As the year begins to take shape
and as we desire to live our lives meaningfully and to the glory of God, we with the aid
of this first letter to the
Thessalonians want to make it our
aim to keep our eyes fixed on the LORD, and not
grow
weary in our struggle to be God centered Christians in a God centered
church.
“They who wait for the LORD shall renew their
strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not
be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:31).
Last week we saw
that a God centered church
is a church which is in God the Father and in
the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1)
and in the Holy Spirit (1:5).
To be
“in” God, or to be “centered in” God by
implication means also to be
called “out “ from the
world. A study of the word church“
in 1:1 helps us here. The Greek word for church “ekklesia“ is
derived from two words “ek” (out of) and “kaleo” (to call). The literal
translation of the word “church” is
therefore, “those that are called out of “.
Now combine that thought
with what Paul writes in v. 4
“…for
we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you…”, then we know that becoming a Christian begins with
an “effectual call”. This is the call by which God and the Great Shepherd of the sheep calls His chosen
people out of the world and into
His kingdom. This is where the church begins, and this is what
the church is, … “a chosen race , a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for His own possession …once you
were not a people, but now you are God’s people …” (1
Peter 2:9,10). The church then becomes an assembly or a gathering of those that have experienced this calling from God. This is what constitutes the membership principle at
Eastside Baptist Church. Has God
called you to be His
own? Have you confessed this in baptism before the congregation and
in tandem with the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1)?
How were these Thessalonian
Christians called?
Paul tells us – by the preaching of God’s Word, which came
to them in “ in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1:4) This is I trust
how you were called. The Word of
God came to you (by whatever messenger
) in power, in the Holy Spirit and
in full conviction!
What are the
characteristics or the marks of this calling? What are the marks of a God centered church?
Again, we make our
observations based on the life
and testimony of this
Thessalonian church . We observe :
(i)
their
work of faith , and their labour of love , and their
steadfastness of hope in the Lord
Jesus Christ .
According to the apostle Paul , faith , hope and love are declared to be the
greatest manifestations of the
Christian faith ,love being the
supreme manifestation (v.3 see also
1 Corinthians 13:13). Is this
seen in your life ?
(ii)
Their imitation of Paul as he followed Christ and their
joyful embracing of the Word despite much affliction (v.6).
Is this seen in your life ?
(iii)
Their
sharing of this gospel (lit. ‘ trumpeting it
out’) in the region of Macedonia and Achaia (v.8).
Is this seen in your life ?
(iv)
A demonstration of biblical
repentance (v. 9). Is this seen in your life ?
(v)
A longing
for Jesus coming
- a desire for heaven (v. 10) Is this seen in your
life?
Having dealt with the first 3 points previously , we will now
deal with point (iv), which
reveals the next mark of a God-centered church. Next week, God willing we will deal with point (v), yet another mark of a God centered
Church , which has to do with the ultimate
desire of the Christian and the
Christian church, namely a
longing for the return of Jesus
Christ and our being settled with
Him in heaven.
THE FOURTH MARK OF A
BIBLICAL CHURCH: A Demonstration of
Biblical Repentance (v.9)
The next
clear mark characterizing a
God-centered Christian and hence a
God-centered church is “repentance”. The
Thessalonians had “ turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God.” The
word used here for ‘turn’
is the Greek word “ epistrepho”.
The prefix “epi” (upon) strengthens the
noun (strephÅ – to turn) making it
a strong word ,indicating a decisive turning from idols to serve the living and true God[1]. This
powerfully illustrates the nature
of biblical repentance.
The Thessalonians believers had
made a huge impact upon the surrounding providences of Achaia and
Macedonia , and the thing that really
impacted these people was that these Thessalonians had “turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God.”
Now remember, that this turn- about came because
(i) God had sent Paul the messenger
(ii) to preach the message (the gospel) in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. God was with the messenger and God was in the message to change the stubborn and resistant will of men and so these Thessalonian Christians were enabled to turn from their love for idols, and so to love God with all their heart , soul , mind and strength.
(i) God had sent Paul the messenger
(ii) to preach the message (the gospel) in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. God was with the messenger and God was in the message to change the stubborn and resistant will of men and so these Thessalonian Christians were enabled to turn from their love for idols, and so to love God with all their heart , soul , mind and strength.
The act of
repentance is absolutely essential in the
process of becoming a Christian. It is
an essential part of responding to the gospel message. Jesus said to His disciples that “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in His Name to all nations…”
(Lk 24:47).
The message of John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea included
a call to repentance, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.
3:2).
The preaching of Jesus struck the same note: “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.
4:17).
The preaching of the 12
disciples reflects the same pattern as
Jesus sends them out: “So they went out and proclaimed that people
should repent” (Mark 6:12).
The pattern of the
book of Acts continues to emphasize the necessity of repentance as a proper response
to the gospel message : When his hearers
were convicted by the Holy Spirit
of the day of Pentecost, and asked what
they should do , Peter replied, “Repent
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
(Acts 2:37-38).
So too after the
healing of the lame man at the temple, Peter told the people, “And
now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But
what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would
suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your
sins may be blotted out”.(Acts 3:17-19).
Why am I stressing this point?
Conrad Mbewe, a good friend of mine has recently posted an article on his
blog entitled “Repentance – the missing note in today’s preaching“ . In his
introductory paragraph he says,
"I
have observed with a growing concern how repentance is no longer a clear call
in much of today’s preaching. This may not necessarily be true all over the
world but as I listen more and more to various preachers on African soil this
is certainly true here on our continent. The vast majority of preachers treat
sin more like a disease than a state of rebellion. Hence, the remedial approach
is that of “deliverance” rather than a
call to repent.“ [2]
I would add to
Pastor Mbewe’s comments, that this is true not only for us on African soil. It is
indeed true for the western mindset which has such a grip on the African mind . Much of the preaching that we hear
and see by the T.V. preachers from the west
has no place for sin and
therefore no place for repentance.
Joel Osteen, a popular spokesman for the “word of faith movement “ who was
influenced by the
likes of
Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller, makes it clear that in his preaching, sin is
not an issue. He is helping people to find personal levels of
self-fulfillment. For him, salvation is “prosperity and fulfillment here
and now in this world”.
So much
of this teaching sounds like the
medieval theology in which
one was encouraged to buy one’s salvation with money , something which
Dr. Martin Luther strongly refuted in 1517 when he confronted the
person of Tetzel , a Roman Catholic
monk, who preached to the German people that the blessing of God can be purchased financially, rather than by
grace alone ! [3]
Very little has changed since then. There are still unscrupulous people that peddle the gospel for profit.
Dr.
Sinclair Ferguson, a Scottish –
American pastor and theologian is
right when he says, “ once again
we need to proclaim the full orbed doctrine of repentance within an
evangelical world that has begun to
manifest symptoms of the same medieval
sickness’ [4]
as Luther encountered.
Much of what you hear in the modern evangelical pulpit is 'therapeutic' preaching,
“how to feel better about yourself “ and “how the
gospel meets your needs “… Listen !
The Bible is not written to make you feel better about yourself . The
Bible is written to tell us what is
wrong with the human race – sin! - and then
the Bible tells us (note it does
not suggest !) what to do about our sin. The Word
of God says repent
! Practically this means that we need
to do what the Thessalonians did. Turn from your idols and serve the living God!
This is
always the problem with the religion
of man. It plays down the seriousness of
our sinful offense against a holy God . Therefore it plays down the need for repentance!
But
now, lastly I must say a word about
the nature of true repentance
Much of the
new evangelicalism sees
repentance as an initial emotion and not as a vital part of a lifelong restoration of godliness[5].
True
repentance must be evidenced
by an ongoing repentance. The 16th
century Protestant Reformation led by Dr
Martin Luther begun with the nailing of
the 95 theses to the
castle door of the church in Wittenberg, where he was a theology professor. Do you
know what the very first thesis
said
“When our Lord and Master , Jesus Christ, said
repent, he meant that the
entire life of believers should be one
of repentance .”
Repentance is a characteristic of the whole life, not the
action of a single moment.
So then, here then is another mark of a true
Christian and therefore of a God - centered Christian Church: he or she when
hearing the gospel has repented of their sin, and their repentance is as notorious as was
their sin. Everybody in Achaia and
Macedonia, so it seems, knew that the Thessalonians had turned from idols to the living God! May God grant
it to be so among us!
[1] The aorist tense here indicates
an immediate and decisive change
[2] http://www.conradmbewe.com/2015/01/repentancethe-missing-note-in-todays.html
[3] Tetzel taught : “ As
soon as the coin in the coffer rings ,
the soul from purgatory springs.”
[4] Sinclair Ferguson : The Grace of
Repentance , Crossway , p.40
[5] ibid, p. 41
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