A LIVING WITNESS
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
July 27, 2003
Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
If there was anyone in the early years of the Christian Church who was
excited about the faith, it was Paul. Consider his frequent excitement he
conveyed in his letters, such as in Philippians 3:10-11. I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in
his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, to attain to the
resurrection from the dead. Whenever he contemplated the work of Christ,
Paul was excited and looked forward to that day of his reunion with the
beloved Lord.
Consider Pauls life following his conversion. He entered into Christian
service without any expression of reconsideration. His life became one
that gave up all that he had been formerly striving for. Consider his
testimony in Philippians, once more, 3:7-9. But whatever was to my
profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I
consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I
consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him
Consider Pauls fearless proclamation of the Christian faith even in the
face of persecution. Acts 16:22-23 tells of such occasion: The crowd
joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered
them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged,
they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them
carefully. This beating and jailing did not slow Paul down, for later he
had the opportunity to minister to the guard and his family.
Considering the change in every aspect of Pauls life following his
conversion, perhaps we can think it strange for this same Paul to write
to the Thessalonian Christians to tone things down, stay calm, and not
create a big stir. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind
your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you. What
was Paul thinking?
Thessalonica was an important port city located in the northeastern part
of modern day Greece. Because it provided access through the Aegean Sea
into the Mediterranean Sea, it was a crossroads for the trade routes
between the East and the West. It was a big place; it was an important
place; it was a busy place. It was the New York City of that part of
the world. Because of the trading activities, it probably never slept.
People of all cultures, languages, ethnicities, and religions lived in,
worked in, and passed through Thessalonica. People knew what it meant to
work hard for a living in that city.
So when Christianity was introduced and took root there, that was an
important phase of the introduction of the Christian faith to other parts
of the world. Even though Paul traveled extensively, he would never be
able to carry the Gospel message to as many outlying areas of the world
as were available to the hundreds of merchants and travelers that passed
through Thessalonica on any given day. For just a few of them to hear the
Gospel, believe, and in turn share the Christian message in other places
they traveled and lived was a decided victory for Christ.
For a Christian like Paul, then, a proper environment from which the
Gospel message could be shared was critical. It was vital that the best
benefits of salvation and Christian fellowship be the witness of these
Thessalonian believers. Unfortunately, that was not happening.
Instead of a type of living witness that would cause non-Christians to
become curious about believers, or at least recognize the outstanding
qualities of the Christian life, Thessalonian believers were turning
others off to the faith. They were damaging the Christian message by
failing to work diligently. They were damaging the Christian message by
disrupting the lives of others, as well.
Now, before condemning them too much, let us keep in mind that when the
Christian faith came to Thessalonica and the rest of the Mediterranean
world, there was no history or traditions of the faith on which the new
believers could rely. No one had any Christian parents who raised them in
a church. No one had any Christian sermons or books to which they could
turn to for research and reference. They didnt even have any New
Testaments in their homes! So they can certainly be excused for any
misunderstandings that developed among their fellowship.
The misunderstanding that Paul addresses with them is the Second Coming
of Christ. Hearing messages of the Second Coming, which were true,
resulted in an awkward situation in Thessalonica. Many Christians,
believing in the pending return of Jesus, gave up their daily jobs and
stood around in excited groups, upsetting themselves and everyone else.
Now I dont think that any Christian here this morning is going to
begrudge another believer an opportunity to get excited about Jesus. In
fact, thats what we usually dont see enough of: excitement about what
the Lord is doing in our life, community, and world. Yet, even Paul
recognized that the unmoderated excitement of the Thessalonians was
damaging their testimony because of the way they were displaying their
excitement. And Paul, recognizing the far reaching consequences of this
type of poor testimony, wrote to encourage his Thessalonian brothers and
sisters to be good witnesses in their communities by working for their
support.
We have experienced this in modern times as well. Every once in a while,
a Christian group will decide that the Second Coming is a mere weeks,
days, hours away and will give up everything and retreat to some chosen
place. This usually becomes big news, and many scoff at their
gullibility. If I were an employer, what would I think of Christianity if
I had employees call in to say that they would no longer be at work
because they are going to hang around someplace for Jesus to return. That
would not be a plus for my experience with Christians and their faith.
This was the situation in Thessalonica, so Paul wrote, in effect, that
the best way in which Jesus could come upon them when he returns would be
to find them quietly, efficiently, and diligently doing their daily job.
Paul teaches that the Christian must commend Christianity to the outsider
by the diligence and integrity of their lives. To allow their
Christianity to turn them into useless citizens was bringing the
Christian faith into discredit. The merchants who expected hard work from
their employees could be expected to carry a very negative message of
Christianity to outlying regions when they tried to get anything done
with these loafers standing around. We have heard it many times before,
but it is the fruits of our lives that will be the only sermon some
people ever experience. What was our message to such people last week?
What will it be this week? When we Christians show that our Christianity
makes us better workmen, truer friends, kinder men and women, then we are
really preaching.
Larry Mason, the Executive Minister of the American Churches of Indiana
and Kentucky, shared an amazing story that came out of his trip to
Eastern Europe. Each morning we sat in the chapel of the International
Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic and worshipped
with students, professors and staff from around the world. We prayed,
sang and heard a Biblical teaching, worshipping in the style of a
different country each morning. It was the highlight of our meetings! At
one morning worship experience Dr. Toivo Pilli, director of Baptist
studies, stood to speak. His enthusiasm and passion were infectious.
Equally amazing is his commitment to training young women and men,
primarily from Europe and the Middle East, to return home to minister in
their home countries. Dr. Pilli grew up in a Communistic world with
parents highly placed in the Communist Party of Bulgaria. As he became a
young adult he went to college, became a scientist, and eventually rose
within the ranks of the Communist Party leadership. He married (a
Communist) and continued his scientific career throughout Europe. His
wife began talking about a woman she worked with who was different;
more positive and filled with hope and kindness. And she was a Christian.
He began to go on about the ridiculousness of the Christian faith when
his wife said calmly, You're a scientist. Prove they're wrong. And so
he began to study the Christian faith. In his valiant study to refute
Christianity he came to know Christ personally. I thought about his
testimony: One woman at work, living her Christian life. No Sunday
morning faith, rather a daily witness to the life and love of Jesus
Christ. How many people might we influence if Christ lived so obviously
in our lives that those around us could not help but see Christ in us?
(Larry Mason, One Life at a Time, The Baptist Observer Magazine,
May/June, 2003, p. 9)
That is exactly what Paul expected to see coming from the redeemed lives
of Thessalonian Christians. He expected to see their faith improve, not
hinder, the quality of life in Thessalonian society. He expected their
day-to-day witness, lived out through their lives at home and at work, to
attract others to the point of asking about this new religion. He
expected that some who came to know the Lord through contact with
Thessalonian believers would take the Gospel message to places it had yet
never been.
None of that was going to happen with the kind of witness that the
believers there were providing. Even if their excitement was genuine,
Paul recognized that it was misplaced and misdirected, so he wrote what
they needed to do to correct this mistake and to become once again a
positive witness for Christ.
His message still applies. No one here is going to make an attractive
Christian witness to anyone in the marketplace if they do not approach
their lives and jobs, if still working, with intentional integrity.
Christianity is not an excuse for laziness; it is, instead, a reason for
diligence, industry, and appropriate work. As Paul reminds Christians
everywhere, Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own
business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your
daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be
dependent on anybody.
Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN
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