Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 2 Study # 2
May 25, 2014
Dayton, Texas
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<045> Thesis: "Believers" need both a legitimate, actual, visible demonstration of Truth and a persistent reminder of that historical "event/series of events" in order to keep their hope alive and vibrant. Introduction: It should go without saying that down deep inside where all things spring forth, "believers" have a pretty well-deserved reputation for being fickle in respect to the things that are really important. Paul casts this need in terms of a conflict between flesh and Spirit and agrees that the internal conflict is a rather difficult warfare that many, if not most, do not survive well as the long, wearing, process of living goes on. This surfaces Paul's concerns in regard to the Thessalonians in regard to the great "HOPE" of "believers". It seems that he sees the "brethren" with two crucial "needs" if their hope is to be kept both alive and vibrant. These two "needs" are: first, a legitimate, actual, visible demonstration of Truth; and, second, a persistent series of reminders to cut through the fog of rather persistent disappointments, time after time. It is the core of Christianity that the Best comes Last and that there is, for most people, a rather long slog through a life that is, at best, a blend of "pain and pleasure", and, at worst, a rather constant reality of disappointment. Actually believing that the Best is real and eventual often gets lost in the details of the daily slog. Paul knew this. Thus, the letter and the rather extended focus upon what the Thessalonians "knew" as a reality of the past and what they need to "know" for the immediate present.