2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 - Stand Fast!

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

We are called to stand fast, to persevere in the face of all opposition of the adversary and of our own nature, firmly planted on the rock of our salvation as obtained through the gospel and learned by the teachings of scripture by the written and spoken word of God to us by those whom He has called and equipped to do so.  We are as those believers in Thessaloniki, chosen by God from the beginning (Revelation 13:8, to be saved from our unrighteousness of inherited and ongoing sin in disobedience to our Lord.  We have been called to be made holy in our position in Christ and His righteousness imputed to us and called to ongoing sanctification of gradual personal holiness being worked in us by the Spirit of God living in us according to our response to His guidance and transformative (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18) work in our souls.  We are loved by God if not by others due to our calling of grace and not because we earned any right to stand before the Lord and certainly not because of anything other than the fact we have been created by Him and for Him to worship, honor, and praise.  We have been called through the gospel of the goodness of God’s grace and mercy in His unlimited forgiveness that we might know our solid position in Christ and stand on that Rock on which we continue to build our lives (Luke 8:13, John 17:24, 1 Corinthians 3:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:19) in this sanctification of God’s work in us which He promises to work to completion as Philippians 1:6 assures we sinners saved by grace alone.  We have this good hope by grace grounded in our Father’s love and find eternal consolation in our suffering and failure that we might rise up and walk on in comfort as He establishes us (1 Peter 5:10-11) in Himself.  When all is overwhelming us we remember the assurance, “Stand fast!”