Another Letter which Jan Thielemans Wrote from Prison

I wish you, my much beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, and all those who will see my letters, or hear them read, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Ghost, for a friendly and worthy greeting. Accept it in love. Amen.

After good and proper greetings, I undertake to write a little to you, my beloved, dear friends. I beg you all by the mercies of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that you would all diligently take heed to yourselves* in all love, peace and truth, according to the words of the Gospel, while, dear children, you still have time from the Lord, through His great love shown you; since the time is so precious, for when it is past, and one has not taken good heed, it is lamented with sorrow. [n931-2] Hence Paul says:

"Let us take heed to ourselves, to provoke to love in good works." † Therefore let us be the least, meanest, and lowliest, to bear all that is consistent with love and truth. For so said Christ Jesus, the eternal truth, Himself; when the disciples asked who should be the greatest among them, He took a child, and set it in the midst of them, and said: [n931-1] "Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18, verse 3. Hence we may well see from the words of Christ, that we are to be, and must be, a prepared people; or we are not what we think ourselves to be, or what people take us for.

Hence, my much beloved friends, we must show ourselves in all things to be the ministers of God. Now, no more is required in them than that they be found faithful; for God is not unrighteous to forget your love, and your good and kind works. First Corinthians 4, verses 1 and 2; Hebrews 6, verse 10. Therefore be steadfast, and immovable in the work of the Lord, always knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord; hoping by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it will yet be most richly rewarded to you, when He will say: "Come, you blessed, inherit the kingdom of my Father." First Corinthians 15, verse 58; Matthew 25, verse 34. Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Matthew 13, verse 43. Then it shall be seen what difference there shall be between the righteous and the wicked, and between those who have served God and those who have not served Him. Malachi 3, verse 18.

Therefore, my greatly beloved in the Lord, take diligent heed to yourselves. Rather suffer from another, even though it should be one friend from another, than that another should suffer from you. Rather bear from another, even though it should be a friend, if it is consistent with the truth, than that a friend should suffer from you. Hence it is written: "If you come to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation." Sirach 2, verse 1. For it will come very conveniently, even if one has put himself in the lowest place.

Hence, beloved friends in the Lord, abide in that which you have heard from the beginning. If you abide in it, you shall continue in the Father, and in the Son. And this is His promise, even eternal life. First John 2, verses 24 and 25. What do we care for the world, or for what there is in it; for the world shall pass away, and its lust; but he that does the will of God abides forever. And it is certainly our chief concern to be saved; as Peter says, Acts 15, verse 11: "We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." Even as he says also in another place: "I have briefly written to you, by our brother Silvanus, namely, that this is the grace of God in which you now stand. Therefore hold fast what you have, so that no one takes your crown." Revelation 3, verse 11. If you overcome, you shall inherit all things. Hence add to your faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, temperance; to temperance, patience; to patience, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you so that you shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see far off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

Therefore all the more, brothers, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if you do these things, you shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Second Peter 1, verses 5 to 11. Having therefore such great and glorious promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness. Second Corinthians 7, verse 1. As John also testifies, saying: "Let us purify ourselves from sin, even as he is pure. For whoever commits sin does wrong; for sin is wrong. Therefore he came into the world, that he might take away sin; for in him is no sin. Whoever sins has not seen him, nor known him." First John 3, verses 3 to 6. The same John further testifies, and says: "You are of God, little children, [and have overcome them,] because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world; therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God; he that knows God hears us; but he that does not know God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." First John 4, verses 4 to 6. With this Christ agrees, saying: "The world cannot hate you; but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works are evil." John 7, verse 7. As He further says in another place: "Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me; they were yours, and you gave them to me. Not, Father, that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil." John 17, verse 11. In another place Christ says: "Everyone that does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3, verse 20. [n931-3]

Thus, my much beloved friends, while we are still in this sad world, and the Lord still grants us time, we must take most diligent heed to the word of the Lord, and do our very best to follow it; for so Paul teaches us, saying: "As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy." Galatians 6, verse 16. For so we read in another place: "This people does not understand, nor do they lay it to heart, that the grace and mercy of God are over his chosen and over his saints;" even as Moses says, that His mercy is shown to thousands of those who love Him, and keep His commandments. Exodus 20, verse 6. True, there are many in the world who say that they love the Lord; but they do not show it by their works, for their works show well enough whom they love; for Christ says: "He that loves me will keep my word, or obey my commandments." These are they who can stand before Him; for so Christ also says: "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me." John 14, verse 21. But he that does not keep His commandments does not love Him either; for John in his epistle declares: "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." First John 5, verses 3 to 5. Therefore, "love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, namely, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and its lust; but he that does the will of God abides forever." First John 2, verses 15 to 17. Hence, my much beloved friends, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God. Romans 12, verse 2. Even as Paul says also in another place: "Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world." Galatians 1, verses 3 and 4. Thus, my dear friends, this grace has been given you, namely, that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom you have come as to a living stone, which was rejected by men, but before God was chosen and precious. Therefore, be built up a spiritual house, and a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through our Lord Jesus Christ; so that you may lift up holy hands to the Lord, without strife and discord (First Timothy 2, verse 8), and make intercession and give thanks for all men; and the Lord of peace shall be with you. Second Corinthians 13, verse 11. But if God is with you, who shall be against you, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all? Who shall lay anything to the charge of His elect? It is God that justifies them. Who shall condemn them? It is Christ that died and is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, and also makes intercession for us. Hence Paul says: "Who shall be able to separate us from the love of God? tribulation, or persecution, or death," and so on. Romans 8, verse 31.

Thus, my much beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, I will shorten my simple letter, which I have written in bonds, in which we daily look for the redemption of our bodies. Hence receive this letter kindly, and think of what has in times past come forth from my unworthy lips (not I, but the grace of God through me, First Corinthians 15, verse 10).

With this I bid you an eternal, Christian adieu, and expect you all in the second resurrection, that we may meet Him in the air, and ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words. First Thessalonians 4, verses 17 and 18. Once more I bid you adieu, my dear friends. With this I commend you to the Lord, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Amen. Acts 20, verse 32.

Written in bonds, by me, JAN THIELEMANS,

Your weak brother in Christ.