Living for Today but Longing for Tomorrow

God is not as interested in what we do for a living as He is in how we live in the midst of the work He is doing. The Thessalonians had a faith that was working. The visible manifestation of their inward transformation was a faith that was alive. Three times in this passage Paul points to their visible faith as proof of their genuine conversion: "The Lord's message rang out from you," "your faith in God has gone out," and "they themselves report" (1:8-9). They had a faith that showed. Although their active faith was not necessary for their salvation, it was most assuredly a testimony to their salvation. As he would later teach the Ephesians, God saves for the purpose of fulfilling His purposes through the way we are working (Eph 2:8-9). When God's people grasp this truth their lives are changed and their churches can be transformed.

According to Jesus, the disciples' genuine love for one another would send to the world a message that they were His disciples (John 13:35). The Thessalonians had a deep, genuine love for one another. This kind of love was greater than mere sentimentality. Paul emphasizes this point by using the Greek word kopos to refer to the manifestation of their love. This word refers to laboring to the point of weariness, sweat, or fatigue (Rienecker and Rogers, Linguistic Key, 586). Genuine love is willing to go the distance, even to the point of exhaustion and weariness. It is a love that knows no limits and finds its ultimate source in the love of God (Rom 5:8). This explains why the apostle John implores you and me to "love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). Paul unpacks the essence of love by showing how its absence nullifies even the greatest of Christian virtues:

Where there is no love it does not matter what we say, it does not matter what we know, and it does not matter what we do. That is how vital love is to the Christian faith.

Paul commended the Thessalonians for their expectant and patient hope in Christ's appearing from heaven (v. 10). Later in the letter (and in 2 Thessalonians) he will address this theme in much greater detail. The hope that Paul mentions in verse 3 is a hope of endurance and perseverance. The Thessalonians had an unshakable confidence in the Lord regardless of their circumstances. They needed this kind of enduring hope in view of their adversity. As Barclay so aptly puts it, "A man can endure anything as long as he has hope, for then he is walking not to the night, but to the dawn" (Barclay, Letters, 218).

Indeed, times were tough for this young church. Satan knew the threat that this church posed to his kingdom, and he was doing everything possible to keep it from succeeding. A successful church plant in this city would open the door for rapid spread of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. And just as Satan knew the threat of the Thessalonian church, you can be sure that he also knows the threat that all churches pose to his kingdom. He will do everything possible to hinder their success as well. When you declare your allegiance to Jesus Christ, you declare war on hell. When you declare war on hell, hell puts up a fight. If you don't like the sight of blood, you better stay out of the ministry. When I arrived at my first pastorate, I thought that the people would love me if I just loved them and preached the Bible. Less than three months into my ministry I learned otherwise. From lawsuits, false accusations, and personal attacks, I learned quickly that ministry was war. Without the "hope" of my calling, I would not still be in ministry today. This hope, as Leon Morris asserts, "is not a quiet, passive resignation, but an active constancy in the face of difficulties" (Morris, Epistles of Paul, 42). You don't curl up in the corner and "hope" that things will get better. You press on with confidence in the living God, the assurance of your salvation, and the certainty of your future in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:8-9

Think for a moment about how many churches you pass every day. What do you know about those churches? I am guessing that all you know about most of them is what you see from the outside. This is most unfortunate because God's plan for the church is not for people on the outside to wonder what's happening on the inside. His plan for the church is for the people on the inside to take the message to those on the outside. The great commission is not an invitation for outsiders to come and hear but for the church to "go and tell" (Matt 28:19-20). When Jesus ascended into heaven and the perplexed disciples gazed into the sky, the angel quizzically asked them, "Why do you stand looking up into Heaven?" (Acts 1:11). The implication of these words was a strong message to stop standing around. Jesus is coming back; it's time to get busy. People who grasp what it means to follow Christ are not content to stand around and do nothing. They know that their time is short. They want to make a difference. A contagious church recognizes that there is work to be done, and its people get busy with doing it. The Thessalonians have this kind of contagious enthusiasm.

Though a considerable distance from Athens, Thessalonica was not without its own philosophers and philosophies. To satisfy their religious cravings, the Thessalonians had much from which to choose—whether it be the synagogue, a temple, or an idol. But as Paul makes clear, the gospel was not just one philosophy among many. God was not just another god amid the gods of the Romans. The gospel of Jesus Christ was the "Lord's message" because it came from the one true God. The Thessalonians therefore had not imbibed the musings of some new philosopher. No, they had received a message of divine revelation from God Himself. The power of this message set them free from their sin and from their idols. Their natural response was to live it and to proclaim it. They could not be silent about the message that transformed their lives. All who are in Christ know from personal experience how profoundly life-changing the gospel message is. And we can recall how we longed to experience it from the first time we truly heard it with our hearts. Like the disciples who first witnessed the resurrection of Christ, we know what it is like to 23have our "hearts ablaze" as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:32).

Such good news needed to be shared. So from the Thessalonians, "the Lord's message rang out." It thundered forth with great intensity. If the Thessalonians had a church building, people would not be able to pass by and wonder what was going on inside. They could hear it for themselves. The gospel was being preached. Their influence was growing in Thessalonica and the regions beyond. People were talking about their message. Their congregation was not just another irrelevant church on the street corner; they were impacting their world. If you have ever been in a church like this, then you know how contagious its spirit can be. And if you have ever been in a church that is not like this, then you know as well how discouraging its attitude can be.

I can vividly remember my high school football coach taping a clipping from the local newspaper on my locker. A line from the article hit me like a laser beam. It said, "All-conference linebacker Mark Howell was ineffective." What? Of all the things that could have been said, that comment hurt the most. You see, while I may have played in the game that night, my presence on the field made no difference. The truth hurt, but it made a big difference in how I played the rest of the season. Here is the big question: When Jesus looks at how you and I "do church," is it possible that He would say that we are ineffective? We may be singing songs and preaching sermons, but are we really making a difference in our world? Is the "Lord's message" thundering forth from our pulpits to our people?

The greatest danger of any organization is to lose sight of its reason for existence. This is especially true for the church. A number of years ago someone posted on the front door of a Washington, DC area church a sign that read, "Going Out of Business." Not long after the sign was posted someone added these words, "We never really knew what our business was."

Though specific numbers are difficult to come by, conservative estimates suggest that between 3,500 and 4,000 churches will close their doors this year. This means that every week more than 70 churches will 24hang "going out of business" signs on their doors. Without question, such a trend is troubling and puzzling. After all, if the church is the only human institution that Jesus Himself promised to build and to bless, we should rightly expect it not only to survive but also to thrive.

Despite having access to dozens of helpful books, seminars, and conferences touting the latest church planting and missiological strategies, many pastors continue to struggle in leading their churches to grow. Perhaps we would do well to remember that apart from the gospel and apostolic instruction, the Thessalonian Christians had no materials or seminars from which to glean insight into how they should fulfill their calling. Yet, from Paul's own attestation, this church was a model church among the churches of Macedonia and Achaia (1:7).

What was it about this church that made them such an example? Let's recall three characteristics that made this church exceptional.

They were grounded in their relationship with Jesus. Regardless of its ideal location, innovative strategies, or charismatic leader, a church will never be what God intended for it to be if its people are not passionately in love with Jesus Christ and His glorious gospel. Yes, the church may grow in size and number, but unless it is grounded in the gospel, its people will never grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). Millard Erickson is correct when he asserts,

The young Thessalonian church faced many challenges, but one challenge it never faced was concern about whether or not it would survive. Its future was not in question because its mission was not affected by external circumstances. Instead the Thessalonians were motivated by an internal conviction that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who died to set them free (cf. Rom 8:1-2).

They were passionate about their calling. The presence of the gospel in a person's heart will always be demonstrated by the power of the gospel in a person's life. The gospel is not something that we try on like a new pair of shoes. In fact, we don't "try on" the gospel at all. In a very real sense, when we embrace the gospel, the gospel embraces us. Thus the gospel does more than reform our behavior; it transforms our being. 25That is why true followers of Jesus do radical things like faithfully enduring persecution (1:6), boldly sharing the gospel (1:8), and completely walk away from idols (1:9).

They were hopeful about their future. As we will see in the remainder of Paul's letter, this church had its hope firmly fixed on the return of Christ (1:9-10; 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23-24). Indeed, the Thessalonian believers provide a fitting illustration for how the believer can live faithfully in the present while looking expectantly at the future. John Stott describes how serving and waiting work together: