‘We know that God has chosen you’ (2)
[1 Thessalonians 1:4-10]
Several years ago, a pastor from the same presbytery asked me to come to his church with other examination committee pastors and do the floor test for those who were trained his church to become an elder and ordained deacon. In my memory, I still cannot forget that one of the testees for the ordained deacon asked one of us the pastors this question: ‘I learned that if we believe in Jesus not only that we will be saved but we will not lose our salvation. But how about if we commit sins and do things worst that the non-believers? Will we still go to heaven?’ At that time, I heard his question from the side and kind of knew what he was asking. But I couldn’t answer his question because a pastor who was sitting beside me answered the question. So I kept quiet. My answer was that eventhough we aren’t being saved by our own efforts but by God’s grace and by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, but after we begin to believe in Him, we must faithfully and naturally do good deeds. In other words, even though we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ by God’s grace, after we begin to believe in Him we must live faithful life. We must work faithfully in good works (Eph. 2:10). But the problem is that many of us Christians are mistreating the doctrine of being saved only by faith and by God’s grace and after we do things that are worse than unbelievers instead of doing good. In a word, we are not being a good example to the world that we aren’t playing the role of light and salt in this world. So the non-believers in this world know that we aren’t true believers but just mere church goers. Not only that, but even the brothers and sisters in Christ who go to church together with us question whether we really are born again Christians or not. They don’t even call us "Christians" or "believers". They just say we are "church members" who go to church.
We have already meditated on how Paul knew that the Thessalonians church saints were chosen by God based on 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5. The reason was that when Paul preached the gospel to them, it came to them “not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (v. 5). In other words, when Paul preached the gospel to the people in the Thessalonica region, the power of the gospel and the power of God's salvation appeared, and because of the work of the Holy Spirit they opened their hearts and heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and believed in Him. That was how Paul knew that the Thessalonians church saints were chosen by God. Was that all? Was that all that the Thessalonian church saints were chosen by God because the gospel came to them not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction?
I would like to think more about how Paul knew that God chose the Thessalonians church saints beside the fact that the gospel came to them “not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (v. 5). I want to think about how the Thessalonians church saints lived their Christian life after they believed in Jesus in three ways:
First, the Thessalonians church saints became imitators of the Lord.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:6 – “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” Is it okay to live worse than the non-believers after we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, thinking that once we are saved we will never lost our salvation? Is it okay not to fulfill our responsibilities as Christians even though we said that we are saved by God’s grace? If we truly know the grace of God, we must endeavor to take on our responsibilities even more with the power of God’s grace. That was what Paul did. Knowing and confessing that “by the grace of God I am what I am” Paul worked harder than all other apostles, yet not he, but the grace of God that was with him (1 Cor. 15:10).
What do you think we Christians should work hard on? What do you think is an important responsibility for us? Is it preaching the the gospel? Is it doing good deeds? Is it obeying the Jesus’ twofold command of loving God and loving neighbors? Is it to serving the Lord’s church? All of these are important responsibilities that we Christians have to bear. My personal thought is that the more important responsibility than these is that each of us is becoming imitators of Jesus. The reason I think this way is because, for example, what if we don’t imitate Jesus and preach the gospel to our family members who don’t believe in Jesus? So, I think it is also important that we live worthy of the gospel of Christ in our gospel ministry (Phil. 1:27). We must preach the gospel by living a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Paul wrote the letter to the Thessalonians church saints and said that they became imitators of Paul and his co-workers and of the Lord. When I first read this word, I wondered why Paul didn’t say to the Thessalonians church saints, 'You became imitators of the Lord and of us,' but said “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” Why did Paul say like that? I came to know the reason by reading Dr. Kim's book ‘The Lecture on the Book of Thessalonians’. The reason was that Paul and his co-workers (Silas and Timothy) not only preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Thessalonians church saints, but also they showed them a life of imitating Jesus by living worthy of His gospel. Paul also wrote a similar statement to the Corinthian church saints: "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). This is what Dr. Seyoon Kim said: ‘The gospel preachers proclaim the gospel in words. But at the same time, they must draw the gospel through their lives. … This is the mission and calling of the gospel preachers" (Kim). Are we fulfilling this mission and calling now?
The Thessalonians church saints weren’t only become imitators of Paul and his co-workers who were gospel preachers, but also they became imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ which was the core of the gospel through their lives worthy of the gospel. How was this possible? How did the Thessalonian church saints become imitators of Paul, of his co-workers, and of the Lord? I found the answer in verse 6: “… you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” It was the Word of God that the Thessalonians church saints were able to imitate Paul, his co-workers and the Lord. In other words, they were imitators of Paul, of his co-workers and of the Lord because they welcomed the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit in spite of severe suffering. Here the severe suffering of the Thessalonians church saints was that they were persecuted by the Jews (2:14). The Jews persecuted the Thessalonians church by provoking the citizens of Thessalonica, saying that what Paul preached was not Judaism. So the Jews mobilized the thugs from the market place to terrorize the Christians and persecute the Christians by accusing them to the Roman rulers (Kim Seyoon). In the meantime, the Thessalonians church saints received the word of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit. In other words, in severe suffering they accepted God's Word with joy through the work of the Holy Spirit and obeyed it (KJV Bible Commentary). This is the work of the Holy Spirit. How can we know this? We know this because without the work of the Holy Spirit, they would be sad and couldn’t rejoice in many tribulations and persecutions. Not only that, without the work of the Holy Spirit, they wouldn’t listen to the Word of God and obey it in the midst of severe suffering. The work of the Holy Spirit makes us more and more eager to hear the Word of God when we are in a lot of suffering. Moreover the work of the Holy Spirit makes us not only to receive the Word humbly, but also to obey God's will that we have realized through that Word. As a result, the Holy Spirit molds us wit His Word in the midst of suffering and makes us holy and to imitate Jesus. As a result, what happened to the Thessalonians church saints? Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:7 - “so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” In other words, the Thessalonians church saints, who became imitators of the Lord by imitating Paul, Silas, and Timothy, became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Here, the capital city of Macedonia was Thessalonica. What this meant was that the Thessalonians church saints’ example of imitating the Lord’s servants and the Lord had spread not only to the city of Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia, but also to the entire region of Macedonia. Can you imagine? For example, can you imagine that the exemplary life that resembles the Lord of our Victorious Presbyterian Church family is spreading to all believers not only in Southern California but in the whole California as well? Furthermore, the example of the Thessalonians church saints in imitating Jesus Christ had set an example for all believers in "Achaia" as well. Here, “Achaia” was the capital of Corinth, and Apostle Paul wrote the letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. What this means, perhaps, is that the example of the Thessalonians church saints had been spread to all the believers in Achaia through Paul who was in Corinth.
What is the lesson that we should learn from the Thessalonians church saints? The lesson is that if all our members of Victorious Presbyterian church are chosen by God, then like the Thessalonians church saints we must live an exemplary life of faith. The church as a whole must live the exemplary life of faith at least to all other believers in other churches living in our community. I hope and pray that we all imitate Jesus Christ and live the exemplary life of faith at home, at work and so on so that we live a true Christian life chosen by God as the exemplary Christians.
Second, the Thessalonians church saints’ faith in God had become known everywhere.
Is your faith growing now? Is your faith more solid this year than last year? In order for our faith to grow and become stronger, we must listen to the Word of Christ. Look at Romans 10:17 – “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” So we are not only listening to God's Word, but also studying the Bible. Not only that, but we also go home and read and meditate on the Word of God in a quiet time. Nevertheless, if we see our faith isn’t growing and our faith is shaking when we are in a difficult circumstance, we can be frustrated. What is the problem? I have looked at the answer in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 – “… in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” I have thought of two reasons based on this verse why our faith isn’t growing as well as we expected. Maybe the first reason is because we have no hardships. If we have hardships, we will be able to test our faith. In other words, we can kind of know how much faith do we have through hardships. And I think through hardships we realize how little our faith is. Thus we cry out to God in a struggle to trust Him more and more. And we go back to the Bible and read the Word of God diligently to hear the voice of God. This reminds me Psalms 119:67 – “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Through suffering, we realize that we are disobeying the God's word, and thus we repent and keep the Word of God. This is certainly the grace of God. And this is the great benefit that suffering gives us. Not only that we realize our faith is little through suffering, but we also realize our sin of going astray and repent that sin to God. And we learn the Lord’s decrees (v. 71). Our faith may not be growing because there is no fruitful benefit of suffering in our lives. Another reason why our faith isn’t growing and is not strong is because we aren’t welcoming the word of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:6). How can we receive the Word of God with joy in our sufferings? Aren’t we receiving the Word of God in sorrow? Isn’t that natural? How could the Thessalonians church saints receive the Word of God with joy while they were suffering because they believed in Jesus? This is the work of the Holy Spirit. They could never do that with their own strength. The Holy Spirit who dwelled in them made them to welcome the Word of God with joy even in many afflictions. How did the Holy Spirit cause them to do so? Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:5 – “because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. ….” The Holy Spirit gave them the joy in their hearts with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, the Holy Spirit made the Thessalonians church saints to gladly accept the Word of God through Jesus Christ, the ultimate good news. This is the way we receive God's Word with joy in our suffering. It is the Gospel!
Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:8 – “The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it.” Apostle Paul knew that the Thessalonians church saints were loved and chosen by God because their faith in God had become know everywhere (v. 8). Here I have briefly considered three things about the faith of the Thessalonians church saints:
(1) The faith of the Thessalonians church saints was toward God.
The Thessalonians church saints were persecuted by the Jews because they believed in Jesus. Nevertheless, their faith in God had become known everywhere in the midst of severe suffering. How was this possible? I think that the severe suffering gave them an opportunity to receive the Word of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit and thus their faith grew and became stronger. When we suffer because of our faith in Jesus, I think there are two general responses: Whether we grumble against God because of suffering and commit sin against God or our faith in God becomes more and more solid. Which one is your response? I still remember one of our church members Mrs. Jang when she was in a nursing home. Whenever I visited her, we praised God together and she memorized Psalms 23 and the Lord’s Prayer. And she told me often that she really wanted to see Jesus. How could she do that when she was lying down on the bed most of her time and was slowly dying? I think her faith in God grew stronger than when she used to come to our church until she died. Shouldn’t we also have this kind of faith?
(2) The faith of the Thessalonians church saints had become known because the Lord’s message rang out from them in Macedonia and Achaia.
Isn’t it amazing that the Thessalonians church saints not only kept their faith in severe sufferings but also the Lord’s message rang out in Macedonia and Achaia? Not only they kept their faith even in severe sufferings by welcoming the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in severe sufferings but they also preached the Word of God. In other words, the Thessalonian church saints proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of severe sufferings. Obviously, if they kept on preaching the gospel, the Jews would keep on persecuting the Thessalonians church saints more and more. But the Thessalonians church saints kept on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, the Lord’s message spread to Macedonia and Achaia. Imagine that our church members are being persecuted here in Los Angeles because of our faith in Jesus Christ. But let’s say even in the midst of persecution we keep preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and as a result the gospel spread not only in California but also in Nevada. Won’t we be surprised? Those who preach the gospel love Jesus. They love Jesus more than their own lives. That’s why even in the face of any adversity, suffering, and life threat, they will never abandon their faith and compromise with this world. Rather, they stand firmly in faith and boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Shouldn’t we be like them?
(3) Apostle Paul and his co-workers had no need to say anything about Thessalonians church saints’ faith.
There is Korean saying 'I have lost my word.’ I think the Koreans are using that word usually when they are dumbfounded. But I think it can be also used when they are so surprised and amazed. For example, a person who travels to the United States from Korea and sees the magnificent Grand Canyon and lost his word because he is so surprise in front of the Grand Canyon. In 1 Thessalonians 1:8, Apostle Paul said that “we do not need to say anything about it.” What does that mean? Doesn’t it mean that they had nothing to say about the reputed faith of the Thessalonians church saints? What could Paul said when he heard about the Thessalonians church saints’ faith that he and his co-workers had not need to say anything? I personally do not have anything to say about faith of those people around me who have stronger faith in God. What do I have to say to the believers who have a greater faith than a pastor like me? I can’t feel the need. I am just surprised to see the brothers and sisters in Christ who trust in God alone and endure with patience even in the midst of crisis and adversity?
I hope and pray that all of us have this amazing faith. I hope and pray that all of us stand firm in our faith in God in any adversity and hardship, and be victorious. So I hope that our faith in God can become known everywhere.