CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2 Thessalonians 2:15. Stand fast.—Ready for any shock which may come unexpectedly through the insidious methods of Antichrist. Hold the traditions.—As if the apostle said, keep a strong hand on them. Tradition is that which is handed over from one to another. Compare 1 Corinthians 11:23. “I received of the Lord … I delivered unto you.… He was betrayed.” Here the words “delivered” and “betrayed” represent a doing, of which the word for “tradition” is the act completed. Paul handed over that which his Lord charged him to transmit; Judas handed over Christ to the Jews.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Christian Steadfastness.
In all ages the people of God have been assailed with the weapons of a subtle and plausible philosophy which has sought to supplant the simple truth of the gospel with human opinions. The evil heart of man chafes under the righteous restrictions of the truth, and in its angry and delirious opposition has sought to rid itself of God and of all the laws that bind it to a life of obedience and holiness. And when it fancies it has succeeded in demolishing the truths it hated and against which it rebelled, it is aghast at the desolation it has wrought and recoils in alarm from the dark, horrible gulf to the brink of which it had forced itself. Stricken with bewilderment and despair, man strives to construct a religion for himself, and he seeks to substitute his own wild ravings for the truths of divine revelation. It is the attempt of a bold, impious infidelity to put error in the place of truth, philosophy in the place of religion, human opinion in the place of God. The exhortation of this verse is always timely.
I. Christian steadfastness is an important and ever-present duty.—
1. It is necessary to growth and maturity in personal piety. Trees must grow or die. So it is with piety: it must grow or perish. No plant or tree can thrive that is being perpetually plucked up and transplanted; nor can the soul prosper unless it is steadfastly rooted in the soil of truth. Darwin describes a marine plant—the Macrocystis pyrifera—that rises two hundred feet from the depths of the Western Ocean and floats for many fathoms on the surface, uninjured among the waves and breakers, which no masses of rock, however hard, can long withstand. It maintains its strength by clinging tenaciously to the rocks far down below the surface of the sea. So personal piety grows and flourishes by maintaining a firm hold of the Rock of Ages.
2. It is necessary in bearing witness for Christ.—The value of a lighthouse or a landmark to the mariner is, that he can rely on always finding it in the same place. And the value of Christian testimony is that it is not erratic and changeful, but stable and reliable: it hesitates not to witness for Christ in any place. Fifty years ago at a dinner-party in the west end of London, the conversation was dishonouring to Christ. One guest was silent, and presently asked that the bell might be rung. On the appearance of the servant he ordered his carriage, and with polished courtesy apologised to his host for his enforced departure, saying, for I am still a Christian. This gentleman was the late Sir Robert Peel.
3. It is a stimulating example to the weak and faltering.—There are timid, feeble followers of Christ who, until they become well grounded, lean on others; and if their exemplars vacillate and change, so do they. Few have the courage to break away from a pernicious example. When travelling on the Continent, Dr. Duff made the acquaintance of Cardinal Wiseman, and for some time travelled with him; but when at Antwerp he saw the cardinal prostrate himself before the Virgin, he courteously but firmly bade him “good-bye.”
II. Christian steadfastness is shown in an unflinching maintenance of apostolic doctrine.—“Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” These traditions were the doctrines preached by the apostles. For some years after the ascension of Christ, there was no written gospel or epistle. The truth was taught orally by those who were living witnesses of the facts on which the doctrines—or traditions—were based.
1. Apostolic doctrine must be clearly apprehended.—It must therefore be diligently studied, and the truth sifted from the mass of errors with which false teachers surround it. What is not intelligently comprehended cannot be firmly held.
2. Apostolic doctrine must be earnestly embraced.—Not simply discussed, not simply admired and praised, but prayerfully and cordially accepted—taken in as spiritual food, and systematically fed upon to give strength and stamina to the soul.
3. Apostolic doctrine must be firmly held and stoutly defended against all errors.—“Hold the traditions.” Believe them when tempted to disbelieve; defend them when assailed by the enemy. A brave Athenian, who wrought deeds of valour in the battle of Marathon, seized with his right hand a stranded galley filled with Persians. When his right hand was cut off, he seized the boat with his left, and when that was smitten, he held on with his teeth till he died. The grasp of truth by a Christian believer should not be less tenacious than the dogged heroism of a heathen warrior.
III. Christian steadfastness is emphatically enforced.—“Therefore, brethren, stand fast.” Though misunderstood and misrepresented, though savagely opposed by the enemies of the truth, stand fast. As the wings of the bird are strengthened by the resistance of the atmosphere in which it floats, so your graces will be strengthened by the opposition with which you resolutely contend. In order that your own personal piety may be matured, that your witnessing for Christ may be unmistakable, and that your example may be a stimulating encouragement to others, “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.”
Lessons.—
1. The unstable are the prey of every passing temptation.
2. The word of God is the unfailing source of moral strength.