The church in Thessalonica was started by Paul and Silas on Paul's second Missionary journey. We read about this in the Book of Acts, chapter 17:1-10. After t hey had been put in prison in Phillipi and then let go, they went on to Thessal...more
Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians was written soon after the first one to encourage the
believers there who were undergoing persecution. It was also written as a warning to them not to
become so preoccupied with looking for the Lord Jesus to come again that they neglected to do their
daily work.
Some of the Thessalonians had actually stopped working altogether saying, Since the Day
of the Lord is already here, why should we bother to earn our living any more? Paul said this was
dishonoring to God. It was not only a bad testimony but also harmful to the believers themselves.
Paul had written in his first letter that it was not possible to say when the Day of the Lord would
come but some had been teaching the Thessalonians that the Day of the Lord had already come.
So, Paul begins this second letter by thanking God for their faith, love and hope in the face of
persecution. He then warns them that they should not be idle, but busy in working. In fact, he said,
if a man would not work, let him not eat ! A good admonition to Christians even today.
Timothy was a young man who had been led to the Lord by Paul. He became Paul's companion in the work
of the Lord. Paul often sent him with messages to other churches so we know that he was willing to
be used of the Lord in any way he could.
After Paul was let out of prison, he came to Ephesus and discovered that some of the believers were
listening to false teachers and even being deceived by them. So, Paul asked Timothy to stay in
Ephesus while he went on to Macedonia. He told Timothy to warn the believers against these false
teachings.
Paul also gave Timothy some advice on how to handle church matters. This advice is still helpful to pastors and elders today.
Paul's second letter to Timothy was written when Paul was in prison in Rome for the second time.
He had been arrested again and was being tried. The Emperor of Rome, Nero, had started a fire in the
city and falsely accused the Christians of having started the fire so that many of them had been
killed and treated cruelly. Paul was arrested as one of the leaders of the Christians.
When Paul wrote this letter, many of the Christians were afraid to act as his friends and had
forsaken him. Paul was concerned that Timothy might also be afraid and would stop preaching the
Gospel. Also, Paul knew that some men where still trying to teach things that were not the true
Gospel and he wanted to warn Timothy against these false teachings. This is the last letter that
Paul wrote before he was killed.
Titus was one of Paul's young converts who helped him with the work of the Lord. Paul calls him,
my own son, so we know that Paul considered Titus very special to him in helping to spread the
Good News of Jesus Christ.
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BEGIN YOUR LESSONS.