Forging Bonds
1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
1 Thess. 1:1-7
The bond of love and fellowship between Christian servants is a wonderful thing. I’m not speaking of merely the common spiritual ground shared by two people who both know Christ, though that is wonderful as well. I’m speaking of something more tangible: that love between saints who have served Christ together, and have fought shoulder-to-shoulder as soldiers of the Cross. That bond of love goes far beyond spiritual commonalities and shared interests! (Think of the “war stories” that will be shared in Heaven one day, if we may do such a thing!)
In just the first few verses of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church, we see signs of this kind of bond between him and these believers in Thessalonica.
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
Paul goes on later in the epistle:
But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.
And this bond was not one-sided!
But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
I’m sure the love that the Thessalonian believers had for Paul was a great blessing for him. He had experienced persecution at every turn, he was betrayed by friends, and was even criticized by saints who had been saved under his preaching, in churches God had used him to start. Paul was no stranger to opposition, but that didn’t make it easy to endure.
Paul’s love for the Thessalonians was a blessing to them as well. The saints were likely mostly Jews, living in a city that hated Christ. They didn’t have the blessing of hearing regular gospel preaching by Paul and others. They may have felt isolated or forgotten at times, and Paul’s letters would have encouraged and reminded them that they were forgotten by neither Paul nor God. Paul loved this Thessalonian church, and they loved him.
We know that Paul took missionary journeys; he didn’t stay more than a few days or weeks in most cities, including Thessalonica. How did these Thessalonians and Paul forge such strong bonds of love and fellowship in such a short time? The relationship between these parties was a blessed encouragement to each. How did it come about? And how may we have that kind of relationship with others? Tonight, I would like us to consider “Forging Bonds.”
I. They fought a common enemy - 1 Thess. 1:6b
I. They fought a common enemy - 1 Thess. 1:6b
To better understand this relationship, we need to go to the book of Acts, to see how it started.
Acts 17:1-10
Paul started in the Thessalonian synagogue
3 sabbath days — minimum 15 days in the city!
Belief led to “consorting”
Great multitude of Greeks, many chief women
Resistance was religious crowd (Jews)
Lewd fellows of the baser sort — using “lower class” for own purposes
Deceitful accusations — “contrary to the decrees of Caesar.” The Jews were not devoted to Caesar, but they did hate Christ.
Jason and another saint were arrested…and we’re not told what happened to them.
How did the Thessalonians and Paul forge such a strong bond of love for each other? They fought a common spiritual enemy: Satan.
1 Thess 1:6 says, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:”
When saints engage in spiritual warfare together, and when they shed blood, sweat and tears together in the battle for eternal things, they enjoy a strong bond of love and fellowship with one another.
It is natural for a common enemy/opponent to ally people together. Illustrations: 1) My teenage experience—I instantly became friends with someone that I otherwise had almost nothing in common. 2) Athletes who get traded to a different team.
It’s possible for this natural “binding agent” to be misused, but when Christians endure affliction together, they begin forging strong bonds with each other. This works unity in a church!
Paul was threatened with persecution at every stop on his journeys, and that followed him to Thessalonica. However, the new believers were soon included in that persecution, and they endured. This created a bond with Paul.
II. They followed a common edict
II. They followed a common edict
Though a common enemy can unite people for a time, that is not enough to forge lasting bonds of love and fellowship. Christians must also follow a common edict—the Word of God.
As we heard this morning, unity isn’t pleasing to God unless we agree on truth!
1 Thess 1:6 says, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:”
It was natural for these Thessalonian believers to follow Christ AND Paul after they received the gospel that Paul preached to them! This is natural and commanded.
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Of course, Paul always lifted up Christ first.
1 Cor 3:3-11
However, Paul wasn’t telling the Corinthians that following a man was wrong!
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
God gives his people leaders to lead them. Leaders are only worthy of being followed so long as they follow Christ, but if your leader is following Christ, then follow him! It’s possible—and it is God’s design—to follow both.
It was the Thessalonians’ job to follow their leader, just as it was Paul’s job to follow his. We see his heart in 2 Corinthians 11:28.
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Paul was given over to the work of Christ, and that was apparent in his life!
1 Thess 1:5 says, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.”
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul came to Thessalonica in the first place because he was given over to the work of Christ! When the Thessalonian believers demonstrated that they would rather endure persecution than deny Christ, they proved their commitment to following the same edict that Paul followed…and this forged a strong bond of love between them. Note Paul’s comments about them:
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
These “babes in Christ” quickly grew in the Lord, as a result of their teachable and humble spirit, their obedient response to truth, and their determination to fight sin and the devil.
We may have a common enemy today, but that’s not enough to forge a lasting bond of love and fellowship with others...just look in the world for proof. We may even follow a common set of rules/commands as other Christians around us, but even that isn’t enough to forge strong, lasting bonds of love and fellowship with fellow brethren in the church. In our text, we see one more thing that solidified this lasting bond of love between the Thessalonians and the apostle Paul.
III. They were faithful to a common effort
III. They were faithful to a common effort
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
Paul makes his priorities no secret.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Phil. 3:7-14
Don’t these passages put his statement, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,” in a different light? Remember the last words of Christ before He ascended back to Heaven:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The Thessalonians knew what Paul stood for, and what drove him. They accepted his preached message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they aspired to follow Paul’s example. They saw his willingness to endure persecution for Christ’s sake, and they followed suit. After he left their city, they continued to follow his example and follow Christ. They grew in the faith and in the fruit of the Spirit, and they published the gospel abroad, so that “not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad...”
Hearing and seeing these things brought great joy to Paul and great love for these people. They had fought a common enemy together, and had endured great affliction as a result. They had followed a common edict together, and had both seen God work and do great things in their personal lives. And as time went on, they remained faithful to the common effort of evangelizing a lost world, shining the blessed light of the Gospel in darkened hearts. This forged strong, lasting bonds of love and fellowship between Paul the faithful preacher, and these Godly, faithful Thessalonian saints!
IV. Application
IV. Application
So how may we have this kind of relationship with our fellow saints, specifically those in our church? How can we forge this kind of bond love and fellowship? I have three things to present in application of what we have read this evening.
A. Engage in spiritual warfare against the devil with fellow saints
A. Engage in spiritual warfare against the devil with fellow saints
How to do this? It’s not a “checklist,” but here are some ways:
Pray WITH fellow saints
This means coming to prayer meetings! We must pray alone, and we may pray with our friends on our own time, but coming to church-wide prayer meetings regularly means that we’ll be praying with many fellow saints over time. Do you do this? (A way to minister to shut-ins!)
Evangelize the lost WITH fellow saints
We need to witness as we conduct our daily lives, but witnessing alone does not forge bonds with other saints. When was the last time you made time to go out witnessing with a fellow church member? We have multiple weekly opportunities to do this. Do you come to any of those?
B. Build and maintain the foundation of God’s Word
B. Build and maintain the foundation of God’s Word
If our lifestyle is built on the precepts of Scripture, then our lifestyle should never change! We all need help in building and maintaining this foundation. How may we help each other?
Exhort one another “unto love and good works” (Heb. 10:25)
Church is a wonderful time to socialize, but if we only chat and don’t exhort, we are failing each other.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Growth is often marked by change, but change itself isn’t virtuous. Are you doing what’s right? Then don’t change. Is Christ first in your life? Is God’s Word the rule of your life? Then don’t change, no matter what the world says, or what the newest fad is that is so popular. Build the foundation of God’s Word for EVERYTHING in your life, and then maintain that. Don’t change!
C. Don’t ever forget your mission
C. Don’t ever forget your mission
Why are we here? We’re here to bring glory to God, and in the Lord’s churches, that means carrying out the Great Commission.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Parents, raising your children to first be saved, and then to live for Christ, isn’t separate from the Great Commission; it is merely your first responsibility in it. Are you busy in reaching a lost world? I understand how caring for children can legitimately occupy parents, but if we are motivated to reach the lost “out there,” it’s amazing how many opportunities God will give us to reach them, even while we are working at home to prepare our “little sinners” to be saved one day.
There are many here tonight who do not have young children at home; the same mission applies to you. Have you forgotten your mission? Are you faithful to obey the Great Commission that Christ left with His churches? We may have wonderful fellowship as we labor together in fulfilling that greatest of all missions to which Christ has called us. But if you or I are not faithful to it, we will not enjoy together that wonderful bond of love and fellowship that God intends.
Paul, Silas and Timothy enjoyed a strong, blessed bond of love and fellowship with the church in Thessalonica. They had forged it through common affliction in fighting the evil one, through following the common edict of following Christ and spiritual authorities, and through staying faithful to the common effort of preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to a dark, blind, condemned world. Do you have this kind of bond with other saints? Do we have this kind of bond with one another as a church? May we renew our efforts, beginning tonight, to forge this bond of love and fellowship within Bible Baptist Church. It is the foundation of unity.