We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,
remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love
and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
There's a lot of ways to learn about a person, isn't there?
But perhaps the best way to really get a sense of who a person is
is if you can ever get a hold of some kind of personal correspondence that they have sent or received,
maybe in the form of a letter or a journal.
That's the reason that those of you who are ladies who had a journal as a middle school
or as a teenage girl hid them in private places so that your brothers couldn't get to them
and see what's really in your mind about them or about someone or about things that are going on in your life.
You get a sense of who a person is that way, don't you?
I mentioned to you last week by way of introduction to 1 Thessalonians
how that when Julie and I were in college,
there was a letter exchange program on campus for the student body
that they called the Pony Express and it was a way for you to send lots of things
but primarily you'd send your love letters to the people that you were interested in.
And Julie and I took advantage of that and the girls discovered that during the sermon last Sunday.
And then Ashlyn and Harper discovered that Julie actually keeps a box full of those letters
from college in our closet.
And from what I understand from Julie, the girls have been eager to get their eyes on those letters.
And I sat and I thought as I was preparing for this sermon this week,
I thought, why do they want to read these letters?
These things would probably be so cheesy.
Like it's just going to make them laugh probably more than anything else.
And maybe that's why they want to read them.
I think there might be a little bit more to it.
But they know Julie and me better than anybody else in the world.
Nobody knows mine and Julie's heart and our behavior and who we are
better than the three girls that live in our house with us every single day.
Why would they care to read these letters?
Because despite that fact, they know that reading those letters will give them
an even fuller sense and understanding of their parents.
And of our love and of our lives together.
They want to read them because they want to get inside our hearts, so to speak,
so that they might get a better sense of who we are.
That's why we do that.
When we come to the first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians,
what we have here is it consists primarily of personal correspondence.
And it's through this personal portion of the letter that we get the best sense of the people involved.
We often think of the Apostle Paul as a brilliant theologian,
as an impactful and useful preacher of the gospel.
We think of him as an accomplished missionary in the early church and establishing churches,
really as far as he was concerned, all over the world and the known world in his mind.
And yet when we come to 1 Thessalonians in particular, we see it in other places,
but in 1 Thessalonians in particular, in these first three chapters,
we start to get a different sense, a fuller sense for Paul.
We see him here as a pastor.
We see him as a friend.
And it gives us a fuller sense of who he was as we read what he wrote to these individuals.
But it doesn't just give us that.
It also gives us a better sense of the people in Thessalonica,
particularly a better sense of their radical conversion.
We just get a little piece of that in Luke's narrative in Acts chapter 17.
But when we come to the letters that Paul,
in the personal correspondence that they add with one another,
we get a better sense of their radical conversion to Christ.
And primarily we get really a wonderful sense of their perseverance of faith
in the face of really quite extreme persecution.
As we'll see in the coming weeks, even in the remainder of this paragraph in chapter 1,
their perseverance was the thing that stuck out the most about them.
It was their perseverance of faith that was so commendable that unbeknownst to them,
they actually became an example of faithfulness to all the other churches in their region.
It was really quite amazing.
Well, this morning we turn our attention here to the opening statements of this correspondence.
And as was Paul was wont to do in the letters that he wrote to the churches,
he opens this one with a statement of thanksgiving for the church.
And that's what's recorded in these two verses.
It's primarily just a prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of the Thessalonian Christians.
It's a prayer of thanksgiving that is shaped entirely by the gospel message
that we know this church was rooted in from our study last week.
Now what I want to do is I want to draw out this morning more than just Paul's thankful heart.
We're going to address that.
That's important.
There's things we can learn from that to be sure.
But that's not what I want us to focus most of our attention on.
I don't think it's the main emphasis of what he's saying.
The focus of his thanks is what we really want to draw our minds focus to.
The focus of his thanks is the fruit of genuine Christianity that marked the Thessalonian church.
What is the essence of a true Christian?
How might we define that from a biblical sense?
That is what this text helps us to understand.
And that's what I want the focus of our study together to be.
I want to show you from this text the fundamental marks of a true Christian.
Not a professing Christian.
A true Christian.
The first thing I want you to see, we'll skip verse 2, we'll come back to it.
And I want to go directly to verse 3.
That's where the emphasis is.
And this is where we find three essential virtues of genuine Christianity.
Just read the verse with me again.
Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith,
your labor of love,
and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
You notice the common triad here.
Faith, love, and hope are a triad of Christian virtues that are repeated regularly throughout the New Testament
in reference to what is the essence of a true Christian.
What marks them.
And very often we see these three things put together in that description.
Let me give you just three examples to show you how this is repeated in the New Testament.
Galatians chapter 5 verses 5 and 6.
Paul again writes to this church and he says that it is through the Holy Spirit,
by faith,
that we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus,
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,
but only faith working through love.
Here's the triad again,
intentionally brought together by the apostle
in connection with the person and the work of Jesus Christ
in order to say,
as he does in verse 6,
that who you are is irrelevant
to whether or not you're a Christian.
Your context is irrelevant
to whether or not you're a Christian,
but it is faith working through love
that shows up in the hope of righteousness
and the hope of Jesus Christ.
What is the essence of a true Christian?
Faith, hope, and love.
1 Peter chapter 1 verses 21 through 23.
Peter writes,
You through Christ are believers in God
who raised Christ from the dead
and gave him glory
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Having purified your souls
by your obedience to the truth
for a sincere brotherly love,
love one another earnestly from a pure heart
since you have been born again,
not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable.
How does this faith, love, and hope come about?
Last phrase of the verse.
Through the living and abiding word of God.
What is the essence of a true Christian?
Peter says,
Well, it has elements of faith and hope and love
all tied to the gospel of Jesus,
and it comes about as a work of grace
through the scriptures,
through the word of God.
Hebrews chapter 6 is the third one I'd like to show you.
There are many more that you could look at,
most notably would be 1 Corinthians 13, 13.
You probably, maybe you had this displayed at your wedding.
Then there is faith and hope and love,
but the greatest of these is love.
Why would Paul even say that?
It's not that love is more significant
than hope and faith
when it comes to these virtues.
It's that there will come a time
when faith and hope will no longer be necessary.
They will be fulfilled.
But even at that time,
the love will continue.
But it's Hebrews chapter 6
that I want to draw your attention to now.
Verse 10.
God is not unjust
so as to overlook your work
and the love that you have shown for his name
in serving the saints.
Now what is the nature of this virtuous love?
It is love towards others
in the name of God and his son Jesus.
And we desire each one of you
to show the same earnestness,
to have the full assurance of hope
until the end
so that you may not be sluggish,
but imitators of those
who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.
Again, faith, hope, and love,
this triad of Christian virtue.
What is the essence of a true Christian?
We continually come back in different ways
to this triad in the New Testament.
Every true Christian possesses them
and they will continually grow
and flourish
as believers mature in Christ.
These three virtues
will only get bigger
and broader
and wider
and more evident.
But what is the relationship
of the three of them together?
Back to 1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 3.
What is the relationship
of them together?
Is there a relationship
of these three virtues together?
And I would suggest that there is.
The faith that Paul mentions
in this verse
is not unloving
or without hope.
The love that he mentions here
is not unbelieving
or hopeless.
The hope that he mentions here
is not unloving
or unbelieving.
Else it wouldn't be what it is.
There is an interconnectedness here.
Though each virtue is distinct,
they are not independent
of one another.
They are interconnected
and they are interconnected
by the final statement
of verse 3.
That all of these things
are functioning,
that they are grounded
and that they are rooted
in what?
That they are rooted
in our Lord Jesus Christ.
faith in the person
and work of Jesus Christ
produces true works
of righteousness.
Love for Jesus
motivates the Christian's love
for others.
Hope in Jesus
brings about the steadfastness
of faith
in the face
of suffering.
The three virtues
are unique perspectives
of one event
in a person's life.
That is their conversion
to Jesus Christ.
Meaning
that all three
are essential to
and will be present
in anyone
who is a true,
genuine,
biblical,
Christian.
Faith,
not in faith itself,
but faith
in Jesus
in particular.
Love,
not in a generic sense,
but love
for Jesus
in particular.
Hope,
not in wishful thinking,
but hope
that is rooted
in Jesus
in particular.
To say it another way,
without these three virtues
being present
and rooted in Jesus,
you cannot possibly be
a true Christian.
They are the essence
of genuine conversion
and they have everything
to do with Christ.
They are the fruit.
Jesus
is the root.
Now,
Paul's thanksgiving
for the Thessalonian Christians
is focused
on their display
of these fundamental
virtues.
But the way
that he speaks
about them
is actually quite unique.
Every statement
includes a spiritual action
that is motivated
by a specific virtue.
Just set your eyes
on it again.
He says
of their work
of faith.
That is,
this faith
motivates
and produces
certain works.
Then he talks
about their labor
of love.
That is,
their love
for Christ
produces
a kind of loving
labor
for Christ
and for others.
Then he talks
about their steadfastness
of hope.
That is,
their hope
in Jesus
produces then
a steadfastness.
That is the only way
it works.
The works
cannot possibly
produce
the things
themselves.
Works
does not produce
faith.
It is the other way
around,
isn't it?
Faith produces works.
Labor
does not lead
to love.
Labor may actually
lead to hate.
It is the love
that leads
to joyful labor.
Steadfastness
or just pulling
yourself up
by your bootstrap
is not what
is going to get
you through
and produce hope.
No,
it is not how it works.
We know it works
the other way around,
doesn't it?
That is Paul's point.
It is unique.
He mentions the triad
but he mentions
these spiritual actions
that are revealed,
that reveal
this triad
of Christian virtue.
What I want to do
here for just a moment
is take each of them
in turn.
Let's look first
at the work
of faith.
The work of faith.
Paul,
of course,
he does not mean
to imply
a connection
between human merit
and eternal salvation.
We know that
because he has settled
that anti-gospel heresy
sufficiently
in other places.
Let me give you
two examples.
Romans chapter 3
verses 19 to 30.
Paul,
writing to the church
in Rome,
says,
Now we know
that whatever the law says,
it speaks to those
who are under the law
so that every mouth
may be stopped.
That is,
in judgment,
no one will be able
to say,
well,
look what I've done
because everyone
will have to say,
I have not done
what I ought to have done.
I have failed.
I have sinned.
That's the point
of that statement.
And the whole world
may be held accountable
to God.
For by works
of the law,
Paul says,
no human being
will be justified
in God's sight,
will be declared
righteous.
Another way
we might say that
is that it will be
declared as saved
in God's sight
since through the law
does not come
forgiveness of sin.
Through the law
just comes the knowledge
of sin.
The law exposes our sin.
It cannot redeem us
from our sin.
No,
it takes something else
for that.
Galatians chapter 3,
Paul says it again,
even more elaborately perhaps.
He says in verse 10,
for all who rely
on works of the law
are under a curse.
For it's written,
cursed be everyone
who does not abide
by all things written
in the book of the law
and do them.
Verse 13,
Christ redeemed us
from the curse
of the law.
How?
By becoming a curse
for us.
For it's written,
cursed is everyone
who is hanged on a tree
so that in Christ Jesus
the blessing of Abraham
might come even
to the Gentiles
so that we might receive
the promised spirit.
How?
Through faith.
So we don't need to mistake
what Paul's saying here.
We need to look
at the entire corpus
of Pauline literature
and understand
Paul was not insinuating
or implying in any way here
that it is works
that is connected
in some way
to salvation.
That's not what he means.
And if you're relying
on your morality
to earn some kind
of saving favor
with God,
the scripture makes it clear
particularly in Galatians 3
that you are under a curse.
And what is this curse?
The curse is
that you have not
and will never
fulfill all that
God's moral law
requires of you.
There you are,
thereby you are cursed
to face God's judgment
because you'll never live up
to God's standard.
No human ever will.
We cannot.
So salvation then
is not earned
by what you do.
It is received
by faith
in what Jesus Christ
has done
on your behalf.
You are cursed
under the law.
He never offended
the law
even in one way.
He fulfilled it
on your behalf.
He lived the life
that we were meant
to live
as I often say.
And then he died
the death
that we deserve
to die.
And in doing so,
he made it possible
for God the Father
to declare us
righteous
even though
we are not so.
Our righteousness
before God
is not an actual
righteousness.
It is what we call
an imputed righteousness.
It is credited
to us
by the work
of Christ
in his death
and in his resurrection.
And it is credited
to us
not through
human merit.
It is credited
to us
through faith
alone.
That being said,
the New Testament
clarifies
that genuine
saving faith
is not
alone.
But it produces,
it is followed
by human
works.
Thus Paul,
when he's referring
to the Thessalonians
here in verse 3,
he recognizes
their faith
and he recognizes
that faith
because it has
produced something
in them.
It has produced
an action
in them.
As the scriptures
make clear,
it does.
James makes
this abundantly
clear.
In James chapter 2
and verse 18,
someone will say,
you have faith
and I have works.
James says,
in response
to that person,
show me your faith
apart from your works
and I will show you
my faith
by my works.
You believe
that God is one,
you do well.
But even the demons
believe
and shudder.
What's James'
point there?
He's saying that
intellectual,
assent or belief
is not the thing
that we're aiming
at here.
That's not saving
regenerate faith.
Even the devil
is orthodox
in what he knows
to be true.
And yet he is
not redeemed.
So what does
James mean?
Do you want
to be shown
you foolish person?
He says
that faith
apart from works
is useless
because a faith
that does not work
is not a genuine
saving faith.
That's Paul's
point here.
He says
when I look at you
I'm thankful
for you
because your faith
has produced
certain works.
But what are
those works
that Paul is
referring to?
They are not here
merely what we
would call good deeds.
That's a part of it
to be sure.
But that's not
what he's primarily
referring to
I don't believe.
they are true
works of righteousness
that are motivated
by genuine faith
in Christ.
They include
repentance of sin
not in one moment
but ongoing
continually
in every moment.
A humble heart
of turning away
from sin.
Those are the works
of faith.
they include
trust
in God's word.
You say
how can I trust
something that I
don't fully understand?
Well that's
the nature
of faith.
The works
of faith
include
trusting
what God
has said.
They include
the fruit
of the spirit.
A supernatural
transformation
whereby
as a result
of our faith
and redemption
the Holy Spirit
begins this
progressive transformation
and where
was once
the works
of the flesh
he now
begins to
replace them
with things
like love
and joy
and peace
and long
suffering
and gentleness
and goodness
and faithfulness
and meekness
and temperance
and so on
and so forth
the passage goes.
What are the
works of faith?
Well it is the
evidence of the
fruit of the spirit
in someone's life
and then
yes there's also
good deeds
but we must
not narrow down
the works
of faith
to volunteering
at the homeless
shelter
or providing
some formula
for the people
in the mountains
when they were
really struggling
as many of you
did just last week.
It's not that
that doesn't matter
or that it's irrelevant
it's just it's not
the fullness
of what he's
talking about here.
The fullness
of the faith
that works
is repentance
it's fruitfulness
in the faith
it's trust
in God's word
and yes
it's also
goodness
and love
for others.
Thus Jesus said
just as you can
know a tree
by its fruit
you can identify
an apple tree
by the fact
that it grows
apples
is Jesus'
point.
So you can
identify a true
Christian
by the works
of righteousness
that flow
out of
in particular
their personal
faith in Jesus
Christ.
Not works
of righteousness
that are alone
but works
of righteousness
that specifically
are the overflow
of their faith
in Christ.
That's the works
of faith.
Second
we have the labor
of love.
The labor
of love.
Surely you've
heard this statement
before perhaps
you've used it
before.
We've long used
the phrase
in English
to refer to
voluntarily
taking on
a task
for pleasure
rather than
reward
or payment.
That's a labor
of love
isn't it?
It is out
of love
for the thing
itself
or love
for those
that will
benefit
that one
enters in
to toil
and hardship
and labor.
Many of you
know my dad.
Dad has been
here even
recently.
He was here
just a month
ago to preach.
If you spent
more than 20
seconds with my
dad on that
Sunday when he
was here
then you probably
know that my
dad's current
labor of love
is restoring
cast iron
skillets.
The reason
you know that
is because he
tells everybody
about it.
He is as much
an evangelist
for his cast
iron restoration
as he is
for the Lord
Jesus Christ
at this point
in his life.
If you were
to walk
into my
parents'
kitchen today
there are
dozens
that is not
an exaggeration
is it Julie?
There are
dozens
of
remarkably
restored
cast iron
skillets
and they are
on display
they are just
there.
He has got
these racks
of them
and they are
on the walls
and he cooks
with some of
them.
Most of them
they just sit
there.
He loves to
go to yard
sales and he
gets on
Facebook
marketplace.
He has a
spot at the
police station
in Gastonia
where he goes
and he meets
people on
Facebook and
they exchange
their cast
iron skillets
and he takes
them home and
he spends days.
He has got
this makeshift
machine that
he has built
that he has
put in his
garage and
he doesn't
sell them.
It is not a
side hustle.
He does not
have his own
Facebook
marketplace page
where he puts
them back on
there and tries
to make money.
They just sit
there and he
gives them
away.
The girls
each have
like two and
he gives
them away to
people.
What is that?
It is a
labor of love.
It is work
to do it.
It is work
to find them.
It is work
to restore
them.
It is work
to make it
all and he
gets joy
out of the
labor because
he loves the
thing itself
and he loves
the people
that he gets
to give the
things to.
But there is
no reward for
him.
It is a labor
of love
isn't it?
In the case
of this text
it is unmitigated
love for Christ
and Christ's
people that
motivates the
toilsome task
of Christian
service and
discipleship.
we just
covenanted
with three
Christians
in membership
in our
church.
A labor
of love
would be
to actually
take the
responsibility
in a practical
way for their
discipleship the
way that we
have just
said and
promised that
we would.
Meaningful
membership and
discipleship and
service to one
another through the
church is a
labor.
It is a
toil.
it is a
hardship.
It is not
easy.
It leaves you
vulnerable.
And yet
out of love
for Christ
and out of
love for his
people we
are to eagerly
and joyfully
enter into
that labor.
I heard
someone say
this week
the church
is where
it's none
of your
business
goes to
die.
Why?
Because it
is our
love for
one another
that drives
our service
to one
another and
essential to
our service
to one
another is
the continual
discipleship
correction
maybe and
teaching of
the gospel and
of what God
has asked of
us to be.
That is our
purpose with
one another.
We don't just
meet together on
Sundays to have
a worship
service.
You ought to
be with one
another throughout
the week for
the purpose of
Christian love
and discipleship.
Jesus himself
said that it
is our love
for one another
that will testify
to the world
that we belong
to him.
He said it in
John 13
verse 34
a new commandment
I give to you
that you love
one another
just as I have
loved you
that's the
qualifier.
He says in
the way that I
have loved you
that is the
way that
Christians are
to love
one another.
by this all
people will
know that you
are my
disciples if you
have love for
one another.
There we get it
again from the
very mouth of
Jesus.
He says what is
the essence of
a true Christian?
Well it is someone
who bears the
love of Christ
for others
especially other
Christians and
that's how the
world will know.
It is an
essential virtue
that belongs to
those who are
truly in Christ.
nothing is more
laborsome than
love.
Nothing is.
Love is not
merely a feeling.
I'm tempted to
sing a song
and I won't do
it.
Hooked on a
feeling.
That's not what
we're talking
about here.
Don't tell my
mom I did
that.
love isn't
something you
can fall into
or fall out
of.
It doesn't
actually work
that way.
Love is a
relational
commitment at
its heart.
Love calls us
to sacrifice
self for the
good of someone
else.
Isn't that what
Jesus means when
he tells his
disciples in
John 13 in
the way that I
have loved you
and by the
way I'm
about to go
to the
cross for
you in the
way that I
have loved
you.
That's how you
are to love
one another.
Isn't that what
he says to
husbands in
Ephesians chapter
five?
Husbands love
your wives as
Christ loved the
church and gave
himself for it.
love.
The only way to
know that kind
of love to
the fullest
extent in
God's common
grace we get to
experience a touch
of this but the
only way to
really know it in
its fullest extent
is to set your
gaze on the
person and work
of Jesus Christ.
Romans chapter
five verses six
through eight tell
us that plainly.
While we were
still weak at the
right time Christ
died for the
ungodly.
And then Paul
says for one will
scarcely die for a
righteous person.
If you think
somebody's a pretty
good guy yeah you
might offer your
life for them.
Perhaps for a good
person one would
even dare to die.
But God shows his
love for us in
that while we were
still sinners Christ
died for us.
While we were still
sinners that's not
speaking of a past
thing that's thinking
of a present thing.
In that moment we
are his enemy and we
are acting as his
enemy and yet he
gives himself to us
anyways.
That is the nature
of God's love.
It is the supreme
love of Christ for
sinners that then
motivates Christians'
love for one
another.
That's what Paul
means here.
There is love for
Christ that then
shows itself in a
kind of labor.
A labor in Christian
ministry for Christ
but particularly a
labor for other
Christians and
discipleship.
For even people
outside of the church
in just kindness and
love showing the love
of Christ to others
in a very real sense
of that word.
Self-sacrifice.
Thirdly we see
steadfastness of hope.
Steadfastness of hope.
When the apostles wrote
hope in the New
Testament it's
important to
understand that they
intended to communicate
something different than
we typically do when we
use that word today.
For the apostles in the
biblical sense hope is
meant as an absolute
certainty of heart
not a wishfulness about an
uncertain future.
We need to understand that
appropriately here.
Otherwise steadfastness
really doesn't make
sense.
It only makes sense in
the context of an
absolute certainty not
in a potential wishfulness
of something that you're
uncertain about.
That will not cause you to
endure anything.
But what will cause you to
endure is a certainty
about what it is that you
have placed your faith in.
And incidentally that's
what John Piper actually
describes hope as.
He describes it as
biblical hope being
saving faith with an
emphasis on future
fulfillment.
So it is the faith of
Christ and the works of
faith looking forward to
the fulfillment of all of
Christ's promises.
That is what the meaning of
hope here is.
Let me just give you a
couple of examples of
this that show you that
I'm not just making this
up.
Look at Philippians chapter
one in verse 20.
This might be on the
screen for you.
Paul says to the
Philippians, it is my
eager expectation and hope
hope that I will not be
ashamed but that with
full courage now as
always Christ will be
honored in my body
whether by life or by
death.
Now what's happening
there?
Paul was facing his
potential martyrdom in
Rome.
He was under house arrest
at the moment and he
was uncertain about
whether or not he was
about to be beheaded or
turns out that he wasn't
martyred at that
particular moment.
That would come later in
his life.
But he didn't know that
at this point.
So he's writing to the
Philippians and he's
talking about what is on
his heart and what's in
his mind in relation to
this potential death.
And what is it that he
says that he would
indeed remain faithful to
the end.
Why?
Because he was absolutely
certain of the gospel
message he had been
proclaiming which had
landed him in such a
situation.
It wasn't his wish.
He spoke of it as his
eager expectation.
expectation.
That's the sense of
hope.
Let me give you just one
more and this is all over
the New Testament but let
me just give you one more.
In Acts chapter 26 and
verse 6 we see of Paul
and now I stand here.
This is he saying as he's
on trial.
Now I stand here on trial
because of my hope in the
promise made by God to
our fathers.
So he's referencing the
gospel here and he's
standing there on trial he
says because of his hope in
that gospel message.
Paul wasn't on trial because
he wished for the gospel to
be true.
Nobody in Rome was
threatened by Paul's
wishfulness.
What they were threatened
by was Paul's certainty
which was revealed in his
gospel preaching.
And that's what led him to
faithfully proclaim the
gospel at the risk of his
own life.
That's the kind of hope that
we're talking about here.
So when we get back to
1 Thessalonians 1 3 we see
that the hope here is not a
wishfulness.
It is a certainty that exists
in the Thessalonian believers.
So when Paul and Silas and
Timothy write to the Christians
there and of their hope they're
referring to their absolute
certainty of heart regarding the
truth of Jesus Christ, his
resurrection, and his return.
Now why would Paul do that?
Why would he find it necessary to
write of their steadfastness of
hope?
Well as we learned last week
this church was under severe
persecution from its very
inception.
The reality of this persecution
that looms large over this
entire letter.
So severe was it that Paul was
concerned in chapter 3 that we'll
eventually get to, Paul was
concerned whether they would
continue in the faith at all or if
they would just abandon it all
together because of the pressure of
it.
Yet despite their circumstances,
the church of the Thessalonians
remained steadfast.
They endured.
Why?
Because their hope in Christ
produced such steadfastness.
Their certainty of the gospel
caused them to persevere.
They patiently endure the
suffering with firm expectation
that what Christ began at his
resurrection he will complete at
his return.
All Christian hope thus rests in
the historic bodily resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it is as a result of their
hope in the resurrection that they
had an eager and firm hope in
Christ's return.
Three essential virtues for
Christianity.
Now lest we think that we
accomplish all of this on our own,
it will be necessary for us to
finish by looking at verse 2.
So look at it with me.
Before focusing in on the triad,
Paul says,
we give thanks to God
always for all of you,
constantly mentioning you
in our prayers.
What do we find here in verse 2?
We find God's work of grace in our
faith, love, and hope.
What's most noteworthy about the
thanksgiving here is that it was
offered in the context of prayer.
It wasn't just occasional prayer,
continual prayer.
They were thankful for the
Thessalonians, but their
thanksgiving was not directed to
the Thessalonians.
Did you notice that?
In fact, they explicitly say,
we give thanks to God
for you.
Now, I want you to meditate on that.
Let that sink into your mind.
The subject of their thanksgiving
is the actions performed by the
Thessalonians.
That's verse 3.
But the object of their
thanksgiving is God.
Now, that's strange.
If I were to give you a gift today,
no doubt you would, in response,
turn and say thank you.
But what if instead of thanking me
for the gift that I purchased and
wrapped and handed over to you,
you turned to Josh Francis and you
said, oh my goodness, Josh,
thank you for this gift that Jared
gave me.
That's weird, right?
You wouldn't do that.
Why is it that Paul does it then?
Paul and his team were immensely
thankful for the Thessalonians'
actions.
But they understood God to be the
definitive cause of those actions.
Therefore, all of their gratitude
was directed to the Lord.
Everything happening through the
church of the Thessalonians was a
work of grace.
And whether thinking of their
radical conversion or their
exemplary perseverance of faith,
Paul understood that it was all the
result of God's gracious work in the
hearts of those young Christians.
And the same goes for you and me.
It is no different for us.
The truth is that every conversion to
Christ is a miracle of God's
sovereign grace.
It is a miracle.
You wonder if miracles still happen
today.
Look around.
Listen to the three testimonies of
conversion.
That doesn't happen because Kathy and
Sarah Lynn and Todd just decided, you
know what?
We figured it out and we're going to go
with it.
No, that's not how it works.
No, God is active in that.
We're so lost in our sins, dead in
them, according to Ephesians chapter
two and verse one, that the only
possible way for our hearts to
repent and turn to Christ is if God
himself does a miracle of
resurrection whereby he brings a
dead soul to life in Christ.
Christ, it is a work of grace.
The same goes for our spiritual
maturity, for our perseverance of
faith.
It is all a work of grace.
Consider Ephesians chapter two, verses
eight through ten.
For by grace you have been saved
through faith.
And this is not your own doing.
It's a gift of God.
It's not a result of works so that no
one may boast.
And then he continues even beyond the
conversion.
We are his workmanship.
What does that mean?
It means that even after we come to
Christ in faith, God is still doing a
building work.
We are a work.
There was a song we sang when I was a
kid.
He's still working on me to make me what
I ought to be.
It took him just a week to make the
moon and the stars, the sun and the
earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and faithful he must be.
He's still working on me.
You know that song?
You know what we learn in that song
as kids?
That there is a work that God is
doing.
We are cooperating with him in that
work to be sure.
But this is his work.
We are his workmanship.
We are created.
It's important.
You can't create yourself.
Created in Christ Jesus for the purpose
of good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them.
This is a work of grace, loved ones.
what does this mean for us in this text well why does it matter that we acknowledge that paul
sees these virtues and then he thanks god for them if nothing else it's a reminder that all
of our praise belongs to god alone that's what he says in ephesians 2 so that no man may boast
god is the definitive cause of anything good that is in us
he awakens our hearts to trust in christ he supplies us with his spirit so that we might
grow in faithfulness he will complete that work at christ's return finally delivering us from sin
and sorrow that's the hope we owe everything to the gracious work of god he alone is worthy of our
praise and it is to him that we must ultimately direct our thanksgiving let me finish with a question
i made an argument today and you may disagree with the argument
but the argument comes from the scripture itself so according to the word of god according
to what is said by god in the scriptures are you a true christian
is your faith in christ is your love for christ is your hope in christ
prove it how well that faith will produce certain works works of righteousness and that love will
produce a certain labor a labor of christian love for the lord and for others and that hope will
produce a kind of endurance that will persevere through the darkness through the temptation through
the struggle and through the hardships that we face not because we just got it all together but because god
is gracious to us well how does god do this work it sounds a lot like i can't do anything about it
as sarah lynn said in her testimony i just thought that some were in and some were out and i just happen to be in the out category and
it's a bit of a mystery isn't it until we study the scriptures and we find that god does this work of grace
through his word he does it through his word it is not for us to know the mystery of god's sovereign
purposes what we do know is that he has revealed himself and his truth in the pages of the bible
and that it is we come to the bible the sword of the spirit that god does this work of grace
that's why we preach the gospel because it is through the preaching of the gospel that god does
this work of grace it's why we observe the ordinances the way that we do and that we want
even unbelievers to look in on those ordinances because god does his work of grace through his word
that's why he can say you will be without excuse
our rejection is willful isn't it that part is all of us
but there is a work of grace that god does through the gospel
and he calls us to respond to that gospel
and if you sense that tug of heart that conviction of heart that's not you feeling bad about yourself
that's god doing a work of grace
so come to christ are you a true christian
only christ can make you so and he offers it offers it to you freely so come and receive the rest that he provides