1 Thessalonians 3:5

“For this cause. also, when. could no longer forbear, sent that. might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain”

“For this cause. also”: “There is. good deal of repetition in these verses. He was anxious to leave his correspondents in no doubt as to his essential meaning. He is very emphatic as to his personal feeling and action” (Morris p. 103). “For this cause” repeats the "wherefore" of 1 Thessalonians 3:1. “When. could no longer forbear”: That is, endure not knowing what was happening in Thessalonica. Here we see another purpose in Timothy's mission. It was also to inform Paul concerning whether the Thessalonians were still true to God. “So Timothy had been sent on both. nurturing and. fact-finding mission” (Stott p. 65). “Sent that. might know your faith”: “The condition of your faith” (Wey). Christians have the moral right to be concerned about each other. When one becomes. member of the body of Christ they inherently give other Christians the right to admonish, exhort and encourage them (1 Thessalonians 5:14). The one thing that Paul is most concerned about is their faith, and not their comfort, or even their physical survival. That should really put things in perspective. The important thing right now is my trust in God, the conviction that God is good and always right, not my health, not my level of financial security, and so on. Because if. lose my faith, success in all other areas of life will be meaningless (Hebrews 11:6).

“Lest by any means the tempter had tempted you”: “His meanness consists especially in this, that he first tempts. man into sin and then accuses him of it! Indeed, for Paul the devil was real, an actually existing, very powerful and very terrible opponent! Those who deny the real and personal existence of Satan should be honest enough to admit that they do not believe in the Bible!” (Hendriksen p. 86). Satan is relentless (1 Peter 5:8), always waiting for. moment of weakness or slackness in our lives to exploit (Ephesians 4:27; 1 Corinthians 7:5). Remember, he is always opposed to God and man's best interest (Matthew 13:39; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan is most successful, when he convinces people that God is at fault for allowing their loved ones to die outside of Jesus Christ. Yet God did not cause that (2 Peter 3:9). It was the devil who had continually worked towards that end (Matthew 13:39). It is high time that even many people wake up and realize "who" the real enemy is.

“And our labor should be in vain”: “To no purpose” (Vincent p. 33). “Our labor had been thrown away” (Mof). This is. clear inference that the Christian can lose their salvation, because how could Paul's labor ever be in vain, if these Christians could never forfeit eternal life? In fact, why even be concerned about the efforts of the tempter, if the tempter can never touch the "predestined"? “Many of our brethren today would do well to learn that the devil still rages about, opposing Truth and causing conflict as he has always done. He will not go away simply because he is ignored!” (Denton Lectures p. 100). Paul often expressed the concern that his work could be in vain (Galatians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Peter 2:16). The eternal destinies of mankind are not written in stone. Notice the language that God uses, “lest”, and “should”. It had not been predestined that these Christians would fail or succeed in reference to this temptation. That depended upon their own free-willed choice.

Timothy's Arrival