A True Conversion — 1 Thessalonians 1-5

0:00 Indeed, we do want to honor the Lord Jesus in all we do. Amen? That's right. We're gonna start a new series. The new series is gonna be first and second Thessalonians.

0:10 So I invite you to turn there, please. We we hope and pray that our our study through Genesis was a blessing to you. Now it's time to go into some New Testament teaching. And, of course, our goal is always to expound the word of God so that the word of God itself would edify us and bless us. We want to be true to it.

0:39 There it is. Okay. We welcome all visitors too. We pray that you would feel at home with us. Before we start, let's just pray quickly.

0:49 Father, we thank you for your holy word that is given to us, inspired by God, totally inerrant. And we pray that the Holy Spirit would guide and teach and help as we look into your holy word. In your name, amen. Amen. Very good.

1:10 Just a brief introduction. First and second Thessalonians, I believe if you were to to study it and look at it, you will notice that Jesus Christ rapturing his church and coming again seems to be the overall theme of the the two epistles. The the two epistles, for example, contain 20 different references to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that leads us to the conclusion that that that must be the the main theme of the book. What I want you to do, just follow with me quickly.

1:41 We're gonna look at first Thessalonians. We're gonna look at the end, the very chapter, just to give you a little taste of what I'm talking about. First Thessalonians chapter one and verse 10, and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. So you can see there that the return of Jesus is mentioned. Look at also chapter two and verse 19.

2:11 For who is our hope or joy or crown or of exhortation? Is it not even you in the presence of the Lord Jesus at his coming? So, again, it's mentioned. Look at chapter three and verse 13. So that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all of his saints.

2:36 Notice also chapter four and verse 17. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, one another with these words. Notice also chapter five and verse 23. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3:14 And so you can see it's pretty evident at the end of every chapter, there's a mention about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, about his return. So then that is the the overarching theme of first and second Thessalonians. You'll see that as we approach that book. So without further ado, just a couple of thoughts. The the the fact that the rapture is is true and and seven years later, the the lord returns is the hope of the church.

3:45 Also, the rapture guarantees three things. This just kinda again brief introduction before we go into the text more in detail. The rapture guarantees three things. The resurrection of all believers from the dead. Secondly, a new glorified body.

4:02 And thirdly, those who are raptured, caught up, will be transformed without experiencing death. That's what the first Thessalonians would teach us as we go into it more in detail. In the second missionary journey, when the apostle Paul with his missionary team went again to spread the gospel to different cities, they approached Greece or Macedonia and Greece. And as they approached there, they first preached in Philippi, and then they they they went into Thessalonica, and there they preached the gospel. During their brief stay there, they did gather a group of believers, people who repented, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they started a local church.

5:13 And they were praying that they would not get discouraged because of the heavy persecution. So they sent Timothy back to go look at the church, observe it, and bring back a report. And as Timothy returns, he's... He brings back a good report. He's excited about what he saw in this local church.

5:34 And so this letter, the first letter, is a response or a letter from the missionaries who started the church, and they're very excited about where they're at in their spiritual walk, and they wanna encourage them and do some some teaching. And so that's what this letter is about. The letter was written in the year more or less '51, so about twenty years after the the Lord resurrected and returned to heaven. Okay? So without saying any more in in this...

6:04 That's, you know, just a brief introduction. Let's get into the word. We're gonna read the first 10 verses in, first Thessalonians chapter one one through 10. Let's begin to read. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God, the father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace.

6:27 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and your labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren, beloved by God, his choice of you. Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith towards God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

7:58 Amen? And the Lord always blesses his word, doesn't he? Amen. Yes, he does. Very good.

8:05 Okay. So you can see then that Timothy had come back with this report that the local body was not discouraged that that they weren't returning to the world because of tribulation and all the trials that they were going through. And so as a consequence, as a result, all three of them, Paul, Sylvanas, and Timothy, write this letter to them, and the first thing they write is that they're very encouraged about their walk in the Lord. Notice then that he says, in God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ, verse one, grace and peace to you. Now, it's interesting to note that three different things are noted about Jesus, three different names.

9:05 So, really, what they're saying is Jesus is the lord. He's god, the sovereign god, and he is to be obeyed. And then the word... The name Jesus, that's his human name, and that means savior. Then we have Christ.

9:20 Christ is the equivalent of messiah. Alright? So Christ would be the the Gentile name. Messiah would be the Hebrew name saying that Jesus is the anointed one, the one sent by God to be the savior of the world. So he starts out immediately by saying to to this local church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

9:42 Notice that he also links God the father with the Lord Jesus, making him equal to God the father. Now continuing, he says, grace to you and peace. Grace here is God's gracious enablement so that we can live the life that God has for us. You'll notice this in several of the epistles. In the introduction, he always says, grace to you and peace.

10:11 That is God's continual favor be upon you as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of you who have come to the Lord Jesus and you know him in a personal way, grace, God's favor, God's blessing, and peace, his well-being be upon you. But he's saying it as a matter of fact, it is upon you. It is yours as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what we're going to notice here is they're going to say, they're going to mention 11 reasons why they know that they're believers.

10:45 All right? 11 reasons. So for those of you who like to take notes and follow along and all that, we were mentioning this last time in our bible study with the college and career that we're gonna look at 11 reasons why we knew that these people were indeed believers. Because that's a very important question. How do we know if someone truly is born again?

11:06 How do we know that they're not just saying with their lips, but there has... Hasn't been a true conversion in their life? And before we even look at that, I want you to notice a particular verse, and we're gonna look at it, and I'm gonna just say a brief thoughts about it before we we continue. Let me find what I'm gonna look for here for you. Alright.

11:28 So notice then, we're gonna look, first of all, verse two through four. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers. So so this missionary team, as they had come to that city and they preached the gospel, people came to know the Lord as their savior, and they're praying for them. Reminds me of when we do a mission work in Mexico. One of the trips that I made, we we entered this village and we preached the gospel.

11:56 And as we did, quite a number of people made profession of faith. Two years later, the missionary tells me, why don't you come with another team and let's build a church? Because those people that were converted are going on for the Lord. And so we went back and we built them a church. And it was a fast one, but we we got it done for them.

12:17 And just a couple of months ago, when I was there with the with the... All the leaders of the local churches, I asked them what happened to that church that we built. They said, hey, we go there twice a week to disciple the Christians. They're going on for the Lord. And I'm telling you, what a joy it is.

12:34 And so what... It was the same thing. They they they sent Timothy. He came back up with a report. It was a good report.

12:40 And they said, you know what? We always thank God for you. We always thank God for you. And when we mention you in our prayers... And and I have to say that the the elders here, the leadership, which I'm honored to be part of that, we we we try with with all of our heart to be faithful to pray for you, and by name.

13:01 We're not always true on that, but we try. I'd have to be honest with that. But, God, I'm I'm praying that the Lord would help me be more committed to giving thanks to God for all of you who know the Lord, who are believers in him. So they were mentioned... They were being mentioned in in their prayers.

13:18 But notice verse four, and I'm gonna skip three on purpose. We're gonna go right back to it. Knowing, brethren, beloved by God, his choice of you. Now what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna read a commentary by Walbert and Zuck, tremendous theologians. You can also...

13:37 I also recommend a few others. William McDonald has a great thought on this verse too, but I thought we would look at it from the onset and just kind of see what they have to say. The proof of God's love for them, for the Thessalonians, was his choice of them unto salvation. From the word translated chosen comes the English word election. That God has chosen to bless some individuals with eternal life is clearly taught in many places, both in the Old and New Testament.

14:12 And he cites Deuteronomy chapter four and chapter seven, Isaiah 44, Romans nine, Ephesians chapter one four to six, and verse 11, Colossians three, second Thessalonians two thirteen. Equally clear is the fact that God holds each individual personally responsible for his decision to trust or not to trust in Jesus Christ. John three, Romans five, amongst others. The difficulty in putting divine election and human responsibility together is understanding how both can be true. That both are true is taught in the Bible.

14:52 How both can be true is apparently incomprehensible to the finite human minds. No one has ever been able to explain this antimony satisfactorily. The Thessalonians response to the gospel message proved that God had chosen them for salvation. Listen, me myself having gone to Bible college and all that and gone through school and gone through all of the debates and all the lectures, my conclusion is that the Bible teaches clearly that those who are of the Lord were chosen by God. I think the Bible says that we can't deny it.

15:30 You can try to avoid it, say that it's not there, but it is. At the same time, many times in the Bible, you read, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent, and be saved. So both are true. So rather than saying one is true and the other isn't, why don't we just say what the Bible says? And both are true.

15:48 Both are taught. I know that God chose me as as he did them, but I know that one day I repented and turned to the Lord for the salvation of my soul. Alright? And so we're gonna leave it there. How about that?

16:01 Amen? Amen. Alright. So having said that having said that, it does say knowing, brethren, beloved by God. One thing I can assure you is that you're beloved by God.

16:15 God loves us deeply, and we turn to the Lord for the salvation of our souls. And the Bible says this expression several times to the believers, you're beloved by God. And that in itself is a comfort. Isn't it? Alright.

16:31 So let's look at the 11 reasons, and you can ask yourself the the questions. 11... Not reasons, but 11 reasons. I'm sorry. Yes.

16:53 Constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and father. Notice he repeats that same expression that he said in verse one, in verse three. In our Lord Jesus Christ and in the presence of our God and father. So how do we know? Number one, the number one reason we know that they were saved is he says that because we see the work of faith.

17:21 We see the work of faith in your life. In other words, faith is busy. Real faith works. Philippians chapter two says, work out your salvation. That salvation that God put into you.

17:34 Right? It's your responsibility as a believer to work out everything that God put in, and that's the goal of believers that it's a lifetime of work to to bring out, to to to make true, to show the world, to show in your life that which God put in. And it's a constant work. And so when Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy think of the local church, this one right here, the Thessalonians, he says, one thing I know is that you're believers because your faith is active. It's working.

18:11 It moves. Faith is not dead, but it moves. It works. It's active. And that's an obvious sign that the Lord has touched you and you repented and you came to him for the salvation of your soul, is that you have an active faith, at the same time remembering that no one is justified by works.

18:32 Right? That... That's impossible. We place our faith in the Lord Jesus. His work is what justifies us.

18:38 But then when when we do that by faith, turning to the Lord, then our faith becomes active and begin... Begins to work. So is your faith evident? Is it working? Is it is it notable?

18:52 Are you working out your salvation with fear and trembling? The second thing that is mentioned in verse three is your labor of love. Now the word labor means a laborious toil, unceasing hardship born for love's sake, which reminds us of... Or the example would be the work that the Lord Jesus Christ showed for us on the cross, the love that he showed for us. It was hard work of love.

19:23 And that's the idea that when they looked at this local body, they said, man, that local body is full of love and that love works. They do it to the point of exhaustion. It's a love that seeks to give, that rejoices to bless others and to serve others. And so as a missionary, we're thinking about this local body. They were saying, wow, it's obvious that you have faith because it's working.

19:52 It's obvious that that you're saved because you have this love and you're laboring in a loving way. By the way, that's one of the fruits of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit is? That's right. And then thirdly, he says, your steadfastness of hope or your...

20:09 One of your versions may say enduring hope. That's what it means. It means that their faith is enduring. Notice that it says that the labor of love and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. So they had a faith that was steady, that was firm, that was strong, and that was full of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

20:32 Leon Morris puts it this way in his commentary. It's like the fortitude of a stout hearted soldier. That's what your your faith is like. That's what your faith is like. That steadfastness of hope.

20:45 It's firm. It's firm because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how he points to that. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father. So what is the the fourth reason they knew that they were saved?

21:04 Alright. The first three was the work of faith, the labor of love, and their steadfastness. Right? Their endurance, the endurance in the face of trials. But look at look at verse number six.

21:36 But every true discipler who's working with someone and trying to train them in the Lord has this in mind, that you wanted to imitate not only you, but get to the point where you imitate the Lord Jesus Christ. And so they were imitators of the missionaries because they brought them to the Lord. But then they got to the point where, and it should be true of every one of us, that we begin to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ. We will be conformed to his image. So the disciple then points the person to the Lord, to the Lord.

22:09 But it was obvious that they were believers because they were imitating the missionaries, and they were then becoming imitators of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And notice also in verse six, he also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So what is the sixth reason we know that they were saved? Because they received the word. And the the idea of the word here is the gospel, the gospel of your salvation.

22:40 In spite of tribulation, the people were angry. The culture hated the message of Christ, but their conversion was so real that they were willing to suffer because of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit, did you notice, filled them with joy, filled them with joy. They were saved from sin, given eternal life through Jesus, and they were rejoicing in this reality in spite of the fact that people were angry at them because they turned to Jesus. The seventh reason we know that they were saved is notice verse seven and eight.

23:17 So you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia, for the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith towards God has gone forth so that we have no need to say anything. So what is the obvious thing here? How do we know that they were saved? Because they were openly and boldly sharing their faith. In other words, they were preaching the gospel to other people.

23:50 If if you were born again, if the Lord has touched you and given you new life, and you have the joy of the Holy Spirit working in your life, then then you boldly... You have to share it with someone. This is good news. And we know that people that do not know the Lord are lost. And it was natural then if they were truly born again, that that they were gonna start to share this faith, and they did.

24:14 And it was known everywhere. It says in in Macedonia, Akea, Akea means Greece. So, if you look at a map, you can look at Greece all the way up to Macedonia, the whole area. These people were so active in sharing in their faith that the whole region knew that they had come to know the Lord. How?

24:35 By their own mouth. By their own mouth. It says there, you're an example. It came forth from you. Notice, your faith has gone forth.

24:47 And so we know then that they were true believers because they were sharing their faith, sharing their faith. Point number eight. Point number eight. It starts to get even more more obvious. Look at verse nine.

25:23 There was a real change of mind and heart, and it was obvious. Everybody knew, hey, wait a minute. Aren't you the one that used to worship idols? What happened? Well, let me tell you what happened.

25:35 The gospel transformed my life, and I repented of my idol worship, and I turned from that. You know that when we were young, we grew up in an idol worshiping home. My parents worshiped idols. My grandmother worshiped idols. And so when my parents came to know the Lord, the first thing they did was they stopped worshiping idols.

25:57 All the idols from our home were removed. It was a big bonfire. No longer. No longer. And they went right to my grandparents and said, we no longer worship anyone but Jesus.

26:10 And so my mother who... I'm sorry, my grandmother who was a idol worshiper had idols everywhere, all over the house, and little crosses and chains and things, but she also had whiskey and smokes cigars. So she she liked to she liked to sip the juice and smoke, you know? And then there's little idols. Oh, by the way, real quick.

26:31 Let me let me worship the idol. See? That was my home. That was my grandma. I would say, grandma, you have to repent from worshiping idols.

26:39 Well, I I... It's because I have to see god. But no. No. No, grandma.

26:43 It's by faith. You believe in the lord Jesus. That idol is not gonna save you. Grandma just would never turn from the idols, but my parents did. And I praise God because they passed the faith on to me.

26:58 A true conversion, true conversion never looked back, never went back to idols. And people knew when they looked at my mom, what happened to you? We turned. We repented from idol worshiping, and we turned to the living God. Notice what it says.

27:13 And you turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God. See, because the true God, there's only one God and and represented the the God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, one God revealed in three persons. So it's one God who's alive. The idols are dead. And by the way, when they repented, they also gave up the superstition of thinking that if you carry a little cross around, that's going to bring some kind of blessing in your life.

27:44 They stopped doing that too. When you're in Jesus, you're totally forgiven and all the blessings flow through him. No longer need to do or practice those things. And so, they they serve the living and the true God, implying that there's only one, all others are false. The Bible makes it clear that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is God, is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

28:15 Philippians two nine and ten. And notice then, that was point number nine. Notice number 10. And to wait for his son from heaven, to wait for his son, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus. So what is the the next thing that that made it obvious that they were saved?

28:36 They were waiting for Jesus. They were waiting for Jesus from heaven, implying what? That he raised from the dead, which it says there, he went up to heaven, and he's in heaven, and he's gonna return. And so they were waiting for him to come back. Now that should be true of all of us as believers.

28:54 One of the indicators is that you're constantly saying, Lord, when are you gonna return? We're waiting for you. We're excited for you to come back. Did I tell you a story about my my friend, Sam? And did I tell you that story?

29:07 No. Y'all didn't you don't remember? Oh, okay. Well, I just saw him, by the way. When I went to Houston for my sister's funeral, he was there because we were a good buddy.

29:16 We grew up together. But he was about three years ahead of me. I remember Sam, All of sudden, he fell in love with Lily. You know? She...

29:23 She's part of our church too. And all he can do is think of Lily walking around like this just floating it. And next thing you know, they're gonna get married. They're gonna get married. And so all of us were were kinda picking on him, and we're like, hey, man.

29:34 The Lord's gonna return before you get married. And he says, no, no, Lord, don't come. Don't come. That that... That's what he said.

29:44 And so I ran into him twenty five years later, and I said, hey, dude, the Lord's gonna come soon. Yes, Lord. Why haven't you come? That... That's what he told me.

29:55 I'm not making it. He really told me that. So I don't know if he was joking when he said that, but anyway. So so they they... The part of a of a...

30:03 The person... Indicators that you're a true believer is the fact that you're waiting for Jesus to return. So there was a repentance from idols, and then there was a a a... An understanding that Jesus rose from the dead, that he's in heaven, but he's gonna return to come and take us all back. And notice the last thing, point number 11.

30:42 There's a wrath to come. And and I wanna just just just listen. I'm gonna read to you what it says in John chapter three and verse 36. He who believes in the son, that is Jesus Christ, has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on him.

31:06 Listen. One thing they understood clearly is that whoever dies in their sin, the wrath of God is upon them. Because sin cannot enter heaven, and and God is angry at sin. He's angry at sin. And that's why he punished Jesus in the cross.

31:26 And that's why when he was in the cross, he he looked up and said, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? And we understand that it's because of the anger. The wrath of God was being unleashed on Jesus as he was being punished for our sin. And so when when we turn to Jesus for the salvation of our soul, when we repent from our sin and turn to him, the wrath of God is removed from us. It says also in in first Thessalonians five, just listen, verse nine, for God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

32:10 All through first Thessalonians, he always refers to Jesus as our Lord Jesus Christ. And so they understood that that the judgment day is coming, that whoever dies without Jesus, the wrath of God is upon them. But whoever believes in the Lord, immediately, the the the peace of God is with them. That the grace and and the peace of God that he mentioned at the beginning. The favor of God is upon those who repent from sin and turn to Jesus.

32:42 But the wrath of God is upon you. You're condemned already if you haven't turned to the Lord. And so, those are the 11 reasons that we know that they were saved. But notice also the example of Paul and Savannah and Timothy in verse five. For our gospel, the gospel is Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again in the third day, and therefore you can be forgiven.

33:12 That's the gospel. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men would prove to be among you for your sake. So they preached, in other words, a powerful message in the holy spirit and full of conviction. Full of conviction. And notice he says, they weren't just words.

33:36 They weren't just words. Listen. Words can't change anybody. But the gospel, which is preached through words, is the only thing that can transform a soul, is the gospel. That's what he said.

33:49 We weren't just saying words and throwing philosophies out there. We came with a powerful message guided by the holy spirit, and those powerful words were the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying. So it wasn't just words, but notice also their testimony. He goes, just as you knew what kind of men we proved to be among you, we proved to be among you.

34:12 In order for God to use us in a powerful way, we have to be the right kind of men and women. Our testimonies have to be right because people can almost see through us if we're fake. We're not living the message. There's no power behind the message. And wow, what an example set forth by these missionaries.

34:32 So you can see why they were so excited. There was a true conversion. That church was was growing in their faith. And even though they were going through tribulation and they they received this tribulation with joy in the holy spirit. And, boy, no no wonder they were so thrilled to to write this letter to them and so encouraged by their faith.

35:26 It's obvious by looking at the text that they were sharing their faith. You're an example. You've signed it forth. Your faith towards God has gone forth everywhere. They were sharing their faith.

35:41 And thirdly, what kind of a man and woman or a woman are you? Because our life speaks as loud as our words. We noticed then that they said that we were the right kind of men, and so the holy spirit then had no hindrance as we spoke the word to you, and he brought conviction upon the hearts of the people who needed salvation. Wow. What what what an example of church this was, believers that were truly converted, and 11 reasons so obvious that that made it clear to us that they they were really of the Lord and that they were growing in him.

36:21 You wanna know more about the Lord and about how to be saved? I would love to talk to you. I'll be up here for a while. And this is a challenge to me. I love this first chapter of the the the true conversion of these people and their growth in the Lord.

36:39 May the Lord bless his word to our hearts. Father, thank you. Thank you for the way you sent these missionaries to this city, and they preached the good news. These people were converted, and they showed it by their life that it was obvious by the turning from idols to Jesus Christ, it was obvious that they were saved. I pray that it would be obvious that we're saved, that we preach the truth here.

37:11 And I pray that those who have not turned to you would do it today, that they would not wait. But today, they would, by faith, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.

37:28 May the Lord