“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
These were the words of the great philosopher, Gomer Pyle. For those of you not
familiar with his work, Gomer was a character first on “The Andy Griffith Show”
and then on his own show that bore his name. A country bumpkin turned U.S.
Marine who oftentimes uttered great wisdom in spite of his obvious
shortcomings.
With that said, this is a good paraphrase of Paul’s words.
Yes, you were fooled by false teachers. Yes, you listened when you shouldn’t
have. Yes, it caused you to doubt everything you believed in. Don’t do it
again! Stand fast and hold firm! These Thessalonian Christians had been given a
great foundation through the teachings of Paul and those true teachers who had
followed him. They had listened to him preach and they had read his letter. It
was trustworthy the first time around, and they could trust it to always be
true.
Do you want to know what I believe? I believe that it is
still true 2000 years later. These letters – in fact the whole Bible – is still
true and relevant today. As true and relevant as it was when first written. Our
problems today do not come from a lack of truth or revelation from God. Our
problems come from a lack of belief and acceptance of the truths God has given.
“All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is what we need today –
to stand firm on and hold to with all our might. Why? Because as in Paul’s day,
there are false teachers who are telling us that what we have is inadequate and
incomplete. They claim to have a new revelation that will lead us into the real
truth. That’s what Mohammed claimed. And Joseph Smith. And David Koresh. And
Jim Jones. And countless other false teachers and cult leaders who have caused
millions, if not billions, of people to believe lies. Please, I beg you, return
to the Truth.
If you do, do you know what will happen? God, Who loves you
and has given you a future that is good, Who has consoled you in the past and
poured out His grace on you, will comfort you. When you follow lies, there is
no comfort. There is only uncertainty because the Spirit of God won’t let you
be comfortable until that time when He gives you over to the strong delusion
(see 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). But if you return to the Truth, God will
establish and strengthen you in every good word and work.
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