We are all impacted by this coronavirus. Most businesses are closed. Some of us are working from home; some of us are laid off. Some are not getting paid. Many are concerned about getting the virus; some are worried they will get the virus.
A crisis like this will bring out the bad in some people but it brings out the good in many, if not most, people. Many of you have said, “I miss my church family. I can’t wait to see my church family again.” What is life going to be like when we do get back together again? Will we go back to normal, back to the way we were before? Or, will we be closer? Have we missed fellowship enough to engage in it more when we get back together? Are potluck meals going to mean more to us? Are we going to get more involved in the work of the church, like Vacation Bible School, because working together in the church means more to us?
I want us to turn our attention to the practical side of Christianity, how we are to live as individuals and as members of the local congregation. Today’s vision will be focused on the need for us to encourage each other.
In this study, I want to “camp out” in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Let’s take a look at Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians…
ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER:
First, Paul tells the church that he prayed for them on a frequent basis (1:2; 3:10). In 2:13, Paul alludes to his prayers for the Christians a second time, saying he was thankful that the people of Thessalonica received his preaching, not as being from men, but as being from Jehovah God.
Second, Paul encourages them by praising their “work of faith,” their “labor of love,” and their “steadfastness of hope” (1:3). In 3:6, after Timothy returns to Paul and Silas in Corinth, Timothy tells Paul what is happening in Thessalonica; he tells about their faith and love, and that they “think kindly of” Paul and Silas. Paul tells them in 3:7 that he and Silas were “comforted about them through their faith.”
In the next paragraph, 3:11-13, Paul prays for their love for each other, that it will “increase and abound,” but not just for each other, but for all the lost in their community. Paul also prayed that God will “establish their hearts without blame in holiness” (3:13; cf. 4:9-12) when Jesus Christ returns.
WALK AS CHRIST WALKED:
The Christian “walk” is the subject of Paul’s discussion in chapter 4. He says he “requests and exhorts” the Thessalonians to “walk and please God (just as you actually do walk),” and that they “excel still more” (4:1). In other words, keep on keeping on! Specifically, Paul tells the Christians to stay away from sexual immorality (4:3-8). It was just as difficult to stay sexually pure in the first century as it is today.
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A second key practical item that Paul encourages the Christians to keep doing is in 4:11-12. They need to “lead a quiet life, and attend to their own business, working with their own hands.” In that way, they would be behaving properly towards non-Christians and no one would be in any need.
Paul encouraged them to stand firm in their faith in the Lord Jesus (3:6). In fact, Paul says that he and Silas “live,” because the Thessalonians were standing firm in the Lord.
LIVE IN LIGHT OF THE SECOND COMING:
Paul reminded the Christians that we all are waiting “for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1:10). Paul will make reference to the second coming of Christ again in 2:19; 3:13; with a long discussion about the second coming of Christ in 4:13-18.
Relative to that second coming, Paul encourages us that it will happen as unexpectedly as when a thief breaks into our houses (5:4). But you and I know it is going to happen because we are “sons of light” (5:5). We have been informed, both that Jesus will come again and how to live to be prepared for that second coming. We need to stay spiritually alert and spiritually sober (5:6). We can do that by wearing the so-called Christian armor. Paul gives a longer list in Ephesians 6; here he mentions “faith, love, and hope:” the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
In 5:12-23, Paul gives a final list of things we need to do to keep each one encouraged until the Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Why do we want to “build up the church”? The reason is given in this next paragraph (5:23). We want each other to stay sanctified, in spirit, soul, and body; to be preserved complete, without blame when Jesus comes again. God is faithful; He’ll make it happen. But we’ve got to do our part by staying faithful and building up the church so that each of us stays faithful.
We will greet one another soon “with a holy kiss.” Now, and then, let’s build each other up.
Paul Holland
