Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began (26) but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith – (27) to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.  Amen.

The apostle Paul was the author of the letter to the Romans. This theological masterpiece was written to the faithful in Rome probably to prepare the church there for his intended visit and to anticipate the false tearchers who followed his ministry to corrupt his teaching of the gospel – and  he wrote to resolve any conflicts between Jews and Gentile bellevers in Rome.  But at the heart of Romans, Paul wrote to defend his gospel of grace that he preached everywhere.

To understand Romans, the reader has to realize that the goal of the gospel  is not the happiness or salvation of man but the glory of God. Paul was Gods  chosen vessel for the spread of the gospel and in it the eternal purpose of God – previously hidden – is revealed. The saved need to live in faith in Christ so that our transformed lives will reflect God‘s glory.  We are firm in our faith because the gospel establishes us – confirms us in doctrine and revelation of God’s eternal plan. Before we can be established we must believe the gospel;  by faith through faith is our salvation:  That’s it.  Our efforts count as nothing as faith is from God to man;  not according to anything man can do.

Paul preached Jesus Christ and Christ crucified.  Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we celebrate God‘s intervention in history and in time and space. God made manifest His plan which had previously been hidden.  Now that God’s plan has been revealed we can clearly see what was obscure in the time of the Old Testament. No one at that time understood the words of the prophets; the apostles didn’t even understand the words of Jesus –  only by divine revelation and divine intervention is the mystery of the Old Testament made manifest.   All of Scripture  was always about Jesus Christ and salvation history.

However mysterious God’s ways might seem to us, Paul assures us they are the ways of the ONLY wise God.

Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  (19) Do not quench the Spirit.  (20) Test all things; hold fast what is good.  (22) Abstain from every form of evil. (23) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (24) He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

The letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul. Our verses today are in the closing chapter of the letter and are Paul‘s farewell imperatives for the faithful, telling them how to live while waiting for the second coming of Christ Jesus.  Paul gives us the key for these instructions in verse 18 where we are told that “this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.

”Rejoice always.“  The faithful are rooted for now in this world physically but our souls and future bodies are meant for another place through Christ Jesus. This is a certain hope And this is the good news of the gospel Paul preached. Our short term goals and the grind of daily living can easily obscure this message.  Basically Paul is telling us to lift up our eyes and hearts to the unseen reality we profess to believe; the certain hope of life eternal in Christ and to rejoice always in this reality instead of the illusion of reality we live in now.

“Pray without ceasing.”  We need to have always an awareness of the presence of the Lord. This should be the context in which we operate and train ourselves to make good use of chance moments to pray. Prayer is not meant to be a last resort – we should not compartmentalize our lives but acknowledge the presence of God always. This should be our intent and we can revel in it. At the very least prayer puts what is prayed for in perspective and will bring calm, relief, surrender, acceptance and guidance. Prayer should be our first, not last, good habit.

”in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Paul suffered much in his service of God and he learned to be content in every situation.   His contentment was not based on his circumstances but on his relationship with Christ. The apostle Paul lived as he preached and who would not want what he had;  a life lived in joy because nothing can separate us from the love of God.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  (9) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, But is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fevent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.  (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?  (13) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  (14) Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

Our verses written by the apostle Peter are addressed to the faithful. He is discussing the second coming of Christ Jesus when the destruction of the world will happen and all will be judged. Peter is not providing a chronology of end times but is collapsing the events of the future.  His focus is to warn us to be right with God – only through faith in Jesus – and now to be certain of the future where there will be new heavens and a new earth where God has promised to restore creation as it was meant to be.  The end will come like a thief in the night as Jesus said and we are to be holy (separate from this world) and ready.

Peter tells us the reason for the delay is that God is giving time for all mankind to come to repentance.  God has hidden the end time.  The faithful are advised to be patient but also to be watchful; to be confident in the promise of God who never disappoints.  In patience and expectation of this sure end, if we are right with God we will live our time here in peace and joy.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (4) I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you by Christ Jesus, (5) that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, (6) even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, (7) so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul.  Our verses today are a springboard to the body of the letter in which Paul addresses abuses, inconsistences and shortcomings of the faithful in Corinth.

Paul remarks on the stronger aspects of Christianity in Corinth establishing their character and their evident state of grace.  Paul assures the faithful that they are to have a confident hope of eternal life which rests on the faithfulness of God who is the source of their call.  Paul is praising them in our verses but reminds them that their blessings are from God and not a result of works  – they are not to be “puffed up”.  But Paul is persuaded that the calling of the CorinthIan’s is true and therefore unimpeachable – unmovable – as God is faithful. This is needful to keep in  mind as Paul later moves on to list faults and failings In Corinth

Fundamentally, Paul is telling the Corinthians, who have been called and show the fruits of that calling, that they should have sure expectation of eternal salvation.  The faithful are called to fellowship in Christ so all of Christ’s benefits are theirs and ours.  We should have this persevering and unwavering hope if we are members of Christ who is never going to fall away.  The faithful have the complete forgiveness of their sins; their present is taken care of and their future salvation is guaranteed.

The Corinthians -and us – have been saved through no effort of their/ our own but by the free and undeserved grace of God in Jesus Christ.  They have been called and nothing can change that.  Grace means no guilt and it’s a gift; we don’t deserve it and can never pay it back.  We aren’t expected to.  All our sins are forgiven and we are given freedom.  Grace does not co-exist with obligation.  Wow