The Book of Romans: Justification by Faith, Life in the Spirit, Weak & Strong Believers

Romans is a systematic presentation of what it means to be a Christian. Romans was written by Paul during his stay at Corinth, to the early church forming in Rome. It really outlines a deep dive into the overall theology of our faith. 

This is the beloved book of the Bible that helped transform Martin Luther’s life. Luther was obsessed with justification, how could he be right with God? He was a catholic priest, who struggled greatly to understand what salvation is. He spent time in the monastery as a monk, and he would go the priest to confess his sins multiple times a day, because he was so obsessively concerned that he might’ve done something to offend God. He would beat himself with whips, he would fast for days, he would repent all day long, and it was never quite enough. But later when he traveled to university, he at last began to study the new testament, and he found in the book of Romans, the incredible concept that we are justified by God not through our own works, but by grace given by God, through faith in Jesus Christ. Our sins, are forgiven, wiped out, and this is what grace means, to receive something we don’t deserve, we receive forgiveness, and are justified before God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther’s realization completely changed the religious landscape of the time in which he lived. A new movement broke away from the catholic church, and it became known as Protestantism. Because Luther protested against the doctrines of the catholic church.

Luther developed some base beliefs that challenged the prevailing views of the day, famously documented as the 5 solas:

Faith alone

Grace alone

Christ alone

Scripture alone

To the glory of God alone

But as much as I’d love to delve deeply into Martin Luther and the reformation, that is not our purpose today.

One of my favorite scriptures is from Romans chapter 5. It’s so incredibly beautiful. One of the hallmarks of my life as a Christian, was understanding salvation from this perspective, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:1-5

One of the most important factors of the book of Romans is the way of salvation in Christ being explained so clearly. In fact “the Romans road” has long been a road map for explaining how to be receive Jesus as savior. Let’s take a look at some of those scriptures:

1. THE BIBLE SAYS ALL HAVE SINNED
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

2. THE BIBLE SAYS SIN CARRIES THE PENALTY OF DEATH
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

3. THE BIBLE SAYS ETERNAL LIFE IS GOD’S GIFT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

4. THE BIBLE SAYS CHRIST DIED FOR SINNERS BECAUSE OF GOD’S LOVE
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

5. THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CALL UPON THE LORD TO BE SAVED
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

6. THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CONFESS AND BELEIVE IN JESUS AND HIS RESURRECTION
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

That is the Romans road of salvation, used in evangelism. But when I read that I wonder to myself, what’s missing there? There’s something missing. Well, several things are missing. First, repentance is missing, there’s no clear call to turn away from our sins and put our faith in Christ. Both of those aspects are important. Secondly, there’s no explanation of continuance in the faith. Is it just one and done? From that explanation, one might think, well, alright, I’m done here, I prayed a prayer, I confessed with my mouth, I’m done, I can go back to whatever I was doing before. But that’s not true. The Christian life is just beginning at this moment of salvation. So we have to be careful about oversimplifying the salvation equation.

But let’s dive into several concepts from Romans. First the concept of our identity:



Romans teaches that every individual's identity is with God, through Christ, if indeed they’ve been saved. Romans teaches that we are all sinners and deserve death (Romans 3:10). There is no way humanity can earn eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift from Jesus Christ, through our faith in him (Romans 3:22). Humanity could not fulfill the requirement of the law and all fall short of God's standard (Romans 3:23). All humans are sinners in identity but find true identity through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:21). Before I had my identity in Christ, I believed what the world said about me. The world constantly told me I wasn't attractive enough. It told me I needed more money, more stuff, and more power. Now I understand that I have great value through the eyes of my God. I am chosen, loved, and protected by the living God.

Second, the concept of fallen creation due to Adam’s sin

Romans 8:19-21 (NLT) says " For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay." All of creation awaits the return of Jesus Christ. It all draws from the sin of Adam, that lead to the curse of sin being placed on all mankind (Romans 5:12). This curse of sin is why there is so much suffering and disaster in the world. Civilization crumbles due to it's own sin.

And that brings us to Romans 8, the classic so often referenced chapter of Romans.

Romans 8 deals with salvation in Jesus Christ and living in the Spirit not by the desires of the flesh.

It says, Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

And Romans 8:12-13 says, “12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. -Romans 8:12-13

Those two scriptures from Romans 8 really balance what Paul is talking about as what salvation is. We’ll get back to that in a second.

Several of the following chapters deal with holy living and Paul’s great desire to see the nation of Israel come to know Jesus. Romans 12 deals with holy living, unity in the body of Christ, and love as tangible actions. Romans 13 deals with submission to government authorities, love as fulfilling the law, and a challenge to live out our faith, because the hour is late for the return of Jesus

It says in Romans 13, “13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

There it is again, that dual focus of Paul’s letter. There is a constant referencing to this equation of salvation: Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore live your life in step with the Holy Spirit, and resist the desire to gratify your fleshly desires. Paul repeats it many times, and give instructions along these lines, explaining how both concepts work in daily practice. Remember that, grace through faith in Jesus, and living by the Spirit not the flesh.

Chapter 14 is very interesting it deals with basically what sin is, and the difference between “strong believers” and “weak believers.” This is not to say that they are physically weak or weak in faith, but it goes to a difference in appetites.

Paul draws a powerful distinction between those who are able to moderate their choices, and those who have what we might call today “an addictive personality.” You’ve probably noticed this in society and in yourself in various areas. Some people are very good at only having one serving of something, maybe ice cream, maybe one drink, maybe someone who has a strong self control in regard to most decisions they make. Paul would call this person strong.

Then there is the weak believer, this would be more characteristic of myself. These people struggle to moderate. If they have one drink, they feel a strong urge to take more and more and more drinks. If they have one cupcake, they tend to crave more and more. If they get into exercise, pretty soon they’re exercising too much and getting sick from it. So, this “weaker” believer simply abstains from many things. They abstain from sweets. They abstain from alcohol. They abstain from anything that threatens to take control of their appetites and become addictive, which is sin.

Paul writes in Romans 14, “2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?”

Me, I can’t eat anything, it becomes out of control for me. But someone who can moderate their eating shouldn’t judge me. And I shouldn’t judge them if I see them eating an ice cream Sunday or something. They have the ability to moderate in that area when I don’t.

Paul indicates this applies to other areas as well, some people think certain days of special, some Christians will practice certain Jewish holidays, others think of everyday as the same. Either way, don’t judge the other. A lot of this probably had to do with the fact that the body of Christ was at this time made up of Jews and gentiles. Jews must’ve felt much more prone to practice special days, and gentiles did not. Jews must’ve felt a desire to only eat certain foods, but gentiles ate anything, and it wasn’t a big deal for them. Or vice versa.

The last two chapters Romans 15 and 16 deal with unity in the church, serving one another out of love, and Paul’s closing remarks and greetings to the church in Rome.

In conclusion today, there is so much more we could’ve gone into in Romans. It’s so hard to go through a whole book in one sermon, so read it for yourself! Go through the book of Romans, read a chapter or half a chapter a night. It’s amazing to see the depth of theology in Romans. Truly inspiring.

My final point though is this, we shouldn’t over-emphasize the book of Romans, as if it’s more important than any other book in the new testament. That is sometimes a problem we face in protestant theology. We take everything from Romans as our way, but we don’t incorporate the gospels or the other letters or revelation into that theological perspective. That is a mistake, and it can even become idolatry, where we focus on Romans so much, we make an idol out of God, by excluding the things we don’t like from other books that don’t match our theology as drawn from Romans. Romans is no more or less important than any other book in the Bible. Always remember that. We want to understand God as he depicts himself in the entire Bible, not just the feel good verses or the books that we prefer. Amen? Amen.

Remember it’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but your response to that is to live the most holy life, realizing that if we live to indulge the sin of the flesh, we will not be saved in the end. The way of the flesh is death, but the way of the Spirit is life and peace. Amen.

According to the Christian Worldview, you do actually live in the Matrix

"Who are we!?" cried out the man in the military uniform. He and four strangers, a clown, a ballerina, a hobo and a bagpiper found themselves in a strange cylindrical area. Little did they know, they were simply toys, at the bottom of a salvation army toy donation bin.  

But is our experience so different? The cylindrical drum we find ourselves in is simply bigger and wider with more amenities. Yet we all have those moments in life where we look up into the sky and wonder, who am I?  

Honest moments are rare, for humans like you and I. We keep ourselves busy. We avoid the big questions. We delight in the good things of life and endure the bad things. 

But there are desperate moments in our lives, when we call out, "Who am I? What is this place?"  It's not such a far cry from the twilight zone. 

There are terrifying moments, moments we shove away into the darkness, that make us dread the fires below that await us. It is too horrifying to fathom, the danger we are in. So we hide quite expertly from it. 

I used to run. I ran and I ran. I ran day and night. I even dreamt of running. But there is nowhere to run. The sphere we find ourselves in goes in a big circle, walk far enough and we'll come around to ourselves once again. 

This is a temporary matrix we find ourselves in. It will not exist forever. It is only a temporary construct, a distorted, darkened, shadowed reality, a squirrel cage, surrounded by a forest. This life is nothing.  It is nothing, aside from, a last chance for every human who lives on it. 

It is our last chance to choose life, and live in peace with God.  Or to choose death, and eternal sorrow.  Choice.  It's all about holiness, purity, righteousness, an objective moral standard that God upholds, and we choose to come to God, through Jesus Christ, for liberty, purity, holiness, or to reject God, and receive judgment and condemnation as a result.  It is a temporary, tangent construct, designed by God, in it's fallen state, to exist as a last chance for humans to reject the rebellion of Satan, which many have joined, and to embrace the road home in Christ.  

You live in the matrix right now.  And everything here is designed to either draw to Christ or deceive you to destruction. Why is it all set up just like the way it is? I have no idea, I'm sorry. I can't explain every detail.  All I know is that God is just, I trust that, so the present construct must be just, despite all the evil, and in delight of all the good. Glory to God. Choose Life. Choose Jesus. 

Origen's approach to interpreting scripture

Origen's approach to interpreting scripture is quite a unique and interesting approach.  I can't say I've ever read anything quite like his approach to scripture, though Origen was known for having some rather odd perspectives on the scriptures, the universe, and the cycle of time, to name a few.

Origen quotes Proverb 22:20-21 (KJV) referencing a threefold approach to wisdom given by King Solomon. What's interesting is that if you look at a more accurate translation, such as the NIV, the "threefold" is translated "thirty."  The ESV also renders it thirty.  In any case, Origen is at least correct in that scripture tends to divide the person up into three main areas, body, soul, and spirit (Kerr, p. 47). So Origen regards the scriptures in the same way, to be properly considered as threefold, body, soul, and spirit.  He considers the body of the scriptures to be the plain basic truths in the scriptures.  He considers the soul to be the medium level truths of the scriptures, that which are deeper.  And he regards the spirit of the scriptures to be those hidden truths that are discerned properly by the perfect believer. 

As a wesleyan holiness theology advocate, I certainly appreciate the reference to Christian perfection.  And I think there is at least some merit to the idea of basic truths, and deeper truths discerned from the scriptures.  It brings to mind Jesus' statement that he spoke in parables so that some would perceive the deeper reality and others would find it to be a stumbling block.  Origen mentions that he believes certain fantastical elements, or impossibilities are included in the scriptures for the simple purpose of being stumbling blocks to the haughty.  Once again, I find this an appealing concept.  I tend to see something similar, when I read certain passages in the scriptures, I have this sneaking suspicion that God may have placed these accounts that seem so fantastical for the simple purpose of being a stumbling block to the proud.  Of course that's just an idea, I can't really prove it. 

The intellectual framework of Christianity is absolutely vital to Origen because he is dealing with arguments from attackers like Celsus that suggest Christians are ignorant and stupid.  How incredibly ironic, as we read the great minds of church history, and how incredibly brilliant they were.  And as I think of so many great modern Christian minds, to think that people like Celsus, and to today, Richard Dawkins, and many others, so often regard Christians as ignorant rubes, is indeed, quite ironic. The memes never die over the centuries, do they? The Satan has no new attacks, only ancient ones.

Galatians & Thessalonians: Faith in Jesus, Encouragement for Trials, & the End Times

“A duck hunter was with a friend in the wide-open land of southeastern Georgia. Far away on the horizon he noticed a cloud of smoke. Soon he could hear crackling as the wind shifted. He realized the terrible truth; a brushfire was advancing, so fast they couldn't outrun it. Rifling through his pockets, he soon found what he was looking for--a book of matches. He lit a small fire around the two of them. Soon they were standing in a circle of blackened earth, waiting for the fire to come. They didn't have to wait long. They covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and braced themselves. The fire came near--and swept over them. But they were completely unhurt, untouched. Fire would not pass where fire already had passed.

The law is like a brushfire. I cannot escape it. But if I stand in the burned-over place, not a hair of my head will be singed. Christ's death has disarmed it. “

Adapted from Who Will Deliver Us? by Paul F. M. Zahl.

The message of the book of Galatians is very clear: You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the works of the law.

The letter to the Galatians was at it’s heart, a letter to Christians who were being infiltrated by Jewish Christians who felt that it was important to obey the old testament law of Moses. They were insisting Christians be circumcised, which was part of the law of Moses, and that they would need to follow all the commands of the Old Testament. And from Paul’s letter it appears that some in the church had fallen to this idea.

He wrote to them extremely frustrated saying, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”


Let’s take a look at Galatians chapter 3 verses 3 through 6, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”-Galatians 3:3-6

So Paul is citing the example of Abraham, that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And he compares that to us believing that Jesus really is real and our savior, and then it is credited to us as righteousness.

You get the picture from that of it being credited to their account, sort of a transaction.

But what’s interesting is that actually in the book of James it says something very similar: “20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.”

Very interesting, two different letters, two boundary lines. That’s generally how I see it, when two scriptures outline two different perspectives, I’m seeing the outer boundaries of what justification means. It is by faith, and yet the faith is completed and lived out through obedience. One edge is from James the other edge is from Paul, we want to be in between those two points in our understanding.

But returning to Galatians, we see Paul very upset with this group of churches in Galatia. He writes to them in Chapter 5, 4-6, “4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” -Galatians 5:4-6

The book of Galatians is very important and powerful, challenging us to understand that our salvation comes through faith in Christ, not through trying to obey the law of Moses. But I was talking with another pastor recently about a month ago, and we were talking about how the book of Galatians is sometimes abused and misused in our day and age.

Galatians is unfortunately sometimes used as Christians to claim that any challenge to live in purity in Christ, to live out sanctification, and to practice holy living is simply “legalism.”

Now legalism is the concern of the letter that Paul writes here, but legalism based on attempting to obey the law to be justified.

But Paul rightly indicates in numerous places in Galatians that one who understands that Jesus Christ is their savior alone, should be living the most pure and holy life in response to that. Paul very expertly balances Christian freedom in Christ, with total obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Let’s take a look at a big chunk of Galatians chapter 5, and listen in these words for commands to holy living.

Galatians 5:13-26 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Walk by the Spirit not by the flesh.

These are the acts of the flesh that you must avoid at all costs.

These are the fruits of the Spirit that you ought to practice.

If that wasn’t enough we get another explicit command in Galatians, the flagship book often misinterpreted to mean “you can do whatever you want in Christ” and it says this, Galatians 6:7-9 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

The book of Galatians teaches grace through faith in Christ, yet it also teaches a radical obedience to Christ, a practice of denying ourselves and taking up our crosses daily, this is the book in which Paul famously wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, the life I live now I live by faith in the son of God who loves me and gave himself for me.”

Praise God. Let’s turn to 1st and 2nd Thessalonians today. These were very early letters of Paul, the earliest letters of Paul that we have on record, from about 52 AD. Galatians is actually a bit later, around 55 AD. These are letters written to a church under severe persecution, which was common for the early church during this time.

They are being persecuted, killed, and tortured by the authorities in Italy, and this causes many of them to worry and fret about the return of Jesus. So these two letters get into end times topics quite a bit. Very interesting. Some of the believers in Thessalonica are seeing such severe suffering that they worry that perhaps Jesus has already come and they’ve been left behind. But Paul encourages them to continue to have faith in Jesus and realize that day has not come yet. Thankfully the church is Thessalonica is flourishing since Paul planted it. And through the persecution they only continue to flourish.

The first three chapters contain encouragement for the Thessalonians, a report from Timothy from his visit, a challenge to live sexually moral lives, and then in chapter 4 we hear a bit about the end times, which is what I want to focus in on today.

It says in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The Lord reminds us that it hasn’t already happened. There will come a day when Jesus returns, and the dead in Christ will rise, and if we happen to be alive at that time, we will rise as well.

Then in chapter 5 we hear about this dreadful moment when all humanity will be judged, call the “Day of the Lord.” It says, “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Second Thessalonians is a short letter, only 3 chapters, and Paul is dealing with false teachers who are once again leading the Thessalonians astray about the end times. In fact Paul signs this letter with his own signature because false letters are being circulated as well.

But once again in 2nd Thessalonians we see Paul addressing concerns about the end times, and particularly the day of the Lord.

2nd Thessalonians chapter 2:1-4 says ,”Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

So apparently this anti-Christ figure will gather all religions under one tent, a sort of universalism, and claim to be the god of all. And he will demand to be worshiped. Truly shocking. But we see the seeds of it in the world today, don’t we?

Then it says in verse 7-8 “7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.”

Some think that the one holding back the lawlessness in the world is the Holy Spirit, some say it’s the body of Christ itself holding it back, and when we’re taken away, that is the rapture event. But in any case, the anti-Christ will have his time, and then Jesus will defeat him by simply speaking.

To conclude the letter, Paul deals with reports that some of the believer in Thessalonica are becoming idle and disruptive.

“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” -2 Thessalonians 3:6-10

Some of the believers began to use the concept that the day of the Lord had already come to be lazy and stop working, and they started just living off the church’s generosity. Bad idea. Paul writes, if you don’t work, you don’t eat.

In conclusion today, we see the Lord sharing with us about how to understand our salvation in Christ, as grace through faith in Jesus. And we see God commanding us to stand firm during trials and difficulties, and to have a biblical understanding of the end times.