Based on 2 Thessalonians 1 (New King James Version)
“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Why is it mentioned here that these had persecutions and tribulations? Why did they have suffering? Did they have less faith than the others and that was why they were doing poorly, so to speak? Did God love them less? Isn't everything supposed to be fixed when we come to Christ, that everything must go well for us as a blessing from God, and that we must have certain prosperity, and certain triumphs, and why not, even good health? This type of gospel is widely believed and preached, and in different ways. But I have to say “this type of gospel or doctrine” because it is not something that is consistent with the Word of God. In reality, this way of believing is against the true and sound doctrine of God, therefore, it is apostasy, part of the doctrines of demons that exist today, to lead to perdition those who wish to please their flesh and do their own will.
There are three irrefutable things within the Scriptures that compose sound doctrine to attain salvation, and these are: repentance and conversion from all sins (not just some sins), acknowledging and making Jesus Christ our Lord (which goes beyond recognizing Him as Savior), and finally, living to do the will of God the Father and not seeking to fulfill our desires and serve our appetites. These are the three things that make up sound doctrine. And this is what should be used to filter out, so to speak, all bad doctrine. For example, there are many who teach that to be saved, one must only believe in Christ and nothing else, that repentance and conversion are not necessary. There are many others who teach that you to come to Christ to fix all your problems, or that following Christ means that everything will work out for you (humanly speaking of course), and this attracts a large audience, but also, there is much error in this. And there are others who do not set limits where they should, using a supposed love as a shield (not the love that God teaches), and they do not live the reality that should exist in a believer who obeys God. Instead, they justify many things with this to get along with others and also, to justify their own interests and desires. Many other things can be mentioned, but ultimately, every error is proven when objectively compared to sound doctrine, and especially considering what God has for us, which brings us to the next point.
Salvation is a gift from God, it is by grace, but it has a great purpose, and that is to change our course from perdition back to God's purpose, to return us to the reason for why God created man to begin with. God did not make man to sin, but to serve him, and that is why Christ came, to change our course. So, are we saved by works? No. But, we are saved for good works, that is, to do the will of the Father, so our salvation depends on our service to God. There must be a product. Because if we do not fulfill the will of the Father in our lives, then we are not fulfilling the purpose of salvation, and God will simply discard in His great judgment who doesn’t serve Him. This is what the Word says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. We are not predestined, but we were made for good works, and that purpose has to be fulfilled in our lives. We have to live for Christ. This is why Christ came. This is why He died on the cross, to give us the opportunity to reestablish the reason for our existence. Therefore, this concept that God exists to serve you, and to fulfill your desires, ultimately to do your will is totally against God, and therefore, it is something that is totally subject to Satan. It looks bad, but that's the reality. Satan is the one who wants his will to be done and not God's. Therefore, if a person only seeks to do their will, and even worse, seeks God to fulfill their own desires, they are following the most evil thing that exists. And just as bad, they are the same that believe and teach that you do not need works to be saved. So then, works are needed to be saved, because it is written: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. Therefore, I am afraid to say that, if one compares this to what is taught in the vast majority of our churches, they will see that there is no longer sound doctrine, but only self-service, and flesh-pleasing, and this is not from God.
We must consider a very important detail that is seen in this passage, which is this: “…that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.” How is it that we are considered worthy? Is it not taught that nothing more is needed, but only faith? There are some who think that we are made worthy because the Worthy One (the Lord) is in us. And yes, that is true, but also, we are considered worthy when we do the will of the Father, and not our will, and this is where both faith and works come in, as it is written: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:17-20. So, when we encounter persecution or tribulation, (not because of our sins because our problems are sometimes a consequence of our sins), because we are being faithful to Christ, we have a great and eternal hope. Our hope is not on this earth (although it is possible that God can intercede miraculously, if it is in His will), but rather, in His kingdom, in the eternal, before His wonderful and great presence. May God say the following of each of us some day: “…‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:21b. So then, are you obeying the Lord, looking to do His will, so that you can obtain the eternal hope? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.