A True Church

In the days of Moses, before the Israelites entered into the land God had promised them, God commanded spies to be sent. One leader from each tribe was chosen, and together, they were going to sneak into enemy territory and come back with a report. How good is the land? And how strong are the people there?

Numbers 13 gives us the names of these men, but for most of them, we don’t know much else. Given the nature of the mission, I think it would be fair to say that these were courageous men. They probably all would have been labelled as “men of God.” And so, for forty days, these men leave the comfort of their home and family, and they go spy out the land.

A lot of you know how the story ends. The men come back to the Israelites telling them that the land is good, but the people are strong. Of the twelve-man team, only two said to the people, “Let’s move forward. We can have victory over them.” The other ten said, “No, it’s too much for us. The people are too mighty.”

Twelve men left, apparently armed with courage and faith in God. But in reality, only 2 ever had it. The majority had an earthly courage, or an earthly faith in God, and under the pressure of life, it vanished.

Jesus told us that the same thing happens in the lives of those who believe in Him. Some have an artificial faith that only last a short while until pressure or the allure of something better comes along. But others have genuine, saving faith. Jesus said, “You will recognize them by their fruits.”

So, what kind of faith do you have? What kind of faith does our church have?

Just like there are true and false believers, there can also be true and false churches. There are groups of people who call themselves churches and who claim to follow Christ. But in reality, they are only following a shadow. They focus on aspects of the faith that appeal to them, but they also ignore the teachings and the commands of Christ that they don’t like.

As we’ve been studying Paul’s letter to the church of the Thessalonians, we’ve seen that Paul is filled with joy and gratitude because the church of Thessalonica was a genuine church. For the most part, chapter 1 of the letter is Paul describing the reasons for his certainty concerning this church.

In verses 2 and 3, Paul says he saw the church’s faith, hope, and love, which overflowed into work, and labor, and perseverance. In verses 4 and 5, Paul reminds them that his ministry was a faithful one, not depending on his own power, but on the power of God through the Holy Spirit. And his life aligned with his teaching.

This morning, we come to verses 6-10, and we see 4 more characteristics of a genuine church. For the Thessalonians, hearing Paul recount this for them would have been a two-fold encouragement. First, though this section is primarily a praise to God for what He has done, it’s also a way of praising the church for their efforts and labors. Secondly, it's an encouragement to them to continue in that work.

And that’s the way I’d like you to think about what we’re going to study today. If you’ve seen these qualities in your own life and in the lives of someone else, you should praise God because this is evidence of genuine faith. At the same time, these qualities are what we should be striving to persevere and grow in. We’re never supposed to move past these qualities.

These characteristics don’t gain or maintain our salvation, but they do serve as evidence of genuine faith, and they are used by God to work in us for His glory.

So, if you claim to follow Jesus Christ, what should you be looking for in your own life? And what should you be looking for in the lives of others?

Let’s pick up our study in verse 6. The first characteristic or evidence of genuine faith in our passage today is joyful affliction. Joyful affliction.

Look at verse 6. Paul says—And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Normally, when we talk about being an imitator of the Lord, or an imitator of the Apostle Paul, we think about holiness and purity. Or maybe you think about proclaiming the gospel. Those are good things. But that’s not the kind of imitation Paul is talking about here. Why did Paul say they became imitators of him and of Jesus? What did he see? He says—you received the word in much affliction

The Bible has many examples of Christ and His Apostles suffering. The Thessalonians had a firsthand look at Paul’s affliction because he had to leave the city when his life was being threatened. That was a common thing for him, and it followed the pattern of Jesus who ended up dying on a cross because of the jealousy and the hatred of the Jewish leaders. This kind of persecution shouldn’t come as a surprise, but to many it does.

There are preachers and churches today who want you to think that if you follow Jesus, He will make your life better. Your emotional wellbeing, your physical wellbeing, your financial wellbeing, and your relational wellbeing, they say, are all going to improve. And those kinds of preachers have no problem gathering to themselves multitudes of people who line up to hear the message. You won’t hear them talk about repentance or about sin or about hell and judgment, or about taking up your cross. Their focus will be the good things in life, and they will present Jesus as the pathway to them. At a more basic level, the implicit message is, “If you do what I tell you, you can be rich or famous or cool, just like me.”

Jesus, on the other hand, told His disciples to denounce the pleasures and the promises of this world. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” That’s Luke 9:23-25.

In Matthew 10:22, He said, “You will be hated by all for my name's sake.” When He spoke with His disciples on the night He was arrested, He basically said, “The world hated Me, and they will hate you too.”

And Paul said the same thing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12—Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

That is not the kind of message the world wants to hear, but that was the message of Jesus. Persecution will come. The world will reject. Individuals may admire your integrity, but as a whole, the system of this world will reject the true message of Jesus.

Now, if you or I heard about someone coming to faith in Christ, and then we heard about some kind of ensuing persecution, we would feel bad for them, and we would pray for the persecution to end. But that’s not exactly Paul’s response, nor was it the response Jesus expected.

Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:10—Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Why would we rejoice in persecution and rejection? We rejoice because we have a heavenly reward waiting for us. We rejoice because it serves as evidence of our salvation.

A false convert might experience persecution initially. But that persecution can lead to him abandoning the faith. But for a true believer, there is perseverance. There is joy, because it confirms for us that we are on the right side.

In Acts chapter 4, we find that Peter and John are preaching to the people, and they are arrested and threatened. And when they are eventually released and go back to the rest of the disciples, the group doesn’t pray, “Lord, stop this persecution.” They pray for more boldness.

Then, in chapter 5, the Apostles end up in a public prison. And angel lets them out, and they go right back to preaching. So, there they go back to the Council. And again, they get ordered not to preach, and this time they are beaten too. And Acts 5:41 says this—Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

What an amazing testimony of their faith. These were the same man who just 50 days ago were running scared when Jesus was put to death. What changed? Where did they get this boldness, this power, and this joy? Jesus said it was a gift from God. It was the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit of Christ.

He's the same one that comes into our lives when we trust in Christ. He empowers us for service, and He produces in us spiritual fruit. The fruit of the Spirit, Paul says, is love and joy.

That’s what Paul mentions for the Thessalonian church. Again, looking back at verse 6. They received the word in much affliction, but also with the joy of the Holy Spirit. That’s the joyful affliction which serves as a mark of genuine conversion. Affliction alone isn’t what Paul points out. It’s the affliction for the name of Christ that is accompanied by joy in His service.

To the degree that you’ve seen joyful affliction in your own life or in the life of someone else, praise God for the fruit of salvation. And then, strive and encourage others to persevere in boldness and in joy. We aren’t seeking persecution. But we shouldn’t be deterred by it either. Joyful affliction is evidence that we belong to Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at a second characteristic now. Number 2, genuine salvation will also be demonstrated through a powerful reputation. A powerful reputation.

This might be less visible for those of you who grew up in the faith. But if you came to faith later in life, it was probably much more visible. There was a transformation in your life, and it was evident. For some, it might have been more extreme than others, but there was a transformation, nonetheless. You became a new creation in Christ Jesus. Fundamentally, you weren’t the same person anymore. Something changed.

And when someone comes out of a sinful life, and their life turns around, and they endure amidst the persecution from employers and peers and even their own family, that is a powerful testimony to others.

That’s what happened to the Thessalonians. They were pagans. They worshiped idols. But they were transformed. So much so, that the news got out. Look at verse 7. This is a result of their transformation which included their joyful persecution. Verse 7—so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

Their new life was like a gong that rang out in the entire region. Everybody started to hear about it. That’s like what happened with Paul too. At the end of Galatians 1, when Paul is describing his own conversion, he says—I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

Word had spread about what God had done in Paul’s life, and word was also spreading about what Paul had done in the Thessalonians. The buzz with this new church wasn’t based on a fancy building or some kind of community service project. The buzz was based on their conversion.

Verses 7 and 8 gives us the picture that when Paul went to a new city, before he could even talk about what God had done in Thessalonica, the people had already heard about it. This church had a resounding testimony. It had a powerful, or an impactful, reputation.

Some of you I’m sure have experienced that as well, either in your own life, or in the life of someone else. Someone comes to Christ, and word gets out real quick about the change that had taken place. That’s a wonderful evidence of conversion.

Verse 8 says the word of the Lord sounded forth from them. That means they were evangelizing. People were telling people about Jesus. But word was also getting out about this new life. Their faith in God [had] gone forth everywhere. This church had an amazing testimony, both in their words and in their lives.

Wouldn’t you want that for our own church? How does that happen? It happens by a work of God in people’s lives and by people truly living in accordance with their faith. It’s a church of purity and holiness and integrity and boldness. Husbands are loving their wives. Wives are submitting to their husbands. Kids are being raised in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And there is a spirit of love and compassion and holiness pervading all of it. That leads to a powerful reputation.

Verse 9 continues. Paul writes about the response of the other churches Paul visited. He says—For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

This shows us a third evidence of genuine conversion. There is a joyful affliction. There is a powerful reputation. And number 3, there is a rightful dedication. A rightful dedication.

The end of verse 9 shows us what actually behind the visible transformation in the church. It’s a new dedication. They went from serving idols to serving the one, true God.

The transformation of an individual who is genuinely saved is not like a New Year’s resolution. It’s not like when someone quits smoking or decides to lose some weight or watch less TV. Fundamentally, it is a shift in the master of their life.

If you are comfortable marking your own Bible, make a note of that word “serve.” A more direct translation would be, “you turned… to be a slave of the living and true God.” “You became slaves; that’s how the Bible puts it. Not just here, but in other places as well.

When we say Jesus is Lord, that means He is the Master. You dedicated your life to yourself, or to something else, but in salvation, your dedication shifts. It’s back where it’s supposed to be, with God as Master through Jesus Christ, and you as his slave.

I know that slave has a lot of negative connotations, especially in our own nation. But the basic idea of the word is that somebody else owns you. They are in charge of your life. Again, in this country, that idea of being a slave to someone else isn’t going to win people over, but that’s the message of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters.” And that word “serve” is the same word Paul uses here. Nobody can be the slave of two people. Someone has got to be in charge.

In Romans 6, Paul talks about the transformation of a Christian, and he says that we were buried with Christ so that we would be raised with Him and walk in newness of life. From death to life—you can’t have a more drastic transformation.

Later in the chapter, he says we used to be slaves of sin, and that only led to more sin. But by grace and through our faith in Christ, we were set free. Now, we have a new Master. We are now slaves of righteousness, which leads to more holiness. We are now slaves of God. Jesus said it like that. Paul said it like that. James said it like that. Peter said it like that. Jude said it like that. And John said it like that. This is not some obscure doctrine in the New Testament. Mary, the mother of Jesus said it too, along with other people in the Bible. We are slaves of God. He is the One we serve.

That is the foundational shift that takes place at conversion. We have a new dedication, a rightful dedication. Instead of living for this world, we live for God in obedience to Jesus Christ through His word. If you want to know what your Master wants from you, it’s all here. Dedicate your life to learning and living what God has told you.

Now, God’s word for us isn’t just instructions about what you can and can’t do. It’s also teachings about how God works and what His eternal plan is. And those truths should reshape how we think about the world and about our own lives.

As this chapter comes to a close, that shifted perspective is what Paul highlights in the Thessalonian church. And this will be our final characteristic today of a transformed church.

This is the evidence of salvation. We can see a joyful affliction, a powerful reputation, a rightful dedication, and last of all, a faithful anticipation. A faithful anticipation.

Look at verse 10 with me. Here’s the final description Paul gives in this chapter of the Thessalonian church. The work of God in their life led to a new dedication, verse 10—and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

When Paul uses the word “wait,” he isn’t using the term the way we say we had to wait at the DMV or wait for dinner to be ready. Paul uses a word here that isn’t used anywhere else in the Bible. It’s an intensified version of the normal word for wait. And it has the added idea of patience and hope.

You’re not just waiting because something might happen; you’re waiting because you are completely depending on it. This is the hope of every Christian. Jesus who died and who rose again, ascended back to the Father, but He promised that He would return.

His first coming was in humility and mercy. His second coming will be in power and glory. Jesus will come to finish the victory He began on the cross and in His Resurrection.

If you’re visiting with us this morning, we want you to know that this is the message of Jesus. He didn’t just teach us about living a righteous life. He taught us that He will return. And when He does, that will be the end of the world as we know it. For those who have rejected Christ, there will be a final judgment. They will face His wrath.

Psalm 2 describes that time in poetry. It says that God sits in heaven laughing at the world which rebels against Him. They think they are in charge, but God has already chosen His King, His Messiah, His Christ. One day, He will come, and the world will be terrified in His wrath.

It will not be the Jesus you see painted in soft light and displayed on people’s walls. It will be a Jesus with flaming, fiery eyes, ready for judgment. He will strike down the nations of this world in the wrath of God.

Here's how Psalm 2 ends—Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.

One day, that reality will be made known. And while it will be a terror to many, it doesn’t have to be a terror for you. The closing line of Psalm 2 says this—Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

For those who have entrusted themselves to Jesus Christ—trusting in His perfect life, and in His death, and in His Resurrection on their behalf—the return of Christ will be the final salvation. Sin will be eradicated, and this earth will be transformed. No more death. No more curse. No more persecution. We will receive our eternal reward. Jesus will deliver us.

That’s what we Christians are supposed to be living for. We have a song we sing that says, “Oh for that Day!” That’s our hope. That’s our anticipation. That’s what we’re banking on for eternity. If Jesus isn’t coming back, this is all a waste of time.

Ultimately, we don’t live for the weekend. We don’t live for the next vacation. We live for Jesus Christ who will return for us.

Last week, we reminded ourselves of that when we took the Lord’s Supper together. Here’s what Paul said about the Lord’s Supper—For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Our faith is in Jesus Christ who died, who rose again, and who is coming again. He is the One who was, who is, and who is to come. That’s our faithful anticipation. We live out our faith in light of that day.

How about you? What are you hoping for? What are you waiting for? What is the anticipation that fuels your life?

Maybe when you first came to faith you felt it more. The return of Christ was so vivid for you. But as the years go by, this world becomes the norm again. We start putting our hope again in the things of this world.

I think part of the reason for that, at least in our own lives, is because we don’t face the kind of persecution the early church faced. I think one of the main reasons the Thessalonian church could keep their eyes focused on their hope in Christ was because they were facing such hostile persecution. Their affliction fueled their anticipation. And it was their proclamation of the faith that brought their affliction.

Do you see how this all fits together. You start living for Christ and proclaiming Christ, and this world rejects you. And as you face the persecution, you start relying more on Jesus than on this world.

Sadly, most of the time what happens is that when persecution starts coming, we take our foot off the gas pedal of our faith. And if we stop proclaiming and living out our faith, we stop facing the persecution because we look like the rest of the world. And when the persecution stops, we stop hoping in Christ’s return.

Let’s fight to keep that from happening. And the starting point for that is turning to Jesus Christ and asking Him to work in our hearts.

If His Spirit is within us, then He will be working so that our life matches our message. If the Spirit of God lives in us, then there has been a genuine conversion. We have real faith. We’re authentic. And the fruit of that will include a joyful persecution, a powerful reputation, a rightful dedication, and a faithful anticipation.

To the degree that we’ve seen that in our own lives and in the lives of others, let’s praise God, let’s encourage others, and let’s strive to bear more fruit for the glory of Jesus Christ.