CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2 Thessalonians 3:3. And keep you from evil.—“Keep” here is a military word reminding of the psalmist’s name for his God—“Shield.” The Revisers add “one” after “evil,” as in the Lord’s Prayer.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 2 Thessalonians 3:3-4
The Faithfulness of God.
From the want of faith in man, referred to in the preceding verse, the writer, as if to show the contrast, naturally glides into the subject of the divine faithfulness. Unbelief may abound, but God can be relied on; man may be fickle and unreasonable, but the fidelity of God is inviolate.
I. The faithfulness of God is a fact established by abundant testimonies.—“But the Lord is faithful” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). He is faithful to His own nature. He cannot deny Himself. He is faithful to His purpose, to His word, to every promise, and every threatening too. The whole history of God’s dealings with the Jewish people is a suggestive and impressive commentary on His inflexible faithfulness. The fact that the Church of God exists to-day, notwithstanding defection within and persecution without, is an unanswerable testimony to His fidelity. “You may be faint and weary, but my God cannot. I may fluctuate and alter as to my frames and feelings; but my Redeemer is unchangeably the same. I might utterly fail and come to nothing, if left to myself. But I cannot be so left to myself. He is rich to relieve and succour me in all my wants. He is faithful to perform and perfect all His promises” (Ambrose Serle).
II. The faithfulness of God is practically manifested in establishing His people in all good and in keeping them safe from all evil.—“Who shall stablish you and keep you from evil” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). The people of God do not perpetuate themselves. He perpetuates. His faithful guardianship gives persistency to His people, so that in every age and in the darkest times there has been a bright succession of living witnesses of His unchanging character. He preserves them, not because of any inherent grace or self-deserving, but because He is faithful. “Janet,” said a Scottish minister to a Christian woman of great faith, whom he was visiting, “suppose, after all, God were to let you drop into hell!” “Even as He will,” was her reply; “but if He does, He will lose mair than I’ll do.” A single flaw in the divine fidelity would shatter the faith of the universe.
III. The faithfulness of God inspires confidence in the fidelity of the obedient.—“And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do, and will do the things which we command you” (2 Thessalonians 3:4). Because God is faithful, we know that you can be kept faithful, if you are willing and seeking to be so kept. Moreover, you will assuredly be kept faithful, while you observe in the future, as you have done in the past, “the things which we command you,” and in commanding which we have the divine authority. Consider these things, let them sink into your hearts; then act accordingly. Let obedience follow conviction, and we have no fear about the result. Von Moltke, the great German strategist and general, chose for his motto, “Erst wagen, dann wagen”—“First weigh, then venture”; and it was to this he owed his great victories and successes. Slow, cautious, careful in planning, but bold, daring, even seemingly reckless in execution, the moment his resolve was made. Vows thus ripen into deeds, decision must go on to performance. The final perseverance of the saint depends on the divine perseverance; his faithfulness on the divine faithfulness. If we had no living Saviour to pilot our ship, no promise on which to rely, we might have cause to fear. The divine faithfulness is unquestionable; our faithfulness is maintained only by obedience.
Lessons.—
1. The faithfulness of God is the guarantee of the believer’s safety.
2. The faithfulness of God should encourage the exercise of implicit faith in Him.
3. The faithfulness of God demands undeviating obedience to His laws.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2 Thessalonians 3:3. The Divine Faithfulness—
I. An incontrovertible fact.
II. A guarantee of personal establishment in the truth.
III. An invulnerable protection from evil and all its works.
2 Thessalonians 3:4. Christian Obedience—
I. Is a voluntary and constant activity.
II. Is based on well-understood and authoritative precepts.
III. Is the pathway of blessing.
IV. Inspires confidence in others.