St. Paul has just referred to the external hindrance to his journeying that Satan was able to throw across his path (1 Thessalonians 2:18). He now writes of a much more serious Satanic opposition in the temptation of his converts to unfaithfulness. He is anxious lest during his absence the fierce enmity of the Jews, either by some more violent attack on the Church or by the harassing of incessant petty persecution, may at length have broken down the fidelity of the Christians at Thessalonica. And he shows his anxiety by sending to inquire of the state of the Thessalonian Church. The danger in which these Greek Christians lay besets the people of God in all ages, though the form in which it presents itself varies considerably.

I. THE TEMPTER RAISES UP TEMPTATIONS IN ORDER TO FRUSTRATE THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL.

1. The tempter furnishes temptations. A temptation implies two things:

(1) a latent appetite or desire in the mind of the tempted, which appetite or desire may be natural or acquired, innocent or corrupt, such as the innate instinct of self-preservation or the artificial craving for strong drink; and

(2) external circumstances that tend to rouse the internal longing. Now, the tempter may work through either of these two elements of temptation. He may sway the mind towards certain thoughts and impulses, or he may present to the mind occasions of sin by bringing about an arrangement of circumstances which shall appeal to the internal desire in such a way that indulgence would be unlawful. Thus dangers appeal to the instinct of self-preservations and forbidden delights to the love of pleasure.

2. These temptations tend to frustrate the work of the gospel. All is undone if the Church proves unfaithful. High knowledge may be acquired, elaborate organization may be perfected, busy work may be accomplished, and yet, if the purity of the spiritual life is invaded, or the faithfulness that should mark the soldier of Christ corrupted, the labor that led to the happiest results is all in vain.

II. THE TEMPTER CAN ONLY FRUSTRATE THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL WHEN THE TEMPTED YIELD TO TEMPTATION.

1. The power of the tempter is limited to temptation. He can persuade; he cannot compel. He may use threats, or he may use cajolery. But he cannot use force. For the violence that is done to the body of the martyr is no violence to his soul, but only a powerful persuasive influence. Satan goes about like a roaring lion. He has a deep throat, but blunt fangs.

2. We are free to resist temptation. Temptation cannot destroy free-will. The tempter simply tries to induce us to choose the evil. If we do not choose it, he is powerless. And the decision lies entirely with ourselves.

3. The grace of God will help us to resist temptation effectually. We are not left alone to battle with the tempter. If Satan is against us, God is for us. Stronger and greater influences for good are provided for counteracting the evil influences. But these are equally outside our liberty of choice - good persuasion as against bad persuasion. It is for us to lend ourselves to the helpful grace of God in Christ if we are to be strong to resist temptation and to prevent the work of the gospel from being frustrated in us. - W.F.A.

I. ITS NATURE. "When I could no longer forbear."

1. As a moral quality and exercise it must be distinguished from personal anxiety. This is everywhere forbidden: "Take no thought," etc., "Be careful for nothing." And it is easy to see why it is prohibited. It is selfish, and is provocative of those vices which are detrimental to the Christian character — irritation, unbelief, fear, and general unfitness for duty. But Christian solicitude is for others, is unselfish, self-forgetful, benevolent, and inspires a good many of those virtues which are inseparable from an exemplary Christian life — sympathy, self-sacrifice, helpfulness.

2. In certain cases it warrantably assumes an intense form. When a relative or a friend is in perilous circumstances through travel, occupation, etc., it is legitimate to feel anxious about him. This we generally do. But how much keener should be our anxiety when his soul is in danger, either through being unawakened, or through being exposed like the Thessalonians to temptation? Yet how insensible most are to the latter duty. A father, terribly solicitous about his son's temporal advancement, never bestows a thought about his eternal interests. When a daughter is away in some sphere of fashion or frivolity the mother's care about her health, prospects of marriage, etc., will be carried to the point of distress; while the nature of the moral atmosphere which the daughter breathes will hardly enter the mother's mind. How different with Paul. As the context shows he had the deepest sympathy with them in their physical dangers, but his supreme concern is about their "faith."

II. ITS METHOD: "I sent." This was all he could do. And this is often all we can do. We cannot always be with our friends to give them the benefit of our counsel, sympathy, help and protection; but we can always send —

1. Messages to them. How seldom are letters employed as means of usefulness! What an immense amount of correspondence many of us get through in a year, and yet how little of it is utilized for God. How trivial much of it is even with those who need that it should be serious and practical. Yet no means could be more effective for conveying admonition, encouragement, and advice. The spoken word passes to be often forgotten; the written word may remain to be pondered. And then there are those who are too diffident to speak, who have no difficulty in writing.

2. Prayers to God. We may be sure of the acceptableness of our solicitude when expressed to Him. He only can help in times of spiritual danger. Our anxiety as expressed to them is only helpful as it drives them to God; then equally helpful is that prayerful solicitude which brings God near to them.

III. ITS PURPOSE.

1. Deliverance from spiritual peril.

2. Maintenance of spiritual work.The temptations of one hour may undo all the efforts of parents, friends, pastors and teachers for years. How often has a timely word or message arrested a downward career and saved a soul.

(J. W. Burn.)

Very remarkable is the prominence which Satan assumes in the New Testament, compared with the manner in which he is kept in the background in the Old. There, after the first appearance of the adversary in paradise, he is withdrawn for a long while from the scene; nay, there is but a glimpse of him, a passing indication here and there of such a spiritual head of the kingdom of evil, through the whole earlier economy — as in Job 1 ; Zechariah 3:1, 2; 1 Chronicles 21:1; he is only referred to twice in the Apocrypha (Wisd. 2:24; Ecclus. 21:27). This may partly be explained on the principle that where lights are brightest, shadows are darkest; it needed the highest revelation of good to show us the deepest depth of evil. But, no doubt in that childhood of the human race, men were not ripe for this knowledge. For as many as took it in earnest it would have been too dreadful thus to know of one who had been a prince of light. Those, therefore, who are under a Divine education are not allowed to understand anything very distinctly of Satan, till with the spiritual eye it is given to them to behold him as lightning fall from heaven; then the Scripture speaks of him without reserve. Notice the analogy in 1 John 2:13 and 1 John 2:14. To some the doctrine of the tempter is a stumbling block; but it is not by Scriptural arguments alone that it is supported. There is a dark, mysterious element in man's life and history, which nothing else can explain. All who shrink from looking down into the abysmal depths of man's fall, seem to count that much will have been gained thereby; although it may be pertinently asked, What is the profit of getting rid of the devil, so long as the devilish remains? of explaining away an evil one, so long as the evil ones who remain are so many? What profit, indeed? Assuredly this doctrine of an evil spirit, tempting, seducing, deceiving, prompting to rebellion, so far from casting a deeper gloom on the mysterious destinies of humanity, is full of consolation, and lights up with a gleam of hope spots which would seem utterly dark without it. One might well despair of oneself, having no choice but to believe that all the strange suggestions of evil which have risen up before one's own heart had been born there; one might well despair of one's kind, having no choice but to believe that all its hideous sins and monstrous crimes had been self-conceived and born in its own bosom. But there is hope, if "an enemy hath done this;" if, however, the soil in which all these wicked thoughts and works have sprung up has been the heart of man, yet the seed from which they sprung had been sown there by the hand of another. And who will venture to deny this devilish, as distinguished from the animal in man? None, certainly, who knows aught of the dread possibilities of sin lurking in his own bosom, who has studied with any true insight the moral history of the world. In what way else explain that men not merely depart from God, but that they defy Him? What else will account for delight in the contemplation or infliction of pain, for strange inventions of wickedness, above all, of cruelty and lust — "lust hard by hate"? What else will account for evil chosen for its own sake, and for the fierce joy men so often find in the violation of law, this violation being itself the attraction? The mystery is as inexplicable as it is dreadful, so long as man will know nothing of a spiritual world beneath him as well as above him; but it is only too easy to understand, so soon as we recognize man's evil as not altogether his own, but detect behind his transgression an earlier transgressor — one who fell, not as men fall, for man's fall was broken by the very flesh which invited it; but who fell as only spirits can fall, from the height of heaven to the depth of hell; fell, never to rise again; for he was not deceived, was not tempted as was Adam; but himself chose the evil with the clearest intuition that it was evil, forsook the good with the clearest intuition that it was good: whose sin, therefore, in its essence, was the sin against the Holy Ghost, and as such never to be forgiven. All is explicable when we recognize the existence of such a spirit; who being lost without hope of redemption himself, seeks to work the same loss in other of God's creatures, and counts it a small triumph to have made a man bestial, unless he can make him devilish as well.

(Abp. Trench.)

An enemy, before he besiegeth a city, surroundeth it at a distance to see where the wall is weakest, best to be battered, lowest, easiest to be scaled; ditch narrowest to be bridged, shallowest to be waded over; what place, if not regularly fortified, where he may approach with least danger, and assault with most advantage. So Satan walketh about surveying all the powers of our souls, where he may most probably lay his temptations, — as whether our understandings are easier corrupted with error, or our fancies with levity, or our wills with frowardness, or our affections with excess.

(J. Spencer.)

Satan seldom comes to Christians with great temptations, or with a temptation to commit a great sin. You bring a green log and a candle together, and they are very safe neighbours; but bring a few shavings, and set them alight, and then bring a few small sticks and let them take fire, and the log be in the midst of them, and you will soon get rid of your log. And so it is with little sins. You will be startled with the idea of committing a great sin; and so the devil brings you a little temptation, and leaves you to indulge yourself. "There is no great harm in this; no great peril in that;" and so by these little chips we are first easily lighted up, and at last the green log is burned.

(J. Newton.)

Of the Lurleyberg on the Rhine, with the whirlpool and deceitful eddies near it, where many a raft and fishing boat has gone down, many wild legends are related. Tradition makes the rock the dwelling place of a Syren, who, by her sweet songs, enchanted all who heard her. The mariners of the Rhine, heedless of the dangers which beset them at this point, when once they heard the seducing song of the water nymph, altogether abandoned their charge to the course of the current, and frequently perished in the whirlpool, or were wrecked against the rock.

(W. Denton, M. A.)

There is a deep truth contained in the fabled story of old, where a mother, wishing to render her son invulnerable, plunged him into the Styx, but forgot to dip in his heel, by which she held him. We are baptized in the blood and fire of sorrow, that temptation may make us invulnerable; but let us remember that trials will assail our most vulnerable part, be it the head, or heart, or heel.

(F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

Many horses fall at the bottom of a hill because the driver thinks the danger past and the need to hold the reins with a firm grip less pressing. So it is often with us when we are not specially tempted to overt sin, we are more in danger through slothful ease. "There is no devil," says Ralph Erskine, "so bad as no devil."

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

No one would make overtures to a bolted door or a dead wall. It is some face at the window that invites proffer.

(H. W. Beecher.)

It is the devil's part to suggest: ours not to consent. As oft as we resist him, so often we overcome him; as often as we overcome him, so often we bring joy to the angels and glory to God; who opposeth us that we may contend; and assisteth us that we may conquer.

( St. Bernard.)

Constantius (father of the Great) once published an edict requiring all Christians in his dominions to abjure their religion on pain of losing all their civil honours and offices. Some thereupon, like Demas and Diotrephes, forsook Christ and embraced the present world, but others stood firm, being willing to count all things but loss for their faith and for the love of their Master. Constantius then, having discovered who the real Christians were, restored them to their places, and banished the hypocrites, saying: "They can never be true to their emperor who are false to their Maker."

One summer the earth heaved like a tumultuous sea, and Ischia and its capital were in ruins and death; and a few weeks later the ocean rolled its force over Eastern islands, and lands, and houses, and men disappeared beneath its waves. In this way, oftentimes without warning, does temptation sweep on the soul. And its assault comes when night, is over, and our eyes are shut to duty, to God, and to good. Reason will not daunt the tempter, for he makes the reason his captive. Imagination and memory fly to his side; and even conscience assumes but a proud neutrality. Oh, that is the hour of humbling; we were, we are not! Heaven looks on in pity, and Satan exults over a sinner who had repented and has gone back. There is no influence, no possibility of escape for man unless in the interposed power of his God. The power that is in us, is it asleep often? Do we often fall? Oh! wake up that gift, stir it into energy; beat down the environing defences of your basest foe; and remember Him of whom you are to walk worthy, and that true and holy fellowship of the saints in which you are called to live.

(The Quiver.)

Paul, Thessalonians, Timotheus, TimothyAthens, ThessalonicaAble, Afraid, Bear, Cause, Condition, Couldn't, Efforts, Endure, Evil, Faith, Fear, Fearing, Forbear, Forbearing, Labor, Labour, Lest, Longer, Lost, Myself, News, Nothing, Perchance, Perhaps, Quiet, Reason, Refrain, Somehow, Stand, Tempt, Tempted, Tempter, Tempting, Tested, Uncertainty, Useless, Vain1. Paul testifies his great love to the Thessalonians,
5. partly by sending Timothy unto them to strengthen and comfort them;
7. partly by rejoicing in their well-doing;
10. and partly by praying for them, and desiring a safe coming unto them.

1 Thessalonians 3:5

     4122   Satan, tempter
     5290   defeat
     6022   sin, causes of
     6250   temptation, sources
     8162   spiritual vitality
     8484   spiritual warfare, enemies

1 Thessalonians 3:2-5

     8027   faith, testing of

Whether the Movement of the Saints Will be Instantaneous?
Objection 1: It would seem that movement of the saints will be instantaneous. For Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xxii, 30) that "wherever the spirit listeth there will the body be." Now the movement of the will, whereby the spirit wishes to be anywhere, is instantaneous. Therefore the body's movement will be instantaneous. Objection 2: Further, the Philosopher (Phys. iv, 8) proves that there is no movement through a vacuum, because it would follow that something moves instantaneously, since a vacuum …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Calvin -- Enduring Persecution for Christ
John Calvin was born in 1509, at Noyon, France. He has been called the greatest of Protestant commentators and theologians, and the inspirer of the Puritan exodus. He often preached every day for weeks in succession. He possest two of the greatest elements in successful pulpit oratory, self-reliance and authority. It was said of him, as it was afterward said of Webster, that "every word weighed a pound." His style was simple, direct, and convincing. He made men think. His splendid contributions to …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

Heathenism.
Literature. I. Sources. The works of the Greek and Roman Classics from Homer to Virgil and the age of the Antonines. The monuments of Antiquity. The writings of the early Christian Apologists, especially Justin Martyr: Apologia I. and II.; Tertullian: Apologeticus; Minucius Felix: Octavius; Eusebius: Praeparatio Evangelica; and Augustine (d. 430): De Civitate Dei (the first ten books). II. Later Works. Is. Vossius: De theologia gentili et physiolog. Christ. Frcf. 1675, 2 vols. Creuzer (d. 1858): …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Beginning of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Coin of Thessalonica] Turn to the list of books given in the beginning of your New Testament. You will see that first come the four Gospels, or glimpses of the Saviour's life given by four different writers. Then follows the Acts of the Apostles, and, lastly, after the twenty-one epistles, the volume ends with the Revelation. Now this is not the order in which the books were written--they are only arranged like this for our convenience. The first words of the New Testament …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Paul at Corinth
'After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2. And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent-makers. 4. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5. And when Silas and Timotheus …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Protevangelium.
As the mission of Christ was rendered necessary by the fall of man, so the first dark intimation of Him was given immediately after the fall. It is found in the sentence of punishment which was passed upon the tempter. Gen. iii. 14, 15. A correct understanding of it, however, can be obtained only after we have ascertained who the tempter was. It is, in the first place, unquestionable that a real serpent was engaged in the temptation; so that the opinion of those who maintain that the serpent is only …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Growth in Grace
'But grow in grace.' 2 Pet 3:38. True grace is progressive, of a spreading and growing nature. It is with grace as with light; first, there is the crepusculum, or daybreak; then it shines brighter to the full meridian. A good Christian is like the crocodile. Quamdiu vivet crescit; he has never done growing. The saints are not only compared to stars for their light, but to trees for their growth. Isa 61:1, and Hos 14:4. A good Christian is not like Hezekiah's sun that went backwards, nor Joshua's …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Concerning Persecution
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 We are now come to the last beatitude: Blessed are they which are persecuted . . '. Our Lord Christ would have us reckon the cost. Which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he have enough to finish it?' (Luke 14:28). Religion will cost us the tears of repentance and the blood of persecution. But we see here a great encouragement that may …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

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