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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Special problems faced the saints at Thessalonica. Some of them had been deceived into thinking that the second coming of Christ was to occur immediately. Paul wrote them to correct this error and to present them with the evidence needed to recognize such error in the future. The principles still apply. It is from his writings that this series is titled.
Read a portion of the text from which this phrase comes: “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2.6-12; emphasis mine, jeb).
Notice from the text just quoted that “the love of the truth” is a spiritual fundamental. Those who do not possess it cannot be saved! They become prime candidates for deception and will receive as truth that which is error. This principle is the genesis of this series and will be the focal point of it throughout its development and conclusion.
Jesus spoke the spiritual antithesis of this fact when He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5.6). The love of the truth is equivalent to hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Our Lord's metaphor is both accurate and picturesque. Did you ever have a craving for a certain food, a craving that would not go away until it is satisfied by eating of that specific food item? I know that pregnant ladies commonly have such cravings. I suspect others do also even as I have from time to time. That's what it means to hunger and thirst after righteousness. This appetite simply cannot be satisfied until the truth is discovered and appropriated; that is the love of the truth!
I also know that many have an insatiable appetite for evil. They run after it night and day just to see how much of it they can consume. Amos spoke of such when he said they “...pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.” (Amos 2.7-8). Peter described such people when he spoke of those who run to the “excess of riot” and think it strange that others do not do the same!
Truth is a precious commodity, one to be sought after, appropriated, and protected with all of one's might. Half-hearted love for the truth is not love at all and will result in condemnation unless it blossoms into the real thing. Jesus loves every person but He has a special affinity for those who love the truth even as He does; Jesus and His disciples have this as their primary purpose - to do the will of the Father (see Hebrews 10:7,9).
Questions:
1. What does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness?
2. What other types of appetites do some men have (as opposed to the one just described)?
3. What type of appetite did the Psalmist describe in Psalm 40.8?
4. Why do you think one cannot be saved with out the love for the truth?
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