II THESSALONIANS 2:1-17 Lesson # 7
TRUE TEACHING BRINGS PEACE OF MIND
I. Greetings:
II. Introduction:
Q Have false rumors ever caused you a sleepless night?
An = Think of examples.
Q Why do people start false rumors? Do they intend to help others with their false rumors?
An = Be sure you do not gossip about others or give other’s names.
Note: Sometimes people are taught things religiously that hurt them. They are taught false rumors, or false teachings and such false religion can deeply upset us just like false rumors about ourselves can.
Q Can anyone share when you thought something about spiritual matters was true when you later learned it was false?
An = Think of specific examples.
Note: Paul is dealing with the Thessalonians in this letter, and they have been upset by some false information about the Second Coming of Christ. He wants to help them, and does so by giving them the truth.
III. Exhortation/Instructions on the Man of Lawlessness: Keep Calm. I Thess. 2:1-12
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:1-2.
Q What is Paul requesting the Thessalonians not do?
An = He does not want them to become unsettled, to lose their composure by what they have heard. Someone has evidently said Paul had said some things about the coming of the Lord that had unsettled them. He wants them to stay calm. He fears they have been given false information. Someone seems to have said that the Lord has already come, and they have been left behind. Paul meets this crisis by merely reminding them of what they already know, of what the truth really is.
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:3-5.
Q What must precede the Second Coming of our Lord?
An = Two things. A major spiritual falling away, rebellion or apostasy is one of the things that must first occur. The second thing is the appearance of the “man of lawlessness”.
Q What is this “man of lawlessness like”?
An = He is called the “son of destruction” or a man doomed to destruction. He is also someone who opposes and exalts himself above all gods or objects of worship, and he will even go so far as to set himself up in the temple claiming to be God. This man is already doomed, but he is without submission to any law and is full of self-aggrandizement.
Q What is Paul doing in verse 5?
An = He is reminding them that they already know this. Sometimes the best thing we can do for people who have been mislead is to remind them of what they already know. Sometimes our minds just need to hear it again.
Paul is not repeating to demean them but to remind them the truth is on their side and when the truth is remembered it can end the deception that has troubled them.
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:6-8.
Q Why has the man of lawlessness not yet been revealed?
An = He is being restrained. Evil often seems to be running wild but the Lord restrains when He wants to restrain. Timing is in God’s hands, not the Devil’s.
Q What is the fate of this man of lawlessness?
An = He will be destroyed by the breath of the mouth of the Lord. When evil finally is openly revealed then God will act.
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:9-12.
Q How will the man of lawlessness deceive many people?
An = With powerful miracles, signs and false wonders. With all sorts of evil to deceive those who will perish.
Q Why will those who perish be deceived?
An = Their destiny is in their own hands. In verse 10 it says they refused to love the truth and therefore be saved. After they have made their choice then God will confirm their choice and send a powerful deception upon them. They did not believe but rather took pleasure in wickedness and so they will reap their own judgment for their own choice.
Q Why will people go to hell and perish?
An = Their judgment will be their own choice. They choose not to believe and to seek the pleasure of wickedness. They form their own destiny. Paul is reminding them that Jesus’ Coming will commence a judgment on evil and on those who have chosen to side with evil.
IV. Exhortation: Be Thankful To God For Who You Are: II Thessalonians 2:13-14
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:13-14.
Q Why is Paul thankful for the Thessalonians?
An = God has chosen them so that they may share the glory of God.
Q What does it mean we are chosen or called?
An = God has personally selected us to be His children. It means God wants us. Paul, calls them brothers, and he is an apostle. He also calls them “loved by God”. Sometimes we forget who we are when we are true Christians. We are beloved of God and personally chosen and selected by Him.
This selection is not the ground for complacency or for pride but for thankfulness. We see now how Paul has first helped them with good teaching about Jesus’ coming again and second about the truth of who they are!
Q How are we saved according to the end of verse 13?
An = Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief in the truth. If we wonder if we have been truly saved and truly chosen by God then the proof is His work of sanctifying us by His Spirit and our belief in God’s truth. It is not through church membership or church attendance, giving money etc., but when His Spirit has changed us and we truly believe the truth.
V. Exhortation To Hold To Apostolic Teaching: II Thessalonians 2:15
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:15.
Q What does Paul want them to hold on to?
An = Paul wants them to stand firm and hold to the teachings from the apostles. That teaching could be either verbal or written. The true teaching can come by preaching or reading the Holy Scriptures. That is why we encourage Bible study and the hearing of good biblical, Spirit inspired preaching. It helps us hold fast to the truth and to stand firm.
Note: Good teaching strengthens us and makes us steadfast and unwavering. We are to be strong, not just better than someone else spiritually. Rather, we are to be strong for a specific purpose. That purpose Paul reveals with his Blessing that follows.
VI. Blessing: So As To Be Strong for Doing Good Things: II Thessalonians 2:16-17.
>>>> Have someone read II Thessalonians 2:16-17.
Q How is the Lord, the Blesser, identified in verse 16?
An = Jesus is our Lord. God is our Father. God loves and gives. Paul wants them encouraged by the truth about God. The third way Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians is with the truth that God is who He is. He is our Lord and Father. We belong to Him, but He also belongs to us! The One to whom we belong loves and gives!
Q What does the Lord give us according to verse 16?
An = By His grace He gives us eternal comfort and good hope. God wants His people healthy mentally and that means that we at times need comfort and we need hope that is positive and healthy.
Q What is the goal of our being comforted and strengthened according to verse 17?
An = So that we can do good things and speak good words. “We are blessed so that we can bless!”
Note: May we be like Paul. May we be the type of people who comfort and build up those we teach so that they can be better people themselves. May we not be like those who were unsettling the Thessalonians. Good leaders want you strong and aware of the truth. In this chapter that truth takes three forms: 1) the truth about what is to come, and how it will come, 2) the truth about who we are, and 3) the truth about who God is and His intentions for us. This is how we could teach like Paul
Homework:
1) Read II Thessalonians 3.
2) Over what issue does Paul ask for prayer for himself?
3) What type of people are the Thessalonians to stay away from?