Tonight's message is called,
Why We Preach the Gospel. Open your Bibles, if you would,
to the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We'll continue our
study in this wonderful book written by Paul the Apostle.
1 Thessalonians chapter 1, we'll read verses 1 to 5. 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 of 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. Last week we looked at verses
4 and 5 where we considered the believer's election and the believer's
assurance, and how they go hand in hand, and what a blessed truth
for the believer to consider that the Lord chose us in eternity. And we know we never would have
chosen him unless he made us willing in the day of his power.
Unless he chose us, we never would have chosen him. Then we
also touched on the assurance of the believer, the assurance
which the believer has in Christ, because the word of God came
to us in power. The power, of course, of the
Holy Spirit of God. And it came to us with much assurance
as a result of it coming to us with power. Tonight I want to
focus on verse five again, as we did not spend a whole lot
of time on that verse last week. But let's read verses four and
five together again. 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 men we were
among you for your sake." Now always remember, when we are
reading the scriptures, that the Holy Spirit of God is the
true author of the words of the Holy Scripture. And the Holy
Scriptures are from God Himself. Turn if you would to 2 Peter
chapter 1. And we'll read verses 19 and
21. And we'll see what Peter tells us, again by inspiration
of God the Holy Spirit. What he tells us, that with the
Scriptures we have a more sure word of prophecy. Peter, Paul,
and John, and all the writers of the Holy Scriptures, spoke
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God. Look at 2 Peter
chapter 1 verses 19 to 21. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy whereunto ye do well, that ye take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until a day dawn and a
day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy
of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy
came not an old by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So with that in our mind,
let's go back now to 1 Thessalonians 1. And as we read these scriptures
again, let us consider that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit
of God to write these words to the saints at Thessalonica. He was moved by the Holy Spirit
of God to write these words to the Thessalonian believers. And
that includes all the scriptures. Holy men of God were moved. Holy
men of God were moved. They spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost. And this is a truth. This is
a truth which is hated by all works religionists. They hate
the fact that the true believer in Christ rests and trusts in
the Scriptures alone and what they say. Because the Scriptures
alone proclaim the Gospel of God's amazing grace in Christ
alone. The fact that salvation is in
Christ alone. So with that in mind, let's read
verses 4 and 5. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. So Paul brings forth here that
they are beloved brethren. We know they are beloved of the
Lord from eternity. And we also see in verse 4, their
election of God. And that means chosen, there's
no way to get around that. The underlying Greek word, as
we looked at in last week's message, the underlying Greek word means
to choose. There's no getting away from
this. God has chosen a people that will receive mercy from
him. These two verses clearly and undeniably bring forth that
God has an elect people, a chosen people, and that election is
of God. We also see clearly that the
gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, that salvation is in and
through Christ alone, must be preached as it is the power of
God unto salvation. As Paul wrote over in Romans
chapter 1, and we'll look at that later, it so clearly brings
forth, just like the text here, so clearly brings forth here
that the gospel must be preached and it comes to the believer.
in power, not in any power we have in ourselves, because there's
none that seeketh after God, there's none that understandeth,
but in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, and in much assurance
as a result of it coming in the power of God the Holy Spirit.
And these scriptures teach that we who are the people of God
are saved by God's amazing grace. And it also brings forth the
one true Gospel must be preached. And they teach us plainly that
salvation is of the Lord. When the Gospel comes to a regenerated
soul, one who is born again, that is, it comes by the power
of God, and brings much assurance to the chosen, blood-washed,
born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And these scriptures
also teach us that God's preachers are men of God who are ordained
and equipped, and sent from God to preach His Gospel. Why? For the sake of His elect, of
God's elect, for the sake of God's elect. These scriptures
also bring forth that the elect of God are identified by and
made known to us by the miracle of the new birth and also by
the testimony of their faith. in what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done for us. Are you born again by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God? Do you testify of what the Lord
has done for you? We see in verse 5 that the Word
of God comes to the saints of God in power and in much assurance. How would Paul know that it came
to them in much assurance? Timothy testified that it did. And in our next study, we will
see the effects of election and regeneration by the Holy Spirit
of God. The fact that the Thessalonian
believers turned to God from idols to serve the living and
true God. Now, some may say, I never turned
from idols. Really? The gospel preacher says,
really? You didn't? Have you, I ask you,
have you turned from the idol of self? Did you seek to please
yourself in your unregenerated state? Did you look out for number
one before the Lord saved you? The believer in Christ wants
to serve God in all we do now, and we want to honor him. as
we live a life of resting and trusting in our great Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. And we care about the furtherance
of the gospel. We care about the furtherance
of the gospel. We support works where the gospel
is being preached. We attend places where the gospel
is being preached. And we desire as believers, the
furtherance of the Gospel, for it to go forth into this world,
leaving it in the Lord's hands to do whatever He will with it,
but rejoicing that He gives us a place that we can gather together
and hear the Word of God proclaimed by a man sent by God to proclaim
that message. Oh, how glorious it is, how glorious
it is for all the elect of God. the preacher and for those who
listen. Oh my, we marvel that the Lord has saved us. We marvel
at this precious truth that salvation is of the Lord and we want to
see that message go forth, go forth from the place where we
worship. The believer in Christ again
wants to serve God in all that we do now and honor Him. We do
not seek to further self anymore. No, we seek to the furtherance
of the gospel from a regenerated heart. Have you turned from the
idol of money? The I want to get all that I
can for myself despite who I step on? Well, that's the world, isn't
it? Not only look out for number one, but get everything you can,
all the money you can. Now, the Lord's people, we know
that we need money to live and we trust God to provide money
for us to live. And we work hard to earn that
money. Doing what we do now, not for self, but for the glory
of God. For the glory of God, not the
glory of self. Now remember that Paul, along
with Silas and Timothy, had spent three weeks at Thessalonica. preaching the gospel for three
Sabbath days, three weeks. Then they had to flee for their
lives because of the hatred that was in the hearts of those unbelieving
Jews who stirred up the people against God's ordained preachers.
We know that our dear brother Paul, by the will of God and
purpose of God, sent Timothy back to Thessalonica. And when
he rejoined Paul, He bought back a good report concerning the
manifestation of the gift of true saving faith, which our
Lord had given to those saints in Thessalonica. Remember that
the Lord Jesus Christ is our elder brother. He's bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh. And he asked this question and
then answered it to a crowd of people who were listening to
him. Who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched
forth his hand towards his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and
my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of my Father which
is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.
Matthew chapter 12 verse 48 to 50. Also the truth of James chapter
1 verse 18 is brought forth before us in verse 5. James 1.18 says
this, Of his own will begat he us. We are born again by the
will of God and by the power of God. So marvel at verse five,
then let's go back to 1 Thessalonians 1, verse five. And with the truth
of James 1, 18 in our minds of his own will, begot he us. Let's
read this verse again, keeping in mind that it's God's will
that we were born again. It's God's will that the gospel
came to us in power. It's God's will that we are saved
in the Lord Jesus Christ and by his work. and that we now
have much assurance, all according to God's will. 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. Now all the beloved born-again
believers are united in Christ, And we have been united to Him
by the miracle of the new birth. We have also received the spirit
of adoption. And God says, God has sent forth
the spirit of His Son into our hearts. And now we cry, Abba,
Father. And we're united to Christ by His gift of faith. And all
of God's enlightened born-again children are brothers and sisters
in Christ. Our Lord said this, by this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Now the Apostle Paul was very
serious about this union with the saints at Thessalonica. And
he used endearing terms, didn't he? He called them his beloved
brethren. We should take this union, each
of us as believers, we should take this union that we have
with Christ and each other very seriously. Very serious as well. The scriptures declare this,
that we are to forbear one another. You'll be long suffering with
one another. It's easy to find our own faults, isn't it? It's
easy to find the faults of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
It's not hard at all. They're very evident. But the
scripture says, forbear one another in love, and that love is the
love of Christ. If a professing Christian doesn't
forbear his brothers and sisters, well, It might just be a profession.
It might just be an empty profession. Forbear one another in love with
all lowliness and meekness. Don't vault yourself up. No.
Don't strive for power. No. No. Forbear one another in
love with all lowliness and meekness and longsuffering. Be longsuffering
with one another. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. To keep unity within the
body of Christ. And that's Ephesians chapter
4 verses 2 and 3. So now consider this, beloved of God. We did
not know anything about God's sovereign electing grace, or
anything about His amazing grace, for that matter, until God called
us out of darkness, until He called us out of our unregenerate
state. The gospel was foolishness to
us before we were saved. The scriptures declare this.
That's not my opinion. That's what the scriptures declare.
That's what the scriptures declare. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14. But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. The gospel must be
revealed to you, or you'll never know the truth of salvation in
Christ and Him alone. Beloved God, there was a time
when we as God's sheep had to hear the gospel, not only with
our physical ears, but also with the ears of the heart. And this
is why we must preach the gospel. This is why God sent preachers. must preach the gospel, and must
not be beholden to any man. We must preach the gospel as
God has ordained, and we preach it to everyone. knowing that
the Holy Spirit of God will move and will save whom he wills,
God's lost sheep. They will be regenerated by the
power of the Holy Spirit of God. And they will be regenerated
by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, how? By the preaching
of the word of God, by the preaching of the gospel. And look at verse
five again. Again, we see clearly in this
verse that truth bought forth before us. 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 men we
were among you for your sake. Now think upon this. The gospel
came to them. Look what it says. For our gospel
came not unto you in word only. It came to them. The gospel came
to them. It came to the Thessalonian saints. They were going about their normal
lives before Paul and Silas and Timothy got there. They were
going about their normal lives in their unregenerate state,
and the gospel came to them, being proclaimed by men sent
by God. They didn't come to the gospel.
The gospel came to them. And this is true of every single
born-again, blood-washed saint of God. This precious truth applies
to all the elect of God. Beloved, God moved Jim down to
Ashland to preach the gospel down there, and he brought me
from Oregon to here to preach his glorious gospel. God did
that. Just as God moved Silas and Paul
and Timothy to go to Thessalonica and to preach the gospel. My! God must send his preachers,
and he sends his preachers to preach the gospel. The scriptures
declare this in Romans chapter 10 verses 13 and 15. For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? Beloved of God, it was God's
divine providence, ordained before time began, that but Paul and
those in his company to Thessalonica. And each sent preacher of God
can say the same. It is the will of God and he
moves us to where he wills. God sent these preachers to Thessalonica
according to his sovereign will. and according to His sovereign
purpose. It was God's appointed time of
love for His lost sheep, His saints at Thessalonica, for those
chosen in Christ, for those who had been redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ. It was their time to hear the
Gospel. And marvel at this truth brought
forth, that just as it was their appointed time to hear the Gospel,
their appointed time to be delivered from the power of Satan, their
appointed time to be delivered from the power of sin and the
power of darkness, We who are the redeemed of the Lord also
had a day appointed by God for us to hear the gospel. And it
came to us, not in word only, but it came to us in power, just
as it came to the Thessalonian saints that way. Marvel at the
mercy which God has shown to you if you're one of his people.
If you're one of his saints, you did not come to the gospel.
The gospel came to you. and was proclaimed to you by
a man sent from God. The gospel is all about the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he told his disciples that
he would send a comforter to God's people, who would what?
Lead us into all truth. The Holy Spirit of God regenerates
the lost sheep of God and gives us faith to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. So we see then that salvation
is of the Lord in its planning and execution. Christ died for
his people on Calvary's cross. Those were people given to him
by the Father in eternity. And those people, the elect,
were regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. So
then again, we see the execution of God's plan and purpose. Paul
preached the gospel three Sabbath days. He was there for three
weeks while he was at Thessalonica. And there were many who were
in the city that did not come to hear, but some did. And they
came to hear as they were drawn by the almighty, irresistible
power of God. God's lost sheep were drawn by
the almighty, irresistible power of God. The divine providence
of our Lord Jesus Christ bought those He had ordained to be their
vessels of mercy, the scripture says. Who would believe? Turn, if you would, to 1 Peter
2, verses 7-10. They're called vessels of mercy.
Vessels of mercy. Of people who have obtained mercy.
And then there's vessels of wrath who were appointed to stumble
at his word. 1 Peter 2, verses 7-10. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
he is precious, that being Christ. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner. and a stone of stumbling, and
a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But ye, now he's
writing to God's born-again, blood-washed saints, and listen
to what Peter says, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, and a holy nation. Kill your people, that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light. He did that. which in the times
past were not a people. That's our unregenerate state,
isn't it? But are now the people of God, which had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Oh, how merciful is our
great God. Oh, how merciful is our great
God to his people. Never forget that every aspect
of salvation is of the Lord, and he has purposed everything
for his glory and for our good. Even today, in the midst of this
global pandemic, even today, the Lord has purposed everything.
And it's all for His glory. As a preacher sent by God, I
marvel that God has ordained the path of His preacher and
the path of His elect to cross at His appointed time. And note
our text brings forth that the gospel comes to God's elect,
not in word only, but also in power. For our gospel came not
unto you. So the gospel came, look at verse
five again. For our gospel came not unto you in word only. They
didn't just hear it with their natural ears, 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. Marvel, if you're a born again
child of God, that the gospel came to you. I marvel at this
truth, that the gospel came to you, and that it didn't just
come to us in word. No, it came to us in power. Now,
I had people talk to me about Christ through my life before
the Lord saved me, and I just didn't want even to be around
them. Isn't that amazing? Is it so for you? I didn't want
to hear that stuff. No, no, go on. But now that we're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God, now we have a desire. We have a desire to hear the
Word of God. It doesn't only come to us in
word now. It comes to us in power every
time we hear the gospel. So we clearly see then that the
gospel must come to us. And it is God who has ordained
that it will come to His elect. Our great God has ordained His
gospel is that instrument that He uses to give us faith. We
are granted faith to believe what is being preached and proclaimed,
to trust and rest in Christ alone. And it all comes by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God. We've been given a gift, the
gift of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is
clearly set forth in his word. It comes to us by God's power,
by his almighty power. And we are saved by grace alone,
through faith alone. And that faith has one object,
and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to Romans
1. Romans 1, we'll look at verses 16 to 21. No one will be saved
who does not hear the true gospel, the true gospel. Now let us pause
and consider for a moment the millions of people throughout
the history of man, this generation included, who have never heard
the true gospel. And we know they are without
excuse. We know that the scriptures declare
this. Look at this. in Romans 1, verses
16 to 21. Paul pens this to the believers
in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God. Power of God, what? Unto
salvation, to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just shall live by faith, not by works, but by faith. faith in Christ and Him alone.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse
Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God,
neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. Now marvel you who are the elect
of God, that you have heard the gospel, and that you believe
the gospel of salvation in and through Christ alone. That's
a miracle of grace. You are a blessed people. Our
Lord brought that forth with His own words. He said this in
Matthew chapter 13 verses 16 to 17 he said but blessed are
your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. For verily
I say unto you that many prophets and righteous men have desired
to see those things which you see and have not seen them and
to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.
How is it that certain ones like those who were under Paul's preaching,
hear with the ears of the heart and others do not. The gospel
comes to some, and we see it in this verse, the gospel comes
to some in power. and in the Holy Ghost. Paul said,
I am not ashamed. Remember what we read over there
in Romans chapter 1? Paul said, I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed.
See, man goes about trying to establish his own righteousness
before God, but the gospel manifests the righteousness of God. And
that's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord our righteousness.
And the believer is clothed in His perfect spotless righteousness.
So the Gospel comes to the elect of God, not in word only, but
also in power and in the Holy Ghost. And we see that God's
sovereign, distinguishing grace is clearly set forth in this
text. And we know throughout His Holy
Word. Now in our unregenerate state, God's sheep are just as
blind spiritually as those who are goats. These Thessalonian
saints, they woke up that morning in an unregenerate state before
they had heard the Gospel. And they had no idea they were
going to hear the Gospel. They had no idea they were going
to hear the Gospel. They were spiritually blind as a goat. But our God, by His almighty
power, opened up their eyes. And He opens up the blind eyes
of His people, doesn't He? And He opens up the deaf ears
of His people. He gives us seeing eyes to look
to Christ, and hearing ears to hear the Word of God proclaimed
and rejoice. So the Gospel comes to the elect of God, again not
in word only, but in power. And that power is by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God. God has an elect people, and
they were purchased by the perfect redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And all those for whom Christ
died will be given faith. They will be given God-given
faith to come to Christ. And they will, by the sovereign,
irresistible, drawn power of God, the Holy Spirit, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And these saints at Thessalonica,
just as all the elect of God, were ordained to eternal life
by God, by God. And when we are born again of
the Holy Spirit and given faith to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, we'll be glad and we'll glorify our great God. Now, we
have a picture of man's natural state in the scriptures with
the story of Lazarus. He'd been dead for four days
when our Lord came to him. Now, Lazarus couldn't come to
Christ, could he? He was dead. He couldn't come to Christ. He
was dead. He was in a dark tomb, bound with gray clothes, and
he was lifeless. He was lifeless. And our Lord
Jesus Christ, at the appointed time of God, came to Lazarus,
and he came to Lazarus on purpose. And he purposely waited until
Lazarus was dead and buried before he came to him. Now one might
ask, well, why did he do that? Well, our Lord did this to make
his power known. He's going to raise Lazarus from
the grave. He's going to raise a dead man, a lifeless man, a
man who can't come to him. Oh my. And our Lord stood at
the grave of his chosen child, Lazarus, who was the object of
his eternal love. And he commanded the stone to
be rolled away. the entrance of the tomb. And
then he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. Now this
command went forth not in word only, O beloved, but it went
forth in power. It went forth in power because
the one given the command is the second person of the Trinity.
It's the Word of God, the Son, God the Son. It's God incarnate
in the flesh giving this command, Lazarus come forth. Oh, in John
11, 44 it says, And he that was The dead came forth, bound hand
and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about
with a napkin. And Jesus said unto them, Loose
him, and let him go. Beloved God, the miracle of raising
Lazarus from the dead was recorded for our learning, because it
clearly illustrates the miracle of the new birth. Scripture says
we're dead in trespasses and sins. We're, in the Greek, that's
lifeless. We're dead there, and the Greek
means lifeless. We were like Lazarus, we were walking around
spiritually dead, with no ability to come to Christ. Listen to
this quote. The religious world around us,
in its apostate rejection of the truth of God, has made the
new birth to be nothing more than making a decision, or walking
an aisle and saying a prayer. Because of their abuse and error
regarding the new birth, our tendency might be to shy away
from using the term born again. lest we be identified with those
who deny the Gospel of Christ. But no matter how much men may
pervert the language and doctrine of Christ, our Lord's admonition
to Nicodemus still stands. It is as necessary and urgent
today as it was when he first made it more than two thousand
years ago. Ye must be born again. And that occurs by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God in Him alone. Because we're dead just like
Lazarus was dead. The gospel comes to us, beloved.
It comes to us. And this is life-giving gospel,
isn't it? When it's empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. My,
oh my. We were just as dead spiritually
as Lazarus was physically. Lazarus was in a dark tomb bound
with grave clothes. He was unable to free himself.
Beloved God, he's dead. He's lifeless. Well, we were
in the prison house of sin, weren't we? Yes, we were. Chained up
by our own sin, dead spiritually, dead spiritually. And it's God,
it's God who commanded the stone to be rolled away from the entrance
to Lazarus' tomb. Oh beloved, we were held by the
power of darkness, unable to free ourselves. Oh my. But when God commanded the light
to shine in the darkness, when he revealed himself to us when
we were born again by the Holy Spirit of God, just as physical
life was restored to Lazarus at the command of our great God,
also spiritual life is restored to we who are born again by the
Holy Spirit of God. And our Lord Jesus Christ gave
us His Spirit. He gives us eternal life. He
gives us eternal life. He called Lazarus by name, didn't
He? He said, Lazarus, come forth. is a personal call only to Lazarus. And like Lazarus, our Lord Jesus
Christ calls each one of his sheep by name. And he calls us
with a personal, inward, efficacious call under the preaching of his
gospel. He's not calling everyone who
comes under the preaching of his gospel. Some never hear his
voice. Some never understand gospel
truths. But he does call his sheep, beloved,
through the preaching of the gospel. And this is why every
born-again sent preacher of God proclaims the gospel of salvation
in Christ alone. Because it's the power of God
unto salvation, for the Jew first and also to the Greek. Glory
to our great God's name. Salvation is of the Lord. Amen
and Amen.