1 Thessalonians 2:1-16, Sharing the Gospel: It's worth the effort.
Theological Proposition/Focus: Sharing the Gospel is something that takes effort but pays huge dividends.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: We need to prepare our hearts and hands to share the Gospel.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Image: The Scout motto: "be prepared!"
- 1.2 Need: For many of us, when we hear that we are supposed to share the Gospel, we think that's not for me, we need to realize that it is for each one of us and so we need to take steps to be prepared to share the Gospel.
- 1.3 Preview: There are all sorts of programs you can learn to share the Gospel and these are great but that is not the point today. Today I am seeking to go a level deeper and talk about preparing your heart and hands to share the Gospel because sharing the Gospel is worth the effort.
- 1.4 Text: Open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16.
- 1.5 Setting the Stage:
- 1.5.1 Recall the situation at Thessalonica. The Thessalonians Christians had witnessed significanct persecution when Paul and Silas had visited the city.
- 1.5.2 In Chapter 1 we were reminded that Faith was worth getting excited about. Now we will see that sharing the Gospel is worth the effort.
- 1.5.3 Paul ended chapter 1 by reminding the Thessalonians that people everywhere were talking about their faith, now he reminds them that they themselves know about their faith.
- 2 Body
- 2.1 Prepare your heart to share the Gospel (1-7a).
- 2.1.1 Sharing the Gospel is not without risk (1-2).
- 2.1.1.1 Turn in your Bible's to Acts chapter 16
- 2.1.1.2 In verses 6-10 we see Paul receiving clear direction to go over to Macedonia.
- 2.1.1.3 In Acts 16 Paul and Silas find themselves in the city of Philippi and a number of things occur.
- 2.1.1.3.1 Lydia, a dealer in purple, accepted Christ as her Savior (14).
- 2.1.1.3.2 Paul cast a demon out of a female slave (16-18).
- 2.1.1.3.3 Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison (22-24).
- 2.1.1.3.4 God instigated a prison break but nobody fled (25-28).
- 2.1.1.3.5 The Jailer accepted Christ (29-34).
- 2.1.1.3.6 Paul and Silas were asked to leave the city (39).
- 2.1.1.4 Next up, Thessalonica, if it was me I would be hesitant to preach the Gospel again.
- 2.1.1.5 Paul and Silas preached the God's Gospel of God (his Gospel) εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ
- 2.1.2 Image: A missionary in a restrictive country.
- 2.1.3 Sharing the Gospel must come from proper motives (3-5).
- 2.1.3.1 Paul is not defending himself in these verses but rather instructing how we must behave.
- 2.1.3.2 Image: Con-artist shows.
- 2.1.3.3 The evangelist takes great risk with completely pure motives, this is not a long-con!
- 2.1.3.4 Thessalonica was the type of town where a traveling philosopher might come in, peddle some new idea in exchange for sex and/or money.
- 2.1.3.5 Paul reminded them that the evangelist took all the risk in an effort to please God not self.
- 2.1.3.6 In fact, it is God who tests the inner motives of the one sharing the Gospel.
- 2.1.3.7 We also must be careful to share the Gospel in the right way.
- 2.1.4 Sharing the Gospel comes from a posture of humility (6-7a).
- 2.1.4.1 In a culture where honor and shame reign, to deny prestige is significant.
- 2.1.4.2 Notice: Paul is not just rejecting honor from outside the church but from within as well. Paul truly desires humility.
- 2.1.4.3 In fact, as Paul argues, he had the right to exercise a great deal of authority. Instead he chose to exercise very little authority
- 2.1.5 MTR: Pick one area in which you can pray for growth: courage, Christ-like motivation, humility.
- 2.1.1 Sharing the Gospel is not without risk (1-2).
- 2.2 Prepare your hands to share the Gospel (7-12).
- 2.2.1 Sharing the Gospel is an expression of love for others (7b-8).
- 2.2.1.1 A nursing mother, in ancient times, might not just nurse her own children.
- 2.2.1.2 But nursing her own children was all the more special. I am not sure Paul has this in mind, but it is possible.
- 2.2.1.3 The Gospel Paul shared is more than just an UBER eats drop off, rather Paul stayed and shared (8).
- 2.2.2 Sharing the Gospel requires sacrifice (9-10).
- 2.2.3 Sharing the Gospel is itself an act of encouragement (11-12).
- 2.2.3.1 Paul completes his family metaphor by comparing himself to a compassionate Father.
- 2.2.3.2 Paul's ideal father figure
- 2.2.3.3 When we share the Gospel we are actually filling this role.
- 2.2.3.4 We need to recognize that the Gospel is more than fire insurance, the Gospel is an encouragement, a comfort, and a exhortation to live for God.
- 2.2.4 MTR: Pick another area in which you can pray for growth: love, self-sacrifice, encouragement of others.
- 2.2.1 Sharing the Gospel is an expression of love for others (7b-8).
- 2.3 Be thankful for the blessing of being able to share the Gospel (13-16).
- 2.3.1 When the Gospel is accepted the very word of God is accepted - this is worth celebrating (13).
- 2.3.2 When the Gospel is accepted new disciples are made - this is worth celebrating (14).
- 2.3.3 When the Gospel is accepted suffering can be counted as joy - this is worth celebrating (15-16).
- 2.3.4 Conclusion: Sharing the Gospel is an invitation to to an eternity joined with the God of the Universe (Romans 8:31-39).
- 2.3.5 MTR: Pick someone for whom you can pray for the opportunity to share the Gospel.
- 2.1 Prepare your heart to share the Gospel (1-7a).
Introduction:
Image: The Scout motto: "be prepared!"
I am not a scout but I have certainly had some adventures and in particular some adventures that required I be prepared. Have you ever prepared yourself for something challenging? Last year Emily and I went on an Alaskan adventure that involved a ton of hiking. In order to prepare for the trip we purchased supplies but just having supplies was not enough, we had to make sure we were in shape for the trip, but even that was not enough. We had to make sure we were mentally prepared for long days hiking. Seriously, the mental preparation is important. You can have all the equipment, be in great shape, but if you are not mentally ready to go then you are not prepared.
Text: Open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16.
Setting the Stage:
Recall the situation at Thessalonica. The Thessalonians Christians had witnessed significanct persecution when Paul and Silas had visited the city.
A riot was started and by morning it was decided that Paul and Silas should relocate 190 miles away into the city of Berea.
A young pastor, Timothy, was commissioned to travel between Paul and this new church in Thessalonica. After his first trip Timothy returned with good news. The church in the city of Thessalonica was thriving. In response Paul wrote a beautiful letter of Thanksgiving.
Remember that as we read through 1 Thessalonians we need to recognize that this letter would not have originally been a text stored in a library for deep exegesis but rather a script that Timothy was to read to a largely illiterate group of individuals. Yes, we will exegete the text, but while we do so we must always remember that there is an element of the text that is special when we read it as Timothy probably read it to the church in Thessalonica.
In Chapter 1 we were reminded that Faith was worth getting excited about. Now we will see that sharing the Gospel is worth the effort.
As we dig into this, don't forget that this letter was written by Paul after having endured significant persecution.
Paul ended chapter 1 by reminding the Thessalonians that people everywhere were talking about their faith, now he reminds them that they themselves know about their faith.
Body
Sharing the Gospel is not without risk (1-2).
Turn in your Bible's to Acts chapter 16
In verses 6-10 we see Paul receiving clear direction to go over to Macedonia.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas find themselves in the city of Philippi and a number of things occur.
Lydia, a dealer in purple, accepted Christ as her Savior (14).
Paul cast a demon out of a female slave (16-18).
Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison (22-24).
God instigated a prison break but nobody fled (25-28).
The Jailer accepted Christ (29-34).
Paul and Silas were asked to leave the city (39).
Next up, Thessalonica, if it was me I would be hesitant to preach the Gospel again.
However, with the help of God, Paul and Silas were courageous.
Thank goodness Paul and Silas were willing to preach because as stated in verse 1. Their preaching was not without results!
Paul and Silas preached the God's Gospel of God (his Gospel) εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ
The grammar here supports a double meaning (plenary Genitive). that is it is both God's Gospel and the Gospel about God. I.e. the genitive is both subjective and objective.
We must recognize that there are times when sharing the Gospel has an inherent risk. You may lose a friendship, you may lose a job, you may lose a position. We need to own the risks associated with sharing the Gospel.
Image: A missionary in a restrictive country.
I know a missionary in a very restrictive country. For the first couple of years of ministry in this country the missionary was extremely careful about sharing the Gospel. Then one day, he felt convicted that he was not fulfilling what God had asked of him. This missionary became bold and began sharing the Gospel. Multiple times the missionary was taken into custody but where there had previously been no fruit there was fruit. And where the missionary had previously felt shame God provided great joy.
Sharing the Gospel must come from proper motives (3-5).
Paul is not defending himself in these verses but rather instructing how we must behave.
Image: Con-artist shows.
I enjoy a good con artist movie. In the movie someone is trying to run a long-con at great risk to themselves but also with the expectation of great payoff. Or a good bank heist movie. If they get caught the results are devastating but it is worth the risk because the payoff may be huge. The kicker, with the gospel is that we are not in it for ourselves.
The evangelist takes great risk with completely pure motives, this is not a long-con!
Thessalonica was the type of town where a traveling philosopher might come in, peddle some new idea in exchange for sex and/or money.
Paul reminded them that the evangelist took all the risk in an effort to please God not self.
In fact, it is God who tests the inner motives of the one sharing the Gospel.
Flattery was very powerful in ancient culture because of the honor/shame dichotomy.
Even in the early church greed was apparently a major distraction for ministers.
Paul was willing to call God as his witness.
We need to understand what Paul is doing here. I have heard people who have major problems with honesty say something similar to God as their witness, this is not what Paul is doing. Here Paul has just implicitly invited the Thessalonians to examine him and then calls God as witness. Paul is putting his ministry on the line and stating emphatically that he is above reproach. Someone who says "I answer to God" is missing the point. You may answer to God but integrity demands that you be accountable to others and live in a way that is above reproach.
Sharing the Gospel comes from a posture of humility (6-7a).
In a culture where honor and shame reign, to deny prestige is significant.
Notice: Paul is not just rejecting honor from outside the church but from within as well. Paul truly desires humility.
In fact, as Paul argues, he had the right to exercise a great deal of authority. Instead he chose to exercise very little authority
There is a textual issue in verse 7. The words νήπιοι (infants) and ηπιοι (gentle) sound nearly identical. We could look extensively at this issue but will not and rather I am choosing to go with the NIV young children.
Becoming like little children among the Thessalonians has the idea of not using adult trickery but rather the innocence of plain child-like understandings.
The point is that humility is the way to present the Gospel.
MTR: Pick one area in which you can pray for growth: courage, Christ-like motivation, humility.
As we move onto the rest of verse 7 remember Paul just spoke of himself as an infant, now he turns the metaphor upside down comparing himself to the mother. Let's read verses 7-12.
Sharing the Gospel is an expression of love for others (7b-8).
A nursing mother, in ancient times, might not just nurse her own children.
But nursing her own children was all the more special. I am not sure Paul has this in mind, but it is possible.
True sharing of the Gospel involves more than just dropping off the Gospel. Truly sharing the Gospel involves taking time together, why because truly sharing the Gospel involves a great deal of love.
Sharing the Gospel requires sacrifice (9-10).
In verse 9 Paul puts his money where his mouth is. He gives evidence of his love
The Great Apostle Paul was willing to do menial labor if that is what it required!
The phrase night and day does not denote 24-7-365 of work but rather they worked whenever they needed.
Preach the Gospel, use words if necessary! But don't let silence impede the Gospel.
Paul's willingness to sacrifice himself for the gospel was evidenced by his
Holiness - not ἅγιος which tends to mean sacred but ὁσίως which has the idea of pious or devout devotion to God.
Righteousness - measuring up to what God expects.
Blamelessness - able to withstand scrutiny.
Sharing the Gospel is itself an act of encouragement (11-12).
Paul completes his family metaphor by comparing himself to a compassionate Father.
Paul's ideal father figure
encourages
comforts
urges
We need to recognize that the Gospel is more than fire insurance, the Gospel is an encouragement, a comfort, and a exhortation to live for God.
MTR: Pick another area in which you can pray for growth: love, self-sacrifice, encouragement of others.
When the Gospel is accepted the very word of God is accepted - this is worth celebrating (13).
Paul gives thanks the the Gospel is accepted.
Paul acknowledges that the Gospel is not his message but rather the word of God.
When Christians share their faith, they do not merely give their particular viewpoint on life as one among the endless variety of human theories. They announce the divinely revealed truth of God, a word from God.[1]
When the Gospel is accepted new disciples are made - this is worth celebrating (14).
We need to understand the model that God has put in place. God's model is acceptance and imitation. Discipleship is what God intends.
Discipleship involves imitation and this is worth celebrating.
Everybody basically imitates somebody, so we should celebrate when the right people are imitated.
If you don't show them the Gospel then they are going to imitate something else.
When the Gospel is accepted suffering can be counted as joy - this is worth celebrating (15-16).
The Thessalonians were not alone in their suffering; they had abundant and worthy company. Their persecutors had killed the Lord Jesus Himself and the Old Testament prophets. They drove … out their father in the faith, the Apostle Paul, and his fellow missionaries.[2]
Phil. 3:10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
Conclusion: Sharing the Gospel is an invitation to to an eternity joined with the God of the Universe (Romans 8:31-39).
- ↑ Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 695.
- ↑ Thomas L. Constable, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 696.
