Cheer Up, Christian - Jesus is Coming Back
1 Thessalonians: Christ is Coming again • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Who here likes receiving good news? That’s a normal thing in this life! It’s a blessing to get to share good news with a friend or family member and it’s a blessing to hear good news from a friend or family member. Just over 4 years ago, Lindsey and I discovered that we were going to have Gabriel and it was really hard to keep that excitement a secret from our parents around the Christmas season as we were going to be spending a lot of time with them. We planned a scavenger hunt of sorts for them as they would get a clue and have to do something or go somewhere and find another clue and eventually they met together and has a bunch of color coded letters that they had to work together in order to accomplish their task. Lo and behold, our mothers got really into this and started crying before they even got all the letters in place. We love receiving good news! The birth of a child - a good report from a doctor - a relationship that is restored - lives that are forever changed.
This past week, Lindsay and I had the opportunity to have a zoom call with our missionary partners in Guatemala. We had some questions about our team trip later this summer but we also had a different motivation for calling as well. Our missionary partners have an English school that allows students, often times from severely underprivileged backgrounds, to be able to learn English and learn about the hope of Jesus Christ. If a child learns English, they are more likely to be able to break out of the poverty cycle that they grew up in and we know that only through Jesus can we be freed from the chains of sin and death. Our missionaries are taking 25 children who live in the town dump - yes, literally a landfill dump, and they are sponsoring them at their school. Because of missions funds that you have faithfully given, we were able to make sure that every single child that was not already sponsored, was in fact sponsored! To share that good news with our friends was emotional as it was an answer to months and months of hard work and prayers on their end, but it truly goes to show how God uses His body to do His work all around the world. It’s a blessing to receive and get to share good news with others, especially those who are in need of encouragement.
Tonight as we continue walking through 1 Thessalonians, we come to a passage that is incredible. A passage that is encouraging. A passage of great news. While there have been many discussions and debates about this passage, tonight as we study the passage my prayer is that we would understand what Paul meant as he penned it 2,000 years ago and leave here encouraged by the best news of all for a Christian: Jesus Christ is Coming Back!
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
We Must Be Informed (13)
We Must Be Informed (13)
If you recall from our last passage in verses 9-12, we saw how this is a congregation that loves one another and they are demonstrating that love to believers all around their region. This is a church that wants to see souls won for Jesus Christ and it doesn’t matter if revival breaks out at 1st Baptist Thessalonica, 2nd Baptist, 5th Baptist, or the non-denominational church in the town square! They want to see souls saved. This is a mature church in that regard as we know that there are churches today who are exclusively focused on what takes place in their own 4 walls that they ignore the lostness right outside their own front door. Not so with this church and I pray that never becomes the case for our church either as we pray as we talked about this morning for souls to be saved and for God to use us to make a dent in Dent County for His glory one life at a time. This church has much going for it! However, this church doesn’t have everything quite figured out and there is some confusion regarding what happens to believers who die before Jesus Christ returns. That might seem silly for us today, but for these early believers it was a serious problem and worry. They were alive whenever Jesus walked the earth. They had converted after His ascension. They knew He was going to return. But some of them were starting to die. This was concerning because they believed that Jesus was going to return soon and very soon as we Baptists like to sing about, amen?
What happened to these believers? Would they get to share in the return of Christ too even if they had passed away? Do you remember how long Paul had been with these believers in Acts 17? 3 weeks. 3 weeks is a long time at times, but you can’t learn everything about this book in 3 weeks. It takes a lifetime. It takes careful study. It takes prayer. Paul didn’t have the time to teach them everything due to being kicked out of town, and there was some confusion within this congregation that was leading to despair and discouragement. Paul takes time in this passage to write them to encourage them with some good news! He wants to inform these believers and to give them hope, especially to those who have lost loved ones in recent days.
Death is a common denominator in this life. We all know what suffering is and we know that the end result of suffering and sin is death. It doesn’t matter if you’ve gone to church your whole life or if you’ve never come to church until tonight, you will face the reality of death in your life. Many people face this reality with no hope - that’s why many live the American Dream of getting all that they can, canning all that they get, and sitting on that can as long as they can… until they can’t! This dream, though, is hopeless. Sure, if you work really hard and have a good job then you’ll be in good shape for an early retirement, but fast forward another few decades and then what? Death. This is what we face. We can try to deny it, we can try to escape it, we can try to outsmart it, but we all will face it.
Paul doesn’t want these believers to be uninformed about the reality of death, though. We all grieve whenever a loved one dies, but as Christians we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. The goal of Paul writing what he writes here is to impart hope to those who are suffering! We have to understand that vital context. Look at what he says - he says that these people have fallen asleep. That’s a wonderful expression, isn’t it? Whenever you fall asleep, what do you do? Most of the time at least - you wake up. This expression shows up in the Old and New Testaments and describes God’s people closing their eyes in this life and “waking up” in glory. Doesn’t that truth give you hope whenever you reflect on losing a loved one? Yes, we grieve because we lost someone that we love - but what is the truth that gets us through? They are still alive! In fact, they are more alive than ever before because they are immediately in the presence of the Lord. They have a living hope. There is no need for despair whenever a Christian loses a loved one - this is Paul’s argument both as an encouragement and a rebuke. Remember, there were some here who were tempted to sell their possessions and mooch off of the goodwill of their fellow Christians because they were convinced that Jesus was coming back in their lifetime. Paul is telling them to look to the future with hope. Jesus might come back in our lifetime, He might not, we might be alive, we might be dead, but either way we have hope!
We Must Know Christ (14-15)
We Must Know Christ (14-15)
We first must be informed, next we must know Christ. The reason that we can have hope in the face of death is because of Jesus Christ! We believe in Christ. Christ has changed us. He is our hope. He is our life. He is our joy. He holds us fast. He carries us through. What must we know about Christ? Look at verse 14 - that He died and rose again! What is the core doctrine being discussed here? The Resurrection of Jesus Christ! This is what we could call, an essential doctrine.
3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
These are essentials - penal substitutionary language as Jesus died for our sins as our substitute. He was buried, He rose. If you don’t believe in these things, you might be a lot of things, but you are not a Christian. We believe that Jesus lived a perfect life, died for sinners on the cross, and rose from the grave and is alive and seated in glory right now. We believe in Christ. And as a result of this, as those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1, we have this same hope.
20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
He is the firstfruits. If Jesus rose from the grave and if we are justified with Christ and credited with His righteousness, then what is our hope? God will raise those who have fallen asleep as well. To put it in this original context, many people were farmers of some form or another. They had small fields and some might have worked in someone’s large field. Whenever the first fruit of the harvest appeared, what did it tell you? The rest is coming. It’s a fact. It’s almost time. This is the hope for the Christian - just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will raise believers from the dead as well. They will not be left behind or forgotten about. In simple terms: It Is Finished (Calvary) becomes It Is Certain.
Whenever a loved one dies, where do they go? What did Jesus tell the thief on the cross? Today you will be with me in paradise. We believe as Paul shares in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 that once we die, we are with Jesus in heaven. Some argue for a teaching called soul sleep - there are interesting arguments, but the Scriptures seem to argue against it significantly. We know Christ. We believe in Christ. We are with Christ. We fall asleep (die) but we are raised and wake up in glory and see our Lord face to face.
There’s an older song called All to Us and it shares this truth in its conclusion
“When this passing world is over - we will see you face to face
And forever we will worship - Jesus you are all to us”
Aren’t you thankful for this hope and truth as a Christian, that when it is your time, you fall asleep and you wake up to see Jesus? Some people talk about wanting to be here whenever Jesus returns - that would be cool - but wouldn’t it be better to be with Jesus right away? Philippians 1:21
21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
This is our song as believers! God has a plan for all whether they are here or there. We have no advantage - we will not precede those who have already passed away. In fact, if you look at Paul’s background and what he would have been thinking of, he is likely envisioning the dead in Christ being present with Christ at least in soul form and whenever Christ returns, He brings with Him those who have fallen asleep and been with Him in glory. They come with Jesus, we meet Jesus and we all get those glorified bodies together. There is no advantage to being dead or being alive - because we will be with Christ at His return. We get those glorified bodies. Forever we worship Him - because He is our hope. He is our Savior. He is our King.
We Must Have Hope (16-17)
We Must Have Hope (16-17)
This truth gives us hope and this is the whole theme of the book of 1 Thessalonians and the whole focus of this passage - to give God’s people hope as they look forward to the return of Jesus Christ. Sadly, a passage that should elicit hope has been used to bring about discouragement and even in some cases, cause to leave a church. These verses of encouragement and hope suddenly turn into debate and discord. People debate the “rapture” of the church as it has become popularized in America. When will the rapture be? Will the tribulation be before the rapture or after the rapture? There are lots of views about these questions and some people have written multiple books on the subject. The John Hagee’s, David Jeremiah’s, Hal Lindsey’s, Tim LaHaye’s of the world have literally made millions of dollars writing books on this subject because people love it. Why do people love this subject? Why do churches devote thousands of dollars to purchasing Sunday school material year after year on this subject? What does the text say? This is the “rapture” text - let’s let the text do the talking.
Do you see anything here about tribulation? No. Do you see anything here about blood moons? No. Do you see anything here about an anti-christ? No. Does the number 7 show up? No. What do we see? 2 promises: Jesus will return and Jesus will gather His Church to be with Him forever! That is the promise of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17! That’s it. Jesus will come back and there will be a great gettin’ up morning!
Paul doesn’t say where we go after this catching up.
Some say that Jesus comes back and then we’ll go to heaven for 7 years while tribulation comes on the earth and then Jesus comes back a 3rd time and this time we come down with Him and He rules for 1,000 literal years.
Others say that Jesus comes and we are caught up with Him, we meet Him, and come with Him as He establishes His Kingdom. Those are the main two ideas and for some reason some people have a hard time on this subject because they believe the Bible is crystal clear on this subject and to disagree means to not be saved. What does it mean to be saved? To believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We’ll look at this verse in a few weeks on Sunday morning in Acts 2 as Peter preaches the Gospel and people are pierced to the heart and ask what must they do to be saved
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
That’s it. Repent from sins and believe in Christ - He saves you. If someone believes that they haven’t sinned, if Jesus wasn’t a sinless Savior, if Jesus didn’t die on the cross or raise from the dead, if there are multiple ways to be saved like be a good person or be from a specific background - those put you on the outside looking in when it comes to salvation. If someone believes in historic premillennialism and someone else believes in postmillennialism and someone else doesn’t believe in a literal 1,000 earthly rule (Amillennialism), you can still worship with that person. That isn’t a primary doctrinal point. That isn’t a secondary doctrinal point. It’s a tertiary one. It doesn’t determine our salvation. It doesn’t determine our fellowship. There are arguments on each side and this verse isn’t even talking about many of these eschatological points in the first place. This is a verse meant to encourage - and as we look to the end times and the truth of Christ’s return, that had better encourage us as well. We can’t read more into it and we certainly can’t say that if someone disagrees with me on this issue then they’re probably not a Christian or if they are, they’re not as a good a Christian as me.
What does the text tell us? Verse 16 - look at the events here. This is a sudden event that no one will miss. Get this: It will not be a secret! Planes crashing from the sky. Clothes being left on the floor. Pets being left inside. Everyone else wandering what on earth happened. Y’all that’s not in the text. This is unmistakeable. The Lord descends with noise that gets louder and louder. A shout, a voice, and a trumpet.
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen.
When Jesus comes down from heaven, this is a spectacular occasion. Do you think you will miss this event? Do you think those who have passed away are without hope? Absolutely not. Paul even shares that the dead in Christ will rise first. If death couldn’t separate them from Jesus, then death cannot separate them from the return of Jesus either. The dead rise, and then those who are alive are caught up as well and we are with Jesus forever after we meet Him in the air. What happens after this meeting? We go up and then what?
The word meeting is used 3 other times in the new Testament, twice in Matthew 25 and Acts 28. What happens in these passages? The virgins in Matthew 25 go out to meet the bridegroom, and then what do they do? They went back in with the bridegroom into the banquet hall and shut the door. They came out, met the bridegroom, and came back in. What about Acts 28:14-16?
14 There we found brothers and sisters and were invited to stay a week with them. And so we came to Rome.
15 Now the brothers and sisters from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with the soldier who guarded him.
What happens here? Paul is on his way, these brothers and sisters here that he is coming and they go outside the city walls to meet him and then what happens? They enter Rome together. Now, maybe this 4th usage is the only one that involves a meeting and a leaving, but the text doesn’t tell us the answer. This is why it’s so important to have humility as we approach the text and as we talk with one another about non-salvfific topics. My friend, Dr. John Marshall (longtime pastor at Second Baptist in Springfield) shared in a podcast recently that the trait of humility is so important for all believers, especially leaders. To be able to say, I could be wrong are 4 words that many will never say, but we must be able to say them when it comes to things that the Bible isn’t black and white about. This passage shouldn’t be the breeding ground for debate, it should be the basis for Biblical encouragement - this is Paul’s hope and purpose in writing about the return of Jesus.
We Must Share Encouragement (18)
We Must Share Encouragement (18)
What is the purpose of eschatology? The study of the end times? Encouragement. Not to get people on pens and needles looking for signs and dates and charts and graphs. But to encourage one another with the truth - Jesus is coming back, and we will be with Him forever! 1 Thessalonians uses the word encourage - parakaleo - several times. Whenever there is a misunderstanding or confusion in life, there can be a temptation to get frustrated or upset or to cause confrontation at times. But Paul’s hope in clarifying this truth about the return of Jesus Christ is to lead the people of Thessalonica to rejoice, praise the name of Jesus, and encourage one another as they remember that they are not alone. As we look at the truth in this passage, this encourages us as we go through times of loss. Whenever we have a loved one pass away, we can know for certain that this loved one isn’t in limbo or a holding state. They aren’t in danger of missing out on the big day - they’re with Jesus. One day we will join them. And we will all be with the Lord. As we look ahead, we see that we have a mission - are you ready? We need to be eschatological evangelists to borrow from Grant Osborne. We need the truth about the future of Jesus’ return to motivate us to share the good news of the Gospel far and wide. There are thousands in Dent County who do not attend church and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The truth of Jesus’ return should be our motivation to evangelize these people. To tell them the greatest news of all - not the birth of a child, not a good report from a doctor, not an unexpected check in the mail, the news that Jesus Christ came to save sinners and that Jesus Christ will return to celebrate with His people and condemn His enemies. We’d better be on the right side.
While some might want to fight over this topic one way or the other, we see that doing so completely goes against the purpose of this passage! It is foolish to divide and split over this issue as many churches have done. The essential is this: Jesus will return and those who are in Christ will be with Him forever! That encourages saints, that evangelizes sinners. We can have fun talking about the timing and events surrounding those truths, but if God didn’t think it important enough to spell it out in one sentence like He did a lot of other doctrinal points, it’s probably not important enough for us to act like a hammer and try to smash any eschatological nail in sight.
We cheer up - we see what God has done, we inform others, we grieve in this life, but not as those who have no hope. We know how the story ends. Jesus Wins - and if you are in Christ, you have already won.