2 Thessalonians 3

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2 Thessalonians Illustration

2 Thessalonians

Greeting

aPaul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

bWe ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,1 as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore cwe ourselves boast about you din the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ein all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ’s Coming

This is fevidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be gconsidered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering since indeed God considers it hjust ito repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant jrelief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when kthe Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven lwith his mighty angels min flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those nwho do not know God and on those who odo not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of peternal destruction, qaway from2 the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 rwhen he comes on sthat day tto be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our utestimony to you vwas believed. 11 To this end we walways pray for you, that our God may xmake you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ywork of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus zmay be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

Now concerning athe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our bbeing gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,1 not to be quickly shaken in mind or calarmed, either dby a spirit or a espoken word, or ea letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that fthe day of the Lord has come. gLet no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, hunless the rebellion comes first, and ithe man of lawlessness2 is revealed, jthe son of destruction,3 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, kproclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For lthe mystery of lawlessness mis already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then nthe lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus owill kill with pthe breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by qthe appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan rwith all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for sthose who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore tGod sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe uwhat is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned vwho did not believe the truth but whad pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

13 But xwe ought always to give thanks to God for you, ybrothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you zas the firstfruits4 ato be saved, bthrough sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through cour gospel, aso that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, dstand firm and hold to ethe traditions that you were taught by us, either fby our spoken word or by four letter.

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, gwho loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hhope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and iestablish them in every good work and word.

Pray for Us

Finally, brothers,1 jpray for us, that kthe word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored,2 as happened among you, and lthat we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For mnot all have faith. But nthe Lord is faithful. He will establish you and oguard you against pthe evil one.3 And qwe have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord rdirect your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

Now we command you, brothers, sin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, tthat you keep away from any ubrother vwho is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know whow you ought to imitate us, because xwe were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but ywith toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was znot because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves aan example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: bIf anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you cwalk in idleness, not busy at work, but dbusybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.4

13 As for you, brothers, edo not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and fhave nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 gDo not regard him as an enemy, but hwarn him as a brother.

Benediction

16 Now may ithe Lord of peace himself jgive you peace at all times in every way. kThe Lord be with you all.

17 I, Paul, write lthis greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 mThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

1 Timothy Illustration

1 Timothy

Greeting

Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby command of cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus dour hope,

To Timothy, emy true child in the faith:

fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not hto teach any different doctrine, nor ito devote themselves to myths and endless jgenealogies, which promote kspeculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love lthat issues from a pure heart and ma good conscience and na sincere faith. Certain persons, by oswerving from these, have wandered away into pvain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Now we know that rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to tsound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with uthe gospel of the glory of vthe blessed God wwith which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

12 I thank him xwho has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, yappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, zpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But aI received mercy bbecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and cthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the dfaith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is etrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus fcame into the world to save sinners, gof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To hthe King of the ages, iimmortal, jinvisible, kthe only God, lbe honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen.

18 This charge mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with nthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may owage the good warfare, 19 pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are rHymenaeus and sAlexander, whom I thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ublaspheme.

Pray for All People

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, vfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and wdignified in every way. This is good, and xit is pleasing in the sight of yGod our Savior, who desires zall people to be saved and ato come to bthe knowledge of the truth. For cthere is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man1 Christ Jesus, dwho gave himself as a ransom for all, which is ethe testimony given fat the proper time. gFor this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (hI am telling the truth, I am not lying), ia teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

I desire then that jin every place the men should pray, klifting lholy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also mthat women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 nbut with what is proper for women who profess godlinesswith good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly owith all submissiveness. 12 pI do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 qFor Adam was formed first, rthen Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but sthe woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through tchildbearingif they continue in ufaith and love and holiness, with self-control.