Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: When someone you love is hurt, confused, and uncertain about tomorrow, what do they need the most? Not pity, not a lecture, not even good advice. What the afflicted person needs is affirmation. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll continues his study in the book of 2 Thessalonians, showing us how the apostle Paul responded to a frightened congregation.

He didn't criticize or mock the church. He offered thanksgiving and genuine pride. Chuck titled this message "Affirming the Afflicted." It's the first message in an eight-part study called "Steadfast Christianity."

Chuck Swindoll: Turn back to chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians. Look at verse 17. "I, Paul, write this greeting with mine own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter. This is the way I write." Did you know that was in the Bible? I didn't, and I've read this a number of times and I'd never stumbled across "this is the way I write."

Everyone has his or her own distinguishing handwriting. And if that person writes to you enough, you don't even have to look and see who wrote the letter, because you know the handwriting. Paul says, "I have a distinguishing handwriting, I have a distinguishing style, and if you ever want to check if this letter is mine, check it with this letter, check it with this signature. This is the way I write."

Before we find out why that was so important, you might ask yourself, what's the big deal about these 47 verses? Are they really that important? Look up from verse 17 to verse 14. I think after I read this verse, you'll say, yeah, it's a pretty important letter. "If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that man and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame." Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty important letter.

This is one of those rare letters, and he doesn't have many of them, where he literally says if you find someone who won't walk according to this truth, back off. But he adds in grace, "Don't regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." I'd say it's a significant letter. Now, why is there a second letter to the Thessalonians?

In brief, he wrote 2 Thessalonians to clear up a misunderstanding. That's the purpose. You see, he had said a lot about the Lord's return in the first letter. Chapter 5, go back there, will you? 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. You'll see what he says about the coming of the Lord. Verse 2 of chapter 5: "You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night."

"While they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." Note the change in pronouns. "But you, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness."

"So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." He's getting into this sense of urgency and he says, "Let's be alert. Let's get a little rapture fever. Let's remember that any day now the clouds will split, there'll be a blast of the trumpet, and the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will be raised first. That day is upon us. Be alert."

After that letter arrived and they read it, would you believe that a word began to travel among them within days that they had missed the coming of the Lord? You say, oh, how could they believe... well, you know how talk goes in a church. And somebody spilled the beans from some... well, look at how he puts it in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians.

It didn't just occur in someone's mind; there was an actual active deception that had occurred against the church at Thessalonica. 2 Thessalonians 2:1: "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ"—there's one of those times his full name appears—"and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken." That's why he wrote the letter. "I don't want you all shook up. From your composure, or be disturbed either by"—mark it—"a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come."

Got the drift? In one of three ways, the people had begun to believe that they had missed the coming of the Lord. And some had said that there was a letter that had arrived as if from him. There are some New Testament scholars that believe that there actually was a forged letter that arrived in Thessalonica. The city is known today as Thessaloniki, still in existence in Greece. Somebody had sent a letter and it had been signed by Paul, allegedly. So when he signs this letter, he says, "This is the way I write. You can check this writing with that letter." Seems to imply that.

By the way, this is a real good time for me to pause and say a couple of practical things about misunderstandings in the church. People still spread messages that are not true, don't they? We tend to do that in a weak moment. So I'm going to draw from just the overview of what we've seen thus far, a couple of very practical pieces of advice. First is this: if you have been misunderstood, don't delay in trying to clear it up.

Paul didn't wait very long. One of my sources said it was within days that he wrote 2 Thessalonians. Don't just let the information continue to gather a speed and momentum. If you hear there's a rumor out, go to the source. If you can't find the source, go to someone who heard that rumor and correct it.

Second, and it's a little bit more serious here, if you hear information, be clear when you pass it on. In fact, it's good not even to pass it on at all. Especially if it is slanderous or if it's technical and there are some details you may not get right and you really want to pass it, ask for permission. That usually makes them go, "Uh-oh," when you ask permission. But you write down the details and you say, "Can I quote you?"

So if you're going to pass information on, get the stuff straight. It's amazing how it can get garbled. I came across an interesting example of this. The original order from the colonel to his executive officer was: "Tomorrow evening at approximately 2000 hours, Halley's Comet will be visible in this area, an event which occurs only once every 75 years. Have the men fall out in the battalion area in fatigues, and I will explain this rare phenomenon to them. In case of rain, we will not be able to see anything, so assemble the men in the theater and I will show them films of it." That's the message.

Executive officer to the company commander: "By the order of the colonel, tomorrow at 2000 hours, Halley's Comet will appear above the battalion area. If it rains, fall the men out in fatigues, then march to the theater where the rare phenomenon will take place, something which occurs only once every 75 years."

From the CO to the lieutenant: "By order of the colonel in fatigues at 2000 hours tomorrow evening, the phenomenal Halley's Comet will appear in the theater. In case of rain in the battalion area, the colonel will give another order, something which occurs once every 75 years."

From the lieutenant to the sergeant: "Tomorrow at 2000 hours, the colonel in fatigues will appear in the theater with Halley's Comet, something which happens every 75 years. If it rains, the colonel will order the comet into the battalion area."

Finally, the sergeant to the squad, if I can get through it: "When it rains tomorrow at 2000 hours, the phenomenal 75-year-old General Halley, accompanied by the colonel, will drive his comet through the battalion area. They will both be wearing fatigues." It's so crazy.

Now, you have within your power the ability to strengthen the unity of an assembly or to weaken it. And so do I. Usually, the strengthening or the weakening process is related to information we receive that is important and often damaging and usually exaggerated. I don't know how many times I have checked facts, and I did that just this past week with a brother I love, and there was something being passed around about him that was hard to believe. And I went to him and I asked for the facts.

It is amazing how in the process of only a couple or three sets of mouths and ears the message was garbled. So I don't think we need to be too surprised that they thought they missed the coming of the Lord because the message had been garbled, or perhaps even deliberately deceiving from some source.

Now, what are the contents of this letter? I always like to give a sort of a flight over an area to get the feeling. Like you take an elevator to the top of the tallest building in a city when you first arrive and you're going to live there. You like to look around and get the lay of the land. This is north, and this is south, and this is east. This is where the river is. This is where the commercial district is, your residential district over here. That's what I want to do for just a little bit of time.

2 Thessalonians is rich with significance. Notice in the first chapter there is a tone of affirmation. These people are trudging through the mud and the muck of affliction. They're not only confused about their theology, they're disturbed about their physical safety. And Paul affirms them. It's a wonderful, wonderful chapter of affirmation. And he stirs up their hearts with strong words of confidence. And we're going to see that as we work our way through.

In the second chapter, he turns to an explanation of this misunderstanding. Look, for example, at some clarifying remarks. He says the day of the Lord hasn't come. First, there must be, verse 3, the apostasy. The apostasy. There's a whole system of apostate events that will occur, men and women. And that hasn't occurred, well not yet. You have not missed anything. It has not yet happened. And continuing in verse 3, "the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction."

This is the man commonly called Antichrist. And we'll have a good time digging into that. Be careful about identifying the man of lawlessness. I mean, all kinds of books have been written that are now not worth a toot because they were all built on the identification of the man of lawlessness. Many people felt it was Hitler, and then he died. And then Stalin, and he died. And then some even said it was John Kennedy, and he was killed. And then, I've heard recently Kissinger's another man of lawlessness.

And I've heard the most unbelievable systems of numbers tied in with how to identify this thing. And if you push the numbering system, you'd prove anybody is a man of lawlessness. I got a theory laid on my desk several years ago and I put the theory to work and it spelled Swindoll. And I knew that isn't going to... I'm not the man of lawlessness, to the surprise of some people. That man of lawlessness has to be revealed. He'll come on the surface.

Look at verse 7: there has to be "the mystery of lawlessness, the one who restrains taken out of the way." See the way he says it? He hasn't been taken out of the way. We'll do our best to identify the restrainer of verse 7. All of this deception, verse 10, "the deception of wickedness" will be in process. So he puts their mind at ease in chapter 2. I'm so glad we have that chapter in our Bibles.

Chapter 1 could be called "Persevering Through Affliction." Chapter 2 could be called "Trusting in the Midst of Confusion." And chapter 3... what a great balance. Some of these people had got so attached to the coming of the Lord teaching that they stopped working. Sound familiar? Some of you have people in your family who have gotten so fanatical about Christianity—and especially about prophecy—that they began to mooch off of members of your family or someone else that they know can help support them.

And Paul gives a direct piece of advice to those people who went crazy with prophecy. Verse 6, chapter 3: "We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"—there it is again—"that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life, not according to the tradition which you received from us." Watch out for those people. "You yourselves know how you ought to follow our example," then he describes it.

When Paul was among them, we didn't act in an undisciplined manner among you, neither did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with labor and hardship, we worked. We kept working night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. Not because we didn't have the right to this—I mean, I was an apostle—but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you that you might follow our example.

And then he gives a statement that I must have heard my father say three dozen times in my growing up years. Verse 10: "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat." That's one of those mottos that I remember from those years past, and that's biblical. If you plan to eat, then you got to work. And no amount of great theology gets you away from the responsibility of earning a living. And he lays that on them.

Fact, he makes it so strong, remember we read earlier, if anyone denies what I've written in this letter, stay away from him. Now all of that is well and good. That's great theory unless you're up to your waist in alligators, which is where they were. These people were walking through the fire. I mean, a virtual hell on earth had broken out in Thessalonica. You don't see it, you don't find any blood or reference to such on the pages of 1 or 2 Thessalonians, but it's there. Believe me, it's there.

These people are really under the gun. And so what do they need? Well, they don't need judgment, they don't need criticism, they don't even need pity. They need affirmation. A good principle to remember when you are with people who are afflicted: affirm. There is one wonderful response to people who are going through affliction, and that's affirmation. That's what we find when we go back to chapter 1.

It's a great way to begin a letter to people who were hurting, confused, and really uncertain about tomorrow. He affirms them. It works like magic. Dostoyevsky said on one occasion, "To love a person means to see him as God intended him to be." And that's how Paul sees them. "Paul and Sylvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." What a way to begin.

He doesn't say to people who are down and out, to folks I feel sorry for, to some people who have lost members of their family, to folks who have been torn apart by confusion and deception. No, he tells them right away of the security that there is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Every once in a while, just as an aside, every once in a while when you write a letter, add a word of reassurance to the person receiving the letter regarding his security in the Lord Jesus. Just a reminder. Just throw it in on the side.

They don't need a sermon, but they may need a reminder that in the Lord Jesus everything is under control. Everything is secure. And then he tells them of the two pinions upon which that security rests: grace, verse 2, and peace, verse 2. Both from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. And then right out of the shoot he says, "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren." I love that response.

The last time you were really hurting, I mean really low, and you got just enough courage to get dressed on that Sunday morning and maybe didn't even take the time to tuck your Bible under your arm, but you found your way to a place of worship and you sat down and you were quiet. Can you remember an arm that reached around you and pulled you up close? Or somebody who had the courage to take your face in their hands and hold you close and to tell you how much they believe in you?

It might have been that week that you had the worst argument you've ever had at home. Or it might have been that week that the bottom literally dropped and you lost your job, or the threat of losing your job was upon you. Or your daughter or son had been picked on and it was not deserved. Or that thing that's plagued you so long came back to the surface. You lost it again with this battle you have with drugs or with booze. And you're under affliction.

Remember the value of a word of affirmation. Affirmation is the right word at the right time, spoken in love. That's what he does. Mark Twain said, "I can go in the strength of one affirming compliment three full weeks." How many people are going in the strength of your compliment for the next three weeks? Boy, these Thessalonians could. "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren."

Now this ministry of affirmation, I don't say very much about it so I want to camp on it for a few moments. Don't worry, it never results in making the afflicted proud. Afflicted people don't get proud. It doesn't cause arrogance or laziness. It makes people want to do better and try harder. It doesn't hurt their walk with Christ, it helps it. It doesn't pull them down, it sets them up. They leave remembering that better than they'll ever remember a sermon.

Paul says it's only fitting that I do that. I mean, it's not an option. Your life calls for it. What was it? "Your faith is greatly enlarged," see in verse 3? This is why he affirmed them, why he gave thanks. Your faith has been stretched and it's growing. "And the love of each one of you all toward one another grows greater." Now I want to make an observation that's going to make you smile, but I've got a reason for making it.

The observation is this: verse 3 follows verse 2. See, I heard you laugh at me, but I want you to see why that's important. The Lord Jesus Christ is the focus of verse 2, and diving out of that thought he affirms them in verse 3. Here's the principle: divine perspective gives us the impetus to affirm others.

Had he looked at their situation only, he could have only sighed and said, "I'm so sorry." Had he visited them and seen the fresh grave of a loved one, he would have wept, said, "I pity you." But through the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, who never releases a test without purpose, he saw meaning in their faith being stretched. He saw purpose in their love growing stronger.

Bill Meyer: That kind of sensitivity and insight made the apostle Paul a world-class leader. You're listening to the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll, and this is Insight for Living. We're just getting started with an eight-part series through Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. It's a series Chuck titled "Steadfast Christianity." If you missed any portion of this message, remember you can catch up by streaming the program at insight.org/broadcast.

One of Paul's overarching themes in this letter is leadership. Paul was the mentor to these young believers, just as Nehemiah was a leader to the construction crew in Jerusalem. Remember that Old Testament story? The wall around their city was nothing but rubble, the town was exposed, and the opposition was fierce. But Nehemiah had a vision, a plan, and an unshakable confidence in God. In just 52 days, the impossible got done.

Today we'd like to send you Chuck's book, "Hand Me Another Brick." In it, he unpacks the leadership genius of Nehemiah and shows you how those same principles can work in your church, your ministry, and your life today. This is one of Chuck's most beloved classics, and it's our gift to you when you support Insight for Living with a generous donation.

You can request the book online at insight.org/donate, or ask for it in a letter when you send a donation addressed to us at Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034. That's Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034.

On Monday's program, Chuck finished our study in 1 Thessalonians, then the following day he started this study in 2 Thessalonians. Both Searching the Scriptures Bible study workbooks are available for purchase today. These are spiral-bound resources that lay flat on your lap or on the table where you can easily take notes as you read through Paul's two letters. To have them sent to your home, call us at 800-772-8888, or go online to insight.org/offer.

How should you respond when suffering is relentless? I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll provides a biblical answer Thursday on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, "Affirming the Afflicted," was copyrighted in 1986, 1991, 2002, and 2024, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.