Work, Love, & Hope

Introduction

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians, he shared with his recipients something of how he prayed for them.

1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 ESV

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s description of the Thessalonian Christians was certainly a reason to be thankful, and it also proves to be a wonderful example for us to follow.

Work of Faith

While the religious world frequently seeks to pit works and faith against one another, Paul doesn’t do so. On the contrary, he saw them as something married together.

While Paul wrote in other letters and condemned “works of the law,” that didn’t mean that faith does nothing. True, saving faith is a faith that works. Even Martin Luther said,

“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

Paul used this idea of “work of faith” in his second letter to the Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even in Galatians where Paul writes extensively against “works of the law” Paul extolled a working faith:

Galatians 5:6 ESV

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

In simple terms, the Christian’s faith should never be stagnant. A saving faith is a faith that works. That doesn’t mean we earn or merit salvation—when we think that we flirt with self-righteousness. But our work is a work of faith—a work of trust in and obedience to God’s Word.

Labor of Love

Paul also praised the Thessalonian’s “labor of love.” Saving faith is more than mental assent, and godly love is more than just an emotion. As real faith works, real love labors.

The word “labor” means “productive work” but includes the idea of trouble, difficulty, and trouble. It is the idea of “hard work.”

Christian love is a love that motivates us to to labor with and for others. Such work will not always be easy. After all, serving others is rarely easy. But godly love prompts us to expend great effort and make great sacrifice as we labor for others.

This includes our spouses, our children, our congregational family, our neighbors, and even our enemies. Lovingly serving each of these groups will require varying amounts of effort, toil, and sacrifice, but godly love is a love that willingly labors.

Steadfastness of Hope

The Thessalonians’ working faith and loving labor led to another great strength—Hope.

Christian hope is not a fantasy. When the Bible speaks of our hope, it usually means a “confident expectation” or “solid assurance” (Mounce). In the Old Testament, hope is frequently synonomous with trust.

The Christian does not go through life with wishful thinking or blind hope. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus that has been reliably witnessed and reliably reported through God’s Word, we can trust in God’s promises and live in confident expectation of our own resurrection from the dead.

We are assured of victory over the evil one, and we know Heaven is our reward if we remain faithful. This confidence gives us a great tool—steadfastness.

Life has many distractions and discouragements. All of these tempt us to lose our faith and reject the Lord. But hope acts as an anchor for our soul and keeps us walking the pathway of righteousness.

Conclusion

The Thessalonians provide an example for all Christians to follow. As we look to our own faith, we must ask, does our faith work? As children of God who is love, we must ask, does our love labor? And as we face the hardships, discouragements, as well as the distractions of life, does our hope of heaven and commitment to the Lord hold us steadfast in the way of the Lord?