The State of the Church
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
At the initiation of each session of Parliament the government through the Crown's representative, whether the Lieutenant Governor of a province or the Governor General of Canada, delivers a throne speech in which the challenges and aspirations of that government are outlined. Likewise, in the United States of America, where I spent my earlier years, once each year the President addresses a joint session of the Senate and the Congress in the State of the Union Speech. In that speech he relays similar information to the elected representatives and senators of the people.
The concept of an annual address to elected representatives in which the government recognises and responds to the challenges facing the nation is a tradition throughout virtually the whole of the free world. Should there not be, then, a means by which leadership of a particular church can address the challenges facing that congregation, outlining the hopes and aspirations of that leadership for the coming year? Such a concept is not at all foreign to the churches of our Lord, and especially is that true among Baptist churches, for they are impelled by their polity to inform the congregation of challenges and direction in which they hope to lead the church to the greatest possible degree.
Impelled by my responsibility of this assembly to address the congregation, as Pastor (albeit interim) I now deliver the Millennial Throne Speech for Jasper Park Baptist Church. Certainly God has spoken, as we know through His Word. As His undershepherd appointed to this service and as a herald of His grace I have endeavoured throughout the brief time of our service together to faithfully deliver that message which is given to this community.
Moreover, as those who believe the Word of God we are confident that God shall yet speak, His speech being delivered from the Great White Throne when He judges wicked and fallen mankind. To the lost, those yet outside the pale of Christ's love, no other message may be given then a warning of coming wrath delivered with a plea for the sinner to flee to the Son of God for refuge from that judgement. To disobedient Christians we must likewise warn of the consequences of continued rebellion. With the author of the Hebrews letter we would caution any who are prone to disobedience, See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. Referring to those assembled Israelites who saw the awesome display of God's might, the author continues, If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven [Hebrews 12:25]?
To the church assembled, the message must be one which seeks to address the challenges facing us as a congregation and as a Community of Faith. The message must seek to outline broad hopes and aspirations of Pastor and leadership as they seek to unite us in service to Christ. We want to build one another, making each believer strong in the Faith. But how may we accomplish that task? We want to wisely exercise our gifts as we serve one another in love. But how may we so serve? We long to see the lost saved and brought into the fellowship of Christ. But how shall we realise that hope? In order to address such challenges, I invite you to join me in review of Paul's words in his first letter to the Thessalonian saints.
As I have outlined in previous studies I find an identity in several critical respects between this congregation and the Church in Thessalonica. The message has special significance to this congregation in my estimate. The first matter noted, and which is true of our day as well, is that We Live In Momentous Times [vv. 1‑3]. It is easy to draw the conclusion that the inmates are running the asylum from even a casual review of the religious scene in North America. Spokesmen of the Faith are more frequently chosen and followed on the basis of personal charisma and rhetorical ability than for fidelity to the truths of God’s Word. As a result, the weird and the aberrant and the speculative predominate in popular theology instead of the steady and the substantial. Therefore, we live in a day of urgency, a day in which solid teaching of the truths of God is lacking, and in a day in which sound instruction is sorely needed.
Two thoughts are immediately apparent from the words which Paul wrote in verses one through three. First, strained interpretations of doctrines intended for the comfort of saints were even then being bandied about. And second, in light of the hope of Christ’s return there would be a growing tendency to turn from teachings designed to inure against hardships, even as teachers would seek their ease as the age progressed. Each issue needs to be examined in its turn to demonstrate the urgency of the hour and momentous times in which we live.
The doctrine of the return of our Lord is a precious comfort for the child of God. We believe that Jesus died and that He raised again and that He ascended into Heaven from whence He shall return. The Christian dies in hope of the resurrection and not in a state of hopelessness. This is true because the Christian, though living in this world, has fixed his hope on the world to come and therefore lives for God's glory. Already, at this early date in Church history there were individuals spreading the rankest myths concerning this precious doctrine of hope and comfort. Apparently some were teaching that loved ones who had passed on before would be left at the coming of the Lord [see 1 Thessalonians 4:13 ff.]. Others, Hymenaeus and Philetus to name two whom Paul denoted, were teaching that the resurrection was already past [see 2 Timothy 2:17,18]. Yet other teachers were apparently teaching a spiritual resurrection [see 1 Corinthians 15:35 ff.]. Each of these was a strange, unwarranted eschatological teaching.
Even today distortions of biblical positions are presented as truth and accepted as such by the unthinking and the unwary. A growing number of fellow Canadians, some of whom are no doubt fellow believers in the Lord Christ, give every evidence that they are living for the present alone. They tacitly adopt the position of a spiritual resurrection, or at the least minimise the importance of the resurrection. Hence, they unconsciously adopt the view that this life is all that matters, thus destroying the hope of many. Others openly question the historic hope of the Church … the presence of departed saints with the Lord. There is for them neither accountability nor recompense, but only the pleasure of the moment. Yet others so emphasise the doctrine of the blessed hope that they deny the doctrine of service in the present. All such aberrations need to be exposed as unbiblical and destructive for any believer deceived by them.
Another matter of significance deals with the expected response of believers to the coming of Christ. Too many today, though believing that Christ shall return, view that coming in a self‑centred manner emphasising only their anticipated rewards. Like the Millerites of another century they set dates and map out times and use what they consider to be superior knowledge to ready themselves for His coming. The preparations have little to do with holiness of life or with rescue of the lost. Instead, they dress themselves in robes of their own making and situate themselves where they wish to be while the work of God languishes. Yet others in derision ask, Where is this coming He promised [2 Peter 3:4a] ignoring the message of repentance.
Dear friends, Christ shall come again just as He promised. The fact that His return has been delayed this long is a mark of divine patience toward our fallen race. Though we dare not assign dates and times we are to live our lives in anticipation, in expectation, in hope, knowing that His promise is sure. In the certainty of that knowledge we should be impelled to live lives worthy of His Name, reaching out to rescue the lost even while building one another in the Faith. Our challenge is to provide sound instruction in the Faith even while living as a people whose lives have been changed by the residence of that hope which is the heritage of each saint. Our challenge is not only to know the truth but also to live the truth, thus serving as lights in a darkened world. And that is the subject of Paul's next point.
If you are taking notes, and I hope you are, the second point from Paul's concluding remarks, and again of vital importance for our own day, is that We Have Grave Responsibilities [vv. 8,11]. Knowledge confers responsibility, and how much greater is such responsibility when the knowledge possessed relates to judgement of our fellow man? For what we are has an impact far greater than we might imagine. Our life‑styles both strengthen fellow believers and attract outsiders to the Faith of Christ Jesus the Lord.
There is a strong phrase employed in the sixth verse to point out the responsibilities of believers. That phrase, a[ra ou\n, is translated in our English version, So then. The English is such a common expression that it may easily escape our notice. However, the Greek is a relatively rare expression in the New Testament, being used only by Paul and that for the purpose of introducing an inescapable conclusion. It is a strong expression for a necessary logical inference from the information presented. As Christians we are not in the dark, we are sons of light and sons of the day. Therefore, certain activities should necessarily mark our service and our lives. The teaching of the imminence of the Day of the Lord should not surprise you. As Christians we are not only called but we are empowered by God to live as sons of the light and [as] sons of the day. This means we must be alert, must be self‑controlled, must encourage one another, must build each other up. Each aspect of our responsibility as children of God mentioned is related to the proper response our knowledge should elicit. Let's examine each feature in its turn.
Unlike others, referring back to those in darkness, who belong to the night and who are asleep, we who are Christians are expected to be alert. This concept is best understood by way of contrast with the condition of those in darkness who belong to the night; they are said to be asleep. But the word used for sleep here, katheu'do, differs from that used to describe the saints who have passed on, koima'o. The word here carries the thought of moral indifference, as is evident from the words of Jesus recorded in Mark 13:36 and from Paul's words in Ephesians 5:14. This is the condition of non‑Christians; but Christians are to be alert, vigilant. In particular, we who are Christians are to be mentally alert, watching for the return of Christ. We are to live in anticipation of His return, as Christ Himself taught [Mark 13:32‑37].
It is possible that some hearing the command to mental alertness and to watch for Christ's coming view such a charge as license to ignore all other Christian responsibilities. However, we are issued a further command which lends balance to our lives as believers in the world—we are commanded to be self‑controlled. The verb has a moral emphasis, condemning all forms of excess. As Christians we are to be temperate, avoiding all excess while living balanced lives. Christian lives are to be disciplined lives revealing the power of the indwelling Christ to both change and control that life. The imperatives are not so very different from those implicit in John's first letter [1 John 2:28‑3:1]. Knowledge of God's program leads to a disciplined, self‑controlled life free of moral taint. Knowledge of Christ's return induces moral alertness.
The verses which follow that sixth verse provide an outline for being Christian, which is to be alert and self‑controlled. Alertness results from knowledge. At the practical level, if we are convinced of the imminence of His return … if we truly believe and are confident that He shall return instead of merely suspecting the possibility of such an event … we shall find that such knowledge impels us to be alert. Christ's return is emphasised in verses nine and ten. I am confident that we need not fear passing through either the whole or a portion of the Great Tribulation, though I am equally certain that as Christians we may anticipate trials and testing. But on the basis of verse nine, I am confident that God redeemed us that we might be delivered from His wrath, and that His wrath shall be displayed against all who do not know Him. I am equally confident by virtue of the instruction provided in verse ten that Christ shall come again, and that believers shall dwell with Him, just as Paul has outlined in 1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18.
Self‑control, on the other hand, is nothing less than the outward demonstration of the residence of what must be a familiar triad for the child of God. Let us be self‑controlled is the apostolic admonition, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet [verse eight]. Faith, hope and love are frequently referred to by the apostle in his writings, especially as the necessary demonstration of the presence of the Holy Spirit working in power in the life of the child of God. Faith is but the confidence that Christ is indeed the Son of God and that by His death He has provided salvation and that by His resurrection He has provided justification for all who believe. Love is nothing less than that adherence of the believer to the Lord God and the subsequent reflection of the divine character toward others, especially toward those of the Faith. Love, as you have come to know, is seen in our obedience to the Word and in submission to the will of God. Hope is but the certainty and expectation that the Risen Lord of Glory shall fulfil every promise to His own. As Christian virtues, faith, hope and love should mark each believer's life. The self‑controlled life is evidenced in the presence of these graces.
As a significant aside, the emphasis on hope was first sounded in the opening words of this letter [see 1 Thessalonians 1:2,3]. Hope is central to the theme of the letter. In the opening sentence we discover that faith results in work, labour is prompted by love, and endurance is inspired by hope. Moreover, such graces and their subsequent expressions are evidently inherent and not incidental to the life of Christian obedience.
That professing Christian who neither desires to work nor wills to exercise his or her gift among the people of God knows nothing of faith. That supposed believer who is utterly unwilling to labour for the cause of Christ knows nothing of the love of God. That individual presenting himself or herself as a child of God who yet refuses to endure hardship is ignorant of hope. Such patent falsehood must be exposed for what it is and not permitted to continue unchallenged. There is no gift of warming a pew nor is there a calling to a life of great ease. The Christian life, if it is real, is one which demands our wholehearted investment of energies.
This leads to two final imperatives demanded by our position as sons of light and sons of the day. We are to encourage one another and build each other up. These imperatives are not impressed upon a segment of the Body but they are rather universally binding upon all Christians as is evident from the reciprocal use of one another. We are to encourage one another. Among the means of encourag[ing] one another is the act of standing firm in the Faith [1 Thessalonians 3:7], the endeavour to live balanced lives honouring to God the Father [1 Thessalonians 4:1], and the act of reminding one another of the imminence of Christ's return [1 Thessalonians 4:18]. Knowledge of the imminence of Christ's return leads to mental alertness which in turn encourages others. We stand together in our common Faith, and we are encouraged.
The other imperative is that we build one another up. Though there is an incredible and insistent emphasis in this day on the need to build ourselves, on the need for personal fulfilment, on the need for self‑discovery, such concepts are foreign to the New Testament. Despite the popularity of the cult of counselling for self‑fulfilment and the charismatic emphasis upon self‑achievement, the Word of God stands unchanged in its emphasis upon our Christian responsibility to build one another. I am aware that I attend a service to worship God and that by so doing I am instructed and encouraged in the Faith. But I am insistent that I share in the life of the Church for the purpose of building others up as much as I share for my own benefit. I am certain that no benefit shall accrue to me if I fail to exercise my gift to build others.
As Pastor of this congregation, appointed and approved by God as such, I am convinced that my ministry will be of scant value if I fail to equip you, the people of God, to obey these apostolic injunctions. Should I fail, whether through timidity or through ignorance, to call you to live your lives in the light of the imminence of His coming, I can claim no success in the exercise of my calling as undershepherd. If I fail to lead you to live lives which are self‑controlled, balanced and fruitful as you serve Christ the Lord I must recognise that my ministry of instruction and oversight is a failure. If we fail to encourage one another and to build each other up, pastoral leadership has failed its assigned responsibility. I bear that divine appointment with all due seriousness; I feel the solemn weight of that responsibility.
Therefore, if I would fulfil my responsibility as God's undershepherd I must speak pointedly of how such teaching relates to us as a congregation. I can assure you that in the few months remaining in my service I shall endeavour to instruct each individual in his or her responsibility to exercise their given ministry with even greater care and diligence than I have in the year past. But instruction alone is insufficient to accomplish the work which lies before us; there must be a willingness to implement the knowledge provided. There must be a common vision which is readily understood by each member of the Body.
I recall speaking with a lady who told me of her pastor's desire to evangelise the community in which her church was located. But in his apparent zeal to accomplish this work, that pastor was unwilling to see the individual. Therefore, he stood before the congregation week‑after‑week challenging them to win the lost. I simply said to that woman as she queried me about her pastor’s challenge, The way you win a community to Christ is one person at a time. Focussing on the individuals, you will touch the greatest number of people. After all, evangelism is caught, not taught. Therefore, by the same token, I may speak at length of the challenges facing us as a community of faith, but until we share the common vision there is no possibility that we shall accomplish our task. We are responsible to know both the challenge facing us and how we, as individuals, fit into the ministry which will meet that challenge.
I propose to you that there is need to be alert to the impending return of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we are responsible to watch and pray. This means that regular corporate prayer is a necessity for the congregation. If we do not believe in such corporate prayer, what possibility is there that we can be united in our anticipation of His return? In this vein, there is need for universal, in‑depth study of the Word of God. Certainly there must be sound instruction from the pulpit, but there is need for multiple classes to first instruct the saints in the truths of God's Word, whether offered as Sunday School or by means of home Bible studies. By such means we will not only create an atmosphere of awareness of the proximity of Christ's return but we will also provide sound, biblical instruction for believers in the exercise of their several gifts within the assembly. Now, there is need for teachers for our children in Sunday School. Now, there is need for a dedicated, capable instructor to initiate home Bible studies in multiple locations within the community we serve. Now, there is need for a prayer co-ordinator to both inform us of prayer needs and to provide the means whereby we may meet for prayer.
Each of us must be taught to engage in the personal ministries of encouraging one another and of building one another up. The weakest saint among us should experientially know the love of the whole of the Body, realising that our concern is more than kind or solicitous words spoken on a Sunday morning. We are obligated to break out of our comfortable capsules of Christian casualness so that we, making ourselves vulnerable to God's own people, build one another up in the Faith. We need to be bold in speaking to one another, encouraging one another to participate in the ministries represented within the congregation, even as we encourage each other to exercise that ministry received from the Holy Spirit when we believed.
Paul speaks of encouraging one another, and he speaks of building one another up. In either instance one another is translation of differing words in the Greek. In the first instance, one another is translation of alle'lous, and it means exactly what is translated, one another. In the latter instance one another translates ei's to`n he'na, quite literally one the one. In other words, the work of building one another up was more than incidental to the life of the apostolic church; it was central! The language makes it obvious that individual is to build individual, not depending upon the broader ministry of teaching and preaching to accomplish this vital work. If as a professing Christian and if as a member of the church, you are not investing your life in building up others, you are disobedient to the work of Christ.
You must be encouraged to do that work which is yours alone, as this is the heritage of each saint of God. The ministry of building is ours together. Very candidly this is our first responsibility as a people of God. I have often said, and I am convinced of the veracity of the statement, that the first responsibility of the Church is not to evangelise … to fulfil the Great Commission, rather the first responsibility of the Church is to be worthy to evangelise. We cannot anticipate that we will have power with outsiders if we fail to do the work of the ministry within the context of the Body. In short, we are creating the environment within the Body which makes outsiders know the warmth and reality we share; and we do so through encouraging one another and through building one another.
There is one further word, and I am finished with this message. I dare not fail to apprise you that as Christians We Are Assured of Victory [vv. 9,10]. Paul, ever the encourager of the people of God, assured the Thessalonians that God's purpose for them was salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether we should be called to experience death or whether we should be required to labour in life, we may be assured that we shall live together with Him.
Beyond that, we are certain that every energy expended for His cause, every effort exercised in His Name, every encouragement extended another for His sake, shall be blessed. God is just, and He takes notice of His saints who toil for His Name's sake. We shall not be forgotten; and we shall experience victory in His cause. Now, we walk with Him in the power of His Spirit as we commit ourselves to His service. Yet, we shall reign with Him in blessed glory. This, too, is our heritage. Amen.