In Truth, the Word of God - 1 Thes. 2:13
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Intro:
Intro:
Good evening.
Tonight I want to turn your attention to one verse in your Bible (mainly) — If you would, turn to 1 Thes. 2:13
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
It wasn’t too terribly long ago we discussed 1 Thessalonians in Bible class on Wednesday nights.
If you remember back, the overall theme of 1 Thessalonians is that the church at Thessalonica began with a tumultuous bout with persecution (If you read Acts 17:5ff, the Jews stirred up a riot in the area).
But the Thessalonians were persevering in the faith in spite of persecution, and they could take courage knowing that heaven would soon be their home.
1 Thes. 1:5 in opening the letter Paul states:
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
It is this POWERFUL Word of God that we want to discuss tonight — Primarily the fact that the Word of God has the Power to discern whether or not we have a good and honest heart.
1 Thes. 1:8 says that from Thessalonica “the word of the Lord has SOUNDED FORTH, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything!”
Thessalonica was one of the most wonderful congregations described in Scripture, and their reputation preceded them!
This great faith that they had was produced in their hearts because of the power of the Word of God (Rom. 1:16 and Rom. 10:17)!
Tonight, I want to break down this main verse (1 Thes. 2:13), and then we will make some application from each.
Let’s break the verse down into 4 logical portions …
FOR THIS REASON WE ALSO THANK GOD WITHOUT CEASING:
FOR THIS REASON WE ALSO THANK GOD WITHOUT CEASING:
Let me give you a glimpse into a preacher’s heart for a moment.
(If you want a bigger glimpse, read Dale Jenkins’ book A Minister’s Heart — It’s an easy read).
But this I will say — One of the most heartwarming things a preacher can see is Christians who sincerely desire to hear the Word of God.
I’m thankful for that! (Just as Paul was thankful that the Thessalonians sincerely wanted to hear the Word of God).
Think about this — What do you think Paul enjoyed more, the Thessalonians, and others like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see whether the things they were being taught were so (Acts 17:11), OR …
The Galatians who had been BEWITCHED into believing a lie (Gal. 3:1), or the Corinthians with all their problems?!
I suspect Paul enjoyed working with folks like the Thessalonians and the Bereans and the Macedonians a lot more, which he speaks very positively about in his epistles!
So this is just a quick point at the onset, but an important point — I, like Paul, am THANKFUL for those here and elsewhere who truly desire to hear the Word of God preached!
BECAUSE WHEN YOU RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD WHICH YOU HEARD FROM US:
BECAUSE WHEN YOU RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD WHICH YOU HEARD FROM US:
We alluded to it earlier, but we will say it again — Receiving the Word of God is what produces faith in God!
Romans 10:17 - “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
James 1:21 - “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
1 Peter 2:2 - “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”
Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
And Romans 1:16, to name a few! -“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
The Thessalonians actually HEARD the Word of God, which has authority over our lives, by which we will be judged (John 12:48).
What about people who REJECT the Word of God?
There are many who do, and many will enter the broad gate that leads to destruction on the day of judgment (Matt. 7:14).
We’ve got to accept the Word of God and enter at the STRAIT (difficult) and narrow gate that leads to life, even though few enter thereby (Matt. 7:13)!
Two textbook examples of either receiving the Word of God, or rejecting it:
Acts chapter 2 - The devout Jews at Pentecost accepted Peter’s preaching, and about 3000 souls obeyed the Gospel on that day, after being pricked in the heart by the Word of God!
Acts chapter 7 - A Jewish mob was cut to the heart by the Word of God, they gnashed on Steven with their teeth, and they stoned him to death!
Incidentally, Saul who would become Paul was right there with them at Steven’s stoning — So Saul is an example of someone who INITIALLY rejected the Word of God, but later accepted it by the time you come to Acts ch. 9!
YOU WELCOMED IT NOT AS THE WORD OF MEN, BUT AS IT IS IN TRUTH, THE WORD OF GOD:
YOU WELCOMED IT NOT AS THE WORD OF MEN, BUT AS IT IS IN TRUTH, THE WORD OF GOD:
This is the bottom line!
The Word of God IS, in fact, the truth!
John 17:17 - “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Psalm 119:160 - “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”
The Thessalonians did not question that in any way!
And neither should we!
We live in a day and age in which the very concept of truth is questioned and denied — We talked about it a few weeks ago when we discussed post-modernism.
And so when we read here “You welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God,” we take that LITERALLY don’t we? We take it at face value!
This Bible (hold Bible up) is theopneustos - “God breathed” - 2 Timothy 3:16!
It contains everything we need to make us complete, throughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17), everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3)!
Peter says to his audience in 2 Peter 1:16 - “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
Luke wrote in Acts 1:1–3 - “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
We can believe the evidence, of which there is plenty, that this IS the Word of God and we must accept it as such!
Hebrews 11:1 - “Now faith (which comes from hearing the Word of God - Rom. 10:17) is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Not only must we ACCEPT the Word of God, but we should be ready to DEFEND it as such - 1 Peter 3:15 - “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear!”
The Thessalonians readily accepted the Word of God as TRUTH!
So what about those who deny the very concept of TRUTH?
What about those who cannot even define for us a MALE and a FEMALE anymore?
What about those that have differing opinions on whether this or that or that is right or wrong, when the Bible has CLEARLY SPOKEN about x, y, or z?!
If they don’t agree with God’s Word, if they are perfectly content to go beyond that which was written (1 Cor. 4:6), then they’re just plain wrong — plain and simple — And we’ve got to arm ourselves to be able to defend the truth!
The Thessalonians welcomed the teachings of Paul, NOT as the word of men, but in truth the Word of God!
1 Cor. 1:18-31 provides further commentary on that (Let’s turn and read it very quickly, and then we’ll get to our final point!)
WHICH ALSO EFFECTIVELY WORKS IN YOU WHO BELIEVE:
WHICH ALSO EFFECTIVELY WORKS IN YOU WHO BELIEVE:
Last point tonight:
We’ve got to let the Word of God EFFECTIVELY WORK in us according to as we have believed it!
Thus, we’ve got to let the power of the Word do what it does to change lives!
We will finish with a reading of James 1:21-27 (Let’s turn and read it).
(Give invitation).