God Will Do It!

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

When we hear a list of encouragements in the Bible, we often start to make a mental checklist. “Okay, I need to be more patient. More hard-working. More encouraging.” Can you see the list starting to form? “I need to respect my church leaders and look out for the disheartened and the weak.” Plus, “I want to strive to do what is good and always hear God’s Word and care for all people.” That’s quite a list, isn’t it?

How well do you carry out that list? This is the problem: We don’t! We don’t perfectly carry out any of God’s commands. Sometimes people make Christianity into a checklist. “Just follow these ____ steps, and you’ll be a good Christian!” But we don’t. We don’t check all the boxes. We’re sinful.

So notice that Paul doesn’t end his letter to the Thessalonians with, “Now you’ve got your to-do list, so go at it!” Instead, he ends with a beautiful prayer. Read it again: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This prayer includes some big requests. Paul prays that we be “sanctified through and through.” In other words, he wants us to be holy. Paul prays that our souls and bodies be “kept blameless.” In other words, he wants us to be perfect inside and out. Wow! What a big request!

How is that possible? “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Who’s really doing all the work? God! This is what the Bible teaches: God made us. God saved us. God sanctified us through Jesus’ blood. God empowers us to live for him. It is God who works everything good in us.

Do you see how this is good news? The Bible’s message isn’t, “Jesus saved you, so now it’s your turn to shape up.” It’s, “Jesus saved you, and God will work through his Word to make you into what he calls you to be.” Take a deep breath. God is faithful. He will do it!

Dear Lord God, I can’t keep one of your commands, let alone all of them. Forgive me! As I hear your Word again and again, make me into the person you want me to be. To your glory! Amen.

Pastor Nathan