06AM February 26 1 Thessalonains 5 4_11
February 26, 2006—Morning Worship
The “Soon and Very Soon” Series
Practical Applications for the Lord’s Coming
The Three Essentials of the Christian Life
1 Thessalonians 5:4-11
I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 5. As we bring this series of messages to an end today, we’ll complete our look at this section of Scripture. 3 weeks ago, we saw the teaching on the Rapture of the Church. Last week we concentrated on the time known as the Day of the Lord. & today we’ll concern ourselves w/the Practical Applications of the Lord’s Coming, as we see the 3 Essentials of the Christian Life.
Intro: The whole human race can be divided into 2 groups—those who love the night, & those who love the day. The night lovers are associated w/darkness, sleep & drunkenness. The day lovers are associated w/light, alertness & soberness. The Bible is really talking about the difference between a Christian & a non-Christian, a believer & an unbeliever, one who possesses salvation & one who does not.
In our text, Paul gives us practical applications to discern to which group we belong & how we should live in the light of the coming of Christ. This text reveals the 3 essentials of the Christian life. Let’s read about them from 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11.
1 Thessalonians 5 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light & sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, & those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith & love, & as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together w/Him. 11 Therefore comfort each other & edify one another, just as you also are doing.
- The Thessalonian believers, for some reason, had become concerned about whether or not they were secure in the future.
- They were confused & had a number of questions on their minds.
- They were anxious & fearful about the future.
- Their questions were; “Will those of us who die miss the Rapture? & why has the Lord not come back already? Why is He delaying His coming? Shouldn't it have happened already? & when is the Rapture going to take place & when is the day of the Lord to come? Is it possible that we could miss the Rapture & get caught in the day of the Lord?
- The way Paul addresses the future security of the believer is through a series of contrasts.
- He contrasts the Rapture w/the day of the Lord; salvation & wrath, life & death, blessing & cursing, hope & hopelessness, day & night, darkness & light, being asleep & being awake, being drunk & being sober, being separated from God forever & being forever w/the Lord.
- This is an all encompassing description of the division between believers & unbelievers & it implies how that division is lived out in the lives of both.
- As Christians, we have nothing to fear in the future b/c we are so utterly different, b/c there is such a tremendous contrast between Christians & non-Christians. We have nothing to fear.
- Remember, Paul is writing to calm the fears of believers & so we find comfort at the end of the section on the Rapture, 4:18; & again in 5:11 the end of the section on future events.
- So let’s begin w/vv. 4-5 & see that…
1. The First Essential of the Christian Life is Faith. (vv. 4-5) 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light & sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
- Notice the contrast of v. 3 & v. 4.
- v. 3 says that the day of the Lord will come sudden destruction & they shall not escape. Notice the word “they.”
- But in v. 4 he says, “But you, brethren….”
- The word "brethren" is emphasizing that we belong in the family of God. Brethren, identifies us as Christians who will never experience the day of the Lord.
- The contrast is emphatic & it’s used all the way down through v. 8.
- Believers will never experience the wrath of God; never experience sudden destruction; never experience the day of the Lord, the wrath of God.
- Why? B/c you, brethren, are not in darkness. You don't belong to the darkness. You don't belong to the night. You don't belong to Satan's domain. You're not in darkness.
A. B/c Unbelievers are in Mental darkness.
- This is the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of unbelief, the darkness of not knowing what is true.
- The heart of an unregenerate, unsaved person is dark & therefore his conduct is dark.
John 1 4 In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. 5 & the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it.
- John said that the world is in darkness, Christ the light came, but the darkness did not understand the light.
- Why? John 3 19 & this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, b/c their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
- The unsaved, unregenerate world is characterized as dark.
- It's the darkness that comes to the mind that does not know truth, the darkness that characterizes the conduct of those who has no capacity to do what is right.
- So it’s an ignorant darkness. They are dark b/c they don't know the truth. They are dark b/c they love wickedness.
B. B/c Unbelievers are in Moral darkness.
- This is the darkness of sin, the darkness of rebellion, the darkness of not doing what is right.
- According to Ephesians 2 we were all “dead in trespasses & sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh & of the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
- The world is in darkness. The one who controls that darkness is Satan.
- Jesus called Satan “the power of darkness” & his demons are called the forces of darkness.
- So, the lost, those w/o Christ, are in the domain of darkness, the dominion of ignorant sin, wickedness & rebellion.
- But you, brethren, are not in darkness. By your new nature you are not darkness.
John 8 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Matthew 5 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven.
1 John 1 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him & declare to you, that God is light & in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship w/Him, & walk in darkness, we lie & do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship w/one another, & the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, & the truth is not in us.
- If you say you know God but you live in darkness, you really don't know God. But if you know God you live in light.
- Jesus Christ is the means of transporting people from darkness to light.
- But what makes it happen?
Acts 26 16 But rise & stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister & a witness both of the things which you have seen & of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, & from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
- Jesus Himself told Paul, "Your task is to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, which is the same as turning from the dominion of Satan to God, & receiving forgiveness of sins & an inheritance, but it happens to those who are set apart by faith in Me."
- To become a day person, you must put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Those who are set apart to God as His children, by faith in Christ, are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It is by faith that that takes place, by believing.
- But notice…
2. The Second Essential of the Christian Life is Hope. (vv. 6-8) . 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, & those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith & love, & as a helmet the hope of salvation.
- People who love the night can only do what night lovers do. They cannot do the things that day lovers do. They don’t have any capacity to do those things.
- On the other hand, people who love the day can do deeds of the night.
- We can fall back into old habits & do the things we used to do as night lovers.
- & Paul’s encouragement to us is – do what is right!
- If it were not possible for us to do what is wrong, Paul would have been wasting his breathe commanding us not to do the deeds of darkness.
- B/c our lives are filled w/hope in Christ, our behavior should be consistent w/our identity in Christ.
- We know we are of the day & b/c we know we’re of the day we do not fear wrath, judgment, or damnation.
- We are to be watchful & alert. We’re not to be asleep or drunk, unaware of what’s happening around us.
- You need to be alert; you need to protect yourself against the temptation to do the deeds of the night. & if you do that, that will give you great assurance as you look at the future & you'll have nothing to fear.
- On the other hand, if a Christian falls into sinful patterns, he loses assurance & confidence; loses hope & may fear that he will get caught in the day of the Lord.
- But since we are of the day, let us be sober or alert like a soldier.
- Paul’s mind goes to the ones who would be most watchful, most sober minded, most alert -- & that would be a soldier on duty.
- Paul sees him w/the proper protective armor. & in v. 8 he calls attention to…
A. The Hard outside of the breastplate armor. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith & love….
- The way that’s worded in the original language, the phrase “putting on” is in the present tense & means “keeping on the breastplate. It fits together w/the present tense of "be sober." & the idea is being sober by being continually armed.
- A well equipped soldier only had 2 essential pieces of equipment; the breastplate & the helmet.
- The breastplate covered all the vital organs, & the helmet covered the head.
- You notice there's no sword here b/c Paul is concerned about a person on guard against the onslaught of the night & defending himself.
- What he’s saying here is, you need to be protected & so he only deals w/the 2 pieces of armor.
- Now the breastplate was an obvious part of the Roman soldier's armor. It covered the vital organs where he could so easily be killed.
- The breastplate could be made out of chain mail; gold; heavy cloth; brass; iron & some were made out of leather.
- It was like a bullet-proof vest & this was the soldier’s armor against the attack of temptation, the attack of the night.
- Paul calls the breastplate one of faith & love & the helmet he calls the hope of salvation.
- Listen very carefully. If you know anything about the NT, you know that these 3 words come together a lot.
- In chapter 1:3 you have the mention of faith, hope & love & in that very familiar passage in 1 Corinthians 13:13 which says, "& now abides faith, hope & love & the greatest of these is love."
- These are the supreme Christian virtues.
- But it’s very important for you to understand that these are the 3 great defenses against temptation.
- If you want to deal w/temptation in your life, these 3 essentials you must understand & apply.
- What I'm going to give you now is the most practical instruction you can possibly have as a believer w/regard to dealing w/sin in your life.
- 1st, sin is a result of not trusting God.
- God is worthy of your trust. You can trust in His person. He will be consistent in all He does. He will never deviate from His character. He has perfect integrity. You can trust God. He’ll do what is consistent w/who He is.
- 2nd, you can trust His power. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Nothing overwhelms Him. No one can defeat Him. You can trust His power.
- 3rd, you can trust His promise. If He says something, He will do it. If He promises something, He will keep it.
- 4th, you can trust His plan. He is unfolding a sovereignly controlled plan that is right on schedule. Nothing exists outside that plan.
- If you believe all that, then no matter what comes into your life, you will not fall into temptation that questions God's credibility.
[For example, you're tempted to worry. If you worry, what you're saying is, "Yes, God, I know You said You're in charge & I know You said this thing wasn't too hard for You & I know You said You could handle it, & I know You're working out a plan, I just don't believe You," I'm going to worry, which means, "God, I know You say You can be trusted, I'm just not sure You can." –OR—God says, "Obey Me & do what's right & I'll bless you." "But...but in order to get what I want I have to lie b/c if I tell the truth I won't get what I..." So what you're really saying is, "God, I know You said You'd bless me if I tell the truth, but...but You're wrong, it's not going to work out the way I want it if I do what's right, so I'll do what's wrong." You're denying God His own integrity.]
- The most important thing you can ever learn as a Christian is not some kind of a formula to deal w/temptation—the most important thing you can ever learn as a Christian is the fullness of God’s character & then to believe it.
- & if you really trust God, then you're not going to fall prey to those temptations.
- If I believe that God is sovereign, that God is perfectly righteous, that God is all powerful, that God is faithful to His promise & that God has a perfect plan for my life & everything in it is under His control, then I don't question anything.
- I don't argue w/anything. I don't violate anything b/c I believe God.
- & that kind of faith is the hard outside of my armor.
B. The Soft inside of the breastplate armor.
- But underneath that hard armor was soft cloth to warm the body.
- & that’s the love part of the breastplate. It's the other side of it.
- All sin is a failure to love God.
- What do you mean love? Delight in...& devotion to…God as the supreme object of my affection.
- Whoever is the supreme object of my affection is going to control what I do.
- If I sin, I say to God, "Sorry, God, I’m the supreme object of my affection," I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to do what feels good to me. You're not the supreme object of my affection.
- But if I love God supremely, Romans 13, says that love fulfills the whole law. I don't need a law that says don't make any graven images if I love God supremely; I'm not going to make any.
- I don't need a law that says don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain; if I love God supremely I'm not going to take His name in vain.
- I don't need laws that say don't do this & don't do that b/c it's against the will of God; if I love God supremely, I won't do those things.
- So the hard side of the breastplate is resilient strength; & it’s expressed as I believe God.
- & the soft side of it is that I love God.
- & between my love for Him (which is supreme) & my confidence in Him (which is supreme) I become undefeatable.
- You see, whenever you sin you have failed to believe & love God.
- You’ve believed Satan's lie & you’ve loved yourself more & you wanted to fulfill yourself.
- Complete faith in & love for God leads you to perfect obedience.
- So Paul says, "Look, the pattern of your behavior is now light, you're children of the day, be watchful, get your armor on, trust God w/all your heart & don't lean on your own understanding. Love the Lord your God w/all your heart, soul, mind & strength, & you will w/stand the attacks of the temptations of the night."
- The outer surface shines w/faith & the inner surface is lined w/love.
- & then Paul adds a protection that every soldier had to have, the helmet of the hope of salvation.
C. The Careful placement of the helmet armor.
- "Why does a Christian need to put on the helmet of salvation? Why does he need to keep putting it on? Don't we already have salvation?"
- Yes, but he's talking about the hope of the future aspect of our salvation.
- We were saved in the past, the day we believed. We are saved in the present, as we are kept saved by the continuing grace & forgiveness of God. & some day there is the future element of salvation in which we are released from these bodies, these bodies become new, glorified bodies & we enter into the perfection of being like Jesus Christ. That's the final dimension of our salvation & that's what Paul has in mind here.
- This is a very simple point. He says you will protect yourself against temptation if your heart is filled w/the realization of what you're going to become.
- If you have the hope of eternal glory, if you know you're the child of the day that will dawn into the brighter day of eternal glory, you're going to live consistently w/your identity.
- The hope of eternal glory, the hope of the coming of Jesus Christ, of seeing Him face to face, of hearing "Well done, good & faithful servant," that hope preserves the Christian against the luring attacks of the darkness.
1 John 3 3 & everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
- So what is it that preserves & protects the believer? Faith, that’s trust in God's perfection. Love, that’s a complete devotion to Him as your supreme delight. & hope, that’s the anticipation that some day you're going to see Him face to face & be rewarded for what you’ve done.
- Faith, hope & love are the defenses against the attacks of the night.
- & finally…
3. The Third Essential of the Christian Life is Love. (vv. 9-11) 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together w/Him. 11 Therefore comfort each other & edify one another, just as you also are doing.
A. What this does not mean.
- Now we're talking about our final destiny. God has not destined us for wrath.
- Our new nature was established in the past, that's proof we have nothing to do w/wrath.
- Our present life of obedience is proof we have nothing to do w/wrath.
- & our future destiny is proof we have nothing to do w/the day of the Lord or w/wrath.
- God has not appointed us for wrath.
- He said the same thing back in chapter 1:10; that Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come.
Romans 5 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
- We're not destined for wrath. Our hope is reasonable b/c of this great truth. We should be comforted. We should be encouraged.
- God has not sovereignly appointed us to wrath.
- The word "appointed" implies the sovereignty of God over us.
- & His plan which was laid before the world began included us in glory.
- We were not appointed, destined, predestined, foreordained, or predetermined for wrath, but we were predestined, predetermined, foreordained & foreknown unto glory.
- Ephesians 2:2-3 tells us before we were saved we were children of wrath. But not anymore!
- It’s important for us to understand what kind of wrath is written about here.
- What is this wrath he's talking about?
- The word translated ‘wrath’ means “a settled heated anger.”
- It's not just a momentary impulse; it's a settled heated anger.
- The term "wrath," or "the wrath of God," is used often in Scripture & it’s a general reference to God's final judgment.
- For example, in Matthew 3:7, John the Baptist looked at the Pharisees & Sadducees & said, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come."
- That’s the final damnation, hell, final judgment, eternal wrath on sinners. The fury of God unleashed.
Romans 1 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
- That's general, speaking about the ultimate damnation, final judgment of sinners.
- But it must incorporate the concept of the day of the Lord b/c that's the context of 1 Thessalonians 5.
- We're not destined for eternal wrath & we're not destined for temporal wrath in the day of the Lord when He burns up all the sinners on the earth & then sends them to hell.
- We're not destined for those things.
B. What this does mean.
- v. 9 says that we are appointed, “to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
- & literally in the Greek it means “for acquiring.”
- So, here, Paul talks about the full, final, glorious, future deliverance from judgment to come, the ultimate salvation & deliverance that lifts us into glory & makes us like Jesus.
- That redemption of our bodies; the glorification of our salvation.
- & it’s all done "through our Lord Jesus Christ."
- In the past we were saved at the point of faith through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- We are being kept saved through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We will be ultimately delivered from the wrath to come & brought into the presence of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Our salvation, all 3 phases, all 3 tenses, past, present & future, rest on what Christ has done!
- That's why v. 10 says that Jesus, "who died for us...." Who died in our behalf; who died in our place, to die as our substitute.
- He wasn't killed as a martyr for His own cause. He died for us. He died in our behalf. He died to accomplish for us what could otherwise never have been accomplished.
- He died a substitutionary death in your place.
- He bore in His body your sins & mine.
- That's the message of the cross. He died for us. He paid our penalty. He suffered our punishment & our judgment at the hands of God.
- & v. 10, "That whether we wake or sleep, we should live together w/Him."
- Now he's not referring to awake or asleep in the sense of verse 6, that the night people are asleep & the day people are awake.
- If it were he would be saying "whether we're day people or night people we're going to be w/Him." That’s not true & that’s not what it means.
- It refers all the way back to chapter 4 where it talked about believers who are awake & asleep. There are believers who are alive & there are believers who are asleep or dead.
- In 4:13-15 they were concerned about what happens to believers who die, or who are asleep when the Rapture comes?
- & he goes all the way back to their original question & says Jesus died for us, the children of the day, that whether we are awake, that is alive, or whether we are asleep, that is we have died, we may live together w/Him.
- He's saying, "Look, your nature is different, your behavior is different and your destiny is different, as determined by a sovereign God & worked out through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ His Son.
- He's saying whether you live or die as a Christian, your destiny is not wrath. Your destiny is to live together w/Christ.
- Jesus said it in John 14, "I go away to prepare a place for you & I'll come again to receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also."
- There's no need to fear the future condemnation & judgment of the ungodly. Whether you live or die as a Christian, whether you're awake or asleep, there’s no need to fear!
Conclusion: So, in conclusion, verse 11, "Therefore, comfort one another." That’s the same word in chapter 4:18. Comfort each other; comfort those that are anxious & worried & fearful, & build up one another. There's no reason to be discouraged. There's no reason to be weak or in doubt. & then he adds at the end of v. 11, "Just as you also are doing." They were a good group. They were already on the way. Encourage each other & strengthen each other w/this confidence that you will never know the wrath of God, you will never experience the day of the Lord. It's not for you.
So, as Christians we live in the reality that Jesus Christ is coming to Rapture His church, to deliver her from eternal wrath, to grant her eternal joy & glory w/Him forever. We have no part in the wrath; we have no part in the darkness. We have no part in the night, the sleep, the drunkenness of the night people; it has nothing to do w/us.
Day people, be comforted—be comforted. Night people, be warned—be warned.
Invitation: Is God calling you to salvation today? Will you come in repentance & faith? Is God calling you to journey w/Him in a close, personal, lifelong relationship of faith & obedience? If so, would you come & commit yourself to follow Him?
Hymn 134 Jesus Paid It All