AUG 2

2 Thessalonians 3:6
Memorise 1 Chronicles 28:20
“Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed…”

Paul wrote the second epistle to the Thessalonian church to warn them of false teachers and the dangerous doctrines that they had been sowing. From outside the church, there were those who deceived them into believing that the day of the Lord had already come, causing them to despair (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). From within the church, there were these brethren that ‘walketh disorderly’. They were not walking in accordance to the tradition (faith imparted to them by the apostles) that they had been instructed in. Instead, they had the wrong notion of what it meant to prepare for the Lord’s Second Coming, and had stopped work, becoming a nuisance, freeloader and busybody in the congregation. Such behavior was very disruptive and harmful to the church. Because of that, Paul’s instruction to the church was to withdraw, remove themselves from these wayward members, to have no fellowship with them. Paul then gave the reasons for this command and stated that he issued the command not in his name, but in the name of Christ.

When we have no fellowship with and openly oppose and name fellow believers and churches that no longer preach, teach and live according to the Holy Word of God, we are earnestly contending for the faith. It is by Christ’s authority and for Him that we do this. We do not do it out of spite or anger, but because of love, for we sincerely want these erring brethren to realise their wrong, repent and turn back to the Lord. In so doing, we are actively promoting and not compromising the faith.

Bible-based and Bible-honouring churches are few in these last days. These churches are often a lonely and scorned minority. In this sea of compromise and disobedience it is difficult to find the courage and the wisdom to sincerely contend for the faith and to persevere in doing so. But if a church as a body of believers genuinely professes Christ, then living according to the Word as taught by the apostles is not optional, but will be a great blessing – both to itself and the people around it.

Thought: What is the motivation for earnestly contending for the faith? If Christians do not contend for the faith, who will?
Prayer: Give me the courage to earnestly contend for the pure and only faith in obedience to Christ as His child.