“In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, why does it say ‘obey’ not the gospel instead of ‘believe’ not the gospel? I was always told simply to believe.”

Considering that a person’s eternal life hinges on it, nothing can be more important than having a biblical understanding of not only what the gospel is but also the situation in which it is being offered.

We often think of the gospel as purely an invitation, like when Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “…as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” However, God is not merely asking mankind to believe; God has issued a warning of what will happen to all who refuse.

God has “commandeth all men every where to repent [change their mind]: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

To consider the gospel simply an invitation would be like saying that God was merely asking Pharoah to let the people of Israel go. We are saved by faith in the gospel, but that gospel is a command from God, and those who refuse to believe will be judged according to their works.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.