Enduring Suffering - A Sign We Are Christ's

We have seen from earlier in this chapter that Paul was able to commend the people he was writing to because he had seen certain things in them. It was an encouragement to them to know that their love, faith and patience was recognised by an apostle as being hallmarks of genuine belonging to Christ. Paul develops that further here and notes that the censure that these believers received, including the persecution that experienced, revealed that they belonged to Christ and would be vindicated, while their enemies would perish.

This is an encouragement to these believers, and to us, that we should not give up. We are on the right side of His righteous judgment which will, one day, be manifest on the Day of Judgment. Their being persecuted, and bearing up under it, are encouraging signs that they belong to Christ, and will be owned by Him on that Day.

Main Headings:

1: Injustices are not forgotten
2: We have eternity in view