1Th 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
1Th 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
The quest for power is not of God, ever. We are to esteem those who are over us, who are in a position to admonish us because they have the authority given to them by the wisdom of God. Are we to follow anyone blindly? NO! We are to follow truth and if those who are in a position of authority do not speak according to the truth we aren't to have anything to do with them.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
So, yes, we are to esteem very highly those who are above us, but only in truth. If we do this we will be at peace among ourselves because we know this is the will of God. There is an order to things and to vie for superiority, to seek to be the greatest is NOT in God's plan, not the order He wants for us.
We are exhorted to warn those who are unruly. Warn them, why? Because the unruly cause strife, it's a given. Being unruly is never a good thing. The unruly are not prone to patience, they are not prone to listening, to learning because their unruliness gets in the way. If we warn the unruly we are letting them know the danger they are in by their unruliness.
We are exhorted to comfort the feebleminded. Again this is common sense isn't it? To do anything other than comfort the feebleminded is simply cruel.
We are exhorted to support the weak. To not support the weak is criminal isn't it? Yet we live in a world where bullying is all but epidemic. Attacking the weak is awful! We are to support the weak, always!
We are exhorted to be patient towards… ALL MEN. Again, this world we live in is filled with the impatient. Do people show patience towards ALL men? Hardly. Yet as followers of Christ we must, we have to, we need to beg for the forgiveness of our Savior as we follow in the worldly way of impatience towards others. I can ONLY speak for myself, but my own impatience is awful and something I struggle with. To read these words- 'Be patient toward all men.' - is to read truth. We can't pick and choose who we are to be patient towards, but we are to be patient towards all men.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Amazing words and yet our thirst for vengeance only grows. Does evil need to be punished? Yes. But are we to render evil for evil? No. Because ultimately when we render evil for evil, we are committing the very act of evil only justifying it by saying the other person deserves is for their evil. So, who punishes the evil of the act given in return? I know this is a very touchy subject and people love to bring up this famous verse- Exo 21:24 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand…' Yet, this wasn't about people giving evil for the evil given, but finding a way to make reparation for a wrong. It wasn't mandatory an eye be put out for another eye taken, but restitution had to be offered equal to that eye whatever it was determined. Yet, our SAVIOR came and said this…
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
So what does this do to the old way of an eye for an eye? Was it unjust? Man is corrupt and perverts even what is supposed to be justice. Christ knew this and knows this. It is BETTER for man to turn the other cheek than to seek revenge, because that revenge can corrupt that man who otherwise has the opportunity to reveal a SELFLESS love. Our Savior's love, His sacrifice is the ultimate selfless act. He suffered unbelievably, and completely unjustly. How do we as sinners think we can to otherwise? We who deserve to suffer for our sins, how do we NOT forgive others theirs? God forgives us and we do NOT and CANNOT ever deserve that forgiveness, not ever!
We need to NOT render evil for evil, but follow the good- among each other as Christians and to ALL MEN.
When we are touched by evil, evil so vile we scarcely can comprehend it in any way, we are to still NOT render evil for evil. We MUST forgive. We MUST seek our Savior because ONLY He in us can enable us to be that selfless, that forgiving, that trusting of HIM to truly reward the evil with His wrath in a way nothing we do can accomplish.
By His grace may we be HIS in all this, in all things! Help us LORD! Save us! Love us!
1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
1Th 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
The quest for power is not of God, ever. We are to esteem those who are over us, who are in a position to admonish us because they have the authority given to them by the wisdom of God. Are we to follow anyone blindly? NO! We are to follow truth and if those who are in a position of authority do not speak according to the truth we aren't to have anything to do with them.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
So, yes, we are to esteem very highly those who are above us, but only in truth. If we do this we will be at peace among ourselves because we know this is the will of God. There is an order to things and to vie for superiority, to seek to be the greatest is NOT in God's plan, not the order He wants for us.
We are exhorted to warn those who are unruly. Warn them, why? Because the unruly cause strife, it's a given. Being unruly is never a good thing. The unruly are not prone to patience, they are not prone to listening, to learning because their unruliness gets in the way. If we warn the unruly we are letting them know the danger they are in by their unruliness.
We are exhorted to comfort the feebleminded. Again this is common sense isn't it? To do anything other than comfort the feebleminded is simply cruel.
We are exhorted to support the weak. To not support the weak is criminal isn't it? Yet we live in a world where bullying is all but epidemic. Attacking the weak is awful! We are to support the weak, always!
We are exhorted to be patient towards… ALL MEN. Again, this world we live in is filled with the impatient. Do people show patience towards ALL men? Hardly. Yet as followers of Christ we must, we have to, we need to beg for the forgiveness of our Savior as we follow in the worldly way of impatience towards others. I can ONLY speak for myself, but my own impatience is awful and something I struggle with. To read these words- 'Be patient toward all men.' - is to read truth. We can't pick and choose who we are to be patient towards, but we are to be patient towards all men.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Amazing words and yet our thirst for vengeance only grows. Does evil need to be punished? Yes. But are we to render evil for evil? No. Because ultimately when we render evil for evil, we are committing the very act of evil only justifying it by saying the other person deserves is for their evil. So, who punishes the evil of the act given in return? I know this is a very touchy subject and people love to bring up this famous verse- Exo 21:24 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand…' Yet, this wasn't about people giving evil for the evil given, but finding a way to make reparation for a wrong. It wasn't mandatory an eye be put out for another eye taken, but restitution had to be offered equal to that eye whatever it was determined. Yet, our SAVIOR came and said this…
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
So what does this do to the old way of an eye for an eye? Was it unjust? Man is corrupt and perverts even what is supposed to be justice. Christ knew this and knows this. It is BETTER for man to turn the other cheek than to seek revenge, because that revenge can corrupt that man who otherwise has the opportunity to reveal a SELFLESS love. Our Savior's love, His sacrifice is the ultimate selfless act. He suffered unbelievably, and completely unjustly. How do we as sinners think we can to otherwise? We who deserve to suffer for our sins, how do we NOT forgive others theirs? God forgives us and we do NOT and CANNOT ever deserve that forgiveness, not ever!
We need to NOT render evil for evil, but follow the good- among each other as Christians and to ALL MEN.
When we are touched by evil, evil so vile we scarcely can comprehend it in any way, we are to still NOT render evil for evil. We MUST forgive. We MUST seek our Savior because ONLY He in us can enable us to be that selfless, that forgiving, that trusting of HIM to truly reward the evil with His wrath in a way nothing we do can accomplish.
By His grace may we be HIS in all this, in all things! Help us LORD! Save us! Love us!
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