Introduction The Christian life is based on faith--but what does that really mean? Is faith a simple matter of affirming statements or ideas? It is about believing something enough, or feeling a certain way? Is faith just doing what you know is right? In biblical usage, faith affects the entire individual. Our thoughts, feelings, and decisions are all entangled, and the object of our faith shapes each of them. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the object of our faith; He is the one we trust. But we trust Jesus to do what He promised to do, not what we want Him to do. Jesus promised to forgive our sins, to be with us, give us His joy, make us holy, and empower us to do the good works that God has prepared for us to do. Faith in Jesus, then, means knowing, loving, trusting, and obeying God. This means faith building is a matter of increasing understanding, affection, confidence, and commitment to God. Faith building is the aim of gospel ministry, and it is the focus of Paul's efforts, as we see in our text. The Text
"2:17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 3:1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain." The Situation Paul's ministry of taking the gospel to new frontiers meant that he was the spiritual father to many congregations--he was present for the "new birth" of these believers into the family of God, and he was zealous to see his children in the faith grow up into mature followers of Jesus. However, Paul was forced to flee Thessalonica prematurely and was not able to personally watch over the infant congregation. Like any parent, Paul was concerned for their welfare, as Paul understood there are many threats to the Christian faith. As time went on, Paul's burden to know about the church's situation became so overwhelming he sent Timothy to make sure the church was healthy and safe, even though this was a major inconvenience to Paul to be left alone. Paul models for us what laboring by and for faith looks like, and he teaches us to understand the threats to faith. 1) Faith desires intimacy, and is threatened by distance "But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." -1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 Mutual trust in Jesus Christ connected Paul with the Thessalonians. They enjoyed each other's presence, and Paul's joy was tied to their spiritual success--evidence of his great affection for them. Finding joy in our own success is easy, but finding greater joy in the success of another requires love. And Paul was eager to see his spiritual children take their own steps of faith and ultimately mature and run their own races with endurance; they were his "glory and crown." But why this strong bond after only a few weeks together? It all goes back to God. Christian faith is about a relationship with God. Sin threatens that relationship by separating us from our Creator, which is why faith first acknowledges and repents of sin (Is 59:1-2). Second, faith trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to bring us back to God by washing away our sins and clothing us in His righteousness (Phil 3:8-9). Christians want to be close to God because we know that abundant life is found only with God (Jn 14:6; 10:10). If we want life, we must know God and walk with Him (Jn 17:3), and this principle has implications for life among Christians in the church. If it is true that Christian faith wants to be close to God, and if it is true that God chooses to dwell among His people, then it follows that faith would desire to be with other Christians so as to experience the fullness of God. Forsaking life together with other Christians is forsaking life with God. As such, strong, healthy Christian faith is proven by the desire to be with other Christians in order to seek God together. As the Apostle John said, "everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him" (1 Jn 5:1). The church is the body of Christ (Col 1:18), the household of God (1 Tim 3:15), and the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16). The business of enjoying God involves keeping the body of Christ together in unity. Dislocations in the body hurt, and the physical separation between the apostle and the Thessalonians was painful for Paul. He describes his departure from them as being "torn away"--a word often used to describe an orphaned child. Faith in Christ made them family, the kind that really liked each other, and physical separation was like being ripped from the home. Paul could easily have left the city and this relationship behind given the brevity of their time together, but God had forged this bond between them. As the saying usually goes, "Out of sight, out of mind"--but not so for Paul! He was not content to accept the distance between him and the congregation. He wanted to be physically reunited with them and made frequent efforts to do it; Satan, however, successfully thwarted him. Paul understood distance was a threat to faith, which is why Satan labored to maintain it. And why? Faith grows cold with distance--whether from God or each other--and that is why Paul sought to close the gap. Faith wants to be close to God and His children, and it moves to see that happen. 2) Faith is active, and is threatened by complacency "Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this." -1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 Staying close to God and other Christians is an urgent matter. When Paul's efforts to personally visit the Thessalonians church failed, he did not accept defeat; he changed strategies. Timothy, as a trusted coworker in gospel ministry, was sent as Paul's representative. Timothy's mission was to check on the church's faith, and he was specifically tasked with "establishing" and "exhorting" them. Why was this necessary? There was a current of opposition that threatened to carry them away from Christ and the apostle Paul, and actively resisting this current was essential for the survival of their faith. If someone wants to be carried away in a river, all they have to do is nothing--the current will take care of the rest. If you want to go against the current that only happens with effort. The Thessalonians needed to plant their feet and determine to keep moving towards Jesus despite the hostility their faced; they could not allow the afflictions to shift their focus off of Jesus. This world is in war between light and dark, truth and lies, life and death, and there is both an offensive and defensive aspect to faith when fighting this battle. On one hand we need to hold on to what we have already received and not allow it to be undermined or lost (defense), but we are also to continue making progress in our faith and see fresh victories against sin (offense). Both of these ideas are reflected in Timothy's mandate to "establish" and "exhort" them in faith. To establish is to make something firm; the foundation of their faith was poured and the doctrinal beams had been installed, but additional reinforcements were needed. To exhort is to point in the right direction and encourage a specific course of action; Christians are called to walk in a manner worthy of God, and that requires daily decisions that bring everything under the Lordship of Christ. Our hearts are like gardens, and they need to be tended. It is not enough to receive the gospel and then assume everything is on autopilot now. Faith needs to be nourished and pruned, and the weeds of sin must be regularly pulled. This is exactly what Timothy was sent to do in Thessalonica. He was commissioned to feed their faith and guard them against temptations that would choke off their faith and short-circuit their experience of salvation. For faith to make us joyful and holy there needs to be fresh victories and new obedience. The gift of Christ's salvation is one that keeps on giving, and our loving Father wants us to keep experiencing the gift of salvation--but that takes work! 3) Faith seeks God, and is threatened by Satan "For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain." -1 Thessalonians 3:4-5 Few things are more frustrating than watching hard work go down the drain, and Paul did not want to see his labor in Thessalonica be in vain. Jesus equated faith with a house, and not all are equally well built (Matt 7:24-27). The faith of some is strong and holds up well against the floods of affliction, and the faith of others collapses in those same floods. What makes the difference between strong and weak faith? The conviction to do what we hear, and not be content as hearers only. Jesus taught that the one who heard what Jesus said and did it was like a man who built his house on a solid rock, and this foundation held strong against the flood. Conversely, the man who heard what Jesus said and did not do it was like a man who built his house on sand, and the flood washed him away. True faith completes the journey that starts with hearing and ends in obedience and praise. Paul would not be satisfied until he confirmed this to be true in Thessalonica. Gospel ministry seeks to build strong faith that will stand the tests of real life. Solid faith is rooted in deep, doctrinal truths that provide anchors and stability despite circumstances. Shallow faith, however, is rooted in something other than biblical truth, and it folds in the face of difficulty. People claim to believe in Jesus for all sorts of reasons, and trials have a way of exposing the real reasons we follow Jesus. While Paul gave himself to building the church's faith on solid truth, there had been no severe tests of their faith while Paul was present. He needed to know if their faith was real and rooted in Christ and suffering would expose the answer. Jesus told us that all those who follow Him will suffer (Matt 10:16-26), and Paul conveyed this same truth to the Thessalonians. But Scripture also teaches there is a proximate and ultimate cause to our suffering. The proximate cause of our suffering is the thing we see or feel. It is the person or entity that inflicts the pain. The ultimate cause is the one pulling the strings of the proximate cause; it is the real reason you suffer. Satan is the ultimate cause of our persecution and suffering. Revelation 12:13-17 informs us that Satan has been defeated, cast down from heaven, and now vents his rage on the followers of Jesus because he knows his time is short. Satan knows he cannot win, but he has decided he will not go down quietly, and he intends to inflict maximum damage on the bride of Christ until his final judgment. We know Satan's main tactic in hurting the people of God is deception. Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by encouraging them to ignore God's warning about the Tree of Knowledge. Satan promised they would be like God if they did, and their plunge into sin, suffering, and death was the result. Satan lied, and Adam and Eve believed the lie. Satan still lies today, and he constantly attacks confidence in the Word of God. Satan only has two moves when it comes to attacking Christians: (1) temptation/distraction and (2) persecution/pressure. Both of these strategies involve deception, but the lies are not the same. With temptation and distraction Satan tries to convince us there is something better than Jesus right now, and we cannot be happy without it. With persecution and pressure Satan tries to convince us there is something that has more power than Jesus right now, and we will not be safe unless we obey it. If Christians yield to the lie there is something better than Jesus, or something that has more power than Jesus, we will turn away from following Jesus. Gospel ministry focuses on rightly knowing Jesus so the it is plain that He alone gives life, and He can and should be trusted. Final Thoughts In light of what we see about faith, there are some applications that are helpful for us. Stay close to Jesus! Faith desires intimacy, but intimacy takes thought and commitment. God has told us where He can be found, and if we want to be close to Him we need to go where He promises to be. Spending time in the Word of God is essential, because that is how we hear His voice. Spending time in prayer is vital because that involves bringing our heart into agreement with God and His Word. And our daily decisions will either reflect a desire to be close to Jesus, or they will reveal we do not really care about Jesus. Stay close to God's people! Faith seeks God, and God has promised to reveal Himself among His people. If we want to experience the fullness of God, then we would make being with God's people a priority. Making Sunday morning worship a priority is a great first step. Gathering with other Christians throughout the week to encourage one another through the Word and prayer is crucial--whether that be a formal small group or just coffee with a friend from church. We need each other to know and enjoy Jesus better. Be honest about what keeps you from Jesus, and get rid of it! Sticking with Jesus is the goal, and anything that interferes with that is an enemy. We need to take an honest look at our own lives and assess what is a distraction from following and obeying Jesus. It might not be something overtly sinful--it might be something that can even be good sometimes. But if it is a distraction for you, then you need to lay it aside. If we believe that Jesus possess abundant life and we have no good apart from Him, then following Him at all costs is the wisest thing we could possibly do.
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AuthorI am follower of Jesus Christ by God's grace, married to Kelsey, father to four children, and pastor of Lighthouse Church (EPC). Archives
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