Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

When you read the Apostle Paul’s letters, it seems as though the prospect that he was wasting his time in ministry was something that weighed on him.

In 1 Corinthians 15, he writes

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 (ESV)

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

And in Philippians 2 he exhorts the church in Philippi to

Philippians 2:16 (ESV)

16 [hold] fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

The prospect of laboring in vain is much on his mind in Galatians—he says that he went to the other apostles in Jerusalem to have his understanding of the Gospel evaluated by them “in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain” (Gal.

2:2).

And in Galatians 4 he writes

Galatians 4:11 (ESV)

11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

And in 1 Thessalonians he describes his anxiety over the prospect of laboring in vain that compelled him to send Timothy to visit them:

1 Thessalonians 3:5 (ESV)

5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

I think sometimes we have an elevated view of men like Paul—an Apostle of Christ, with spiritual authority and power, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture.

We tend to think that men like that strode through life with ironclad assurance that everything they did in ministry would be inevitably successful.

But we can see here that Paul regularly considered the possibility that his ministry might not succeed.

(I think this is part of what Paul is writing about in 2 Corinthians 11:28 when he is listing his sufferings and says that “there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”)

So let me ask you, Bethel Baptist Church—if the Apostle Paul considered that he might be ministering in vain, what does that mean for our ministries here?

If Paul realized that all his labors might go for nothing, then what assurance do we have that we’re not wasting our time in our labors?

Consider again the first verse of our text this morning:

1 Thessalonians 2:1 (ESV)

1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain(!)

So here in this passage, Paul says he is confident that his ministry to the Thessalonians was not a waste of time; that his labor among them was not in vain!

He knows it was not in vain because of the good report Timothy brought back:

1 Thessalonians 3:6 (ESV)

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you...

So here in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 we have an example of what ministry that is not a waste of time looks like—a ministry that results in people who bear good fruit of holiness in their walk with Christ.

And so I want us to delve into this passage together so that we can see what that looks like—so that we can evaluate our ministries here at Bethel in light of how Paul describes his ministry to the Thessalonians here in these verses.

And I believe the key to this is found in the way Paul refers to the Gospel in this passage—see if you can pick up on it:

1 Thessalonians 2:2 (ESV)

2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (ESV)

8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

1 Thessalonians 2:9 (ESV)

9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

Now, the phrase “the Gospel of God” can either mean that it is the Gospel—the Good News—about God, or it can mean that it is the Good News that belongs to God.

I think that it is appropriate to read that phrase both ways, but for our time together this morning I want to take it in the sense that reminds us that God is the Author of the Gospel—it is His message that He has entrusted to us.

And when we remember that, then we are on track to have a ministry that is not a waste of time.

So the way I want to say it this morning is:

We will not minister in vain when we REMEMBER that the Gospel BELONGS to God, not US

We are never in greater danger of wasting our time in ministry than when we begin thinking that we have the right to minister this Gospel message in the way that suits us best—according to our own preferences or our own ideas.

That we can alter it or re-tool it or dress it up according to our own whims or tastes, or that the way we live our lives as Gospel-bearers is inconsequential.

But if the Gospel belongs to God, then we have no right to tamper with it or change it or use it to serve our own ends—if we do that, we will find that we have labored in vain.

The first example comes to us in verses 1-2 of the chapter:

1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 (ESV)

1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

We are tempted to avoid confrontation, or seek the path of least resistance—but

I.

The Gospel will not be INTIMIDATED by anyone (vv.

1-2)

Consider what Paul and Silas had been through in Philippi in Acts 16—falsely accused of crimes, flogged and imprisoned in violation of Imperial law.

Philippi was their first introduction to ministry in Greece—you would think they could be excused for wanting to “take it easy” and not go so hard when they got to Thessalonica.

But that’s not the way God’s Gospel is meant to go forward, is it?

It is accompanied by BOLDNESS (v.

2; cp.

Acts 4:31)

Paul and Silas didn’t hold back when they got to Thessalonica because of the treatment they got in Philippi, did they?

They had boldness in our God to declare God’s Gospel message.

Notice that this boldness didn’t come from their own hearts, did it?

It was “boldness in God” that gave them their courage.

We see God doing the same thing for Peter and John and the rest of the Apostles in Acts 4 after they were arrested for healing the lame man at the Temple:

Acts 4:31 (ESV)

31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

God’s Gospel isn’t intimidated by anyone; He gives His people boldness as they declare it.

God’s Gospel is accompanied by boldness, and

It accepts CONFLICT (v.

2; cp.

Matt.

10:34-36)

Note that Paul says in verse 2 that they had boldness to declare the Gospel of God “in the midst of much conflict”.

Our natural tendency is to avoid conflict and turmoil.

We don’t want to ruffle feathers, we don’t want to cause arguments.

And surely that’s not a bad thing—you don’t want to be the person who always initiates arguments and friction.

But at the same time we need to understand that conflict and friction caused by declaring the Gospel isn’t a bug; it’s a feature!

It is an inescapable fact that the Gospel divides.

That’s what it does.

This is precisely what Jesus was saying in Matthew’s Gospel when He said

Matthew 10:34–36 (ESV)

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.

I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

One of the great victories that the secularists have won over Christians in our day is to say that they are being mean when they talk about the Gospel.

That when you declare to someone that they are guilty before God and that their only hope to escape His eternal wrath in Hell is the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the Cross, and that they need to repent of their sins and call on Him in faith—that’s mean.

It will hurt their feelings.

It will cause them emotional trauma.

Don’t be mean to people!

And so all too often, because we don’t like conflict, and we don’t like being called “mean”, we find ways around those parts of the Gospel message that might be considered “hurtful” or “judgmental”.

Instead of the Gospel being our escape from the wrath of almighty God we say that it is “the key to human flourishing”.

Instead of the hideousness of sin, we talk about “bad choices” or “mistakes”.

Instead of telling people to flee to the blood of Jesus Christ to escape the wrath of almighty God in eternal torment, we say that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”

But we do not have the authority to re-define the Gospel.

It is not our message.

It is God’s.

We are tempted to soft-sell the Gospel, but

II.

The Gospel does not MANIPULATE anyone (vv.

3-6)

Look at what Paul says in verses 5-6:

1 Thessalonians 2:5–6 (ESV)

5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness.