Paul knew that he could provide the information they were missing and help them be at peace with the passing of fellow followers of Jesus Christ. He said, “I don’t want you to lack knowledge about the coming of Christ, ‘lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.’” Paul was about to drop some knowledge that would give them hope concerning the deceased Christians. In verse 14, he said, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus."
Paul said that the Thessalonian Christians had been taught, and were still being taught, by God to love one another as the family of God. But how was God teaching them to love one another, and how does it continue to happen in the church today? What methods does He use, and are we listening to the lessons God is teaching? This is important because love for God and one another is at the very heart of the Christian faith. In fact, if we cannot love God and love one another, then we cannot be a follower of Jesus.
Several years ago, many people were wearing bracelets with the letters WWJD on them, which stood for “What Would Jesus Do?” The bracelets were intended to encourage the wearer to consider what Jesus would do in any given situation before making a decision or doing something. I don’t see those bracelets much anymore. I think a lot of people had to take them off over the last few decades before they could vote.
Holiness is not a harsh word; it is God’s love language. Holiness makes fellowship and relationship with God possible. The words “be holy” occur thirty-nine times in the Bible. Apostle Peter said, “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1Pt 1:15), and the writer of Hebrews warns that without holiness, “no one will see the Lord” (12:14).
Some will say that Paul’s warning was a negative confession and should not have been spoken. Some Church Growth “experts” tell us we will never grow a church by telling people at the outset that when they become believers in Jesus Christ, they will face opposition from Satan and secular society. Instead, they say we should keep it positive. Promise them peace and prosperity or health and wealth, but never tell them that in the world there will be tribulation or that those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
We can have faith to move mountains, but that does not negate the fact that this is war; it is a struggle against spiritual opposition. Though the outcome is not in doubt, the fact remains that while we can always be victorious, there is no victory without a battle. Furthermore, in verse 18 of our text, Paul tells us that while Satan cannot defeat us, he can hinder us. How does Satan hinder Holy Spirit-baptized, faith-talking, and Bible-walking believers of Jesus Christ? Paul doesn’t tell us exactly how Satan hindered him. However, we can surmise some things from the Bible that hint at the ways Satan can hinder God’s people.
When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are engaged in a supernatural act. Neither the message nor the power is our own, and the outcome is not dependent upon our elocution or rhetorical skills. When we open our mouths “to tell the old, old story, of Jesus and His love,” the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses (Ac 1:8). So, we can be sure that God’s word will accomplish what God has purposed, it will not return void (Is 55:11).
Paul, Silas, and Timothy had pure motives. They lived righteous lives because they never wanted anything they did or said to detract from the Good News that Jesus saves. As my mother told me when I was just a child growing up in the hills of West Virginia, God is always watching. Even now, when I return to my old home place, there is no cell service or internet. They call it being “off the grid,” but when it comes to God, there is no place where He does not know what we are doing, or saying, or thinking.
Author Steven Covey is credited with coining the phrase, “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” For Paul, the main thing, above every other thing, was the Gospel. It is significant that in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-9, Paul refers to the “gospel” four times. In Biblical interpretation, when a writer repeats a word, it usually indicates that he is emphasizing that point, and the point for Paul was that he and his team preached the Gospel in Thessalonica, and through the Gospel, a church was established.
If we lived in a world without Bibles, and the only thing anyone knew about Christianity was what they saw in the way we lived and heard in the way we spoke, what kind of Christians would there be in the world? We might argue that they should follow Jesus and not us, but in the first century, the main way people learned theology was through the disciple-rabbi relationship, where the disciples were expected to imitate their teachers. Paul was a follower of Jesus, and he endeavored to live "the Christ life." He tried to live the way he believed Jesus would live.
