Our culture has a weird combination of a dystopian fear of future events and calamities bringing the end of civilisation as we know it, and at the same time a utopian belief that the next thing is going to usher in a new age of love/prosperity/something. Paul spoke in 1 Thessalonians 5 of a delusion in the world of supposed “peace and security” before Jesus returns unexpectedly to dash their sinful delusions and complete the introduction of the true new age which dawned at his resurrection.
We know and believe better, and so we should not be surprised at Jesus’ return but instead prepare ourselves for the victory parade. We do not place our security in things which will fail us, but in God who assures us of our salvation and deliverance through Jesus Christ. Whether dead or alive when Christ returns, we will enjoy eternal life together with him. This truth is something to look forward to, and to rest assured in. Better days are coming.
God calls us to vigilance and discipline against the sinful temptations in the world, as we await Christ’s return. We are to build each other up in faith, hope, and love.
We are to do this, and can do this, because God has acted powerfully in history to save us. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.9). The biggest problem for humanity today is not inequality, or climate change, or government overreach, or any other supposed problem. The biggest problem for humanity today is that apart from Jesus, we are under God’s wrath for sin.
Thankfully for us, God did not consign us to the dustbin of judgement and destined us for wrath, but has appointed us for salvation from our sins and God’s wrath through Jesus. To be saved is to be delivered from God’s wrath, no longer under sin’s guilt or power.
This salvation was not an arbitrary pardon but the act of substitution. We “obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (vv.9-10). The penalty for sin is death. Jesus died for us, to bear the penalty for our sin. It was completed on our behalf.
Our assurance of salvation, then, is not based on what we do or the measure of our faith, but on God’s eternal purpose made real in history. It is not based on something inside us, but something outside us.
Not only does Christ’s death for us provide external assurance for us of our salvation, but it assures us of eternal glory. Christ’s death did not reset the clock on earning eternal glory to the “Garden of Eden settings”. Instead, Christ died for us “so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (v.10).
The Thessalonians had been concerned that if they died before Christ returned, they would miss out on all of the fun. That was not the case. Whether alive or dead, our eternal destiny is to enjoy eternal glory as we “live with him”. Our good works are to say thanks, not to say please.
Paul’s application for these words of promise is straightforward. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (v.11). As believers, we are not called to drag each other through the mud or tear each other down, but to encourage and support each other.
Do we see someone struggling with assurance? The answer is to encourage them by reminding them of the truths Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. Because those truths are true for us, just as they were for them. They are based on external truths, not internal feelings.
Assurance can be affected by many things. It can be affected by where we are placing our focus. It can be affected by our sinfulness, or a strong sense of our sins. It can be affected by events around us too, where things are going wrong and our conclusion is to assume it is God punishing us. To each of these situations, the truth of our salvation because of Christ’s death for us can encourage us.
Focused on the way the world is going wrong; spiritually, socially, morally? This might be true, but our hope is not in the now. Put your hope in Christ, who died for us so we will enjoy life with him when he returns to put things right.
Affected by your sinfulness? We can encourage and help each other to lay aside our sinful desires, and focus on Christ who died for us. When we seek after righteousness instead of our sinful desires, not only does holiness grow but so too our assurance.
Affected by events that make you think God is punishing you? We are not destined for wrath. God’s anger is not poured on us, because it was poured on Christ.
Because of Christ’s death for us, whether dead or alive when he returns we will enjoy eternal life with him. Encourage each other with this truth. Better days are coming.
