Alba 10-1-2023
BECOME AN EXAMPLE
I Thessalonians 1:6-8
Here is a story of what happened when Calvin Coolidge was President. Once he invited some friends from Vermont to dine at the White House. They were worried about their table manners, so they decided to do everything their host did.
All went well until coffee was served. Coolidge poured his into the saucer. The guests did the same. The President added sugar and cream. So did the visitors. Then Coolidge leaned over and placed his saucer on the floor for the cat.
It proves you need to be careful whose example you follow.
Red Rand says he worked at a place where one man had sign on his desk that said, “No one is useless, he can always be used as an example.”
Be aware that others could be following the things that you do, whether good or bad. Some things happen or are done unintentionally. But, as Christians, we should be intentional about being the best example to others we can be.
The Thessalonian church became a good example to others by intentionally doing certain things. They are the things we should be doing if we want to become an example worthy of wearing the name Christian.
As the apostle Paul writes in I Thessalonians 1:6-8, he says of them, “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.”
Paul, because of his own experience, recognized the genuineness of the example set by the Thessalonian church.
The Greek word for example (tupos) "was used to describe a seal that marked wax, or a stamp that minted coins. Paul commended the Thessalonians for being model believers leaving their mark on others" (John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible).
So this tells us that the Thessalonians left an indelible impression on the world around them. Their example to others was seen in the way they received the gospel in spite of tribulation with the joy of the Lord in their hearts. It stamped the seal of their faith on the hearts of every believer who heard of their congregation.
So, how did they do that? Paul says that it was because they “became followers of us and of the Lord.” Paul, Silas and Timothy gave the Thessalonians good examples to follow.
Remember, in verse five Paul had just said, “you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.”
These Thessalonians became true followers of Jesus and the example of the lives His apostles. They watched the way that Paul, Silas and Timothy spoke and acted; they saw how they forgave and served.
They heard how they gently instructed in the truth; they observed their faith, love, hope and boldness. They saw their love for Jesus. And they adopted as their own this new Christian life. They did not play church.
Paul knew that people wanted to see a sermon, not just hear it. That's why he was able to write in Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”
It is in I John 2:6 where we are told to walk as Jesus did. But are we aware that we are also called to imitate the lives of godly people? That’s why Christian biographies and autobiographies are good to read. We learn how godly men and women throughout the ages have lived for Christ.
There was a time when the Corinthian church was questioning the apostleship of Paul. So he wrote to them in
I Corinthians 4:14-17 to tell them, “14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
He says, “I urge you to imitate me”!!! And then in the next verse he says, “17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.”
And in I Corinthians 11:1 he again says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” The NIV has that verse, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” “Imitate me.”
Sometimes we hear well intentioned Christians say, “Don’t look to me, look to Jesus”. But that’s not what Paul said! He kept asking people to imitate him. And yes, we should be always pointing people to our Lord as the answer to everything. But there is a sense in which God asks us to be examples for others to follow.
Of course, we need to be sure that we are truly following Jesus in order to be the example that others should follow. Jesus wants us to become like Him. Jesus wants people to notice the difference He has made in our life. Are we living our lives in such a way as to cause people to want what we have in Jesus?
Paul wanted his followers, his imitators, to behave as he did only to the extent that he was imitating the Lord Jesus. They could not just act the part, they needed to make their own commitment to the One who went to the cross so that they could be forgiven of their sins.
Some times we think of imitation in a negative way. How often do you hear in advertising, “Accept no imitations!” It’s easy to think of imitations as little more than one persons lazy attempt to copy the hard work of another.
There are people who impersonate others. Sometimes it’s uncanny how close they get to the real thing. And it’s been said that imitation can be the highest form of flattery.
But one thing the impersonator cannot reproduce is the heart of the person they are mimicking. After all, theirs is a false impersonation. Only the believer, those saved by the precious blood of Christ, can hope to be a true imitator of the heart of Christ.
So it was not that the Thessalonians were simply following Paul. They were following Paul’s example of the way he followed Jesus.
Notice, first they "received the word", and then they became "examples." The only way the Thessalonians could hope to imitate Paul, or ever hope to imitate Christ, is if they first had received the word implanted in their hearts.
Whenever you see in Scripture “received the word,” as it’s used here, it is equivalent to faith, the kind of faith that acts in obedience to the Lord. It was by that faith that the Thessalonians received the word, accepting the gospel message, the good news. And it changed them, making them the good examples that they were.
And that is the same for us. We need to take the Word of God that reveals His love for us in Jesus Christ and let it penetrate our hearts and minds. Because we are sinners and need to be rescued from hell, we need to know and believe that Jesus, in His great love for us, went to that cruel cross. If that thought takes hold of our lives, we will live differently.
Verse six says that they received the word “in much affliction”. These Thessalonians were not good examples to others because they had no problems. The word affliction in verse six literally means “to press hard against,” or “to exert a great deal of pressure” against something. It means “affliction or distress or suffering.”
Of all the churches that are mentioned by name in the New Testament, there are only two that receive commendations from Paul with little or no criticism. One church was the Philippians. In spite of great poverty, Paul says they remained true and faithful to God.
The second is the Thessalonian Church. They became believers, but it was not “easy-believism”. They did so amid “much affliction”. The NLT says that they “received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought.”
It's not talking here so much about just the normal hardships of life – health problems, financial pressures, dealing with job changes, etc. It was more about blatant persecution for their identification with Jesus Christ.
Paul and the others had come under fire in Thessalonica and been forced to leave the city. But the believers who remained faced some tough times.
They had to endure intense persecution for their faith and must have been constantly bombarded with the temptation to just go along with the world and it’s godless value system. Sadly, even here in the United States, we are having some of the same pressures.
Jesus didn't say that following Him would be easy. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” We should not be surprised if we face troubles because we are Christians.
Yet they lived their faith in the “joy of the Holy Spirit”. Even in suffering, they welcomed the message of salvation in Jesus with joy. Joy shows up even in difficult circumstances because joy is composed of a peace that passes understanding.
So not only did they endure great pressure and affliction because of their faith in Christ, they did so with this inner peace, a joy, that can only come from the Holy Spirit. What an incredible example to other groups of Christians, other churches around the world. What an example to us!
Isn't it wonderful when there is a good example to follow? If you are trying to do or make something, doesn't it help to be in the company of someone who knows how to do it? That's why so many people use youtube. You can usually find someone who can show you what to do. Examples can be very helpful.
One fellow said: I'm not much of a gardener. Once I took a seed catalog and started out the door. My wife asked “Where are you going with that?” I explained, “I'm going to show it to my tomatoes”. He wanted to give them encouragement.
The Thessalonians looked at Paul and saw how how they should follow Jesus – and they did! As a result of this, verse eight says about them, “from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.” The grape vines were buzzing all around Greece and the neighboring countries.
If we want to know how to become an example that leads others to Jesus, we can look at this Thessalonian church. We should be living our lives in such a manner that others see Jesus.
When people get to know us, do our lives back up what we say we believe? Are we defined by our faith and love and hope? And by those things of the Lord and His Spirit: holiness, and gentleness, and self control, and joy and thanksgiving?
We should want, and even invite, others to imitate our faith. Not because we think that we are better than other people, but that we are confident that we are living a life that imitates Jesus the best we can.
Just like the Thessalonians, as we imitate those who led us to Christ, and Jesus Himself, we will become examples for others to follow!
They were infected with the gospel so deeply that it got under their skin; and it began to spread to others. When we let the good news of Jesus Christ really get a hold on us, we will become infectious.
Remember when we were kids how our moms used to tell us that we could catch a cold if we went outside without our coats and hats and got too cold or especially if we got our heads wet?
The truth is, germs, not cold weather, cause colds. They say the reason we catch more colds in the cold winter weather is because we’re indoors more, and in closer quarters with other people and their germs.
Germs are contagious. Germs are the agents that transmit colds and viruses. Believers who are infected with Jesus are contagious. And contagious believers are infectious—they have an impact on an unbelieving world.
As they say, we may be the only Jesus that people see. As we imitate those who led us to Christ, and Jesus Himself, we can become examples for others to follow!
What kind of Jesus are we displaying in our lives? We need to reflect the true Jesus. Shouldn't we live so other people become curious and want to know what we have discovered? Shouldn't we live so that they wonder, “What have they got that I don’t have?”
Hopefully, what they see is that we are following Jesus, and that we want them to follow Him too. It will happen when we become that example.
CLOSE:
On September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken, Jr., broke the baseball record that many believed would never be broken: Lou Gehrig’s iron-man feat of playing in 2,131 consecutive games. Ripken gives much of the credit for his accomplishments to the example and teaching of his father
Cal Ripken, Sr., who played minor league baseball, and coached and managed for the Orioles.
During the 1996 season Ripken, Sr., was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame. After he gave his acceptance speech, his son came to the microphone. An emotional moment recalled in his book The Only Way I Know:”
“It was difficult. I wasn’t certain I could say what I wanted about my father and what he means to me. So I told a little story about my two children, Rachel, six at the time, and Ryan, then three. They’d been bickering for weeks, and I explained how one day I heard Rachel taunt Ryan, ‘You’re just trying to be like Daddy.’”
“After a few moments of indecision, I asked Rachel, ‘What’s wrong with trying to be like Dad?’”
“When I finished telling the story, I looked at my father and added, ‘That’s what I’ve always tried to do’”
What could be more right than to try to be like our Heavenly Father? What could be more right than trying to be like Jesus. That's when we become examples that others can follow.
