2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 … There are great truths throughout Scripture and it’s important to internalize them as we come to them. In these few verses, you’ll see the concept of election, which, simply stated, means that God chooses those who will enter His Kingdom. The great truth here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13b is that … God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. The fact is that God has chosen you and the process through which He does that is sanctification by the Spirit and by faith in His Word.

You might be wondering about this business of God choosing or God electing. What if I’m not one of the elect, or if someone I love is not chosen? You can take great comfort from 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” If we choose to ignore God’s gracious call, we do so at our own peril and are without excuse (Romans 1:20). The admonition of this portion of 2 Thessalonians is this: in view of God’s grace toward us, we should stand firm in the faith God has given us and comfort one another in all that we do (2 Thessalonians 2:17). This is a great truth of God’s Word and all should take great comfort in it.