Title: Virtue that must be followed by faith
1 Thessalonians (17) Virtue to be followed by faith (1 Thessalonians 5:7-11)
<Life preparing for the end>
During World War II, the Philippines was briefly occupied by the Japanese, and when General MacArthur left the Philippines, he said, “I will come back.” And two years later, he landed on the coast of the Philippines and said, “As promised, I am back.” If people risk their own honor and keep the promise to come again, the faithful Jesus will surely keep the promise that he will come again. Therefore, instead of obsessing over the fact and timing of the Second Coming, we should think about the question of “What should we prepare?” on the premise of the Second Coming.
The second coming of Jesus will come like a thief (verse 2). After all, the truth is that “no one knows” the exact date of the Second Coming. Likewise, the second coming of Jesus comes like a thief, but it does not come like a thief to those who usually live in preparation for the second coming of Jesus (verse 4). That is why it is so important to prepare for the end of life. How should believers live in the end times? The things that believers should specifically seek in the last days are faith, love, and hope (verse 8). Among them, the Apostle Peter especially emphasizes love in the last days as love grows cold (1 Peter 4:7-8).
Forgive now if there is someone deep in your heart that you have not forgiven. These are people who lack everything, including themselves, and make mistakes. So don't get too caught up in his faults. No one can be an exception to the declaration of Romans: “Everyone has sinned! There is none righteous, not even one.” In the end, we need to learn to live by forgiving each other among those who are lacking and have many sins and faults. That is the saint's greatest preparation for the last days.
Another important thing to prepare for in the last days is the assurance of salvation (verses 9-10). Evil religious leaders promote eschatology to sow fear and weaken the soul to create their own puppets. However, the end-time faith is not a tool to scare the saints, but a way to wisely prepare for the end times and receive tomorrow's reward. In other words, rather than causing fear due to the end-time faith, the hope of salvation must be clear, joyous, and exhilarating to have the right end-time faith.
< Virtue that must be followed by faith >
Occasionally, there are people who meet desperate dead-end situations and fall into desperation, saying, “It’s over!” If the apocalyptic belief promotes such desperation, complacency, indolence, and self-indulgence, it is a false apocalyptic belief. That is why the Apostle Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to work hard on their goals and missions so that they do not fall into despair and complacency due to false end-time beliefs, and to build up each other as they have done so far (verse 11).
Knowledge makes a man proud, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1). Don't pretend you know everything you've learned and experienced, but edify yourself with love. Occasionally, among zealous new believers, “this or not” is too primordial, so there are many cases of ignorance of the principle of love. If they pass by a temple while climbing, they will look down on the temple and criticize the monks and arguing needlessly. Then, they misunderstand that they are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
On the other hand, mature saints respect the monks of the temple and show respect for them for living an upright life. It just makes me sad that it's going in the other direction. It is not a good attitude to show rudeness toward people of other religions and to show your spirituality high. Spirituality must be manifested in enriching our personal relationship with God and edifying us in love. Do not try to prove that “I am a person of deep faith” by being rude and blaming others, but prove your spirituality by living a life that naturally springs from the accumulation of God’s mercy, grace, and holiness.
The greatest weakness of an immature, zealous believer is that the simple few religious knowledge he has learned makes him frivolous, and is prone to judging and condemning others. As such, one's own experiences and knowledge must create an atmosphere of reverence, humility, and warmth. If you have faith, your life should also be warm. You must not have pride in your eyes. If you have a warm heart, your eyes will also be warm. The saints should have that kind of atmosphere.
“I don’t do rituals! I don't eat anything on weekdays! But why do you live like that?” It is not virtuous to prove one's saintliness only through negative comparisons. If all the religious expressions that you confess with your lips and put so much saliva in your mouth don't show up in life-changing and virtuous ways, no one will want to see them and believe them. Faith must be followed by virtue.