1 Thessalonians - Introduction to First Thessalonians

Now you'll notice as you read 1 Thessalonians that every chapter ends with a reference to the return of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is coming again; this is an encouragement to us to live a balanced Christian life.

It is not considered polite to read other people's mail, except when you read other people's mail in the New Testament, and then it's commanded. The letters of the apostle sent to the individuals and the churches found in the New Testament are letters that we must read, and we must study, and we must practice what they teach. That's why we are now embarking on one of Paul's earliest letters, 1 Thessalonians. 

Now, you may be asking, why study 1 Thessalonians? Well, because 1 Thessalonians, when this letter is understood and practiced, can make three very wonderful contributions to us today. Now, this letter can make a contribution to our churches, to us individually, and to those who are ministering the word of God. If we understand the message, the content, and the intent of 1 Thessalonians, it can bring excitement to our churches, and oh, how we need that today. Secondly, it can bring encouragement to our ministers. And thirdly, enlightenment for the individual Christian. Excitement: the reality of Jesus Christ and His coming again. Encouragement: let's keep on doing the job no matter how difficult the day may be. Enlightenment: let's walk as those who are pleasing God, obeying His word. 

Let's look at 1 Thessalonians, first of all, sort of an overview to see what it has to say to our churches. And the keyword here is the word excitement. Notice in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul is remembering what happened in Thessalonica: "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord." So that you became examples to all Macedonia and Achaia. And in 1 Thessalonians 1:8, he says, "For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth." Here are people who had become excited about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Now, our local churches today have needs. And you know, we're all saying the same thing: we need revival. What is revival? Well, it means life again. Here is a local church in Thessalonica that was just taken over by the power of the Gospel. They were alive in the Lord. They were excited about what God had done in their lives. Now, we don't like to say this, but sometimes a local church is a place that is dull—business as usual. We sort of repeat our dullness from week to week in some places. Or, we might go the other extreme and have a false excitement, a false fire that really doesn't last. You see, dullness in the Christian life is a sin. The Christian life ought to be the most exciting thing, and being in God's sanctuary with God's people ought to be an experience of real excitement, not business as usual. 

There's a lack of reality in some churches; words, but not actions. There doesn't seem to be that power of the Spirit of God. In many churches, there's an unconcern for the lost, not only the lost at our own doorstep, but the lost around the world. Dullness, lack of reality, unconcern for the lost, inconsistency—there have been scandals in local churches just as much as scandals on the media. I fear that in many places, our local churches are settled in the world. They've gotten rich and increased with goods. They say that we have need of nothing and don't realize that they are really the neediest people of all. I think one reason we've lost our excitement is we have lost the motivation of the return of Jesus Christ. In 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul emphasizes the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And these people in Thessalonica were excited about Jesus because they were expectant. They were looking for Him to return. Now, He did not return in the first century. He has not returned so far, but He's going to come again. And living in the light of His coming, living in the future tense, is what brings excitement to the Christian life. 

In chapter one, the Thessalonian church was a re-excited church. In chapters two and three, they were an established church. Now, it's good to have your head in the clouds, but you'd better have your feet on the ground, and they did. The persecution did not move them or cause them to want to quit. Oh, we need that today. So as we study 1 Thessalonians, I do trust that some of the excitement of this book will reach into our churches. 

Now secondly, this book also can make a contribution to those who are serving the Lord. That means encouragement. You know, pastors and Christian workers are discouraged these days. Oh, they may not say it, they may not even look like it, but they are. So often I receive letters from Christian workers and they're telling me of their heartbreak and their discouragement. And I'm glad they write. We pray for them; I pray for them. And we write back and say, look, don't quit. It's always too soon to quit. That's what Dr. Edman used to say at Wheaton College: it's always too soon to quit. 

Some time ago, a survey was made of 4,665 Protestant ministers, and 58% of them said they felt their work was futile. One-fourth of these men were already burned out emotionally, physically, spiritually. One-fourth were under stress so great it was leading to burnout. Now, these are not people who chose the ministry as a career. These were people called of God, going through battles, going through warfare, and ready to quit. 

Well, in chapter one, Paul the evangelist came to town and he turned the place upside down. Now in chapters two and three, you have Paul the pastor. Paul was not simply a soul winner; he was a life builder. Paul the pastor. And in chapter two, he encourages the people. In chapter three, he establishes the people. It was not easy. It was a difficult job. In fact, Paul was chased out of town. He had to leave Thessalonica, could not go back. He had to send Timothy back. And then Timothy brought him word that the people were standing firm in the Lord. What is ministry? Well, ministry means evangelism, chapter one: winning souls to Christ. Nothing will encourage your heart like leading others to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're discouraged today, just close your books and lock your library door and go out and find some lost sinner and lead that sinner to Jesus Christ. Then in chapters two and three, Paul said it's not enough to be an evangelist; you should also be a pastor, an encourager, an establisher. Go out and help some young Christian grow in the faith. 

Chapters four and five, we have Paul the exhorter. He exhorts them. 1 Thessalonians 4:1: "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God." And he tells them there how they ought to walk. He exhorts them. Now, this is what ministry is all about: evangelism, encouragement, establishment, exhortation—a balanced ministry of the word of the living God. 

Thirdly, this book, 1 Thessalonians, brings to us as individual Christians the enlightenment that we need for our personal lives. It's good to have the enlightenment of the word of God. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path." The word of God is a lamp in a dark place. We're living in a dark world. Standards are changing; attitudes are changing. Things that used to be wrong are now not only considered right, but they are promoted. They are applauded. Oh, we're living in a dark, difficult, dangerous world. And Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to a group of Christians in a big city. Thessalonica was probably the largest and the most important city in Macedonia—some 200,000 people there. And Paul arrived with Silvanus and Timothy, established a church, and these people were being tempted. They were being tried. There was persecution. There was temptation. And Paul wrote this letter to help them know how to live the Christian life. 

In chapter one, the church was born. In chapter two, the church was nurtured. In chapter three, the church was established, taught to stand. He says in 1 Thessalonians 3:8, "For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord." Just like a child: the child is born, the child is nurtured, the child is established, and then chapters four and five, the child is taught how to walk. 1 Thessalonians 4:1: "Just as you received from us how you ought to walk." Christians need to be built up. They need to be enlightened and established in the faith. The church of Jesus Christ is a family. We've been born by the same Holy Spirit. We pray to the same Father. We belong to the same family. We have the same heavenly home. It's a family letter. It's a very practical letter. 

Now you'll notice as you read 1 Thessalonians, and I trust you will read it completely through—you'll notice that every chapter ends with a reference to the return of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is coming again; this is an encouragement to us to live a balanced Christian life. 

Interestingly enough, you find faith, hope, and love linked together at least twelve times in the New Testament. But the first time that Paul ever linked them together in writing was probably 1 Thessalonians 1:3. Let's read together 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and let's start at verse one. "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God." 

That's quite a statement, isn't it? As you examine 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and the other references in the New Testament to faith, hope, and love, you make some interesting discoveries. You understand why God put these three graces together and what they mean in the Christian life. First of all, you discover that faith, hope, and love are evidences of salvation. Paul makes a bold statement in verse four: "knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God." He says, "I know that God has chosen you people. I know that you people are truly born again." There are in our world many counterfeit Christians—wherever there is the real, there's going to be the counterfeit. There are many people who really think they are going to heaven; they've done good works, they live good lives, they have a certain amount of morality. But do they manifest in their lives the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope? Faith, hope, and love are evidences of salvation. 

Now, if you'll connect 1 Thessalonians 1:3 with 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, you will see how they go together. 1 Thessalonians 1:9: "For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols." That's the work of faith. "To serve the living and true God." Now, that's the labor of love. "And to wait for His Son from heaven." That's the patience of hope. In other words, a true Christian is someone who has turned to God from sin, who, having turned to God, believes in Him and is born again, and then starts serving the living and the true God. More than that, a true Christian is one who has patience of hope; he is looking for the Lord Jesus to come back. I have yet to meet an unsaved person who's looking for Jesus to come back. Now certainly he wouldn't be, because he's not ready. A Christian is one who has turned to God from sin, put faith in the living God, faith in Jesus Christ the Savior. That person has experienced the new birth down inside. Now the evidences of this new birth are faith, hope, and love. 

Now, I want us to turn in our New Testaments to some parallel passages to show how important this really is. Let's look at Ephesians 1:15. Ephesians 1:15 says: "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers." Now, there we have faith and love. Ephesians 1:18: "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling." Faith, hope, love. What was true of the people in Thessalonica was also true of the people in Ephesus.

Now, let's look at Colossians, just turn a page or two. Colossians 1:4-5: "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven." Faith, hope, love. The people in Colossae also had this experience. There you have faith, hope, and love. These are the things which accompany salvation. I may be wrong, but I have suspicions about people who say, "Oh yes, I'm born again," but they don't read their Bibles, they don't exercise faith in the Lord, they aren't looking for Jesus to come back—they're settled down very comfortable in this world—and they certainly don't have much love for God's people. In fact, they ignore church and stay away from the assembly of God's people, but they tell us that they're born again. Faith, hope, and love are evidences of salvation. 

Secondly, faith, hope, and love are motives for Christian living. What keeps Christians going in a difficult world? Now the Thessalonian Christians were in a difficult place. The church had been assaulted; Paul had been driven out of the city—you read about this in Acts 17. And here they were, a group of young Christians being persecuted—some of them I'm sure lost their jobs, some of them perhaps were even arrested—but they were going on with the Lord. There are a lot of people who profess to be Christians and they quit. They are quitters. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith." Faith always leads to works; James tells us that in James 2. Why do we work for the Lord? Because we have faith in Him, and faith leads to works. Why do we keep on going? Because hope gives us endurance.

You see, this living hope that we have that Jesus is coming again, it keeps us going. As you read the word of God, you find so often the writers in Scripture saying, "Now lift your eyes high, keep looking up, keep looking out there, Jesus is coming again." "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame." In other words, look ahead. Don't look back; don't look around. Look ahead because Jesus is coming again. Oh, what a motive that is to keep on going. 

I don't know what your motives are for Christian service. Maybe it's recognition. If you're serving the Lord because of recognition or appreciation, you're going to be disappointed. But if you're serving the Lord because you want to love Him, trust Him, and you look forward to seeing Him, that'll keep you going. Faith inspires works. Hope inspires endurance. Love leads to labor. The word for labor here is the word that means toil, fatigue—working to the point of fatigue. Oh, I may be speaking now to some dear Christian who is just ready to quit. You're tired. Paul says, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, your labor of love," your fatiguing, laborious toil that was inspired by love. Now love is the greatest inspiration in all the world. Because two people love each other, they will sacrifice for each other. The word for love here is the word agape; it's sacrificial love. 

There's an interesting parallel here in Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10:19, beginning at verse nineteen: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus." Hebrews 10:22: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." Hebrews 10:23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering." Hebrews 10:24: "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works." You see, faith, hope, and love are motivations for Christian service, motivations to walk with the Lord and keep on going. 

Thirdly, they are the secret of a happy life. What makes for a happy life? Oh, the world thinks that happiness is something on the outside; no, it's on the inside. They think happiness is something you can acquire; oh no, it's a byproduct of something else. Happiness is a byproduct of life, the right kind of life. They think you can go out and buy happiness; you can't. You can buy entertainment, but you can't buy happiness. Someone has said that true happiness is the result of something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. I like that; that's true. Well, we have something to do: a work of faith. We have someone to love: a labor of love. We have something to look forward to: patience of hope. Faith, hope, and love centered in the Lord Jesus Christ make for happiness in the Christian life.

You know, the times and the seasons are going to run their course. Our Lord Jesus is going to come again. And one of these days we are going to see the Lord Jesus. Now, between now and then, we need to have faith and love and hope as our armor. We need to have faith, hope, and love to protect us from the sin around us. We're going to go through suffering. We're going to go through persecution. And when you have faith, hope, and love motivating your life and guarding your life, you can have victory over persecution, victory over sin, victory over suffering—through faith, hope, and love. A balanced life centered in the Lord Jesus Christ.