Part 2 of “Standing Firm: a Study of 1 Thessalonians”
Preached July 14, 2024, Glynwood Baptist Church, Prattville, AL. James Jackson, Pastor.
I am thankful for the teaching of Ben Stuart in his RightNow Media Study of 1 Thessalonians. His outline of this passage formed the basis for my outline.
Good morning! Please open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2.
The first movie I ever remember seeing all the way through is The Wizard of Oz. I remember hiding behind the big couch in our living room when the wicked witch showed up in the crystal ball. I remember NOT catching on to the fact that all the characters Dorothy met in Oz were the ones that she knew in the real world. I think it was my older sister that first pointed that out to me.
And I remember feeling so sorry for Dorothy that she had put so much faith in the wizard. The wizard will know what to do about the witch. The wizard will solve everything. The wizard will give my friends what they ask for. The wizard will help me get home.
Only to find out that Oz the Great and Powerful is just a little old man behind the curtain.
Think about how different the movie would have been, though, if the Wizard had met Dorothy at the beginning of the Yellow Brick Road? What if he was with her, every step of the way—not as Oz the Great and Powerful, but as plain old Oscar Diggs, (who knew that was the Wizard’s real name?) a fellow Kansan who had been where Dorothy was and new how to get home?
I say all this because I think that’s what the world is looking for from from us. Us Glynwood, but also us as Christians. I think our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers all want to know that when they see behind the curtain of our lives, they are going to see that what we say is backed up by how we live.
The world isn’t looking for answers from a Wizard behind the curtain. They are looking for someone to walk with them who knows the way.
In 1 Thessalonians 2, the apostle Paul is reminding the Thessalonians of what he and his team were like as they ministered among them. He might have been responding to critics—that was an issue he dealt with a lot in his ministry.
There were people who said “Well, his letters are forceful, but in person he’s unimpressive” (see 2 Corinthians 10:10). Some people seemed to think he wasn’t really an apostle because he hadn’t been with Jesus like the twelve had. Others compared him to guys like Apollos, who was a better preacher than Paul was.
Still others seem to have thought he was kind of this fly-by-night traveling evangelist who was just after their money. After all, he was only in Thessalonica for three weeks.
And so 1 Thessalonians 2 is mainly Paul’s defense of his ministry. He’s going to remind the Thessalonians of ten things—ten character traits—that they knew about Paul and his companions. See, even though he was only there for three weeks, he made sure that his life and his ministry were open for inspection, and he was not ashamed of what that inspection would reveal. He let them behind the curtain of his life.
As we read this passage together, I want you to take note of how many times Paul uses the phrase “as you know” or something similar. I’ll tell you why that matters after we read. This is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
[READ]
May God bless the reading of his word. Let’s pray.
So did you catch all the “you knows?” I counted seven times Paul challenged the Thessalonians to recall their first-hand experience of how Paul conducted himself among them:
- “For you yourselves know” (2:1),
- “as you know” (2:2),
- “as you know” (2:5),
- “God is our witness” (2:5),
- “for you remember” (2:9),
- “you are witnesses and so is God” (2:10),
- “as you know” (2:11).
Paul’s like, you’ve seen behind the curtain. I’m going to let the facts speak for themselves. Then Paul laid out these ten character traits the Thessalonians observed firsthand in the lives of Paul, Silas, ad Timothy. You can consider these as the attributes of a godly leader.
A couple of things. First—yes, these are attributes we should expect to find in our vocational ministers—guys who get a paycheck from a church. This is the standard you as church members should use in evaluating me, and Mike, and JonWorth, and our next minister of music.
At the same time, those who claim to be Christians are representing Jesus to the culture around us. So these criteria aren’t just for evaluating Glynwood’s pastoral staff. They are for you to evaluate yourself as well.
One other caveat: these character attributes aren’t the buffet at Golden Corral. You don’t get to pick the things you like. You can’t say, “Well, I’m bold, but I’m not convinced.” Or, “Well, I’m a hard worker, but I have mixed motives. We are all meant to be a ten out of ten. So let’s jump in and see how this works. Ten character attributes of a godly leader. Then traits the Thessalonians “knew” about Paul and his team.
1. They knew they were bold (v 1-2):
2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.[1]
You can read in Acts 16 that when Paul was in Philippi, he was beaten in the public square, imprisoned, and then run out of town. If this had been your story, would you be tempted to dial it down a shade when you got to your next ministry assignment? Paul didn’t. He said to the Thessalonians that even though they’d already been through it, they had the boldness to declare the gospel of God to them in the midst of much conflict.
Paul isn’t just reflecting on what happened in Philippi. Trouble followed him to Thessalonica. And while he and Silas and Timothy escaped the city, the Jewish synagogue leaders were jealous. They went looking for Paul, and when they couldn’t find him, they formed a mob and attacked the house of a guy named Jason, who apparently had been Paul’s host in Thessalonica. Look at what they said in Acts 17
“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.”
I think if Paul had been there, he would have said, “Yep. Guilty as charged. We do preach a paradigm shifting gospel. Jesus has come to save people who didn’t grow up in the church. He really does have a heart for pagans who didn’t grow up with all of our traditions and all our ideas of what worship should look like and what church should look like. And guess what—there really is another king besides Ceasar. There really is someone who deserves our first and primary allegiance above and beyond any government leader. We really do put our trust in Jesus, and not in a political party or system.
A godly leader is a bold leader who isn’t afraid to look at the traditionalists and the legalists and the practitioners of civil religion and say, THIS IS NOT THE WAY OF JESUS. THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL
2. When the Thessalonians looked at Paul and his companions, They knew they were convinced (v 3-4)
Look at verses 3-4:
3 For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive. 4 Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts.
You see, Paul was bold because the message mattered. Paul’s like, “Guys, what we are talking about are matters of life and death. There is going to come a day when you are going to stand before God, and He is going to examine your heart, and He is going to judge you based on whether or not you have received the gospel God has entrusted us with. So when we speak, we aren’t trying to please you, we are trying to please God.”
The other day I went to see Ed Thornhill before he went in for surgery on his herniated discs. And he was telling me how much he liked his doctor, Dr Wisenhunt. He said, “When the MRI came back, he wasn’t timid or unsure when he presented the results. He showed me the MRI. He explained to me exactly what it showed. And he was completely confident when he said, I can fix this.” Ed said, “When I heard the confidence in his voice, I trusted that he really would repair the discs. But then he looked straight at me and he made me look straight at him and he said, But listen—you are going to have to do exactly what I say. Because if you don’t, we are going to be right back here again. You can’t do anything for the next two months. You can’t lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. You can’t mow the lawn. It’s going to be miserable for you, but it’s going to be more miserable for you down the road if you don’t.
This was a doctor who was bold. He believed what he said to Ed. He told Ed what he needed to know, not what Ed wanted to hear. That’s the second attribute of a representative of Christ. They are convinced of what they proclaim.
3. They knew they were pure hearted (v 5-6)
5 For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives—God is our witness— 6 and we didn’t seek glory from people, either from you or from others.
Paul and his companions understood that for the gospel to take root in Thessalonica, they had to be above reproach. They had to be absolutely trustworthy.
Every year, Gallup conducts a poll where they ask people to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in various professions as very high, high, average, or low. In 2023, nurses scored the highest, with 78% of people saying their honesty and ethical standards were very high.
They were followed by veterinarians (65%), engineers (60%), dentists (59%) and doctors (59%).
Clergy didn’t even make the top ten. Only 32% ranked ministers as having very high honesty and ethical standards, which put them between chiropractors (33%) and labor union leaders (25%).
By the way, guess who was at the bottom of the list? Members of Congress, at 6%[2]
Guys, we have to do better. But let me say it again—this isn’t just about vocational ministers.
The Thessalonians knew Paul and his companions were bold, they were convinced, and they were pure hearted. Number 4, the Thessalonians knew
4. They knew they were gentle (v 7)
7 Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle[a] among you, as a nurse[b] nurtures her own children.
Interesting that the Christian Standard Bible says “nurse” instead of nursing mother. Maybe because nurses are so trustworthy.
Think about it—is there anything more gentle than a mother nurturing her own children? A nursing mother sees and anticipates needs, and then gives of herself to meet those needs. That’s how Paul describes himself and his companions. They were gentle with these baby Christians. That doesn’t mean Paul was in any way weak or milquetoast. Read Galatians. You’ll see Paul getting downright salty. But Paul understood that for young Christians, nurture and gentleness were going to win the day.
When I was in seminary, one of the most impacting statements I heard my children’s ministry professor say was that when you are presenting the gospel to children, you do it simply and kindly. She said, “It has to be simple so that they are able to understand. And it has to be kind so that they will want to understand.”
Church, when you are sharing the gospel with an unbeliever, are you obnoxious and argumentative, or are you gentle?
5. They knew they were real (v 8)
8 We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
I love the ESV here. Instead of “We cared so much for you,” it says, “being affectionately desirous of you.” In other words, Paul desired the Thessalonians. He wanted them to be part of his forever family. Why? Because Jesus wanted them to be part of his forever family. And just like Jesus shared with people not just the gospel, but his own life, those of us who minister in his name have to do the same thing?
Back in the day, there was a deodorant called “Dry Idea.” I don’t know if they still make it or not. But I remember their slogan was “Never let them see you sweat.” And I’m afraid sometimes Christians act the same way. That we have to put on a front for people because if they saw us struggle, if they saw us grieve, if they saw us question, if they saw us doubt, if they saw us argue with our spouse, that it would somehow discredit the gospel. So again, we are like the Wizard of Oz. Pay no attention to the Christian behind the curtain.
Brothers and sisters, are you sharing your life with your neighbors and friends, or are you just sharing the highlight reel? It’s ok to pull back the curtain.
6. They knew they were hard workers (v 9)
9 For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you.
Paul and his companions weren’t in it for the money, although he teaches in 1 Corinthians 9:14 that “those who proclaim the gospel should make their living by the gospel.” But just a few verses after that, Paul told the Corinthians that his greatest reward was to present the gospel free of charge.” So when Paul rolled up in a town, he would find work as a tentmaker. He would establish a church. Then, as the gospel really took hold of people’s lives, Paul would see the generosity of Christ take hold in their lives also. Philippians 4:15-16 says that the Philippians took up a collection to fund Paul’s work in Thessalonica. In 2 Corinthians 8, we read about these poor believers in Corinth who took up a collection to benefit persecuted Christians in Jerusalem.
And while you can’t say for sure, because the Bible doesn’t say it, I wonder if they would have been so generous had they not seen Paul’s commitment not to be a burden on young believers. Paul and his companions were hard workers.
Number 7: They knew they were holy (v 10)
Here’s the thing: If you are going to proclaim Christ to others, your lifestyle must back it up. And people need to be able to see it in you. Look at verse 10:
10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers.
I’ve heard it said that we are to live in such a way that it forces other people to take God seriously. You don’t want to live a life that is inconsistent with what you say you believe.
Let me ask you this. Is there anyone in your office that you work with, or at the school where you teach, or in your neighborhood, or at the softball field on the weekends, that if they just happen to visit Glynwood, will see you and go, “Huh. Him? That’s surprising.” Or would they come in and see you serving and worshiping and go, “Well of course. I could tell she was a believer, I just didn’t know where she went.”
8. They knew they were encouraging (v 11-12)
11 As you know, like a father with his own children, 12 we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
As a spiritual father to the Thessalonians, Paul taught them what it meant to be disciples of Jesus the way a dad teaches his son how to ride a bike. You run alongside them. You hold on to them until they find their balance. You comfort them when they fall. You implore them to try again. That’s what a leader with character does.
9. They knew they weren’t speaking for themselves (v 13)
13 This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.
10. They knew the gospel would cost them (v. 14-16)
14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us. They displease God and are hostile to everyone, 16 by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Th 2:1–2.
[2] https://news.gallup.com/poll/608903/ethics-ratings-nearly-professions-down.aspx
Leave a ReplyCancel reply