The Life-Changing Gospel

THE LIFE-CHANGING GOSPEL Spring Valley Mennonite; February 13, 2022; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 Something I have recently noticed is that I see fewer bumper stickers on cars. I have never been much of a fan of them, but in college I did have one on my 60 Chevy that said, "Wood is Wonderful!" I think they were available through the School of Forestry. There were, and probably still are, Christian bumper stickers: remember "Honk if you love Jesus?" or the fish symbol? I never wanted to put such things on my car, perhaps because I was afraid my driving habits would not always match the sticker message! The messenger should always match his message. When the church planting team of Paul, Silas and Timothy were in Thessalonica, their lives bore witness to the message of the Gospel and their authenticity as followers of Christ produced authentic disciples within an authentic church. We observed three measures of a Spirit-led church in the first three verses of chapter one of this first letter to the Thessalonians: an observable working faith, a genuine and deep-seated love for others, and a steadfast hope. The team of Paul, Silas and Timothy are giving thanks for the work of the Holy Spirit in this congregation. Paul now shifts from their present ministry to remembering their past conversion, recalling their ministry and the results of God's work of grace. We begin in verse 4 but pick up the thought in verse 2: "We give thanks..."Then to verse 4: "Knowing brethren, beloved by God, His choice of you." Paul had... I. CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S CHOICE OF THEM FOR SALVATION Paul had a fine grasp of God's sovereign choice in those who believe. We cannot know the validity of someone's profession of faith when they make it. As we share the Gospel, we plant the seed, but not until the seed germinates and grows into a plant and then bears fruit can we say with certainty that the person was genuinely saved. We have the confidence that "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion." Because of the observable results Paul had seen, he had confidence these were chosen of God. Admittedly, the issue of God choosing us creates questions. What part in salvation does our personal choice play? Do not we choose to follow Jesus? Don't we accept Jesus as our Savior? Perhaps part of our confusion is that we don't grasp the depth of human depravity, and our inability to know God unless He reveals Himself to us. Scripture is very clear that before the Holy Spirit "turns on the light" we do not seek God. We are enemies of God, completely lost and blind to the light of God's glory. Romans 3:10-12 "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one." John MacArthur explains, "When Paul told the Thessalonians he was certain of God's choice of them, his words were in perfect harmony with New Testament usage (cf. Matt. 24:22, 24, 31; Luke 18:7; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10). Christians are the elect, chosen of God solely by His sovereign, loving purpose, apart from any human merit or wisdom. God in eternity past sovereignly chose all believers to salvation, drawing them to Himself in time, by the work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:37, 44; Rom. 9:15-16; 1 Cor. 1:9; Eph. 1:4-6, 11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; cf. Acts 13:46-48; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Jesus instructed the disciples, "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit" (John 15:16). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit elected not only the apostles but also all who have believed throughout history.1" And Tom Constable, one of my professors in Seminary writes this about election, "That God has chosen to bless some individuals with eternal life is clearly taught in many places in both the Old and New Testaments (e.g., Deut. 4:37; 7:6-7; Isa. 44:1-2; Rom. 9; Eph. 1:4-6, 11; Col. 3:12; 2 Thess. 2:13). Equally clear is the fact that God holds each individual personally responsible for his decision to trust or not to trust in Jesus Christ (cf. John 3; Rom. 5). The difficulty in putting divine election and human responsibility together is understanding how both can be true. That both are true is taught in the Bible. How both can be true is apparently incomprehensible to finite human minds; no one has ever been able to explain this antinomy satisfactorily. This task transcends human mental powers, much as seeing angels transcends human visual powers and hearing very high-pitched sounds transcends human auditory powers. The Thessalonians' response to the gospel message proved that God had chosen them for salvation.2 Paul observed these ones turning from darkness to light. II. THE POWER OF GODLY EXAMPLES (Read verse 5.) As Paul and his companions preached the Gospel, their words were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Unless the Holy Spirit first creates receptivity in the heart, the Gospel message cannot take root. The Gospel message is just words until the Holy Spirit does His work of convicting and enlightening. The Gospel was delivered with deep conviction by the messengers, fortified by the example of their lives. As we read in 1 Peter 1:23, they "...were born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God." We see here that the connection between the messenger and the message. The life of the messenger is crucial to the credibility of the message. Our conduct confirms our message. It is a sobering thought that my daily choices and behavior affects the power of my witness and words. But even realizing that and changing our behavior is a wonderful work of the Spirit in conforming my life to Christlikeness. (Read verse 6) As Paul and his team limped into Thessalonica, Paul and Silas were most likely still recovering from the beating they had suffered in Philippi. They had been beaten and thrown into jail, their feet in stocks, when at midnight as they were singing hymns, an earthquake freed them. The Philippian jailer and his family were saved, and the next morning the magistrate apologized and urged them to leave town. They were likely bearing the cuts and bruises from that beating when they arrived in town. As they preached, their wounds bore witness to their message. They demonstrated the truth that that accepting the Gospel would brand the believer as different, and as rejecting the belief and lifestyle of their culture. The Gentiles no longer would worship the idols. The believing Jews no longer would offer sacrifice or keep the ceremonial law of Moses. This would brand the believers as outcasts and non-conformists. And this was exactly what happened. The form of persecution is not specified, but we do read in Acts that the city population were stirred up by the Jews and a mob dragged some believers who were required to post a bond to restore peace. The Greek word for tribulation in verse 6 means "intense pressure" in contrast to mild opposition. But we realize intense pressure transforms a lump of coal into a diamond. Notice: it was with joy that the believers accepted persecution. I'm sure Paul passed on Jesus' words that we should rejoice when we are persecuted for the same of righteousness, for our reward in heaven will be great. Peter repeatedly tells us that we are blessed when we suffer for being believers. I personally wonder how joyful I would be if I was thrown into jail because of my preaching. Of if my finances were frozen or confiscated because I was branded a "domestic terrorist." And such things are not so farfetched. As I was thinking about this possibility, I came to a conclusion: I not only need to prepare myself for persecution, but I need to prepare you for the possibility of persecution for our beliefs. This is not unknown in anabaptist history, as many of you are aware. We have not seen widespread opposition in this country for many years, but if I correctly read the direction of our culture, we need to be prepared. How do we prepare? We should not be surprised when opposition comes. 1 Peter 4:12: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation." We need to be equipped with the godly perspective of 1 Peter 4:19: "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator is doing what is right." God will give us grace to stand firm when the time comes. Don't worry about what might come but trust our loving Savior. III. THE FRUIT OF FAITHFUL WITNESS (Read 7-10) The proof of the team ministry in Thessalonica and the authenticity of this church is seen in the faithful passing on of the Gospel message. God used this church, which sat on the main east-west trade route between Rome and the Eastern provinces, as well as a major shipping port on the Mediterranean to spread the Gospel message. Despite severe opposition and persecution, perhaps because of it, the church carried out its mission of spreading the Gospel. How this was done is open to speculation: did they send out missionaries with the message, or did they organize outreach to the travelers passing through? Did their reputation as former idol worshippers strike a chord in those searching for truth and purpose? We are lacking the details of their methodology but left with the incredible success of their ministry. People were coming to Paul and telling him about this church! The power of the Holy Spirit is amazing when a church follows His leading. Other churches all over Macedonia, Greece (Achaea), and beyond had heard how the Thessalonians had received the Gospel and had responded, turning from idols to worship the true and living God. One of the ways this amazing church became a model and encouragement to other churches was in their giving. 2 Corinthians 8:1-3: "Now brethren, we wish to make know to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches in Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of the liberality. For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability they gave of their own accord, begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints..." Despite intense pressure of persecution and impoverished, most likely because of such opposition, they still gave beyond their ability. Remember the word used to describe their labor of love in verse 2? It is "kopos" arduous, wearying sort of labor to the point of exhaustion, straining one's energy to the maximum. This was the sort of effort this church put forth in earning and raising funds for the relief of other suffering believers. A generous church proves its authenticity. They also had... IV. AN EXPECTANT LOOKING FOR CHRIST'S RETURN Those who truly love the Lord are eagerly waiting His return. As their generosity corresponds to their love that labors, this expectation relates to their steadfastness of hope. This certainty of Jesus' return enables us to endure anything that comes our way. They firmly believed, as do we, that Jesus ascended back into heaven after His resurrection and sits at the right hand of God Almighty. It is because of our faith in our Savior that we will be spared from the wrath of God. I believe that this wrath is used both in a general sense-we will not experience Hell because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins-and this wrath is more specific relating to the intense wrath of God poured out at the end of this age during the Tribulation Period. We will explore this escape from wrath more completely in coming days. Authentic churches and authentic believers hold fast the doctrine of Christ's return. And as an authentic church here at Spring Valley, we are committed to sharing the Gospel message. We need to be secure in our knowledge that we are His chosen children, called of God to salvation. We realize that we have had and continue to have godly examples to follow, and that people are affected by our life choices. And we need to be prepared to experience persecution with rejoicing when and if it should come. 1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 20). Chicago: Moody Press. 2 Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 691). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2