Resolutions for 2026 and Beyond: 2 Thess Lesson 17

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

Essentials of the Faithful Christian Walk

 Today we will bring our study of these letters to the Thessalonians to a conclusion. We started this study back in September of 2024. It has taken us 58 messages to work through both of these letters to this good church. I hope you have found this to have been a spiritually enriching experience. I am never surprised by the richness of God’s word. The challenge for me is always deciding how deeply to dig. I want to let the text dictate the pace, not the calendar.

Read 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18. These verses are Paul’s benediction. For the most part these are words you might find at the end of any letter Paul wrote. As I like to remind myself any time I open the Bible, this is not an encounter with ordinary words. While they are words commonly found at the end of Paul’s letters, they are not common words. These are the inspired, infallible, inerrant, life transforming words of the living God. Every word, sentence, and verse is worthy of our careful and worshipful attention and deepest consideration.

These words from verses 16-18 don’t simply bring this letter of Paul to a conclusion. They are the final words written, so in that respect they are a conclusion. But the focus of these words is forward. It is as if Paul is saying that going forward, once the lessons from the letter have been studied and understood, as you proceed on in the walk of faith, here are some things to remember. Here are some things that you need to keep in focus. So, as we gather on this first Sunday of 2026, these verses provide for us an appropriate New Year’s challenge.

Paul concludes the letter with reminders of foundational truths the Thessalonian Christians would need to remember and embrace every day and in every circumstance and in every challenge they will face in the future. The lessons of these two letters have been learned. As we repeatedly remind you from this pulpit, these lessons are not for informational purposes only. They are for transformational purposes. So, to go forward and live out the truth faithfully, there are four essentials found in these concluding verses. I was able to construct this message around four words that all begin with “p.” The four essentials of a faithful Christian walk are peace of God, presence of God, people of God and the power of God.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of essentials. There are many other non-negotiables. These are the ones we find here and these were the ones Paul felt he needed to include in these final words to this good church. Paul takes them back to the basics. Sometimes we try to complicate things. We sometimes make the Christian life much harder than it needs to be. So in wrapping up his message to the Thessalonians, Paul brings them back to some sound, basic, foundational biblical principles to guide them on the path forward.

Just to remind you of what we just finished studying in chapter 3, Paul has called the church to deal with the unruly and undisciplined among the fellowship. He called them to take some difficult steps designed to discipline the unruly and bring them to repentance. These are hard things to do. These final verses are also keys to standing strong in the midst of difficult things.

I don’t think it inappropriate for us to look at these four foundational things as good content for some New Year’s resolutions we might want to consider. So I am going to frame these four truths in the form of some resolutions we should consider as we move into a new year.

The first word of verse 16 is transitional. “Now” Paul writes. Here he transitions from his exhortations, instructions, and admonitions we have been looking at through chapter 3, to a petition. This is Paul’s benedictory prayer for these faithful believers. This is what Paul knew they would need in order to go forth daily and live faithfully. The first of these essentials is peace. Verse 16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.”  From this verse I want to challenge us all to resolve to walk in the peace that the Lord of peace continually grants you in every circumstance.

This isn’t just a request that God grant the Thessalonians peace. This is a challenge to them to walk in the reality of the peace that the Lord of peace provides.

This peace (Greek eirene – eye-ray-nay) is the product of reconciliation with God through the gracious gift of salvation. God offers this peace to every person who will repent and turn to Christ. Our sin has alienated us from God. Sin separates from God. Our sin has made us to be the enemies of God. The Lord of peace offers peace through the blood of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

This peace is offered because God initiated the peace process. Turn to Romans 5:6-11. I shared this passage with you because Paul calls the Lord “the Lord of peace” in our passage. I believe it is important to start there because this is most foundational, basic, fundamental thing to the Christian walk. If you have not been reconciled to God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, you do not have peace. You do not know the Lord of peace. Your 2026 needs to begin right there.

Now, the peace Paul desires for the Thessalonian believers, and the peace he asks for here, is the ongoing principle of peace that every Christian should be walking in daily. This is the true peace that should fill our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is the peace that surpasses understanding. This is true spiritual peace. This peace becomes for the child of God the tranquil state of the soul which is assured of salvation through Christ, fearing nothing from God and consequently content with whatever life brings.

This true spiritual peace is different from the peace that the world pursues. The peace the world seeks can only be found through favorable circumstances, when all is as we want it to be. That superficial, fragile, fleeting peace is easily disrupted with every trial, failure, disappointment, loss, sickness, financial setback, or disagreement we might have with another person. How often do those kinds of things confront us in real life? They are at least a daily occurrence. 

The peace of which Paul speaks here is a deeply settled confidence that all is well with the soul, regardless of my circumstances. This is a peace that is elusive for many Christians. It is the peace that Horatio Spafford wrote about in his wonderful hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.” When God’s peace attends our way, even when sorrows roll over our lives like giant waves of the sea, and these sorrows seem to threaten to drown us in despair, we stand firm on what we know to be true and right and lovely and pure. Whatever life hits us with, and whatever the weight of the burden or the depth of the sorrow, the promises of God are found to be the source of our hope and fill us with peace, because we know that it is well, it is well with my soul.

This peace comes from understanding, believing, and resting in the reality that God is on His throne and He is sovereignly in control of all that is happening. We have peace because we know that all is well between us God. This well-being is the result of having been reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ. Every truly regenerated follower of Christ is the beneficiary of this peace. Paul assumes that the Thessalonians were genuine, and had come to know the peace that comes from being reconciled to God through Christ. But Paul wanted their lives to manifest this peace not just for eternity, but in the present. His petition is that the Lord of peace Himself continually grant peace in every circumstance. Paul knew the Thessalonians had, and would in the future, face some trials of faith. His petition was that the Lord of peace Himself would grant them peace in every circumstance.

The peace of God is sufficient for every circumstance because the source of that peace is the God who is sovereign in the circumstance. I am afraid that too often, when we encounter troubles in life, we forget to look to the God whose peace is available and sufficient. We look at the problem and start to measure the size of the problem against the sufficiency of our own resources and abilities to deal with it. If we put the problem on one side of the scale and the Lord of peace on the other side of the scale, which one is always bigger? Which One is always sufficient?

Paul structures this sentence so that the emphasis is on the Lord of peace. That is why our translation says “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace…” Sometimes it is good for us to just slow down with the text and consider what we are reading. “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.” If you are one whose heart is prone to worry, anxiety, fear, or doubt, here is your first homework assignment for this year. Memorize this verse.

• Now…is there ever a time when this peace is not available?

• May…is there a question of God’s willingness to fill our hearts and minds with this peace?

• The Lord of peace Himself…Who is the Author of this peace? Because He is a perfect God He only gives perfect peace. Jesus promised in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

• Continually grant you peace… God offers and provides a constant, sufficient supply of peace. 

• In every circumstance…Paul did not forget to write anything here. He does not say, “in every circumstance except those really tough situations in life.” “Every” is kind of an all-inclusive word.

If you are considering a few New Year’s resolutions, this would be a good one. I resolve to immediately draw from the resource of God’s peace in the face of every circumstance I face in 2026. This would radically change some of your lives. Paul instructed the Colossians in Col. 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful.” 

Now look at the last statement in verse 16. “The Lord be with you all!” We fail to remember the availability of the Lord’s peace because we are not keenly enough aware of the Lord’s presence in our lives. Resolve to walk through every moment of every day this year with a keen awareness of the presence of the Lord. This would change some of our lives.

I will promise you that you will win the battle against temptation if you will remember that the Lord is with you every moment of every day. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He abides with us. His Holy Spirit is our indwelling Guide, Teacher, and Intercessor. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His presence empowers you to live for His glory.

God is a very present help in time of need. What a friend we have in Jesus. He is closer to us than a brother. Resolve to live every moment of every day, not only on the year to come, but in every day for the rest of your life, in the reality of the presence of the Lord.

 Do you ever experience times when it seems as though the Lord is distant from you? I think we experience those times when we are not as close to the Lord as we should be. It isn’t because He has gone anywhere. Paul’s petition “the Lord be with you all” isn’t a petition asking the Lord to be there. It is a petition designed to help the Thessalonians understand the reality of the Lord’s presences every moment of every day and in every circumstance of life. If we would resolve to walk the presence of the Lord constantly, there is tremendous potential for power in this life that we are otherwise forfeiting.

 To resolve to walk in the reality of the Lord’s presence is to walk with the constant reminder of His place in our lives. It is helpful to remember that Jesus is Lord, and I am not. Jesus is my master. I am His slave. He is my Redeemer. I am His redeemed. I do not belong to myself. I have been bought with a price. I belong to Him. I am His to do with as He pleases. To walk in the constant awareness of His presence is to walk in submission to His will.

 Resolve to walk in the peace that God provides. Resolve to walk in the presence of Christ. Here is a third resolution. Resolve to walk with some faith partners who will speak truth into your life and who are authentic, humble, and honest. Look at verse 17. “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.” 

 For reasons that are not revealed in the Scriptures, Paul used an amanuensis, or a secretary, when he wrote his letters to the churches. We know Paul was the author of the letter to the Romans, but Romans 15:22 says, “I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.” Paul had dictated the letter to the Romans to his companion Tertius. We don’t know the reason why. What this reveals to us is that there was something that Paul dealt with that made it easier for him to use a secretary than for him to write with his own hand. 

Here, Paul acknowledges that he is personally authoring only this greeting with his own hand. He had dictated the rest of the letter and it was written by someone not known to us. We can only speculate as to the reasons for this. Some have conjectured that Paul had a serious eye condition that affected his vision and his own writing would have been much larger. We don’t know and it isn’t important.

What Paul wanted to establish with this greeting is the certainty of his own personal authorship of the letter. A previous letter that may have been written by someone claiming to be Paul may have been the cause of some doctrinal confusion related to the Day of the Lord. Paul was an Apostle of Christ. He was God’s agent of truth. He wanted to establish the fact that he was responsible for the content of the letter regardless of whose hand held the pen. We all need people like Paul who will deliver us, without compromise, the pure truth of God’s word.

While Paul maintained an unwavering commitment to sharing the truth, he was not interested in presenting himself as someone who did not have his own challenges, difficulties, and struggles in life. Whatever this distinguishing mark revealed, it shows us that Paul needed the help of others. Paul was committed to authenticity in his own life. He was honest about his limitations and struggles. God had humbled him with some thorn in the flesh and this was a lesson he had learned well.

Even the great Apostle Paul needed the help of others. We all need partners in our walk of faith. We all need people who are faithful to tell us truth. We all need others who are authentic, humble, and honest. We all need someone to come alongside and help us. The Christian life was never intended to be lived in isolation. It was never intended to be lived as the Lone Ranger. There is no such thing as a Christian who does not need other Christians. God didn’t intend for the Christian life to be lived in isolation. That is why there are so many “one another” commands in the New Testament.

We all need to be authentic, humble, and honest. We need others who are authentic, humble and honest. We all have struggles. We all have things we need help with. We all need others to come along side and walk through life with us. Some of you need to resolve to partner with others in the faith. You are dealing with struggles and you are doing too much on your own. You are not engaging others who can come along side and help by sharing truth and showing you what it means to be authentic, humble, and honest.

The “fellowship” of the church is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. Fellowship is not the meal we share together on the second Sunday after church. Biblical fellowship is the sharing of our lives together. We should all be taking advantage of those opportunities to share life with one another.

Resolve to walk in the peace that the Lord Himself continually grants in every circumstance. Resolve to walk in the presence of the Lord. Resolve to walk with partners in the faith, those who will share truth and who live with authenticity, humility, and honesty. Finally, resolve to walk in the power God provides. Verse 18 calls this power source, “grace.” It says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

We never study Paul’s writing very long until we encounter something regarding grace. Paul began the first letter to the Thessalonians by saying “Grace to you and peace.” He started the second letter to them writing, “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I think if you had to find a one word description of the theme of Paul’s ministry, the word “grace” would be a great word. Paul does more to help explain the grace of God than any other New Testament writer.

We know grace is God’s undeserved favor. Grace is God’s unmerited goodness. We know that it is by grace we are saved through faith. Our salvation has nothing to do with our own effort, our own goodness, our own worthiness, or anything we bring to God. We know that not only are we saved by grace, we are sanctified by grace. We are gifted for service by the gifts of God’s grace. We persevere in the faith by grace. We will be translated to glory by grace. We will reign with Christ for eternity by grace. Any good we do, any act of service, any contribution we make to the kingdom is because of God’s grace.

It is far too easy for us to take the grace of God for granted. It is something far too easy to be familiar with but not sufficiently appreciate. The grace of God should put us on our faces before Him in humble, honest, worship and adoration.

Grace is the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to undeserving sinners, finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver. God’s grace is His power working in us, working a miraculous transformation. Grace not only results in the forgiveness of the sinner, but grace is the power that changes the individual to a new creature without destroying his individuality.

Grace, when received by faith, transforms man and causes him to love and seek after the righteousness of God. Grace is initially the work of regeneration, the work of the Holy Spirit in which spiritual life is imparted to the sinner. Grace is the power that brings the sinner’s sinful nature under the dominion of righteousness. The maintenance of this condition requires an unbroken and immense supply of grace. Grace remains constant in, and basic to, a believer’s fight against sin within, and Satan without. Grace produces a renewal within the believer that is stimulated by God’s illuminating and strengthening the soul. God’s grace insures that those who have been truly regenerated will endure and persevere until the end of life.

My friends, we will spend the rest of our lives plummeting the depths of the significance of God’s gift of grace. The significance and implications of grace are found everywhere in the Scriptures. Grace was shown to Adam and Eve in the Garden when God killed an animal to clothe the first two rebels. Everyone since who has been saved has been “justified freely by His grace.”

Once again, this isn’t a petition asking God to give His grace so that it would be with them all. Paul knew the grace of God was available in abundance. This is a petition that these believers would learn to walk in the reality of the grace God provides. We should resolve to walk in the grace of God. It is truly Amazing Grace. We should daily, even moment by moment, remind ourselves of all we have that is the product of God’s amazing grace. You will not get bored if you will focus on God’s undeserved favor in your life. You will find God’s grace sufficient for any need in life.

I have another assignment for you. Start a “because of God’s grace” list. Take a notebook (or your Ipad) and make a list of the benefits of God’s grace.

These words that bring 2 Thessalonians to a close may be common words, but they are words full of uncommon implications for the way we live. I think we would all benefit from carefully examining our lives and asking ourselves some questions. Do I need to be walking daily with a greater understanding and application of the peace of God? If so, I resolve to walk in the peace which the Lord of peace Himself continually grants to me in every circumstance.

Do I need to be walking with a greater awareness of and sensitivity to the indwelling presence of the Lord? I resolve to walk in step with my companion and Lord. I will walk with a constant awareness of His constant presence with me.

Do I need partners in the walk of faith who will faithfully speak God’s truth into my life and live with authenticity, humility and honesty? I resolve to find at least one of those people and begin to open my life up to them so they can help me live authentically.

Do I need God’s grace? I resolve to walk in the realities of the benefits of the grace God gives in abundance.