Lives Worthy of God

This morning’s English sermon in Holy Trinity

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,

12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

A clergyman was walking down the street one day when he noticed a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, the boy was very short and the doorbell was too high for him to reach. After watching the boy’s efforts for some time, the clergyman crossed the street, walked up behind the boy, placed a kindly hand on his shoulder, lent over and gave the doorbell a solid ring. Crouching down to the boy’s level, the clergyman smiled benevolently and asked, “And what now, young man?”

The boy replied, “Now, we run!”

• Times when we try to be helpful and are anything but
  • certainly not the case with Paul recalling his, Silas’ and Timothy’s ministry to the church in Thessalonica
  • proclaiming the Gospel by example as well as by word
    • right way of living in view of the unexpected nature of the parousia (Gospel reading)
    • life in God’s kingdom, bringing Him glory, is marked by a number of characteristics
    • “… live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory” (v12)
      • toil and hardship (v9)
      • holy, righteous and blameless (v10)
      • as a father deals with his children (v11)
      • thanking God (v13)
• Toil and hardship (v9)
  • verses speak strongly to Christian ministers
    • Paul didn’t have it easy
    • worked hard as a tentmaker 6/7
    • preaching on Sabbaths and early evenings
  • had to avoid a false impression which would have restricted his message – in it for the money!
    • hard work financed the mission God had given him/them
    • suffered enormous abuse as a result of his message
• Holy, righteous and blameless (v10)
  • high-profile Christian leaders falling from grace occasionally
    • negative publicity for Christianity/Jesus
    • just as true at a low-profile
  • part of the Gospel message is a transformed life
    • is Paul lacking humility?
      • if so, the Thessalonians wouldn’t have recognised him
    • grace and forgiveness is also part of the Gospel message
• As a father deals with his children (v11)
  • encouragement and comfort
    • countless examples of God doing this in the Bible
    • ‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing’ (5:11)
• Thanking God (v13)
  • for the Gospel
    • the message is from God, not us, and is God’s
  • for its reception
  • for giving us the ability to work and endure hardship
  • for giving us the ability to live in holiness and righteousness
  • for encouraging and comforting us and helping us to do the same