When I was a young girl, back in the 1960’s, one game that was sometimes played by the children during school recess was “Red Rover”. Two teams, each with their teammates holding tightly to each others hands, would face each other. One person from the opposing team would run and try to break through the opposing team’s interlocked hands. Your team would have to stand fast to prevent that from happening. We see the idea of standing fast in American football, where one team tries to knock down the other players in order to get the ball and make it across the field to their goal. The players want to stand firm and not let their opponents pass. Outside of games and sports, I saw that general idea given in the speeches of Winston Churchill to his countrymen during World War II. He urged the people at home to not despair, not give up, but stand fast until victory would come.
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul tells the believers to do the same as they bear up under persecution from the enemy. The Thessalonian believers faced persecution for their faith, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. It had gotten so bad that Paul had to flee the city for his life (Acts 17:1-10). Paul did not want the believers there to despair, and he wrote to encourage them, urging them to stand firm against any opposition. He wrote to remind them that God loved them, and that He knew from the beginning that they would come to salvation (vs. 13). Salvation begins and ends with God. We can do nothing to be saved on our own merit, other than to accept God’s gift of salvation. God’s Holy Spirit sanctifies us, setting us apart for His purpose and use, and through the process of Christian growth, His Holy Spirit makes us like Christ.
God has elected to use us humans to spread the message of salvation to others around the world. If we fail to do our duty, God’s message will not reach as many people. When the Word of God is preached, some will accept its saving message, and others will oppose it. Sometimes the opposition can be strong, as with Paul, who had to frequently flee for his life (vs. 2).
Opposition and persecution can be discouraging for believers as they seek to tell others about salvation through Jesus Christ. We can be tempted to just give up, to keep our mouth closed and say nothing to anyone. We can even be tempted to give up the faith. The temptation to waver from the faith is sometimes strong because of persecution, false teachers, worldliness, or apathy. However, that is like letting go of your teammate’s hand in Red Rover, when you see the opposing team member come running. That is the football player moving over to the sidelines so as to avoid being tackled, and letting the opposing team closer to their goal. Paul tells us not to do that! We are to stand fast and not give up (vs. 15). Hold on to the truth we have been taught.
Our main defense from the enemies of Christ, both in the physical world and the spiritual one, is prayer (vs. 1-3). We need to pray that God will protect us and strengthen us to stand fast for Him. We also need to pray for our Christian leaders and workers who spread His Word. There are so many to reach.
As Winston Churchill said, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.” Stand fast, then, and do not give up the fight!
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