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Let’s talk about faith (Jan. 6, 2019)

UNIFORM LESSON FOR January 6, 2019
Scripture passage and lesson focus: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5; 2 John 4-11

We now move to the epistles with the theme “Loving God by trusting Christ.” It should be readily apparent that we are in a different section of the canon, both by the relative obscurity of these passages, and the differences in vocabulary and themes.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 — Propositional faith
Though the same word for “faith” is used here as in the Gospels, this word takes on new (or at least different) meaning in the letters. “Faith” in the Gospels mostly refers to trust in Jesus, or trusting Jesus to be and do what he claims, especially regarding the nearness of the kingdom. By Thessalonians and the Johannine epistles, faith is much more propositional in nature. Faith is believing the right things about Jesus, particularly regarding his identity and status as the Son of God.

Thus, 2 John begins to talk about deceivers who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh: Maybe Jesus was fully God, but not fully human. Faith as “belief about Jesus” versus “trust in Jesus” has begun to emerge. Likewise, 2 Thessalonians talks in terms of “for not all have faith.” In the Gospels, Jesus is much more apt to talk about “little” faith versus “no” faith (though, even here, the distinctions can blur; cf. Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40). The distinction may seem trivial, but its effects are anything but. Proper teaching regarding Jesus is both necessary for the propagation of the faith, and dangerous for the unity of the church — both then and now.

2 John 4-11 — A call to love, a call to separate
This both/and nature of the early church’s emerging faith about Jesus leads to some tensions that go to the heart of the ways, positive and negative, we continue to respond to God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. On one hand, in  Thessalonians 3:1, the writer celebrates the way that the word of the Lord is being “spread rapidly” and being “glorified everywhere.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for everybody, all over the world. On the other hand, some of those who had originally received this good news, are now labeled “wicked” and “evil,” and require that the true church be “rescued” from them, as from the “evil one” (3:2-3). Belief has become a matter of “good” versus “bad.”

And so in 2 John, a deep contradiction appears. On one hand, all the true believers are to be loved; indeed, the command to love one another has become the summation of all that Jesus came to live and teach (cf. 2 John 5-6 with John 13:34). On the other hand, those who do not believe the necessary doctrines regarding the identity of Christ are labeled “deceivers” (2 John 7); they are not to be welcomed or admitted into the house (i.e. the fellowship) “for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person” (2 John 11).

We thus encounter a paradox that the church continues to wrestle with to this day. The more the church practices proper teaching regarding the saving work of Christ for all, the more it becomes necessary to delineate whose beliefs are “orthodox” and whose “heretical.” What began as primarily an issue of trust now becomes a matter of confession, which both clarifies and cuts off.

The faithfulness of Jesus
Maybe it would be good to point out that these passages about our faith are grounded in repeated references to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Again, the Lord will “direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness [faithfulness] of Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 3:5). Other members of the community may lead us astray or abandon us, but Jesus will not. “God is faithful still” (A Brief Statement of Faith).

In 2 John, the reward for holding on to right belief is not so much being “in” versus “out,” but rather “having” or not “having” the faithful presence of God: “Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” While the cost of “right belief” may be divisions in the community, the hope of right belief is unity with God and Jesus Christ — for us all.

For discussion: How do we properly balance the “cost” of right belief (divisions) with the “hope” of right belief (unity with God and Jesus Christ)? What does “faith” mean to you?

RICHARD BOYCE is the dean of the Charlotte campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary, and associate professor of preaching and pastoral leadership. He is a minister member of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.

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