to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.
I appreciate your faithfulness
and I appreciate those who play the musical instruments. It helps
our singing so much, doesn't it? 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus
unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be unto 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 and labor of love and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God, for our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance,
as you know what manner of man we were among you for your sake.
And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost, so that
you were in samples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the
word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also
in every place your faith to God were to spread abroad. so
that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves show of us
what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you turned
to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait
for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. I'm entitling
my message this evening, An Ideal Church. an ideal church. There's so much in this chapter
that the apostle tells us about the church here at Thessalonica. It causes me to think of it as
an ideal church. And my prayer is to God that
these things might be true of every local church of the Lord
Jesus Christ and of our church here. Now we saw last week how
it was that Paul, Silas, and Timothy came to Thessalonica
from Philippi preaching the gospel. And I was asked, I believe after
that service, if I thought or I believed that everyone in this
church were like the apostle describes them here in this first
chapter. And my answer at that time was
probably not, but of the majority, You know, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he had 12 disciples, and the majority of them were all believers,
but there was one who was a devil. And I would think that the majority
of the church here at Thessalonica were as the Apostle Paul describes
them in this first chapter. Now, tonight we'll look at verses
three through 10, And I want us to think of it as a picture
of what the apostle wrote in Romans chapter one in verse 16
when he said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For
it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. When Paul and Silas and
Timothy came to Thessalonica, that's all they had. was the
gospel. That's all they had, that's all
they needed. They didn't have some traveling
show entertainers with them to entertain the people or anything
like that. But preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ, which is the power of God, that word power is a word
from which we get the word dynamite, our English word dynamite. And
we see what the power of God was able to do and did in the
lives of these that are mentioned here in this chapter. Now, two parts to the message. First, Paul did not forget these
wonderful truths about the Thessalonians. We see this in verse three. He
had to leave them. He wasn't with them for a long
time. I said last week, I believe he
was there more than three Sabbath days, more than three weeks,
but we're not told how long, but it could not have been for
a very long time. But these graces, these cardinal
graces, faith, love, and hope, they were demonstrated by those
who were saved by the grace of God. And Paul had them constantly,
he says, in his mind. The first thing he mentions,
of course, is their work of faith. You know, the Bible speaks of
two kinds of faith, doesn't it? It speaks of dead faith, and
it speaks of a living faith. And a dead faith will produce
no works, no works of faith, that is. But that wasn't the
faith that these had in this church. And their faith was manifested
by their works. As James in his epistle says,
show me thy faith without thy works and I will show you my
faith in my works or by my works. You say what kind of works? Works
of obedience. Works of obedience, works of
no doubt benevolence. Paul in Galatians speaks about
the faith that saves sinners as faith which worketh by love. So your work of faith, Paul said,
I remember that. It was manifested that your faith
was living faith, real faith. It was not pretend faith. It
was real faith, and it was manifested by the works it produced in your
life. Remember in Ephesians 2, let's
turn there just a moment. Very familiar passage of scripture,
but I don't want to misquote it. But in Ephesians chapter
2, And verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. There are several things that
go into a work being called a good work. And one of those, of course,
is it is a work that God has commanded. It is a work that
God has given us to do in the scripture. And it is a work that
is wrought by faith and a work that is caused by love. Now go back to verse three of
chapter one of Thessalonians, their labor of love. in the things
of Christ. They manifested their love. You
say, well, I wonder how they did that. Well, I imagine there
were several ways. First of all, their love for
the gospel. Their love for the gospel. The gospel wasn't a message
that they felt like you could take or leave. This was their
life. And the ministers of the gospel.
They ministered unto them. They had love for those who had
brought the gospel to them and preached the gospel there in
Thessalonica. And not only love for the gospel
and love for the ministers who preached the gospel to them,
but their ministry to the poor. No doubt in a town like Thessalonia,
there were poor people there and they exercised their love
in giving and sharing and helping with the poor. And not only that
ministry to the poor, but those who were afflicted. And to those
who were lost, to those who did not know God, they showed their
love for souls and witnessing, testifying, inviting people to
come and hear the gospel. They showed their love. And then
lastly, their patience of hope. They were in trials and afflictions. Let's look back here to Acts
17 just a moment. I stopped reading, I believe,
at verse four last time when we looked here at the gospel
first coming to Thessalonica. But remember the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I did not come to send peace upon the earth, but a sword. And you know when the gospel
comes in power, as we will see here it did to many of them,
many times there's a division. There's always a division. I
shouldn't say many times, there's always a division. And sometimes
it's between husband and wife. Sometimes it's between parents
and children. There's no peace. Why? Because
some are converted, some are saved, and some don't believe
the gospel. And can two walk together, except
they be agreed? Can light and darkness have fellowship? Of course not. But here in Acts
chapter 17, let's begin with verse four. And some of them
believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout
Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a few,
but the Jews, and here's their patience of hope. Patients have
hoped the persecution that they were immediately immersed in. But the Jews, which believed
not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of
the baser sort, gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar,
and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out
to the people. And when they found them not,
they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city,
crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also, whom Jason hath received, and these all do. Now
here it is. These believers, these converts
of the Apostle Paul, they all do contrary to the decrees of
Caesar. Now that was a charge which was
not true, of course, The best citizens in every country are
those who are saved. They obey the laws of the land. As long as that law of the land
does not conflict with the law of God, then they're the best
citizens that any country could ever have. And the same was true
here in Thessalonica. But they suffered persecution
because of their faith and this false charge. They're doing things
which are contrary to the commands of Caesar. Now, let's go on to the second
part of the message. Paul was assured of their election. Knowing, this is 1 Thessalonians
1 and verse 4, knowing, brethren, Beloved, your election of God. Now, the kind of election that
Paul speaks of here is not the election of a nation, like the
nation of Israel, to be a peculiar people unto God. It's not the
election of certain Christians to be pastors and others to be
deacons, other offices in the church. No, this epistle was
written to all the church, all the believers. And that's what
he says, knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God. This election that Paul is speaking
about here in our text is personal election to salvation. God choosing from before the
foundation of the world those whom he would save. I want you to turn over to the
second letter of Thessalonians in chapter two. And this verse here is so clear
and so important. Chapter two, verse 13. But we
are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord. And that's where election springs
from. God's love, God's eternal love,
everlasting love. Because, now notice, because
God hath from the beginning. Now, when you read that word
from the beginning, it's speaking about from the beginning of the
world, from the foundation of the world. from the beginning
of time, we might say. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. And the reason that I think that
verse there is so clear and so important is it shows us that
God has not only ordained the end, which is salvation, you
being saved, But he's also ordained the means to you being saved. And what is that? Through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. Isn't that important? When I was in missionary work,
I remember several times churches would send me a letter and say,
hey, we believe John 3, 16. We hear you don't believe it.
You believe people are going to be saved no matter what. Well,
I never believed that. I never believed that. I never
believed that people are going to be saved no matter what. Christ
had to die. That was one thing. There's no
salvation apart from his death, apart from him as our substitute. No, it's not you believe people
are going to be saved no matter what. I never believed people
were going to be saved without hearing the gospel. That's the
very thrust of missionary work. The very thrust of preaching
the gospel is God has chosen, by the foolishness of preaching,
to save those that believe. Yes. God has chosen you, he says
to these people, to salvation through. This is included. This is necessary. Man must hear
the gospel before he can believe. You cannot come back from a place
where you've never been. And a person must hear the gospel,
hear the true gospel, not just any gospel. Remember, Paul made
this very clear to the Galatians in that first chapter. There's
only one true gospel. There are many false gospels.
that have gone out into the world, many false prophets and teachers. Man must hear the true gospel,
the true gospel, and believe it. He must believe it. I know
that's through sanctification of the spirit, isn't it? By the
work of God the Holy Spirit in the heart when a person hears
the gospel. Now look back here in chapter
1 of 1 Thessalonians. How was Paul assured of their
election of God? Was he privy to the Lamb's book
of life? Had he somehow been taken up
into the third heaven and seen the decree of election? Of course
not. Paul was assured of their election
by what he witnessed, what took place This is a way that you
may know your election of God, the same way. First of all, in
verse five, the gospel came to them both in word and in power. Now that's what I just said.
A person has to hear the gospel. It must come in word. That's
the way it comes, isn't it? It doesn't come by saying miracles.
How many people saw the Lord's miracles even and died and are
in hell tonight? Miracles do not produce faith. No. Verse, verse, would help to get in the right
book. Verse five, for our gospel came
not unto you in word only. It did come in word. Paul preached
to them. I guess Alice and Timothy also
preached there. But also in power. In power and in the Holy Ghost
and in much assurance. And you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake. The gospel did not come to them
just as empty words, just as, you know, something that might
help a person. No, the gospel came to them in
power, had a powerful effect upon them, bringing about their
conversion. The Lord Jesus, in John 16, promised
the coming of the Holy Spirit. And remember, he said this, when
he is come, Number one, he will reprove the world of sin. That
word reprove could be convinced. Has the gospel come to me in
power? Has it? Have I been convinced
by God the Holy Spirit of sin? That I've sinned against God,
that I'm guilty of sin? It's not just what I have done,
but it's what I am by nature. sinful. Have you been convinced
of sin? Of your sinnerhood? Have you? You think that just came by education? No. When he is gone, the Holy
Spirit, he will convince the world of sin and of righteousness. Have you been convinced that
you need a righteousness that you cannot produce? Have you? Have you been convinced of that?
God requires a righteousness, a perfect holiness that if you
live to be a thousand years, live longer than Methuselah,
you could never produce that righteousness that God requires. But he has provided it in his
son, Jesus Christ. He shall convince the world of
sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Now, there's several
different understandings of that, but this is my understanding.
Have you been convinced by God the Holy Spirit that your sins
were judged and your substitute? When he was dying there on the
cross, that he had your sins he was bearing in his own body
on the tree of judgment, that he was judged and he experienced
the wrath of God. He had no sin of his own, we
know that, but he took the sins of his people. As the Holy Spirit
come to you, it came to these people. Gospel not only came
in word, but it also came in power, and it caused them to
turn from their sins with true repentance. Not just a change
of mind, but a sorrow for sin. a sorrow for what I am. The last few days I've looked
at the 42nd chapter of Job, and you know when Job said, I've
heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye seeth
you, and I abhor myself. Oh me, I abhor what I am. in comparison, especially to
God and His holiness. Repentance, a change of mind
and also of trust and faith in Jesus Christ. It came to them,
Paul said, in much assurance that Jesus Christ, He's the Son
of God. You know, our Lord told Peter,
when Peter confessed him as the son of God, our Lord said, flesh
and blood has not revealed this unto thee, Simon, but my father,
which is in heaven. And I've said this many times,
but it's just so. When God the Holy Spirit reveals
to you who Christ is, you could never, never be convinced that
he's anyone other. than the Son of God. The Son
of the eternal God manifest in the flesh. Number two, verse
six, he said, they became followers of the apostle and of the Lord.
Verse six, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having
received the word in much affliction with joy in the Holy Ghost. The word which is here translated
followers Actually, it's the word imitators, imitators. And it's the same word that is
found in Ephesians 5 and verse 1 when Paul wrote to the saints
there and said, be you therefore followers, imitators of God,
imitators of God. They began to imitate the apostles. How did the apostles live? Well,
their manner of living was very simple. And They began to imitate
the manner of living, the apostles, and in doing that, they began
to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ, because the apostles were imitating
the Lord himself. I think it would do all of us
good if we concentrated more on the life of Christ, studying
the Gospels, the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
and just looking at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, his
life. It went about doing good, the
scripture says. Now, the third thing that caused
him to know their election of God, they became examples to
all that believed. so that you were in samples or
examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. They became examples by their
steadfastness, by their commitment, by their faithfulness to the
gospel. We might use the term today,
they were sold out. They were sold out. They had
found the pearl of great price, and they sold everything that
they might have that pearl. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was a time, now Thessalonica was a city in Greece. There was
a time when Greece was divided into these two divisions, Macedonia
and Achaia. And they were examples. It's
a word that is used for us to get the word type from. We all know what a type is. And
the word that is translated here, example, it means that something
has been marked. It's usually been marked with
blows, with hard blows. It's like a die that's been beat
into a product. They became a pattern to show,
like a mechanic, I guess, a machinist, he would make a pattern or a
carpenter, and then he would lay that pattern out and form
all of his other materials according to that pattern. That's the word that is used
here. They became a pattern to show Show others what a true
believer ought to be. What a true believer ought to
be. And then in verse eight, Paul said, you became spreaders
of the word of the Lord. For from you sounded out the
word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also
in every place your faith to God were to spread abroad, so
that we need not to speak anything. This word sounded out. It means
the blowing of a trumpet. You know, in the nation of Israel,
they had those trumpets that they use for several different
things. And by the sound of the trumpet,
it alerted the nation to different things. If there was just an
assembly, they wanted all the elders to assemble there at the
at the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. Then they would blow
the trumpets and, you know, the tribes would spread out, the
12 tribes, and the leaders would know, hey, we've got to meet
Moses. He's calling us over there. Or if they were getting ready
for battle, or if they had a war, they had to meet, then the trumpet
sounded a different sound. And Paul uses that in 1 Corinthians
when he said, for if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, Who
shall prepare himself for the battle? The gospel sounded out
from them. And a trumpet also was used beginning
the year of Jubilee. And that began on the great day
of atonement. After they had gone through the
atoning work, the high priest, the goat, the blood taken into
the holy place, The scapegoat being taken away. Then they had
silver trumpets, and they blew those trumpets. And what a picture
that is of the gospel, because the year of Jubilee meant that
all debts were canceled. Isn't that a beautiful picture
of salvation? We owed a debt we could not pay.
He paid a debt he did not owe. Yes, all the debts were canceled.
Those who were in bondage, they were set free. Their homes were
returned to them. That's what Paul is saying here. The gospel sounded out from you. We don't need to tell anyone.
That's what he says at the end of that verse. So that we need
not to speak anything. We don't need to tell anybody
that you folks have received the gospel. It's obvious. Everyone
knows it. Everyone knows it because the
gospel is sounded out from you. You see, Thessalonica was a seaport,
and there were always ships coming and going. And evidently, not
only in that way, the gospel went out from them to other places
in that area of the Mediterranean, where they did commerce, conducted
commerce there. But also they sent men out with
the gospel. Maybe missionaries they sent
out with the gospel. The fifth thing that caused him
to know their election of God, you turn from idols to God. Now this of course would not
have included all of the people because only the gent, we've
seen in Acts chapter 17 that Paul went into the synagogue
The Jews, they were not idolaters, not if we think of idols as a
statue or something like that. When they came back out of 70
years captivity, the nation of Israel was never, ever guilty
again of worshiping a statue. They were cured by that of idolatry. I know people can have an idol
in their heart, maybe their job, maybe their home, Whatever. But I believe he's talking about
pagans here who had no understanding of the gospel. They had not been
proselyted to the Jewish religion. But they turned to God from idols. And it's important to see the
order here, isn't it? How you turn to God. from idols. He doesn't say you
turn from your idols to God. You turn to God. And when you
turn to God, then you turn from your idols. That's very important,
the order there. And then they serve the one and
only living and true God. The last thing that he mentions
here is they embrace the truth No doubt Paul and his laborers
with him had taught them that yes, the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, that he died, that he was buried, that he rose
from the grave, and he's coming again. He's coming again. And you turn to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from
heaven. whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus. And notice, which delivered us
from the wrath to come. Men do not like to hear this
and do not like to think that God is going to execute His wrath
upon the wicked, but He is. That's what the scripture says. There's a day coming, there's
a judgment. There's a judgment, and there's
a day coming when The wicked will be judged and be cast into
everlasting darkness, into hell. It's wrath. I think one of the
psalmists said, who hath known the wrath of God? There's only
one person, right? There's only one person who has
known the wrath of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. When he
was there on the cross, experiencing the wrath of God for the sins
of his people. And what did he do? He cried
out, didn't he? My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? The wrath of God being forsaken
of God throughout eternity being alienated from God and from everything
that is good. Everything that's good, everything
that's a blessed thing. Can you imagine that? To be in
a place like that, where all you hear is cursing, cursing
God, and you're engaged in it too. Blaming God.