Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (ESV)
Commenting on verses 9 and 10, John Stott writes:
It is helpful to bring the apostle’s two statements together. First, God appointed us to receive salvation. Secondly, Christ died for us that we might life. Thus our future salvation depends on God’s purpose, and our future life on Christ’s death.
Our ‘hope of salvation’ is well founded. … It stands firmly on the solid rock of God’s will and Christ’s death, and not on the shifting sands of our own performance or feelings. The ultimate reason why we should be bold rather than faint hearted in anticipation of [the Second Coming] lies not in who we are (children of the day and of the light) but on who God is, as revealed in the cross. [For He is] the Giver of salvation and [of] life.
MEMORY WORK – Shorter Catechism Q/A 67
Q. 67. Which is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill.