Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Thessalonians 2:10-12

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Witnesses to Our Ministry

 

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Who knows us better than those who are related to us and who share our daily lives?

Those who live intimately with us, sharing our lives and observing how we respond to the pressures of daily living know us better than we might care to admit.

Ask yourself this question: were your life scrutinised by a judge and jury would you wish your relatives to reveal what they know of you?  Would you wish them to present for judicial examination your character?

Would you be embarrassed and uncomfortable at the thought of exposure by those who know you best?

The message this day is designed to encourage each of us to aspire to live such a life that we need never fear exposure.

The message is designed to equip each of us to live a life such that even those who know us best will be compelled to confess that we are holy, righteous and blameless in the manner in which we live.

*The Power of A Life Which Blesses Others Lies in its Openness* [*verse** 10a*].

The Apostle appealed to knowledge which the Thessalonians' possessed of the life and ministry of the missionaries: You are our witnesses, */and so is God/*.

The final clause of this sentence (*/and so is God/*) is significant since it tacitly acknowledges that any appeal to mankind is always subject to divine review; Paul understood this fact only too well.

In a missive to the Church of God in Corinth he boldly stated, I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.

It is the Lord who judges me / /[*1 Corinthians 4:3,4*].

Writing that same church on a later occasion the Apostle to the Gentiles revealed this position, /What we are is plain to God/ [*2 Corinthians 5:11*].

If we believe that the judgement which counts most is that exercised by God, what others think is relegated to secondary importance.

It is not that we are nonchalant about the judgement of others, but we are unconcerned in the final analysis.

The judgement of our peers is important in providing opportunity to reveal the perfection of Christ’s work in us as Christians, but we know that they cannot judge attitudes and motives.

Consequently, if we live for the approval of God and if we live to glorify Christ, we will reveal a life deserving of respect and admiration even should those witnessing our life disagree with the values we embrace/.

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?/

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed states Peter [*1 Peter 3:13,14*].

It is one thing to know that my life undergoes constant review by my fellow man, but it is sobering in the extreme to consider that God likewise reviews my life.

Ultimately, what others think about me matters very little, but what God thinks of me is vital in the extreme.

We are convinced that we please God when we wisely and honourably represent Christ before those who watch our lives closely.

As Christians we want to please both God and man.

We want to live a life pleasing to our fellow man so that we will have opportunity to tell them of life in Christ, and we want to live a life pleasing to God in order that we might receive His commendation when we give an account of our life before the Judgement Seat of Christ.

The Apostle makes a pointed and impassioned appeal to the Thessalonians.

Regrettably, his appeal is not readily evident in our English version.

You is emphatic in the original language.

The emphasis given would cause this sentence to read You *in particular* are our witnesses.

It would appear that these converts had at some previous point spoken of the impact which the character and the conduct of the missionaries had exercised in their lives.

In other words, the missionaries' manner of life had had a powerful and lasting impact on the Thessalonians.

The lives of these godly men had served to provide a platform from which to speak, assuring a hearing.

Just so, our lives can now have an impact far beyond anything we might imagine.

Would you be a blessing to others?

I'm sure that each of us wants to be a blessing to others.

Would you be a source of strength and comfort to those nearest and dearest to you?

I know that each of us want to be an encouragement both to our loved ones and to our friends.

The secret to obtaining power to bless others lies in a life unfettered by deceit, a life which is open and free of fear should others carefully scrutinise or inspect our actions.

Samuel, in his final speech to Israel, openly challenged the people of God: Here I stand.

Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and His anointed [*1 Samuel 12:3a*].

That is a bold invitation; and the power of the invitation lies in the appeal to a life lived without guile and without fear of exposure.

Samuel was an institution in Israel, and yet could fearlessly invite minute scrutiny of every facet of his life.

Some of the leaders of the great nations of our world today could learn from this appeal.

In this context I think of the President of the United States and his wife, or I think of some of our Canadian political leaders.

Jesus, upon His arrest in the Garden, challenged the armed mob which had seized Him: Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?

Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me [*Luke **22:53a*].

What a powerful statement from our Supreme Example!

An open life denies false charges by it very openness.

Paul, replying to the charges brought against him before Agrippa, boldly stated, The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.

They have known me for a long time, and can testify, if they are willing… [*Acts **26:4,5a*].

Such boldness to appeal to life and to testimony flows from a life in which nothing is hidden.

Permit me to provide you a secret in life – a secret which will set you free.

Live your life openly without any attempt to hide from those who know you.

So live that you are free of the fear of exposure.

Do you fear revelation of past deeds?

Admit whatever may lie in the past that you might be freed of fear; then live from this moment free of all fear.

\\ A story is told of a Presbyterian pastor in South Korea during those dark days when the communist North had overrun Seoul.

He had lived a life which was perhaps typical of any pastor so far as his congregation knew.

But the political rulers sought to degrade him in the eyes of his church, and digging through his past they discovered that he had once had an immoral affair.

Haled before the political officer, the Communists’ knowledge of the deed was revealed and he was invited to co-operate with the communists in order to compromise his members.

What would you do in such a circumstance?

The past is suddenly revealed and your dark secrets are known.

That Presbyterian pastor left the office of the commissar and on the following Sunday as he stood before the congregation he confessed the past deed and sought forgiveness.

The power of exposure was broken forever as the people revealed their love to their shepherd.

I do not say that it is necessary to drag into the open every misdeed of the past, that would be folly-wide-the-mark and of scant value to anyone.

Such actions may have a patina of righteousness, but it neither honours Christ nor frees us from censure and condemnation.

I do contend that it is necessary to admit both to God and to yourself past sin so that you will be free of fear.

After all, those about you will know whether yours is a life free of fear or whether you live in dread of exposure.

If you have sinned against the people of God, confess your sin explicitly and receive their forgiveness.

The Christian Faith represents a community based on love and we are each responsible to heed the Word of God.

You will no doubt recall the admonition given through the Apostle John: /Perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.

The one who fears is not made perfect in love/ [*1 John 4:18*].

Our obligation is twofold – to receive the love of God extended through His Church and to avoid betraying the trust demonstrated by those rejecting the power of the past.

*The Power of A Life Which is Pleasing to God Lies in an Appeal to Character* [*verse** 10b*].

It is vital that we be set free from the past if we will know the peace of God in the present.

But the present offers peace only as we please God, and the power to living a life pleasing to God resides in our appeal to character.

Someone has rightly said that character is what you are when you think no one is looking.

Paul employed three adverbs in his appeal to the memory of the Thessalonians.

He appealed to them to remember how holy, righteous and blameless the missionaries proved to be with the nascent church.

The use of adverbs instead of adjectives points to an appeal to the character of these servants of God.

We would anticipate an appeal to their conduct, but we are disarmed by this appeal to character.

In other words, the Apostle is inviting careful inspection of the motives for service and fundamental belief system of the missionaries.

Scope in on the three words for a moment.

Two are positive and one is negative.

All three are modified by the adverb how pointing to the degree to which the missionaries’ character controlled their actions.

We should be careful not to distinguish too carefully between the words, but yet recognise distinctions in the words chosen.

Holy speaks in *koine* Greek of a pious life pleasing to God.

It speaks of being religious in a positive sense.

The word is rare in the New Testament, being used only in this one instance.

The more common word speaks of separation from sin or of being reserved for special use.

Paul points to lives which were devoted to God.

The second adverb, translated /righteous/, perhaps points more strongly to our duties toward mankind, but the duties are those which result from religious convictions.

The word speaks of a life which measures up to the full standard of what is right and just.

It is the scrupulous observance of justice which is in view.

The third adverb is a negative, translated /blameless/.

The word claims an irreproachable conduct as a whole, indicating that no charges can be maintained against the person to whom the term is applied.

The word comprehends the two previous positive adverbs.