WWUTT 503 Comforted About Your Faith?

When you are scorned and ridiculed for the godliness that you hold fast to in Christ Jesus, you might not think of that as a cause for rejoicing, but it is.

It's a cause for rejoicing for the whole church when we understand the text. You're listening to When We Understand the

Text, an online Bible ministry so that we may know all the riches freely given to us by God.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, and I'm going to begin here in verse 6.

The Apostle Paul writes, But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love, and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you, for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith.

For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord, for what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our

God as we pray most earnestly, night and day, that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the

Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our

God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all of His saints.

So, yesterday in the verses before this section, I mentioned Timothy coming to Thessalonica to establish and exhort them in their faith, and Paul says that no one be moved by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction just as it has come to pass.

And I mentioned yesterday that as we suffer for the Lord, as we are ridiculed for our faith, the things that we believe and the things that we practice, we tend to have this idea that it will be noble, like people will look at us suffering for Christ and say, hey, that is a person who loves their

God, I want to know more about this God. And so they'll come to you and ask and you'll share the gospel with them.

And through the persecution that you endure, the ridicule that you face, others will see that and end up coming to Christ as a result of that.

That tends to be the idea that we have. But I mentioned that you will more than likely be going through it alone or close family members, friends, people from your church coming alongside you, empathizing with you and encouraging you, strengthening you in prayer, maybe in your closest associations.

But otherwise, it's not going to be noble. The world is not going to be looking at you thinking that, oh, look at this person standing fast for your faith.

You will be the ridicule of the world and you will be the ridicule of other people that observe the the scorn that is coming at you from other worldly people.

And I mentioned this in the context of sharing the gospel. But let me be even a little more specific than that.

Just in the godliness that you are pursuing, desiring to live a life of holiness, a life that is pleasing unto the

Lord, obeying the command given in Romans 12 one to present your bodies as a holy and living sacrifice unto

God in view of his mercy. And this is your spiritual act of worship.

Just doing that, the world will scorn you and ridicule you because you believe that life begins at conception, because you believe a man is a man and a woman is a woman, that boys will be boys and girls will be girls, that, you know, based on the bad fruit in his life, that President Trump is not a

Christian despite the spiritual counsel that he has around himself and the number of evangelical preachers in America who try to say that he is a gift given to us from God, that, you know, as a

Christian, you shouldn't be watching television programs on HBO and Showtime, that, you know, marriage should be between one man and one woman for life.

These are just some examples of biblical principles that you hold dear to your heart because Christ has commanded them.

And the world will hate you and scorn you just because you believe those things. They will say that you hate people, that you are a bigot, that you are a hate monger, that you abuse your own children because you would choose to homeschool them instead of put them in public school or because you read the

Bible with them around your dinner table or because you don't believe it is right for a lesbian or gay couple to adopt children because you hold these viewpoints.

The world will scorn you for any reason other than the fact that you are a principled person who believes in Jesus Christ.

That's not what they will ridicule you for. We hate you because you're good. That's not what it is that you will hear.

They will find all manner of horrible names to accuse you of that you're not really guilty of.

But this is the scorn that you will face and nonetheless remaining steadfast in these things and in doing so.

And here's here's how we tie this into the lesson today in being steadfast in the faith, even in the midst of persecution and ridicule for the values, the

Christian values that you hold and believe in. This is a joy for the church.

It is actually a cause for rejoicing. And the person who led you to the faith, likewise rejoicing and hearing that you remain steadfast under trial, the fiery trial that comes upon you produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect.

As we were reading yesterday, even from James and Peter. So, Paul saying this even to the

Thessalonians, we're rejoicing to hear that in the midst of your affliction, you are steadfast in Christ.

And now we can really live. Verse six. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love.

Remember three essential Christian virtues that Paul often lays down and has with the Thessalonians already is faith, hope and love.

And so they are abounding in faith, the belief that they have in Christ, which as we read about is a gift given to us from God.

Jesus said in John six, the people asked Jesus, what works must we be doing to be doing the works of God?

And Jesus replied, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.

So if you believe in Christ, the work of God is has already been done in your life and is being done in your life.

So the faith that they have is evidence that God is with them in their hearts, producing good fruit, the greatest of which is love.

So the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you.

So it had been reported back to Paul that the Thessalonians are not just thinking of Paul as that guy that the

Jews drove out because apparently he was a bad teacher. No, they loved Paul. They were affectionate for Paul.

They wanted to see Paul. They were disappointed when Timothy showed up instead of Paul. And so for this reason, brothers,

Paul says, verse seven, in all of our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith, your steadfastness in the gospel of Jesus Christ, even in the midst of the affliction that you are going through has been a joy for us because we know the work that we did there.

We know receiving death threats from the Jews to the point that we had to escape in the cover of night.

All of that was worth it. We're celebrating to hear that you are steadfast in your faith.

Your faith is an encouragement to us. And as Paul has said, it's an encouragement to all the churches around Macedonia and Achaia who hear about the

Thessalonians that formerly worshipped idols. They turn from idol worship to worship the

Lord Christ, the true and living God. And even while they are being persecuted for this faith by Gentiles and Jews alike, they are still holding steadfast.

And that has been an encouragement to all the Christians around in the area. So so as I talked about yesterday, that your your affliction will not be noble.

Well, it won't be noble in the eyes of the world. For those who are truly brothers and sisters in Christ, it will be something noble and they will celebrate the fact that you have been so sure in your faith, even in the midst of going through such a fiery trial.

And again, whether that is standing on biblically grounded principles or it's proclaiming the gospel and having somebody ridicule you for that, you know, we're in the 500th anniversary of the

Protestant Reformation. That's October 31st of 2017, 500 years ago.

On that date is when Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Saxony.

There were plenty of things that were going on before that event. And of course, a lot of things that went on after that.

But that's kind of considered the central date that launched the Protestant Reformation. And because we are considering those things in this year, it's it's been the theme of a lot of our conferences,

G3, Shepcon, the Ligonier Conference, I believe the for the church conference coming up in Kansas City here in.

Well, that's next month now. I believe that they're also focusing on the 500th anniversary of the

Protestant Reformation. So since we're talking about those things this year, as we get closer to October 31st, you're going to start to hear things coming out by the

Catholic Church, different bishops and priests making statements. The pope himself is going to make a statement about how the

Protestant Reformation is over and Catholics and Protestants are working together again, which simply is not true.

What fellowship does light have with darkness? The Catholic Church still believes that salvation is attained by a combination of faith and works.

When the Bible says that faith is by grace through faith alone, that our authority is not the pope or the father of the church or some sort of earthly authority.

Our authority is in the scriptures and all of this to the glory of God alone.

All of this work accomplished in Christ alone. These are the things that we believe and hold fast to, with which the

Catholic Church does not. So there is no partnership. Between the

Protestant Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Then what's the point of Protestantism? What was the point of the

Reformation? If there if if there is no separation anymore between Roman Catholicism and the

Protestant Church. But anyway, so you'll start to hear those kinds of statements coming out by the pope and other people.

And we will be ridiculed because we don't agree with the pope on that. And there will be people even within Protestantism who will ridicule us as being divisive and dividers and and not together in unity.

And once again, I mean, charges of prejudice will come up and all these other kinds of things. There are huge evangelical giants who have partnered with the pope and with the

Catholic Church. Rick Warren even referred to the pope as our holy father. This is incredibly dangerous and it is not at all encouraging or uplifting for the church of God, in his saints, in Christ Jesus, holding steadfast to the true word of faith.

So this is another form of ridicule that we will be facing simply because we're not Catholics or because we know that we can have no fellowship with the

Catholic Church. But as we remain steadfast in our faith, despite the the criticism that we're going to receive for the principles that we hold dear for this scripture, this inerrant word of God that we treasure sufficient for our every need as we suffer the ridicule and scorn from the world for these things.

Let us rejoice together that God has destined us for this and the suffering that we endure is producing a steadfastness.

It's making us cling all the more to the promises of God before we were being ridiculed.

It makes us long for heaven even more. And we know that what we endure in this life is just preparing us for that kingdom, which is why as a result of the testimony of the faith of the

Thessalonians, Paul says now we can really live knowing that you are holding true to this faith that was delivered to you even in the midst of your affliction.

We know that we who delivered the gospel to you can really live. We are really rejoicing now, man, hearing that you guys didn't just believe this momentarily, that our visiting there was not in vain, but that the church of God because of our work exists and is growing.

So verse eight, for now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. And actually, if you read this in the

NASB, New American Standard Bible, there's an extra word added there for now we live in the

NASB is for now we really live and you can take that word now as living in the present at our present time.

We can really live. We really rejoice. We really embrace the abundant life in Christ Jesus, knowing that that our cause for being the work that we are doing is made all the more evident to us by the fruit that we see that has been produced there in Thessalonica and is continuing to be produced.

God has called us to this work. We were indeed destined for this, and we rejoice in this hearing about the faith that you have and are continuing to grow in.

Now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord. And this principle, you can apply to a lot of different things.

There are great trials that maybe you have experienced in your life, and you wondered why you had to go through this.

Well, the Lord was shaping you. He was perfecting you in sanctification, growing in holiness, that you would learn to rely upon him and trust him even in the midst of that circumstance.

It could have been a temptation that you were suffering through, praying and asking God to keep you steadfast and pursuing holiness, not giving into this temptation of your flesh.

It could have been some kind of betrayal at the hands of somebody that you really trusted.

And this actually caused you to trust in God more, realizing that sometimes even the closest relationships and friendships that you have are not going to endure to the end.

But it is the love that we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord, that will be with us for all eternity.

And maybe from that circumstance, you came to realize that all the more. So there are all kinds of things that we experience in life.

We don't quite understand the meaning for it at that time, but we get to the other side and see the person that we have been shaped into.

And as it talks about in Romans 8 .30, we're being shaped all the more in the image of Christ. And when you get to that point, you see the reason for that happening, and you rejoice in that circumstance.

Maybe it was difficult for you to do that while you were in the middle of it, but you can rejoice in it now.

And the Apostle Paul saying, hey, we're rejoicing and hearing that you're steadfast in the faith because all the stuff that we went through for you was all worth it.

And now we really live. Now we're not struggling with the anxiety of wondering.

I mean, was all that that we did there in Thessalonica, did it even have any effect at all? Now we are,

I mean, we're like surfing cloud nine, man. Hearing that you have received this gospel and believed it and are continuing to grow in it.

Now we live because you're standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you?

For all the joy that we feel for your sake before God as we pray most earnestly night and day.

Well, in other words, Paul is saying here, I mean, we're so filled with joy. How in the world could we even express this before God?

This is awesome. And it surpasses even what we can fathom in terms of God's plan and expectation for the church.

We see that now. It's like we had our own ideas of how this was going to work when we came to Thessalonica.

Did not go our way. But even from persecution, God is growing his church. People are coming to the faith.

So how can we even express Thanksgiving when these things are going on beyond even our understanding?

Do you realize that the church of God in Christ has grown even from this letter that was written 2 ,000 years ago?

How much did the apostles even comprehend or could wrap their minds around?

The work that God was doing in this that was going to grow a church for now thousands of years.

So how can we even begin to celebrate God for all that has come about as a result of this gospel?

We were called to preach for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our

God as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

And there were things that were lacking in their faith because the Thessalonians had not yet gleaned all the knowledge that they were hoping to be able to glean.

All the understanding of Christ that they were hoping the apostles could teach them. So Paul means to come back to them again so he can teach them all the more.

And some of that teaching is coming up. It's coming up here in chapter 4 as we're finally going to get to the specifics, the nitty gritty of what to expect on the day of the

Lord when Christ will return. So that we might touch on next week.

Next week may mostly just be the first 12 verses here of chapter 4.

And then we'll get into end times the week after that. We'll see. We'll see how that's going to go. Let's finish up with prayer.

Lord, keep us learning. Keep us holding firm to your truth. Even though as Christians we are going to be scorned by this world because this world is not our home.

We are kingdom people. We are strangers and aliens in this world. But we need your help to remain steadfast against the temptations and the trappings and even the scorn that will come from this world.

And so give us your spirit to seal our hearts. To keep us always longing for the

Word of God, feeding upon it, filling us up with more of you. That we may long for heavenly things and none of the stuff of this world can ever satisfy us.

We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the Tax with Pastor Gabriel Hughes.

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Thank you for your prayers and your support. Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you Becky. I'm looking forward to being a guest speaker at the

In Christ Alone Conference this coming Saturday at First Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas.

It starts at 10 a .m. The church is located at 207 4th Street there in Perryville. And you can find out all the details by going to facebook .com

slash Arkansas Baptist Conference. This is a free conference, a one -day conference on Saturday.