Live in the Light
1 Thessalonians: Christ is Coming again • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week, billions of people around the world celebrated Christmas. There are many things that go into celebrating Christmas, but one of the biggest traditions that is taught is about Santa Claus. As one song notes, he has a list and he checks it twice. What is this list that Santa supposedly checks before Christmas? It’s the naughty or nice list. On the one hand, parents can hold this over their kids’ heads in order to incentivize them to behave well in order to get presents from Santa Claus. How does one end up on the naughty list? By doing bad things. Now, obviously, we know that this is a fun thing to go along with at a certain age but is there really such a thing as a naughty and nice list? No. We also know that the only person who truly see’s all that we think and all that we do is God. Some Christians treat Santa just like God in that they give this figure the ability of omniscience and note that he is all knowing and all seeing. This is frightening, friends.
What Scripture is clear about is that God and God alone knows all things. God and God alone see’s all things. The preacher of Hebrews is clear about this reality as he says this
13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
So God see’s all things and we also see that God will hold us accountable for what we do and don’t do. I’m not sure about you, but this gives me reason to pause and reflect on my actions and ask myself if I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing as a Christian? What we clearly see is that there will come a day where all will be judged. This has been what Paul has been addressing over the last few verses in 1 Thessalonians 4 and he addresses this further in our text tonight. Some people think that they can escape God’s coming judgment. Jonah thought this thousands of years ago and Cain believed this thousands of years before him. The Biblical truth is that the only way to escape the wrath and judgment of God is to avoid it completely. How can we avoid God’s wrath against sin? By being redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary.
Again, while some spend the majority of their time focusing on dates and charts, we want to see what the text explicitly says. Our text shares with us no one will escape the day of the Lord, Jesus Christ will come again, and that we must live a life of obedience while we await His return. We must live in the light.
1 About the times and the seasons: Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you.
2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, for this day to surprise you like a thief.
5 For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.
6 So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
What we know (1-3)
What we know (1-3)
Paul opens up in our text with a simple statement that many people today need to remember. He says that the believers in Thessalonica do not need anything to be written to them about the times and seasons. What are so many people doing right now? Looking so closely for signs and seasons associated with the return of Jesus Christ. Is this a bad thing? Not entirely, but look at what Paul says in verse 2: You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. What does this imply? You don’t know when the thief will come! Jesus says as much in Matthew 24:36 as He says
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Because we don’t know, what should we do? We should be prepared and look at what we actually do know for a fact! John MacArthur puts it well whenever he says, “Being spiritually prepared for the return of Christ does not involve date setting, clock watching, or sign seeking. God has chosen not to reveal the specific time of end-time events so that all believers will live in constant anticipation of them.”
We should be prepared for the Lord’s returning. While we don’t know when it will happen, we do know that it will happen. If you lived in a rough neighborhood where there was a high crime rate, one of the things that you would want to do was protect your home with a security system. You would want to do everything possible to protect yourself and be prepared in case something happens. The same principle applies for us whenever it comes to the second coming of Jesus Christ - who, as Paul says, will come like a thief in the night. We must be prepared. The Second Coming will surprise some people who are unaware of what Scripture says. If you are prepared and know what Scripture teaches, though, the Second Coming shouldn’t surprise you!
So we know that Jesus will come again. Why is it so important to know this reality? Because some will dismiss it and be indifferent to it. Go back a few minutes and imagine yourself living in a dangerous neighborhood where there is a high crime rate. What if you don’t protect yourself because things are peaceful right now. You’re not going to be prepared for the future because the present is fine. If there’s someone breaking into your home and your on your back porch with your 22 and a sweet tea, you’re not making the problem go away. You can do nice things for others and have a nice lifestyle, but if you don’t know the fundamentals of Christianity, you’re in trouble.
Just as you don’t know when a thief will break in and you don’t know when the labor pains will cease, there will be no escaping the day of the Lord. Why does Paul begin chapter 5 with this message? To remind the believers to focus on what truly matters and to understand the severity of what is coming.
In the ancient world, many women died of labor pains. Modern medicine has been remarkable for many different reasons, but childbirth would have to be one of the top advances when you look at fatalities in human history. Just as there is nothing that a woman can do about labor pains until they reach their conclusion, there is nothing that a lost person can do about the destruction coming to them during the Day of the Lord. We must know that this day is coming.
What we must be (4-8)
What we must be (4-8)
Because we know that the Day of the Lord, the day of judgment will come, what must we be? In the middle few verses, Paul gives an instruction for these people. They must be different than the non-Christians around them. While some will not be prepared, these believers will be prepared. Paul says that his brothers and sisters, believers, are not in the dark. What does this mean, it means that those who are not believers are in the dark and they are asleep.
I know that many of you enjoy a good nap and I’m right there beside you in that regard. Sleep is a good thing! Sleep, though, makes us unaware of what is going on around us. How many of you have seen videos or taken part in pranking someone who is asleep? I have seen many videos where someone puts toothpaste or soap on someones hand and tickles their nose with a feather. The person is unaware of what is taking place and they go to scratch their nose only to find themselves suddenly awake and covered in toothpaste or soap! This is how the person who is not a Christian will react during the Day of the Lord. They will be surprised because they are unaware of their surroundings and what the future holds. Are you and I unaware of what the future holds? To an extent, but we know that God makes some promises about the future and we know that those will come to pass.
Have you ever had something spoiled to you? Perhaps it was the ending to a movie or the final score of a game. This has happened to me on multiple occasions and it changes the way that you watch the movie or game. As a Cardinal baseball fan I have watched game 6 of the 2011 World Series about a dozen times and it is known as one of the best baseball games in the history of the sport because of the heroics that took place in the 9th-11th innings. I could tell you exactly what happens in those innings because I have seen it happen so many times, but I still get goosebumps when I watch because I can’t believe that the Cardinals won that game. I know the end result and it influences my emotions as I watch the rest of the game. The same thing is true for us as Christians as we know the ending. We know that God wins and that Jesus is coming back. See, just as I don’t have to stress out whenever I watch game 6 of the 2011 world series, you don’t have to stress out about the present because your future is already won. See, the Thessalonians were experiencing difficulty and doubt about their future because of their present problems- Paul’s message of encouragement is clear. Don’t worry about the present because your future is set in stone. You are children of light and children of the day, because of this, don’t worry like those who belong to the night and who walk in darkness. As the expression goes, the night is always darkest before the light pierces through. We know, though, that the dark has no power over the light. Light changes everything and our light is founded in Jesus Christ. He changes everything, including how we live.
We must be children of the light. We must be awake and self-controlled as verses 6 and 8 tell us. Why does it matter that we would be self-controlled and that we put on our armor and walk in the light? Why should we do these things? Because it is one thing to say to someone that you belong to Jesus and that you’re a Christian… It’s another to live for Him. See, we are supposed to follow Christ and live for Him. That involves us looking differently than the world around us and it involves us being prepared for battle as verse 8 illustrates. Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about the armor of God and we see in this verse putting on armor and this requires us to be disciplined. To quote Mark Howell, “When we believe God by faith and respond to Him out of love, the natural outcome is a life filled with hope.”
What must we be? We must be in the light. We must be self-controlled. We must put our armor on. We must have hope. Is this where you’re at today? Are you walking in the light? Are you confident in what your future looks like because of who your faith is placed in? I pray that you are.
What we must do (9-11)
What we must do (9-11)
Our final few verses share with us the truth of the Gospel message. Some people preach a message that conveniently leaves out the wrath of God against sin and those who are not in Christ Jesus. The Gospel message certainly incorporates the wrath of God, though, does it not? On the one hand we see the bad news that we are sinners and that we deserve destruction and separation from God due to our sin. Yet, on the other hand, we see the great news which is that Jesus Christ died to save His people from their sins as Matthew 1:21 shares with us
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Paul makes the claim here in verse 9 that God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, you do not receive the wrath of God. Instead, you receive salvation. Both of these are from God. Salvation is not something that you or I accomplish by our works. It is the gift of God lest no one may boast as Ephesians shares with us. Many people today don’t have a Biblical view of the wrath of God and that shapes the way that they live their present day life. If God is strictly love, what is the consequence for rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? There is no consequence. God is just love. Biblically, though, we see that God gives out divine judgment and wrath against ungodliness and unrighteousness. In the ancient days, people emphasized the wrath of God and viewed salvation as something incredible and undeserved. Sadly, that is twisted today as people think that they deserve salvation because they are so good in and of themselves.
Instead, in our text, we see that we obtain salvation through Jesus who died for us. Many people ask, especially children, “Why did Jesus have to die?” We see that this was a part of God’s plan and purpose, but He died for us. We sinned and were alienated from God due to that sin. Christ died so that we could be reconciled to God. There is substitutionary language in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 and we see the ultimate result is that we could live together with Him. Isn’t this great news? Imagine that you were 500 billion dollars in debt. You are facing something impossible for you to pay on your own. It doesn’t matter how rich your family is or how hard you work, you can’t pay this sum. The punishment facing you is a lifetime in prison. Someone comes up and writes a check for 500 billion dollars and it clears and you’re able to walk out absolutely free with a clean slate. You would be excited and you would share this story with others! What Jesus Christ has done is even greater than that. He saves us not from a monetary debt, He saves us from our sin. Friends, until you come to understand how hopeless your life is without Jesus, you will never properly appreciate the cross of Calvary!
Paul concludes this passage with an exhortation to continue to encourage one another as you are already doing. Paul is an expert Pastor as he routinely encourages people and churches with some things that they are doing well. The pastor is called to preach the full counsel of God’s Word and this inevitably will lead to times where there is conviction and where our toes are stepped on, but there also will be times of encouragement where we see Biblical principles that we are doing as individuals and as a congregation. The purpose that Paul gives for this message about Christ’s return is not to cause a massive debate about premillennalism versus postmillennialism or a pretribulation rapture versus posttribulation rapture. The purpose behind Paul’s message about the second coming is to encourage the believers to live for Christ today and every day that they have because they don’t know when Christ will return. Ultimately, though, the second coming reminds us that our ultimate hope is in Jesus Christ and in nothing or no one else. Is your hope in Jesus tonight? Are your eyes fixed on His promise to return? If so, how does that impact how you are living right now?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Our days are numbered. We are not guaranteed tomorrow and we see in God’s Word a promise that Jesus Christ will return again and I believe that He will return soon. It’s easy to put things off in our world. I’ll do that when I have time. I’ll do that when the weather gets a little nicer. I’ll talk to so and so whenever I’m in a better mood. It’s natural to put things off and that’s not always a bad thing! However, you and I are called to live in the light. We are called to look and act differently than others around us. The time to share the Gospel message and the hope that is offered exclusively by Jesus Christ is not next year, it’s not next week, it’s not even tomorrow. The time is today!
As we touched on this morning, the Lord is our shepherd and He leads us. Where is He leading you today? What is He calling you to do? We all have a purpose and we all have people in our sphere of influence that need to hear the truth of the Gospel. How can you live in the light in such a way that you share the Gospel intentionally this week? God knows what’s going on in your life. You and I are responsible with how we act and respond, though.
We must know the essentials. We must be children of the light and self-controlled. We must encourage one another and share the hope of Jesus with others. I pray that we would do this with confidence and boldness this week!