1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1 Paul, 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 always give thanks to God for all of you and
mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father
your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has
chosen you, 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you
know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you
became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you
received the word with joy inspired by 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 in every
place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak
about it. 9 For the people of those regions report about us what kind of
welcome we had among 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—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
In this first chapter of Paul’s first letter
to the Thessalonians (believed by most to be the first book written in the New
Testament), we hear the apostle’s words of praise for the believers there. Paul,
Silvanus (or Silas), and Timothy have been on a missionary journey after having
recently left the Thessalonians, and upon hearing of some uneasiness about the
passing of time and the delayed return of the Lord, Paul wrote this epistle to
the church at Thessalonica in an attempt to encourage them in the work they
were doing there, work that had served as an example all across Macedonia and
even into the neighboring region of Achaia. In this opening chapter of this
letter, Paul applauds these early Christians for their exemplary work and perseverance
for God’s kingdom.
You see the believers at Thessalonica were not exactly like those early
followers of Jesus. The Thessalonian church was made up of converted Gentiles,
former pagans who had lived in a religious atmosphere of polytheism and idol
worship. Their conversion was more than the acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as
their hoped-for Messiah; they took the leap of faith to leave their entire way
of life, their entire understanding of the divine, behind, and begin to follow
a crucified Jew and worship a single God. For the church at Thessalonica the
gospel was more than a fulfilled prophecy from ages past; it was an
earth-shattering, life-changing reality. This new religion, this new reality,
however, was not so easy for the Thessalonians.
We see in the text before us in verse
six that the believers at Thessalonica faced persecution for their new
faith; the apostle writes, “And you became imitators of us and of the
Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the
Holy Spirit.” The believers at Thessalonica faced real threats, real
danger, in claiming Christ as Lord. It was around this time that persecution of
Christians began to increase; believers would be imprisoned (Paul himself would
be thrown in jail several times), fined, burned alive, and even thrown to wild
animals as entertainment. In the midst of such threats the believers at
Thessalonica not only persevered in their faith, but they excelled in the work
of the kingdom, so much so that word of their work had spread across the region
and beyond.
The Apostle Paul points out in verses
7 through 10: “you became an example to
all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has
sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place
your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.
For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had
among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true
God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus,
who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.” The church at
Thessalonica had become an example for the believers who were faced with
similar circumstances across the empire.
Imagine that: one church, one congregation of believers so devoted to the
calling of Christ that, despite the threat of persecution, their name and
reputation was known for miles around, even in other provinces. The believers
at Thessalonica truly understood what it meant to be exemplary in their faith,
despite even the confusion and anxiety that came with their misunderstanding in
the finer points of belief. Do you know a church like that? A congregation
whose devotion to Christ and work in the faith is so great that it serves as
the example for congregations throughout the land? Do you know believers like
that? Believers who are so committed to Christ that they are willing to risk
their very lives for the work to which God calls them, believers whose faith
serves as an example for others no matter where they may be?
I can recall the first time I met him. I believe it was a Tuesday
afternoon, in a classroom in Burns Hall across from the office of the
University Minister at Samford University. I was supposed to be meeting him
there for a prerequisite interview for the Samford Sunday program. I was
sitting in one of those odd classroom desks when he walked into the room. I
remember thinking to myself, “Well he just looks like a harmless, little, old
man.” He was wearing the kind of cap I had only seen golfers in old movies
wear; he removed the cap and sat in another desk immediately in front of me,
and we began the interview. Little did I know I had just had my first of many
conversations with a man who would not only forever shape my ministry and
understanding of faith, but a man who has left his mark on countless
individuals throughout his more than eighty years. His name is Dr. Sigurd F.
Bryan, or as some of us who know him like to call him, “St. Sigurd.” Dr. Bryan
served as a professor of religion for over forty years at Samford and as the
coordinator of the Samford Sunday program for years after that. He and his wife
Sara served as deacons at the church I interned at in my senior year, and on
one occasion they even hosted Sallie and I for lunch in their home.
In 2006, a collection of Dr. Bryan’s reflections were gathered and
published into a book titled Because They
Lived (a title I believe further reflects his humility). In the afterward
of that book Dr. David Potts (current President of Judson College in Marion,
AL) writes these words about St. Sigurd:
Memories
of January Bible studies at McElwain Baptist Church and precious moments around
the dinner table remind me that I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Sigurd
Bryan for most of my life. As a young boy, and later at Samford, I remember
well his exemplary living and doing.
Although
I was not a religion major, I am forever grateful for the influence and impact
of Dr. Sigurd Bryan upon my life. Dr. Bryan was my very first college teacher
in view of the 8 a.m. schedule for his Old Testament class. He was most patient
and encouraging with the long-haired freshmen of the ‘60s.
Dr.
Bryan’s teaching extended beyond the classroom for me. His willingness to
listen carefully to often inane statements from students, his consistent
gentleness and kindness to all who crossed his path in a day, and his
willingness to help anyone made an imprint on my life and a host of others…[1]
I imagine each one of us has that person in our lives, that exemplary
person who has shaped us, influenced our thoughts and opinions by their actions
and the example they have set with their lives. We could go down the list, I am
sure, of not only those in our personal lives, but those whose faces we’ve seen
on the television screen and on the front page of newspapers and whose voices
we’ve heard over the radio, but I wonder how many of us have those people in
our lives that look to us as that example.
You see, the church at Thessalonica is not meant to be unique; the
believers there are not meant to be some ancient prototype to which we point
all others when attempting to show what faith looks like. Paul applauds the
conflicted and persecuted believers of Thessalonica because they are being
exemplary despite all that they may be facing. Being an example for others is a
basic call of the Christian faith. The people of God, those of us who have
called on his name and claim the title “Christian,” are called to be exemplary
in the words we speak, in the lives we lead, and in the faith we practice. Are
you living as an example to others? Are there people in your community who know
the God you serve simply by the way you live your life? Or…would your coworkers
be surprised to know you were even in this place today? Do people who know you
know you are a believer in Christ? Are you living the life of one who is called
to be exemplary?
Perhaps you are one who has witnessed others living exemplary lives, and
like so many who had witnessed the example of that early church in Thessalonica
you want to know more about this Christ we serve. Perhaps you are here today
and you want to begin living that exemplary life by taking that first step of faith.
If that’s you, then I invite you to come and share in the fullness of the life
only Christ can offer. As for the rest of us, those of us who already claim to be
counted among the saved, will you begin living an exemplary life today? Will
you begin to serve Christ with such devotion that no circumstance may hinder
your example? I invite us all to begin living the life to which we have been
called…a life of exemplary faith.
Let us pray…
