October 23, 2005 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10
"We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia - your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell 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 - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."
Dear fellow believers having been chosen by God,
Paul begins his letter to the Thessalonians by thanking God for all of work and love and endurance of the Thessalonians. The very fact that he thanked GOD for the work and love of the Thessalonians shows that God was the initiator of the faith and actions of the Thessalonians. This is also very clear from today’s text.
He tells the Thessalonians, “We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.” If people weren’t so willingly blind to the Scriptures - they would clearly see that salvation and coming to Christ is not dependant on the power or decision of man. It is from the power of God who does the CHOOSING. He chooses from eternity when and where He is going to bring you - the dead sinner - to faith. (Eph. 1:4)
Paul is a clear-cut example of this. He had nothing to do with his conversion. If it were up to him, he would have persecuted Christians until the day he died. But God chose to convert him on the way to Damascus and show him the light(Acts 9:1-6). The choice was not Paul’s. The choice is not yours. It is God’s.
This is offensive to a great majority of those who live in the world. So, I guess I could just ignore the doctrine. But then what about the Word that talks about this doctrine, like TODAY’S text? Should I skip over the offense and not talk about it? No. God’s Word is built to be offensive. We still need to preach it. One thing that offends people when they think about the teaching of predestination is, “how do I know if I’m chosen or not?” This is the question that we can answer from today’s text. It can be answered - maybe not with reason - but with the Scriptures. That Word is found in God’s Word for today. It answers the question -
Do you Know if You’ve Been Chosen?
I. Look at the commitment God has made with you in Christ
When you’re making a choice - for instance - when you choose to marry someone - there can’t be any doubt about it. Think about, for instance, the way that couples attempt to be committed to one another nowadays. They’ll buy promise rings. They’ll sleep together. They’ll live together. They’ll have children together. But in the midst of all these things, they never really make the commitment and actually get married. The children grow up with insecurity not knowing what the status of mom and dad is. Mom and dad don’t even know the status of each other - feeling the pressure to “measure up” so the other one doesn’t leave. The same is even true of many married couples - who don’t look at marriage as a lifelong commitment. So here we are in America, living in the middle of this mess of so called “committed” and yet uncommitted relationships.
When God chooses us, He doesn’t leave any doubt about it. He doesn’t just commit Himself half way with a “promise ring” and a promise to make a promise at some future time. He jumps in, both feet - head first - no reserves. This is absolutely clear from God’s Word. The Thessalonians KNEW they were chosen, because Paul clearly told them about the love of God. That word for love is the unconditional love - the agapaw love. This is defined wonderfully by Paul in Romans 5:6-8
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
God’s commitment is so great that He would send His only Son to die for people that were UNGODLY and POWERLESS. It’s one thing to give a cup of coffee to an evil person or treat him humanely. The government will have to do that for Dennis Rader. But it’s another thing to actually die for an ungodly person and actually love him. That’s what God did for us by sending Jesus into this world. Jesus actually came into this world 100% - took on human flesh, and lived and dwelt among us. He wasn’t repulsed by our condition - even though it was repulsive to Him. Out of an undeserved love, He decided to get involved in our world and die in our world - in order to free our world. This is the Gospel that Paul told the Thessalonians about. They knew that Jesus had come from heaven, raised from the dead that he also - rescues us from the coming wrath. Paul left no doubt in their minds. They knew God was committed to them.
Before we get to the issue of whether you are “chosen” by God or not - we need to start with the clear cut message of the Gospel. There is no doubt about this. God loves the world - the WORLD. Why else would He have sent His Son to die for it? He’s VERY CLEAR about this. The question is not on God’s end about whether or not He’s committed to seeing you saved. He has made every effort to make this message as clear as possible. If you don’t know this or you didn’t hear it or you doubt this - don’t blame God - as if He hasn’t made this clear. If you don’t believe that God really loves you because your job isn’t paying you as much as you like, or because you didn’t make the varsity squad or because your health is deteriorating, that’s not God’s fault. He’s made it clear. He loves you in Christ.
God has also made it clear what His choice comes through. Jesus said in Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." The choice of God is consummated through faith and baptism. God’s love for you and His commitment to you is unconditionally based on the death and resurrection of Christ. That’s a done deal. It’s not based on how good you can be. It’s completely GIVEN to you through the Gospel. If you don’t believe God is loving, it isn’t because God was mumbling. When you do believe in Jesus as your Savior, you know that He has chosen you. The two go hand in hand. You can’t have salvation outside of faith in Christ. God’s choice is made through the Gospel which comes to us in Word and sacrament. Again, if you don’t believe that Jesus has died for you, or that his death covers your sins, or that God loves you - that isn’t because God’s Word is unclear. It’s as clear as a bell. He is committed to us in Christ.
II. Look at your commitment to Christ
The problem comes on our end, how we respond to His actions. He doesn’t want us to live in doubt, living every moment wondering if God really loves us or whether we’re really forgiven or not. Unfortunately, that is how many Christians tend to live. That is also why many people who want to call themselves Christians will not end up in heaven - because they don’t really believe God does love them in Christ. They don’t think they’re good enough - or they think they’ve just been too awful for God to really forgive them.
Paul didn’t have that problem with the Thessalonians. He said, "We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you" (1Thess 1:4). These words made it clear that there was something that really stood out about the Thessalonians, that set them apart - so Paul knew they were chosen. What was it that set them apart? There were several reasons. Some of it was based on the history of the Thessalonians. They were originally idol worshipers - many of whom worshiped the Greek gods whose “home,” according to Greek mythology, was supposedly located on nearby Mt. Olympus. They were probably brought to faith during Paul’s second mission journey in 51 A.D., when Paul was called to Macedonia in a vision from God. He stayed in Thessalonica for about three weeks, in which the Jews became jealous and instigated a riot. They were so upset with Paul that even after they left for Berea, the Jews sent the agitators after him there (Acts 17). In other words, Jewish opposition in Thessalonica was fierce. It would have been easy to NOT follow Paul in view of this.
First of all, Paul said that, “our Gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (1Thess 1:5). If you have a deep conviction of the Gospel, it means that you know in your heart you were on the way to hell. It means that you knew you were a helpless sinner who was bound to serve Satan - you had no hope. You know in your heart, that God demanded you to be holy every second of your life. It also means that when you see Christ, you see someone who obeyed God’s law as your substitute. When you see a cross, you don’t just see an empty symbol. When you see a cross, you see God dying and going through hell with your sins on your shoulders. When you hear the Gospel, you know that God prepared heaven for you, free of charge.
This is opposed to someone who hears the Gospel and simply says to themselves, “that’s nice. I guess I’ll join this church. They have padded pews and I like their pastor and their music.” It’s a much deeper thing than that. The Thessalonians responded in the first way. You could tell it meant a lot to them. They were really happy when they heard they were saved. They were confident in it.
This confidence then effected not only their attitude, but also their actions. Since these were just fresh Christians, Paul was really concerned about whether the devil would use this early persecution to have them shrink back from their faith and have second thoughts about joining the Christian religion. But what happened with the Thessalonians? “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia- your faith in God has become known everywhere” (1Thesss 1:6-7). Instead of shrinking back from the faith, the Thessalonians made it a point to imitate what Paul and Timothy had done - to boldly proclaim the word in spite of the persecution they would endure. Their response in the faith was so strong that it became a model of faith to all believers everywhere. That word for “model” really means, “the mark of a stroke or blow,” like when you take your fist and punch a section of drywall - it leaves an impression. That’s what made Paul sure the Thessalonians had been chosen by God - he could tell by the way they had responded to the Gospel. There was no doubt in his mind that this congregation was full of Christians, especially when he considered where they had come from and what they were going through.
Peter once wrote his fellow Christians in 2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.” He writes this after he tells them to add goodness, knowledge, and self-control to their faith. What he’s writing is in conjunction with what Paul is saying here. Make your calling sure. How do you know you’re elected? If you find yourself doubting whether God loves you, whether Jesus really died for you, whether you really even have faith, then do something about it. Find someone whom you consider a strong Christian - and imitate his or her faith. Watch how often they come to worship. See how often they read their Bibles. Examine the way they pray, the way they study the Bible. Talk with them. Learn from them. Imitate them. As you do these things, you will find what sets them apart. It isn’t that they’re better than you or were given more gifts. It’s the Holy Spirit that works through the Gospel that they are listening to. As you get back in the Word, the more convinced and confident you will become in your salvation in Christ. The more willing you will be to read your Bible at home, have devotions and pray with your family, sacrifice more time to Christ - to give up more possessions for Him - to even be persecuted for Him. The more you find yourself doing these things, the more confident you will become that you really do believe in Jesus.
This is really dangerous talk in some ways. It’s dangerous because I know there may be many of you listening or reading who are still saying to yourself, “I don’t know if I’m chosen. I don’t spread the gospel like the Thessalonians. I don’t put up with persecution like I could or should. I don’t match up to . . . ”
Notice something however. The Thessalonians seemed to be a pleasant surprise to Paul. He was concerned about them, expecting them to be barely hanging on at best. The sinful nature is strong, my friends, even though it’s been drowned. It wants to be lazy. It wants to give up easily. It does at times. There were many times that Paul had to address less than confident Christians like the Corinthians and Galatians who had many problems. Yet Paul still addressed the Corinthians as holy. He still called the Galatians his brothers in Christ. This is important. He didn’t do this because they still were doing some “good things.” He addressed them this way because they were still covered in the blood of Christ through faith.
As long as you still believe you are a sinner, you are sorry for your sins, and you believe that Jesus died for all of them and has made you holy through faith in Him - you would still go to heaven today immediately if you died. Why? Because Christ died for the ungodly world, and you believe it. You may not have as strong a faith as the Thessalonians or other Christians, but you still believe God forgave you and loves you unconditionally in Christ.
The question is - how would you rather cling to Christ, with a weak faith or a strong faith? Do you really want to live life with doubt and fear, or with strength and confidence? Do you really want your faith to be nothing more than a Sunday routine or something you do for the sake of you parents or spouse? The Thessalonians became models of faith by the grace of God - by clinging to Paul’s message no matter what happened to them. They pleasantly surprised Paul with their response of faith. It’s not as if God has left you to fight this fight on your own. He has given you the Holy Spirit. You’ve been baptized. You really don’t have any excuse to remain an infant in the faith. Make your calling sure.
Say to yourself, “I want to follow the example of the Thessalonians. I want to rejoice in the Gospel. I want to be like the Thessalonians. God grant me the strength to cling to the Gospel and let it strike me deep.” Instead of just being like so many other congregations, maybe our congregation could be a model of faith - if we thought to ourselves, “who cares what we lose! We’ve got the gospel!”
If the message became so ingrained in our brains, we would be given a reckless abandon and a willingness to risk all for the Gospel. Perhaps, by God’s grace, we could do some shocking things! Perhaps we could have one hundred percent attendance at worship - a hundred percent attendance at Bible class - volunteers looking for ways to serve on the evangelism committee - a true fire for the Word of God and how to spread it.
There was once a very handsome young man who wanted to win the love of a rather ugly and depressed young lady in his school. Nobody understood why, and some of his friends even tried to talk him out of it. Nonetheless, he pursued the young lady. He bought her flowers, took her out to eat - treated her like an absolute queen. As a matter of fact, his love for her changed her countenance, and she actually looked a little happier after they had dated for some time. He told her day in and day out that he loved her. Then, one day, after a wonderful evening of dining at their favorite restaurant, he got down on one knee and pulled out a hundred thousand dollar ring. With the whole restaurant staring, he looked her in the eye and said, “I love you with all of my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” How would you respond if you were the lady? Would you say at that point, “are you sure you love me? Why do you love ME?”, or “let me think about it for a while - let’s date for another year”?
When we read the Gospel and hear about Jesus we have no doubt that God is committed to us and wants to spend the rest of His life with us. The question isn’t on HIM. He’s made it clear. The question is with you. If you’ve been hemming and hawing, living in doubt and confusion of God’s love - listen again to His words - look again at what He’s done for you. He has committed Himself to you and He IS committed. If you decide to walk away from this love - to throw away His commitment - that won’t be God’s fault. Stop doubting that love - don’t ignore it - and say to yourself today - “I want to spend every moment with my Lord. For better or for worse, in poverty or in wealth, in sickness and in health, I am committed to Him, because I know He is committed to me.” Amen.
