Saint or Sinner?

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 – Saint or Sinner?

We are not what we once were, but we are also not what we are going to be. Paul tells us that God did not call us to uncleanness but to holiness. I listened to a message not long ago from a long-time minister of the gospel who placed a great deal of emphasis on the fact that we are all sinners and worth nothing. And he was talking about Christians – specifically the group of pastors that he was addressing. I think that maybe he was trying to get the point across that we were all as “bad” as he was. And folks, please don’t misunderstand. We are all sinners even after we become Christians, but sometimes I think that our perception of who we are often becomes the reality of what we do. Let me explain! I grew up being taught that Christians are sinners saved by grace. And that statement is true. However, the emphasis here is on the fact that we are sinners, and too many times, we use this as an excuse. “Well, I’m only human so I’m going to sin.” Yes, but we cannot be so casual about it that we allow that to become who we are. Twenty years ago (or so), I started thinking a little differently. Instead of a sinner saved by grace, I am a saint who sometimes sins. Do you see the difference? I have been saved by grace which makes me a saint, but sometimes I stumble into sin. The perception is just slightly different, but what a difference that perception makes. NO excuses. When I sin, I break the heart of God, and as His child, that breaks my heart.

Day by day, hour by hour, even minute by minute we are to be progressing toward holiness – being conformed to Jesus’ image. Some like to talk about holiness as being “set apart by God” and that is part of the meaning. Others say it just means that God has pronounced us clean through the shed blood of Jesus, and that is another statement of fact. But to Paul, it wasn’t all that the word means.

Look at our verses again. Paul says that we are to abound more and more (in love) and walk/live the way that we have been taught by him. We please God by doing so. That verse alone tells us that there is a behavioral element involved in holiness. And then he begins to lay it out for us. He talks about commandments and sanctification – the act of God pronouncing us holy that continues as an ongoing process. In what way? Abstain from sexual immorality. Our bodies are to be kept holy to honor God.

And look at v. 5. Our lives are supposed to demonstrate that we are different. We are not to live, act, or talk like the lost world around us. Be holy as God is holy. That is our calling.

Holy and Blameless

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 – Holy and Blameless

If it were not for the people, this job would be perfect! How many times have I heard that statement made by people working in retail sales or at restaurants or at church! Yes, at church. I may have even been guilty of saying this a time or two, always with a chuckle in my voice. But let’s be honest. Most of the time when we say these things, we aren’t kidding. And that is sad because the most important part of being a Christian is our relationships. First, our relationship with God must be the priority of our lives. That’s what Jesus meant when He told us to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Nothing is more important to Christians. Second, our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ must be a priority. We could spend a great deal of time on this because if our relationships with each other are not right – if there is conflict, turmoil, bitterness, and anger in the church – why would lost people want to join us? They get that in the secular world.

But look at what Paul says. It isn’t just about reaching the lost. Paul says that we need to abound in love for each other so that God may establish our hearts blameless in holiness. The implication is that if we aren’t abounding in love for our fellow Christians, God can’t/won’t establish our hearts blameless in holiness.

 
It is love that causes us to live in holiness, or in other words, like Christ. Paul says that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ in Romans 8. That will not happen completely until we are at home with Him, but it is love that makes it happen, and without love, we cannot be holy and blameless.

See You In Church!

1 Thessalonians 3:5-10 – See You In Church!

So Timothy left Paul and returned to Thessalonica. What do you think he found? He found these Christian men and women standing strong. Their faith had been tested, but they were the victors. So very often, new converts fall into temptation when there are no mature Christians to disciple them. Even mature Christians find themselves giving in to the tempter when they isolate themselves from brothers and sisters in Christ. Tempted to return to their old lives and idols, giving in to the pressure of family and friends. And while those who are truly saved can never lose their salvation, they find themselves weak and powerless.

I am reminded of the story I heard years ago and I have used it often. It seems that a Christian man had become depressed and discouraged and had stopped attending church. His wife was concerned and asked the pastor to stop by and visit him. It was a cold blustery day when the pastor rang the doorbell. The man answered the door, and when he saw the pastor, he said, “You can come in, but I don’t want to talk about church!” The pastor entered the house, and they sat down in front of the fire. Neither man said a word. After several minutes had passed in silence, the minister took the fireplace tongs and grabbed a large chunk of wood that was fiery red. He set it apart from the fire, and soon the glowing ember changed from fiery red to grayish black as it cooled. After a few minutes, the pastor returned the ember to the fire, and almost immediately the ember caught fire and turned bright red. As the pastor got up to leave, the man said, “See you in church this Sunday.”

The moral of the story: the fire dies in our hearts when we isolate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in Christ, but it can be rekindled by spirit-filled worship. See you in church!

Tribulation

1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 – Tribulation

What an interesting word – tribulation. It brings to mind apocalyptic images fueled no doubt by the movies we watch and the books we read. The Bible tells us of a day when Great Tribulation will come upon the earth, and I have no doubt that it will be far worse than any movie or book can portray and even worse than our minds can imagine. I also have no doubt that this Great Tribulation will come soon, but this is not what Paul is talking about in this passage. The tribulation to which he refers is the persecution these Christians would face because of their decision to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Their families rejected them. Their communities turned them into outcasts. In other areas of the world, some had been arrested, beaten, imprisoned and killed. We have all heard the stories of the Roman emperors throwing Christians to the lions, burning them as torches for their garden parties, or making them fodder for the gladiatorial games. And even though the worst of these tribulations had not touched the Thessalonican Christians, they were being afflicted by the enemies of God. Only the strongest of Christians can stand in the face of these attacks that come wave after wave after wave and not become discouraged. These were young-in-the-faith Christians, and Paul was concerned for their spiritual welfare, and well he should have been.

Even after being a Christian for 36 years, a preacher of the gospel for 36 years, and a pastor for almost 30 years, I sometimes have to fight discouragement. There are times when I just want to throw my hands up and quit the ministry. There are times when, like Job, I question God. It does not help that over the years I have seen so much suffering, so much bitterness, so much division within the church. But yesterday, I buried a dear friend, Bro. Tom Ford. When Bro. Tom prayed, you thought God had entered the room and was speaking directly to you. He had that kind of voice and that kind of prayer life. He called me “Rabbi” and always greeted me with these words: “Hello, my friend.” And he was a friend who constantly told me, “Rabbi, you’re doing a great job.” A few weeks ago, I buried a dear Christian lady, Mrs. Faye Smith. She was a lady with a generous spirit and a kind heart. If she knew of a need, she did her best to meet it. She had been known to send me a text message during or after certain football games, and all they said was “Roll Tide!” She was an encourager. There have been many others along the journey that God has sent my way to encourage my faith and to keep me going. Some of you fall into that category. I hope that in some way, I am doing the same for you. Don’t give up!

The Good Shepherd Cares

1 Thessalonians 3:1-5  - The Good Shepherd Cares

Sorry I missed yesterday. We left the house early and didn’t stop all day, but praise the Lord, He is at work doing miraculous things. Now on to Thessalonians.

Jesus tells us the difference between a good shepherd and a bad one. The bad one runs for his life and never looks back when the wolves attack. The good one risks life and limb to rescue the sheep and keep them safe. Paul was a good shepherd because even when he was forced to leave the flock in Thessalonica, he couldn’t rest. He longed to be with them, and when he could stand it no longer, he sent Timothy to check on them. When he could stand it no longer, he chose to be left alone. No one to help him. He sent Timothy to continue to nurture the Christians there. His concern was not for himself but for these new converts because it was so easy to become discouraged when they faced this persecution and when they knew what Paul was going through.

Then Paul reminded them of a truth that we must understand: we are appointed to this. Christians need to remember that we are not promised an absence of conflict in this life – only peace in the midst of the storms. That’s what we get. It’s like the song says. Sometimes God calms the storms. Other times He calms His child. We often find ourselves lulled into a false sense of security when things go well, but we need to realize that we are at war. Satan will use every weapon at his disposal to discourage or destroy God’s people. Too many times, we go down in the battle because we aren’t ready to fight. We are not trained, and we fail to equip ourselves with our weapons of warfare: prayer and Bible study are key, but according to Ephesians 6, our weapons are truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, and salvation.

Look at those weapons in reverse order for just a second. We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith means that we are totally dependent on Him. The gospel is what we heard that leads us to faith, but Paul says that we are to use it as a weapon to attack the enemy. We will never win the battle by huddling together in our sanctuaries. We must become the pursuers with the gospel of Jesus. Then, while we are pursuing the enemy, while we are storming the gates of hell snatching lost people from the grasp of the devil, we must live righteous lives and ALWAYS speak truth.

The Pursuers

1 Thessalonians 2:18 - The Pursuers

“Satan hindered us.” What a statement! And this is the only time in all of his letters that Paul penned these words. They are interesting words. Paul said that he had a great desire to return to Thessalonica, but Satan hindered them. The concept is not that unusual because everywhere Paul went, opposition mounted. Once he had been in a city for a while, preaching in the synagogues as was his custom, the Jews would rise up against him. He would leave the synagogues – and usually have even greater success – and the Judaizers would rise up against him. These were the professing Christians who claimed that you had to practice Judaism in order to be a Christian. Often these folks would stir up trouble inside and outside the church. And sometimes, even the pagans would rise up against Paul to the point that he would find himself imprisoned or running for his life. And in none of those instances did he point the finger at Satan as he does now. Why?

Look at the verse again. When he wanted to return to Thessalonica, he says that Satan hindered them. Perhaps Satan used one or more of the groups above to prevent his return. However, the word Paul uses for “hinder” comes from a Greek word with an interesting definition. The root of the word has to do with mourning, but its usage has to do with a military practice of making slits in a road to hold up a pursuing enemy. Some believe that the “authorities” were preventing Paul from returning. Now, maybe I am reading too much into this, but look at the definition again. Read it slowly. Read Paul's statement again. Do you see it? Paul is the pursuer, and the “authorities” are running for their lives, throwing up obstacles to keep him away. Folks, that is the way that it is supposed to be. We should have Satan on the run trying to keep us from winning people with the gospel of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be great if the church of the 21^st century would once again become the pursuers? God, make it so!

The Greatest Joy

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 - The Greatest Joy

I apologize for the layoff over the last few days. Our family celebrated Christmas over the New Year’s Holiday, and we were quite busy. Know that I am praying for you that God would grant you a blessed new year. Please join me as we continue our journey through Thessalonians. Take the time to read these verses today.

Paul told the Thessalonicans that they were his glory and joy, his hope and crown. Can you imagine the apostle Paul saying that about your church? It would be the equivalent of Billy Graham saying that your church was his favorite. “Oh, preacher,” you say, “that was just ministerial exaggeration. It was just a little flattery to make them feel good.” No, I don’t think so. Paul may have been accused of pulling punches when he was face to face with some of his adversaries (2 Cor. 10:10), though I find that hard to believe, but he was never accused of writing anything but truth. Paul had a longing deep in his heart to return to Thessalonica. These people were like his own children from whom he had been separated. They were his hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. It wasn’t that he loved his other churches less. He was closely connected, bound to all to whom he had ministered.

So why did this church and these Christians mean so much to Paul? Because they were like the victor’s wreath given to the athlete who had won the race. They were his prize demonstrating the fact that he had not run in vain. And one day it would be his privilege to present them to the Lord as his dearly loved children. That is in every pastor’s heart: a great desire to see those men and women that he has led to Christ become disciple-makers, to see them run the race in the power of the Holy Spirit leading others to faith in Jesus.

It should be the cry of every believer’s heart! Is it yours?