Standing Firm in our Identity (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15)

All right, so today's a bit of a, I'm kind, I need to kind of

thread the needle here like I got I'm I'm toeing the line as

best as I can. I think it's, it's a very

difficult time to be a Christian lately.

I think we have Christians on both ends of our political

spectrum that think one side is wrong and this side is right.

And I think we have a lot of brothers and sisters here that

are afraid to bring these topics up for fear that we become

divided because we see that's what's happening to our nation.

Overall, there seems to be a lot of confusion today about what

Christians stand for, what side they're meant to be on, what

values were meant to have. And our passage today, I think,

gives us a lot of insight into that the church in Thessalonica

was dealing with. They were fighting to stand firm

in their faith in a context that was confusing.

You see, I think most of us would look at the Thessalonian

church and see the Thessalonian culture as well.

They're idolatrous and they're they're wrong because of that.

And while that is true, they did worship other gods, there is a

conflict that the Thesalonians are facing.

You see, the Thessalonians saw their worship of other gods as

appeasing them to avoid tragedies and problems their

town would face. So it was almost with this heart

of community service. You do these things, you follow

these things that are not only part of your culture, but it's a

service to your town and to your people.

And Christians would refuse. So when bad things happen in

their town, this fishing boat sank or this drought hits their

crops, Christians are dealing with this cultural expectation

and this bitterness that's building up in their town.

Thessalonians are saying Christians are being selfish.

They're the problem with our society.

They're not peace loving. They're not good functioning

members of our society. They're problems.

And you can imagine the moral conflict that this and confusion

this would cause to Christians. They have to wrestle with this.

And I think Christians today are wrestling a lot with our society

at the moment. We have a leader that seems to

push Christian agendas but does so in a way that doesn't appear

Christ like. And then we have an opposing

party that's long held disdain for Christian values.

And we have our faith taking center stage in a way we never

imagined. And we're not sure if we should

be proud or embarrassed. We're not sure if we should

speak out or stand in support. We're not sure if we're actually

seeing our faith at work and God working or if we're seeing

Christ misrepresented. So I think now more than ever in

a time like this, it is very important for us to establish

who are we? What are we supposed to be

doing? So that's my question for today.

What does a church sure of its identity look like?

And my first point is going to be it's a church that isn't

moved by the world but stands firm.

It's a church that isn't moved by the world that stands firm.

Let's go to verses 13 to 15. Second Thessalonians, chapter 2,

2 Thessalonians 2:13–15

verse 13 to 15. So it reads.

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,

loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you

for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and

through belief in the truth. He called you to this through

our gospel so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord

Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters,

stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught,

whether by what we said or what we wrote.

OK, so Paul is getting, I want to and I want to focus on verse

15, the beginning of verse 15. Paul is getting at standing

firm. He tells the church in their

time of persecution, remember the teachings of Jesus.

And I know most of what I talked about earlier was about moral

conflict in politics, but I think this idea of identity

spans so much more in our society today.

We make our whole identity a political party, a sexual

orientation, a race, a gender. We pour our identity into how

righteous we are or how active we are in social justice.

We pour our identity into work, how much we make, how high of a

position we hold, what kind of home we live in with the kinds

of vacations we take, the kind of people we you know, we put

our identity in physical appearance, how fashionable we

look, how attractive we are, how fit we can be.

Whatever trend, whatever current event, whatever most relevant

thing comes up, our culture and society, this dictates when,

where and what we should be focusing on.

And rather than stand firm, Christians are tempted to be

pushed and pulled in whatever direction society dictates.

One of the most in my face experiences I had with this was

when we were visiting one of the orphanages our church sponsors

and I was talking with our missionary about how what's

what's going on in Myanmar is, is crazy.

It is the longest ongoing civil conflict, civil war conflict

like it, it's been going on for 8:00, almost 8 decades.

And I asked him why I've never heard of this.

Why have I never heard of what's going on here?

This conflict is is like twice older than I am.

And the cynical response was because people only care about

Syria right now. Those are the cool refugees.

And even now, as I say this, who's even talking about Syria

anymore? Like compassion is

commercialized. Empathy for people suffering

isn't based on someone's well-being.

It's whether or not it's trending and we can talk about

it today, but the next moment it's old news and we move on

because the public gets tired of hearing about it or they move on

to some new trend. Give it enough time, people will

move on. Expectations shift and values

change, and this is what I'm getting at with placing our

identity in the societal expectations.

The problem with all of these is that none of these are a firm

foundation to build your life on.

They will fluctuate, they will change, they will pivot or do

complete one 80s in another direction.

If you put your identity in worker possessions, it's a very

common understanding that generational wealth your your

wealth is lost by the 3rd generation even if you even hold

on to it by the end of your life.

Putting your identity and physical appearance.

I think we all know how that ends right?

If bodies get old, they break down if you don't first have

like a career ending injury, putting our identity and being

right in politics or whatever moral causes trending.

This is constantly changing and the next generation always acts

like they're enlightened and completely different from the

mistakes of their predecessors the 2020 years ago where we're

totally different, right? Someone will be saying the exact

same thing about our current movements, our party, our

choices 20 years later down the line and why we were wrong for

believing what we did. We live our lives being pulled

in all these directions, how we should act, what we should

value, what's noble, what's our life's purpose.

And the goal post keeps moving. Doing one 80s and shifting and

who you are and what you're meant to stand for should shift

with it. Or you're on the wrong side of

history. Or you find yourself on the out.

And if you've known me for any amount of time, you'll know I'm

a very dramatic person. I mean, a lot of you felt it.

I have a tendency to overreact to everything.

Like one time my roommate cut his hand trying to set up his

guitar pedal board. It was a deep cut.

He was, he was bleeding everywhere.

And and I'm like, Oh my gosh, do we do we call mine?

What do we do? And and he's, you know, standing

over the sink, letting the blood drain out of him.

And he's telling me, dude, calm down, you're scaring me.

It it doesn't help that, you know, one of my family members

is kind of like a a doomsday prepper conspiracy theorist.

And Pastor Tim has seen me get texts where I'm like, I'm

leaving right now. I got to go to Costco.

I need water and toilet paper. Like I just, you know, I'm

working on it. I'm working on it.

But after getting tossed and turned and pulled in this

direction and that direction for a while, I've started to see

that what our world needs most in times of crisis are level

headed, non anxious, wise, understanding leaders.

People that aren't at the mercy of their circumstances.

They're unshaken anchors, People that are sure of who they are

and what they're meant to do. While everyone else is

regurgitating whatever is being peddled as true knowledge at

whatever given time, there need to be people that stand firm,

know what they believe, and are rock steady under pressure.

These people will be anchors in a world filled with worry and

anxiety. For the Christian, your goal

posts should never move. For the Christian, your beliefs

should never change. The foundation that we build our

life's goal on our values, our life's purpose should never

shift. It should always be firmly

planted in the same place. No matter what circumstances

change, no matter what happens next.

Verse 15, we stand firm and when everyone tells us that the world

is ending or World War 3 is happening or everything's going

wrong and these are dark times because of this market, this

policy, or that political party or this nation over there.

When everyone else is busy getting pulled around, panic

buying, dropping everything because of this or that,

Christians stay the course. We know what we're living for.

We know what we're about. We know who's in control and we

know how it ends when the world seems shaken.

It's in that time we need to know who we are and what we

believe. Because it's time to stand firm,

dig our heels in, and remain unchanged in who God calls us to

be. Amen.

Sounds great. How do you do that?

Like sure, it sounds macho, sounds awesome not to be moved,

but but how do you not get swayed?

What's the secret sauce? So second my that brings me to

my second point. What does a church sure of its

identity look like? It's a church that acts out of

full assurance of God's love for them.

Church that acts out of full assurance of God's love for

them. Let's go to verse 13, verse 13.

But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters

loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you

for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and

through belief in the truth. OK, what are we getting at here?

The relationship between these words is important.

This is why we're talking about identity here.

Verse 13. Brothers and sisters, loved by

the Lord, they're already loved, chosen for salvation.

They were chosen to be saved. Paul does not say at the end of

verse 13, because you were sanctified.

You were chosen because you believed in the truth.

God called you sons and daughters.

No, in other words, the anchor for the Christian being sure of

their identity is for them to be sure of God's love for them.

What allows you and me to stand firm as an anchor in any

circumstances? Whatever criticism, whatever

hardship or season we're going through, if we stay assured of

our identity in Christ, that God has chosen us, that God calls us

beloved, then we will stand firm.

OK, this is part of the gospel that is the most offensive, but

also the most awesome. You are not loved by God because

you're a great person. You're not chosen by God because

of your good works. You're not chosen by God because

you nailed it this week, because you're killing it at work,

because you're winning in your family.

And conversely, you're chosen by God despite you messing things

up with your friend. You're still chosen by God, even

though you were caught sinning, even though you felt like a

failure this week. Even when you make pivotal

errors that you feel like you can't come back from, your

identity is set in Christ. The one thing that defines you

is this gospel truth. God chose you, Christ died for

you, and now His Spirit is working in you.

You are a work in progress. You will make mistakes, you will

stumble and fall. You will still sin at times, but

your identity remains the same. Brothers and sisters, loved by

God, chosen by God, being sanctified by God.

There is incredible freedom that comes from knowing you are known

and loved, right? Like, like, what are you like

when you're in that group of friends that really know who you

are and just cherish your friendship?

How do you speak when you're with somebody that just gets

you, like you don't feel the need to explain everything

you're saying? Like you're able to be your true

self, right? I've noticed this when I talk

with Esther, there's a lot of things I can say where if I'm,

if I'm saying it with anyone else, I, I have to like preface

things, you know, like you ever say a sentence where immediately

you're like, OK, hang on, that sounds messed up, but let me

explain, right? Like, let me preface it with

this. But with her, it's just like,

no, I get you. I know what you're saying.

We're free to have this conversation and be in an

understanding and I'm free to act myself because I know she

knows me and she loves me. And because of that security and

love in our relationship, I can speak freely without fear of

being looked at differently or have my worth changed in the

relationship or have my image ruined.

Having that kind of security is like a home base for me to come

back to. Even if I get rejected

elsewhere, even if I'm overlooked out there, even if

I'm no, I'm dropping the ball out there.

I have this assurance to come home and know that I am loved.

And it's this kind of loving assurance that we can find in

friends, in family, in church, but most importantly in God.

That's the kind of assurance we're meant to have when we live

for Christ. Rather than pursuing moving goal

posts and gaining shadow, not shallow knowledge of everything

that's relevant, Christians like this have focused their whole

lives on one thing. To grow as a Christian.

To pursue real wisdom that only comes from God.

To understand their place in the world, To put their identity and

their worth completely in Christ, and the stability and

the restful assurance that comes with that is irreplaceable,

especially in a world that's being tossed and turned and

pulled in every direction. See, our society defines your

goodness and worth by what causes you follow, what trends

you keep up with your cultural relevancy.

And those goal posts are going to keep moving.

Your actions, your emotions, your values are only good if

they're based on these constantly moving set of ideas.

While Christians believe there is nothing more noble, more

beautiful, more worth living for than this gospel truth.

I am loved by God and everything I do is not to be accepted.

But it's a response to His love. Amen.

I am free to believe differently.

I am free to act independently of anyone else's opinion.

I am free to be misunderstood and misjudged.

I am free to live this way because I know who I am in God.

I am not pining for anyone's acceptance of me.

I am fully known and fully loved by God already.

Our church will stand firm and be unmoved in these convictions.

We believe in God's truth and we will preach it because we

believe God is working in us by His Spirit to bring that word to

life. In other words, while most of

the world is busy pushing its new agenda, what new inside or

its new goal post? Christians are going to be busy

doing what we always have. I'm not living for the world's

validation. I live out of God's affection.

I'm not living to chase the world's approval.

I am free to disagree with public opinion, to live

differently for God. So what's that look like?

Right? We've, we've, we've answered

the, we've answered the stand firm.

We've answered the how. But what does it look like in

our world, especially now? I think we're living in a time

where people are becoming increasingly hostile towards

each other for what they believe, for what political

party they back, for what religion they hold, for what

values they have. And we've seen this hostility

play out on TV's with people getting shot, with protests

getting violent, with federal agents breaking into people's

homes, with proxy wars being funded.

And the temperature just keeps rising.

And if we try to stand firm in our current culture, but we're

unsure of the gospel, then we'll buckle under pressure.

If we try to show compassion without truth, we're going to

compromise our values because we're being told our our beliefs

are unloving. And furthermore, if we say we're

unsure of the gospel and or if we say we're sure of the gospel,

but our response is to withdraw from society, then what good is

your faith because you were told to love your neighbor, right?

How can we say we know the gospel when we ignore the

greatest commandment where Jesus says to love God and love your

neighbor? OK, So what?

What's the answer here? What do we do?

Back when I was a youth pastor, I had a student asked me about

how we should react to someone who's openly part of the LGBTQ

community because it felt like to them, being told that

homosexuality was a sin was a charge for Christians to start

hating this community. And so we brought the student

back to Genesis 126. When God was creating the world

and he was creating mankind, he said this phrase.

Let us make mankind in our image.

Let us make mankind in our image.

That verse shows us all human life is created in the image of

God. So the reason Christians treat

all human life with respect and dignity is because they're made

in God's image. Regardless of how different your

beliefs are, regardless of how you feel about them, our beliefs

tell us that every single person was made by God and deserves to

be treated with love and respect.

So this is what I'm getting at. How you treat people is not

based on what they believe. How you treat people is based on

what you believe. How you treat people is not

based on what they believe. Because that will breed

hostility and anger and resentment.

You think you need to react to what they believe?

No, for the Christian, how you treat people is based on what

you believe. You treat people with dignity

and respect because you believe they're made in God's image.

You love those who disagree with you because you believe in

Christ teaching to treat them that way.

You treat other people better than they deserve because God

did that for you when he hung on a cross for your sins.

When everyone else is looking at what divides us, Christians are

meant to be peacemakers. When the world is busy

characterizing the other side, judging the other side,

Christians should see human beings on both sides made in the

image of God, respectfully treating all life that way.

It's the reason why we see the president of Chick-fil-A meeting

with the head of the LGBT community in 2013 to discuss the

definition of marriage. It's it's why Martin Luther King

civil rights protests of non violence were so powerful.

In this time of chaos and anxiety, Christians are called

to be stable, understanding, patient, unhurried, non anxious.

We're to cultivate fruits of a life that's unshaken when people

get shaken up and everyone's panic buying or conspiracy

theorizing or doom scrolling. Christians need to be wise,

decisive, loving, respectful and dignified, and this is only

possible if you are sure of what you believe in.

This is only sustainable if you know you're loved by God.

In the gospel, it is about your identity.

So church, remember who you are. Stand firm, Remember the

teachings of Christ. Believe in the truth.

Be sanctified by God's Spirit, especially right now.

Be a people defined by God's love.

Amen. So what does the church serve

its identity look like? My main point is this.

It looks like a people unshaken by circumstances because they

are anchored in God's love.