For Now We Live!

1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 6 through 13 today.

1 Thessalonians 3:6–13

But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith

and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you.

For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith.

For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you?

For all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,

as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face

and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you

and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another

and for all as we do for you

so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Amen.

Well, all of us have passions in our lives, don't we?

I don't mean just mere interest, but passions, priorities that shape the way that we live our lives.

They shape who we are.

They shape what we do.

They are identity shaping in some sense.

They are those things that give us purpose, that arrest our thoughts and capture our affections

and drive the initiatives of our lives.

For you, they may be your kids.

It may be your relationships.

It might be your career.

It might be certain hobbies.

It could be charitable endeavors or causes.

It could be a combination of those things.

It could be passions, things that help you get up in the morning, things that are on your mind,

things that you're driving out, things that you will shape your schedule in order to pursue

and in order to do and participate in.

This passage shows us Paul's greatest passion.

We've been studying about it now for several weeks, going all the way back to chapter 2 and verse 17.

It's really one big unit starting in 2.17, working all the way through the end of chapter 3.

What it is is essentially Paul's memoirs of his passion, the thing that helps him get up in the morning,

the thing that's on his mind, the thing that shapes his prayer,

the thing that shapes everything that he does, his affections and arrests his attention.

And what is that passion?

It is the salvation of others.

It's the salvation of others.

Let's take a moment and just rehearse that context so that we can fully appreciate this passage

and all that Paul indicates for us here.

Remember that since being forced to leave Thessalonica,

Paul and his team in verse, in chapter 2 said that they were endeavoring more eagerly

and with great desire to do what?

To get back to Thessalonica.

And he was keen on doing that

because he feared that Satan might have tempted them to abandon the faith.

And that in abandoning the faith, there would be no fruitfulness in this gospel labor there.

And he kept trying to get back, but he couldn't get back.

He says, Satan keeps hindering us and I can't get back to you,

but I keep trying to get back to you.

And I want to get back to you because I'm afraid that the afflictions that you are enduring right now,

that Satan's going to use them, he's going to tempt you,

and you're going to abandon Christ.

That's his passion.

With an eye fixed on Jesus' return.

Have you noticed, just as a side note here,

have you noticed how many times Paul has referenced the return of Christ in this letter?

Over and over and over.

It's probably the strongest theme in the letter.

His mind is fixed on the return of Christ.

When it comes to affliction, he's thinking about the comfort that will come at Christ's return.

Even as he thinks about his ministry to the people in Thessalonica,

what is it that is on his mind?

It's the return of Christ.

He knows Christ is coming.

And he knows that when he comes again, he's coming in judgment.

And that no one who is unbelieving at the judgment will be saved.

And that's what's driving his passion.

He wants to get back.

He's concerned that this affliction is going to tempt them to abandon Christ,

and that he will not have the joy of presenting them faithful to Christ at Christ's return,

that they would be lost.

And since he was unable to get there himself,

we learned last week that Paul sent Timothy in his stead.

And he sent him really for two reasons.

First thing Timothy was to do was to investigate.

Timothy, go.

Check on them.

See how they are.

And come back and let me know.

Tell me, are they persevering?

Are they being faithful?

Are they staying true to Christ?

And then Timothy was to strengthen their faith as he was there.

But he was to do it in a particular way.

Remember, last week, how were they to persevere?

It was through gospel exhortation.

It would come not through Timothy patting them on the shoulder and saying,

now, there, there, everything will be okay.

No, it wouldn't be that.

It would be Timothy coming and establishing and exhorting their faith

by preaching the gospel again and again and again and again.

Biblical exhortation, biblical exposition is the path to a persevering faith.

Paul knew that.

So he sends Timothy in his place and he says, I want you to investigate and report back.

And while you're there, strengthen them.

Preach the gospel to them.

Strengthen them with it.

And then when we get to verse six, which we read just a moment ago,

Paul recounts the moment that Timothy returns and offers his report.

And as it turns out, the Thessalonian Christians were persevering in faith and love

and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only that, but they remembered Paul kindly,

longing to see him as much as he had longed to see them.

That would have been such an encouragement to him, wouldn't it?

It would seem that some of his comments in chapter two

were coming from a fear that maybe the enemies in Thessalonica

were accusing Paul of being an unfaithful minister.

That somehow they had turned the hearts of the Thessalonians away from Paul,

as had happened in other places.

Timothy comes back and he says, not only are they faithful to Christ,

but they love you, Paul.

They remember good things about you, Paul.

They want you to be there as much as you want to be there, Paul.

What an encouragement.

All of Paul's tension that is building in the previous verses

suddenly in this passage burst into joyful expressions of relief.

Relief due to the good news brought by Timothy.

And all of this revealing the nature of Paul's deep passion

for helping others follow Jesus.

The key statement comes to us in verse eight.

Would you just set your eyes on it again?

Notice what Paul says here.

For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.

Oh, Thessalonians, now I'm really living

if you are steadfast in Christ.

What does he mean?

Well, it's clear, isn't it?

Paul's life was bound up in magnifying Christ

by making disciples.

It's a passion that superseded all other passions for him.

And the idea of the Thessalonians falling away from Christ

was like death to him.

But Timothy's report was life-giving.

It was like he could breathe again.

In fact, the word, live, it could be translated breath or breathing.

It's as if all that tension, all that anxiety in the verses leading up,

all of this concern that he had for the Thessalonians,

finally Timothy comes and it's like he can finally,

like he can breathe again.

Oh, now I live.

Now that I know you are standing firm in Christ.

It's what he lived for.

Seeing other people follow Jesus.

Helping other people follow Jesus.

And of course, that begs the question,

what are we living for?

What are we living for?

There's four facets of Paul's reaction and response here

that I want to point out.

I want to show you his comfort.

I want to show you his worship.

His persistence.

And then of course, his prayer at the end.

And my hope is to move through the first three fairly quickly

so we can camp just a little while on the last one.

First, I want you to notice the report brought him comfort.

It brought him comfort.

Verses seven and eight again.

For this reason.

What reason?

For the report that Timothy's just brought back in verse six.

He says, for this reason, because of the report,

in all our distress and affliction,

we have been comforted.

Comforted.

Now that makes a lot of sense

because we've just been looking at anxiety on Paul's part,

haven't we?

Just set your eye back up on verse five.

When he's explaining what he was feeling

at the time that he sent Timothy to them,

he says, for this reason,

when I could bear it no longer,

I can hardly bear this.

I sent to learn about your faith for fear.

He's afraid.

He's anxious.

That somehow the tempter had tempted you

and our labor would be in vain.

That's the pinnacle of his anxiety.

And now that Timothy has come back,

the first thing he says,

oh, I just can't tell you enough

that just hearing from Timothy

in all of the distress that we have

and all of our anxiety,

in all of the affliction that we've experienced

in other cities like Berea,

oh, we have been comforted by God

about you through your faith.

For now we live.

If you're standing fast in the Lord.

Making disciples is hard work in many respects.

It's not an easy task, is it?

One of the more difficult parts,

as you know,

any of you who have labored in gospel ministry

in any way,

understand that one of the more difficult things

is the burden that you carry

for the spiritual lives of others.

It really is a burden.

It's a burden that you feel

for the lost in your life.

It should be at least.

It's a burden that you feel

for those who have professed faith

but are not living as a Christian

not to live.

It's a burden.

It's distressing.

It brings anxiety.

No one demonstrated this more clearly

than Jesus did.

Matthew chapter nine,

when he saw the crowds,

he had compassion for them.

The word compassion,

it literally means,

if you translate it literally,

it's a moving of the bowels.

There was a physical response to Jesus

when he considered the lostness of the people

in Israel.

Made his stomach hurt.

He had compassion on them.

Why?

Because they were harassed and helpless

like sheep without a shepherd.

And then he turns to his disciples

and he says,

the harvest is plenteous.

But the laborers are few.

Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest

to send out laborers into the harvest.

What is that compassion

if it isn't an intense burden

for the souls of those who are lost?

What is that compassion that Jesus has

if it is not a burden

for the souls of those

who are wandering away from him

because of affliction

or the appeal of sin

or whatever it may be

that may be leading them away?

And here we find Paul

walking in Christ on footsteps.

Paul's distress and affliction,

it refers to that anxiety

being torn away,

hindered by Satan,

fearing that affliction

caused them to leave the faith

they first professed.

It's an emotional burden

felt by those who labor

in the field of souls, isn't it?

A burden surely that you have felt before.

A burden hopefully you haven't gone

callous towards.

The important thing to recognize here

is that the source of Paul's comfort

is the report of the Thessalonians' faith.

Notice that.

It's not the only thing in the report.

Timothy's report said,

yes, they're faithfully following Jesus.

Also, Paul, they love you

and they want to see you.

That would have been an encouragement,

wouldn't it?

It's not just their faith

that Timothy reports about,

but it's just their faith

that Paul responds to in comfort.

He says, oh, now we live

if you're standing in the Lord.

In all our distress and affliction,

we've been comforted about you

through your faith.

Now, have you noticed the language

that he's using here?

We've seen this before.

Look back at verse six.

Timothy has come to us from you.

He's brought us good news

of your faith and love.

Then we get down to verse seven.

We've been comforted about you

through your faith.

For now we live if you are standing fast.

Remember those three dynamics?

Faith, love, steadfastness of hope.

We've seen that before, haven't we?

Set your eyes on chapter one, verse two.

We give thanks to God always for all of you,

constantly mentioning you in our prayers,

remembering before our God and Father

your work of faith and labor of love

and steadfastness of hope

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

What is that about?

It's about their salvation.

What is it that Paul's comforted about?

That they belong to God,

that they're standing firm in the faith.

That's what he's most comforted about here.

It's amazing.

The level of our passion for magnifying Christ

through making disciples will be seen

in how we respond to the reports of fruitfulness

in the lives of others.

And what is his report?

Oh, he feels comfort, joy

at the report that they are indeed

continuing in the faith.

His focus was their salvation.

So the report gave him comfort, right?

Number two, I want you to see his worship.

The report produced authentic worship.

Verse nine, Paul says,

for what thanksgiving can we return to God for you?

For all the joy that we feel for your sake

before our God, worship, praise.

I think we need to grasp the theological underpinning

of Paul's worship here.

Though the ministerial effort belonged to him,

Timothy and Silas,

and the perseverance of faith

belonged to the Thessalonian Christians,

his thanksgiving is not directed to Timothy,

neither is it directed to the Thessalonians.

His thanksgiving is wholly given to God.

Why?

Because he understands God to be the one

ultimately responsible for the salvation of those

to whom he and Timothy and Silas

have proclaimed the gospel.

So that when he hears reports of their continued faith,

he does not elaborate in thanksgiving to them

or to Timothy.

He turns and he worships God.

What thanksgiving can I possibly offer to him for this?

How wonderful that he's done this.

My thanksgiving cannot even match the joy

that God has given me

through the faith that he's given you.

Worship.

Worship.

This is now the third time Paul has thanked God

for the Thessalonians' faith in this letter.

The first one's in chapter one, two, and three.

We give thanks to God always for all of you,

remembering before our God and Father

your faith, love, and hope in Christ Jesus.

In chapter two and verse 13,

we also thank God constantly for this,

that when you receive the word of God,

which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men,

but as what it really is, the word of God,

which is at work in you believers.

Three times now,

he's acknowledged their faith

and the work of God's grace in their life,

and he's turned and he's said,

oh, thank you, Lord, for doing this.

Praise God

that you have saved them

and that you're holding them fast.

Not only that,

Paul wrote explicitly in chapter one

that the Thessalonian Christians' conversion

and perseverance

resulted from God's election

and the Holy Spirit's empowerment.

Again at chapter one, four through six.

We know, brothers, loved by God,

that he has chosen you

because our gospel came to you

not in word,

but in power and in the Holy Spirit.

And it filled you with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

What is he acknowledging?

There's a pattern here, isn't there?

There's a pattern that he recognizes

that ultimately,

at the end of the day,

this is a work of grace.

So what part does Paul and Timothy

and the others play in this work of grace?

Well, a significant part actually,

as it turns out.

We must also take account

of the various ways

Paul has written of himself and his team

functioning as God's instruments of grace

in this work.

Chapter two, verses three and four.

Paul said,

that our appeal does not spring from error

or impurity

or any attempt to deceive.

So then why is he preaching the gospel

in Thessalonica?

He says,

we have been approved by God

and entrusted by God

with the gospel.

So we're preaching to you,

not to please you,

but to please God

because he's the one

who has called us to this

and he's the one

who tests our hearts.

And then we saw last week

in chapter three in verse two,

we sent Timothy,

our brother

and God's co-worker

in the gospel of Christ

to establish and exhort you

in your faith.

What does he mean?

This is God's work

and he's using Paul

and Timothy

and Silas to do it.

But it's ultimately God's work.

So when he gets the report

of their faithfulness,

what does he do?

He worships God.

What else would he do?

This is God's saving work.

Now in all of these passages

taken together

with chapter three

in verse nine,

they reveal Paul's

understanding of grace.

That is the fruitfulness

of all gospel ministry

results from God's work

of grace in

and through his people.

Even as he sent Timothy

to establish and exhort them,

he knew Timothy

was only acting merely

as an instrument

in the hands of God.

And because he believed grace

to be the cause

of their conversion

and perseverance,

the report he received

produced praise.

So what am I saying?

That Paul's efforts

and the fruitfulness

he experienced

weren't about him.

They weren't about him.

His boast wasn't

in his ability

to turn a phrase

in just the right way

so that he could grab

the attention

of the people

that heard him preach

and change their affections

for God.

He knew that wasn't true.

His boast was only

in the grace of God.

He didn't desire

their salvation

for some personal gain.

He wanted Christ

to be magnified.

and understanding

the reality

of their situation,

he was immediately

moved to worship.

So we see his comfort.

We see his worship.

Third,

I want you to see

his persistence.

The report prompted

further ministry.

It's interesting,

isn't it?

Verse 10,

As we pray most earnestly

night and day

that we may see you

face to face

and supply what is lacking

in your faith.

This verse seems strange,

doesn't it?

Paul's worship

is offered to God

in the context

of earnest prayer

that God would allow him

to go back

to Thessalonica.

So he prays here

the same prayer

and with the same urgency

as he had in chapter 2

and verse 17.

Just set your eyes

on it again.

Since we were torn away

from you brothers

for a short time

in person,

not in heart,

we endeavored

the more eagerly

and with great desire

to see you face to face.

He's praying

the same thing again.

What's weird about that

is that he's gotten

the report back

that they're being faithful.

They're doing everything

that he hoped

that they would be doing.

The question is

why does he still feel

such an urgency for this?

Why that he now knows

of their persevering faith,

why does he still

want to go back?

Well, it's just another sign

that this is what he lived for.

His whole life

was bound up in this.

Seeing other people through,

not in the moment,

but to the end.

It's also a reminder

that the task

of discipling

is never really finished,

is it?

It's never really finished.

He wanted to keep

discipling them

in the gospel,

supplying, he says,

whatever may be lacking

in their faith

and understanding

of the truth.

Remember what his aim was.

His goal.

His aim was to present

them faithful to Christ

at Christ's return.

And since Christ

had not yet returned,

Paul's task

was not complete.

And there again,

we must note

this desire

to see them face to face.

While the letter

would have been

sufficient for the moment,

he knows

nothing was as effective

as personal,

embodied ministry

to others.

So,

what do we see here?

We see that

in Paul's

desire

and purpose

to make disciples

and magnify Christ,

that when Timothy

reports of fruitfulness,

he's comforted

because his anxiety

is for their souls.

He worships

because he recognizes

that this is a work

of God's grace

and he's just

privileged to be

a part of it

in God's grace.

And then,

it just makes him

want to do it

more and more.

Truly,

if you've ever

led somebody to Christ

or if you've ever

had one of those moments

where the Lord

just allows you

just a brief moment

to see some fruitfulness

in the life

of somebody else

because of

your efforts

in gospel ministry,

either in evangelism

or just discipling them,

it makes you

want to do it

more,

doesn't it?

You get a glimpse

of God's grace

in that way.

It's so joyful.

It makes you want more.

And of course,

we see that in Paul.

And then we get

to the final thing.

I want you to see

his prayer.

His prayer.

The report

shaped the way

that he prayed

thereafter.

Verse 11.

Now may our God

and Father himself

and our Lord Jesus

direct our way

to you.

And may the Lord

make you increase

and abound in love

for one another

and for all

as we do for you

so that he may

establish your hearts

blameless in holiness

before our God

and Father

at the coming

of our Lord Jesus

with all his saints.

Oh, there it is again.

The coming of the Lord.

Where is his mind fixed?

On the return of Christ.

And what is his desire

at the return of Christ?

To see these people

and more

faithful,

believing,

holy.

Now we've already read

that Paul was

earnestly praying.

But in these verses,

he actually writes

his prayer for us.

This is a prayer.

And there's so much

we can learn

about the prayers

of the Bible.

In the case of this one,

we learn that our work

in gospel ministry

shapes our prayer.

Shapes the way

we pray to God.

Again, relying on him

to do his work

of grace in others.

The very fact

that Paul committed

these things to prayer

reflects that understanding

of grace.

He knows that he's engaging

in God's work.

So he asks for God's blessings.

And he submits

to Christ's lordship

over his request.

And unsurprisingly,

he includes a request

for Christ to direct

his way back

to Thessalonica.

I don't know

if he ever made it back.

Perhaps somebody

has determined that.

I just don't know.

But he's still praying

for it.

Lord, let me go back.

But it's not his prayer

to go back

that really grabs

my attention here.

It's his prayer

for the church.

Do you notice

what he prayed for them?

From Paul's intensity

of desire

to get to Thessalonica,

we might conclude

that certain persons,

maybe vocational ministers

or those who are

especially mature believers,

we might conclude

that those kinds of people

are necessary

for our spiritual progress.

It would be tempting

to say that

the responsibility

and effectiveness

of gospel ministry

applies only to those

whom God

especially called

and gifted

for that task.

However,

in Paul's prayer,

we actually discover

that isn't true.

While we're thankful

for how God uses

and gifts us

with certain spiritual leaders,

the work of gospel ministry

belongs

to the entire church.

it belongs to you,

not just to me.

It belongs to us together.

I want to unpack that.

First,

notice the comparison

that Paul uses

in verse 12.

And may the Lord

make you increase

and abound in love

for one another

and for all

as we do for you.

As we do for you.

There's a comparison

he's making there.

He prays that God

will so work

in the Thessalonians' hearts

that they will increase

and abound,

that they will grow

and maintain

the same love

that he has

for them.

Think about the magnitude

of that.

How has Paul's love

for them been displayed

throughout this letter?

He risked his life

to preach the gospel

to them in the beginning.

He showed up

to Thessalonica

with fresh wounds

from being beaten

nearly to death

in Philippi.

And he persevered

in gospel preaching.

Why?

That was out of love

for their souls.

That's how he loved them.

How else did he love them?

He viewed them

as a spiritual family

constantly.

He's referring to them

as brothers.

He even uses the analogy

in chapter 2

of a spiritual father

and as a spiritual mother

in the way that he

ministered the gospel

to them.

Then he wrote

that being forced

to leave them

was like being orphaned,

torn away

from his family

and that his eager desire

was to minister

to them

face to face

to be with them.

That's the way

he loved them.

Most importantly,

his purpose

in ministering to them,

the thing that really

drove his relationship

with them

was to do everything

he could

to see them persevere

to the return of Christ

by establishing

and exhorting them

in the faith.

In other words,

Paul's prayer

for the Thessalonians

was that they would

have the same heart

for gospel ministry

to one another

as he had for them.

That's what he prays.

Lord, help them

love one another

in this way,

the way that you

have helped me

to love them.

Help them sacrifice

of themselves

in order to share

the gospel.

Help them view

themselves

as a spiritual family,

not as mere

acquaintances

that happen to show

up at the same place

on Sunday morning

for a worship service.

Oh, Lord,

help them love

each other enough

that the passion

of their heart

is that they could

see one another

persevere to the end,

that they wouldn't

just let one another

drift off

into no man's land

and spiritual things

or that they would

just drift off

into sinful behaviors.

No, but that they

would love you enough,

that they would love

one another enough,

that they would

constantly minister

the gospel

to one another.

That's his prayer.

Notice, secondly,

the scope

of the ministry

he wanted them

to pursue.

He prayed

that their love

would increase

and abound

toward two different

groups of people.

To one another,

that would be

professing believers

in the church.

And then he adds

in there,

and for all.

Oh, who is that?

Those who are not

professing believers

in the church.

Refers to the two

distinct facets

of making disciples.

Evangelism

and discipling.

Isn't that

what Jesus tells us

in the Great Commission?

Go and make disciples.

How?

Baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and Son

and the Holy Spirit.

That's evangelism.

Teaching them

to observe

everything I have

commanded you.

That's discipling.

And now Paul

prays for the Thessalonians

and he says,

Oh God,

I just want them,

I want them

to keep preaching

the gospel

to the people

in their city

that hate them

and want to kill them.

God,

give them a heart

to disciple

one another

so they don't feel

like they have to rely

on me and Timothy

to come there

because we don't know

if we'll get back.

Another way to say it

is that our efforts

to minister to one another

and to unbelievers

in our lives

are directly proportionate

to the love

that we have

and maintain

for them.

To love one another

in the church

necessarily

is to help one another

progress in the faith.

even on the hardest days

with the hardest people.

To love the world

the way that Christ loved it

is to break through

the offenses

and the discouragements

and minister the gospel

to the people

that are all around us

who need it.

Finally,

notice the purpose

of his prayer.

there's a purpose statement

here in the last verse.

Paul asked that God

would do this work

in the hearts

of the Thessalonians

so that,

that's the purpose statement,

so that

he may establish

their hearts

in holiness

at the coming

of our Lord Jesus.

He says,

all I can think about

is the fact

that Christ

is going to return

and he's going to return

in judgment

and I want to be used

of him in the meantime

to present people faithful

in that moment

so they'll escape

that judgment

and then he says,

Lord,

would you do this work

in their hearts

so that they'll have

that same passion?

This is the way,

Lord,

that people will be

presented to you

faithful

at the coming of Christ.

It's going to take them

loving and ministering

to one another

and for all.

Again,

Paul recognizes

that all gospel ministry

is God's work of grace

but God uses

human instruments

to accomplish

his saving work.

Listen,

if people are going

to be saved,

they're not going

to be saved

by epiphany.

They're not just

going to wake up

one day and say,

you know what,

I think I'll be a Christian.

That's not how

God saves people.

That would be irregular

if he did it that way

and of course

it's in his power

to do it.

What is the normative way

that people come to Christ?

Somebody loves them enough

to share the gospel

and to love them

through their questions

and through their rejections

and to pray for them

and to care for them

and to show Christ's love

for them

and to be patient

with them

and God uses

the work of the word

as an opportunity

to instill his grace

in their lives

and he saves them.

If people are going

to be saved,

it's going to be

because we are faithful

to love them

with the gospel

and if we're all

going to continue

to the end

in the grace of God,

the best chances

are that we understand

that we need one another

and that we're going

to help one another

along to the very end.

The bottom line is

the Thessalonian church,

they didn't really need Paul.

Of course,

they were thankful for him.

Of course,

somebody had to preach

the gospel to begin with

but it's not as if

the only way

that they were going

to make it to the end

faithful to Christ

is if Paul did indeed

make it back to the city

to minister to them.

No,

his prayer shows

that's not the case.

God's ongoing work

in their lives

would come primarily

through their ministry

to one another.

So we should pray

as Paul prayed

and we should endeavor

to live out

Paul's prayer

in God's grace.

We need one another

and we need to learn

how to love one another

in such a way

that God will use

our ministry

to persevere us

at Christ's return.

Now,

I think we should finish

with a question.

Why was Paul

so consumed with this?

That's how he opened, right?

This is his passion.

The key verse is verse 8.

Now we live

if you're standing fast

in the Lord.

This is what my life

is all about.

I live for this,

Paul says.

I'm so happy about it.

But why?

What reason

could he possibly give

for being so consumed

with this particular thing?

After all,

most people in our day

would say that faith

is a personal matter.

You just need to let people

work it out for themselves

and leave them alone.

Paul would have disagreed

wholeheartedly.

I think we should too.

Why should we care about that?

Just three quick things.

One,

because the gospel's true.

We should care

because the gospel's true.

And as Paul wrote

to the church in Rome,

the gospel is the power

of God unto salvation

for all who believe.

If they are to be saved,

it will be because

they believe the gospel.

Because God in his grace

saves them

through the preaching

of the gospel.

That should motivate us.

If nothing else does,

just the fact

that it's true.

And we know it.

Why wouldn't we want

to share that?

Jesus is coming back.

And he is coming back

in judgment.

Does that burden you

for the people

who are lost in your life?

That at his return,

if they are unbelieving,

they will perish.

They'll perish.

That should motivate us

to preach the gospel.

It's true.

And the Lord's coming back

and we want them

to be saved.

Secondly,

we should care about this

because Jesus calls us to it.

Jesus calls us to it.

It's not an option.

It's a mandate.

Paul understood that uniquely

as an apostle of Christ.

But it is not unique to him

only as an apostle,

but as a Christian.

And we know that

because of what Jesus said.

Go.

Make disciples of every nation.

Teach them to observe all things.

And by the way,

I'm going with you.

As you go in faithfulness,

I'm going in fruitfulness,

Jesus says.

What an encouragement that is.

We should go

because this is what God

has called us to do.

Jesus, our Lord,

has said,

this is what I want you to do.

Share the gospel

and help one another persevere.

Third,

because we're compelled by love.

We're compelled by love.

First by Christ's love.

You can't manufacture love, right?

You know that.

The thought of an arranged marriage

would cause us to be aghast,

even though I think

Ashlyn and Harper and Charlie

would do well

in an arranged marriage.

And I'm taking applications.

Ashlyn's first.

A couple more years.

If any of you are interested.

The thought of that

is terrible, isn't it?

Why?

Because you can't manufacture love

or at least the element

of affection in love.

You can't just pray a prayer today

and suddenly you're just

going to love people.

It doesn't work like that.

We're by nature,

we're just like,

we're kind of mean people,

aren't we?

Like we're sinners.

And we don't by nature

really love people that much.

Well, where does this start?

We're compelled by Christ's love,

aren't we?

That's what Paul says

to the Corinthians.

He says,

the love of Christ constrains me,

it compels me,

it grips me.

As I look at the cross,

I can't help

but see Christ's love

and want to share that love

with other people.

The love of Christ

compels us

to have that same love

for others.

It's a work of grace

in our own lives.

Why did Paul care about this?

Why should we?

We should be compelled

by Christ's love

to disciple one another

and to evangelize

the unbelievers around us.

Not because we want to win

an argument.

Not because we want to have

a bigger church

so we can have a bigger

facility or

pay our bills.

No.

Because we want to love them

the way that Christ loves them

and has shown his love to them

by dying on the cross for sin.

The more we look at the cross,

I think the more we'll be motivated

to share the love of the cross

with others,

even when it's hard.