Good evening. Tonight's message
is called Exhortation, Warning, and Comfort. Tonight we will
continue our study in the book of 1 Thessalonians. There's so
much packed into this last chapter which Paul has told us by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God. He's told us about the great
day of the Lord and he's also told us that we are children
of light. In verse 8 he tells us to put on the breastplate
of faith and love. The breastplate being Christ
who protects our hearts and the love being the love of God which
is shed abroad in our hearts. Then we are told to put on for
a helmet the hope of salvation, which again is Christ. Keeping
our hearts and our minds centered on Christ and Him alone. Just
as Paul told the Colossians to set your mind on things above
and not on things of the earth. And those things above being
Christ Jesus our Lord. Then we saw Paul in verse 11
tell the brethren at Thessalonica that They should comfort one
another about the second coming of Christ. And so should we as
believers in Christ. We should comfort one another
with the wonderful words that Christ is coming again. The fact
that Christ is coming again and that if we're alive at his coming,
we'll be caught up in the air and meet him in the air. And
if we've died, we'll already be present with the Lord, but
our bodies will be raised again and we'll receive our glorified
bodies. Then we saw the truth in verse nine that God's people
are not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, when did God do that? When
did God not appoint us to wrath? Well, He did that in eternity,
beloved, when He chose us in Christ. We were not appointed
to wrath, but we were chosen to obtain salvation in and through
and by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, which is what
Paul writes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. Tonight,
let's read verses 8 to 15 to get the context of the verses
which we will be reading. Or see these precious truths
which I just mentioned bought forth in the Holy Scriptures.
1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 8 to 11 first. But let us who
are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and
love, and for our helmet the hope of salvation. Then look
at this wonderful verse in verse 9 and in verse 10 also. These
two wonderful verses. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who
died for us. that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with him. And in verse 11, what an
exhortation, wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify
one another, even as also you do. What comfort we can bring
to each other when we remind each other that we're not appointed
to wrath, but that God chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world to obtain salvation by and in and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then look at verse 10, who
died for us? He died for his sheep. When did
he do that? On Calvary's cross. He was nailed
to that cross for my sins. And if you're a believer, you
can say he was nailed to that cross for my sins as well. He bled
and died as our great substitute on that cross. And he did that
for every one of his sheep, everyone who got appointed to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ. That's wonderful news. God has
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ, and He did that in eternity. And then Christ
died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with Him. We're His forever. We're His by creation.
We're His by regeneration. We're His by redemption. We're
His forever. And whether we wake or sleep,
we're His, which means we're His all the time, and we'll be
His all through eternity. is born again blood-washed people. Wherefore comfort yourselves
together and edify one another even as also you do. Comfort
your brothers and sisters in Christ with these wonderful truths.
Then from the next few verses until the end of the book we
see Paul giving exhortations to the brethren at Thessalonica.
Look at verses 12 to 15. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly for their
work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now, we looked
at those two verses last week, and we see that we are to know
them which labor over us, get to know them personally, and
those who admonish you, and God's people are to esteem them very
highly. Why? For their work's sake, because they preach the
gospel. That's all. And we're all a bunch of sinners.
Again, the ground of the foot of the cross is level. I'll be
saying that all the time now, because it's true. And God's
people are to esteem the pastors which God sent them for their
work's sake, and to esteem them highly in love. Now the verses
which we'll look at tonight. Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the
weak, be patient toward all men. see that none render evil for
evil unto any man but ever follow that which is good both among
yourselves and to all men so this letter we know from our
studies in the past is written to the born-again blood-washed
believers at Thessalonica. And this letter is sent to the
Church of the Living God at Thessalonica. And we saw last week, it addresses
both the congregation and the ministers, pastors in the body. And we will see that the scriptures
here deal particularly with those of the household of faith, but
some of the truths here may also be applied to the general populace.
Generally, when such exhortations are given, we must first consider
them in light of believers because the epistles are addressed to
churches. However, since the believer is
in the world, even though he is not of the world, some exhortations
can reasonably apply to those who are of the world, especially
as they are to exercise kindness, mercy, and things that attend
freedom. And always remember this, beloved
God, the church is not a taker. The church is the giver. It's
a giver. And we see in verse 14 that Paul
first exhorts our brethren at Thessalonica concerning those
that are unruly in the assembly. In the original language, the
Greeks used this word to describe someone who didn't show up for
work, but it's generally applied to someone who's out of order,
disorderly, bent to causing discord. We see in verse 14 that believers
are our brethren. Only those who receive the Spirit
of Christ will heed these warnings that are set forth in the scriptures
and will do it for the glory of the one who loved us and gave
himself for us. We see in verse 14 that we are
to warn the unruly within the body. The unruly are those who
are insubordinate, those who are busy bodies, those who are
disorderly within the body. And we see here that a serious
warning is brought before us by God the Holy Spirit. We see
this warning in these verses that we are to be at peace among
ourselves. We are not to conduct ourselves in an unruly manner.
Let's read verse 14 again. Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the
weak, be patient toward all men. Now the scriptures declare that
one of the sins which the Lord hates is those who cause division
among the brethren. Let's read Proverbs chapter 6
verses 16 to 19. These six things doth the Lord
hate, yea, seven, are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying
tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren. Now, sowing discord is usually
accomplished in a secret manner. It commonly results in suspicion
of a particular party. The Book of James warns us about
our tongue and how it's untamable. It's like flaming fire and it
can do horrible damage. Beloved of God, let us be guarded,
because words come easy in an atmosphere of gossip and backbiting,
and we must all be aware that what may seem a simple opinion
stated may start a fire of doubt and suspicion. A good rule of
thumb is the scripture that teaches us that we are not to hear an
accusation against a brother or sister, except in the face
of two or three witnesses. Another common use of this word,
unruly, describes one who minds other people's business. Such
people feel they have the answers when no question has been asked
of them. They hold their opinion in such high esteem that they
have an irrepressible need to express it, usually in an unwanted
and unasked-for manner. Such unsolicited advice usually
comes in a hurtful manner and may cause division. I remember
someone who I knew, they would be standing around while you're
having a conversation with someone else and they'd ask, what's that?
When you were talking to someone else, just so they could interject
themselves into the conversation and then give their opinion.
Now such unsolicited and unasked for advice is usually aimed at
the oppressed or the mourning. And then they subtly accused
them of being weak in the faith. claiming that they're a weaker
brother or sister. Even going so far as to say that,
well, you don't have enough faith. Or being so forward as to say
that a believer should not mourn. That's just not right at all.
That's nothing but a toxic person. And this toxic person is not
to be heeded. No, we see that such people are
to be warned that their behavior is the real problem. Even though
they will not receive this rebuke, They usually try to turn it around
upon either the one correcting them or blame anyone but themselves. And I've seen this happen right
before my eyes. The best way to deal with this
type of toxic person is to refuse to listen to them. Beloved of
God, let us guard one another's reputation. Let us guard our
brothers and sisters' reputation. I have learned. that love covers
a multitude of sin. And I'm still learning that.
It's very easy for us to strike out in anger. It's very easy
for us to say things when we have been hurt. It's very easy
for us to say things when we've been offended. but I have learned
the truth of the scripture which says love covers a multitude
of sin. Ecclesiastes says this, be not
righteous over much, neither make thyself over wise. Why shouldst thou destroy thyself?
Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 16 and then in verses 21 and
22 it says, also take no heed unto all words that are spoken
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee. For oftentimes also thine
own heart knoweth that thou thyself has cursed others. Ecclesiastes
chapter 7 verses 21 to 22. So we see that there were some
in the church who were unruly. And this is true today as well. Brother Tim James brings forth
that the rest of the verse brings comfort forth for those who may
have been victims of those who were unruly. And let us remember
that this exhortation is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Brother
Tim James brings forth that it is not a leap to understand that
the exhortation to warn them that we're unruly was not a generic
warning, but addressing a present problem in the church. And we
see that the following exhortation of warning is to comfort the
feeble, comfort the feeble-minded. Let's look at verse 14 again.
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, them
that are disorderly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the
weak, be patient toward all men. Paul is not talking about those
with mental health issues or those that might be of special
needs. The word feeble-minded here is a combination of two
words, faint or little, faint or wounded or little, in heart.
Rather than to accuse such as not having enough faith, or even
to call their faith into question, the believer is to comfort them
in Christ, or to comfort our brothers and sisters. We know
that true comfort only comes from a constant hearing of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. a constant hearing of salvation
complete in Christ and through Christ, and a salvation that
is only in Christ. And the gospel of God's free
and sovereign grace in Christ reminds the child of God of the
unchanging love and grace of God towards his people. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing that strengthens and
consoles the faint broken heart. We are also to be available,
be there for them. As we see, the exhortation is
to support the weak. And this means the weak, the
weak here are the same as the feeble. But that term addresses
the result of the faint and oppressed heart. The believer is to support
our brethren, support the weak. The unruly will try to take advantage
of the weak. They will exploit their weakness
to exalt their own bloated opinion of themselves, or they will exploit
the weak to gain a point of leverage against them, even. But the born-again,
blood-washed believer we see is to support the weak. You know
where Scripture declares we're to bear one another's burdens.
Take the burden of the weak. Romans chapter 15, verse one
says, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities
of the weak and not to please ourselves. Galatians chapter
six, verses one to three, the scripture declares, brother,
and if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual,
restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. Don't forget, you're just as
susceptible to fall to any sin as your brother and sister are.
And in Galatians 6, too, it says, bear ye one another's burdens
and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to
be something when he's nothing, well, he deceiveth himself. Isn't
that true, eh? If you think you're something
when you're nothing, then you're just deceiving yourselves. And
beloved, we are nothing without Christ. When we start to think
we're something, when we're nothing, we're in trouble. And our text
in verse 14 tells us that we are to comfort the feeble-minded,
support the weak, those who are brokenhearted, those who have
had their spirit broken by afflictions and sufferings through painful
trials. We are to comfort them. We are to console them. We are
to encourage them. We are to assure them that Jesus
Christ is working all things after the counsel of his own
will, and that all things work together for good, for our good. and for God's glory. There was
a time recently when I needed to be comforted, and the brethren
here at the church were wonderful. They comforted me very much,
and they just kept telling me, the Lord's in control. And I
fleshed that out. I fleshed out what I preach.
Trusting and resting in Christ and Christ alone. And it's glorious
as we learn each and every day just to trust the Lord more and
more. And our text also tells us that
we're to be patient toward all men. We are exhorted to do this. Look at verse 14. Now we exhort
you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded,
support the weak, Be patient toward all men. Now men there
is italicized, it's not in the original Greek, so be patient
toward all. Well, think of this, all includes
the unruly as well as those who are not troublemakers. And the
men and women of this world, as well as our brothers and sisters
in Christ, let us always remember that love covers a multitude
of sins. It causes us to overlook one
another's faults. Our Lord was patient and long-suffering
with us, wasn't he? When we were running from Him,
we had nothing but hatred in our hearts towards God. He was
patient, and He was long-suffering with us. And that's how we're
to conduct ourselves towards those who are still dead in trespasses
and sins, and especially towards those of the household of faith.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, think of this too, is still patient
and long-suffering with us. I was mentioning today to my
dear bride just how patient and long-suffering the Lord is with
us, because we're unruly, we're insubordinate sometimes to Him,
and we sin against Him every day, and yet He remembers we're
but dust. His people are washed in the
precious blood of Christ, and we need to be reminded every
day that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Why? Because God's
gracious with us. Also, His grace makes us gracious,
doesn't it? Because God is patient and long-suffering
with us, we're patient and long-suffering with others. That's just the
way grace works, isn't it? I stand in doubt of those who
manifest a continual ungracious and unloving spirit in their
conduct towards others. You wonder if God has really
done a work, because God's grace changes people. Let us now look
at verse 15. See that none render evil for
evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among
yourselves and to all men. Now our natural tendency. is to strike out against those
who manifest an evil spirit against us, those who harm us in any
way, whether it be physical or verbal. But the word of God tells
us that Christ is our example, who when he was reviled, reviled
not. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him. That's God who judges righteously,
1 Peter 2, verses 22 and 23. And then he says this, vengeance
is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord in Romans. So if any
of our brethren offends us in any way, we're to forgive them,
as God for Christ's sake have forgiven us. Remember this. all of their sins as well as
ours have been washed away with the same precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The same blood that washed away
our sins has washed away their sins. When Christ died on Calvary's
cross, remember he died for all the elect of all the ages, whether
we get along with them all the time or whether we don't always
get along with them. I'm still learning that. Is it
so for you? And remember, the sword of God's
divine justice was plunged into the heart of God's dear son for
all the sins of all his people. Oh, may God help us to remember
that. May God help us to suppress our own sword of vengeance against
one another, because God's sword of vengeance has been put away
against his people forever. And it is Jesus Christ who endured
the wrath of God as the substitute for his people when he died for
us. If the reprobate, those Jesus Christ didn't purchase with his
own blood, offend us, then think of what their end is. They're
going to suffer for all eternity in the lake of fire for their
sins. And so we are not to render evil
for evil. We're to be like Stephen. We're
to pray for God to forgive them. We're to pray that God would
grant them repentance unto life for Christ's sake. Because we
do not know who God's people are. We do not know who the lost
sheep of God are. So we are to pray for our enemies
and pray for those who despitefully use us. Praying that God may
grant them repentance unto life, that God may regenerate them,
that they may be born again to the Holy Spirit of God and granted
faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In unruly conduct
and attitude are not to be permitted. They are not to continue without
warning and exhortation. turn from that behavior. We've
seen that tonight in our text. We are to warn them who are unruly. Warn and seriously advise them
that they're out of line in spirit and in deed. And we as born-again
blood-washed believers are to encourage the weak. We are to
comfort those of a broken and afflicted spirit. Those who have
need of consolation and strength, not rebuke. We are to be patient
with everyone, even the unruly. Always keeping our temper in
check, remembering our own infirmities, and remembering the afflictions
which we go through. And when someone's going through
afflictions, we are to be patient with them, even the people of
the world. Always remember, it's only by God's grace that we walk
in the light. It is only by God's grace that
we differ from anyone in this world. And remember also, that
evil for evil is not the way of Christ. Getting even, retaliating,
seeking vengeance is not for the believer. Rather, we are
to endure injuries and misunderstandings with patience, showing kindness
towards all, and seeking the good of all, both in the church
and out. Oh, may God give us grace and
mercy and strength to do so. To God be the glory. Amen and
Amen.