PAUL WAS DIVINELY COMMISSIONED by Jesus as the Apostle to the Gentiles, but much of his early proselytizing was done in and around the synagogues in the cities he visited. In these synagogues he was teaching and preaching a new and extraordinary interpretation of the Torah. And that is what he did here in Thessalonica. “When they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue, Paul went into the synagogue. He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.” (Acts 17:1-3)
Paul’s letter to this church is written to reassure them that the gospel of Jesus Christ that they had accepted so readily when he was with them remains a trustworthy and enduring gospel. He started this church, along with several others, during his second missionary journey, and did so in difficult circumstances of criticism, anger, and physical persecution from the Jews throughout that area. To them, Paul was a heretic, and as their threats and persecution became more and more hostile, he left the city, for his own sake, but especially for the sake of the new believers. After he left, they, tender in their new-found faith, had begun to listen to the arguments and criticism of the Judaizers, and had questions about, and even doubts of, what Paul had taught them.
Paul’s letter begins by assuring them that “our visit to you was not a failure” (1 Thess. 2:1b), and reminds them of his previous treatment at the hands of the Jews: “We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know.” (1 Thess. 2:2a) He points to the fact that this firmed his resolve to share the good news with them. “But with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.” (1 Thess. 2:2b) Unable to speak to them in person, and working delicately through the issues as he understands them, Paul is trying to reassure them on several levels. One is personal: “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.” (1 Thess. 2:3-4) Another comes in the context of a shared relationship. “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” (1 Thess. 2:8-9) Lastly, he reminds them of his personal conduct while he was with them, “How holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children.” (1 Thess. 2:10-11)
All of these things Paul is saying are designed to defuse the criticisms he is certain the Jews have made against him to this new body of Jesus-believers. Not only that, he is saying these things for a very specific purpose: he wants to remind them of the trust they had placed in him as he placed within them their new knowledge of, and their personal relationship with, the risen and living Jesus Christ. “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13)
Paul has heard from the other apostles the parable of the sower, in which Jesus warns of the vulnerability of new believers. “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt. 13:19-21) This teaching of Jesus perfectly illustrates Paul’s concerns for the new believers in the city of Thessalonica. The devil will rob, if he can, the gospel seed placed in the heart of anyone who has heard it (cf. John 10:10a), making it so they forget immediately, and remain mired in their lives of sin.
This is not the case of those Paul is writing to, for he says “When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thess. 10:13) His concern is that they may fall soon into the category of those who, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt. 13:21) Paul has heard of the difficulties in the church body that have mounted since he left, and so, lovingly, “as a father deals with his own children” (1 Thess. 2:11b), he writes this letter of encouragement to them. He commends them, and compares their own persecution to his. “For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews.” (1 Thess. 2:14)
We learn much from the struggles of the early Christians, for they remain the same in each generation. In truth, when the surrounding cultural trappings of any age are stripped away, the gospel of Christ is always at odds with the world around it. The kingdom of heaven “is not of this world” (John 18:36), and Paul’s letter reminds us of the difficulty facing new believers as they attempt to step across the great chasm between the fallen world and God’s kingdom, and to not lose their footing as they do so.
One of the purest missions of every church is to encourage new believers in their faith, and then to effectively disciple them as each “continues to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil. 2:12) The church that loves its members is truly concerned with each step of each one’s journey. In one sense, the journey is shared by all; in another, it is a perilous personal journey. It a sacred responsibility for those further along the path to be available to those struggling at the difficult spots.
Q. Does the reality of my faith encourage the desire for truth in others?
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