Turning to God from Idols
Blameless at His Coming: A Sanctified Church Awaiting a Promised Savior • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 17 views(Main point: Sanctification brings repentance, in anticipation of Jesus’ arrival.) When Paul preached in Thessalonica, not everyone believed. A mob was formed, a riot broke out, and the city was thrown into turmoil. In spite of this “severe suffering,” those who believed, “became a model” to believers in other areas. Paul commended these Christians for turning “to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” In this first lesson, we will explore how the church in Thessalonica can continue to be “a model” on how to live as sanctified people, as we “wait for [God’s] Son from heaven.”
Notes
Transcript
New Series, “Blameless at His Coming”
Consider the church in Thessalonica
What we can learn from them
About living the saved life
But I want to remind us of our theme this year, “Sanctified”
what it means to be saved
Introduction:
We tend to think of salvation like spiritual life insurance.
I have a life insurance policy…
- complicated process to sign up (medical examinations and questions)
- pay the recurring premiums in order maintain the policy
- gives you some peace of mind (but that’s about it)
- experience real value when you die
NOT what salvation is like…
We have to stop thinking of salvation as spiritual life insurance.
We have to stop thinking of salvation as spiritual life insurance.
Personal and private arrangement with God
so that you can go to heaven when you die
give you peace of mind until then
Unlearn this and embrace a whole new way of thinking
Biblical Text:
we’re going to study 1 Thessalonians, but we need to be introduced to Thessalonica…
2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
“the Christ”
the King
God’s anointed King
Paul was NOT just preaching a new way to go to heaven when you die
He was preaching Jesus is in charge of the world now
Give your allegiance to King Jesus
4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
If Paul’s message was just about…
Jesus being your personal Lord and Savior
Jesus being your ticket to heaven when you die
Get baptized and go to church so you can feel safe and secure
…then the city would not have rioted.
6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
Accusations:
turned the world upside down
acting against the decrees of Caesar
saying that there is another king, Jesus
ALL TRUE ENOUGH
from their perspective, it does seem like Christianity turns the world upside down
following Jesus does mean not giving allegiance to Caesar, not worshiping him as a god.
The Gospel is not just about changing your eternal destiny
it’s about changing your present loyalty
it’s about saving you from your present lifestyle
Is the Gospel we preach worth throwing a fit over, or have we watered it down?
so that it doesn’t turn anything upside down anymore?
it just makes people feel safe and secure that when they die they’ll go to heaven?
8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea…
These new Christians in Thessalonica were amazing!
Some of them were pagans
They were convinced YHWH is God and Jesus is King
They stopped worshiping Caesar
They stopped worshiped gods
Mount Olympus (the supposed home of the gods) was just south of the city and they could see it from Thessalonica.
They remained faithful to King Jesus
Paul wrote this letter not long after he left…
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remembering…
work of faith - FAITH produces WORK
labor of love - LOVE produces LABOR
steadfastness of hope - HOPE produces STEADFASTNESS / Endurance / Perseverance
“looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting fulfillment” (BDAG)
The Gospel had changed the Thessalonians’ lives…
These are the marks of a healthy church
FAITH, LOVE, and HOPE (but not just abstract and emotional ideas)
Work, Labor, Steadfastness (visible realities)
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
The Good News came to them
and it did something in them
it changed them
it lit them on fire
They not only HEARD the Gospel, they SAW it in Paul, Timothy, and Silas
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
People are talking about you and about your faith!
“became an example”
“the word of the Lord sounded forth from you”
“your faith in God has gone forth everywhere”
what are they saying…
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
“wait for his Son from heaven”
“delivers us from the wrath to come”
wrath of God is coming to purge the world of all that is not right
We are waiting for his Son from heaven
“turned”
salvation is a TURNING
turning FROM
turning TO
Your whole life changes
“from idols to serve the living and true God”
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians The Thessalonians’ Faith (1 Thessalonians 1:6–10)
That was simply unheard of in Paul’s world. It would be like asking people in a modern city to give up using motor cars, computers and telephones. The gods of Greek and Roman paganism were everywhere. If you were going to plant a tree, you would pray to the relevant god. If you were going on a business trip, a quick visit to the appropriate shrine was in order. If you or your son or daughter was getting married, serious and costly worship of the relevant deity was expected.
Our world is still filled with idols (were just more clever about it)
idols of PLEASURE
idols of TREASURE
idols of POWER
Jesus saved them
not just so they could go to heaven when they died - never once does this passage (or any passage) talk about that
so that they could be part of his kingdom
so that they could be part of serving the living God
so that they could live a life of meaning and purpose
Application:
salvation is not just a spiritual life insurance policy
Salvation transforms us from serving idols to serving the living God.
Salvation transforms us from serving idols to serving the living God.
You are actively serving something / someone
you are either making a life of serving false gods / idols
or you are making a life of serving the true and living God
That’s what it is to be saved
to experience this transformation
and we are still a work in progress
Invitation:
Like the church at Thessalonica
people are talking about this church
your LABOR of LOVE
your WORK of FAITH
your STEADFASTNESS of HOPE
God wants you to be part of what he’s doing
