Stewards of the Good News
Text: 1st Thess. 2:1-12
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
If you remember this letter was written to the Thessalonians around 50 AD. That means that Paul, Silas and Timothy had probably been in Thessalonica around 15 to 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They stayed there for a period of time but then were forced out of the area.
Now in the ancient world, there were a lot of… I guess what you would call, wandering philosophers. Men who would travel from town to town and offer the latest teaching. Some of them sincerely believed in what they were saying, most were what we would call “snake oil” salesmen. They were just trying to trick people and make a buck here and there. And this is what Paul’s enemies were most likely accusing him of. They argued that he came into town, he spoke flattering words, eloquent words, that he was seeking glory, fortune and fame, and then they tried to prove their point because Paul left abruptly in the middle of the night. Again, in the book of Acts, chapter 17 is where we read about all of this happening.
So anyway, these people were slandering Paul and defaming him, and accusing him of being a shady character who left to save his own skin; so what Paul does in his first letter to the Thessalonians is try to answer these false claims against him. Now Paul wasn’t trying to make himself out to be something big… his fear was that all the talk about town was causing the Thessalonians to falter and stumble in their new faith. So Paul took the time to answer the charges against him. Now let me just tell ya’ll that I think Paul would’ve written this sooner had he known the charges against him sooner.
I think that all of us probably know how rumors can destroy the credibility of our witness. And I hope that if you all ever hear a rumor about me that you will come to me and let me know, so that I can address it – so that I can either confirm it and explain it, or deny it and refute it; and not only me, but against any brother or sister in Christ. Because I can tell you this, even though I am by no means a “Paul,” or even a “great pastor” My hearts desire is to see people come to faith and be saved, and I don’t want some rumor to hinder anyone from that. Whether it’s a rumor about me, my family, OR my church family.
You see; Paul knew that he was a steward of the Good News. He knew that he had been entrusted with the Gospel, and even though it was demanding, and that people would say things about him, and that he would probably never be a rich man, it was also the most rewarding thing in the world. Listen to how Paul talks about this in 2nd Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” Now remember Paul had been stoned, he had been beaten, he had been imprisoned, he had been in a ship-wreck… here he was being slandered… But what does he call of that? “Light affliction!” He says its but for a moment, but something better; something MUCH BETTER is coming.
Let’s turn back to our text in 1st Thessalonians.
Notice that Paul says 3 times (in vss. 2, 8, and 9) that his message is the Gospel of God. Nowhere in the rest of the NT will you find such concise, exact terminology. You see it a few times in the NT, but Paul uses it 3 times in a single passage of text.
Paul was a steward of the Good News. That’s why Paul said, “Woe unto me if I do not preach the Gospel.”
When Paul came to Thessalonica he knew exactly what the mission was. He wasn’t confused about it or afraid of it; even though he had just come from Philippi and had suffered persecution there. But he didn’t change the message, he didn’t alter it so that maybe he would be better liked in Thessalonica. He preached the same message to the Thessalonians that he had preached to the Philippians.
If you remember Acts 16, Paul and Silas had been attacked, they were publically beaten and put in prison, but God moved on their behalf and brought an earthquake which freed Paul and Silas and resulted in the jailer being saved.
But even though Paul had gone through so much, he didn’t change his content, he still preached the truth. Verse 2 says that he came to Thessalonica to “declare the Gospel of God!”
Turn with me to Acts chapter 20:24 (read)
Why was Paul so fixated on the Gospel message? Well it’s because he knew what was at stake. The eternal destiny of man. If ya’ll remember a while back; in our morning study of the Baptist Faith and Message, I said to ya’ll that no one can be saved without hearing the Word of God. “How shall they believe unless they hear?” Paul knew that there was nothing more important in this world than sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
And as I was studying this passage of Scripture I asked myself if I would be willing to give up everything, and subordinate everything in my life, my hopes, my dreams, my desires, my goals, everything for the sake of this message? Would you?
Well I told ya’ll my answer last Sunday evening after we watched the video of David Platt at the Southern Baptist Convention. I’m right there with him saying, “Let’s risk it all.”
Paul believed that the Gospel was the only message in the world that would make the difference between an eternal destiny in either heaven or hell. It was the only way for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy and just God. It was the only way to escape the wrath to come. And he told the Thessalonians as much.
Turn with me to Romans 10:13-15 (read).
I want to tell ya’ll something; I have seen more than a few people die in my lifetime. And most of the time, in most cases, there is a definite distinct difference between the way a Christian dies and an unbeliever dies. Those who know Christ have a peace about them, they know in whom they have believed.
But how have they believed? They heard the Gospel message. Paul knew it was his mission to share it, unapologetically, and it’s our mission as well. The Great Commission is given to every believer.
Paul goes on to say that he labored night and day, so as to not be a burden to the believers at Thessalonica. He’s not saying that the church should take the attitude of “God if you keep our pastor humble, we’ll keep him poor.” He’s saying that he didn’t want to become a burden to the Thessalonians financially. (That is my great fear here at Fort Supply). But Paul is also showing that he was not one of those snake oil salesmen because he wasn’t trying to get their money. No he was trying to help them, not hurt them. He was trying to bring them to saving faith, not destroy their faith by swindling them out of their money. In verse 10 he says that the Thessalonians saw this with their own eyes. They should know better than to believe the lies of Paul’s enemies. And not only them, but God was as well, the very same God who will judge the hearts of men. Paul is making a pretty strong case here.
Then Paul says, “We did this… we exhorted and comforted, and charged you… to walk worthy of God who called you into His own kingdom and glory.” So what does Paul mean by that exactly? Well I think in this instance he is talking about Christian love. I get that from the next chapter, 1st Thess. 3:11 – 13 (Read). In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I’m going to close with a short story I once heard. It’s about the King of England’s two sons, by title they were the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Kent. Well one day they were playing in the park and the older boy, the prince said, “I bet you a schilling that all fat policemen have bald heads.” The other boy said, “Ok, your on.” So they waited until they saw an overweight policeman walk by. The only problem was that the policeman was wearing the traditional British police helmet. Neither of the boys could figure out how to check the condition of the policeman’s hair, but it just so happened that a scruffy looking boy was strolling past them at that exact same moment. The prince said to him, “If you can knock that policeman’s helmet off I’ll give you 6 pence.” So the scruffy looking boy flung a rock and knocked the helmet off. This particular policeman just so happened to be bald, and so as the boys were paying and collecting their debts the policeman approached them and said, “What are your names?”
The 1st son replied, “Sir I am the Prince of Wales.” The policeman laughed and looked at the other boy, “And what about you?” He asked. The 2nd son said, “I am the Duke of Kent.” The policeman was getting a little perturbed and said, “You will both be charged with insulting the person of an officer and lying to avoid arrest.” He looked to the scruffy looking boy and said, “What about you?” The scruffy looking boy nudged the other two boys and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Then he looked to the policeman and said, “I’m the Arch Bishop of Canterbury.”
So why didn’t the policeman and the scruffy looking boy didn’t believe that the other two were the King of England’s children? It’s because they were not living worthy of their calling.
It’s been said that the greatest single cause of atheism today is Christians, who profess Christ with their mouths but their lives deny Him.
Let’s pray.
