1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

The benediction at the end of this epistle is not a throwaway passage of personal conversation. These are general applications that are vital to our faith, and we need to apply them correctly.

Having addressed the priority of dealing with the unruly person in a loving and disciplined way, Paul says the result of that resolution is peace. More than a mere absence of overt hostility, the genuine and real peace of God settles on the totality of God's people: spirit, soul, and body. Too often, church conflict is not dealt with; it is only placated. We see the cycle: when a minister arrives at the church, the church grows, and then there develops some ridiculous conflict, which boils up but is not properly resolved; the conflict deepens and the minister leaves, and the church shrinks back, at which point the cycle is repeated. When we see the cycle repeated over and over, we can be certain that the following are true. First, the peace of God is absent. Second, we see that the “revolving door” kind of church would be better if it were closed. Third, because they have rejected the Lord's will concerning church discipline and are not experiencing His peace, such a church will not be complete at Christ's return. The good works prepared in advance by the Lord for them to do will be left undone.

The matter of church discipline is no little thing. Churches that are bullied from within by evil or dysfunctional people who intimidate weak leaders (who act as if their primary objective is to avoid conflict) face a judgment having failed to do the will of their Master. Many of the parables of Jesus address this issue.

At some moment a serious conflict will come to every church. One conflict or another prompted all the letters of the New Testament. The idea of a conflict-free church or ministry is pure folly. What we need to understand is that conflict is a crossroads for a church. It is a moment of great opportunity. Of course, ‘little soul leaders’ can take the easy way out and move down a path toward its next compromise, which will likely have the same result until the church dies. This death is a certainty.

“Lord, give us the grace and wisdom to take advantage of the opportunity that exists in conflict.  AMEN?

I Thessalonians 5:19-22

I Thessalonians 5:19-22

These verses are part of the context of verses 12-18. By the verse division, these appear to be single instructions for general applications. They are, in fact, part of the instructions of how to deal with the unruly people in the church. 

Often when dysfunctional individuals in the church attack a preacher or elder, the other leaders, who are called to guard the flock, decide it is easier to get a new preacher or elder than deal with the unruly member. So, the preacher becomes discouraged and leaves. But the preacher is not the only one. The grammar of verse 19 is very clear, translated literally. Paul says, “Stop quenching the Spirit, which is what you are doing now.” Allowing the unruly person to be disrespectful of the leaders and to misbehave without accountability causes the Spirit to withdraw from the life and ministry of the church. Ministers who have been through an ugly church fight can very likely tell you of sensing the distinct absence of the Holy Spirit at some point. If a church does this enough times, eventually it will die. By the way, have you noticed how many churches are closing across our nation?

In verse 20, Paul wisely strikes a balance. During a church conflict, people will sometimes or often say, “I believe the Lord is leading us to….” Paul warned not to reject such statements out of hand. The Lord may in fact be leading. Rather than believe everyone who says the Lord gave him or her direction or, equally bad, miss the genuine guidance of the Spirit, Paul commands that we “examine everything.” The word is taken from testing metal to see if it is precious or common. One way of putting it is, “Is this advice golden, or is it just cheap tin?” This was no flippant review or casual glance but a careful and detailed assessment. In the process, Paul assumes there would be both good and evil. Paul advises to hang on to the good. He used the word for beautiful or comely and rejected in dynamic terms evil (the root word from which we get the word porn). The bad advice of the unruly is as bad for the church as is pornography. Paul says we must abstain from every form of evil. The evil of the one who would undermine the leaders of the church must not be allowed to exist in the church. 

In the church you can have the unruly person or you can have the Holy Spirit, but you can never have both. 

“Lord, grant us the courage to deal faithfully with unruly church members. AMEN”

I Thessalonians 5:12-18

I Thessalonians 5:12-18

We have often treated this passage as a string of individual behaviors that Paul has listed as a sort of “‘good deeds’ to do list.” This is misguided and misses the power of this passage. Having addressed mistaken eschatology and the busybodies that were its carriers, Paul calls for some practical church leadership to address the conflict and set those individuals to right that would cause trouble. Never doubt that correcting misguided people has the potential to cause them to turn other misguided people into clergy killers.

Paul begins by commanding support for those who are leading the church. He makes the point in v. 12 that these leaders are to give “instruction.” This word means more than simply teaching. It is about setting in order the muddled thinking of certain people. When this is done, the muddle-headed individual may become unruly. Paul says they are to be “admonished.” This word means “to keep military order.” The point of Paul’s using a word with a military origin is that this is not a matter of “want-to” or “feel like” cooperation, but rather order and submission to authority. Verse 14 is a study in the problem of the American church in the early 21st century. When faced with the unruly, church leaders are often weak and fainthearted. The weak are severely tempted to give in in order to secure peace at any price with those who are being unruly. The fainthearted (the word literally means “little soul”) lack the conviction to stand firm by their principles. We often misunderstand the role of “patience” when dealing with church discipline problems. Patience is not endlessly putting up with the nonsense of the unruly or dysfunctional person; it is, rather, sticking to doing what is right regardless of what is involved. Patience is holding faithfully to the right course of action and enduring the grief that comes from doing the right thing. But Paul also warns against an overreaction in which evil is done to the unruly or disruptive person. 

Dealing with this kind of dysfunction is not easy, but if we are faithful in the hardship, we can remain positive at our core. The advice and behavior described in vs. 16-18 will keep the leaders from despair in the difficult times. As long as a leader has some sense of hope for the future and mission of the church, he can have remarkable durability. That sense of hope is enhanced and encouraged by rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. Ministers do not usually leave the church and the ministry because they have lost faith in God, Scripture, or the Kingdom. When they do leave, it is most often because they have lost hope in the local congregations. 

“Lord, bless Your church with leaders who have tender hearts and thick skin because they are people of hope.  AMEN”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

As Christians, we are unaware of when Christ will return, but neither will we be surprised when it happens. Apparently this church was deeply disturbed concerning when Christ would return. Paul hopes to direct that energy away from focusing on time and circumstances and into holy living. In this passage, Paul explodes with mixed metaphors, working toward the three key expressions of the Christian life. Here's a short list of the metaphors Paul uses for the second coming: thief, pregnancy and labor, light and darkness, sleep, drunkenness, and sobriety. In verse 11, Paul uses five different metaphors to describe the Lord's return or how we should react to it. Each of these carries a different ethical nuance.

Concerning the Second Coming, there are two extremes, both of which equally serve the enemy of our faith. The first, which may have been the problem at Thessalonica, is an obsession or panic about ‘when.’ They shouldn't have needed this refresher course or reminder; one of the fundamental teachings of our faith is that we don't know when Christ will return. The other extreme is expressed by a “peace and safety” denial that the end is coming. Paul's explosion of metaphors is to move from both extremes to the middle ground. “Christ is coming, so let's live accordingly”. All of Paul's teachings on the subject are either about the unknowable nature of when or the ethics of how to live.

He moves toward the three key characteristics of the Christian life: faith, love, and hope. In 1st Corinthians 13, in a congregation in deep conflict, love is listed last for emphasis’ sake. In this passage, in a congregation in the midst of a prophecy conference panic, he lists hope last for the emphasis of confidence over panic. There is one great conclusion with two applications for us. The conclusion is that God has not destined us for destruction but for salvation in Christ. The first application is this: the “when” of Christ’s return does not matter. If it happens while we live or after we die, we enjoy the same glorious future. That conclusion and the first application lead us naturally to the second application, “encourage, or strengthen, or comfort each other. The hope of Christ takes us through all circumstances.

“Lord, help me to live with boldness because I know that Jesus is coming. AMEN”