotted their place in the sky.  At His word humanity came from the dust and it is at His word that the lawless one will be destroyed. 

Are you holding fast?  Hold on the truth so that you can grow in your Christian maturity regarding the power of God.  

Not only that, but verses 9-12  hold on the truth so that you can grow in your Christian maturity and be able to discern what is false. Verse 9 – the lawless one will be a henchman of Satan.  He will use all sorts of power, signs and lying wonders to fool people and give himself accreditation.

People will say,  “O, he must be real, look at the signs and wonders he performs.”  So many people are sucked in by signs and wonders.  How many times must people be sucked in before they discover the truth?  People thought Peter Popoff was a real healer and then it was discovered that he used deception and trickery.  People think that Benny Hinn is the real deal – but it has been asked, if he is the real deal, why isn’t he visiting hospitals and healing people there instead of on a stage with thousands of people looking adoringly at him?  Jesus said that it is by their fruit that you will recognize one of his disciples the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

And look at what verse 10 says  – he will use signs and lying wonders “and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 

They are perishing because they hate the truth.  The Truth is what could save them. If they turned to it they would be saved, but because they hate the truth they are being deceived by the lawless one and they are perishing.

And since they so obsessed with evil, God gives them what they want – their hunger for what is false leads them into more falsehood which in the end leads to their condemnation.  Verse 12: their idea of pleasure is unrighteousness – everything that is unholy and impure - and it leads to their condemnation.   All because they have turned their back on the truth.

My friends, it is as we hold on to the truth that we grow in our Christian maturity and discern what is false, we are able to discern real fruit in people’s lives, we free ourselves from that obsession with signs and wonders, we free ourselves from that obsession with evil and we are able to live in the presence of God.  We mature in our faith. 

So, hold on to the truth so that you can grow in your Spiritual maturity, in your trust in the power of God, be able to discern what is false, but there is more

In verses 13 and 14 we are told to hold on to the truth so that we can grow in our maturity about who we are in Christ.  Look how these verses describe you, a believer in Christ.  “But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord…” 

There’s the first - we are loved, beloved by the Lord.  Do you have the mature attitude about yourself?  Do you understand that you are loved by God?  Not just the general love of God that extends to the whole world – but in a particular way?  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”  (Ephesians 2:4,5)

Some of you have been going to church your whole life and still don’t believe God loves you. You believe He loves everyone else, but not you. O, how I pray you would be mature – grow up.  That you would know that you are “particularly, personally, effectually, irresistibly, unbreakably, and eternally loved by God”²  ?  It is a truth we find in God’s word and a truth we need to hold on to and grow in maturity. 

The verse continues, not only are you loved but you are chosen. “Beloved by the Lord, because God chose you …”  God has chosen you – He loves you that much, He likes you that much that He has chosen you. 

Not only loved and chosen, but loved and chosen for a purpose, so that you may be the first fruits for salvation. And we looked at this in the previous letter – when we die we will be with the Lord.  And when He comes again we will be given a new body – complete salvation. 

My friends, have you grown in your maturity?  Do you understand that you do not need to fear death because you are loved and chosen by God and destined to live with God and rise again? 

Look who you are in Christ says our text and grow up. Not only this but “God chose you to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit.”  God is working on you right now through His Spirit. He is sanctifying you – that is, setting you apart from the rest of the world by shaping you into the image of His Son. 

My friends, do you still have an immature attitude about who you are in Christ?  Are you still trying to win God’s favour by being good?  Or are you growing in maturity allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you and do His work of producing the character of Christ in you and make you holy.  It’s time to grow up. 

How does it happen? Look how verse 13 ends - “as we believe in the truth”.  As we hold on to the truth of God’s word.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better – not only are we loved by God, not only are we chosen by God, not only are we sanctified by God, as we believe in the truth but verse 14 tells us that we are called by God and we will be restored by God.  Our text says: “For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  

That means that we will finally be what we are meant to be. If you have sat under my teaching long enough, you know that glory can mean praise and adoration.  But we will not receive that – that kind of glory belongs to Jesus Christ alone. He alone is worthy to receive glory for “he was slain and with his blood he purchased men and women for God.” (See Revelation 5:9-12)

But you know that glory can also mean the “character of God”, “the image of God”.  And that’s what is being said here. You are called by God through the proclamation of the good news so that you can receive the very character of Jesus Christ.  You will finally be what you were created to be – made in the image of God. God restores His image in you. Your original purpose of reflecting the character of God which was destroyed by sin is now restored in you by God’s grace, so that when people look at you working, interacting with your family, they will be able to say “I see God in you.”   I see God’s character in you. 

That’s who you are in Christ – loved, chosen, sanctified and restored. Do you see that? Do you have that spiritual maturity? It comes from holding on the truth. 

That’s what our text says in verse 15: “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions (NIV says “teachings”) that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.”

Hold fast to the truth so that you can grow in your maturity. Grow in your maturity about the power of God.  Grow in your maturity and be able to discern what is false. Grow in your maturity so that you know who you are in Christ.

So our chapter ends:  “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them – MATURE THEM - in every good work and word.”

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - January 2008

ENDNOTES:

1. Billy Graham, Just as I am (San Francisco: Harper and Collins Publishing Ltd., 1997), 139.

2. John Piper, “God has given us good hope through grace” Preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church, September 6, 1987.  Copyright 1987, 1996, John Piper.