2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

God is faithful.  God will give you strength and protect you from the evil one.

Paul's second letter to the congregation at Thessalonica promises that God's justice will bring affliction to the enemies of the church and blessings for its faithful. The apostle envisions the Lord Jesus descending from heaven with his mighty angels in a blazing fire of judgment. Those without faith in God and the gospel will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, but those with faith will be saved.

This vision of the coming end of time and the judgment of the God of justice reflects our  sense of the presence and power of the evil. We suffer not only from ignorance and apathy, but are drawn by the power of evil to do what we know is harmful. Paul is wrong to identify his own anger with the wrath of God, but right to affirm that God can protect us from evil. On our own, we seem to lack the strength. We call Jesus Lord, because we give ourselves to the presence of God within him, to guard against the power of evil that manifests itself not only in devilish temptations, but also as religious certainty and self-righteousness.

Grace and peace...Bob