What to do – Part 1

TEXT:

‘For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come’ – 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

THOUGHT:

A rich young ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹ The Philippian Jailer asked Paul a similar question, “What must I do to be saved?” ² There is something we can and must do to be saved, “Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” But there are things we need to do once we become a Christian.

Paul was writing to the new Christians in Thessalonica. They had turned to God from idolatry. They had believed in gods out of fear, worship and tradition. Becoming Christians now meant they believed there is only one true God.

The problem with Western Society is not with idolatry as much as having no belief in a God at all. This makes it all the more difficult for someone to be saved. Thank God for the work of the Holy Spirit who helps people to realise the sin of not believing in Jesus. ³

Paul reminded the Thessalonian Christians of three key things:

• To Serve – ‘the living and true God’

It is wonderful to be saved but Christianity is more than that. The day Paul (Saul of  Tarsus) became a Christian, he asked this question, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” ⁴ Christianity is about obedience to God’s will. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but Yours be done.” ⁵ Christianity is about coming under new ownership. Jesus is our Saviour and Lord.

We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. ⁶ God wants us to serve willingly, joyfully, faithfully and effectively, particularly within the local church that we are part of. Too many Christians only attend church to receive. It’s time to serve. ‘Through love serve each other.’ ⁷

• To Wait – ‘for His Son from heaven’

Paul’s two books to the Thessalonians record more about the return of Jesus Christ than most others. Jesus will literally and physically return to this earth, but not according to our time scale. Nearly two thousand years have passed since Paul wrote these words and Jesus still has not returned, but He will! Delay does not mean it will not happen. People say, “I do not believe Jesus will return.” So what! I’d rather believe the Bible than them and my Bible tells me Jesus will return. ⁸

Waiting tests our character and patience. It’s an area so easy to fail in. Pentecostal believers in the early Twentieth Century were called the Second Comers because they continually talked about the new return of Jesus Christ. Now, nearly one hundred years later, this subject is not mentioned nearly as much by Christians, yet the truth remains.

Jesus is coming! Are you waiting?

• To Come – ‘Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come’

Just as Jesus is coming, so is God’s wrath. Grace is operating now but it cannot hold off wrath for ever, unless your faith is in Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks about, “The ages to come.” ⁹ Some say, “I’ll be dead long before then, so it will not affect me.” The Bible warns, ‘It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.’ ¹⁰ What will your experience be after death – grace or wrath? Peter urged Christians:

‘Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.’ ¹¹

Living like that ensures that we will be doing what we should be doing, ready for Jesus’ return.