We may feel like crying out with David (Ps. Our salvation is based on Gods promise of eternal life to all who believe that (1 Cor. Paul of Tarsus is going to choose Me! Many Christians stumble over it, often because they do not understand it rightly. Altogether too many believers choose a church based on what they get out of it. Encouragement isnt distant, its close: its the voice that says, I relate, I understand, Ive been there too. In response to all these motivational products a company called Despair started making demotivating products with the promise that, while motivational products dont work, their demotivator products dont work even better! What does the Bible mean when it says encourage one another? So your salvation from Gods wrath is secure, not because of your feeble grip on God, but because He planned it and He will finish it (Phil. There is a billion dollar market for motivational products so a lot of people are literally buying into the idea that those motivational platitudes encourage success. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.. Help me toshare this message of comfort and hope with those that are saved and those that are lost in their sin, for Your greater glory. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words. d. Encourage one another with the imminent return of Christ! 1 Thes. Our encouragement can never be severed from the gospel of Jesus Christ because if it werent for the gospel, our lives would be nothing but a big Despair poster. Christ triumphantly declared on the Cross 'Tetelestai'. If you are a Christian, God is always at work in your life! 4:1, 10). Let them get hungry enough to obey and work! John 3:36 clearly contrasts these two opposite destinies: He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.. Hymn Lists. I pray that as the day for Christs return approaches, when He will gather His saints, both living and dead to Himself, that I will ready. I also brought a few pieces of wood, and a finished birdhouse. However, Paul reminds us that God has told His children the end from the beginning. Maybe its just Pauls wishful thinking. But I need to clear up an interpretive matter in verse 10. 3:9). But I love these verses that begin with therefore, as it forces me to look at what came before. Preach the gospel to your own soul every day! He is no mere spectator. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions about this post in the comments section below. The kind robots will be doing soon. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one anotherVs 9-11. In so many ways you live this, and that is the grace of God at work in you. All our encouragement is built on the gospel, on the truth that through faith in Christ, because he died for our sins, our destiny isnt Gods wrath, our destiny is salvation. We want to encourage our friends and our brothers and sisters. 16:21).
If 1 Thessalonians was Pauls earliest writing, then this is the first time in his writings that he states the specific means by which Christ procures our salvation (Thomas, p. 285). b. I am with you. He may not give you any other assurance thats enough. 5:11: Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. When Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to walk so as to please God, he added (1 Thess. So when Paul says, whether we are awake or asleep, he means it in the sense of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, whether we are living when Christ comes or whether we died before He comes. (BAG Greek lexicon and most commentators interpret it this way.) 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. The God of encouragement wants to use each of us as vessels of encouragement to one another. Good. Meanwhile the hiker is sinking deeper and deeper in quicksand and they continue to discuss what they should do. The wrath of God was poured out on Him in our stead so that whether we are still alive on earth when He comes in the clouds, or cold in our graves, we are not appointed to wrath. In his wood shop, he has carpenters tools, like these. But if God has changed your heart through the new birth, you cannot live comfortably or complacently in sin (1 John 3:9). 4:16). So encouragement has different voices because what people will need to hear is different in different seasons. The Holy Spirit comes alongside to encourage and comfort. But, how do we know that this is true? If you ask, How can I know whether God has destined me for salvation? my answer is, If your trust is in Christ alone, youre destined for salvation.. I think we should be encouraging each other with the return of Christ more than we do. We are learning to say kind things to one another. 2:13-14): But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. Need one another! argue that by the phrase, awake or asleep, Paul means (as he discussed in 5:1-8), Whether we are spiritually alert and expecting Christs coming or spiritually asleep and insensitive to His coming, we will live with Him when He comes. In other words, since our salvation is based on Christs finished work, it cannot be nullified by our lack of readiness. - Ephesians 1:17-19 NIV, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And how do we do it?
But it will not surprise us who are children of light and day. So bad that he wasnt caring for his wife or children. In other words, the Holy Spirit would be another Comforter of the same kind that Jesus is. 25:41; Mark 9:47-48; Rev. I am always interested in your feedback. After all, if someone wrongs me, I can just forgive him. Why/why not? Paul concludes with a practical exhortation: 1 Thess. Here are nails, and a pencil. Amen. Instead, we will be taken to live to be with Him, at the Rapture of the saints. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 5:10b), so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. If we will live together with Christ, it means that He is alive forevermore. 4:7 NIV), Home Christianity Bible Study Encourage One Another 1 Thessalonians 5:11. If you know Christ, as a member of His body, youre responsible to encourage and strengthen others in matters pertaining to salvation. Speaker: Allen Snapp Series: Standalone Sermon, Topic: 'It is finished' and He did it on our account. Throw a line! One biblical metaphor for the Christian life pictures it as a race we are to run to the finish. Encourage one another and be a builder. We are not appointed to go through the Great Tribulation. And we, who have believed on Christ during this current Church-age, will rule and reign alongside our Lord and Saviour. ILL: When I was a Bible student I heard that someone I knew was going through a deep depression.
The Bible plainly states this (Eph. Not only does this passage give important information about the Day of the Lord, but encourages each member of Christ's Body with some reassuring information about the Rapture of Church-age saints, which takes place at the end of this age before the seven year Tribulation Period begins.
At the end of his ordeal, Job answered the Lord and said (Job 42:2), I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Psalm 33:11 affirms, The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Psalm 103:19 proclaims, The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 115:3 answers the nations that insolently ask, Where, now, is their God? with, But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. Isaiah 14:24 asserts regarding the demise of powerful Babylon, The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand. In Isaiah 46:10, God declares, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.. Since we all have sinned many times, we all deserve death, which is ultimately eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Rev. The Bible clearly teaches that we all make choices for which we are responsible. Remember, this is not the perfect church. Childrens Sermons (2 Cor. When he writes 2nd letter, still some who havent obeyed, so he tells church, if they dont work, they dont eat. 1:6).
v9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (1 Cor. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. The punishment for our sin has already been paid in full. No wonder Paul exhorted the Thessalonians, and us.. to "encourage one another with this truth and build up one another, with this heartening and joyful revelation - just as you all are doing.". It means that God set His love on you and prepared a glorious future for you before the foundation of the world. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.. Working for/with the Lord is giving. How can you be sure that the day of the Lord will be good for you and not an awful day of judgment? by Frank Gaebelein, 11:284). I have a friend who likes to build things, too. Its at the basis of our salvation. The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.. Paul says like a father he encouraged them. He paid the price for our sins. 2:9). Biblical Commentary Christian Living Our words can hurt others? Yes, you might say, You are awesome. Or, you might say, Thanks for your help. Or, I can always depend on you.. What do you find personally helpful about it? We need to learn to encourage without falling into the trap of praising people excessively in order to win their approval, make them like us, or manipulate them to do things we want them to do. Believe Lord wants you to listen for His voice saying, Do not be afraid. 2:14). So lets begin by reading . There is one other lesson of encouraging one another we can learn (not exhaustive), and again this deserves a whole message another day. When Jesus promised that He would send another comforter, the Holy Spirit, the word he used was paraclete (one who calls from alongside encourager). 4:18. But, even so, some Christians may feel a bit anxious about that day. Lets pray. 5:9b-10). It was basically, how could you do that?
Biblical encouragement ultimately always points us to God. The word encouragement is used four times in these five chapters, and throughout this letter Paul is encouraging the Thessalonian church. But destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labour pains on a woman about to give birth, and they will not escape. The wrath of God was poured out on Him in our stead at Calvary,which is why we are not appointed to wrath.
A 'Day of Darkness' will descend on the unsaved who are left on earth - verysuddenly. Does the teaching that true Christians obey Christ undermine the truth of justification by faith alone? What do we say? But some of these tools can be used to break things, too. Make it happen! Paul is not shy about calling Christians to obey God. It will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night, after the Church has been removed. Theyve got issues. Greatest encouragement we can have is to know that whatever He has called us to walk through, He walks through it with us. 4:15-16), but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.. A saw would do a lot of damage. Last week Warren mentioned that the NT is full of one anothers that is, the biblical commands regarding how we are to treat one another as the community of faith, commands such as love one another, honor one another, forgive one another, comfort one another, serve one another, bear with one another and encourage one another.
Rather, sound doctrine is the foundation for solving our personal and emotional problems. Powered by Church Plant Media, Keeping Our Eyes on the Most Important Thing, Building Our Lives on a Strong Foundation. 2:8) with reference to those who stumble over Christ because they are disobedient to the word, explaining, and to this doom they were also appointed. All of these uses (plus others) refer to Gods sovereign determination of someone for his own particular purposes (G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians [IVP Academic], p. 152). As we run the race that God has set before us, run it together, alongside of one another, and we are to call to one another to encourage us to run the race to the finish line. After stating that Christ died for us, Paul adds (1 Thess. So the fact that the church wasnt perfect and that it had issues makes it all the more instructive (and encouraging) to imperfect churches like ours and imperfect believers like us.
I was hoping that he would do that, because I knew he would make a good apostle. No, rather, as Geoffrey Bromiley explains (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology [Baker], ed. ~ Oswald Chambers. What do you find difficult about the doctrine of predestination? So Paul goes on to remind us of the basis of our salvation and to exhort us to encourage and build up one another with this truth: Since our salvation is based on Gods purpose, Gods provision, and Gods promise, we should encourage and build up one another with this wonderful truth. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV. He revealed thatChrist would come with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God - to meet us in the clouds. The second is paramutheomai, which means to counsel from alongside of. Why couldnt God forgive us without Jesus needing to die? The answer is: If God didnt punish all sin, He would not be holy and just. c. Encourage one another to walk in a manner worthy of God. 2:8-9), For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Or, as the beloved John 3:16 states, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Salvation, which means deliverance from Gods wrath or perishing, is Gods free gift to all who believe in Jesus and His death for their sins. OBJECT: Small wooden birdhouse. Turn with me to 1 Thess 5. Will You forget me forever?How long will You hide Your face from me? 15:17): If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.. So all things whether we live or die flow to eternal life. In the context, wrath is the opposite of the eternal life of salvation, so it refers to the eternal wrath of God (Matt. To call to one another, to help strengthen one another to keep running, keep going, keep believing, keep depending on Christ, to finish the course God has given us. God, thank you for the Bible that teaches us how to build each other up. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Look at the ones I brought today. The damage would be hard to fix and might always leave a mark. When you consistently experience the encouragement and hope of your salvation, then you can encourage and build up your brothers and sisters with that glorious truth. Why does Paul emphasize this so often? Those who rejected God's offer of salvation will be calling for 'Peace and safety!' A person can say something to a friend, even in a joking way that could hurt his or her feelings for a long time.
Thank You that You caused Paul to teach this glorious truth so clearly and simply to the dear believers in Thessalonica. Because we are already saved, we are to be removed in the Rapture before this terrible time, and we will be with the Lord, forever. And while it is important that I be fed and encouraged as a part of a local body, there should be more to it than that. (2:11-12). Some Christian psychologists contend that to preach sound doctrine to an emotionally hurting person is worthless medicine. Agree/disagree? God calls us to make progress in our sanctification, to live in increasing holiness, to grow in obedience. 2:24; 3:18). As Paul explains (Rom. NIV. Passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:15:11. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. A consumer or a builder? The first is the word parakaleo which means to call from alongside of. Believers in Pauls day thought Jesus was coming back in their lifetime and I think we should believe that too. To encourage means continually to strengthen by ones words (Leon Morris (The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans], p. 163). He calls them to grow in obedience, but he also is encouraging them with the grace of God that is already at work in them. ), but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep (alive or dead) we might live with Him. How often in Bible do you see God, after calling one of His servants to action, saying Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Parakaleo calling from alongside of. Where motivational posters point us to look within, to dig deep, find inner qualities of perseverance, determination, courage from within, biblical encouragement has a different focus: it comes alongside to call us to look to God, look to His promises, trust in His faithfulness. A great verse on its own. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus concluded His discourse on the end times, These [the wicked] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Just a few verses earlier (Matt. Help us to always remember not to tear down, but to build up. These verses show that if anyone is going to be saved, it only can happen because God predestined and causes it to happen. In Jesus' name, AMEN. I visited a small company years ago and noticed they had a number of motivational posters hanging in their conference room with sayings like, what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve or the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a mans determination. Those idle, warns get busy.
I have a hammer, and a hand saw. There are two Greek words used in 1 Thess for encouragement. No one can blame God, his parents, or his circumstances for the unwise or sinful choices that he makes. I recently listened to a sermon by a local pastor who said that he does not believe in the eternal, conscious punishment of the wicked. Why. He will repeat these truths again (2 Thess. Not saved by obedience, saved by faith in Christ, but true faith will lead us to a growing obedience, and if that is nothappening, our Christian walk will weak and joyless. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . What line do we throw? As Paul writes (Eph. 4:1), Just as you actually do walk. When he exhorted them to love one another, he acknowledged (1 Thess. Thank You for telling us the end from the beginning. We see from chapter 4 that there were those in the church who struggled with sexual impurity, and we see from both 1 and 2 Thessalonians that there were those in the church who struggled with laziness believers who were so busy waiting for Jesus to return they didnt want to work, they just wanted to bum a living off of other people. The Bible tells us to build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11 WEB). Their problem was emotional, but Paul gives them a solid dose of Gods sovereign election, the substitutionary death of Christ, and His second coming. One step of obedience might also add more joy than years of excuses! While were all affected by our upbringing, our circumstances, our personalities, and many other factors outside of our control, we are still responsible for the choices we make. Forever. Biblical encouragement isnt just a nice thing that believers do, it should be woven into the fabric how we as believers motivate each other to love and serve Jesus. And the dead in Christ will rise first. I think it was Henry Blackaby the taught find out where God is at work and join Him there. If eternal wrath was what awaited us, any encouragement would be meaningless. Used by permission. Make it happen. | (Give children time to respond.) You received the word in suffering and trial but also much joy from Spirit became an example. F. F. Bruce, Word Biblical Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians [Thomas Nelson], p. 114) puts it more strongly: It is ludicrous to suppose that [Paul] means, Whether you live like sons of light or like sons of darkness, it will make little difference: you will be all right in the end., Rather, the Bible consistently teaches that those who are new creatures in Christ will live differently than the world. Hardly! Our entire faith rests on this historical truth (1 Cor.
Encouragement must always be genuine, but we need to excel in looking for and pointing out to others where God is at work in their lives. But word Jesus used for another, allos, another of the same kind. Jesus repeatedly predicted both His own death and resurrection (Matt. Invest in the lives of your fellow believers. Thats Gods promise to all who believe in Jesus! And Paul tells church, dont feed them. Course He has called you to run has taken a turn into unfamiliar territory, or into a hard season, or maybe just weary of race. But again and again Paul identifies Gods work in their lives. We are not destined go through this 70th week of Daniel.
He said that either they will be annihilated (cease to exist) or they eventually will be reconciled to Christ. Give up. Romans 15:5-6 (ESV). The price of sin paid in full. Its not automatic or there wouldnt be the many exhortations to obedience that we find in the New Testament. (Give children time to respond.) They worry, What if my life doesnt measure up? 5:11. 580 West Water Street, Painted Post, NY 14870, 2022 Grace Community Church. Salvation refers to all of the blessings that God promises to His elect (Eph. It encourages us to keep going, to hope in times of tribulation, to run the race. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. ILL: Years ago there was a Royal Bank of Scotland commercial where a team of bankers is hiking in the mountains when one of them steps in quicksand. 4:4). And because of that I whole heartedly agree that we should seek ways to be givers in the here and now. As the righteous Judge of the universe, He has declared that the wages of sin is death (Gen. 2:17; Ezek. 4:10), for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren . So here, when he exhorts them to encourage and build up one another, he adds, just as you also are doing. In each case, he is trying to motivate us to excel still more (1 Thess.
Lets consider four lessons about encouraging we can learn from Paul: a.
The views expressed here are solely mine and do not necessarily reflect those of any other person, group, or organization.