Second Thessalonians 2:15-17 Exhortation and Prayer

So today we're wrapping up chapter two. And I think maybe to lead into the last three verses of chapter two, we need to kind of read up till there. And I'd like to almost read the whole chapter, but we'll not do that. Let's begin with verse 10. Are you going to read it? I'll read it, yes.

And with all deceitfulness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word. work. So the title of today's lesson is Exhortation and Prayer. All right, let's begin with the exhortation, which is really verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or by our epistle.

What's it there for? I expected that answer from you, honey, but let's see if we can open it up for further discussion. So what preceded this? I mean, what would you say is an introduction to the term therefore? And there's been some degree of discussion about this. We don't need to spend a lot of time there.

But I sense that it relates mostly to the verses that immediately preceded it. Let's look at 13 and 14. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and and belief of the truth. Were unto you are called by our gospel to the attaining of the glory are of Lord Jesus Christ. I think therefore makes a lot of sense. But some of the commentators would say it's the entire chapter. relates to some of the issues that are before them in terms of the day of the Lord, etc. So whatever, I don't think we need to really have much discussion about that, but I think the first two verses that precede this are obvious, you know, preceding set of Scripture that relates to why therefore.

What does it mean to stand fast and hold? And by the way, just FYI, these verbs are present active imperative. That means do it, do it now. To hold your ground. Hold your ground, okay. What ground is that? The Word of God. Alright, that's a good answer. What we have in Christ. Okay, our position, our positional truth. What do you think about standing fast as we walk in an unsafe world, a foreign soil that we walk in day in and day out? It's imperative, it's necessary.

Okay, and how does that manifest itself? Well, grounding yourself in the Word and walking with the Lord. Okay, can that be confrontational at times? Well, it could seem to be confrontational, We may not want to be confrontational, but it may appear confrontational to the evil.

What do you think the world expects of us as believers who are in fact citizens of a different kingdom? Part of the kingdom of heaven. Kingdom of God, however you want to define those terms. They expect us to conform to them. What does it mean to stand fast? I think we stand fast in the truth, don't we? And the truth is the Word of God. Let's look at a few verses that I think exemplify this.

Galatians 5.1, stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. So the question is, what is this liberty that Christ has made us free in? Does that mean, you know, should I continue in sin that grace may abound? Is that what that means? Doesn't it have to do with the law? Free from the consequences of the law, the penalty of the law, perhaps? What else does it mean? What freedom do we have as believers? Nothing. No longer what? Can you hear me, Bob? Yes, barely. I'm wondering where the volume could be turned up a little bit. Go ahead, yes. Okay. We no longer serve sin, the sin nature. All right.

I like that answer, in that the freedom is the freedom to live a spirit-led life that is free of sin. That freedom doesn't relate to anything legal. It's a Spirit-led life. So stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, free from the penalty of sin and free from the power of sin. Any disagreement with that? Is what that freedom really relates to? I mean, the law was there to convict us, wasn't it? No one can keep the law.

Roy, you had your hand up. Go ahead. Well, it's just a thought that we live in a world system. Speak up a little bit so they can hear you. We live in a world system that wants us to conform to it. to justify their existence, whereas God has put it in His world, into a spiritual world, and it is in that world that we can stand and enjoy the peace and love that He offers, and it goes way beyond anything that the world can offer. They don't understand that. They don't even see it or sense it.

And it's in that world that we really are, and that's what he's talking about here. We've been called into this salvation, this deliverance, this position with Him, in His world. It's hard for me to think of words that adequately even come close to the environment that we are really in. It's beyond this world, it's His world.

Yes, and I think to further that thought, the verb for stand fast is one Greek verb, although the English translation is stand fast. It doesn't say stand, and it doesn't say be fast. Stand fast has a different emphasis, doesn't it? Being firm, and then related to that is holding on to the traditions that we were taught.

We'll come back to that in a second. John 836, therefore if the sun makes you free, you will be free indeed. So again, what kind of freedom is that? I mean it's not, as Paul said in the end of I think what Romans chapter 6 is, should I continue in sin that grace shall abound? I guess that's the end of 7. Should I continue in sin that grace would abound? No, despite O wretched man that I am. So the freedom we have is a freedom that's positionally ingrained and should be the way we walk here in our earthly bodies.

Philippians 127, therefore let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, Paul talking to the church at Philippi, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. How incredibly important is that? How we stand fast.

One Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not confusing in terms of His exemplification of the new life we have in Jesus Christ. So we all fall short. The flesh shows up only too often for yours truly. But yet, positionally, we're positioned that our condition will stand fast and hold on to that faith that's so important to our day-to-day existence.

Philippians 4.1, for now we live if you stand fast in the Lord. And then this holding concept, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Just some scriptures to exemplify, I think, what Paul is trying to reach out to the Church of Thessalonica with in terms of the issues they've been facing. Bad teaching, day of the Lord issues, tribulations and trials that they need to stand fast and hold. And that's equally as true for us today, is it not? Comments, thoughts about standing fast and holding.

Hey Bob. Yes Roy, please. One of the things that we are experiencing right now is the internet connecting part of our body that exists in this world that God is in together at the same time. And so if we, in our human wisdom, can enjoy the presence of people in other parts of the United States here, at the very same moment that we're talking about our Lord, they're hearing with a little bit of delay because of the electronics that are between us, OK? Not perfect yet. Yeah. But God, there's no delay. I mean, right now, we're with him, whether we're physically here or back on the East Coast or wherever. We're all one in that presence.

Let me ask the tele-audience, can you hear Roy when he speaks? Well, he speaks very low. So I have to put my ear right up to the microphone. Well, Roy's in the back with Gail, and the microphones are closer to each of the tables. There's a reason for that. Wayne, it's your responsibility to hold that close to Roy. There's one right there. They could pull over toward them. No, that's a mouse. No, that's a mouse. Oh, it's a mouse. Sorry. Well, I'm done. Your comments were wonderful, Roy. It's just I want to make sure that the people out there in video land can hear you.

I'm thinking that the electronics that we have connects everybody together. But that's a human level. Think of God and the resources he has that connects us together. That right now we are together because of his power in this new new creation, if you will. Another verse, by the way, that is really on my mind this morning is that the law came by Moses, but grace and truth, or reality, came by Jesus Christ. Isn't that something? Did you hear that better, everyone? That was fantastic. I think we've solved the problem. Okay, identify and solve. We've done it. All right, let's go ahead then.

You know, what's the alternative to this standing fast and holding on to the truth we've been given? It seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? Well, we're told not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. I mean, that reflects a specific issue that had come up to that church, but we're not to be shaken in mind or troubled. That's the alternative way of dealing with this, being shaken emotionally, mentally, soulishly, and troubled by these various aspects of the earthly existence that we continue to experience. Alright, let's go ahead.

The traditions which you were taught, really? What traditions were these? What's a tradition? Things that are passed down from one generation to another. Okay, Patti, that's great. Were you looking at the handout? No. Okay. Things that were passed down. You know, I've threatened this probably 100 times. I'm not going to, never mind. We want to have a dialogue here at Sunday school, and when the handout's there. Sometimes I don't answer the question. That way you can take notes, right?

All right. Yes. It would seem that these traditions have to do with the New Testament, because he's referred to his epistle. Exactly. Let's continue. Good thought. So those in context, those that are heard by word or in fact read in the epistle, it's a perfect answer. So a verse that relates to that, 1st Corinthians 11 2.

Now I praise you brethren that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I deliver them to you. I mean in context doesn't that make a lot of sense? I mean The written word is ultimately what the Lord really graced Paul with in a tremendous exercise, not only locally in one place in the Middle East or in Macedonia, but in fact throughout. And so he sent them a letter, and so that's really the traditions that he's talking about the new life we have in Christ Jesus. This is not anything that relates to the law. And I'm going to go there for a second. What they are not. Well, they're not of Judaism or of men. I mean those are the two things that scripture says that these traditions are not.

Let's look at some verses. Words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Mark 7, 9, and 13, with some spacing between the two, and he said to them, all too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition, space to verse 13, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down and many such things that you do. So their tradition was, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, not consistent with the word of God. Yes, there were many things written in the law, but the way, in a self-righteous manner, they were carrying these out was not by faith.

Isn't that true today, too? OK, Roy, expand on that thought. Well, it's just that that seems to be the embodiment of what is taught in churches is what has been handed down. And I'm not talking just churches. The Jewish religion is a lot of tradition. A lot of it is what's been handed down. And it takes a place of the written word of God. There are a lot of traditions, aren't there? And how about the Catholic Church? Absolutely. I mean, look at, you know, most people in the Catholic Church don't really even know the Bible. Or Muslims or any other religion.

But the whole thing is that we create this, don't we? And we put more stock in what we create versus what God has said. Yeah, I mean, this would be an interesting topic for a Bible study some evening or whatever. You know, the traditions, what ones are really to the glory of God, those that are really kind of plastic or feeble. I mean, that's an interesting topic to center right. I don't want to spend the rest of the day on that.

OK, Galatians 1.14. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation. being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. I mean, Paul himself, being a Pharisee, reflected on his role as a Pharisee and how that was largely traditionally based. and not after the truth or meaning of the word of God.

Colossians 2.8, beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and vain or empty deceit. I love this. According to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. You could even take mainline Christianity and Protestant churches and see a lot of this, right? The traditions of men. not of the word of God. So Bruce has a description here that I'd like to read to you. I'm quoting this out of Constable, I think is where I pulled this out of.

There's a distinction in the Pauline writings between the gospel received by revelation, as in Galatians 1.12, and the gospel received by tradition, as in 1 Corinthians 15.3, and the language of didache, or teaching, and paradosis, which is tradition, which is used actually in this particular verse. is appropriate to the latter, not to the former. Even communications made dia pneumatis, by the spirit, must be tested by their conformity to the paradosis, or if you will, tradition. And if they conflict with it, they are to be refused. And that's really, he's quoting back in First Thessalonians 5, 19 through 22. So I think it's well stated that, you know, it's a conformity to the true tradition and is appropriate for New Testament truth, these are the traditions that ultimately have meaning in the New Testament Church. Your thoughts about this commentator and his comments about this issue? So today, how might we be misled and deceived by traditions of religion or men? We've listed a few of those. Some other thoughts about that?

One of the biggest things that I have found in Bible study is my presuppositions. I go at it with a window that I'm looking through. rather than letting the Holy Spirit take his own words and communicate them to me. And so, that is tradition also. Preconceived or pre-taught things that are in my head get in the way of the Holy Spirit sometimes. By the flip side of that, the Holy Spirit tells me those things.

He makes it evident. when I'm doing that. Why do you believe that? Look at what it says. Look at what I'm telling you. Okay, how can we tell whether the Holy Spirit is leading us in God's truth in relationship to these traditions? Are you wanting me to answer that? Well, you spoke, so you may answer that.

I'm not hearing anyone else speak up here. You know, that's something I think that comes with maturity in that we can detect his voice versus the lies that come either from ourselves or the tradition that we've grown up with or the world system around us. When we hear him, the Holy Spirit speaks within us with that trueness. Our spirit and his are in harmony then.

I'm not suggesting that everyone is impacted in the same way by this, and I'm not necessarily going to pass judgment, but things like passing the offering plate is a tradition, is it not? How about congregational prayer? If you go to some mainline churches, you read from this kind of text and we're praying as a congregation.

I mean, that's pretty plastic in my own personal experience. Other people may be moved by that, but it just, and kind of all the kind of the repetitiveness, you know, the pastor says something and you repeat what he says. I mean, all that kind of thing is pretty sterile from my perspective. Maybe others are moved by those things.

Any thoughts about that kind of church-like performance? Could you say that traditions tend toward feelings? Yeah. I mean, keep in mind, our life as believers has experiences connected to them, but that's not the truth of the Word of God. I think Roy related to that. I mean, our experiences are personal, and we can share those, but that's not necessarily bound to be based on truth. Bob?

Yes, go ahead, and then David. Go ahead, please. I have a little story. Okay, I like stories. Good. It relates to this. When I was a little girl, I grew up Catholic, and I would go to mass, you know, and it was very repetitive and To be honest, I kind of found it boring. But I looked forward to the homily, when he talked about scripture. And I got very disappointed when I went through all that stuff. And then he got up in the pulpit and said, well, I don't want to keep you too long. You know, we've got to get back to... And it was just ridiculous.

So that's my story. Yes, that's I think a good example of how tradition is related to experience and what we take away from it. David, you had a comment? Yes, I think traditions, how we could line them up would be with the Word of God. What does God say about these traditions that we have? How do they line up with what God tells us to keep as a tradition?

Like the gatherings around the tabernacle and the feasts and all the things the Jewish nation does. And those things have been left behind at this point. So there are many traditions. We could pinpoint a lot of them and discuss them at length. But anyway, you're getting the feeling here that Paul is addressing the traditions of Judaism and of men. And those are related to some extent, but then, of course, the Gentile world did not necessarily relate to the issues that were day in and day out, week in, week out, and on beyond in the Jewish faith.

All right, now, so that's the exhortation. Stand fast and hold, I think, to the truth of the Word of God and not to traditions of men or of religion. Now, the prayer. All right, I've got a challenge for you here. I'm going to give you two translations. The New King James Version, you may have the amplified or American Standard or whatever else, but I'm going to look at the New King James and Interlinear Greek, and I'm going to challenge you a little bit with this.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. All right, and just as it's read in the Interlinear Greek. And self, the Lord of us, Jesus Christ, and the God of Father of us, and having loved us and given comfort eternal and hope is good, by grace comfort of you the hearts and conform in every good work. Every work and good. clumsy, but that's the way the Greek brings it across.

So Keithley III, and I always comment he's got page after page and page after every verse, but anyway, I try to lift out those things that I think are applicable and then very truncated in my comments here of what Keithley said. This prayer reveals a great deal about Paul's theology and especially his Christology and Trinitarian perspective of God or the Godhead. I don't think you could say it better, and I wish he would be that contrite all the time. So anyway, let's look at this further.

As an example, and I think this is a good example, and verses we looked at previously, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 to 14, but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God, I should have probably bolded that too, from the beginning, chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. How's that for Trinitarian position that Keithley describes of Paul? Pretty good. The Spirit, the Son, and the Father are all connected in those two verses.

Now, I'm gonna ask the class, what's different between now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us, dot, dot, dot, which is the new King James, and self, the Lord of us, Jesus Christ, and God the Father of us, and having loved us, which is the inner literary Greek? Can somebody read the Amplified or New International or New American Standard? Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strength in your hearts in every good work and word. All right, other versions, anyone?

NIV? Bob? Yes? I've got the NIV. Please, go ahead, Carol. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved. Do I have the right verse? Yeah. No. This is verse 16. Oh, 16. 16 and 17 put together. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word, good deed and word. Okay, any other versions people would like to read? Living Bible? Okay, so let's get to the point.

I'm going to raise the issue as May is not in the Interlinear Greek. And I'm going to interpret may as being subjunctive or subjective. I mean, I think it's may or may not. I mean, is that really what's attempting to be transmitted here? May is not there in the original translation.

And self is prominent. I think the interlinear Greek says, and self the Lord of us, Jesus Christ. There's no condition here. It's ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ is made central in the argument of saying the ILG may be a more substantial and best way to interpret this verse. I'm going to turn to another commentator.

This is Thomas, who says, addressing his prayer to the first two persons of the Trinity, Paul names the Son before the Father. you can contrast that with First Thessalonians 3.11, probably in line with the son's worthiness of equal honor with the father and his special prominence in the chapter's emphasis on future salvation and glory. What do you think of this? Is this important to even bring up or is this just kind of reading between the lines too much? mean, you know, Scripture is there to project the truth, and I think we don't always need to go back to the original text, but I like the idea that now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, he may or may not, right, and may is not in the Greek language. So I think if you're, you know, people who read this, maybe you were, you know, newly saved, might think maybe God maybe the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father have loved us, it's not going to carry out all these activities of comfort and ultimately conforming us in every work and word that's good.

Okay, so that's one point I want to make. And the prominence of Jesus Christ up front in the verse I think provides the central theme of this verse that really has meaning. Your thoughts about that? Rabbit trail or important? Well, I think it's important because it goes to source. Where's the source of all this? It's the Lord Jesus Christ, not us.

And even in the work in this may could possibly give you that, well, it's something we did or do to try and get this. And that's not the case, not in grace. And Wayne, we're blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, right? Yes, always. There's nothing we can do to change that position.

And I'm going to argue that the ILG is more accurate here in reflecting that it's the Lord Jesus Christ who, in fact, is the source. And we don't need to doubt that in terms of our interpretation. Any other comments or thoughts about that? It's brought out in the text. Wayne, could you help?

No, I'm sorry. It's brought out in the text here that this is now, this is right now, that he is praying. In this letter to them, he is actually praying to God to give them, and it's not just comfort, it's everlasting comfort. Isn't that something? This is a relational thing. When I'm writing a letter to somebody and I say something like this to them, That becomes very, very personal. That I am communicating with God and asking Him right now, give them everlasting comfort. How precious that is. How personal.

Well, in interpretation of this positionally, there's no doubt, is there? No. That the Lord Jesus Christ is central in terms of the address that Paul's giving. in the prayerful form that we see in this verse. It's sort of like a wrap-up verse for him calling us into this salvation, this reality of himself. And now, may this everlasting comfort you. And the other thing, if May's there, I think the typical human interpretation of May may or may not. And that's not in the original text. So I think the ILT is worth more careful attention here. What's ILT? ILT. Interlinear. Interlinear group, yeah.

Will it follow? Yes. So it's not that just that we're being empowered to every good work, kind of gritting our teeth and getting through it. We're comforted. We're calm. So that's pretty something. Very important, yes. All right, let's go ahead and proceed. Love or agapeo and given, didomi, are aorist active participles. What do we make of that? How should we interpret the Greek verb tense here? Who has loved and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.

Andrew, I'm going to turn to you there. How does that help us interpret this? Can you hear me? Yes. I would say that he loved us. It's a fact, so it's already done. It's not a conditional thing. He's already given us this stuff. It's in the past. It's Aris, so we can take refuge in the fact that we don't have to do anything of ourselves to attain that love, right? And everlasting comfort. It's done. Well, what do you make of the verb tense active? And it's being done now, right? Yeah, right. It's not perfect tense, but it's something that's been established.

That's the cross, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, ultimately is being actively utilized, done once and for all, in terms of how it impacts their lives and ours here today. What is this everlasting hope by grace? And by the way, this hope could also be interpreted as consolation. I like to think of it that way. The parenthesis should probably be put right here after hope rather than there. Well, let's go ahead just based on time.

Titus, I'm sorry, verse 13 in chapter 2, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. So it relates to the rapture, doesn't it? And ultimately, it also relates to our eternal presence because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. So God's grace is the foundation for eternal reassurance under all circumstances and this translates to our hope which motivates us to live accordingly in expectation of his return and our ultimate position in heavenly places.

Hey Bob? Yes Roy? Just a thought on that. There are so many religions that are not hopeful but a maybe It's a possibility, you might make it, you might not, how good you're doing today, kind of thing. So Roy, great comment, because that's grace, isn't it?

I mean, think of every other religion, even mainline Christianity, that's hoping to be present with the Lord one day, but it's going to be based on something they're doing, and they never have the security of their salvation. But every other faith in the world is a works-based salvation. has nothing to do with God's grace. Another story, the most depressing funeral I ever went to was a Catholic funeral where the priest said, well we don't know where he went Yeah, and by the way, how many services have you been at which are clearly, to your best interpretation, are not for someone who knows the Lord? And everyone says they're in a better place now. How many times have you heard that? A better place? Well... Have you looked at scripture recently?

Anyway, comfort your hearts. And I really summarize this to say eternal comfort addresses the concerns in the body of Thessalonica about the day of the Lord. you remember, and to go on, and false teaching to which they've been exposed, and places them in a position that contrasts them from the perishing. I mean, there was a major concern there, the Day of the Lord, had they missed it in some way? But comforting their hearts can relate to that specifically, but I think in general for us today, God's in the business of really giving us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Look at the mechanism by which this occurs. It's the principle of grace that relates to this comfort. hope that's part of our future. Thessalonians 2, 9-10.

The coming of the lawless one, and Andrew taught this, is according to the working of Satan with all power signs and living 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. The love of the truth. That's what we all seek out, isn't it? The truth of the Word of God. And I think that's the source of our ultimately understanding what God has taught us and how that relates to our daily lives.

So Konseval says, the Thessalonians needed comfort and encouragement in view of the recent anxiety that false teaching had produced They also needed God's grace to enable them to stand firm and do everything as unto the Lord. No, I thought I got this together. Two, that they needed it as they continued proclaiming the gospel. So this again is kind of Constable's view of how this applies to what those in Thessalonica were going through. and establish you in every good word and work.

Heathley again, the modern idea for hope is to wish for, to expect, but without much certainty, to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire. But such is not the New Testament concept of hope. The Greek term used here is elpis, which refers to a confident expectation and generally as a future focus.

Now, how is this translated into every good word and work? We're going to end here. How does this get translated, every good word and work? Well, Scripture says a lot about this. Is this something, first of all, we can measure? Do we measure our good works?

It's not our good works, it's His good works. Alright, so to all be to the glory of God. So three verses to take a look at this in closing. For by grace you've been saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You know, by the way, salvation has three tenses. I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved. So this is being saved. That's, if you will, the tough part of understanding our Christian life. What's this process of being saved? And it's not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Titus 3.8, this is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. So it's not only do they bring glory to God, but ultimately they're profitable to men in general. Again, as Hal said, you may be the only Bible people ever read. And in closing, 1 Corinthians 15, 58, and I don't know, did we get that last week, Roger? You might be covering this today.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So that's the day-to-day application of the truth of the Word of God in our lives by faith. Comments in closing here before we move on All right, let's correct closing prayer father we're thankful for the always thankful for the word as we try to decipher and bring truth to our lives and To our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and as we open up the scripture today We see it's not of what we do or what we think and how we're doing But ultimately, you're great. Power of the Spirit, working in our lives to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and make that evident to everyone who cross our paths. This is not a metric we measure for ourselves, but we pray that the glory of our lives lived here really brings that to you and to who you are. So we're thankful again for the word. May the service that followed bring to you, we pray. Amen.