On June 28,
1919 Harry married Bess. Harry and Bess attended school together from
elementary to high school, but Harry claimed he fell in love with her when he
was 6 years old in a Sunday School class in Independence, MO. Sadly, Bess
spurned his advances throughout school. It wasn’t until a “chance” encounter
when Harry returned a dish for his aunt to her neighbor and Bess opened the
door that their romance began. Their relationship of love grew for one another
and after Harry’s service in the war, they married and would spend 53 years
together as husband and wife. During their courtship and marriage, Harry wrote
1,300 letters to his beloved Bess almost every night he spent away from her[1]. Harry loved Bess. And
Harry was a very busy man, as he was the 33rd President of the
United States of America. Harry Truman wrote to his beloved Bess during times
of campaigning, diplomacy and war.
On June 28,
1948 on their 29th Anniversary, Harry was in Washington and wrote to
Bess in Independence, “You still are on the pedestal where I placed you that
day in Sunday school 1890. What an old fool I am.[2]” Harry Truman did not need
to be told how to love his wife, for it was clear to everyone around him that
he loved his Bess. There are 1,300 letters documenting various ways he
expressed his love to his wife. His love was undeniable. Could the same be said
about our love? Is our love undeniable?
Love is the
distinguishing mark of a Christian. If a person does not love, then they do not
know God. The Apostle John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love
is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who
does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8). Love is
the undeniable mark of the Christian faith. Therefore love should be the
undeniable mark of the Church. Are we known for our love? Is the love in our
congregation undeniable to those inside and outside our congregation?
The
Thessalonians were known for their love. If we want to become an exemplary
church then we must have a love that is undeniable to others. In our text, we
will see one theological aspect of an undeniable love. Then, we will focus on
three specific applications on what that love will look like to those around
us.
Powerful Love
of Others
Paul is closing the letter with
specific exhortations to the church. He begins the final section of the letter
with highlighting the importance of sexual purity. The church must have a
different sexual ethic than the world. Remember the church would have been full
of young believers since it was only a few months old and those young believers
would need to be taught and re-taught on how to live for Christ. After
addressing sexual purity, Paul makes a sharp transition to address brotherly
love. 1 Thessalonians 4:9, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for
anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one
another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout
Macedonia.” The Thessalonians had been taught by God to love one another.
The first
theological truth is that true love is supernatural. It is a gift from God. We
cannot love without God powerfully changing our hearts. In John 3, Jesus told
Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see
the kingdom of God.” Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me.” We were born sinners, born in the flesh with
a heart against God. Our natural desires were to serve ourselves. Ephesians
2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Ephesians 2:3 says that we
“were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” The fact that the
Thessalonians love each other like a family was a demonstration of the power of
God, because of the total depravity of the human heart.
If we understand
how sinful our human hearts can be, we will be amazed at the power of God’s
regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. R.C. Sproul helps us understand the
difference between total depravity and utter depravity. He writes,
The Bible teaches the total
depravity of the human race. Total depravity means radical corruption. We must
be careful to note the difference between total depravity and "utter"
depravity. To be utterly depraved is to be as wicked as one could possibly be.
Hitler was extremely depraved, but he could have been worse than he was. I am
sinner. Yet I could sin more often and more severely than I actually do. I am
not utterly depraved, but I am totally depraved. Total depravity means that I
and everyone else are
depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.
depraved or corrupt in the totality of our being. There is no part of us that is left untouched by sin. Our minds, our wills, and our bodies are affected by evil. We speak sinful words, do sinful deeds, have impure thoughts. Our very bodies suffer from the ravages of sin.
Perhaps
"radical corruption" is a better term to describe our fallen
condition than "total depravity." I am using the word
"radical" not so much to mean "extreme," but to lean more
heavily on its original meaning. "Radical" comes from the Latin word
for "root" or "core." Our problem with sin is that it is
rooted in the core of our being. It permeates our hearts. It is because sin is
at our core and not merely at the exterior of our lives that the Bible says:
"There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there
is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together
become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one." Romans
3:10-12[3]
We are sinful to the core which is why we need conversion.
We need God to teach us how to love for this is exactly what he did with the
Thessalonians.
If you are
not a loving person, it may be because you have never experienced the new
birth. Churches may not be full of love, because they may be full of people who
have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in conversion. Conversion is
not a mere modification of behavior, but a radical transformation of the heart.
Our passions change. Our desire change. Our very core changes. We no longer are
set against God, but are brought into his family. We are changed from enemies
to sons and daughters adopted by his grace. We must repent of our sins and
trust in Christ. And when we turn from our sins, we are transformed from the
inside out.
We even see that in how Paul
defines love in saying, “now concerning brotherly
love,” he is redefining how we are called to treat one another. We are a
family. A family of people who have been born of God whose hearts have been
transformed to love another. We are taught by God to love. It is supernatural. One
sign of this supernatural love is how we treat all the brothers. The
Thessalonians were loving all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Jesus says,
You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love
you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And
if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not
even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:43-47)
Do you love all?
One of the marks of an exemplary church is when people love those who are not
like them. When the rich love the poor and the young love the old, and the
singles love the married, and black loves white. An exemplary church is full of
undeniable love for all the brothers.
So the
first theological aspect of love is that it comes from God. We must be born
again. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
If you want to love, you must believe in Jesus Christ who died for sinners. He
died and rose again so that for whoever believes in him would not perish but
have eternal life. The first step of love is conversion. We love, because God
first loved us.
Peaceful Love
of Others
There is always room to grow in
our love for one another. The Thessalonians had an undeniable love, but are
told to continue in that love. 1 Thessalonians 4:10-11, “But we urge you,
brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind
your own affairs.” Christians are called to aspire to live quietly. This is a
very interesting phrasing by Paul because he puts to opposite ideas together.
We are to aspire or work eagerly to live quietly and at peace. They seem at
odds, but Paul’s focus is that the church would live in such a way to make the
gospel attractive. Although we could make an application from verse 11 to the
church, I think the primary focus is how the church interacts with the world.
Christianity
had a bad reputation in the first century. The Jews were constantly bringing
rumors before the Romans that Christians were stirring up trouble and causing
dissension in society. Paul wanted Christians to strive to be at peace and lead
a quiet life so they would be able to draw more attention to the gospel.
Christians are called to engage in our society and live as good citizens so
that we give a good witness to the world. Christians are not primarily called
to transform the culture, but to be a different culture. The greatest impact
that Christians will have on the world will be through the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We, therefore, have to be very careful in how we engage with our
culture. We are called to promote justice and truth in every area of life, but
we do so with wisdom and grace. We must live well before our culture, meaning
we must strive to be at peace within our neighbors so that people will listen
to our message.
Who do you
think will have a great impact in their workplace for the gospel: the employee
who is constantly challenging his boss to change their business practices or
the one who faithfully does their job without grumbling? I believe Christians
should focus much more on being good and faithful employees than working to
transform their work culture because I believe the best way to transform their
work environment is by being a faithful employee. Christians do not have a
great reputation in our culture. We need to be wise in how we interact with
others so that the gospel will be attractive. The main goal of Christians is
not social revolution, but to adorn the gospel and draw people to Jesus Christ.
It does not mean we should not care about society, but rather societal
transformation should not be the main goal.
The second
exhortation Paul gives to the church is to mind their own affairs, or mind your
own business. We should be focused on what we are called to do rather than
focusing on what we think others should or should not be doing. We do not know
exactly the context in which Paul gives this exhortation. It could be a general
statement or referring to something specific going on in the community that he
knows about from Timothy’s report. Either way, Christians are called to love
others by keeping their own affairs in order without meddling into other
people’s problems. We should avoid gossip and talking poorly of our brothers
and sisters. The best way to enter into the affairs of our brothers and sisters
is through prayer. Let us first bring our brother and sister’s needs before the
Lord.
As our
culture continues to evolve and drift away from traditional Christian values,
it will become even more important that Christians are careful in how we
interact with the world around us. We are called to be in the world, but not of
the world. How should Paul’s exhortation to aspire to live a quiet life and to
mind our own affairs govern our cultural involvement? We should think about the
various applications of these twin truths for our jobs, our neighborhoods, and
our politics. An exemplary church should be known primarily for their love for
Jesus, one another and the lost rather than their love for political or social
change.
Productive
Love of Others
Now we command you, brothers, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is
walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from
us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not
idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for
it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a
burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give
you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we
would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their
work quietly and to earn their own living.
Everyone was responsible to work to care for themselves and
to contribute to the needs of the church. Those who were not willing to work
(not those who can’t find work) needed to be admonished to get busy.
Greek culture
degraded manual labor thinking it was only fitting for slaves. Christians
viewed manual labor as an honorable pursuit. Many Christians probably were
slaves and were exhorted to work hard for their master and the sake of the
gospel (Titus 2:9-10). Many Christians have adopted the Greek culture’s
perspective of manual labor, viewing it as a degrading task, but working with
ones hands is a noble undertaking. We should not avoid hard work, but rejoice
in the gift of work. Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as
for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the
inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Love should
be expressed in being productive for the sake others. Lazy and idle people are not
loving others. Proverbs 18:9, “Whoever is slack in his work, is a brother to
him who destroys.” There were some among the Thessalonians who were depending
on the labor of others and not contributing to the needs of the community. Love
for others is an undeniable mark of a Christian, so one’s willingness to work
and serve others is an indication of that love. One’s lack of work is an indication
of their lack of love. This is not referring to those who can’t work because of
physical disability. It is referring to those who have the ability, but choose
to remain idle.
Proper Love of
Others
Paul provides the purpose for
these expressions of love. The theological principle is that Christians love
because God has taught them to love by the Holy Spirit. Those who are born of
God love others. He gives three specific expressions of that love to aspire to
live a quiet life, to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands. Then
he gives the purpose for those expressions in 1 Thessalonians 4:12, “so that
you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
There is a
direct link in how the church lives to how it is viewed by society. Paul cared
about outsiders. Paul gave his life so that others would come to faith in
Christ. He was beaten, stoned, and suffered a lack of food so that
non-believers would come to Christ. Christians have a mission. We are called to
go and make disciples of all nations. We want the world to come to Christ and
one of the best ways for us to make an impact in the world is to be an
exemplary church. When the church is full of love, the world will know what it means to follow
Jesus. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another.” The world will know us by our love. It is that simple.
And yet we
have to know what love is. Love is aspiring to live a quiet life and to mind
our own affairs and to work with our hands so that outsiders will see their
need for the gospel. A church should have a love that is undeniable so that those
on the outside of the community will realize what they are lacking and be
attracted to the gospel. Jesus Christ has taught us to love. “By this we know
love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need,
yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little
children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John
3:16-18)
Let me
close with a story that illustrates this principle from someone’s personal
experience. Jason Helopolous writes about how the Lord used the “strange love”
of the church to draw him to Christ:
As a freshman college student and
self-declared atheist, I attended a campus Christian fellowship to fulfill a
promise to a Christian friend. I only had the intention to go once. It was
merely duty and upholding my word, nothing more. I went begrudgingly, but I
went. My life was never the same.
I walked into a room full of
Christians and was struck by what I observed. Here was a diverse group. They
were from every walk of life. I remember scanning the room and labeling people
in my mind, “There is a jock, over there is a geek, and walking in the door is
a boy scout.” But what struck me was that they were together. They weren’t just
together in the same room, they were together in every sense of the word. They
were actually talking with each other and genuinely seemed happy to be
together. There didn’t seem to be division. Even in my atheist mind, I knew
what I was seeing: they loved one another.
I had no categories for this, so I
kept returning to find out why they had love like this for one another. Over
the course of a few months I found the answer, or more accurately stated, the
answer found me. One of the best evangelism programs you can start at your
church is to pursue loving one another well. At some point they will
have to hear the gospel proclaimed from your lips or the pulpit, but
that “strange love” will set the table before them. People will know that you are
His disciples, because it is a shocking love. It has a gravitational
attraction, because it is a love that is foreign to this world. A love that the
inquirer, if seeking an answer, will find comes from heaven[4].
Beloved, God has given us a mission to make disciples by
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God will use the undeniable love of a local
church to draw people to Christ. Beloved, let us be a church that lives out a
faithful gospel witness in word and deed.
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