I Thessalonians 1:5b-10 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
American author Mark Twain once said that there are few things in life harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. Like many sayings attributed to Twain, there is some humor and some truth in his words.
So what’s so bad about a good example? People who set a good example also set the bar higher than most people would like it. It is much easier to bring them down than it is to rise to their level. Instead of looking up to them, instead of trying to be like them, we call them overachievers or brownnosers or goody-two-shoes.
What we don’t say, and what we don’t want to admit, is that the good things other people do make us painfully aware of our own shortcomings. I don’t eat like I should. I don’t exercise like I should. I don’t apply myself to my work (for adults) or my school work (for kids) like I should. When I compare myself to other people, I usually end up feeling guilty.
You might get the same feeling
after reading the sermon text for today.
In the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica,
the apostle had nothing but good things to say about the congregation. He praised the members for welcoming the
message with joy, for sharing the message with zeal, for remaining faithful to
God in spite of severe persecution. Their
faith was so strong that Paul held them up as a model for all the believers in
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself: “I’m not sure how I would fit in in that church. I don’t know how many people would describe me as a joyful Christian. Sharing my faith doesn’t come easy to me. I have a hard enough time being faithful, and I’m not being persecuted like they were. If God wanted to use me as an example, it might be as an example of what a Christian should NOT be like.”
Paul didn’t write these words to make the Thessalonians feel good about themselves. The Holy Spirit didn’t preserve these words to make us feel bad about ourselves. They were written to encourage us, to inspire us, to open our eyes to see what great things are possible with God. And so we begin this sermon with a prayer, a simple petition that will also serve as our sermon theme...
LORD, MAKE
ME A MODEL LIKE THE MACEDONIANS
I.
Help me to follow your example
II.
Help me to be a good example
The text begins: “You know how we lived among you for your sake” (5b). The Christians in Thessalonica knew Paul, and they knew how he conducted his ministry among them. We weren’t there. None of us know Paul personally. In order for us to understand what he’s saying, we need to review the events that led him to write this letter.
Paul was on his second missionary
journey (49-52 AD). He was planning to travel
north, but God had other plans. One
night a man appeared to Paul in a vision and begged him: “Come over to
Their first stop was the city of
From Philippi Paul traveled to Thessalonica. For three consecutive Saturdays he went to the synagogue and explained that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior of the world who suffered and died and rose again. The gospel received mixed reviews. Some were convinced, while others were convinced that Paul needed to die. The situation got so dangerous that Paul was forced to leave the city secretly at night.
Eventually Paul traveled south to
With all the things he could have said, with all the things he wanted to say, Paul began by saying: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord” (6a). Don’t get the wrong idea. Paul wasn’t trying to prop himself up. Paul wasn’t praising the Thessalonians because they wanted to be like him. He was proud of them because they followed his example. He was proud of them because they wanted the same thing he wanted. They all desired to be like Jesus.
What did that look like? How did the Thessalonians become imitators of
the Lord? Paul provides us with a couple
examples: “In spite of severe suffering,
you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (6b).
What did the Thessalonians have in
common with the Lord? For one thing,
suffering. Review the events of Holy
Week and you cannot deny that Jesus suffered.
People mocked him and spit on him and hit him and eventually killed him. And the Lord promised that it would be no
different for his followers. In fact, he
used the same Greek word (it’s different in English) when he promised his
disciples: “In this world you will have trouble”
(John
But Jesus and his disciples have something else in common? Spirit-given joy. Joy in sharing the good news. Joy in hearing the good news. Joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Joy in the heart of a believer when the burden of guilt has been removed. Joy in knowing that our sins are forgiven. Joy in knowing that our present troubles will be far surpassed by a glorious future.
It has been said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but what does it say about Jesus’ disciples when we don’t imitate him? What does it say about Jesus’ followers when we don’t follow him?
I know what God says, and it isn’t very flattering. He says: “Be holy like me (see the Old Testament lesson for today),” and he says: “You will never be holy like me.” He says: “Love me with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (see the Gospel lesson for today) and he says, “Sinful people like you aren’t capable of that kind of love.” He threatens: “Try to go it alone and you will come to a hopeless end,” but he also promises, “Turn to me, and I will give you endless hope.”
The Thessalonians weren’t morally superior. They didn’t have a special discipleship program that turned church members into super-Christians. What they had was simple, but powerful. They had the Word. They had Jesus. And so do we. Jesus gives us hope. Jesus has given us the faith to believe in him, the desire to follow him, the ability to follow his example and to be an example to others.
Paul saw this transformation take
place among the Christians in Thessalonica.
He told them: “You became a model
to all the believers in
“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (9b, 10). The church in Thessalonica wasn’t known for its beautiful music or its beautiful building or its friendly people. When people talked about the Thessalonians, they talked about three things:
1. They turned to God from
idols. Even with
2. They served the living and true God. The Thessalonians weren’t the kind of Christians who thought that it was enough to go to church on Sunday. They weren’t identified as Christians because they wore crosses around their necks. These were people whose lives had been touched by the one true God. These were people who lived to serve the living God. They were different, different in the best possible way, and other people took notice.
3. Finally, the Thessalonians were eagerly waiting for their Lord to return. You could say that they had one eye on the ground and the other eye up in the clouds. They had memorized the angel’s promise: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). And whenever they looked up they also looked forward to the day when that promise would be fulfilled.
Now I want to ask you a personal question. Imagine that some people you know are having a similar conversation today. They are talking about you. They are talking about your faith. If that hypothetical situation ever became reality, and if people had to choose one thing that made you stand out as a Christian, what would it be?
I don’t know if I would want to know the answer to that question. I’m not sure I would want to know what other people would say about me. With every choice we make in life, with everything we say and do, we are setting an example. The problem is that the example we set isn’t always a good one.
Pastors don’t practice what they preach. Parents break their own rules. People who claim to follow God don’t think twice about using God’s name in vain. When other people watch us (and they do watch us), who can blame them for being confused? Who can blame them for asking: “If that’s what Christians are like, why would I want to be one? Why would I want to be like you?”
I‘ve been asked that question before, and I have an answer: “Why should you want to be like me? Because I am just like you. I am a sinner. Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t. Sometimes I don’t do things I should. I’m not perfect, but I know someone who is. Jesus lived a perfect life for me. Jesus gave up his life for me. He calls me to follow him. He empowers me to follow his example, and with the strength he provides I can be an example, a good example, to others.”
In my office at church there is a complete set of Luther’s Works, fifty-four volumes that stretch over six feet long on my shelf. I mention this to make the point that Martin Luther was never at a loss for words. But when he was invited to speak at the funeral of a fellow pastor, Luther limited his remarks to this: “What we preach, he lived.”
Luther could have said so much more, but those words said it all. Paul could have said the same thing about the Thessalonians. And we pray that the people who will speak at our funerals will be able to say the same about our lives of faith.
It’s fitting, then, that we end the same way we began, with a prayer. As you prepare for another week, as you go out into the world and let your light shine, I encourage you to make this prayer your own: “Lord, make me a model like the Macedonians. Help me to follow your example, and help me to be a good example.” Amen.