1 Thessalonians Introduction
Notes
Transcript
Today we are starting a new series on the book of 1 Thessalonians, and if you haven’t done a book study with me before, you might want to go grab yourself another cup of coffee because you’re gonna need it. You think I’m joking, but I’m not. What is it that they say these days. Sorry not sorry. Ok, I better stop before I scare people away. No, in all seriousness I am extremely passionate about studying the Bible verse-by-verse, and one of the major reasons for that is safety. And so now you’re thinking, safety? Why is he talking about safety? Is there a dangerous way to study the Bible? And the answer to that question is yes. You may not realize it, but the most dangerous way to study the Bible is plucking a verse from here and plucking a verse from there, and then grabbing another verse from over in this book and then grabbing another verse from that book, and then smashing them all together to fit into a topic you are discussing. And guys do this all the time to discuss relevant topics that people can relate to. In fact I asked chat GPT to give me the most popular sermon topics pastors are preaching in 2026, and it led me to a article published by the WIC project. And the title of the article was 13 Issues Pastors are Are Addressing in 2026 Sermons. Let me share a few of the topics the article mentioned.
Financial Stewardship
Personal Growth and Reflection
Civic Responsibility
Social Justice
Interfaith Dialogue
Now, I have no idea if these really are some of the most poplar sermon topics. I didn’t spend enough time researching it. And I have no idea who the WIC project is, buy I will say this. If these are the in the top 13 most popular sermon topics, that is frightening. Why does it frighten me? Let me tell you. It frightening because these topics are worldly. In other words, these topics keep people focused on the here and now. These topics keep people focused on themselves and on trying to create the best possible version of this life.
But church, we shouldn’t be focused on trying to make the best version of this life for ourselves. That is not the Christian mission. That is not the Christian hope. And that is certainly not the message Paul is communicating to the church in Thessalonica. Like the recipients of many of the New Testament letters the Thessalonians were suffering for their faith. They were being persecuted. They were being pressured to give up. And Paul writes to strengthen them — not to help them “live their best life now,” but to help them endure by the grace of God until Jesus comes back.
I have yet to find anywhere in Paul’s letters where he counsels believers about improving their financial situation. In fact, I can’t recall a single place in the New Testament where the apostles pray for believers’ circumstances to get better. Their prayers and their letters consistently focus on believers enduring faithfully through trials and rejoicing in them, because God is using those very trials to transform them. The apostolic burden was never to help Christians create a more comfortable life, but to help them live a more faithful one.
Please listen to me here. We are not trying to live our best lives now. We are giving up our best lives now to follow Jesus with the certain expectation that God will richly reward us when the kingdom comes.
And the only interfaith dialogue I know of in the Bible is to preach Jesus as the only way to get to the Father. Jesus is the only way, He is the truth and He is the life. And our mission is to hold to the testimony that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life will be saved. And we are to faithfully maintain that testimony even if it leads to persecution, even if it leads the loss of our lives. There is no example of the apostles engaging in religious dialogue for mutual enrichment, coexistence, or shared spiritual discovery. When we have interfaith dialogue with people, there is one goal, to evangelize. And we certainly want to do this tactfully and gently in hopes we can effective share the truth with them.
Here’s what I want us to realize this morning: faithful service to Christ will not make this life easier — it will often make it harder. When you choose to walk with God, you are choosing to swim upstream in a world that is floating downstream. You are choosing obedience in a world that celebrates rebellion. You are choosing holiness in a world that applauds sin. That means we may very well face persecution. And that means we might face suffering. That means giving up what we consider to be the best version of this life to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. What did Jesus tell his disciples on the way to the cross?
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Now, this verse teaches us what I call discipleship truth. Discipleship truth is for believers. Simply put, this is not written to unbelievers on how a person gets saved. And I can prove this to you. Number one there is no mention of faith or believing in this verse, which is the one and only condition for a person to be saved. And number 2 there are works involved. And were not saved by our works, not we’re saved by God’s grace. Here’s the point: Jesus is teaching believers that discipleship is costly in this life, but it is richly rewarded in the life to come.
I mean notice who Jesus is talking to here, “His disciples”. And Jesus teaching His disciples that following Him was going to come at great personal cost. Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me”. To come after Jesus means to obediently follow Him. For us today is means to follow in His footsteps. It means to take the same path He took. And what path did Jesus take? He was obedient to the Father’s will to the point of death — even death on a cross..
So here’s what Jesus is teaching us: any believer who wants to faithfully serve Him must deny himself and take up his cross. This means that a disciple must be willing to surrender his own plans, his own comforts, and all this goals for this life. But the Lord promises that every believer who faithfully follows after Him will rule with Him in eternity. Simply put, as believers we need to be much less concerned with all the temporary pleasures of this life, and much more concerned with be found faithful by the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns.
And that is Paul’s message to the Thessalonians. And so as we begin to study the context of the letter I want you to realize two things. First, Paul is writing to suffering Christians. Paul is writing to believers who were suffering for their faith. Listen to what Paul writes in chapter 1 verse 6. He says,
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
How did they receive the word? Paul says they received it in much affliction. And listen to what he writes in chapter 2 starting at verse 14.
14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
Notice what Paul says in verse 14. He says, “For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans”. Well, what does Paul mean when he says, “you suffered the same things from your own countrymen”. Well, obviously he means “you guys are suffering the same kind of things the Judean church did”. And what kind of things did the Judean church face? Well, Paul gives some examples in verse 15. He says the Judeans “killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us”. So, just to keep this simple what “same things” were the Thessalonians facing? They were facing death and persecution!
But to fully understand the hostile environment that these believers were facing we have to back up a little bit to the beginning of the story. We need to look at what Paul experienced when he first planted this church. So, the church in Thessalonica was founded during Paul’s second missionary journey and we find record of it starting in Acts chapter 17.
So with all that being said. We are ready to jump into our text for today so let’s do what we always do. Let’s ask the Lord to help us understand His word. Let’s pray.
Ok, let’s begin in Acts 17.
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
Notice verse 2 says, “for three Sabbaths Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures. Now, a lot of commentators feel like Paul spent more time in Thessalonica than just three weeks. And one of the major reasons for that is the content of Paul’s letter. In other words, the subject matter in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians covers some pretty deep theology, and it shows that these Christians were well grounded in Christian doctrine, especially matters relating to the end times and the return of the Lord.
And boy how the church today needs to stand up and pay attention here. Because if there is one thing the majority of Christians today have little to no knowledge about it is eschatology. And yes, that word is big an scary, but it has a simple meaning. It means the study of last things or the end times.
Here is the point I’m making. Today we find people that have been in church for their entire lives, but they know almost nothing about how the Bible says it all ends. And they know so little because its not being taught from the pulpit or in Sunday School classrooms. Instead we’re teaching people of how to mange their money or how to deal stress. In other words, we’ve got everybody focused on how to live their most fulfilling life in the present.
So, Paul was probably with these believers for a few months, and in that short window they were grounded in areas where many lifelong Christians today have very little knowledge. And I can’t help but think that is because the church is teaching more about life issue stuff, then they are the Bible.
Ok, let me get off this rabbit trail and steer us back on course. Verse 2 says, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures. And verse 3 says,
3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
And just like that the church in Thessalonica is born. As Paul is reasoning from the Scriptures in the synagogue it says some of them (Jews) were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, also it says some of the “leading women”, joined Paul and Silas. Now let me zero in on the beginning of verse 4. It says, “some of them were persuaded”. That means that some of the people believed Paul’s argument that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). Simply put, some of the hearers believed in Jesus for HIs free gift of everlasting life. And as I said before, this was the birth of this local church.
But, that wasn’t the only reaction to Paul’s preaching. Let’s read on.
5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
Wow! Talk about a hostile environment. The Jews who didn’t believe Paul’s message “took some of the evil men from the marketplace” and started a riot. This verse says this mob “set all the city in an uproar”. And notice the wording: they took some of the evil men. These weren’t respectable citizens; they were the troublemakers, the street thugs, the criminal element of the city. In other words, the Jews deliberately gathered the roughest crowd they could find and organized a mob to snuff out this new movement Paul had started.
So, this mob has the whole city in an uproar and look where they go. It says the mob, “attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people”. So, who is Jason? Well, we’ve have to read between the lines a little bit, but we can safely assume that Jason was one of the new converts in the city. Jason was one of the people that was persuaded by Paul’s teaching, and evidently this is where Paul and Silas were staying. The mob comes to Jason’s house, and sought to bring them out to the people. The them here is Paul and Silas.
Continuing on to verse 6.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
Well apparently, Paul and Silas weren’t home so the mob “dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city”. Now I want everybody to think about this for a minute. We know from the text that Jason has a home here. Obviously, he was a local. And we know that Paul and Silas haven’t been here long. Whether is was three weeks or three months. Jason is a recent convert. So, really think about this for a second. You're all excited as a new believer and you’ve got Paul and Silas staying at your house, and don’t you know these Christians are drinking from a firehouse. Think about all the teaching that Paul must have been pouring into them. Man, what I would give to be a fly on the wall during some of these meetings.
Well, then the next thing you know you hear this angry pounding on your front door, and you peak through the curtain to see an angry mob outside. And remember, these weren’t clean‑cut, respectable citizens. Luke already told us the Jews rounded up “the evil men from the marketplace.” These were street thugs—the rough, criminal element of the city. They weren’t there to have a polite theological discussion. They were furious, and they were looking for someone to blame. And before Jason can even process what’s happening, he and several other believers are being dragged into the street and shoved before the authorities.
And this is the accusation that is made against them.
7 Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” 8 And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.
Verse 8 says, they troubled the crowd. In the Greek this means something like they stripped up or unsettled the crowd. And it means that this agitation resulted in chaotic confusion. My point is that this would have been terrifying for these new Christians. They are at the center of a riot, and this isn’t a calm relaxed crowd. No, this was angry, unsettled, chaotic mob.
And then we read in verse 9
9 So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
Now, it says “when they had taken security from Jason and the rest”. What does this mean? Most likely this means these men had to put up some money to be realized. In other words, they had to post bail. And based upon the next verse, it seems the conditions of they bail were that Paul and Silas had to leave and never come back. Simply put, if Paul and Silas don’t leave town these men would loose their money. Verse 10 says,
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
So, whatever agreement is reached, Paul and Silas had to leave that very night under the cover of darkness.
Now let me pause here and help us put this into perspective. We don’t have to fear being dragged out of our homes by an angry mob — but these believers did. We don’t have to worry about being arrested for sharing the gospel — but these believers did. We don’t have to worry about losing our homes, our families, or even our lives for following Christ — but for most believers throughout the world, and throughout church history, these have been real realities. What is unusual is not their suffering, but our comfort. Their experience has been the norm; ours is the exception. I hope you realize that. We are so blessed to live in this country where we have the freedom to practice our faith. We should thank God for this everyday. And it means that we should be putting all of our effort into this mission, but we as a church have grown short sighted and distracted. You see, it is time for us to realize that the world is waging a different type of war against us.
And church, this is where we need to wake up. Because while we may not face mobs or prison, we are facing something just as dangerous — lukewarmness. The comforts of this world have a way of dulling our spiritual senses. The pleasures of this life pull our eyes off eternity and fix them on our circumstances. And when that happens, we become distracted, complacent, and ineffective stewards of the gospel. A believer who is absorbed with the present will never live faithfully for the future.
But here’s the truth we need to hear: the cure for persecution and the cure for lukewarm faith are exactly the same. Whether the enemy is attacking us with trials and tribulation or lulling us to sleep with temporary pleasures, the solution is identical — we must lift our eyes to eternity. We must live every day with the expectation that Jesus is coming. We must anchor our hearts in the promise of His return and the certainty of His reward.
When our eyes are fixed on the Lord’s return, then we can endure trials with joy. And when our eyes are fixed on the coming kingdom, lukewarm faith becomes a fervent fire burning within. So whether we are facing persecution or complacency, the solution is the same and it is the title of this series:
Living Today in Light of Christ’s Soon Return
Living Today in Light of Christ’s Soon Return
Church, we must take our eyes off of our present circumstances and start focusing on the unseen eternal things. What was it the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians?
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
And in the context of these verses Paul is detailing the persecution they are constantly facing. Listen to what he says a few verses earlier.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
And Paul goes on to call all of this suffering “light momentary affliction” because he knew that Christ was going to reward him with eternal glory. And Paul was able to consider their suffering light momentary affliction because he had an eternal perspective. He knew that this life was going to be over in the blink of an eye, but the unseen eternal things of the next life would last forever.
And this is what Paul was instilling in these young believers in Thessalonica. As we learned they were suffering persecution. We just saw the hostile environment the church was born into. Some of the young converts get yanked out of their home just for housing the Apostle Paul. And believe me that persecution didn’t stop as soon as Paul left. In fact, one of the main reason Paul writes this letter to this church to encourage them in their suffering. And He encourages them in their affliction by constantly pointing to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, in every chapter of this letter Paul mentions the return of the Lord. Let me give you one example.
9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to 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, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Paul here is describing the impact the Thessalonians faith was having on the world around them. He says, “they themselves declare”. The they themselves in this verse are the communities of people in the surrounding region. The point is that the people all throughout Macedonia were reporting to Paul how these believers were living after they came to faith. And He says, you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven.
Let me say that again. And to wait for His Son from heaven. Let me go head and get to the point of this entire lesson.
Are you waiting for Jesus to come back?
Are you waiting for Jesus to come back?
Are you living everyday with a constant and very real expectation that Jesus could return at any moment? Or are you so worried about all the temporary things of this world that you don’t have time to think about Jesus.
Church, let me leave you with this. If all we ever study are themes and topics that help us manage life’s problems, then all we will ever think about are life’s problems. And when your eyes stay glued to the pressures of the present, those pressures will always feel overwhelming. But when you study the Bible verse by verse, when you let God shape your mind through His Word, something supernatural happens — you begin to develop an eternal perspective. And an eternal perspective transforms everything.
Suddenly the things that once felt crushing begin to shrink. The burdens that once felt unbearable begin to lighten. The trials that once consumed your thoughts begin to fade into their proper size. Why? Because you start seeing them the way Paul saw them — as “light momentary affliction” in light of Christ’s soon return.
So don’t settle for a faith built on life‑management tips. Don’t settle for a Christianity focused on coping with the temporary. Dig deep into Scripture. Study it line by line. Let God lift your eyes from what is seen to what is unseen. And when He does, you’ll find that the problems of this life lose their power, because your heart is anchored in the world to come.
Church, live today in light of Christ’s soon return — and everything in this life will finally fall into its proper place.
