You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Thanksgiving for These Believers

1 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.

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; ³ 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, ⁴ knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; ⁵ 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 we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, ² but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. ³ For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. ⁵ For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— ⁶ nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. ⁷ But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. ⁸ Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

The concept of multi-cultural churches is not a new concept. Thessalonica was a thriving commerce city, a port city located at the juncture of two main roads in the Roman empire. It was also part of the former Greek empire and is part of present day Greece. The church at Thessalonica was comprised of Jews, Greeks and others who were part of the local community. Paul says:     ^“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit… you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God”       It is normal and natural that our cultural heritage and traditions will influence the way we worship and serve God. But that heritage our culture, the things we formerly held to and believed should not influence who we worship. Paul commends the believers here because they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Here’s what God says:

“I am the Lord your God… “You shall have no other gods before Me.  “You shall not make for yourself an idol…  You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:2-5)

 In today’s church particularly here in the U.S. and the western church there is a multi-cultural influence. It is unfortunate that often times there is more resistance within the church to accepting the differences in worship styles and preferences than there is to the actual inclusion of false doctrine or human philosophy. Many people are more willing to compromise and include New age philosophy as long as the music is to their liking or the length of the service is acceptable.  Many in the church today have embraced the worldly concepts and philosophies of inclusion and tolerance, believing as the world does that there are many ways to God. You cannot be a follower of Christ and believe that there are many ways to God. Jesus Himself says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) Either that is true or Jesus is a liar and not worthy of our service and worship.

It is true that there are many, countless paths to Christ. They are as varied as our human existence and experience. We can come to Christ from any background, culture belief or unbelief system. But to come to the true and living God Paul writes about, we must as the Thessalonians did, turn from all else.  Acts 4:10-12 says:

by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.  And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”  

As Paul was imprisoned and nearing his death, he wrote to his protégé, Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:1-5 says:        I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.       How much of that Timothy actually encountered I am not sure of. But certainly today we see many who will turn to a message that is pleasing to them, embracing myths and human philosophies rather than truth.

In today’s text Paul says: so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. ⁵ For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— ⁶ nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others…      Telling the truth, sharing  the gospel is not flattering speech in our day. Our culture and our society has determined that it is more noble and brave to share that you want to change who and what you were created as than it is to share your faith in salvation through Christ. Sharing Christ will not bring glory from men. But it is not the glory of men we are to seek. The cross of Christ did not seem like a glorious end for the life of Christ. The truth is His life didn’t end there. Neither did it end in the grave in which He was laid. The glory we share, the One who is the only way, is ALIVE! He is the living God. His name may be offensive to some. The truth will always offend those who believe something else. It is not the responsibility of believers to change the minds of those who do not believe. It is only that we ourselves believe the truth, speak the truth, and live according to the revelation of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You Father God, Lord Jesus Christ, the Way the Truth and the Life, and Holy Spirit for the revelation of truth to me. Through the power of the resurrection, by Your Spirit, empower me to live and speak Your truth in and to the world.  Amen.