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1 Thessalonians 1:6-8, You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word during great affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything.
“You became an example.” Here was a church that Paul says became a model or template for others. He highly commends it and we want to learn from it. We are blessed to be part of a church where Christ and His Word are exalted. That’s what we advertise to the world on our monument sign out front by Weinbach, and we want to live up to that purpose. The last few weeks we saw how the gospel came in power and in Spirit to these Thessalonian believers. For many people, the gospel comes in word only, the general call of the gospel. But for God’s elect the Spirit of God takes that message into the heart with power, the effectual call, and sinners are regenerated, become alive spiritually, and have full assurance or confidence in that message. God works through the gospel to move the will of sinners to respond to Jesus Christ and they become new creations in Christ where the old self, defined by sin and past transgressions, gives way to a new identity in Christ. That’s the church – a body of people chosen by God in eternity, purchased through the cross of Christ from their sin, and then brought by the power of the Word and Spirit into Christ. Now they love God and His people and desire to obey their Savior Jesus Christ. They become a church with a mission.
That’s exactly what we always want to be. This little epistle of 1 Thessalonians will help us examine and clarify our mission. This morning’s text gives us the pattern and practice of our mission.
THE PATTERN OF OUR MISSION
1 Thessalonians 1:6a, You also became imitators of us and of the Lord….
Imitators is the word “mimic.” Don’t think of mimicking as a superficial copying. They mimicked Paul and his men. Verse five ends with “just as you know what kind of men we became among you for your sake.” They demonstrated how to live the Christian life, including times of suffering. Even better, they mimicked the Lord Jesus. Discipling is more than teaching, although it certainly is that. But discipleship is following and learning and doing.
Paul repeatedly urged his disciples to imitate him. You see it in 1 Corinthians 4. In verse 16 he wrote, “I exhort you, be imitators of me!” How did Paul want them to imitate him? Not as a bejeweled, finely dressed, elegantly manicured luxury loving fat cat pulling up in his stretch limo flashing bling and expecting people to kowtow to him. You have to see the context to appreciate this. With a touch of sacred sarcasm Paul lists some of the ways he became their pattern.
1 Corinthians 4:9-16, 9 For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind. 10 We are fools on account of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong!11 To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; 12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum (scrubbing all around) of the world, the dregs (off-scrapings) of all things, even until now…. 16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
If you’re going to imitate Paul and Christ, this is what to expect. There’s no glory for yourself. There’s no room for human boasting or pride in the church. Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” Never forget they hung your Savior on a cross. It wasn’t a gold cross. There was nothing noble or glorious about the cross. Plus, Paul tells us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Jesus led His twelve fellows around for three years to show them what the mission is like. In John 13 He gave an unforgettable example of selfless love when He got on His knees and washed His men’s feet. In John 13:15 He said, “I gave you an example that you should do as I did to you.” He gave a lesson in humility. God hasn’t called us to health, wealth, and prosperity. God has called us to faith with persecution, faith with suffering, faith with insults, faith with rejection and ridicule by even close friends, perhaps loved ones.
So the pattern for the Thessalonians mission, and for us, is Paul and Jesus Christ Himself. We imitate those we admire. We learn from them, how they live and speak; how they believe God’s Word.
Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, IMITATE THEIR FAITH.”
I’m always reminded of Dr. John Whitcomb, who taught us seminary students God’s Word with great authority. You knew he believed what he believed. He believed Genesis 1-2. He believed all those promises God made to Israel in the Prophets. He was a strong premillennialist. He loved God’s Word and the God of the Word and communicated that confidence and love to his students. I’m sure Paul was the same way for the believers in Thessalonica.
This is our pattern for the mission of the church. Imitate Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore expect trouble. Jesus said, “In the world you will have trials. Cheer up. I have overcome the world.” Which takes us to practicing our mission.
THE PRACTICE OF OUR MISSION
1 Thessalonians 1:6b-8, having received the word during great affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything.
How did these Thessalonians fulfill their mission? How do they serve as a pattern or template for us? Their practice included three things: they took in the Word, they gave out the Word, and they lived the Word.
Joyfully take in the Word. They joyfully received the Word in the middle of strong opposition.
They welcomed the Word into their hearts like you welcome your best friends into your home. “So glad you’re here! Come right in.” They put out the welcome mat for God’s Word of truth into their hearts. Actually, the Bereans had them beat on this account. Luke said in Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Does this describe you – joyfully and eagerly welcoming God’s Word into your heart?
Not only did they welcome the Word into their hearts, but they received it in the midst of much affliction or persecution. Here’s this great Greek word “thlipsis.” Can you say that? It literally means to press together, to crush, like crushing grapes to get the juice. They were pressured by others, maybe family, maybe fellow Jews, maybe pagan neighbors. This was before the horrors of Nero’s cruel persecution when he had tar poured over Christians and lit them on fire to light up his garden parties. There followed ten waves of Roman persecution against Christianity that swept through the Roman empire in the first several centuries.
The point is, this is what you and I should expect as we take Christ seriously and receive His Word wholeheartedly. Gathering here in this building could be risky business, even life-threatening. And with all the hatred and violence on our streets, we can see this happening. The world rejects, even hates, most things we teach and believe. God created our universe in six literal days. There are only two genders and marriage is between a man and a woman. This book we study is inspired by God Almighty and without error. God is sovereign and in control of all things, the evil and the good, for His own glory. Heaven and hell are real places. There’s only one way to heaven and that’s through Jesus Christ. And above all, Christianity is the only true religion; all the rest are false and demonic. People of the world get angry at these words.
If we were thrust into Thessalonica we might think twice about meeting with those crazy Christians! About 100 years after this, around 177 AD, in a town in Gaul (Europe), they summoned a deacon of the church whose name was Sanctus and asked, “What is your name?” “I am a Christian.” “Where were you born?” “I am a Christian.” “Are you slave or free?” “I am a Christian.” To every question he replied, “I am a Christian.” The enraged governor ordered his body to be crushed between red-hot copper plates. He was literally crushed for his faith in Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when men persecute you for My name’s sake. Rejoice and be glad.” The Thessalonians received the Word in the midst of strong opposition. Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Augustine said, “The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burnt, rent, butchered – and they multiplied.”
How did the Thessalonians receive the Word? With the joy of the Holy Spirit. This is the cream of Christianity – to rejoice in the power of the Spirit regardless of what is happening to you. John MacArthur said this about rejoicing.
“I’m going to make a statement now that might seem a little bit hard if not impossible to believe, but I mean what I say and I’m going to try to show you why. Here’s the statement. There is no event and there are no circumstances in life that should diminish the Christian’s joy. Let me say that again. There is no event and there are no circumstances in life that should diminish the Christian’s joy.”
Joy is the keynote in the book of Acts. Everyone is going on their way rejoicing. Sometimes right on the heels of persecution they went on their way rejoicing. When Philip opened Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian Eunuch, he believed in Christ and Philip baptized him. Acts 8:39 says, “he went on his way rejoicing!” Acts 13:52 says, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” When Christ gives you a heavenly hope, when you set your mind on things above and not on things of the earth, when you turn your eyes upon Jesus and the things of earth grow strangely dim – joy fills your heart. What were Paul and Silas doing in the Philippian jail at midnight? Singing hymns! What hymn would you be singing if you were thrown in prison for your faith?
God gave these Thessalonians a hunger for the Word of God and they found great joy in it in spite of the trials and opposition. How you respond to God’s Word reveals your heart. Jeremiah said in 15:16, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name.” Psalm 119:97, “Oh how I love Your Law; it is my meditation all day long.”
These Thessalonians fulfilled the mission of the church by taking in the Word, taking it in when there was strong opposition and taking it in with the joy of the Spirit! The church’s mission is to teach and proclaim the Word of God and healthy believers love it. When there’s a famine of the Word in the land and people find a Bible teaching church, they respond like Jeremiah. They rejoice to hear the Word of God.
Commit yourself to spending time in God’s Word, receiving it every single day. Some people say, “I don’t have time to read the Word, but I do pray.” That’s good, but God says in Proverbs 28:9, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” Ouch! Healthy believers are Word-hungering, joyful, trial-enduring people. They are a church with a mission.
Faithfully give out the Word.
1 Thessalonians 1:7, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything.
These Thessalonians were not only receivers of the Word but they gave it out as well. Paul says they served as a model for all of us. They were a template for healthy, vigorous, strong Christianity. Their love for Christ and His Word and their endurance through persecution served as a model and example for all of Macedonia and Achaia, which would include that entire Greek peninsula. Paul says their message “sounded forth” and echoed out throughout that ancient world in every area. They were fulfilling their mission with their witness for Christ. They talked about the gospel and their new life in Christ to as many people as they could find.
They didn’t need any costly programs or slick methods to get the word out. If churches rely on methods and programs to grow, they quickly become pragmatic and slip into the erroneous thought, “If it brings in people, it must be good.” So the pastor wears those “holey” jeans to bring in the Gen Zers. Then add the fog and light show with a good ragtime band and they’ll surely come.
No, there is no need to let the culture dictate what we do. We don’t do that because God’s power is in the same glorious message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It is a message for everyone, young and old, rich and poor, laborers and owners, workers and management, doctors and lawyers, Zoomers and Boomers. The same message for all in Paul’s time and in our time. “The word sounded forth.” Like the sound of a loud trumpet or great clap of thunder, the Word clearly and unmistakably went out. This reminds me of George Whitefield, who preached all along the eastern coast and they say 80% of those early colonists heard him thunder out the Word. One commentator said, “They didn’t hide timidly behind closed doors and whisper the gospel into the ears of their most trusted friends. They preached it loudly in the marketplace. They trumpeted the message where they worked and where they lived. They told everyone. They were fearless ambassadors for Christ and earned the resentment of their world.”
Let me expand on this. Remember Thessalonica is situated on a harbor connected to the Aegean Sea. Merchant ships were coming and going down across the Mediterranean from Alexandria, Egypt, over to Carthage in northern Africa and up to Rome with all their goods. Those Alexandrian merchant ships were the finest of the day. You’ll remember Paul sailed on one after his shipwreck on Malta up to Rome. Some of these believers surely sailed on these ships. Plus, that heavily traveled Egnatian Way ran through their city. And it was here where God planted this church so the message of the gospel could be carried near and far. In 150 AD Justyn Martyr wrote, “There are no people, Greek or barbarian, or of any other race…whether in tents covered wagons, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered in the name of the crucified Jesus to the Father and Creator of all things.”
You may remember how God in His sovereign providence prepared this ancient world for the gospel using the Pax Romana with peace throughout that world. The Roman roads and bridges facilitated travel. Roman soldiers were everywhere squashing all violence and expelling all pirates from the Mediterranean Sea. Plus, 300 years earlier Alexander the Great left this very area in Macedonia to conquer the Persians and extend his empire from Greece to India, spreading the Koine (common) Greek language as he went. This resulted in the authors of the New Testament not writing in Hebrew, but in the Greek language of the marketplace and common street language.
With all these providential factors, the Thessalonian church was able to give out the gospel message near and far, over land and sea. Today we have more than enough tools for communication, although they keep changing. Remember cassettes? No sooner had we set up a wall of cassette holders when CDs came in and cassettes got lost in the dust of history. But one tool of communication will never change and is very effective – people. People who know and love the Lord and are willing and ready to speak up for Christ is God’s plan. Spreading the gospel of Christ to lost people everywhere is the mission of the church.
Consistently live the Word.
1 Thessalonians 1:8, For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything.
What does that mean, “your faith toward God?” You’ll find it mentioned five times in chapter 3, verses 2, 5, 6, 7 10. “We sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith.” “I sent to find out about your faith.” “Timothy brought good news about your faith.” “We were comforted because of your faith.” “We want to come again and complete what is lacking in your faith.”
Your faith is the grip of God and His Word on your heart and evident in your life. We are justified by faith alone, but true faith always shows itself. Hearts that God changes are going to show it in the life. True believers are walking an entirely different path. Their goal is to please God; they aim their hearts and actions toward love and holiness and truth. When the world bumped into these Thessalonian believers, they knew they were different. Plus, they heard a message about a loving God who sent His Son to this earth to save sinners from their guilt and ungodly lives.
This is the practice of our mission – living the Word. We are gripped by the doctrines of the grace of God. We relish the sovereignty of God. We hunger for the Word of God. We want to see God glorified in more and more lives. We delight to grow ourselves and disciple others in the Word of God. Let’s pray that God’s Word will be glorified right here in our own Thessalonica. We want people to know our hearts love God’s saving grace and the power of His Word. We want more and more people right here in Evansville and beyond to know there is a Bible teaching, Christ-honoring, God-exalting church right here on Bayard Park Drive – a church that exalts Christ and His Word.
We pray God would continue lighting a fire, a passion for God’s glory and truth in our lives. Who knows what God has for us down the road. Some of us may face persecution for Jesus Christ. Everyone has a realm of influence. How do you impact your world? Do people around you know you love Jesus Christ like the people knew about the Thessalonians? Has the news of your faith toward God reached out into your world? Have they heard the gospel message?
Notice the last part of verse 8 – the news of these Thessalonians turning to Christ traveled so far that Paul is able to say we don’t even have to say anything. When he starts to tell the gospel to someone on a ship, along the road, and in the marketplace, they say, “Oh yes, Marvin or Lydia or Greg from Thessalonica told me all about it.” It’s exciting to think about what God is going to do through this church through our faithful young people as we keep His mission for us front and center. Let us deepen our time in the Word and be dazzled by its greatness and God’s sovereignty and grace as we proclaim the gospel and live our lives governed and shaped by our faith and trust in God’s Word.