Tag Archives: 1 Thessalonians

Devotions

Finding God’s Will in the New Year

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Welcome to 2018.  Typically the New Year is filled with resolutions like getting fit, saving more, eating better, being kinder, being more productive and other self-improvement plans.  Without settling for the same old resolutions, likely to fail by February anyway, why not allow one of the oft-asked questions, namely what is God’s Will for me, to guide your New Year.

Despite so many of us wondering long and hard about this question, the Scriptures are not silent on the matter, in fact on some occasions they answer this question explicitly.  One such example may be found in 1 Thessalonians, where the Apostle Paul, under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes to the young church at Thessalonica.  In chapter 4 of his letter, he begins his conclusion with the following words

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.“

This plea, from the Apostle for the Thessalonians, is a plea toward holiness founded on the “instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus” with the goal of pleasing God (yes, you read that right!).  This statement in and of itself would’ve been enough of an exhortation, yet in the next six verses he unpacks this and unloads upon them a tremendous duty wrapped around a declaration of God’s will for their life.

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;4 that each one of you know how to control his own body[c] in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

There it is.  God’s will for not only the lives of the Thessalonians, but for us as well, is sanctification or more simply put holiness.

The translation and punctuation from the ESV cited above aides our interpretation by unfolding what exactly is meant by the word sanctification.  Specifically, we read of the following modifying statements

  1. That you abstain from sexual immorality.
  2. That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor
  3. That no one wrong his brother in this matter

Without any guesswork or longing to see signs for God to show us what His will is for our lives, here we have in straightforward, plain language that God’s will for the life of the believer is holiness. This begins with abstaining from sexual immorality (negative) and exercising bodily self control (positive), specifically as it pertains to lusts, and then moves outward from personal to community to avoid sinning against each other in this matter.  In other words, not committing sexual immorality with each other, nor lusting after each other.

Holiness is a serious duty of each believer, a life-long pursuit of being Christlike.  One of, if not the chief, hindrance to this is sexual immorality.  With this my  own exhortation, I begin with a self-examination, that my heart and hands would be clean.  But let me then also encourage you to desire holiness and sexual purity, particularly in this age of rapid, cultural descent into sexual immorality.  Let us begin this New Year seeking ways to be more obedient to God’s will in this matter.

“56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.” Jonathan Edwards – Resolution #56

Bible Study

Three types of believers – and how to interact with them

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The apostle Paul was intimately familiar with “church folk.”

As he traveled from city to city, planting churches and discipling believers, he undoubtedly met and became acquainted with the 1st-Century equivalents of our modern-day church people types. The young believer, so full of zeal and evangelistic passion, jumping at the chance to serve in a community outreach event. The young married couple, with one toddler and one infant, trying to keep the oldest quiet and teaching him to be respectful while the Word is being taught. The older, mature believer that others seek out for their wisdom on issues of everyday life. Maybe you can connect these descriptions to real people you interact with each Sunday at your own local gathering of Christ’s global “ekklesia.”

In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul gives instruction for relating to and dealing with a few specific types of “church folk.”

He begins with interactions with their church leaders. In 5:12-13 he says: “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”

I want to target verse 14 today because we can all benefit from it in our churches. It reads, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

As I look at this verse I see some really interesting things. First, there are three types of people Paul mentions. Second, Paul specifies a certain way we should interact which each type of people. Third, patience must rule when dealing with each type of person.

The first group is made up of believers who are idle. The Greek word translated idle here in the ESV is translated “unruly” in the NASB, and it means someone who is disorderly or out of rank. In Greek society, it was used to describe someone who didn’t show up to work. Paul says we should “admonish” these people. This Greek word means to warn or exhort. I get the sense that it may be a stronger word, one that would encourage us to be a little tough on them and get them into line.

The second group is made up of the fainthearted. This Greek word is only used once in the Bible, and that is right here, but it comes from two other words that mean “little” or “small” and “breath” or “soul”. Paul says to encourage them, either by admonition or consolation.

The last group Paul mentions is the weak, which is translated elsewhere as infirm, feeble, or without strength. Paul says we are to “help” them, which can mean pay heed to them, aid them, or care for them.

It is interesting to think about why he commands one type of response for one group and not another. It would make no sense to admonish or warn those who are fainthearted, because that would probably cause them to recede further into their shells. He also does not say to encourage the idle or unruly person, because they do not need someone to console them. They need someone to straighten them out and maybe show a little tough love to get them back in line.

The blanket that must cover our interaction with each type of person is patience. Sometimes, dealing with folks in a patient way takes a lot of intentionality. But patience is extraordinarily beneficial for both us and them. It helps us maintain self-control, and not lose our tempers. It benefits the other person because it shows them we want to be Christ-like in our interactions with them, and give them the benefit of the doubt.

At the end of the day, we have to remember we have all been in these categories during different phases of our lives. Consider who in your life has reached out to you in one of these appropriate ways over the course of your relationship with Christ.