Standing Firm in the Faith

1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

Many years ago when Rolex was the watch to have among the elite, a company sold imitation Rolex watches. The watches looked just like a Rolex. They had the name "Rolex" on them. But you could tell that it wasn’t a Rolex by the difference in the hand motion of the watches. Now though it looked like a Rolex it wasn’t a Rolex. It was a fake. Can someone have a faith that is fake? Having spent very little time with the Thessalonians, Paul was not yet fully convinced as to the quality of their faith. Had they been genuinely converted? Did they understand that persecution awaited them as believers in Christ? Did they understand that following Christ meant accepting His reproach? So what is going on in this passage? What is the key idea? We should seek to encourage one another to cling to genuine faith that recognizes persecution and affliction await the believer in Christ. For a faith that does not contain this root is not genuine saving faith.

1. Paul’s Anxiety over the Thessalonians’ Faith (vv. 1-5)

In verses 1-5 we see Paul’s anxiety over the Thessalonians’ faith. I initially hesitated to use the word anxiety because it seems as if I were charging the apostle with the sin of worry. But as I meditated upon the passage I saw that words such as concern or care were far too gentle. I can’t comment upon whether or not Paul was failing to evidence trust in God’s sovereignty at this particular juncture in his life but I can say that too often we put the Apostles on a pedestal on which they perhaps do not deserve to be. We tend to think of them as without our natural feelings and concerns. Yet there are sections of the Scripture that seem to indicate that they were normal individuals like us. In Galatians 2, Paul rebuked Peter because of his hypocrisy among a group of legalistic believers. The Apostle John was rebuked for bowing down before an angel in the book of Revelation. Even Paul was shown to be wrong in his choice of not allowing John Mark to minister with him and we see him later telling Timothy to bring John Mark along because he was profitable for the ministry.

Paul’s language in these verses expresses his anxiety over the condition of the Thessalonian church. First Paul says that when they could put up or endure no longer they sent Timothy. He uses this word in verse 1 and verse 5. The word was used to describe the fact that they could no longer conceal or cover their emotions over this difficult circumstance of persecution that the Thessalonians were undergoing. Therefore they sent Timothy to determine just how the Thessalonians were fairing this persecution and affliction. Paul mentions two reasons for sending Timothy in these verses.

A. He wanted to strengthen their faith

The first reason that Paul mentions for sending Timothy is that he wanted to strengthen their faith. He says this in verse 2. "We sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the Gospel of Christ to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith." Receiving persecution or affliction due to the Gospel of Christ can be straining upon us. It can be especially devastating to a new believer. Paul knew that the best thing that they could do to would be to send someone personally to encourage them. This gesture by the apostles would show them that the Thessalonians were not being abandoned either by them or by God. Think about when you were going through difficult times. How much easier it became when someone came alongside to encourage you. This is what Paul was trying to accomplish in strengthening their faith.

When Timothy came he would be able to encourage the believers with the truth of the Gospel. He would remind them that the persecution they were receiving because of the Gospel was not for any wrong they had done. As a matter of fact, it was because they were doing everything right.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul described a period in his life in which he was undergoing severe tribulation for the sake of the Gospel. He says there, "For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God who comforts the depressed comforted us by the coming of Titus." God used an individual like Titus in Paul’s life to comfort him as to his faith. In the same way Paul wanted Timothy to be an encouragement to the Thessalonians in the times of their difficulties.

There are some of you who are like a Timothy or Titus to me. You encourage me by your presence. Your words are helpful to my faith and you support me in the work of the Gospel. Let me persuade all of you to look to one another to help them in their walk with Christ. We ought to especially do this for new believers and those undergoing persecution due to the Gospel.

Paul also wanted to make sure that they understood the necessity of persecution. In verse 3 he says, "So that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this." There was a necessity for this suffering through which they were going. Even Peter speaks of the necessity of these trials in his first letter. In 1:6 of 1 Peter, he says, "In this salvation you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials." We should expect that difficulties will come. Paul also says in 2 Timothy that, "Those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Why is this? If we have become God’s children and want to live God’s way then why does it seem that we are punished for it? Why do we suffer in living like a Christian? Satan is still the enemy of our souls in this spiritual battle. And we have switched sides in this warfare. Colossians 1 says, "For God rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son." When we want to live for Christ and are all primed up to do so Satan knows that people like this can do his kingdom harm. So he seeks to cause us to take our minds off our reason in being here which is to win people to Christ and see them snatched away from the kingdom of Satan. This is one reason that Satan desires to harm believers through persecution. We will look at this aspect of affliction in more detail just a little bit later.

But to say it again, Paul wanted them to understand that this persecution was not for something wrong they had done but because they desired to do right.

B. He wanted to know of their faith

The second reason that Paul mentions for sending Timothy is that he wanted to know of their faith. This is what Paul says in verse 5. "For this reason, when I could endure it no longer I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you and our labor would be in vain." The verse says, "I also sent to find out about your faith," literally it reads "I sent to know your faith." Paul wanted to know if they had true saving faith. Perhaps Paul and the others had not been there long enough to ascertain whether what the Thessalonians possessed was genuine faith. They hadn’t seen them personally endure persecution and weren’t sure if they had truly believed.

When we lead someone to faith in Christ we cannot see their heart. We do not know if their profession was real or not by simple words. We don’t know if they have placed their trust in Christ alone for their salvation. It takes some time for us to see fruit being produced in a believer’s life. And this is that for which Paul was concerned.

In verse 4 Paul said, "For indeed, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction and so it came to pass as you know." Genuine faith recognizes that suffering is part of the Christian life. A Gospel preached void of the believer’s cross is no Gospel at all. A Gospel that promises all the goodies of this life and heaven too wrenches the Gospel of its true power. What is the true power of the Gospel? Paul says it in Titus 2. "The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age." The true power of the Gospel isn’t that God dotes over us and gives us whatever good things we ask for, the true power of the Gospel is that God transforms us from selfish inward turned brats to overcome sin and live in a way that brings honor to Him. It is a power that does not need psychoanalysis or twelve steps to change but a humble attitude in receiving the engrafted Word so that God would receive glory as being all in all. And when we reject these worldly attempts at reformation and cling only to the power of the cross to transform us we should expect to receive scathing rebukes those who will not humble themselves to look to the cross alone.

Think with me about when Moses was in the dessert with the Israelites. The nation had grumbled against God and God sent poison serpents among them to bite them as a judgment against them. As the people were bitten and began to suffer they called out to Moses to help them. God told Moses to place a bronze serpent upon a pole and whoever humbled themselves (admitting the guilt of their grumbling) and looked at that pole with the bronze serpent would be healed. I hope you realize that this serpent being lifted up on the pole typified Jesus being lifted up on the cross (read John 3 if you need to understand the connection more clearly). Whoever would humble themselves and trust only in God’s provision for healing from the poison bite would be made well. God didn’t offer any other way for them to be healed of those serpents’ bites. Now imagine with me if some of the people there began telling others that they weren’t really completely healed from their wounds. They were simply recovering snakebite addicts. And they needed to keep getting together with other snakebite addicts to talk about their snakebite problem. And they said that these people would never be completely healed from snakebites. But is this not what God said? No! He said that if you look to the bronze serpent you would be healed. Can you imagine one of these meetings? It has been three weeks since I last was bitten. And the trauma of that bite still haunts me. I hope that I don’t get sick again from the poison.

Well people continue to do that with faith in Christ. God said whoever looks to the cross will become a new creature old things have passed away. Why then are people who name the name of Christ continuing to look to the past in support groups or psych groups? In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the Apostle Paul says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [But] Such were some of you; but you are washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." If you have placed your faith in Christ you are not a recovering sinner, God calls you a saint. You are one of His holy ones by His own decree! Do you believe that? The problem with us is that we spend too much time in thinking about what we were instead of what God has made us. We have been transformed by the grace of Christ. And when we try to live in the grace of Christ we will experience the persecution. Others will rebuke us for not following the wisdom of the world. "You need more help than just the Bible." I remember one person, who had been seeing a psychiatrist for years, told me that they went to their therapist they got saved and said, "I don’t need to see you any more because I have God in my life now and He is going to handle my problems." The psychiatrist said, "God may work for some people’s problems but your problems are too big for God. You need a psychiatrist." When we want to put off the world’s wisdom and live by the Word of God we are going to experience persecution. Unfortunately, it can even come right from those who proclaim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When people are telling you not to trust completely in the sufficiency of Christ and His Word to overcome your sin there will be affliction for you if you stand firm. When people are telling you to avoid the offense of the cross there will be affliction for you if you stand firm. When people are telling you that you need to be more opened minded about who can worship God there will be affliction for you if you stand firm.

Paul said, "We kept telling you these things in advance . . ." Paul was concerned that though sometimes we may clearly say that which is true, people may not hear it. They weren’t sure that the Thessalonians had received it and so were concerned for their salvation. I believe there are some who make a profession of faith and yet have not grasped what salvation entails and have not put their trust in Christ completely. So when Paul mentions that he was afraid that the tempter might have tempted you and our labor would be in vain he was concerned that they might be turned away from the truth of the Gospel by the affliction with which Satan had tempted them. This is why I want to look at the fact that Satan has another purpose in affliction.

i. Satan’s purpose in affliction

In Mark 4:14-16 we see Satan’s purpose in affliction. In this passage Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower and the soils. It reads, "The sower sows the word. "And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. "And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away."

In this passage Jesus explains the first two different types of people who hear the Word of God, its effect and how Satan comes to disrupt its work in their lives. The Word of God is sown upon the first group but because of the hard beaten soil of their hearts it does not enter. Satan comes and snatches the Word away before it has any effect. The second group, however, hears it and receives it with joy. Yet the passage says, they have no root in themselves. There is no root in their profession. They may have received it for whatever reason they thought except for the real reason. The gospel ought to be God centered and not man centered. A man centered Gospel is Jesus died for you because He thinks you’re the greatest thing instead of a God centered Gospel that proclaims Jesus died because, as Paul describes it in Romans 3, it was for the demonstration of God’s righteousness. It was to protect the honor of God’s name. And those who receive the Gospel for what they can get out of it, joy, peace, a renewed sense of purpose, a healthy life have missed the boat. They have no root in themselves. And when persecution comes because of the Word they fall away. When they have to stand up to their friends and others who revile them because of Christ they fall away. They never truly believed. And Satan uses this affliction to drive those who "misbelieve" (if you would) away from anything to do with God. Have you met people like that? They were gung ho for Christ and you see them some time later and they want nothing to do with Him. This is another purpose of Satan’s affliction. God has a purpose in affliction that we will talk about in just a minute.

But let me give an example of how this me-centered Gospel has pervaded our Christian society and even somewhat deviously. I recently heard an advertisement for a Christian book by Max Lucado, named something like, "It’s Not about Me" describing how we need to realize that this life is about living for God. Sounds good doesn’t it? Yet as I listened to the advertisement go on I became a little uneasy because it really centered on all about me. The announcer said something like, "Our lives are overstressed and confused because we live for ourselves." So this isn’t about living for God because He is worthy of it, it is living for God because we want a low-stress life. It’s all about trying to manipulate God to get want we want. So let me ask you a question. What if we read this book and decide that we should do whatever God wants. And he asks us to become an apostle (forgive me for the theological faultiness of this for God does not call apostles today). Let’s look for a minute at Paul’s stress free life because He put God first. In 2 Corinthians, he says this; "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing, persecuted, but not forsaken . . . constantly being delivered over to death . . . five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked . . . apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches." So much for a stress free diet in living for God! With a man centered Gospel we are the same self-centered people because if we surrender to God and He doesn’t do what we want we bail out. Yes it is true that God wants to give us what’s best. But that doesn’t mean what is easiest. And it doesn’t mean whatever American culture thinks is best, namely the three "C’s" of consumerism – Cash, condos and cars. What is best for us from God’s perspective may be 39 lashes. A God centered Gospel says we don’t deserve anything but death in hell. And the fact that God would save me says nothing about how great a guy I am but how great a God He is. And Satan wants to use persecution to drive those who are just being exposed to the Word of God away from God when they do not have a complete understanding of this Gospel.

ii. God’s purpose in affliction

Now we come to God’s purpose in affliction. You ask, "God has a purpose in affliction?" Of course He does. Remember He is the One in control. He is the one who allows Satan to do his thing. But God’s purpose is slightly different from Satan’s purpose in allowing affliction to come into the life of a true believer. You see both those who proclaim to be saved and those who are saved will suffer affliction and though God uses Satan to separate unbelievers from those who are truly His, God has a different purpose for affliction in the life of the believer.

We can see this purpose in the life of the believer in 1 Peter 1:6&7. We looked at verse 6 earlier. Here Peter says, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, (the genuine character) being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The purpose of God in the affliction of believers is to make known the genuine character of your faith. This will allow people to see the power of God in guarding your faith throughout difficult circumstances. And in that it will bring praise and glory and honor to God. You see when we suffer persecution or afflictions and we still thank God in the midst of the difficulties it causes others to see God’s greatness. It allows others to see that we are not reacting naturally. It gives to people a living picture of how God can change a person’s normal inclinations to focus on himself instead of God. And it gives us opportunity to share with others how God sustains us in the midst of our trials.

So what is the overall meaning of this passage? The apostle Paul, moved by his concern for the Thessalonians, sent Timothy to them because he wasn’t sure that they had been rooted in their faith. He was anxious that Satan would lay the work flat over which they had labored so diligently. Next week we will discuss what Paul discovered about the Thessalonians as Timothy returned to give news of their faith.

But how can we apply this message? First, we must realize that when we suffer for the sake of Christ we are not being hurt for something that we have done wrong, though it may feel like that.

Second, we must be concerned for the spiritual strengthening of those young in the faith. God has created the church so that we may encourage one another in the faith and to help one another accomplish the work of the Gospel. I think that too often we see a new believer who is fired up for the Lord and think that they are all set let’s just let him loose. But at this point we need to come along side and teach them in the faith and strengthen and encourage them in the teaching of grace to ensure that they are firmly rooted in the Gospel.

Third, we must not be afraid to tell people the whole truth when we proclaim the Gospel. If they turn away from the difficult truth of the Gospel then it is better that they do it now then think that somehow their self-centered view of God will bring them salvation.

Perhaps you are a new believer. What can you learn from this? You must see from this that you should cling to the work of Christ alone. And understand that identifying yourself with Christ may mean suffering for His sake.

I think that we all can take courage from this message because Jesus said that we are blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus said that in suffering for Him we stand in a proud line of predecessors, those who have gone before us, who have endured ridicule and persecution for His sake. He said, "For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."