I Thessalonians 21-9
Apparently most lawyers/barristers will recommend that you do not begin legal proceedings in a libel case. Libel cases are apparently very difficult to win and in the end the only winners are the legal professions. George Carmen, who died recently, was one of the greatest libel lawyers of the 20th century. He could demand fees that amounted to over £1 million a year and that did not include expenses. Libel and slander are difficult to prove, even though the burden of proof in a civil case is less onerous than that in a criminal case. In chapter 2 of I Thessalonians Paul sets out to refute slander and libel against Silas, Timothy and himself. In chapter one Paul has commended the gospel ministry and it’s working in Thessalonica. Now in chapter two he mounts a defence of his own gospel ministry. He wants to prove to the Thessalonians that he is an authentic minister and not a fly-by-night charlatan. As we will see in a moment there has been slanderous accusations laid against Paul by those opposed to the gospel in Thessalonica. They were saying something like the following:
You realise why these men left so quickly? They were insincere men, typical self-centred religious charlatans. They got what they could out of you by trickery and flattery and then legged it before you could find them out.
Paul knows that he must defend his character because in so doing he will be defending the gospel of God which has won the hearts and minds of these people. His opponents knew that if they undermined the character of Paul, if they could cast doubt and suspicion upon Paul then the message would also suffer as a consequence. Very much like today where people often attack a person and not what they are saying. What they are actually doing is to undermine the message by undermining the messenger. So Paul sets out to defend his character and the in so doing the gospel message which he had faithfully preached at Thessalonica.
I want to share with you how he conducts his defence. It falls into two areas:
Paul’s Motives for Ministry
Paul’s Manner or Methods of Ministry
Paul’s Motives for Ministry
I want you to imagine that Jack and I are in for the same promotion. I really want the job. One day we are walking down the prospect road and I see a large 10 tonne lorry coming down the road. Now Jack is on the outside of the pavement and just as the lorry is coming near us I push him out into the middle of the road. But just at that precise moment the lorry driver has a heart attack and the lorry serves on to the pavement and hits me. Now to any eyewitness they have just witnessed a heroic act by myself – saving Jack without any thought to the consequences for my personal safety. They were unable to see the motive of my heart for pushing jack out in to the middle of the road. Motives are the deepest test of our hearts. Motives test what we say, what we do and how we live. Let us look at the motives for Paul’s ministry at Thessalonica.
Effective – verse 1 – Paul, Silas and Timothy did not come in vain amongst them. When he speaks about their ministry not being a failure he means that it had a purpose and goal amongst them. That purpose was achieved as is evidenced by what he has written in chapter 1. Effective does not mean successful, nor does it mean empire building. He does not make this statement to gain recognition or applause from them.
Courageous – verse 2. Nothing tests the motivations of our hearts quite like opposition. Paul outlines for them the opposition in Philippi and also in Thessalonica. In Acts 1622-24 we read that Paul and Silas were beaten, flogged, dragged through a public humiliation, locked in stocks and put in prison for preaching the gospel. When the authorities find out that he is a Roman citizen they want to release him quietly out through the back gates of the city. But Paul will not allow it. He knows that if he has been publicly shamed so has the gospel and only a public vindication and declaration of innocence will clear the slander from the gospel also. These are the circumstances from which Paul came to Thessalonica – still bearing on his body the marks of the flogging and beating he had received. Many would have said nothing to him if he had simply come to rest and recuperate at Thessalonica after such and experience. But not Paul, even in the face of stern opposition in Thessalonica, he fearlessly preaches the gospel. Such courage shows his integrity and his sincerity. His motives were simply to preach the gospel entrusted by God to him.
Godly – verses 3-4. Now listen to verse 3 because here we get some hints and insight into what was being said about Paul and Silas in their absence. Error, impure motives, trickery – that is what Paul refutes here and that must have been the charges levelled against him by his opponents. Error – speaks of self-delusion and deceit. Impure motives speak about immorality which abounded amongst the pagans at that time and much of the pagan cults. His opponents were saying that Paul was immoral and therefore the message was immoral. He was accused of trickery – that is deluding his hearers by fine words and conjuring tricks like many of the travelling religious people of the day. His opponents, like Paul, knew that there is always a connection between error in doctrine and immorality in life.
Verse 4 the very opposite of these things is true says Paul. Look instead of being men of error and deceitful we are approved by God. Furthermore not only are we approved by God but we have been entrusted with the gospel. Acts 915 – Paul could say he was a chosen vessel – chosen by god for this work. He was not concerned with anything other than fulfilling the calling of God in his life. He was not concerned about pleasing men – Latimer Latimer be careful what you say… Paul is concerned with pleasing God because God tests his heart – his motives for ministry. I Samuel 167 states that clearly.
Unambitious – verse 5-6. Look at what Paul says in these verses. We did not use flattering words to gain your attention or your confidence. Nor were we manipulative in order to gain financially from you. Flattery and greed were not the motives of their hearts. He calls God, the one who tests the hearts of men, to be his witness to these claims. He then goes on in verse 6 to state that even though he was an apostle, and as such had certain rights and privileges in the church at that time, he did not insist on them. In fact he was no burden to them at all. Paul on other occasions accepted wages from the church and on other occasions accepted a financial gift from the church. But on this occasion he did not wish to add any burden to the believers at Thessalonica and so he worked as a tentmaker, which was his trade. Paul did this so that the gospel could come to them unimpeded, unhindered and so that his reputation, and therefore that of the gospel, would not be soiled with any allegation of greed on his part.
I want you to note that all the way through these 6 verses Paul has constantly called them to remember how he lived amongst them. He calls them to bear witness to the truth and validity of what he is saying. Now he moves on to the
Manner of his Ministry.
In verses 7-9 Paul outlines the manner in which he conducted his ministry amongst them. He states the positive side of his ministry. He states his love for them as his spiritual children, how he cared for them, how he loved them, how he was gentle amongst them and shared not only the gospel but his life with them. Just as his motives were clear for them all to see and test according to their own memory so also were his actions amongst them. Paul says that Silas and himself not only took delight in sharing the gospel with them but also their lives with them. How could they have hidden the motives of their heart – they shared their lives with these people. Paul sets an example of ministry before us which the church has sought to live out for centuries, millennia – namely living open, honest, accountable lives amongst the people of the church and the world.
Paul says we were gentle, we were like a mother to you. We loved you, nourished you, cherished you, protected you just like a mother would for her children. This was a mark of his godliness and a mark of his ministry. Gentleness towards these babies in Christ was a mark of his ministry amongst them. Just as we are patient with a baby, caring for its needs, giving special time and attention to it – so was Paul and Silas towards these Christian babies. Paul speaks of a deep loving intimate relationship with them. One in which he shares his life with them. You see Paul walked with them and did not just work with and amongst them. That is very important and something we need to remember in the church today. We must learn to walk together before we work together. I am not sure who it was said ‘in order to know a man walk a mile in his shoes.’ Liam Neeson said he did not know the character of Schindler until he put on a pair of his shoes and then he knew exactly how to play him in the film. Paul and Silas shared their lives with these young Christians – it bore fruit and know it was bearing testimony to the truth of their ministry and the gospel message amongst them. Paul concludes this part of the letter by stating that he was no burden to them at all. He calls them to remember that contrary to what the opposition is saying about him he claimed no financial assistance from them. In fact if they would cast their minds back he toiled, he laboured as a tentmaker to pay his way. Paul has defended his manner of ministry amongst them by asking them to remember how he and Silas loved them, were gentle with them, how they lived amongst them and how they supported themselves so as not to be a burden to them.
APPLICATION
I believe what God is saying to us from this passage this morning is this:
Live lives in this community that are above reproach. Live lives which commend the gospel – lives which even when your opponents accuse you – you will be able to point to how you lived as vindication of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been entrusted to you. You have been approved by God and now you are required to live in a way that the message of the gospel is not derided, denied or denigrated because the messenger does not live accordingly. People read the gospel according to your life – what are they reading – holiness or hypocrisy.
Secondly I believe God is calling us all as a community of Christian believers to walk together and then we can work together. I believe he is calling us to model here at HTW a Christian community wherein people not only share the gospel but share their lives. That will mean taking a risk and opening your life up to others. But it is one of the commitments I asked of you all when I shared the vision for this church in the years ahead – to be in a relationship for spiritual growth. Are you, are we, prepared and willing to share our lives so that people will see our gentleness and be more open to the gospel.
Finally can I leave you with this one challenge: if someone was to libel you this morning could you like Paul appeal to your life as a believer to vindicate your character. Paul did not go on the offensive. He did not attack his opponents character – no. Instead he pointed to his motives and his manner of living and allowed the facts of those to bear testimony to the falsehood of the slander. I hope and pray we would be able to do the same.
