As much as it is important to get a physical health checkup every year, it is vital to do a regular checkup of our spiritual health, on the condition of our faith and walk with God.
Is my relationship with God and faith in Him healthy, growing, and producing fruit? Is it fully functional? Have I exercised it lately or has my faith atrophied?
Let’s read 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10:
1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.
2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them.
4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.
5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.
6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.
8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.
9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?
10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
In this passage Paul is calling the church to go deeper with God as their source of life and faith to ensure that they will not only stand firm but also advance in their faith when the time comes to engage in battle.
Paul is talking about the significance of having:
Personal Faith
Persistent Faith
Fully Functioning Faith
Personal Faith (verses 1-2)
Paul and his companions had been away from their new church plant for some time. The separation from their beloved converts, the lack of personal contact and information on how they were doing under the persecution was creating a suspense that was unbearable.
They thought it was best for the church to send Timothy to them, their brother and co-worker in the faith. Timothy was agreeing with Paul spiritually and theologically and was someone who backed him up. Even though he was younger than Paul, he had the same motivation of love and commitment to minister and serve the churches, and was a qualified and trustworthy preacher and teacher of the Word.
He was sent to the church in Thessaloniki for a few reasons:
To strengthen and mature them in their faith by encouraging them in Christ and His Word. ‘Strengthen’ can also be described as to make as solid as granite.
Suffering of body and sorrow of heart do one of two things to a man:
They either make him collapse or they leave him with a solidity of character which he could never have gained anywhere else.
2. To encourage them
In this usage of the word encourage (parakaleo), the idea is to urge these believers to persevere and pursue a course of life specifically regarding their faith. It could be compared to exhorting troops who were about to go into battle to be courageous by getting them to focus on the victory.
Paul kept referring to their faith in this passage. It is one’s own faith which comes out of a personal relationship with Christ through the Word and the Spirit.
It is important for us as believers to be under solid biblical teaching in a local church, to have fellowship with other believers, and have godly mentors. But if I’m pursuing to grow in a personal faith, I also have to develop my own convictions of God’s Word, taking what I have heard and properly studying the Scriptures, meditating on them, spending time with God in prayer, and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to me.
“When it comes to spiritual battles, I can only get victory and begin growing in my faith by trusting Christ myself in the battles.”
In order to constantly stand firm against the continuous attacks that come to undermine your walk with Christ you will need to have a...
Persistent Faith (verses 3-8)
Life is full of misunderstandings, injustice, corruption and evil, and God will use these situations in our lives to mold us into His image.
Paul is basically saying “don’t be surprised when you face difficulties and trials” for you know quite well that we are destined for them (v.3). He knew he could not protect them from the harsh realities they would face but he could prepare them for the battles to come.
The Word for persecution (< thlípsis) implies external “pressure”; being pressed in on every side - the way a diamond is formed with extreme heat and pressure. This is how God builds true character in a believer.
It is in those times that we can choose to persist in our faith, to stay in the trial, staying under and learning what God wants to teach us and work into our lives.
In the midst of their trials, Paul wanted to know how their faith was holding out. Were they still trusting in God and walking with Him? Were they still committed to the cause of Christ and being conformed into His likeness?
It was his desire that not a single believer's faith would be set back by the afflictions and that their hearts would not be led away from their pure devotion to Christ. Paul’s goal was to help the church to think through the issues, to find the answers to questions regarding their faith that could stand the test of time. He was worried that their labors might have been in vain (v.5).
There was the chance that the Word that had been planted had not taken root in their heart …
and that somehow the devil was undermining all the investment they had made in this church, and persistently destroying the faith of the Thessalonians by getting them to question God’s character and His Word.
We should be concerned about the same things today. The task is the same for parents, who prepare their kids for the harsh realities of life so they know how to handle things with the Lord when they come.
We, as a church, need to prepare people to face the challenges that can potentially unsettle their faith - whether it is arguments from science, philosophy, liberal theologians or unsettling situations in the world around us.
In verses 6-8 we see that even though Satan applied extreme pressure on these believers they didn’t retreat, they did not give in and they didn’t give up. These difficulties didn’t cause them to get distracted or to drift from God, …
they actually drove them to God, and they remained strong in their faith and stood firm in the Lord.
Paul received report that their faith was intact. The Christian faith had become their own personal faith; their persistent faith had withstood the persecution, and with that their faith was becoming:
Fully Functioning Faith (v.10)
Paul wanted to supply or equip this church with what they needed so that their faith would be fully functioning. A fully functioning faith is one that actively impacts the world around you.
Many people have a personal faith (which has changed your eternal destiny), some have a persistent faith (which has helped you to stand your ground in times of testing), but the greatest challenge is to have a fully functioning faith - a faith that has transformed your life, your purpose, and your trajectory.
It is a living and growing faith that engages with life and helps you to advance in the battle. It is not complacent and isn’t content to sit on the side lines as a spectator. It is not indifferent to what is happening in the world and isn’t afraid to engage people in the public square and bring peaceable solutions to the problems in society.
“It is a faith that is hungry for the answers to life’s questions, searches for the answers in order to be able to give the answers. ”
People with fully functioning faith, examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith. They test themselves with regular checkups to make sure their faith is functioning with God as its object and source, and according to His power (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Today many are being emotionally carried away by what is happening in the world, caught up in one injustice after another. Many are becoming unsettled by all that they hear and see, consumed by anger in their hearts, overwhelmed by a feeling of anxiety, fear and helplessness. This is what the world looks like without God, the message that the world is sending out.
We, as Christians, need to exercise wisdom and carefully consider our response in any given situation, but especially when the situation is politically and/or emotionally charged.
Let us grieve with those who grieve. Let us listen and empathize with those who suffer. Let us proclaim our hope of justice in the Gospel.
The Gospel is the only hope we have for forgiveness, salvation and reconciliation. It is the only true hope of lasting justice and freedom from sin which comes through faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ.
People are looking for answers and we, as God’s people, should be ready to give those answers from a Christian world view. If we do not have a personal faith, one that has endured difficulties and trials - a fully functional faith - then God can only use us in a limited way to help others make sense of what is going on in this dysfunctional world around us.
It is only the Christian faith that brings genuine hope and light into this world.
