1 Thessalonians 2:9-12 - Calling God As a Witness

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. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Target Date: Sunday, 12 June 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Holy - ὁσίως (hosíōs) – adverb – holily, in a holy manner – only time used in this form in the NT.

Righteous – δικαίως (dikaiōs) – fairly, justly.

Blameless - ἀμέμπτως (amĕmptōs) – blamelessly, unblameable.

You believers – use of tois indicates “you all” rather than “each of you”. This would be a more natural construction when the emphasis is not on the individual relationships of the team but on their conduct among these believers.

Thoughts on the Passage:

Things to consider when calling God as a witness:

Is it entirely honest?

Is it according to God’s will?

Sermon Text:

As we reach verse 10 in this passage, notice that Paul and Silas are now beginning to summarize the example they displayed before the Thessalonian church.

I remind you today, as I have each week we have been in this section, that the purpose of these examples the apostles recall to the Thessalonian believers is not to merely cause them to think well of the apostles,

But to remind them of the godly example they had in these faithful men.

An example they have begun to follow, and now must follow even more as the opposition grows.

The apostles recognize, as we do today, that godly examples are hard to find.

Preachers, that is, men and women who claim to preach the words of God, are far cheaper than a dime per dozen today, just like they were in Thessalonica in the times before social media.

Some of these create a following by predicting tragedy and disaster at every turn;

in this fallen world, they are bound to be right sometimes, and they capitalize on those times the tragic events of this world seem to line up with their predictions.

Their followers listen because we all know the world, which is opposed to God, is wrong,

But they proclaim that the gospel, the GOOD NEWS of God, consists in making the world right.

They scratch the ears of the discontented and hurting, building their own influence, prestige, wealth, and power.

And those who listen to their voices, whether it be in the form of religious programming or news channels, trade their joy for fear;

Trade their contentment for avarice;

Trade their gratitude for covetousness;

Trade their peace for worry;

Trade their faith for distrust and skepticism;

And trade the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ for judgment and condemnation.

It is these who, like Simon Peter, carry a sword to a place of prayer, often seeking, even wanting, an opportunity to use it.

But those are not the only false examples we have: on another side, we have those who have grown fat off of telling people that THEY are the answer to their own problems.

That if they are poor, it is their fault for having too little faith.

Or if they don’t have everything they can lust for, it is because others have stolen it from them.

These prophets of greed are the modern, recycled priests of Baal, Dagon, and Molech,

Who preach the same message and pollute the name of God when it is found on their lips.

They promise wealth, but deliver destruction;

They promise a good life, but at the expense of eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, if God has made you wealthy,

And by that, I mean that you have enough to pay your bills, feed your family, and help others in need,

If God has made you wealthy, He DID NOT DO IT because it was what you wanted most in life.

He didn’t do it because you prayed Jabez’s prayer or claimed His promise of material wealth.

If God has made you wealthy, it is because you desired HIM most of all,

You looked to Him as your greatest treasure.

You sought Him first and only in your heart.

If you did NOT do these things, it is simply not God who has given you the wealth of this world;

The devil, your enemy, has given you these things to lead you to idolatry and away from Jesus Christ.

Learn from the rich young man – if your heart is not set COMPLETELY on HIM, your wealth and the things of this world are not God’s BLESSING on you;

They are the very things that keep you from following Him.

Beloved, godly examples are rare in this world.

They were rare in Thessalonica then; they are rare in the United States today.

That is precisely the reason that Paul and Silas, as they are summarizing their example, do not stop with the statement “You are witnesses…”

Of course the Thessalonian believers were witnesses to their behavior, their character, and their devoted service to God.

But these apostles would never simply have the Thessalonian church trust their own hearts, their own judgment, when other teachers came to town.

You can see how dangerous that would be:

With so few godly examples, and so few preaching the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ,

The Thessalonian believers could not trust their instincts, their hearts, any more than we can today.

If Paul and Silas had left this summary simply with the Thessalonian believers’ approval of their conduct, those young believers would have been at the mercy of the next charismatic teacher who came through.

But even more than that, THEY might have thought that THEY, the Thessalonian believers, could decide TRUTH for themselves.

If this verse read “You are witnesses how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you”,

They might have thought that THEIR approval was all that was necessary for a teacher to be legitimated.

That THEY could determine the truth of a teacher’s message simply because their outer conduct was nice.

But Paul and Silas didn’t stop there in their calling of witnesses.

In fact, what they did was arguably the most dangerous thing they could have done:

They called the holy God of the universe as a witness.

You are witnesses, and God also…

You may remember, this is not even the first time Paul and Silas have called God as a witness in this letter:

We looked at it a few weeks ago, and I explained at that time that only God could testify as to the state of their hearts in preaching the gospel in Thessalonica.

For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness - 1 Thessalonians 2:5

We also know from the rest of Paul’s epistles that he does not shy away from calling God to witness his conduct and motives:

Romans 1:9-10 – For God, …, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request

Philippians 1:8 – For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:23 – But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.

What does it mean to call God as a witness? That is what I would like to spend the rest of our time together this morning to explore.

Because even this phrase, this holy invocation of God’s perfect judgment, has often been cheapened into little more than a swear.

“As God as my witness” is what we might hear someone say.

It is meant to sound sincere, and whatever follows might be factual, but for many who will use this phrase, it is used as a cover for a lie or partial truth.

Often, their word is so supect that their simple “yes” or “no” cannot be trusted.

But most often, when someone feels the need to invoke this solemn oath, it is because their honesty is already so doubtful they need to distinguish this important point from their other lies.

This dishonesty, this lying, is so rampant that even in our law courts, where an oath is taken before God to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

The juries and judges are left only trying to decide whose lies were more believable in the case.

The world doesn’t fear God;

But sadly, neither do many in the church.

They might invoke God as a witness even when they know they are not telling the whole and sole truth.

So what does it mean to declare “God is my witness”?

1. It means that you are inviting God to judge the entirety of what you are saying.

Be very careful here: our God is a consuming fire.

Leviticus 19:11-12 - You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

And in saying this, you are meaning that there is no imperfection, no loophole, no evasive wording, no deception at all.

It is not just your WORDS that are brought before God’s holy judgment, but your INTENTIONS and your MOTIVES.

Because that is the realm God alone sees – your heart.

Anyone can hear your words.

But only God knows your heart, and He alone will judge your sincerity, your honesty, and your LOVE from which you speak.

So when Paul and Silas call God as a witness to their “holy and righteous and blameless” conduct in Thessalonica, they are saying that even in the heat of God’s holy judgment, no fault would be found in their hearts.

That is bold.

To be so unmixed with personal pride, or competition, or any other weakening sin as to withstand God’s direct examination.

Their conduct had been so intentionally obedient to God that He would find no fault with their behavior – they were blameless.

I think it is quite instructive that our 1689 confession contains an entire chapter, Chapter 23, devoted to the Scripture’s teaching on oaths and vows.

The first paragraph in this chapter makes clear that by making this sort of an oath, the person is inviting God to “judge him according to his truth or falseness.”

Also tackled in there is our “modern” tendency to parse our words so that we are not “technically” lying.

We are told to speak plainly under oath, not choosing our words for what they may conceal.

2. It means you know that whatever you are saying is within God’s will.

Making a vow or taking an oath can never be used to get around obedience to God.

Calling God as your witness means that you are confident that what you have chosen to do conforms to what He wants you to do.

When Paul and Silas declare that their conduct was holy and righteous and blameless before God, they are also saying that they were operating on their best understanding of His will.

We will see this, God willing, next week when we look at what they did in Thessalonica in verses 11-12:

For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

3. It means that you have no intention or provision of making the statement false by your action in the future.

How many people come before God in confession of their sin, and they profess their utter hatred of that sin?

And yet even while the words are in their heart or on their lips, they already have plans to return to that same sin.

Not just that they FEAR that they might return to the sin –

They have plans to return to the sin.

They know perhaps how and when they will again take it up.

And they count on God forgiving them each time.

Now, I know this is often what we think of the Roman church’s priestly confessionals,

Where the member comes to the priest, confessing her sin, and experiencing cleansing from that sin.

All the time with no intention to cease from the sin.

We think this characterizes Roman Catholics, but I rather think Baptists are perhaps even more guilty of this.

Because we come in the guilt of our hearts to God in confession,

But once we feel like the guilt is removed, we make no plans to keep from returning to the sin.

Confession of sin isn’t the only way we might risk ourselves as God judges our heart.

Perhaps we declare our innocence in something simply because we have not yet had opportunity to be guilty of it.

That is the very thing Jesus dealt with in the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court - Matthew 5:21-22

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:27-28

The point is you are not innocent simply because you haven’t had OPPORTUNITY yet to break your oath.

For example, it is not to your credit that you haven’t had an affair simply because the person you lust after doesn’t like you.

Your marriage vow to God was to “forsake all others” and be entirely loyal to your spouse. That was your oath to him or her.

That means you will exclude even pornography as part of that oath and vow.

That is in any form: picture, story, novel, movie, even imagination.

The fact that your sin is fiction or fantasy doesn’t make you less guilty of denying that devotion to your spouse.

Certainly, avoiding sexual conduct outside of marriage helps your behavior and is commanded by God, but it does not remove your guilt before God if you are “pure” simply because you have lacked opportunity.

So, does all this mean that we should simply avoid making an oath before men or a vow to God?

Since the consequences for breaking them are so dire and the requirements so exacting?

For oaths, which are made to people, every time you give an answer, you are making an oath.

Your word, as a follower of Jesus Christ, is a holy thing.

When we give it, even in in something quite small, we must do everything within our power to keep it.

When we tell someone something, it should be as reliable as we know how to make it.

And if we are forced by Providence to break our word, even in a small degree, we owe the person we promised an apology.

Kids – this applies even to your word you give your parents.

Parents – this applies to the hasty promises you make to your children.

The same thing applies to vows, which are made to God alone.

Repentance and confession are vows – vows to leave the sin behind and allow the Holy Spirit to remove it from us (with our best efforts as well).

Church membership is a vow – a promise not made simply to the congregation but to the Head, Jesus Christ Himself.

And marriage is a vow before God to keep the marriage bed undefiled, unpolluted.

Keeping your heart, mind, and body pure before marriage.

And keeping those purely to your spouse after marriage.

If we sin, God is faithful to forgive us, but we must never PRESUME upon that forgiveness as a cover for sin.