1 Thessalonians, the first chapter,
Paul and Silvanus, 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, 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 ye know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us
and of the having received the word in much affliction with
joy in the Holy Ghost, so that we were examples to all them
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. So 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 speak anything. For they themselves show of us
what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye 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." Now, we are
reminded again, as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, of the
markers that the Lord is pleased to work in His people. Now, we live in an age when the
message of an easy-believism and decisionism is rampant. It is commonly thought and preached
just about everywhere that you can go that a man becomes a follower
of Christ by deciding to do so. And we're quite certain that
all who are the followers of Christ have decided to follow
Him. We do know that for a fact, but
that's not how they became the children of God. That's not how
they became to believe. Now, the concept that is taught
far and wide is that men believe because they decide to do so.
But that's getting the cart ahead of the horse. The Lord gives
a man faith, and then he can't do anything else but believe
when that occurs. And that is the work of God in
men to give the gift of faith, and Paul speaks about that. And
he says, We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention
of you in our prayer, remembering without ceasing your work of
faith. Now notice that he did not say
your works of faith. He could have said your works
of faith, but the emphasis of what he is saying here is a little
bit different. than works, as men would consider
deeds. Now, this word can be translated
deeds. It is, I think, about out of
176 times that this particular Greek word is found in the New
Testament, there are about 22 times, I believe, that the word
is translated deeds. The rest of the time, some couple
of times it's translated labor, and the rest of the time it's
translated either works or work. Now here, it is the singular
form of it, and it is your work of faith. Now, we never must
forget that there are works which are associated with faith, even
as James said. You say you believe, and that's
well. He said, I'll show you my faith by my works. Now a lot
of people again get the cart ahead of the horse and they believe
that what James is saying there is that I will go out here and
perform works and that will be my faith. But that's not it at
all. But rather it is that true faith. When the work of faith is begun
in a man, then the result is that works shall surely follow
because of the work." Now, you see, the work is not performed
by men. The work is performed by God.
It is the work of God performing faith in a man, giving him faith. Faith is the gift of God, not
of what works, lest any man should boast. But it is a gift of God. God is pleased to give men faith,
and that is the work of faith. Now, when Paul says here, I remember
your work of faith, he does have reference to his remembrance
of the fact that they have performed works of faith. But what he is
primarily getting at is the fact that there is a work of faith
that is begun in you which has resulted in those works. But the emphasis that he has
here is not necessarily on the works that they perform, but
the fact that they have a work performed on them. Now this is
an important thing as we understand that salvation is of the Lord,
is not of men. Men didn't design it. Men can't
cause it to come to pass. Men can't get God in an arm lock
and twist His arm and cause Him to give it to them, because that's
not how it comes. And it would be foolish for men
to think such a thing. But rather the work is that work
of the Holy Ghost which causes a man to believe. Now why does
one man believe and another doesn't? Because you persuaded him to
believe. See, a lot of people think that. They think if you
get a man in the right situation and you can scare him enough
or you can tell him this or the other, then you can cause him
to believe. You can't cause a man to believe.
God causes men to believe. Why does one man believe and
another doesn't? The grace of God. And that's
the only... differentiation between those
who believe and those who do not. It is not of works lest
any man should boast. Now, if faith was something we
could perform and we could bring it to pass, then we would have
grounds upon which to say to somebody, well, why don't you
just believe? I did. Look at me. I believed. Well, I believe because of the
grace of God, because of the mercy of God. But indeed, because
when that work of faith takes place, there are works of faith
that follow. It's just a necessary part of
it. If a man is hungry, what will that cause him to do? Look
for food. I mean, when a hungry man will
try to find some food, now he might die in the process and
not find any. Thankfully, there are none whom
the Lord causes to hunger and thirst after righteousness who
have ever perished. As David said, I've never seen
the righteous forsaken or a seed begging for bread. God is pleased
to feed those whom He gives hunger to. in spiritual things. And so it is, as a hungry man
seeks out food, so does a man who's made hungry for the things
of God seek out the things of God. It's a necessity that it
must occur because it is the work of God. And so Paul says,
I remember your work of faith. I remember it because of the
fact of how it begun and the fact that it is a real work. You know, if you talk somebody
into believing something, you've got to keep building the fire
under them to keep it going. I mean, you know, you've got
to keep stoking it up. You've got to come up with some
new rank or some new thing to keep folks interested. rolled upon by the Spirit of
God, he doesn't need something to keep the gospel interesting
to him because the gospel is of interest to him because it
is his life. The life which we have is that
which is given to us by Christ. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life, but the
life that is in us by the work of the Holy Spirit of God is
that cause of faith, and it is the work of faith, and it is
that which produces the works of faith. And so Paul says here,
we give thanks remembering without ceasing your work of faith. And
look at what he says down here in verse 4, knowing, beloved,
your election of God. How can the elect of God be known?
Well, if you could get a ladder long enough, you could reach
it up into heaven and maybe read their names out of the Lamb's
Book of Life, but you can't do that. Not only is it a physical impossibility,
it's just an impossibility. It can't be done that way. But
the way that the election of God is known among people is
the fact that in those people who are the elect, they are shown
to be the sons of God in the Lord's time by causing them to
believe in this work of faith that is wrought, knowing, beloved,
your election of God, remembering without ceasing your work of
faith, and then what does he say, and your labor of love. Now, faith worketh by love. That's how love is manifested. It is because God, who is pleased
to give men faith, causes them to believe the things that God
has said, and working in them by the same Spirit that has wrought
in them a desire to believe the things of God, He also gives
them love one for the other. If we love not our brethren,
the Scripture says, then what reason do we have to think that
we love God? Now, when men say they love God,
but they don't love the people of God, how can that be so? Now, who are the people of God? I don't know all of them. No
way I can ever know all of them, at least in this world. But you see, the Lord has put
us together in an assembly, and I can know my brethren that I
see, can I not? And the Lord said, if I don't
love my brethren whom I can see, I certainly can't love the one
whom I don't see. And it's foolish for a man to
say, oh, I love all God's people, if he's not demonstrating love
to God's people where he sees them. And that's what Paul said. He
said, esteem one another above ourselves in honor of preferring
one another, seeking to build one another up in the most holy
faith, bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the
law of Christ. And so it is that there is a
labor of love. Now Paul perhaps has referenced
to some particular labor of love. that they did. And I believe
he does. I think he has reference to this
in other places where he mentions the fact that when the saints
were in need in Jerusalem and they gathered a collection to
help them, that the Thessalonians were ready to give of the things
that they have unto them. So that Paul says, I remember
your labor of love. Now, labor is something that
is, all of us know what labor is. Now, in the day in which
we live, labor is a thing that is getting more and more people
are less and less affected by, or acquainted with,
it's the word I'm going to say. To the point that most people
look at labor as down their nose. Anybody that labors, there is
something wrong with them. I mean, we are supposed to be
smart and work with our heads, you know, and kind of look down
our noses at those that labor. But labor is a good thing. In
fact, the Lord said that in the sweat of a man's face would he
work and earn his bread. And so I think that there's a
beneficial aspect to labor. But I know for a fact that there's
a beneficial aspect of labor in spiritual things. And Paul
speaks about it. He said, Brethren, I've known,
I've seen it. He said, I've seen you labor.
As he said, as he gave the example of himself, he said, I labored
night and day. Now, he was talking about physical
work that he was doing to provide for those that were... to provide
for his own needs and the needs of those that were with him.
He put his nose to the grindstone. He was a tent maker. He worked. He did the things necessary to
support himself. And he said, not only so that
I might have to provide for my own self, but have to give to
the needs of others. Now everybody knows that we are
going to labor to give to our own self. I mean it just makes
sense, doesn't it? We go out and work and then if we need
a new car, we've got money to go buy a new car or whatever
we need. But Paul tells Timothy that's
not the only reason that we're to labor. He said we're to labor
to have not only to give to our own needs but to the needs of
others. And that's what Paul's speaking about here, about the
labor of love, that is giving, doing that which is sometimes
painful. See, giving which is set forth
in the Scriptures, scriptural giving, is not meant to be something
that is that doesn't cost us anything. David, he wouldn't
remember when he was going to make an offering unto the Lord,
and the man, he wanted to buy this field where he could make
this threshing floor. He wanted to buy it so he could
build an altar there and offer to the Lord. And the man said,
well, here, just take it. I mean, we're both rich men.
And what's a little bit of land to us? He said, look, I won't
give to the Lord that which didn't cost me anything. And labor costs
you something. That's what Paul said. He said,
knowing, remembering your labor of love because you were willing
to put forth an effort Now is the fact that they were willing
to put forth an effort, does that commend them in God's sight? Not at all. There is only one
thing that commends a man in God's sight, and that is the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. The only thing. If a man is in
that righteousness, then he is perfectly pleasing in the Lord's
sight, because that is perfect righteousness. But dear brethren,
the Lord has given us the privilege of demonstrating that work which
He's performed in us in laboring one for the other. You see, that's
what the body of Christ is. It is a body that labors together. Paul said, I've witnessed this
in you firsthand. I've seen this coming to pass
as the Lord has worked in you and given you a labor of love.
And then he said, "...and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
and in the sight of God the Father." Now, there is a work of God to
give man faith, and that work begins as God is pleased to work
it in men. Then He causes that work to produce
works which result in labors of love But it all is because
the Lord has given his people patience of hope in Christ. See, this is the place that God
is pleased to bring his people, is that our hope and expectation
is in Christ. Our hope and expectation is not
what we're going to receive in this world. It's not what we're
expecting to put our hands on. That's not why we're dwelling.
That's not what causes us to get up every morning and be glad. Man, I can go out there today
and make me a bunch of money to consume it upon my own lust.
No, that's not the thing that God would have me and His children. That's not the work that He's
performing in them. The flesh is causing a man to
have those thoughts. But the Spirit of God is constraining
the people of God unto labors of love for this reason, because
they have the patience of hope in Christ. Now our hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. He is that
one in whom all of our hope depends, and this is the work of God.
to bring a man to that place where he has no confidence in
the flesh. Now, one of the downsides to
men getting caught up... See, a lot of times men think
about good works, and they think that good works are an end unto
themselves. Good works are simply the product
of the work of the Spirit of God, because if a man does not
begin in the place of having patience and hope in Jesus Christ,
then he is going to approach works from the wrong perspective.
And there are a lot of people who claim and think that they
are following Christ in doing good works who are really doing
good works thinking that this makes them somehow acceptable
in the sight of God. Those whom the Lord spoke about
in the seventh chapter of Matthew are a good example of it. The Lord said, Not everyone that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you, there will be many that shall say unto me,
Lord, have we not done many works? And he shall say unto them, Depart
from me, I never knew you." It's not about the work. You know,
sometimes people run around and they're just looking for some
good work they can do because they have in the back of their
mind, well, that's what God would have us to do, so we're going
to go out here and do them. Again, that's getting the cart
ahead of the horse. You see, the patience of hope
and experience in Christ is that which constrains the people of
God. And if we're looking at good
works as some kind of an external thing or a choice where a man
can say, well, I think I will. Nah, I'm not going to do any
good works. I'm just going to, you know,
just go along the way and have a good time and wake up in glory. Well, he has no patience of hope. Because the patience of hope
in Christ is that which causes a man to have no other desire
than to be a found follower of Christ. We want to be doing what
Christ told us to do. Not because we expect to receive
something from it. See, a hireling expects to receive
something from it. Job said, shall we receive good
from the hand of the Lord and not evil? Do we think everything's
going to always fall in our lap? Is everything going to be that
which just suits us fine? No, not at all. It doesn't make
any difference. We're not hirelings. We're not
serving God for loaves and fishes. Those of whom Paul speaks here
were certainly not. He said, I remember you for your
work of faith that produces works. and the labor of love, which
is the result of that product of those works. And he said,
because I see that you have also the patience of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, brethren, that's the place
God's people will be. It's not the place where we're
trying to be. You see, what Paul's describing
here is what the people of God are. not what they are seeking
to become, but what they are by the grace of God, knowing,
brethren, your election of God. For he said, Our gospel didn't
come to you in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and much assurance. Now how does assurance come?
It comes as God is pleased to work in a man, both willing to
do of his good pleasure, And God is pleased to apply that
assurance, not so that he wakes up every day and he just knows
beyond a shadow of a doubt that his name is written in the Lamb's
Book of Life, but he knows every day that Christ is the Savior. Now let me ask you which you'd
rather have. Would you rather know that your name is written
in the Lamb's Book of Life, or would you rather every day know
that Christ is the Savior? You see, there's the blessing
of God. That's the full assurance of hope. That's the work of God
in the soul of a man, is to teach him day by day that Christ is
all. And that is the thing that he
desires. Job said, if he slay me, Yet will I trust Him." Because
you see, the most important thing to the children of God is not
that their name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now,
I hope my name is written there. Paul said, we'll be of all men
most miserable if the dead rise not. But I'll tell you this one
thing, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him, he said, Job
said. What do you mean by that? He
said, even if my name is not written there, He said, I glory
in Him who is the Savior of sinners. I glory in Him whom I know that
one day I'll see Him face to face, that He is that One who
saves those that call upon His name. Now we know that's an impossibility. It's impossible that a man should
desire the presence and the face of Jesus Christ who shall ever
be cast from His presence. That can never happen according
to what the Word of God says. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Those that seek Him, they
shall find Him. But you see, the thing that God
is pleased to work in the people of God who have been given a
patience of hope is that which Al quoted there a moment ago
that Peter said. He said, Lord, to whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. You see, all that
Peter wanted to do was be found to be a follower of Christ. He
just wanted to be with Christ. He just wanted to be taught by
Christ. He didn't know all the answers.
He didn't know anything else, but he knew the one that had
the answers. And he knew that he was the one that he wanted
to be found following. And he said that is the patience
of hope. You see, hope can only be in
one thing. You can't have two hopes. There's only one. The patience
of hope in Christ. He is our Savior. He's the Savior
of sinners. Oh, what a glorious thing when
God is pleased to cause you to see that clearly and to embrace
it and to hope in it. And it's not about running around
out here telling folks, Oh, I know I'm saved. Sometimes I do not know whether
I am saved or not. I see this old corruptible heart
working in me and I have my doubts. But I know this, that there is
a Savior of sinners and His name is Jesus Christ and I want to
fall down at His feet and I want to worship Him. And He is my
hope and He is my expectation. And He is that One who is all
in all and before Him I bow and to Him I worship. And I declare
that He is that One in whom my hope is built. Oh, dear brethren,
such is the work of the Spirit of God and the people of God
to give them a desire to know Christ. Paul said that I might
know Him and the power of His resurrection, not being conformed
to this world but being conformed and transformed by the renewing
of the mind in Christ. I want to see Him. I want to be like Him. I want
to walk with Him. I want to be found in Him. Because,
dear brethren, if a man is found in Christ, he cannot perish.
He cannot. It is impossible. All those disciples,
except that one who was ordained as the son of perdition, the
Lord said, Of all that thou hast given Me, I have lost none. Dear brethren, the Lord is not
going to lose any of those that belong to him. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. Oh, what a glorious place! That
is the patience of hope for the sons of God. That's the patience
of hope for the doubting sons of God. Are you ever numbered
among the doubting sons of God? Are you ever numbered among the
weak and the beggarly sons of God? Of course you are. Sometimes you don't know which
way is up and which way is down. But I tell you this, by the grace
of God, if He's given you the patience of hope in Christ, you
always know who the Savior is. Because He said, My sheep hear
My voice, I know them and they follow Me. What a glorious Savior
He is. may be ever praised and worshipped. And may the Lord give us such
a place that the patience of hope might be that which holds
us and keeps us until that day that He comes to gather us all.