Word of Encouragement (7/19/2021)

We have a short petition to reflect on today: “[Pray for us] that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith” (2 Thess. 3:2). This follows the first petition in the previous verse: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you....” Jeffrey A.D. Weima points out the logical connection between these two petitions in this way: “if the word of the Lord is to run and be honored, then the proclaimers of that word, Paul and his coworkers, must be rescued from certain evil individuals who are thwarting them from carrying out their evangelistic activity” (p. 588).

The opposition Paul was facing at that time was not unusual or unique. When Jesus called him to ministry, He told him through Ananias how much he must suffer for the sake of His name (Acts 9:16). But this was not just for Paul. Paul said to the Philippians, “...it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake...” (Phil. 1:29). If this is the case for laypeople, it is all the more so for the ministers of the gospel, who are at the forefront of spiritual warfare. So, pray this prayer for me and Caleb and Sangwoo and all the ministers of the gospel near and far. Pray that we will not be surprised and intimidated by the opposition we face in preaching the gospel. This assumes that we are preaching the gospel in places where we will face opposition. More than likely, this will happen when we boldly step out of the safety within the four walls of the church to preach the gospel to the unbelieving world. Pray for our courage so that, when an opportunity arises to preach the gospel to unbelievers, we will not shrink away in fear or unwillingness.

But this can happen within the church, too, unfortunately. Some ministers must regularly confront those, who actively disagree and oppose the gospel. They are argumentative and quarrelsome. They are divisive and contrarian in spirit. They take the minor doctrines of their preference and build them up into essential doctrines, which everyone else has to agree with and accept or be branded as a heretic. That must be heartbreaking. But one of the responsibilities ministers have is to protect the church against “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15). Instead of complaining that they are making our work hard, we must “gird up our loins” and fight the good fight for the purity of the church.

Even so, it is not wrong to pray that God would rescue us “from wicked and evil men.” After all, Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We can pray for rescue, especially “from wicked and evil men,” as Paul asked the Thessalonians to pray for him and his coworkers. But we must keep in mind that, in asking for this prayer, Paul’s main concern was not his ease and comfort; as we saw, his request was connected to his prayer that the word of the Lord would run and be honored among the recipients.

Would you also pray that God would remove from the hearts and lives of the ministers of the gospel anything that would hinder them from preaching the gospel with conviction and freedom of conscience? And would you pray the same for your hearts as well so that the word of the Lord would run freely and be honored in your hearts?

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