Faith, Love and Patience

Q: What does the Bible say about the church?

The Bible describes the church as the body of Christ, made up of believers who are united in Him. The church is not merely a building or an organization; it is the body of Christ, comprising all believers who are in Christ. In 2 Thessalonians 1:1, Paul refers to the church of the Thessalonians as being 'in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' This underscores that the church's identity and purpose are found in their relationship with God. The universal church is composed of every believer across time and geographical locations, united by their faith in the redemption through Christ. Each local church represents a gathered assembly of those believers, emphasizing their shared mission to glorify God and build one another up in faith.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians because it represents God's unmerited favor, leading to salvation and peace with Him. Grace is foundational to the Christian faith as it signifies God's unmerited favor toward sinners. In Ephesians 2:8-9, we learn that salvation is by grace through faith, and this is not from ourselves; it is a gift of God. This concept of grace is pivotal because it establishes our relationship with God — it is by His grace that we are accepted, loved, and redeemed in Christ. Paul's greeting in 2 Thessalonians 1:2, where he wishes 'grace' to the church, echoes this importance, emphasizing that true peace comes only when we understand and accept God's grace. Therefore, grace is not a one-time event but a continual source of strength and assurance for believers throughout their spiritual journey.

Q: How do we know God's word is true?

God's word is affirmed as true through its fulfillment of prophecy and its transformative power in believers' lives. The truth of God's word is demonstrated in several ways, particularly through its prophetic accuracy and its ongoing transformative impact in the lives of believers. For instance, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, asserts in 2 Thessalonians 1:1 that he speaks for God, which is a testament to the divine authority behind Scripture. Additionally, the consistency and fulfillment of biblical prophecies across time affirm that God's word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Lastly, the personal experiences of believers who encounter God's truth and witness spiritual transformation further validate the trustworthiness of Scripture. As Christians reflect on the grace mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 1:2, they understand it not only as doctrine but as a lived experience of encountering the living God.

Q: What does the Bible teach about suffering for Christ's sake?

The Bible teaches that suffering for Christ is a means to grow in faith and a testimony of enduring hope. Suffering for Christ's sake is a common theme throughout Scripture, highlighting that it serves a purpose in the believer's life. In 2 Thessalonians 1:4, Paul notes the perseverance of the Thessalonians under persecution, suggesting that suffering can lead to spiritual growth and an increased reliance on God's grace. Furthermore, in 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul describes these light afflictions as preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, indicating that our trials have a role in shaping our character and faith. This perspective encourages Christians to view suffering not as an end in itself but as part of their journey of faith, contributing to their witness and testimony before a watching world.

It was back some years ago that
I began to appreciate these hymns of praise written
by men and women who knew God. And I found that all hymns are
not the same. I discovered that they all don't
exalt and magnify Christ in this grace and glory. And I began
to listen with some discrimination, and I learned to appreciate some
hymns, like that one by Samuel Medley, written in the 1700s. when he's 61 years of age. But
my, if you'll take that hymn and just study it, meditate upon
it, read the words, you have the gospel there. There's the
glory of God is there. Our whole lifetime is dealt with
in that hymn. All right, this morning I want
to bring a brief message from the book of 2 Thessalonians. I want you to turn with me to
2 Thessalonians chapter 1. You may wonder sometimes why I preach on certain passages
of Scripture. Tonight I'm going to be speaking
from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and chapter 2. Well, there's no pattern. We don't establish a pattern
of how to select a particular text for a particular service.
There's no pattern. I couldn't give you one. But
last Sunday morning I preached in Rocky Mount, Virginia, Sunday morning and Sunday night
for the church there, Sinful Baptist. And Sunday morning,
I sat in the Sunday morning Bible class in the Sinful Baptist church
at Rocky Mount and listened to my son Paul, their pastor, teach
the lesson. And he taught 2 Thessalonians
1, verse by verse. That was his lesson. And it was
such a blessing to me, I sat there and listened to him teach
the lesson, and it was such a blessing to me that I determined the next
time I stepped in this pulpit that I'd bring this message from
2 Thessalonians 1. So let's look at it. is so much
here, I'll begin immediately with the first verse. Paul and
Silvanus, that's Silas, Paul and Silas. You remember Paul
was with Barnabas, and then he went out with Silas on missionary
journeys. Paul and Silas, and Timotheus
is Timothy. Paul and Silas, and Timothy unto
the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, Paul is the author of this
epistle, and many say that this is the first epistle he ever
wrote. Now, you check up on that. I
did, and I found that that's true, that 1 and 2 Thessalonians
were the first epistles Paul ever wrote. And when he wrote
this epistle, he wrote it as he was inspired by the Spirit
of God And he included his two brothers who were with him, Silas
and Timothy. Here we have, speaking to us,
and I hope we get the impact and the significance, three of
the Lord's choice servants. Paul is writing, and Paul, inspired
by the Holy Spirit, is writing the word of God that these men
are with him in everything that he says. they're with him. They're
with him. In other words, they were speaking
for God. What a blessing it would be. What a blessing it would
be to find out, in our generation, who is really speaking for God. Wouldn't that be something? I read this, as I listened to
Paul teach this last Sunday morning, and as I read it again, prepared
to bring it to you, and as I read it, I read it and receive it
with the utmost confidence. This is the Word of God. Paul
says, I, Paul, and Silas and Timothy are writing to the church,
and I listen, and I say, well, I'm going to hear what he says,
and I'm going to do what he says, because this is Paul talking.
You see what I'm saying? This is Paul talking, and Paul's
talking for God. Because God never left himself
without a man to speak for him, never left himself without a
witness. There's somebody, Paul says, I'm speaking for God, to
the church. I believe Luther spoke for God,
I believe Calvin spoke for God, I believe Spurgeon spoke for
God, Whitfield, Knox, Newton, Bunyan, these men, Edward, Is
there somebody in our day in whom we can have that kind of
confidence that he speaks for God? Well, I'm certain, I'm certain
somebody does. I'm just as sure as I'm standing
here that somebody in my day is telling the truth. I know
there are a lot of people who are not. I know there are a lot
of people who are in the ministry for various reasons, covetousness,
filthy lucre, human praise, success, whatever. But like Paul, Silas
and Timothy, in every generation, David served his generation. That's what scripture says. David
served his generation. And in every generation, somebody
somewhere, some man, has the message and the truth. That's
just so. Look at Ephesians 4 just a minute. He tells us this in Ephesians
4, that when our Lord Jesus went back to heaven, when he ascended
back to the Father, when he ascended back to the Father, verse 11
of Ephesians 4, listen to it, and he gave some apostles verse 10 of Ephesians 4 says,
"...he that descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heavens, that he might fill or fulfill all things."
And he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some
pastors and teachers. Why? For what purpose? For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. until we all come in the unity of the faith, of
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we be no more,
that we henceforth be no more children, infants, tossed to
and fro and carried about with every wind of religious doctrine,
by the slight of men and the cunning craftiness of men, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive, but speak in the truth, in love."
not in hate, in love. They grow up into Christ in all
things, which is the head, even Christ. I'm saying that in 1992
and the preceding years, and in the years to come, that God
has faithful And there are men who know God,
they know his word, there are men in touch with God, there
are men who are devoted to the gospel, devoted to him, to his
message to his people. And there are men with discernment
and perception. Every man is not his own pastor.
Every man is not his own teacher. Now, every man has knowledge
of God and knowledge of the gospel. It's like this. I know a little bit about music.
I can hold my own leading the syncopation. I know F-A-C-E and
every good boy does fine. I know these, well we learn those
things. But somebody can sing or play
and I won't detect that they're off key or off the note or off
something else like Mike would. He's a professional. Mike knows
music. I know music, but Mike knows
music. See what I'm saying? I know a little bit. I can get
by on certain accounts, but he knows music. He has a perception
and a discernment. His life's work is invested in
it. He knows it. But I'm saying this. All of God's people know God,
know the gospel. But God has some meaning. who
have perception and discernment, and he has put them over his
church. They can detect a man's going
off the beam before you can. Isn't this right, John? His ear, he has a musical ear. Martha does, too. She knows music.
And she detects what you and I wouldn't detect for weeks.
We'd listen to her for And she'd tell you right off, he'd tell
you right off, something wrong. There's a missing note. And that's
what I'm saying, that when I read, when I picked this up, Paul and
Silas, why did it get my attention? Because of who's speaking, speaking
for God. And that's the reason that, like
I say, they all know God. But we've got to have a leader,
we've got to have someone, the buck stops here, that's what
I'm saying. Got to. And we've got to be ready
pupils and ready students and give heed to those who must give
an account and let us pray that they give that account with joy.
Don't ever let it be said at the judgment, I heard him but
I wouldn't listen. I had the opportunity, but I
wouldn't heed. Because we're not only going
to give an account of what we heard, but what we could have
heard. Wouldn't it be terrible if God
sent a man our way and we didn't hear him? Well, read on. He says, I'm writing
to the church of the Thessalonians. My friend, a church is not a
building, it's not an organization, it's the body of people. I'm
writing to the Church. And listen, is the Church of
the Thessalonians in God? You know, we often say, and rightly
so, indeed it is, but more accurately, it's not the Church of God. Why,
it is, isn't it? It is the Church of God. But
it is the Church in God. Paul says, I'm writing to the
Church in God. chosen in him, turn back to Ephesians
1. I tell you, Ephesians 1, and
that's the reason God calls men and sends men to show us these
things. It's a church in God. Ephesians
1, verse 3, "...blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ." according as he chose us, he hath chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should
behold him, and without blame before him, in love, having predestinated
us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom
we have redemption, the church of God in Christ. chosen in him,
loved in him, redeemed in him, accepted in him and seated in
him, in Christ. You see, the Church, while it's
not a building, it's not an organization. We hear people say, the Baptist
Church or the Catholic Church or the Methodist Church or the
Presbyterian Church. There's no such thing. A Church is not an organization,
a Church is not a building, it's the body of Christ. Let me show
you that in Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, begin
reading at verse 17, Colossians 1.17. Listen to what Paul says,
and he, Colossians 1.17, Christ is before all things, and by
him all things consist, are held together. And he's the head of
the church. He's the head of the body of
the church. What is the church? It's the body. Who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have
the preeminence? He's the head of the church,
his body. And one other picture of that,
1 Corinthians 12. You need to turn over here with
me and look at this. I got a letter from Brother Jotel
this week, and he said, I note in your preaching that you use
a lot of scripture, but you don't just quote it, you ask the people
to turn to it and read it with you. And he said, I think that's
much more effective, because they say it, they are listening
not just to you, but to God. The Church is a body, Christ's
body. We're in Christ, in his body. He's the head, we're the body.
Listen to 1 Corinthians 12, 12. For as the body is one and hath
many members, And all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body. So also is Christ. For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews
or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and we've been made
to drink into one Spirit. For the body's not one member,
but many. You see that? This church is
a body. But then the Bible talks about
the church in two ways. Now, Paul is writing, turn back
to my text, in 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul and Silas and Timothy,
to the church of the Thessalonians in God. This is a local church. He's writing to the church of
the Thessalonians. You see, Paul and Silas went
down and preached the gospel to this church. He stayed there
three weeks, and these people converted and laid the foundation
of this church. Timothy came along later and
preached to them and taught them. But this is the church of the
Thessalonians. And here at 13th Street is the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Christ at 13th Street in Iceland. But there again, the church universal,
the church which is his body, is every believer Old Testament,
New Testament, every believer of every generation, every believer
of every country, every believer of every kindred, tribe, nation
and tongue. I read that to you a while ago.
Thou hast died for us and made us kings and priests under our
God out of every kindred, tribe, tongue. Turn to Ephesians chapter
5, and let me show you that, where our Lord refers to the
Church as every believer. You know, someone said one time,
well, the word church, ecclesia, means assembly, assembly, an
assembly. They said, when did this universal
church, this church of every believer, of all the elect, when
did it ever assemble? I tell you this, it was assembled
in his presence for the foundation of the world. It's always assembled in his
presence. God is not past, present, and future. With God there is
no today and tomorrow. He is the everlasting I Am. God sees the end from the beginning. And his elect and his church,
his bride, his body, his sheep, are always in his presence. Always. And here are Ephesians
5. Listen. Well, let's start with verse
22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto
the Lord. For the husband's the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he's
the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
And husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it. that he might sanctify and cleanse
it, that body, that church, with the washing of the water by the
word, that he might present it to himself, a glorious church. And let me tell you something. There may be an unsaved person
in every local church, and more than likely there is. False professors,
people come and go, you know. Our Lord had twelve disciples
and one of them was an unbeliever. So the local church may have
an unsaved, unbelieving person identified with it. But this
church, this universal church, this church of the firstborn,
this church whose names are written in heaven, this church which
he loved and for which he died, has not one unsaved person, not
one hypocrite, not one lost person. It's sanctified. It's a glorious
church. Why don't we go to verse 27? Verse 27, He might sanctify and
cleanse it with a washing of water by the Word. You know,
I last week pulled out water, the Word of God. That he might
present it to himself, a glorious church. Not having one spot,
not one wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish. That's the church in God, in God. And it has no name like Baptist.
Oh, there are so many times I wish that name wasn't out there. But
I don't know anything about it now. It's too late for me to
do anything much. But you know what I mean. Divided
into sects and schisms and cults. It's not so. It's not so. It's not so. It's his church. His church. But we'll be here
a week, won't we? Paul didn't take this long. Maybe
that's why I was blessed. But I see, I told somebody this
morning, you get older and you see so many things, many things
you wish you'd have seen when you were younger. But verse 2 says this, grace
unto you, this church to whom he's writing, grace unto you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When
was the word grace first used in the Bible? The old-timers, the old-time
preachers used to talk about the law of first mention. The
law of first mention. In studying the Bible, when you come upon something
the first time it's dealt with, the first time it's mentioned,
is generally the meaning of that particular subject all the way
through God's Word. First-time grace, where was it?
Want to turn and see? Genesis 6, verse 5. Genesis 6, verse 5. First time grace is ever mentioned
in the Bible. First time it appears in the
Word of God. Genesis 6, verse 5. Now, get the picture here. Genesis 6, verse 5. of man was great in the earth,
and every imagination, every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart were only evil continually every day. And it repented the
Lord that he had made man on the earth, and grieved him in
his heart. And the Lord said, I'll destroy
I'll destroy mankind." He didn't say, I'll destroy men, he said,
I'll destroy man, all of them, all of them. Now, when you see
the distinction in the word, it says there's one God and one
mediator between God and, what's the word? It's not man, it's
men. There's one God and one mediator
between God and man, not mankind, but And that mediator is the
man, the second man, Christ Jesus. And here God says, this wrath
is on all mankind. This is universal. It repented
God, he made man, and the Lord said in verse 7, I, the strong
man whom I've created, ever blessed one of them, the very memory
of them, the very thought of them, the very existence of them,
from the face of this earth, both man and beast, and the creeping
things and the fowls of the air, they repented me that I've made
them, but, amen, Noah found grace. in the eyes of the Lord. Grace. Was Noah a man? Yes. Was he a
sinful man? Yes, sir. Was he a man of the
flesh? Yes, sir. Well, is Noah different
from all the rest of them? No, sir. And he proved it when
he got off that ark. Didn't he? He proved it. He proved
it when he got off there. He proved what he was, he proved
what he's made out of. But Noah, for reasons known only
to God, and reasons found only in God, Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And God said to Noah, verse 13, And God said to Noah, The end
of all flesh is come before me, and the whole earth is filled
with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them from
the earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes of God, and God preserved
Noah and delivered him." And that's what grace means all the
way through this Bible. It's undeserved, it's unmerited,
it's unsought. Noah didn't seek it. God sought Noah. Noah didn't
come to God, God came to Noah. Noah being warned of things not
seen, built in art. Nobody sought but him. And that's what grace means all
the way through. The word grace is God giving us what we don't
deserve. Giving, it's a gift of God. But
by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself,
it's the gift of God. It's not of work, lest any man
should boast. I want you to turn to Exodus
33. Here Moses deals with this subject
of grace. Grace. Grace. Listen to Exodus 33. Verse 11. And the Lord spake to Moses face
to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. He turned again unto
the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man,
departed not out of the tabernacle. And Moses said to the Lord, See,
you say unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast not let
me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know
thee by name. You said you know me, and you
said, and thou hast also found grace
in my sight. Therefore I pray thee, if I have
found grace in thy sight, show me thy way." You read this and
you hear, here's Moses, a man whom God has selected and chosen
to lead the people out of Egypt, and when Moses sits and talks
with God face to face as a man talks with a friend, Moses still
lays no claim to any position or power of his own. He said,
now, I base every bit of this on one fact, I've found grace
in your sight. Now, if I have, if what you say,
you say I've found grace in your sight, then show me your way, go with me and show me your glory.
And what did God say after all that? All right, down to verse
18. Moses said, let's read verse
17. The Lord said to Moses, I do
this thing also that thou hast spoken, for you have found grace
in my sight. I know you by name. And Moses
said, well, show me your glory. And God said, I'll make all my
goodness pass before you. I'll proclaim the name of the
Lord before you. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. I'll show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. Well, now back to the text, and
let me move along and bring it to a close soon. Paul writing
to this church says, verse 2 of 2 Thessalonians, grace to you.
This same grace. May you find grace in the eyes
of the Lord. May you. I pray you will. I pray I will. find grace in
the eyes of the Lord. And peace, grace first, and then
peace. I tell you this, grace, His grace
always brings peace. Always. What kind of peace? Peace with God, therefore being
justified by grace, by faith, we have peace with God. Peace
in heart, peace of Christ, let the peace
of God rule in your heart, and peace among brethren. Let me
tell you something. Grace churches are different.
Where true grace is preached, where true grace is really believed,
is true peace. And I know most churches, most
religious organizations are turmoil, Conflict, you name it. But not where grace reigns. Not
where grace reigns. Not where grace reigns in the
hearts of the people, in the hearts of the pastor. Peace. That's right. Grace and peace.
Because that's from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All
grace and all peace. Now look at verse 3 quickly.
We're bound to thank God always for you. I'm bound to thank God. I'm bound to, look, as it is
meat, I'm bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as
it is meat, as it is fitting. As it is fitting. If there's any grace in us, I
thank God. If there's any grace in us, it's
because of God. It's not because of us. Paul
said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. Again, he said, I
labor more abundantly than you all, yet not I, but the grace
of God in me. Now, two things about this church
I want you to notice. Paul says, I'm bound to thank
God always for you, brethren. Turn one page, 2 Thessalonians
2.13. We're bound. to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. I'm bound to thank God. But here,
because, verse 3 of the first chapter again, we're bound to
thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because. Two
things about you that make me thank God. Your feet groweth
exceedingly, and your love, the love of every one of you all
toward each other, boundeth." Two things. I thank God. I'm
bound to thank God. Because you believe God and you
love each other. You know anything better than
that. Paul doesn't thank God for their buildings. Paul doesn't
thank God for their youth programs. Paul doesn't thank God for their
social programs, for their numbers. He thanks God for two things.
They believe God and they love each other. Tell me, is there
anything better? I don't care if you're ten thousand
or ten. is anything but. To look at a person and say,
he believes God and he loves people. That's it. That's it Bob. That's the whole
thing. I thank God. You believe God
and you love each other. And you can't graduate from that
school. Because your faith grows, grows,
you never graduate. It grows, and listen, and you
love does what? Abounded and abounded and abounded. And you know what that does,
verse 4? So that we ourselves, even we apostles, glory in you. We run around here bragging about
you in the other churches of God. That's exactly what he's saying. He says, I'm running around in
the other churches bragging on you, because you love each other
and because you believe God. That's what he's saying. So that
we ourselves, apostles of Christ, glory in you, in the other churches,
for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations
that you endure. Now watch this. Paul said this. I thank God for you. I thank
God you believe God. and you love each other, and
your faith's growing, and your love's abounding. But I thank
God also and brag about you to other churches because of the
patience and perseverance that you have displayed through the
years, even under persecution and tribulation. That's what
he's saying. I thank God. See, there's three
things. I thank God for you. you love each other and even
though you've been persecuted and hated and despised and cast
out you're still hanging around and I glory he said I'm running
around bragging on you folks I'm telling everybody about you
because your patience your patience and much tribulation you see
every believer is going to suffer he's going to suffer Such things
as is common to all flesh, sickness, pain, disappointment, death,
all these things, sorrow. But these trials, here he's talking
about it for the gospel's sake. That's what he's talking about.
You're persecuted for Christ's sake. But you know, Paul Edwards
said something I thought was interesting. He turned over to
2 Corinthians 4. Turn over there just a moment.
2 Corinthians 4, verse 17. And Paul comes along with all
of his suffering. He said verse 17 of 2 Corinthians
4, verse 16, for which cause we
faint not. We're not quitting. We're not
going to quit. Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day. for our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal
weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen." He calls them light afflictions. These persecutions and sufferings
and afflictions, he calls them light. And Paul said, why are
they light? They certainly seem heavy right
now. Number one, compared to what
we have in Christ. They're very light. When I put my persecution beside
my blessings, they don't even belong together. Isn't that right? And I tell you they're light
compared to what we deserve. And thirdly, they're very light
compared to what we'll be. So don't quit. Don't quit. Don't lay down the banner. Don't
lay down the cross God's given you to bear. Don't surrender. There's no reason to. Don't quit. Don't quit. Don't quit. Endure. All right, we'll close
with that. Maybe another night, another
service, I'll bring the the rest of that message. Let's turn in
our hymn books to what number, oh here it is, number 272. On Christ the solid rock I stand. Number 272. Let's stand while
we

Faith, Love and Patience

What does the Bible say about the church?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How do we know God's word is true?

What does the Bible teach about suffering for Christ's sake?

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Faith, Love and Patience

What does the Bible say about the church?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How do we know God's word is true?

What does the Bible teach about suffering for Christ's sake?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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