1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 - Understanding Persecution

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

Target Date: Sunday, 10 July 2022

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

Became - ἐγενήθητε (egenēthēte) – aorist passive – this word indicates that the Thessalonians had not MADE THEMSELVES into this imitation, but that it occurred TO them.

“You became imitators” (μιμηταὶ ἐγενήθητε) should not be taken in an active sense as though the Thessalonian Christians had intentionally sought to imitate the Judean Christians in suffering for their faith. Rather they had through circumstances been made imitators of the Judean Christians.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if [as] necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; - 1 Peter 1:6-7

But this was not a deliberate imitation—they knew of the Judean churches mostly by hearsay—rather, the experience of the Judean churches was reproduced in the Thessalonian church. This was no merely external resemblance. Persecution, according to the NT, is a natural concomitant of Christian faith, and for the believers in Thessalonica to undergo suffering for Christ’s sake proves that they are fellow-members of the same body as the Judean churches

Thoughts on the Passage:

Persecution is not a reaction of the world primarily to what we teach or how we live; it is a reaction to Who we represent.

Those who seek out persecution are NOT doing so for God’s glory or for the love of Him, no matter what they tell themselves.

They selfishly try to raise their own esteem in the eyes of others, or to confirm their own devotion by action (works) rather than faith.

Or perhaps they believe they are obeying God, even doing service to His kingdom, but

It should not proceed from BEING offensive (in the sense of unloving) – that is not persecution, but justice.

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. – 1 Peter 2:11-12

We do not follow the truth of God to cause persecution, but because we treasure His approval over any other.

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. - 1 Peter 3:17

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; - 1 Peter 1:6-7

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. – 1 Peter 4:12-16

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. – 1 John 3:12-13

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you - John 15:18-20

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came 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 man’s enemies will be the members of his household. – Matthew 10:32-36

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. – John 1:10-11

There are those throughout history who would use the church of Jesus Christ for political purposes, regime change, or for their own selfish purposes.

They deserve neither our approval nor alliance simply because they might agree that our message helps them in their goals.

Conservatives without Christ are NO CLOSER to salvation than the most deviant Liberal.

And alliance with either

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. – 1 John 2:19

Primary Preaching Point:

Persecution from without is often necessary for the church.

Building Points:

Persecution:

1. It shows who is real in the church.

2. It clarifies our devotion.

3. It builds compassion for those who are hurting.

Sermon Text:

When we looked last week at the power of the word of God, there was one question we did not explore:

How did these apostles know that the Thessalonian believers had accepted God’s word AS God’s word?

We could ask the same thing about believers today: how can we know with certainty that someone is in Christ?

I am not asking this to suggest that we should look skeptically or cynically on someone’s clear profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Because even when someone follows Christ quite imperfectly, their trust in and love for our Lord and their readiness to repent of their sin should give us cause to celebrate them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

We baptize believers, not on the basis of works or steps they have accomplished, but on their profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

No, it is certainly not our intention as followers of Jesus Christ to turn a judgmental eye on one another,

Wondering in our heart whether the people we worship with are “real” believers.

That would be a work of the enemy, not the work of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, we take for granted a person’s profession of faith so strongly that we, as a church, will treat that person who professes Christ as a believer in Jesus Christ,

We will teach and train them in the Scriptures,

And will encourage and expect them to conduct themselves as the Scripture teaches for believers to live.

Simply put – we expect those who name the name of Christ to walk in His ways.

We pray for each other to do just that:

Resisting temptation.

Growing in grace and love.

Repenting of sin.

Representing the truth of Jesus Christ.

I asked the question “How did these apostles know that the Thessalonian believers had accepted God’s word AS God’s word?” because the apostles stated their expectation of the faithfulness and maturity of the Thessalonian believers as a certainty.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

And while they may have seen some fruit of righteousness coming from these believers in the short time they were among them,

That is not the reason the apostles give for their certainty.

Verse 14 begins with the conjunction “For”.

For you, brothers…

We sometimes run past those small particle words while we are reading through a section – our eyes flashing past to the larger concepts.

I think most of us do that when we read – we read for the big picture, the large structure, and leave those little words with little thought.

But this word is important.

This word “for” means “for this reason”.

Or we might read it as “because”.

“We know you accepted the word of God AS the word of God BECAUSE …”

So verse 14 tells us how these apostles, Paul and Silas, could be so certain in the faith of the Thessalonian believers.

Ultimately it tells us how they could have such confidence as they have expressed in the letter so far.

They were thanking God continually for the faith of the Thessalonian church – that is certainty.

It wasn’t merely a wish that they MIGHT follow Christ fully,

Or an exhortation to strive to get closer to Jesus Christ.

Certainly, those intercessory prayers come later in these two letters to the Thessalonian church,

But to this point in this epistle, they are expressing absolute confidence in prayers of THANKSGIVING for the faithfulness of this young church.

And it is from the basis of their confidence in the faith of this church that they will later correct, reprove, and exhort them.

And the reason for their confidence? For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

But they don’t stop there. Thank God, they didn’t.

Otherwise, we might think the reason was that they were following the same ceremony or rite of the churches in Judea.

That they had the same programs.

You might think that absurd, that someone might think they are being faithful to God because they have imitated the programs that were successful at other churches.

But how many people judge a church on its children’s programs?

Or its youth ministries?

Or its choir?

Or even how it makes them feel to attend?

No, the evidence of the faithfulness of this church is not that it was organized like the “first Baptist church of Jerusalem”.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things…

You suffered the same things…

You experienced the same kind of persecutions the churches in Judea did.

The truest proof of faithfulness is perseverance; the truest form of perseverance is perseverance through trial, through persecution.

But before we look at persecution this morning, I want you to notice another word we may have just glossed over: became.

You became imitators of the churches…that are in Judea.

We saw the same word in chapter 1 verse 6:

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord,

In both of these cases, this word “became” is passive.

That means they did not make themselves imitators of the churches of Judea.

They were made into that imitation.

One commentator put it well:

But this was not a deliberate imitation—they knew of the Judean churches mostly by hearsay—rather, the experience of the Judean churches was reproduced in the Thessalonian church. This was no merely external resemblance. Persecution, according to the NT, is a natural [COUNTERPART] of Christian faith, and for the believers in Thessalonica to undergo suffering for Christ’s sake proves that they are fellow-members of the same body as the Judean churches

They did not CHOOSE to imitate the churches of Judea by undergoing persecution;

But that should also make us ask who did?

Who made them become imitators of the Judean churches?

Certainly many would say it was their circumstance that led them to become imitators in persecution.

That those fellow countrymen who persecuted them “caused” their persecution.

It is quite plain in the text:

For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out

Those pagan, gentile Thessalonians were guilty of some of the same persecutions as the Jews in Judea were:

Killing, imprisoning, exiling the faithful.

And short of these things, certainly, they would have harmed or threatened their businesses or their families,

Spreading fear, if possible, through the faithful Thessalonians.

There is a good case to be made for these countrymen to be the one who made these believers imitate the other churches in persecution.

But I would also suggest that it was God Himself who allowed these trials to come upon this young church.

And in that, I would suggest, is a far greater assurance of God’s hand in the lives of these believers.

This would be a reason to give thanks to God – because He had taken this church through tribulation.

And I say that on the basis of Acts 5:40ff:

after calling the apostles in, they [the Sanhedrin] flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

They had been considered worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ.

There are many Christians who might think to themselves:

“Maybe I don’t want to be THAT worthy.”

But just as Paul told Timothy in his last epistle:

all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. – 2 Timothy 3:12

But do we really know what persecution is, or what its purpose is in God’s hands?

I don’t really know anyone around here who has experienced severe or lasting trials that could be called persecution.

Perhaps some have faced opposition of thoughts,

Or had arguments with relatives or friends,

Or felt like you were treated less than fairly at work because of your beliefs.

But I don’t know of anyone here recently who has had people come after them, actively seeking them out for their harm, because they are followers of Jesus Christ.

Someone disagreeing with you on Facebook – not persecution, unless they come after you in real life.

And they are doing it because you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

Most of the opposition I have known was more a result of me standing on my own pride or ignorance than in faith.

And while there have been some who have meant me real harm, they did not pursue me very far.

They were more the spiritual equivalent of “stay off my lawn”.

Because persecution by unbelievers is less about what we teach or how we live – those things can be easily enough ignored.

Real persecution is much more a reaction to who we represent.

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you - John 15:18-20

Persecution comes because we follow steadfastly our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not because we have made ourselves obnoxious or offensive,

Not because we have joined an argument.

Persecution happens because we treasure the approval of our Lord Jesus Christ over any other.

Persecution is not something we should seek, but when it comes upon us, rejoice in it, as we saw the apostles doing earlier.

There is something in being persecuted for righteousness’ sake that lifts our spirit in praise to God:

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:10-12

Persecution is also something we do NOT deserve:

14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. – 1 Peter 4:14-16

But some may ask why God allows His people to go through persecution or trouble.

To go through times of suffering that we do not deserve.

And I would say that these things – suffering and persecution – are not entirely unalike.

Both are situations and trials beyond our control.

Both test our faith.

Struggling, suffering, and persecution are not the same, but they can certainly feel the same.

And God can use them in many of the same ways.

1. God allows persecution because it shows who is real in the church.

Last week we looked at the parable of the soils.

Recall the seed that fell on the rocky soil – what did Jesus say about that seed?

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. – Matthew 13:20-21

Persecution, or even the threat of it, will cause some to fall away, what the Puritans sometimes called “temporary believers”.

It is about these very people the writer of Hebrews addresses one of the most sobering passages:

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. – Hebrews 6:4-6

It is not my intention to go through this passage thoroughly this morning, but suffice it to say that this passage does not in any way call into question the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

Those who have been truly and effectually called will not finally fall away.

But for our discussion today, persecution is a way of winnowing the church, shaking out those who only pretend devotion.

2. God allows persecution because it clarifies our devotion.

Naturally, we would be concerned for ourselves.

After all, it would be the greatest tragedy to believe we are in Christ only to discover that we were not.

This makes persecution a cause for rejoicing:

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; - 1 Peter 1:6-7

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

There is an elation, a joy, when we pass a difficult test.

Even though we dread the test before it happens,

And perhaps might even avoid it if we could,

Once we have passed through the trial, we can give God the glory.

Persecution takes us into territory that is beyond what we can handle, what we feel comfortable dealing with.

It moves us past out own strength into the realm of faith.

Trusting God to bring us through.

Even Paul could be elated by this:

Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! – 2 Timothy 3:10-11

Persecution gives us a testimony of God’s faithfulness!

3. God allows persecution because it builds compassion for those who are hurting.

One last thing I would look at today is a phrase at the end of verse 15 we haven’t really touched, but is important to our discussion:

And oppose all mankind…

These countrymen who were persecuting the church did not stop at them – they were opposing all people.

That makes perfect sense – a bully begins to pick on anyone they consider weaker.

But a church that is untouched by persecution threatens to become a church devoid of compassion for those who are suffering.

They begin to look upon the poor as deserving or earning their poverty.

They begin to hold onto their stuff more tightly because they see those objects as God’s blessing on them.

And perhaps most sadly, a church untouched by trouble tends to begin to think themselves worthy of God’s blessing.

Persecution reminds us that we live in the midst of a rebellious world, and that our mission is to rescue God’s children from it by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And by suffering ourselves, we can comfort others:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5