Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Gospel and the Essentials of Christian Life*

*T e x t: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10*

*Proposition: Because the Gospel is the power of God, in Christ we can live the essentials of Christian Life.*

*I.        **In order to live the essentials of Christian Life, we must have our work of faith in Christ vv3a &9b.*

*II.

**In order to live the essentials of Christian Life, we must have our labor of love in Christ vv3b &9c.*

*III.

**In order to live the essentials of Christian Life, we must have our steadfastness of hope in Christ vv3c & 10.*

 

 

*Scripture introduction*

Many people say that they know about the Gospel and believe in it, but most of them do not show any change in their life.

It may be because they do not really understand the Gospel and believe in it or they do not know what kind of essentials they need in their Christian life.

This text will help us to understand what the essentials of Christian life are and to give us more detailed examples of the essentials of the Christian life.

*Introduction*

*To arouse interest*

When I preached the Gospel to some people in Korea, some of them said “Oh!

I like Jesus, but I do not like Christians.”

I thought about it again and again why do they say that?…..

I think it is because we as Christians do not have what we must have in our Christian life.

*To introduce the subject of the message*

This Bible passage shows us how Thessalonica Christians displayed their Christian life.

Paul was not in Thessalonica more than three weeks to preach the Gospel.

But when they received the Gospel, their life was totally changed and everybody around them and another city was surprised because of their great changes.

In this passage Paul praises their faith and love and hope in Christ.

They did not have faith before, but now they have faith.

They did not have love before, but now they have love.

They did not have hope in Christ before, but now they have the hope in Christ.

They had all the *essentials of Christian life … faith … love … hope*

 

Their faith, love, and hope were different from others had and it was obvious in their lives.

Paul modifies their faith and love and hope with these three words, “work” and “labor” and “steadfastness.”

These are well-matched.

Paul says that they have */“the work of faith/*/”/ and */“labor of love”/* and */“steadfastness of hope in Christ.”/*

When people see the people in Thessalonica church, they easily recognize what faith is, what love is and what hope is.

It is because they practiced their faith and love and hope in their Christian life.

*To make the subject personal*

If we are Christians, we also need to live the essentials of a Christian life.

Not abstract and obscure faith, love and hope, but it should be clear and obvious in our life.

If anybody sees our Christian life, they could be able to define what faith is, what love is and what hope is.

It is also impossible for us to have it by ourselves, but it is possible for us when we receive the Gospel as the power of God.  */In this time Jesus Christ asks to live the essentials of our Christian life./*

*Proposition: Because the Gospel is the power of God, in Christ we can live the essentials of Christian Life.*

 

* *

*I.        **In order to live the essentials of Christian Life, we must have our work of faith in Christ vv3a &9b.*

Place & Prove: Look at v3a & v9b:*  /“3/*/R//emembering before our God and Father, //// /*/your work of faith…..”/* and /“*9*For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and *how you turned to God from idols*/*…*..” 

Paul explains that their work of faith is /“their turning to God from idols.”/

This means that they have changed the object of their worship in their life.

*Explanation*

In some of Paul’s writings, notably Romans and Galatians, Paul sets faith and works in sharp contrast.

Romans 3:20 says /“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law….”/

Also he says Roman 3:28 /“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”/

But in 1Thessalonians 1:3 Paul says that the true faith is with work.

Without working it cannot be the true faith in Christ.

Do you think we need to do something for our salvation?

Or to complete our salvation?

Galatians 2:21 /“/*/21/*/I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”/

The law we keep cannot save us from our sin.

If it is right, why does Paul say */“the work of faith”/* as one of essentials of our Christian life?

To understand this we need to know the real meaning of the word “work” in this verse.

*/First, Paul uses this word “work” to express the result of their faith in Christ./*

In v9 Paul says that “/you turned to God from idols….”/

They turned to God from the idols they had served.

Paul says that /“they changed the object of their worship.”/

*/Their result of their faith is turning from idols./  *

 

/1)      /*/Turning from idols mostly means that they repented of their sin./*

As the result of their faith they repented of their sin.

In Jacob’s case when he went up to Bethel, he removed the idols in his household.

That also means that he and his household repented of their sin.

/2)      /*/Turning from idols also means that they changed their sinful habits./*

In 1Corinthians 8:7 says /“But not everyone knows this.

Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol…..”/ 

 

Corinthian Christians served their idols customary.

That means that serving idols are their sinful habits.

They could not stop serving their idol, because they were accustomed to doing so, even though they became Christian.

If we have sinful habits which we do not stop, it could be our idols in our Christian life.

But, the /Thessalonica Christians changed their sinful habit serving their idol and turned to God as the result of their faith./

In v4 Paul says /“4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.”/

How did Paul know they were chosen and they were saved?

It is because of their changes.

We do not exactly know who is saved or not, but we can know their salvation according to their changed life.

These all of them are the result of their faith in Christ.

*/Second, Paul uses this word “work” because he wanted to express their work by faith in Christ./*

In v6 Paul says /“*6*And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”/

Paul says that the Thessalonica Christians imitated Paul and Jesus and they received the word in much affliction.

“The word” in this verse means Paul’s teaching about the Bible and the Gospel and “receiving” in this verse means their obedience to the word of God.  

1 Thessalonians 2:13 says /“when you received ////the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, ////which is at work in you believers.”/

They obeyed the word of God according to Paul’s teaching even though they got much affliction when they obeyed.

We do not be persecuted by anybody because of our obedience to God’s word, but they were persecuted when they obeyed God’s word, but they received and obeyed the word of God.

Even though we are free to obey God’s word, we do not obey the word of God because we do not want to.

We obey God as much as we know God.

We know God as much as we obey Him.

We believe in God as much as we obey Him.

We obey God as much as we believe in Him.

If we do not have faith in God, we do not obey Him.

If you do not obey God, believe that you do not have faith in God.

Hebrew 11:8 says /“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”/

*/By their faith the Thessalonica Christians obeyed God’s word.

/* This is the works by their faith in God.

How great their faith is…… their faith was never abstract, but clear to understand.

Everybody could define what faith is according to their Christian life by faith in Christ.

How would we define our faith according to our life?

How could people define the faith in Christ according to our life?

Do you know why we confuse about the faith?

It is because we do not live by our faith.