II Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”
Like the early Christian Brethren, in our day we must pray that our Lord will deliver us “from unreasonable and wicked men”. Those who “have not faith” have no loving motivation nor cause to be reasonable and lovingly kind and gracious to others. Those who do not have God-given “faith” (Hebrews 12:2) are solely motivated and guided by their own vain lust and greed, their thoughts and deeds are not guided by an inward sense of morality and integrity. They are “unreasonable” because they have no “faith” as a point of reference with which to be reasonable; that is, without “faith” they have no spiritual basis for thought and judgment. People without “faith” have no desire to do good, be honest, be kind, seek peace, or be gracious to others; thus, you cannot peacefully reason with them and certainly cannot convince them to love the Lord, His Word, or His Church. These people are “wicked” by nature and do “wicked” things to others with no sense of remorse or shame. By their “wicked” nature, they hate Christianity for it lovingly teaches morality, integrity, humility, and faithfulness to God. These “wicked” people are viciously active in our day, doing all they can to stamp out true Christianity. We need to recognize that “these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city” (Ezekiel 11:2). So, now is the time for us to “stand fast in the Lord” (I Thessalonians 3:8) and earnestly “pray” “that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified … And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith”!