The Gospel Changes Lives

Alba 9-24-2023

THE GOSPEL CHANGES LIVES

I Thessalonians 1:4-5

Three boys in the schoolyard were bragging about who had the better father. The first boy says, “My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper. He calls it a poem, and they give him $100.”

The second boy says, “That’s nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper. He calls it a song, and they give him $1,000.”

The third boy says, “My Dad is even better than that. He scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes 6 or 8 men just to collect all the money!”

Well, hopefully the sermon was worth it. And it was, if it presented the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because the gospel changes lives. And when it does, it is noticeable.

Edgar A. Guest wrote a poem that is rather familiar. It says:

“I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;

I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds, For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.”

That's just the beginning of the poem, but it illustrates the need for the good news of Jesus Christ to make a difference in a person's life. And when one truly believes the gospel, it will show in the way a person lives.

That's why the apostle Paul was able to say when he wrote in I Thessalonians 1:5 that the Christians there knew what kind of men they were among them for their sake. Paul, and those with him, were examples of the change that the gospel makes.

And he saw the change it brought to the Thessalonians who believed the gospel. He says in I Thessalonians chapter one that he remembered, “without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father”

Then in verses four and five he says,“knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.”

1. Let's look at these verses more closely. He first speaks of their “election by God.” There are those who say that God has predetermined or predestined certain people to be His. But that leaves others out, even though God, in His Word, says that “God is not willing that any should perish.”

(II Peter 3:9)

And in Revelation 22:17 it says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (KJV)

And, of course, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

But that's the key, isn't it: “Whoever... believes in Him”, in Jesus. That is God's predetermined plan. The word election means “the act of picking out, to choose”.

It simply means that God chose to save us by His divine grace. God chose to provide a means for our salvation by allowing Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

God has also made it clear how His choice comes to us. 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 completed in us through faith and baptism. So when you, in faith, yield to Jesus as Savior and Lord, you know that He has chosen you.

God’s love for us and His commitment to us is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s a done deal. It’s not based on how good we are. It’s given to us through the grace of God. That's the gospel. That's the good news!

2. Now in verse five, when Paul calls it “our gospel” that does not mean that it was something that he made up. He means that he and the others with him were believers, and they themselves were trusting and obeying the gospel which they shared with the Thessalonians.

We need to remember, as Paul did, that the gospel is “our” message only in the sense that we are committed to it. It is not ours to edit. It is not ours to squander. It is not ours in the sense that we can pick and choose what parts we want to follow. It is ours because we have been blessed by it.