EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

The matters to address in Romans are like this:  Emperor Claudius kicks Jews out of Rome, a couple years later, they come back, and the law keeping-”Jewish” Christians are disputing with the Gentiles in the church.  This happens in two ways.  The Jews are still at it again, they do not want these Gentiles to have anything to do with the Kingdom of God, and the Gentiles think that they are above the Jews, simply because there have been numerous converts to Christianity from the Gentiles side, and they had this idea that they were the chosen Israel now, and Jews weren’t in the Kingdom, because the Jews still observed the law, rituals, and sabbath days.  But, within the 16 chapters, Paul is going to break down everything how they are both wrong, and showing them how they are and were equally both messed up in sin from the beginning, they are both equal in salvation, how they are both equal in security and growth through Jesus Christ, equal and same in God’s plan, and lastly to live as one body, glorifying God.

This phenomenal book shot arrows of needs of change into area of my life.  I mean really, it spoke so true to me, and I just completely saw my flaws in dealing with self-righteousness, pride, why’s about God’s character, frustrations, security in myself rather than God, etc come tumbling down through this book.  I think if I wrote down all my problems, struggles, questions, wants, heartaches, frustrations, and doubts on a piece of paper, then went through the letter of Romans, each one would be leveled down by the firm truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that get to the root of each of these areas of my life, and wreck it for his glory.  Which is exactly what it did.  I came to see how much I thought I wasn’t putting God in a box, but I was.  Who am I to question the invention, to question the inventor.  This idea of “calling” also means so much more than what I always thought it meant.  It means that God miraculously reached into my life, and by his power flipped it upside down, his choice, indeed.  He chose me to walk a life with him, and so often I take advantage of having the gift of eternal life with Him.  There has been ground-breaking perspective I have gotten for my life through Romans.  It would take me all day to write about it.  I would love to talk more about it though if you would like to know more how it impacted my life so very much.

Lastly, this book has made me see my life through Paul’s eyes, if he was writing me a letter.  I decided to do just that for part of handing in this book as my final application.  If Paul knew everything about you, what would he write to you to change, what would he tell you to correct about your life?  What areas would he tell you that you have strayed from your firm identity of defeated sin through Jesus?  There is so much in this books.

Read it sometime. thanks guys.

             Paul writes this letter to the church in Rome primarily to tell the Jews and Gentiles within the church to stop judging and despising each other over their different cultural expressions of faith. He encourages them to welcome, fully accept, and love one another. In his presentation of why they should do this, Paul gets into a meaty theological discussion that has intense implications. In the midst of this, questions are raised as to a person’s ability to choose God or not, God’s justice in choosing the “elect”, and a person’s ability to reject God once they have “tasted” his goodness. I’ve realized there are two approaches one can take in asking these questions. We can demand answers and write God off when he does not line up with our version and understanding of justice – or, we can approach the text with the presuppositions that God is the good guy (as he has proven himself throughout humanity’s history and in our own lives), that his system of justice might be different from ours and we have to let him speak – letting go of the word “fair”, and that we have to be open-minded – that we might need to change what we think when we are confronted with what God says or says he will do.

            Choosing the latter of the two, I meekly went into the text, hoping not to get my feathers ruffled too much by what Paul wrote and the ramifications of it. It is amazing what God does when we are willing to be open-minded. Through this book, I was able to piece a few more details of truth concerning these questions; however, more questions arose from those – revealing the balanced tension of predestination and freewill.

            Interestingly, what I’ve walked away with from this book is not a neatly packaged understanding of systematic theology. What God has given me is an unbelievable peace knowing he is good and he is just. Using Paul’s analogy of clay and the potter, I realize that I was a damaged, spoiled piece of clay. God, the potter, intervened in my life, like he has in humanity’s, and chose to make me into something beautiful. He chose to mold me into a person through whom he can display his creative, wonderful power and mercy. My only response can be gratitude. And if he is willing to enter into my mess of a world and bring me to life, how much more can I trust him to be merciful and just with everyone else? I don’t understand how everything fits together, but I’ve realized I’m thankful I don’t. How much mystery and beauty would be lacking if we could? And in that, how wonderful and vast is the Maker who intervenes and fights on behalf of humanity? 

        Romans was by far the most loaded book I have studied!  After four days of class spent exploring the depths of the wisdom of the book, I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface.  You can image how overwhelming that is!  The entire book of Romans involves Paul making great strides to bring both the Jews and Gentiles to the understanding that since the beginning of time God intended them both to be his children.  This was no simple concept for them to take in, for the Jews were still clinging to their heritage and their contrived belief that they were the only chosen ones to enter the kingdom and the Gentiles were clinging to their pagan ways.  Both groups were missing the big picture and Paul was trying to bring them together in unity under Christ.  Paul was calling them to revamp a belief system that they had been clinging to for hundreds of years so you can image their anger, frustration and mixed feelings.    The cool thing about Romans is that Paul addresses all the questions he assumes these groups would have in response to what he is asking of them, and the answering of each question brings more and more clarity to how God really did intend for his children to be both Jew and Greek from the beginning.

            If I could chose one of the hundreds of applications I can make on my own life from this book, it would be that of the potter and clay.  This analogy appears a handful of times in the OT and therefore is not an uncommon illustration to the Jews and the Greeks.  Even though I am not really as familiar with the technicalities of the art of pottery, I can understand the parallel that is being drawn, and it is so amazing and yet so convicting.  We are the clay and God is the potter, but we are not just any clay, we are spoiled clay, clay that is ugly and useless.  But God, in all his power and craftmanship, is still able to make new and beautiful this ugly and useless clay.  In Romans Paul asks, “ But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, ‘why have you made me like this?’”  I can think of numberous times and numberous areas of my life that I question God, “God why do I look this certain way,” or “God, why do you have me doing this instead of that?”  Who am I to question God? Who am I to criticize what God has made.  When we question and criticize ourselves, we are inadvertently and yet indirectly criticizing God.  If we were put on this earth to be made in God’s likeness and to represent God, how can we say we are properly representing him if infront of others when we put ourselves down or question ourselves or “God’s clay”.  I am fully convinced that God knows what he is doing more than anyone else, so instead of questioning him, I should praise him for creating me the way I am to do the things I do, so that others can follow suit and we all can glorify God more with our lives.

 

 

 

Throughout the book of Romans, there are controversial topics that I have had to wrestle through; issues like predestination, calling, elect, etc. Even though I have gone through this whole book, I am still amazed at the fact that I do not have a clear and concise answer to these questions. I have pulled out many wonderful timeless truths, supporting the fact that God desires EVERYONE to be saved, and that this plan was never just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. I learned that God had always planned for the “children of the promise” or “children of God”, to be anyone who has faith in his Son, Jesus. The Jews never recognized this fact, and that is why Paul goes through so much Old Testament scripture to painstakingly show them that it is NOT just Israel that God wants for his children, but he desires everyone to be his children, as long as they believe in his name.

Therefore, even though some of this book brought up hard questions, I have come to the conclusion that God does desire the whole world to be saved. He will not force salvation and faith upon anyone, and thus, there is a definite and just punishment that will be poured out upon those who do not believe. But too, there is mercy for those who do believe.

Thus, I have come to the conclusion that I can only partly wrap my mind around these issues; no one will ever be able to fully understand God’s ways, because he is so much more infinite and wise than we are. I can rest in the fact that even though I do not know everything there is to know about God, I can still trust him.

One of my good friends pointed out that it is so much better to realize that we do not fully understand God, because if we did, then we would be on the same level as God. God’s ways would be human ways that we could understand, predict, and fully grasp; there would be no majesty to his mystery.

Therefore, I am happy to realize that, yes, God does offer salvation to everyone, but I may never understand in what way he “calls, chooses, or draws” people to himself. I DO know that God is great, and I fully trust him that his ways are much higher than my finite mind can limit him. Therefore, no matter what the debates are that rage about how people get saved, I will continually abide in his love that he has for the whole world, and rejoice in the fact that he IS so much bigger than the human intellect! For the mystery of God is part of what makes him so majestic!

This book of Colossians is something that is so far beyond imagination. I say that because that is what I think of when I have come up with these timeless truths. The book is centered on how Jesus is supreme over all, created all, and is over everything. 1:16 That is something I don’t think any of our earthly minds can fathom, and will not be able to comprehend until we meet Jesus face to face.

I find it interesting how all these books we go through all display an area of misrepresentation of the character and nature of Jesus. This one, being focused on who Jesus is for the Colossian people. They have come to believe in this false doctrine that deals with looking at Jesus as inferior because he suffered. For that matter, you can probably see how that would affect their life. They essentially also believed that angels who mediate between God and man were to be feared by, literally feared by. It turned into them thinking firmly that they had to please angels, essentially to gain God’s acceptance. You can see how its not straight Judaism trends of legalism from the law, but it is a mix of Gnosticism, mystery religions, along with Judaistic beliefs. Somehow, what end up happening, was Christians not thinking that Jesus was superior to anything, but inferior to everything. This also developed into a “spiritual elitism” (self righteousness) to gain the angels approval, and they tapping into something that no other Christian could.

Paul writes to them showing them, and laying out all creation, and who Christ is to them, by just belief in him. There is no spiritual elite, or pleasing angels. With Jesus life, death, and resurrection, he became superior to all, and over all spirits, angels, fake gods. Also, what Jesus brought was a common level spirituality. There is no one that is better spiritually that can understand the things of God better. Paul writes to the church and refutes all this bad doctrine.

The thing I want to tell you mostly what I got out of this book was the fact that Jesus is supreme to all. I want to come back to this point and apply it to our society. Since Jesus is supreme to all, and in all, through all, and created all, what do we have to worry about? For me, the biggest thing that was brought up in my mind with this election season hot and heavy is politics. We have this fear that if McCain, or Obama, or whoever it may be becomes to be in power it is the end of the world, and we’re all doomed. I know this is such a cliché and said over and over again in the Christian world, but then we see Christians squirming in their seats in a state of fear if Obama (Obamaination) gets put into office. I don’t want to get into all the ways of who to vote for, or not to vote for. But, as my pastor says all the time, if Jesus is Lord of our lives, then he is Lord over ALL!

These are serious truths that we need to apply to our lives. I mean seriously. If we can trust God with transforming the heart of a loved one to Jesus, can’t we trust him for control of this election, and have peace with whoever is our next president. The reason these fears come up, along with doubts, and instabilities in trusting God, is because we look too much at our earthly state, rather than fixing our eyes eternally, and resting in the fact that we belong to a different kingdom. I am not meaning for this to be a cop out for not caring to act in fixing injustices in the world either. I am very passionate, and my dream is for God to use me to impact the injustices, and bring empty spirits to Christ. But, what I am saying is that rest in the knowledge that Christ is superior to everything.I would like to recommend this book called Jesus for President, by Shane Claiborne.

Colossians, like all of Paul’s letters I have read thus far, is packed with amazing truth and encouragement.  The major theme of Colossians is Christ is over everything and Paul exemplifies this in saying Christ is the firstborn of creation having all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, being created through him and for him (Colossians 1:15&16).  What is so great about Christ being over everything is that we can live with peace and patience, knowing that no matter what happens to us now, we have hope in eternity through Christ’s blood on the cross.  In all my years of schooling I have come to discover I get stressed out easily and most of the time over silly stuff.  For me this truth brings great comfort to my spirit knowing that I can overcome this anxiety and stress simply by keeping an eternal perspective and understanding that nothing is bigger than Christ. 

            In considering how this plays out in society, I would connect this thought to my blog about Mark.  Knowing Christ is above everything should give us no fear in anything that is going on in this life: not war, not elections, not a weak economy, but should give us hope as believers that Christ has paid the fee, bought the ticket into eternity, so all we have to do is to take our seat on the ride.  This is not saying we should sit back and let ourselves be bushwhacked and think there is nothing we can do about it, but rather, we should fight in good faith through it all, knowing that no matter if we win or lose, the the prize of eternity is still guaranteed to us because we believe! Anyone want a free ticket?

          How often do Christians have a defeated mindset, that we cannot choose godliness and overcome an addiction or habitual sin? It is so simple, yet while studying Colossians I began to understand some of the ramifications of Christ in us. Paul declares to the church that Jesus is supreme, combating the false teachings that angels and other spiritual beings have this power over believers. They were still living as though they were not perfectly loved and accepted. They were punishing themselves and following strict laws in order to prove themselves to God and others of their righteousness (hmm.. legalism today?). Paul explains to them Christ’s ultimately divine identity and the implications of God dwelling in people.

He tells the church in Colossae that Christ is literally their life – echoing a similar statement he said to the Galatians “It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me!” It got me thinking, are all Christians just a bunch of little Jesus’ running around? Thus, “Christians”? How cool would that be if he really was still walking all over this world, loving and serving people? Oh wait, that’s who we are!

            Christ dwells in Christians in the form of his Spirit. I am no longer “Madison” and my sinful nature and tendencies no longer have control over me. They are dead. The only reason I sin is because I choose to. I have the power to never sin again because Christ is in me. I do not have to be enslaved to habitual sin, with a defeated mindset. No, I can live a godly life because my life is actually Christ in me and he is all supreme and powerful. How often do I really believe that? I do not give the Lord in me credit for what he wants to do. He wants me to live godly, and to live as him to the world – loving and serving radically.  

            How different would I live if I really believed I was no longer a slave to myself and to sin? If we are believers, we have been freed from our sin – and now, we can simply choose to live in the way that is already alive in us. 

Paul wrote the letter of Colossians to the church in Colossae because they were living their lives according to human rules and traditions. He emphasized the truth that Christ is the head of the church, and therefore, he should be their ultimate identity and sufficiency for their lives, and not some human commands or teachings about life.

One thing that stood out to me in the book of Colossians was Paul’s command, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17). As I think about this, the basic truth comes to mind, that as Christians we should live our lives for God’s glory, and according to his will, and not our own. Therefore, everything in our lives can be done for the glory of God, when it is done according to his will, or in his name. Even mundane things that we view as unimportant, can bring glory to God, if they are according to his will.

However, on the flip side of all this, I realized another interesting fact. There are some things that people may do, that are not done in God’s will or according to his name. He still allows these things to happen, even though they do nothing for his glory, but rather, glorify another person or deity. Now this may seem trivial at first, but consider the implications. If there are things that God allows to happen, that are not his will, then what might those things be? What about things like sickness, sin, or even death? Does it mean that sometimes God does not want these things to happen, yet still allows them to?

We usually accuse God for allowing these things to happen, as if it were his doing, however, maybe God is just as hurt and saddened by these events as we are. He could stop them because he is in full control, yet he doesn’t. He instead, allows some things to happen that do not bring him glory, or that are not done according to his will.

This should lead us to marvel at the character of God, who is so omnipotent, yet so unwilling to take away our free will to choose him or not. He will not force himself upon anyone, and if we choose to do things that will glorify ourselves, he sometimes allows it.

We can be comforted in the fact that God does have everything in his control, and knows already what will happen. Therefore, we do not have to worry about anything. Yet at the same time, we should be careful not to jump to accuse God every time something bad happens in life. Just because God allowed it to happen, does not mean that he caused it to happen or even that he will take it away.

This leaves me with a lot to ponder…..

The letter of 1 Thess is this really beautiful display of affection from Paul to young believers in Thessalonica. What stands out to me in this letter is his heart for discipleship, the way he puts his whole heart into those he is leading and his primary concern for them is their faith, not necessarily that they are safe and comfortable physically but their faith. Which is significant in light of the fact that these young believers are in fact experiencing some real persecution. ANother thing you don’t want to miss is the fact that hope in the second coming is directly connected with lifestyle. These are new Believers that Paul is addressing, his heart for them is to stand firm in their faith, to abound in love for one another and for all, and a motivation for living this way is the hope of Christ’s return! Hope in his return should effect how we live!

I wanted to make sure I at least touche on the main idea of the book before I wrote the rest. A major lifestyle issue that Paul is addressing in 1Thess is their sex ethic. They are young believers who are living in the midst of a highly sexed culture. They are surrounded by it and it is very much an accepted part of their culture, much like our today. So I thought I would post my lecture notes on this particular subject for those of you that have questions on what a Christian sex ethic should like? Does the Bible really have anything to say to this, does the Bible really indicate that its wrong to go too far sexually? If these questions interest you feel free to read my notes and get a taste of the teaching the students got on this:

Lifestyle: Sex ethic

Historical Background:
Dionysius is a prevalent cult in Thessalonica
Sex was a part of cultic worship
Sex outside of marriage was not frowned upon, rather expected
Expected that men would have sex with prostitutes, female slaves, mistresses. “ Mistresses we keep for our pleasure, concubines for our day-to-day physical well-being, and wives to bear us legitimate children and to serve as trustworthy guardians over our households.” Demonsthenes 384-322 BC
Dualism- Body is bad, Spirit is good

Examine:
They know the instructions given them
This is the will of God, their sanctification

Meaning? God’s grace working in them to make them more like Jesus.
Imply? You want to know God;s will for your life? Don’t sin. Don’t sleep with your boyfriend or girlfriend, become more like Jesus. These are not just suggestions for how to live a better life, this is God’s will

Abstain from fornication

Meaning? Any sexual sin (Spiros Zodhiates)
Imply? Adultery, temple prostitution, drunken orgies, Dionyses festivals, etc
Today? Adultery, pornography, lust, making out, sex before marriage, these are sexual sins and this is what the Bible is speaking against!

Know how to control your own body in holiness and honor not with lustful passion like the Gentiles that don’t know God.

Imply? Practice self-control as opposed to self-indulgence. You don’t have to let lustful passion control you, though that may have been how used to live, how everyone else around you is living, it may be celebrated in your culture, it may seem harmless but its not. Control your own body!
OR? Probably still struggling in this area, obviously this is a hard thing to walk away from especially if its all you know, and you have lived in indulgence most of your life and have not seen the need to practice restraint. But that doesn’t make it OK and Paul is telling them it needs to stop, and this is not just a suggestion this is being spoken on God’s authority, this is his will for them!

Don’t wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, the Lord is an avenger in all these things

Imply? He is still talking about their sex ethic here, don’t wrong another brother or sister, don’t take advantage of them sexually, don’t exploit their innocence or their weakness, help each other out, this is what it means to abound in love for one another and for all!
Imply? God cares about this and will bring his justice to this. I think we could go as far as to say he hates seeing his children taken advantage of, exploited, defrauded sexually, and especially by another believer, absolutely unacceptable!

TT: This is not OK to wrong or exploit another brother or sister sexually, God cares about it, this is not acceptable!
SA: Man I can get so passionate about this! This kind of behavior is absolutely not acceptable among Christians! And the reason I get so fired up about it is because it is happening all the time amongst Christians, and for the most part we don’t think its that big of a deal because everyone is doing it and lets be realistic can purity even be achieved? So what does it hurt if we make out a little, bit, if I flirt and lead someone on a little bit, if I get my needs met, I mean we didn’t have sex. NOT OK!!!! So what do I mean specifically by all this? We know that adultery and sex before marriage is not OK, we’ve pretty much all subscribed to that and are willing to stand up for that. But I’m talking about so much more that that. I’m saying its not OK to get yourselves turned on and make out, and assume God understands. Its not OK to try to turn a guy on just to make yourself feel sexy and powerful. Its not OK put yourself in situations where you know you’re going to get turned on and go too far! Its not OK to indulge in lustful passions. It’s not OK to look at pornography, that is definitely exploiting another person, and we are called to a much higher standard that that in Christianity. Why? For Christ’s sake. This is the will of God, our sanctification! I am not saying these things on my own authority, but on God’s authority!

They have been told this already and solemnly warned that God did not call them to impurity but to holiness

Imply? Paul is not telling them anything new, they know this already, and Paul didn’t tell them this lightly, he solemnly warned them. This is what God has called them to, to holiness!
Whoever rejects this, isn’t rejecting human authority but God’s, who gives the Holy Spirit
Imply? This isn’t merely suggestions or Paul’s personal soapbox, he is saying this on God’s authority!
The sin is only seen in its true light when it is seen as a preference for impurity rather than the Spirit who is Holy. “ANyone who carries on an act of impurity is not simply breaking a human code…He is sinning against the GOd who is present at that moment, against the One who continually gives the Spirit. The impure act is an act of despite against God’s good gift at the very moment it is being proffered” (The New International Commentary on the NT. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. Pg 126-127)
Proffered- to hold out something for acceptance.

My heart: My heart behind this is not to condemn, not to make you feel guilty for past mistakes, we all know that has been taken care of in the blood of Christ, there is no condemnation, my heart behind this is to solemnly warn you about you behave in the future. And to see that just like Paul I’m not saying this on my own authority, I’m saying this on God’s authority. You want to know God’s will for your life? It’s your sanctification. Well what does that really mean anyways? It at least means this, don’t sin sexually. God takes this seriously, it’s my heart that you would do the same. I realize that it is hard being single, I realize that it is hard to navigate through dating, how to walk that line between living in legalism and condemnation and abusing your freedom, I know this. But I want to get your attention. Girls: Hold on to your standard of integrity and purity, speak up if a guy you like is pushing the line, if he continues to push the line after having a serious talk about boundaries, I would say his character is questionable. In dating relationships, establish boundaries right away, and work together to maintain those. Guys: Control your own body with holiness and honor, not with lustful passions. Same goes for you, establish your boundaries early, get accountability, if you catch yourself trying to push beyond the established boundary, confess and stop it! This is not OK, that is exploiting your sister. I think it is just as hard for guys to stand up for their boundaries because girls push it and then laugh or giggle or taunt if they get uncomfortable, question that girls character, don’t put up with that. We are called to a higher standard as Christians, and just because a lot of Christians have lowered their standards doesn’t mean the standard has changed, we are to abstain from fornication, control our bodies with holiness and honor and not exploit our brothers and sisters!

I thought going into the book of 2 Thessalonians, was going to be exactly like 1 Thessalonians. And to tell you the truth, the beauty of this school lets me see how vastly different they really are. If I wasn’t in this school, I do not think I would notice the stark difference between them.

It constantly shocks me over and over again how Paul sets these churches up, and time and time again, they go so far from the truth that he set up. How does that happen? In what specific instance did their minds and hearts falsify into discrediting the Gospel that Paul delivered to them? I always understand how these churches end up like this, because the Gospel is simply something that goes against out natural, human way of thinking. We want to feel justified by our actions, our plans, and want to have the power of controlling our own life and own destiny. But, all along God wants us to rest in the Gospel that he set up for us.

What I mean is that Paul is writing this letter to tell them that they have a wrong idea of Jesus coming back, and have let false doctrine infiltrate their minds to think that the day of the Lord is upon them, when it isn’t. Paul once again rebukes that doctrine by telling them that they are to know that the day of the Lord will not be seen my them, until the rebellion, which we as students have yet to learn about. Overall, what he is saying is he wants them to come back to realizing that this is false what they are thinking. The ways it was hurting their church was because they thought the day of the Lord was upon them, they were careless in their everyday life activities, and responsibilities. Like working, for example. They thought it deem necessary to not work, because who cares anyways Jesus is coming back any day. Well. Paul takes that false mindset and kicks it back to where it came from. He brings them back to the basics of remembering how Paul sets this church up and was an example to them by working for what they ate, etc. Paul wants them to come back to basics of realizing that Jesus takes pride in how we as Christians take pride in work.

More often than not, I know myself and other Christians have this idea that if we get too concerned about working, that we are violating God. There is a certain element of truth to that. But, it is not absolute. This book has showed me how much our idea of the 2nd coming should not result in thinking fearful, unless you are not a Christian, and not result in laziness in your work ethic. Seriously, take a minute to think how many Christians think that work is not important, or are on the edge of their seat, trembling at the idea when Christ will return, resulting in apathy in working, relationships, etc. This is the message of 2nd Thessalonians: Endure through persecution because of the eternal, perfect life we will one day encounter, and have forever. (1:7) That is something to lay your head upon at night, isn’t it? As Christians, we are saints, and we are chosen by God for inheritance in his kingdom. When you strap that onto your every day mindset, it will drastically change your work ethic, personality, tension level, relationships, etc. It will produce a freedom, and security to rest in your relationship with Christ.

The book of 2 Thessalonians reminds me of the story of Chicken Little. In the story as you probably know, Chicken Little has an acorn fall on his head and he thinks the sky is falling so he goes to tell the king and he spreads the word to others along the way. The others begin to freak out, drop what they are doing and go with Chicken Little to tell the king. When they make it to the king he finds the acorn that fell on Chicken Little’s perched on his head and he tells the little chick that he was deceived. For the church in Thessalonica it was a similar issue, there had been a letter to them written by someone claiming to be Paul telling the Christians that the day of the Lord was present and it sent the Thessalonians into all kinds of confusion. The Thessalonians assuming that the Lord would be coming at any day decided that they would stop working and just prepare for His coming. When Paul heard this he wrote to them reminding them of the truth he told them and telling them that the letter was false and they had nothing to be afraid of. He then tells them that they need to continue in their work and to live worthy of their calling in Christ, not to lay around and use the excuse of Christ’s coming as a way to get out of their duties.
The major theme of 2 Thessalonians was living steadfast with an eternal perspective. Paul uses this theme by recognizing that being aware of the Lord’s 2nd coming is ok, but stopping your work to wait for it is not. For me the main application point I got out of it was that we should have no fear or anxiety in our life if we are keeping in line with the truth. I think that paints a beautiful portrait of Christ’s character for me-his compassion for his children and his desire to keep them at peace and hopeful in all situations. I can think of so many instances in my life where I have lost sight of the truth and caused myself a lot more pain and suffering than I would have had, had I kept my eyes on Christ. So be encouraged those of you who are reading this, there is nothing to big for you to tackle with Christ on your side, and even in the midst of tackling it, Christ will bring you comfort!

            Similar to Paul’s 1^st letter to the Thessalonians, he is correcting their view of the end of times. The Thessalonians believed they were already in the end times and it was causing extreme anxiety. Throughout the letter, Paul maintains that their view of eternity and Christ’s return should bring rest and peace, not anxiety and fear.

            It is interesting to see how much Paul’s hope in eternity drives and sustains him throughout his life. It is the lens through which he filters everything and understands everything. For us, it is so easy to get caught up in the yesterday and today. We view this life and our problems as if this is all we have and will ever have. Paul, who was beaten and imprisoned, understood that this life is temporary, showing us we should live in the same way. Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the injustice in the world and the brokenness I see in loved ones’ lives; however, I do not have to be. Our circumstances are temporary and they should draw us to a place of awareness to the brevity of life. We have been promised the hope of eternity, forever to live in the presence of our maker. Our God is just and one day every injustice will be made right. That truth should put our souls to rest! One day, all things will be made new, all things will be restored, and justice will prevail.

            Ironically, isn’t that the hope that Americans are looking for as the presidential elections approach? Obama’s campaign and America’s cry for “change” affirm our innate hope for something greater than ourselves, for things to be made right, for justice to reign. Paul argues that this hope is found in Jesus Christ alone and it is in his promise to redeem and restore that all things will be made right.

            Jesus Christ will one day draw us to himself and vindicate justice. Until that day, we need to continually look to our Heavenly Father’s promise of change and hope – living in the rest that truth gives.

The letter of 2 Thessalonians has changed my perspective on life and what I have always assumed I am, or will be. God challenged me to reexamine what my beliefs about him are. He challenged me because, there have been many different careers that I have thought God might want me to do, but I was never really sure.

In 2 Thessalonians God showed me that it is not at all the physical career he designs for me, but the living of my entire life for his glory that he has “called” me to do. This is what I am to be. I am not to be a career, or a single job occupation for my life. What I am to be is not a teacher, a missionary, an orphanage worker, etc. What I am to be is my entire life, spent living for Jesus, to know him, love him, and ultimately, to bring glory to him. That is my “calling”. That is what I am to be. It doesn’t matter as much how this is lived out, whether as a factory worker, actress, garbage collector, doctor, etc. It is the life along the way that matters.

Thus, I see how confused I was, because I was looking at specific occupations as the sole way of living for God, when really he is calling me to a higher, more encompassing purpose of living all the time for him. Not just at work, but all throughout the day and into the night, in every conversation I have with people, to love him, know him and bring glory to him all the time and not just in one job.

Thus, I am free to do many things like travel, be a teacher, go to Bible school, live overseas, etc. Because ultimately it is the journey along the way when God captures our hearts and changes us to bring him glory, that truly matters. And that is our “calling”.

Eileen asked some ESBS alumni to write a little about where we are now after having done the school and it made me realize people who read these blogs may want to hear of ones testimony post-ESBS. Perhaps it will even encourage you current ESBSers to continue your charting as the workload progresses and you may wonder how its possible to finish all of it at times. This message is for you. You can do it! The things you are sowing now will be reaped guaranteed! This is what I wrote:

I am still processing the SBS I did this past year and I think thats a good thing. I definitely know the things I am going through right now, good and hard yet very necessary things, are a direct result of what going through God’s word does to a person. It has turned my world upside down in the best way possible where God has loosened this tight grip I had on my life where I tried to have so much control over myself. I am now experiencing the effects on my life of how solid of a foundation SBS gives a person. I have never in my life been so confident in something, and this confidence is the gospel, the finished work of Christ Jesus, everything that brings life and meaning to life.

I am being challenged in so many ways right now and still experiencing so much freedom post-SBS. I am back in secular college again and decided to take some courses to be challenged after studying the Bible so I’m taking World Religions and Intro the Old Testament. Sometimes I wonder why I did this because it just makes me so frustrated but at the same time, as they are teaching things so opposite to what the Bible really is saying, it only more establishes everything that has been grounded this year and actually does more affirming of the word of God in my heart. I don’t know what is next for me after schooling is done but I am still learning to trust God with my life and understand he is in control, knowing perfectly well where I will be.

This year I have learned how God persues and am still seeing that. He knows what I need when I don’t want to admit I need it and chases after me until I realize it. He wants to heal our broken hearts and fix what needs to be mended. We don’t even realize the severity of depravity when we become so numb to it in our own lives but God persues us because it is his nature to redeem and sanctify! As more of my mess has been revealed to me and brought me to a broken state, the more God triumphs over my weaknesses, allowing so much unresolved hurt to be healed that I never could have done without his guidance and direction. He breaks us and reveals to us our messes with the purpose in mind to make us new so we are no longer oppressed by them because he is the great liberator! God has also blessed me in so many ways and has surrounded me with a great community of people, giving me so much gratitude in my heart for his goodness. God has gone beyond any expectation I could conjure up.

I love you!

-Caroline Belk (ESBS 2007-2008)

I didn’t really know what this book first book of Thessalonians was going to teach me the most. Now looking over all the firm timeless truths, I can see that this book has such a different feel to it, and is really a small book, but it chock full of some basic theology for the every day Christian life.

I love how Paul is so passionate about this church in the beginning, and is so very encouraging, and he just lifts their spirits. Paul is so positive in the beginning, and is pretty much throughout the rest of the book, but he gives light to one huge aspect of society that the Thessalonian church is dealing with, and that is sexuality. Learning the historical background of this culure is crucial to understand fully the messages between these lines. Thessalonica worshipped this Greek god called Dionysus, and ones that worshipped him believed that no sexual act is wrong, because they believed in this idea of “dualism” which was basically like your body and your spirit are not intertwined, and they don’t affect each other. Paul addresses this issue of fornication, and tells them clearly that they should abstain from any type of it.

Now that word is shocking, but after reading this book, and seeing exactly what Paul was trying to get through to the Thessalonians, was that they have become Christians, and just because their culture is still doing crazy, absurd acts of sexual worship, that should not affect them. I think this is vital for today because it made the students here, and I get a perspective on how this is very similar to our society. We, in the U.S. are not far from the acts of fornication that the city of Thessalonica were committing. I believe it very true, that Christians have lowered our standard of sexuality, to better fit in with the culture, slowly by slowly swerving, and justifying around the truths that the Bible is below the culture.

This book showed me the ways I have lowered my sexual standards below the bible in the past, and to come back to the truth that it is not right at all. I admire my teacher that taught this lecture, how passionate she is about now stooping down to recklessly abandoning our faith to better fit “the norm” that society, and other Christians are telling us.

This book has taught me to prepare for a life, where God will keep me far from swaying in and falling into the easy way of living a un-holy sexual lifestyle. It sounds harsh, and very blunt. But these things do need addressed, because they are so necessary for Christians, and our society to hear, because frankly it is getting worse and worse. Lastly, I love how Paul says this “For God did not call us into impurity, but holiness”