The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Thessalonians — Section 73

finding • home by him in other&. And the more truly and deeply we are attached to men 11B persons, the more shall we with Paul feel prom~ted to view them as oppointed ror the tran~mission of the trnth. (2) mumatdy. "'lo the end he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Je5UB v.;th all his saints." By the stablishing of our hearts we are to understand our being made proor in our inmost being against temptation, our being placed above the reach of a fall. This is to be brought about by love proceeding from faith. As love is said to be the fulfilling of the Law, and the bond of perfection, so it is here viewed as consummating our establishment. We a.re to be established, so as to be in the sphere of holiness, sancti1y without blame, and that under the searching yet loving eye of God. Such a consummation seems far beyond us at present; hut it will be realized for us at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. His power over the evil of our hearts, through His blood and Spirit, will then be fully manifested, • With imperfect holiness now, then we shall be saints indeed. And as Christ's BRints, the trophies of his power, we shall attend on him at his corning, and swell the majesty of his train. Let us, then, give love the sweep of our being, to the dislodging of sin, to the incoming of saintliness, that in Ohrist's day of triumph we may be, with the saints, in his train..-R F. Ver. 5.-How tM work of the go,p,il may be frustrated by temptation. St. Paul has just referred to the external hindrance to his journeying that Satan was able to throw across his path ( eh. ii. 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. L Tim TEHPl'EB BAISBS tlP TEMPTATIONS IN OBDEB TO ll'BUBTBATE THE WORK or TD GOSPEL. 1. The t;empf,er furni.shu 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-preserva- tion or the artificial craving for strong drink; and (2) external circumstances that tend to rowie the internal longing. Now, the tempter may work through either of these two elements of tempte.tion. 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 for- bidden delights to the love of pleasure. 2. The,se temptations trnd to frwtrate th, WO'T'k 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 tbe spiritual life is invaded, or the faithfulness that should mark the soldier of Christ corrupted, the labour that led to the happiest results is all in vain. !L THE TEMPTEB O.Al!l' ONLY ll'BUSTRATE THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL WBEN TBB TEHPTED YIELD TO TEllPl'ATION. 1. The power of the tempter is Umited to temptation. Be can persuade; be 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. Be has a deep throat, but blunt fangs. 2. We are fru to ruiat t.emptation. Temr,tation cannot de,;troy free-will. The tempter simply tries to induce ua to choose the evil H we do not choose it, he is powerless. And the decision lies entirely with ourselves. 3. TM graa of God will help us to resist temptaticm ejfectvally. We are not left ak,ne 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 lntl.uences. But thelltl are equally outeide our libf,rty of choice-good persuaeion as against bad per- suallio11. lt is for us to lend ourselves to the helpful grace of God in Christ if we are to be strong to resist temptei\ion aod to prevent the work of the gospel from being frwstnt.ed in ua.-W. F. A. oe. m. 1-13.] 'rHE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSA.LONIANB. 7l