2 Thessalonians 3:3

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, this word comes from the same root as "faith." It means being true to oneself and to one's own nature. It also means being true to any promise given and any trust committed. In various connections it is often applied to God Himself... The Lord Jesus also is faithful. He is "a faithful high priest" and "a faithful and true witness."

He could not help expecting to meet men who were unreasonable and full of hatred, for faith was not the portion of all. It was simply a case for the protecting hand of God. As for them, he counted on the faithfulness of the Lord for this very purpose.

His faithfulness answers to the faith of His own, however feeble it may be. His face is against those who do evil, and His eyes are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. So He would strengthen the Thessalonian saints and guard them from evil. Faith reasons this way, and it is always entitled to do so. No ground could be stronger, for it runs from God to man. Men are prone to reason from man to God, to their disappointment, shame, and sorrow. For our Lord Himself warned His own: "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." They sleep when they should pray. They may run away, or even deny Him, where they ought to stand and confess.

These believers also knew that not all men have faith, for they had suffered persecution themselves. Satan's cruel efforts in this way were meant to drive the saints back into evil. But the apostle shows them that they can depend fully on the Lord. He was faithful; He would use the persecution to establish them; He would keep them from evil. A real work of God would not fail.

If the word of the Lord is to be glorified, we need to be established in the truth. Paul is confident that the Lord, in His faithfulness, will establish the saints. Wicked men may oppose, but the Lord is faithful to His own. Our safeguard against error, and against every form of evil, is found in being grounded in the truth. If the Lord establishes us in the truth, we shall be kept from the evil. Our care, then, should be to pursue the truth. "I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil" (Romans 16:19).

We do not think the promise, "The LORD will keep you from all evil," applies apart from the state of the soul. As said before, the living link between the soul and God is faith, and God works through it to bless and protect the believer. Faith can therefore take up this word of comfort and rest on it in the darkest days, when Satan's power is on display all around... All these Scriptures show us God's care over His people. They show how hateful the thought of evil is to Him, whose eyes are too pure to look at wrongdoing.