The Fundamental Marks of A True Christian

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. Amen.

There's a lot of ways to learn about a person, isn't there?

But perhaps the best way to really get a sense of who a person is

is if you can ever get a hold of some kind of personal correspondence that they have sent or received,

maybe in the form of a letter or a journal.

That's the reason that those of you who are ladies who had a journal as a middle school

or as a teenage girl hid them in private places so that your brothers couldn't get to them

and see what's really in your mind about them or about someone or about things that are going on in your life.

You get a sense of who a person is that way, don't you?

I mentioned to you last week by way of introduction to 1 Thessalonians

how that when Julie and I were in college,

there was a letter exchange program on campus for the student body

that they called the Pony Express and it was a way for you to send lots of things

but primarily you'd send your love letters to the people that you were interested in.

And Julie and I took advantage of that and the girls discovered that during the sermon last Sunday.

And then Ashlyn and Harper discovered that Julie actually keeps a box full of those letters

from college in our closet.

And from what I understand from Julie, the girls have been eager to get their eyes on those letters.

And I sat and I thought as I was preparing for this sermon this week,

I thought, why do they want to read these letters?

These things would probably be so cheesy.

Like it's just going to make them laugh probably more than anything else.

And maybe that's why they want to read them.

I think there might be a little bit more to it.

But they know Julie and me better than anybody else in the world.

Nobody knows mine and Julie's heart and our behavior and who we are

better than the three girls that live in our house with us every single day.

Why would they care to read these letters?

Because despite that fact, they know that reading those letters will give them

an even fuller sense and understanding of their parents.

And of our love and of our lives together.

They want to read them because they want to get inside our hearts, so to speak,

so that they might get a better sense of who we are.

That's why we do that.

When we come to the first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians,

what we have here is it consists primarily of personal correspondence.

And it's through this personal portion of the letter that we get the best sense of the people involved.

We often think of the Apostle Paul as a brilliant theologian,

as an impactful and useful preacher of the gospel.

We think of him as an accomplished missionary in the early church and establishing churches,

really as far as he was concerned, all over the world and the known world in his mind.

And yet when we come to 1 Thessalonians in particular, we see it in other places,

but in 1 Thessalonians in particular, in these first three chapters,

we start to get a different sense, a fuller sense for Paul.

We see him here as a pastor.

We see him as a friend.

And it gives us a fuller sense of who he was as we read what he wrote to these individuals.

But it doesn't just give us that.

It also gives us a better sense of the people in Thessalonica,

particularly a better sense of their radical conversion.

We just get a little piece of that in Luke's narrative in Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

But when we come to the letters that Paul,

in the personal correspondence that they add with one another,

we get a better sense of their radical conversion to Christ.

And primarily we get really a wonderful sense of their perseverance of faith

in the face of really quite extreme persecution.

As we'll see in the coming weeks, even in the remainder of this paragraph in chapter 1,

their perseverance was the thing that stuck out the most about them.

It was their perseverance of faith that was so commendable that unbeknownst to them,

they actually became an example of faithfulness to all the other churches in their region.

It was really quite amazing.

Well, this morning we turn our attention here to the opening statements of this correspondence.

And as was Paul was wont to do in the letters that he wrote to the churches,

he opens this one with a statement of thanksgiving for the church.

And that's what's recorded in these two verses.

It's primarily just a prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of the Thessalonian Christians.

It's a prayer of thanksgiving that is shaped entirely by the gospel message

that we know this church was rooted in from our study last week.

Now what I want to do is I want to draw out this morning more than just Paul's thankful heart.

We're going to address that.

That's important.

There's things we can learn from that to be sure.

But that's not what I want us to focus most of our attention on.

I don't think it's the main emphasis of what he's saying.

The focus of his thanks is what we really want to draw our minds focus to.

The focus of his thanks is the fruit of genuine Christianity that marked the Thessalonian church.

What is the essence of a true Christian?

How might we define that from a biblical sense?

That is what this text helps us to understand.

And that's what I want the focus of our study together to be.

I want to show you from this text the fundamental marks of a true Christian.

Not a professing Christian.

A true Christian.

The first thing I want you to see, we'll skip verse 2, we'll come back to it.

And I want to go directly to verse 3.

That's where the emphasis is.

And this is where we find three essential virtues of genuine Christianity.

Just read the verse with me again.

Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith,

your labor of love,

and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

You notice the common triad here.

Faith, love, and hope are a triad of Christian virtues that are repeated regularly throughout the New Testament

in reference to what is the essence of a true Christian.

What marks them.

And very often we see these three things put together in that description.

Let me give you just three examples to show you how this is repeated in the New Testament.

Galatians chapter 5 verses 5 and 6.

Galatians 5:5

Paul again writes to this church and he says that it is through the Holy Spirit,

by faith,

that we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus,

neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,

but only faith working through love.

Here's the triad again,

intentionally brought together by the apostle

in connection with the person and the work of Jesus Christ

in order to say,

as he does in verse 6,

that who you are is irrelevant

to whether or not you're a Christian.

Your context is irrelevant

to whether or not you're a Christian,

but it is faith working through love

that shows up in the hope of righteousness

and the hope of Jesus Christ.

What is the essence of a true Christian?

Faith, hope, and love.

1 Peter chapter 1 verses 21 through 23.

1 Peter 1:21–23

Peter writes,

You through Christ are believers in God

who raised Christ from the dead

and gave him glory

so that your faith and hope are in God.

Having purified your souls

by your obedience to the truth

for a sincere brotherly love,

love one another earnestly from a pure heart

since you have been born again,

not of perishable seed,

but of imperishable.

How does this faith, love, and hope come about?

Last phrase of the verse.

Through the living and abiding word of God.

What is the essence of a true Christian?

Peter says,

Well, it has elements of faith and hope and love

all tied to the gospel of Jesus,

and it comes about as a work of grace

through the scriptures,

through the word of God.

Hebrews chapter 6 is the third one I'd like to show you.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

There are many more that you could look at,

most notably would be 1 Corinthians 13, 13.

You probably, maybe you had this displayed at your wedding.

Then there is faith and hope and love,

but the greatest of these is love.

Why would Paul even say that?

It's not that love is more significant

than hope and faith

when it comes to these virtues.

It's that there will come a time

when faith and hope will no longer be necessary.

They will be fulfilled.

But even at that time,

the love will continue.

But it's Hebrews chapter 6

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

that I want to draw your attention to now.

Verse 10.

God is not unjust

so as to overlook your work

and the love that you have shown for his name

in serving the saints.

Now what is the nature of this virtuous love?

It is love towards others

in the name of God and his son Jesus.

And we desire each one of you

to show the same earnestness,

to have the full assurance of hope

until the end

so that you may not be sluggish,

but imitators of those

who through faith and patience

inherit the promises.

Again, faith, hope, and love,

this triad of Christian virtue.

What is the essence of a true Christian?

We continually come back in different ways

to this triad in the New Testament.

Every true Christian possesses them

and they will continually grow

and flourish

as believers mature in Christ.

These three virtues

will only get bigger

and broader

and wider

and more evident.

But what is the relationship

of the three of them together?

Back to 1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 3.

What is the relationship

of them together?

Is there a relationship

of these three virtues together?

And I would suggest that there is.

The faith that Paul mentions

in this verse

is not unloving

or without hope.

The love that he mentions here

is not unbelieving

or hopeless.

The hope that he mentions here

is not unloving

or unbelieving.

Else it wouldn't be what it is.

There is an interconnectedness here.

Though each virtue is distinct,

they are not independent

of one another.

They are interconnected

and they are interconnected

by the final statement

of verse 3.

That all of these things

are functioning,

that they are grounded

and that they are rooted

in what?

That they are rooted

in our Lord Jesus Christ.

faith in the person

and work of Jesus Christ

produces true works

of righteousness.

Love for Jesus

motivates the Christian's love

for others.

Hope in Jesus

brings about the steadfastness

of faith

in the face

of suffering.

The three virtues

are unique perspectives

of one event

in a person's life.

That is their conversion

to Jesus Christ.

Meaning

that all three

are essential to

and will be present

in anyone

who is a true,

genuine,

biblical,

Christian.

Faith,

not in faith itself,

but faith

in Jesus

in particular.

Love,

not in a generic sense,

but love

for Jesus

in particular.

Hope,

not in wishful thinking,

but hope

that is rooted

in Jesus

in particular.

To say it another way,

without these three virtues

being present

and rooted in Jesus,

you cannot possibly be

a true Christian.

They are the essence

of genuine conversion

and they have everything

to do with Christ.

They are the fruit.

Jesus

is the root.

Now,

Paul's thanksgiving

for the Thessalonian Christians

is focused

on their display

of these fundamental

virtues.

But the way

that he speaks

about them

is actually quite unique.

Every statement

includes a spiritual action

that is motivated

by a specific virtue.

Just set your eyes

on it again.

He says

of their work

of faith.

That is,

this faith

motivates

and produces

certain works.

Then he talks

about their labor

of love.

That is,

their love

for Christ

produces

a kind of loving

labor

for Christ

and for others.

Then he talks

about their steadfastness

of hope.

That is,

their hope

in Jesus

produces then

a steadfastness.

That is the only way

it works.

The works

cannot possibly

produce

the things

themselves.

Works

does not produce

faith.

It is the other way

around,

isn't it?

Faith produces works.

Labor

does not lead

to love.

Labor may actually

lead to hate.

It is the love

that leads

to joyful labor.

Steadfastness

or just pulling

yourself up

by your bootstrap

is not what

is going to get

you through

and produce hope.

No,

it is not how it works.

We know it works

the other way around,

doesn't it?

That is Paul's point.

It is unique.

He mentions the triad

but he mentions

these spiritual actions

that are revealed,

that reveal

this triad

of Christian virtue.

What I want to do

here for just a moment

is take each of them

in turn.

Let's look first

at the work

of faith.

The work of faith.

Paul,

of course,

he does not mean

to imply

a connection

between human merit

and eternal salvation.

We know that

because he has settled

that anti-gospel heresy

sufficiently

in other places.

Let me give you

two examples.

Romans chapter 3

Romans 3:19–30

verses 19 to 30.

Paul,

writing to the church

in Rome,

says,

Now we know

that whatever the law says,

it speaks to those

who are under the law

so that every mouth

may be stopped.

That is,

in judgment,

no one will be able

to say,

well,

look what I've done

because everyone

will have to say,

I have not done

what I ought to have done.

I have failed.

I have sinned.

That's the point

of that statement.

And the whole world

may be held accountable

to God.

For by works

of the law,

Paul says,

no human being

will be justified

in God's sight,

will be declared

righteous.

Another way

we might say that

is that it will be

declared as saved

in God's sight

since through the law

does not come

forgiveness of sin.

Through the law

just comes the knowledge

of sin.

The law exposes our sin.

It cannot redeem us

from our sin.

No,

it takes something else

for that.

Galatians chapter 3,

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Paul says it again,

even more elaborately perhaps.

He says in verse 10,

for all who rely

on works of the law

are under a curse.

For it's written,

cursed be everyone

who does not abide

by all things written

in the book of the law

and do them.

Verse 13,

Christ redeemed us

from the curse

of the law.

How?

By becoming a curse

for us.

For it's written,

cursed is everyone

who is hanged on a tree

so that in Christ Jesus

the blessing of Abraham

might come even

to the Gentiles

so that we might receive

the promised spirit.

How?

Through faith.

So we don't need to mistake

what Paul's saying here.

We need to look

at the entire corpus

of Pauline literature

and understand

Paul was not insinuating

or implying in any way here

that it is works

that is connected

in some way

to salvation.

That's not what he means.

And if you're relying

on your morality

to earn some kind

of saving favor

with God,

the scripture makes it clear

particularly in Galatians 3

that you are under a curse.

And what is this curse?

The curse is

that you have not

and will never

fulfill all that

God's moral law

requires of you.

There you are,

thereby you are cursed

to face God's judgment

because you'll never live up

to God's standard.

No human ever will.

We cannot.

So salvation then

is not earned

by what you do.

It is received

by faith

in what Jesus Christ

has done

on your behalf.

You are cursed

under the law.

He never offended

the law

even in one way.

He fulfilled it

on your behalf.

He lived the life

that we were meant

to live

as I often say.

And then he died

the death

that we deserve

to die.

And in doing so,

he made it possible

for God the Father

to declare us

righteous

even though

we are not so.

Our righteousness

before God

is not an actual

righteousness.

righteousness.

It is what we call

an imputed righteousness.

It is credited

to us

by the work

of Christ

in his death

and in his resurrection.

And it is credited

to us

not through

human merit.

It is credited

to us

through faith

alone.

That being said,

the New Testament

clarifies

that genuine

saving faith

is not

alone.

But it produces,

it is followed

by human

works.

Thus Paul,

when he's referring

to the Thessalonians

here in verse 3,

he recognizes

their faith

and he recognizes

that faith

because it has

produced something

in them.

It has produced

an action

in them.

As the scriptures

make clear,

it does.

James makes

this abundantly

clear.

In James chapter 2

James 2 · chapter mention

and verse 18,

someone will say,

you have faith

and I have works.

James says,

in response

to that person,

show me your faith

apart from your works

and I will show you

my faith

by my works.

You believe

that God is one,

you do well.

But even the demons

believe

and shudder.

What's James'

point there?

He's saying that

intellectual,

assent or belief

is not the thing

that we're aiming

at here.

That's not saving

regenerate faith.

Even the devil

is orthodox

in what he knows

to be true.

And yet he is

not redeemed.

So what does

James mean?

Do you want

to be shown

you foolish person?

He says

that faith

apart from works

is useless

because a faith

that does not work

is not a genuine

saving faith.

That's Paul's

point here.

He says

when I look at you

I'm thankful

for you

because your faith

has produced

certain works.

But what are

those works

that Paul is

referring to?

They are not here

merely what we

would call good deeds.

That's a part of it

to be sure.

But that's not

what he's primarily

referring to

I don't believe.

they are true

works of righteousness

that are motivated

by genuine faith

in Christ.

They include

repentance of sin

not in one moment

but ongoing

continually

in every moment.

A humble heart

of turning away

from sin.

Those are the works

of faith.

they include

trust

in God's word.

You say

how can I trust

something that I

don't fully understand?

Well that's

the nature

of faith.

The works

of faith

include

trusting

what God

has said.

They include

the fruit

of the spirit.

A supernatural

transformation

whereby

as a result

of our faith

and redemption

the Holy Spirit

begins this

progressive transformation

and where

was once

the works

of the flesh

he now

begins to

replace them

with things

like love

and joy

and peace

and long

suffering

and gentleness

and goodness

and faithfulness

and meekness

and temperance

and so on

and so forth

the passage goes.

What are the

works of faith?

Well it is the

evidence of the

fruit of the spirit

in someone's life

and then

yes there's also

good deeds

but we must

not narrow down

the works

of faith

to volunteering

at the homeless

shelter

or providing

some formula

for the people

in the mountains

when they were

really struggling

as many of you

did just last week.

It's not that

that doesn't matter

or that it's irrelevant

it's just it's not

the fullness

of what he's

talking about here.

The fullness

of the faith

that works

is repentance

it's fruitfulness

in the faith

it's trust

in God's word

and yes

it's also

goodness

and love

for others.

Thus Jesus said

just as you can

know a tree

by its fruit

you can identify

an apple tree

by the fact

that it grows

apples

is Jesus'

point.

So you can

identify a true

Christian

by the works

of righteousness

that flow

out of

in particular

their personal

faith in Jesus

Christ.

Not works

of righteousness

that are alone

but works

of righteousness

that specifically

are the overflow

of their faith

in Christ.

That's the works

of faith.

Second

we have the labor

of love.

The labor

of love.

Surely you've

heard this statement

before perhaps

you've used it

before.

We've long used

the phrase

in English

to refer to

voluntarily

taking on

a task

for pleasure

rather than

reward

or payment.

That's a labor

of love

isn't it?

It is out

of love

for the thing

itself

or love

for those

that will

benefit

that one

enters in

to toil

and hardship

and labor.

Many of you

know my dad.

Dad has been

here even

recently.

He was here

just a month

ago to preach.

If you spent

more than 20

seconds with my

dad on that

Sunday when he

was here

then you probably

know that my

dad's current

labor of love

is restoring

cast iron

skillets.

The reason

you know that

is because he

tells everybody

about it.

He is as much

an evangelist

for his cast

iron restoration

as he is

for the Lord

Jesus Christ

at this point

in his life.

If you were

to walk

into my

parents'

kitchen today

there are

dozens

that is not

an exaggeration

is it Julie?

There are

dozens

dozens

of

remarkably

restored

cast iron

skillets

and they are

on display

they are just

there.

He has got

these racks

of them

and they are

on the walls

and he cooks

with some of

them.

Most of them

they just sit

there.

He loves to

go to yard

sales and he

gets on

Facebook

marketplace.

He has a

spot at the

police station

in Gastonia

where he goes

and he meets

people on

Facebook and

they exchange

their cast

iron skillets

and he takes

them home and

he spends days.

He has got

this makeshift

machine that

he has built

that he has

put in his

garage and

he doesn't

sell them.

It is not a

side hustle.

He does not

have his own

Facebook

marketplace page

where he puts

them back on

there and tries

to make money.

They just sit

there and he

gives them

away.

The girls

each have

like two and

he gives

them away to

people.

What is that?

It is a

labor of love.

It is work

to do it.

It is work

to find them.

It is work

to restore

them.

It is work

to make it

all and he

gets joy

out of the

labor because

he loves the

thing itself

and he loves

the people

that he gets

to give the

things to.

But there is

no reward for

him.

It is a labor

of love

isn't it?

In the case

of this text

it is unmitigated

love for Christ

and Christ's

people that

motivates the

toilsome task

of Christian

service and

discipleship.

we just

covenanted

with three

Christians

in membership

in our

church.

A labor

of love

would be

to actually

take the

responsibility

in a practical

way for their

discipleship the

way that we

have just

said and

promised that

we would.

Meaningful

membership and

discipleship and

service to one

another through the

church is a

labor.

It is a

toil.

it is a

hardship.

It is not

easy.

It leaves you

vulnerable.

And yet

out of love

for Christ

and out of

love for his

people we

are to eagerly

and joyfully

enter into

that labor.

I heard

someone say

this week

the church

is where

it's none

of your

business

goes to

die.

Why?

Because it

is our

love for

one another

that drives

our service

to one

another and

essential to

our service

to one

another is

the continual

discipleship

correction

maybe and

teaching of

the gospel and

of what God

has asked of

us to be.

That is our

purpose with

one another.

We don't just

meet together on

Sundays to have

a worship

service.

You ought to

be with one

another throughout

the week for

the purpose of

Christian love

and discipleship.

Jesus himself

said that it

is our love

for one another

that will testify

to the world

that we belong

to him.

He said it in

John 13

John 13:34

verse 34

a new commandment

I give to you

that you love

one another

just as I have

loved you

that's the

qualifier.

He says in

the way that I

have loved you

that is the

way that

Christians are

to love

one another.

by this all

people will

know that you

are my

disciples if you

have love for

one another.

There we get it

again from the

very mouth of

Jesus.

He says what is

the essence of

a true Christian?

Well it is someone

who bears the

love of Christ

for others

especially other

Christians and

that's how the

world will know.

It is an

essential virtue

that belongs to

those who are

truly in Christ.

nothing is more

laborsome than

love.

Nothing is.

Love is not

merely a feeling.

I'm tempted to

sing a song

and I won't do

it.

Hooked on a

feeling.

That's not what

we're talking

about here.

Don't tell my

mom I did

that.

love isn't

something you

can fall into

or fall out

of.

It doesn't

actually work

that way.

Love is a

relational

commitment at

its heart.

Love calls us

to sacrifice

self for the

good of someone

else.

Isn't that what

Jesus means when

he tells his

disciples in

John 13 in

the way that I

have loved you

and by the

way I'm

about to go

to the

cross for

you in the

way that I

have loved

you.

That's how you

are to love

one another.

Isn't that what

he says to

husbands in

Ephesians chapter

five?

Husbands love

your wives as

Christ loved the

church and gave

himself for it.

love.

The only way to

know that kind

of love to

the fullest

extent in

God's common

grace we get to

experience a touch

of this but the

only way to

really know it in

its fullest extent

is to set your

gaze on the

person and work

of Jesus Christ.

Romans chapter

five verses six

through eight tell

us that plainly.

While we were

still weak at the

right time Christ

died for the

ungodly.

And then Paul

says for one will

scarcely die for a

righteous person.

If you think

somebody's a pretty

good guy yeah you

might offer your

life for them.

Perhaps for a good

person one would

even dare to die.

But God shows his

love for us in

that while we were

still sinners Christ

died for us.

While we were still

sinners that's not

speaking of a past

thing that's thinking

of a present thing.

In that moment we

are his enemy and we

are acting as his

enemy and yet he

gives himself to us

anyways.

That is the nature

of God's love.

It is the supreme

love of Christ for

sinners that then

motivates Christians'

love for one

another.

That's what Paul

means here.

There is love for

Christ that then

shows itself in a

kind of labor.

A labor in Christian

ministry for Christ

but particularly a

labor for other

Christians and

discipleship.

For even people

outside of the church

in just kindness and

love showing the love

of Christ to others

in a very real sense

of that word.

Self-sacrifice.

Thirdly we see

steadfastness of hope.

Steadfastness of hope.

When the apostles wrote

hope in the New

Testament it's

important to

understand that they

intended to communicate

something different than

we typically do when we

use that word today.

For the apostles in the

biblical sense hope is

meant as an absolute

certainty of heart

not a wishfulness about an

uncertain future.

We need to understand that

appropriately here.

Otherwise steadfastness

really doesn't make

sense.

It only makes sense in

the context of an

absolute certainty not

in a potential wishfulness

of something that you're

uncertain about.

That will not cause you to

endure anything.

But what will cause you to

endure is a certainty

about what it is that you

have placed your faith in.

And incidentally that's

what John Piper actually

describes hope as.

He describes it as

biblical hope being

saving faith with an

emphasis on future

fulfillment.

So it is the faith of

Christ and the works of

faith looking forward to

the fulfillment of all of

Christ's promises.

That is what the meaning of

hope here is.

Let me just give you a

couple of examples of

this that show you that

I'm not just making this

up.

Look at Philippians chapter

one in verse 20.

This might be on the

screen for you.

Paul says to the

Philippians, it is my

eager expectation and hope

hope that I will not be

ashamed but that with

full courage now as

always Christ will be

honored in my body

whether by life or by

death.

Now what's happening

there?

Paul was facing his

potential martyrdom in

Rome.

He was under house arrest

at the moment and he

was uncertain about

whether or not he was

about to be beheaded or

turns out that he wasn't

martyred at that

particular moment.

That would come later in

his life.

But he didn't know that

at this point.

So he's writing to the

Philippians and he's

talking about what is on

his heart and what's in

his mind in relation to

this potential death.

And what is it that he

says that he would

indeed remain faithful to

the end.

Why?

Because he was absolutely

certain of the gospel

message he had been

proclaiming which had

landed him in such a

situation.

It wasn't his wish.

He spoke of it as his

eager expectation.

expectation.

That's the sense of

hope.

Let me give you just one

more and this is all over

the New Testament but let

me just give you one more.

In Acts chapter 26 and

Acts 26 · chapter mention

verse 6 we see of Paul

and now I stand here.

This is he saying as he's

on trial.

Now I stand here on trial

because of my hope in the

promise made by God to

our fathers.

So he's referencing the

gospel here and he's

standing there on trial he

says because of his hope in

that gospel message.

Paul wasn't on trial because

he wished for the gospel to

be true.

Nobody in Rome was

threatened by Paul's

wishfulness.

What they were threatened

by was Paul's certainty

which was revealed in his

gospel preaching.

And that's what led him to

faithfully proclaim the

gospel at the risk of his

own life.

That's the kind of hope that

we're talking about here.

So when we get back to

1 Thessalonians 1 3 we see

that the hope here is not a

wishfulness.

It is a certainty that exists

in the Thessalonian believers.

So when Paul and Silas and

Timothy write to the Christians

there and of their hope they're

referring to their absolute

certainty of heart regarding the

truth of Jesus Christ, his

resurrection, and his return.

Now why would Paul do that?

Why would he find it necessary to

write of their steadfastness of

hope?

Well as we learned last week

this church was under severe

persecution from its very

inception.

The reality of this persecution

that looms large over this

entire letter.

So severe was it that Paul was

concerned in chapter 3 that we'll

eventually get to, Paul was

concerned whether they would

continue in the faith at all or if

they would just abandon it all

together because of the pressure of

it.

Yet despite their circumstances,

the church of the Thessalonians

remained steadfast.

They endured.

Why?

Because their hope in Christ

produced such steadfastness.

Their certainty of the gospel

caused them to persevere.

They patiently endure the

suffering with firm expectation

that what Christ began at his

resurrection he will complete at

his return.

All Christian hope thus rests in

the historic bodily resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it is as a result of their

hope in the resurrection that they

had an eager and firm hope in

Christ's return.

Three essential virtues for

Christianity.

Now lest we think that we

accomplish all of this on our own,

it will be necessary for us to

finish by looking at verse 2.

So look at it with me.

Before focusing in on the triad,

Paul says,

we give thanks to God

always for all of you,

constantly mentioning you

in our prayers.

What do we find here in verse 2?

We find God's work of grace in our

faith, love, and hope.

What's most noteworthy about the

thanksgiving here is that it was

offered in the context of prayer.

It wasn't just occasional prayer,

continual prayer.

They were thankful for the

Thessalonians, but their

thanksgiving was not directed to

the Thessalonians.

Did you notice that?

In fact, they explicitly say,

we give thanks to God

for you.

Now, I want you to meditate on that.

Let that sink into your mind.

The subject of their thanksgiving

is the actions performed by the

Thessalonians.

That's verse 3.

But the object of their

thanksgiving is God.

Now, that's strange.

If I were to give you a gift today,

no doubt you would, in response,

turn and say thank you.

But what if instead of thanking me

for the gift that I purchased and

wrapped and handed over to you,

you turned to Josh Francis and you

said, oh my goodness, Josh,

thank you for this gift that Jared

gave me.

That's weird, right?

You wouldn't do that.

Why is it that Paul does it then?

Paul and his team were immensely

thankful for the Thessalonians'

actions.

But they understood God to be the

definitive cause of those actions.

Therefore, all of their gratitude

was directed to the Lord.

Everything happening through the

church of the Thessalonians was a

work of grace.

And whether thinking of their

radical conversion or their

exemplary perseverance of faith,

Paul understood that it was all the

result of God's gracious work in the

hearts of those young Christians.

And the same goes for you and me.

It is no different for us.

The truth is that every conversion to

Christ is a miracle of God's

sovereign grace.

It is a miracle.

You wonder if miracles still happen

today.

Look around.

Listen to the three testimonies of

conversion.

That doesn't happen because Kathy and

Sarah Lynn and Todd just decided, you

know what?

We figured it out and we're going to go

with it.

No, that's not how it works.

No, God is active in that.

We're so lost in our sins, dead in

them, according to Ephesians chapter

two and verse one, that the only

possible way for our hearts to

repent and turn to Christ is if God

himself does a miracle of

resurrection whereby he brings a

dead soul to life in Christ.

Christ, it is a work of grace.

The same goes for our spiritual

maturity, for our perseverance of

faith.

It is all a work of grace.

Consider Ephesians chapter two, verses

eight through ten.

For by grace you have been saved

through faith.

And this is not your own doing.

It's a gift of God.

It's not a result of works so that no

one may boast.

And then he continues even beyond the

conversion.

We are his workmanship.

What does that mean?

It means that even after we come to

Christ in faith, God is still doing a

building work.

We are a work.

There was a song we sang when I was a

kid.

He's still working on me to make me what

I ought to be.

It took him just a week to make the

moon and the stars, the sun and the

earth and Jupiter and Mars.

How loving and faithful he must be.

He's still working on me.

You know that song?

You know what we learn in that song

as kids?

That there is a work that God is

doing.

We are cooperating with him in that

work to be sure.

But this is his work.

We are his workmanship.

We are created.

It's important.

You can't create yourself.

Created in Christ Jesus for the purpose

of good works, which God prepared

beforehand that we should walk in them.

This is a work of grace, loved ones.

what does this mean for us in this text well why does it matter that we acknowledge that paul

sees these virtues and then he thanks god for them if nothing else it's a reminder that all

of our praise belongs to god alone that's what he says in ephesians 2 so that no man may boast

god is the definitive cause of anything good that is in us

he awakens our hearts to trust in christ he supplies us with his spirit so that we might

grow in faithfulness he will complete that work at christ's return finally delivering us from sin

and sorrow that's the hope we owe everything to the gracious work of god he alone is worthy of our

praise and it is to him that we must ultimately direct our thanksgiving let me finish with a question

i made an argument today and you may disagree with the argument

but the argument comes from the scripture itself so according to the word of god according

to what is said by god in the scriptures are you a true christian

is your faith in christ is your love for christ is your hope in christ

prove it how well that faith will produce certain works works of righteousness and that love will

produce a certain labor a labor of christian love for the lord and for others and that hope will

produce a kind of endurance that will persevere through the darkness through the temptation through

the struggle and through the hardships that we face not because we just got it all together but because god

is gracious to us well how does god do this work it sounds a lot like i can't do anything about it

as sarah lynn said in her testimony i just thought that some were in and some were out and i just happen to be in the out category and

it's a bit of a mystery isn't it until we study the scriptures and we find that god does this work of grace

through his word he does it through his word it is not for us to know the mystery of god's sovereign

purposes what we do know is that he has revealed himself and his truth in the pages of the bible

and that it is we come to the bible the sword of the spirit that god does this work of grace

that's why we preach the gospel because it is through the preaching of the gospel that god does

this work of grace it's why we observe the ordinances the way that we do and that we want

even unbelievers to look in on those ordinances because god does his work of grace through his word

that's why he can say you will be without excuse

our rejection is willful isn't it that part is all of us

but there is a work of grace that god does through the gospel

and he calls us to respond to that gospel

and if you sense that tug of heart that conviction of heart that's not you feeling bad about yourself

that's god doing a work of grace

so come to christ are you a true christian

only christ can make you so and he offers it offers it to you freely so come and receive the rest that he provides