The Marks of the Living Church - Part 2
Text: 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Core Idea: What will our church be known for? Let’s strive to become a church that imitates the gospel, spreads the gospel, and is transformed by the gospel. Let’s be a church that faithfully preaches Christ, humbly receives Christ, and passionately shares Christ so that in everything, Christ might have the supremacy.
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday, we looked at the first letter to the Thessalonians with the desire to identify the marks of the living church. If you remember, this letter was written to a young church that was planted by Paul in Thessalonica. And what was impressive about this church was that despite the opposition they received from the city, they were faithfully living a life that was worthy of the gospel. They were shaped by the gospel – and they made every effort to spread the gospel. They preached the gospel – and they protected the gospel. In other words, their lives were completely centered around the gospel. Then my prayer for us is that we would learn from this church – to be imitators of their faith so that we would also be shaped by the gospel and be intentional in living a life worthy of the gospel as a church. So, with that in mind, please turn your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1. We’ll focus on verses 6-10 but let me read the whole chapter for context.
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. 2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Last Sunday, we talked about how a living church is first a church that is rooted in God – which means that no matter what happens, we won’t be shaken because God is our Anchor. This is His church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. We also learned that it’s a church that labors for God – a church that works faithfully, loves unconditionally, and presses on joyfully as we place our hope in Christ. And lastly, it’s a church that is chosen by God – which means that we’re the recipients of God’s unconditional, unending, and unwavering love not because there’s anything lovely or desirable in us, but simply because He is good.
Now, I ended the message by asking a very important question – which was, “How in the world did Paul know that God had chosen the Thessalonian Christians?” We didn’t get to answer this last week because of the time but let me quickly address this before we dive into our passage for today. Paul actually tells us the answer in verse 5, “Because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction.” He was convinced that they were chosen by God because when he preached the gospel to them, it wasn’t just an intellectual exercise, but it led to a radical transformation of their lives. In other words, the gospel came to them in power – the Holy Spirit power. When they heard the gospel, they were cut to their hearts, they were broken over their sins, they repented of their sins, they threw away their idols (as we’ll see later), they publicly declared their allegiance to Christ even though it would cost them their lives, they faithfully served God despite the persecution, in fact, they faced their trials with joy, and they passionately shared the gospel even to their enemies. When they received the gospel, their lives were turned upside down – they were not the same. And that was enough for Paul to conclude that they were chosen because those who are not chosen have no reason to live this way. Those who are chosen live this way because they no longer live for themselves – they live for Christ and His glory.
And some of you know exactly what this means. You may not be able to give an adequate explanation of how you became a Christian or why your life started to change – but if this is you, Paul will tell you that this is the evidence of the Holy Spirit in you because He alone is able to bring deep conviction and transformation to your hearts. In other words, your life is a testament to the fact that you are chosen by God. Now, what if you’re not experiencing this kind of transformation? Does it mean that you’re not chosen? Does it mean that you’re not really a Christian? Of course not – you become a Christian the moment you place your trust in Jesus Christ. Transformation is not a requirement for salvation – it’s the product of our salvation. But if you feel like you’re not growing as fast as others, it could just mean that God is taking you through a longer route. Or it could mean that He is inviting you to pray for the Holy Spirit – to be desperate for Him, to depend on Him. So, if this is you, ask Him for the Holy Spirit, ask Him to work in you so that you’ll begin to live the life that you were meant to live. All that to say, a living church is a church that is rooted in God, labors for God, and is chosen by God. Then with that in mind, let me share three more marks of the living church from verses 6-10.
· IMITATORS OF THE GOSPEL
· MESSENGERS OF THE GOSPEL
· TRANSFORMED BY THE GOSPEL
1) IMITATORS OF THE GOSPEL
Verse 5, “You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” Verse 7, “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia… Your faith in God has become known everywhere.” Here, Paul points out that the Thessalonian Christians observed how he lived out his faith and patterned their lives after him. He commends them for becoming imitators of him and the Lord. Now, doesn’t this sound awfully familiar? That’s because this is something that Paul has been exhorting other churches to do. For example, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Philippians 3:17, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” And 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” All that to say, Paul always challenged other believers to become imitators of him and of the Lord so that they may become an example to others. He wanted them to learn about Jesus, learn from Jesus, learn to be like Jesus, and learn from those who love Jesus as they help others to do the same. What’s another way of saying this? Discipleship.
Now, the example of the Thessalonian Christians is important to remember because many churches inadequately think of discipleship merely as instruction. So, in those churches, discipleship happens through a few teachers in a classroom setting like a Bible study or a Sunday service through preaching. And as a result, they focus on getting the right curriculum and teaching the material effectively. Now, I’m not saying that this is wrong. In fact, it is vital for us to know the truth correctly because an inadequate understanding of the truth could mislead and derail us from the path – wrong theology leads to wrong living. But I’m just saying that seeing discipleship merely as instruction is incomplete because the Bible clearly tells us that discipleship is never just a knowledge transfer. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The emphasis here is clearly given to obedience – the transformation of life. Then even though instruction is definitely part of discipleship, Paul reminds us that imitation is another key component of Christian discipleship. In fact, think about how Jesus discipled the Twelve. Yes, it’s true that Jesus spent a lot of time teaching the Twelve. But an important aspect of becoming Jesus’ disciple was to “be with Him” (Mk. 3:14) – which is why Jesus did everything with them. They ate together, they traveled together, they served together, they suffered together, they prayed together – they essentially did life together. Why? Because imitation is one of the most effective ways to grow and mature in faith.
Then let me ask you, “Are you following the example of Christ? Are you spending time with Christ to get to know Him, to observe Him, and to imitate Him? Are you intentionally learning about Jesus, learning from Jesus, and learning to be like Jesus? Are you learning from others what it means to love Jesus more? In fact, do you have other God-centered Christians around you to model after or are you just doing faith alone? Are you doing life with them to learn from them? And of course, are you walking with others to lead them closer to Christ? Are you helping them to experience the same grace that transformed your life? Are you humble enough to point to your own life as an example for others to imitate?” Now, this sounds incredibly overwhelming – who would be comfortable enough to do this knowing how sinful and flawed we are? But remember that Paul is not asking us to be perfect – he simply calls us to be faithful. Then, brothers and sisters, just as we’ve been entrusted with the gospel, we now have the same responsibility of entrusting the gospel to others. This is what Paul is calling all of us to do for this is one of the marks of the living church.
Now, let me share just two practical insights about what it takes to help others know Christ. First, we need to know that it will take time. Life transformation doesn’t happen instantaneously. It’s not going to be a quick fix – which means that we must be ready to invest our time in others. Second, we need to share our life. In other words, we must let people into our lives so that they may see not just our strengths but also our struggles, fears, and challenges. Listen to what Don Carson once said, “You who are older should be looking out for younger people and saying, in effect, ‘Watch me.’ [By the way, this applies to everyone here including our Anchor friends because you can be an example to our Tugboat children. So, listen carefully.] You should say to them, ‘Come – I’ll show you how to have family devotions. Come – I’ll show you how to do Bible study. Come – let me take you through some of the fundamentals of the faith. Come – I’ll show you how to pray. Come – let me show you how to be a Christian husband and father, or wife and mother.’ And at a certain point in life, that older mentor should be able to even say, ‘Come – let me show you how to die. Watch me.’” Then let me ask you, “Are you willing to invite people into your life? Are you willing to become vulnerable so that others can see you for who you really are? Are you ready to open your life for others to imitate?”
Brothers and sisters, we can make an eternal impact on someone today. And the way we do this doesn’t have to be big and flashy. It could simply mean that we love our family faithfully – showing others what it means to build up a God-centered home. It could mean that we work hard, study hard – showing others what it means to glorify God in all circumstances. It could mean that we encourage others or give generously to those who may be in need – showing others what it means to be gracious and hospitable. God has placed us here in this city, in this church, at your school, at your workplace, at this time for a purpose. In other words, where you are in your life is exactly where God wants you to be. And through you, God wants to make an eternal impact on others. Then let’s joyfully invest our time, share our lives, and model for others what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus because this is one of the marks of the living church.
2) MESSENGERS OF THE GOSPEL
Verse 8, “The Lord’s message rang out from you.” The word “rang out” in Greek literally means “to cause something to sound forth or go out.” Now, I don’t know why but this reminded me of an image of the growing ripple in water. If you throw a rock into water, it will create ripples which will then spread outwards beyond where it was dropped. Then in the same way, when the gospel was dropped in the Thessalonian church, it started to create this ripple effect – and the gospel began to move out from them. It reached their homes, their neighborhoods, their schools, their workplaces, and beyond. The way they lived out the gospel, their stories of faith were inspiring Christians and creating curiosity among gentiles. Now, please note that this broad influence wasn’t because they were a mega-church with thousands of people. One scholar estimated that the Thessalonian church was probably made up of no more than 50-100 members (similar to our church). In other words, they were small in number in a large city like Thessalonica. Then it would’ve been understandable if they were intimidated – if they remained quiet. But they never ceased to labor in faith, love, and hope – and as a result, the gospel spread. I once heard Pastor Mark Dever share a story about his interaction with another pastor in a small town of around 4,000 people. In that conversation, this pastor said to Mark, “Our church had 200 baptisms this past year.” So, Mark responded, “You must have set your town on its ear!” And the pastor replied, “What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And Mark said to him, “Wait a second. You’ve got 4,000 people in your town and 200 people have been converted to the Lord – and yet no one is talking about it?” And the pastor remained silent. The point that Mark wanted to make was that real conversion produces real change. Real Christians make the gospel visible. Then let me ask you, “Is your story of faith drawing others to Christ? Is the gospel going out from you to reach those around you? Or is your faith remaining with you? Is there no ripple effect of the gospel from your life?”
Now, I don’t share this to say that we have to become the talk of the town. It really is not about us. But if our reputation is going to bring more people to Christ and more glory to God, then, yes, I want us to make every effort to have a good reputation, to make the gospel visible through us. I want us to faithfully live out the gospel and passionately spread the gospel so that our stories will attract many in this city to turn to Christ. Brothers and sisters, we may be small in number in a large city like Toronto, but we can make a huge difference because the same Spirit that was working in and through the Thessalonian church is also with us today. Think about it. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see the gospel go out from our church like that – for people to see us and know that the gospel truly comes in power? That’s what I pray for our community. In fact, that’s the very reason why we named our church, Lighthouse. As you know, a lighthouse exists to help boats navigate their way by illuminating the sea – shining in the darkness so that others may see. Then I want us to do just that – to become the light of the world so that we may show others the way to our ultimate Lighthouse, Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, let’s remember that every time we gather like this, God is ministering to us, filling us, equipping us in order to send us out back to our homes, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and beyond so that His name will be glorified through us. This is why we exist. This is what we must become. This is a mark of the living church.
3) TRANSFORMED BY THE GOSPEL
Now, Paul told us that their stories of faith were made known everywhere. Then we can’t help but ask, “What was their story of faith?” Don’t you want to know? Well, Paul tells us in verse 9, “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” It’s the story of how their lives were turned upside down because of the gospel. If you remember, Acts 17 told us that the whole city was thrown into turmoil because the Thessalonian Christians were confessing that Jesus was the only King to be worshiped. Now, to get a fuller picture of what that meant, let me give you some important context to the city of Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a very pluralistic society because of its location. It was set on one of the main roads going straight to Rome and it also had a major harbor – which meant that a lot of people were passing through. And as a result, this city was pluralistic in all aspects especially in religion. So, they worshiped many gods – gods from Rome, Greece, and Egypt. There were temples and shrines all over the city. But one of the most important gods in Thessalonica was Caesar himself. Back then, Rome claimed that Caesar was a deity – someone to be worshiped. So, in order to show their allegiance to Rome, they had no choice but to worship Caesar – to refuse would be considered an act of treason and everything they enjoyed would be taken away (their wealth, power, security, and comfort). No wonder the city officials were disturbed by these new Christian converts. If Rome heard that some of the Thessalonians were refusing to worship Caesar, they could lose everything. So, they responded with violent opposition – they had to turn these Christians around. But even though confessing their faith in Jesus meant death to these Thessalonian Christians, they remained faithful. Jeffrey Weima writes, “The conversion of the Thessalonians is described in deceptively simple terms – ‘how you turned to God from idols.’ Yet in a society where cultic and social activities were intimately connected, there was nothing simple about turning to God from idols. Such a total renunciation of all pagan deities also meant a complete rejection of a variety of social events closely associated with the worship of these gods. Such actions by Christians evoked feelings of resentment and anger in their non-Christian family members and friends. The exclusivity of these Christians, their seemingly arrogant refusal to participate in the worship of any god but their own deeply wounded public sensibilities and even led to charges that they were atheists. Citizens of Thessalonica worried whether other gods might punish the whole city for the actions of a few by sending disease, famine, or other natural disasters. Turning from idols also meant a rejection of the imperial cult – thereby potentially jeopardizing Thessalonica’s favorite status with Rome and the emperor. The conversion of the Thessalonian Christians involved a truly radical break with their previous way of life – a break that naturally incurred the resentment and anger of their fellow citizens.” They turned away from all these idols and chose to serve the living and true God. They were now ready to suffer for the sake of their new King – having their lives completely disrupted. Then we can’t help but ask, “Why? Why did they give up everything to be with Christ?” Because He was worth the cost, because they saw His beauty. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-37, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” This is exactly what the Thessalonians did – they denied themselves, took up their cross, and followed Jesus even if it meant that their lives would not be the same.
Then what can we learn from this? We must remember that to become a Christian is to turn away from idols and turn to the living and true God. Now, if you think that you’re not an idol worshiper, listen to what Pastor Tim Keller says, “An idol is anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Anything that is so central and essential to your life, that should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving ‘face’ and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’” In other words, idols are anything that substitutes the place of God in our lives – anything that we build our lives on other than God. Then let’s be honest – we are all guilty of this. Just like the Thessalonian Christians, we are all idol worshipers – and it’s only by the saving grace of God that we can now worship the King of kings.
Then let me ask the Christians, “Have you been transformed by the gospel? Have you identified your idol and turned away from it? Are you now living to serve the living and true God even if the cost is great? Has your life been disrupted by the gospel? Or does your life generally look the same as before? In fact, does it look the same as others in this world?” Now, if you’re asking me, “But how can I be transformed by the gospel?” I’ve already given you the answer in the beginning – you must pray for the Holy Spirit. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can penetrate and transform hearts – granting the miracle of new birth and transformation. So, pray for the Spirit today. Let Him help you turn away from your idols. And let Him transform you so that you will learn to center your life around the gospel and glorify God for this is a mark of the living church.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, what will our church be known for? Let’s strive to become a church that imitates the gospel, spreads the gospel, and is transformed by the gospel. Let’s be a church that faithfully preaches Christ, humbly receives Christ, and passionately shares Christ so that in everything, Christ might have the supremacy (Col. 1:18). May the Spirit of God empower us to do just that.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Why are instruction and imitation vital to effective discipleship? Who do you know whose faith and life you want to imitate? What is it about them that you find so attractive? What is one step you could take to become more like them?
2) Think about the situations you are facing in the coming week. What opportunities might you have to share the gospel? What opportunities might you have to live in a way that demonstrates the gospel’s power?
3) What idols can you identify in your own life? How is Jesus, “the living and true God” (v. 9) and the one “who rescues us from the coming wrath” (v. 10) better than those things? What will it look like for you to turn away from idols and serve God this week?