1 Thessalonians 2:1–3:13
It is not enough merely to catch a fish. If it is not to spoil, it must also be cleaned. Otherwise, it was caught in vain. When we work for God this is not some kind of “sport fishing,” where the anglers catch the fish only for the pleasure of the sport and then throw it back into the water. No. We want those who are caught for God’s kingdom to remain in it. That is exactly why follow-up care is needed. Otherwise there is a danger that our labor will be in vain.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:1 the apostle Paul writes:
1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. (1 Thessalonians 2:1)
The Thessalonian believers were not among those who fail to respond to the gospel. On the contrary, they received the apostolic message as the word of God, and this led to their salvation (1 Thessalonians 2:13). In the first chapter of the letter, the apostle Paul describes the miracle of the Thessalonians’ initial success in the faith (1 Thessalonians 1:4-9).
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-9)
What an astonishing good beginning. Truly, the presence and the initial work of Paul, Silas, and Timothy among these people were not in vain. And yet they were forced to leave Thessalonica and to leave the newly formed church without the spiritual care it so badly needed.
From the Acts of the Apostles we learn that during the second missionary journey Paul, Silas, and Timothy came from Philippi to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-10). There, for three Sabbaths in a row, they shared the gospel in the local synagogue. In this way the Thessalonian church was formed. The Jews, however, “moved by envy,” found false witnesses and attacked the house of Jason, where Paul and Silas were staying. When they did not find them, they seized Jason himself along with several new brothers and dragged them before the city officials. Their charges were vague, but carried a heavy political overtone. They shouted: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus” (Acts 17:6-7). This was, of course, a vague and unproven accusation, but it swayed the crowd and the rulers of the city, and it caused an uproar. Jason and the other brothers were nonetheless released on bail, perhaps on the condition that if they were seen again with Paul and Silas they would be punished. This incident brought about the immediate relocation of Paul and Silas to Berea. Their lives were so endangered that they left Thessalonica by night (Acts 17:10).
The forced departure of the apostles led to a dangerous isolation of the apostles from the newly converted Thessalonians. So they tried to replace personal contact with written correspondence. This is how the letters to the Thessalonians came to be. In them we see the apostles’ concern for the follow-up care of those newly born again in Christ. Written correspondence, of course, is not enough, and so the apostle Paul sent Timothy back. In 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2,5 the apostle writes:
1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-2,5)
In the second and third chapters of this letter we can see what we must do in order to care for our new brothers and sisters in the Lord while they are still spiritual infants.
Before we go on, I would also like to stress that follow-up care is not the pastor’s concern alone. One person cannot fully care for more than a handful of people. No. Follow-up care is the responsibility of every mature Christian. So if you consider yourself to be one, listen carefully and take up your responsibility!
READY TO BEAR ACCUSATIONS
First, we must be ready for opposition (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).
1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2)
Paul, Silas, and Timothy preached the gospel “in the face of strong opposition.” We too must be ready to be accused of preaching for money or of having some impure motives. This is nothing new — the apostles were accused of the very same things. Here is how the apostle Paul defends himself against these false charges (vv.3-6):
3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. (1 Thessalonians 2:3-6)
Notice how many things the apostles were accused of:
- that they were deceived (“error”);
- that they had some impure motives (“impure motives”);
- that they were crafty manipulators (“flattery”);
- that they were greedy men who wanted to deceive people and take their money (“greed”);
- that they were vain, wanting to lord it over others and seeking unconditional acclaim (“praise from people”).
If we want to work with people and to be bearers of the gospel, we too must be ready to bear the same or similar accusations. Of course, we must never allow them to have any grounds whatsoever. On the contrary, we must be blameless and even ready to give up things that are rightfully ours, if only every obstacle to the establishing of new believers may be torn down. In Titus 2:8 the apostle Paul says that we must be such that:
8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. (Titus 2:8)
SPIRITUAL MOTHERS AND FATHERS
According to the apostle Paul’s words, we must be spiritual mothers and fathers. In verse 7 the apostle Paul shares that he and the other apostles were gentle toward the new Thessalonian believers, just as a nursing mother cares for her baby. And in verse 11 he says that they worked with each one individually and urged him on, just as a father does with his own children. Without such an attitude we would not be able to keep the newborn children of God in their new faith (1 Thessalonians 2:7-11).
7 Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD THE MESSAGE AND ITS MINISTERS
We must teach new believers not only godly conduct, but also a right attitude toward the Bible, toward the church, toward the sermons and the worship. We must help them understand that what the evangelists and the pastors say, and what is written in the Bible, is not simply some human philosophy, not some human teaching, but the word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
FIRMNESS AND ENDURANCE FROM THE VERY START
Right at the very beginning the Thessalonian brothers were exposed to harsh persecution. I have already told you what happened to Jason and the other brothers. They needed encouragement. So the apostle Paul heartened them, reminding them that what was happening to them was not an isolated case. In the same way, though at the hands of different persecutors, the churches in Judea were suffering too (1 Thessalonians 2:14-17).
14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last. (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
Because turning to Christ almost always provoked persecution, the apostles taught new believers that the Christian life is not a bed of roses. On the contrary, there will be much suffering and hardship. But it is worth it, because this road leads to the glory of God’s kingdom. This was the apostle Paul’s practice from his very first missionary journey (Acts 14:21-22).
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (Acts 14:21-22)
The same is what we too must do. Not to advertise the faith, which has no need of that anyway, but to point out to new believers that the road is hard, to prepare them for persecution and rejection, while at the same time motivating them that the sufferings are worth it, because they strengthen our character and make us like Christ. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-25:
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)
TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO KEEP IN TOUCH
We must realize that not only we, but Satan too, knows the importance of follow-up care for a person’s salvation. That is why he tries in every way to thwart it. But since we, for our part, also know his plans and strategies, we must do our utmost, everything that depends on us, not to let ourselves be separated from new believers. This is the hardest part. It is precisely here that we most often fail. People come to evangelistic events or to church, they come forward or fill out cards expressing their decision to receive Christ, but then “life sweeps them away” and the whole effort turns out to be in vain.
If we want people to be saved and our church to grow, we must learn to “go visiting.” Even if we do not call it that, we must seek out new believers, invite them into our homes, spend time with them. Without such a spiritual investment nothing will come of it. See what the apostle Paul’s example is in this regard (1 Thessalonians 2:14–3:8):
17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), (1 Thessalonians 2:17)
Notice that, separated from them, the apostle Paul feels like an orphan.
17 out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18)
Satan is forever putting up obstacles, but we must overcome them!
19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? (1 Thessalonians 2:19)
There is something better than going to heaven ourselves, and that is to arrive there having brought others along with us. They will be our joy and our crown on the day we meet the Lord!
1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain. 6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-8)
We must take new believers to heart. We must treat them with the kind of concern we would show if they were part of our own family. And they truly are part of the family of God, to which we ourselves belong. That is why we must love them and care for them.
LET US NEVER STOP PRAYING FOR OUR NEW BROTHERS AND SISTERS
The apostle Paul closes the third chapter of 1 Thessalonians by expressing his gratitude to God. Here, too, is his prayer (1 Thessalonians 3:9-11). What does the apostle pray for?
First, he thanks God for those whom God has called into his kingdom. The same is what we too must do — to thank God and to rejoice over all those who have received him. In Luke 15:10 Jesus said:
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)
Should we not rejoice as well, and share this joy of ours in our prayers?
9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? (1 Thessalonians 3:9)
Second, the apostle prays that God would bring him together with the new Thessalonian believers and use him for their spiritual growth. Such should also be our prayer: “Lord, bring me together with this new brother or sister. Bless our time together. Direct our conversations in the direction he or she needs. Use me so that I may supply what is lacking in their faith.”
10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. (1 Thessalonians 3:10-11)
Third, the apostle prays for the new believers to grow in love. According to Jesus, love is the mark of the Christian. It is the thing by which we are distinguished from the rest of the world. It is the measure of spirituality. In the church today this measure is often forgotten or replaced. Some replace it with supernatural manifestations, others with education, still others with financial prosperity or total healing. But in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 the apostle Paul says:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
This is why Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians is that the Lord would make them grow and overflow in love — love among themselves, love toward unbelievers, love for which the apostles themselves set them an example.
12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
Finally, the apostle Paul prays for their sanctification.
13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
May the Lord strengthen their hearts “blameless and holy.” We must pray that the Lord would free new believers from all their sinful and ungodly vices. This calls for understanding, it calls for will, it calls for self-denial. But for God nothing is hard or impossible. So we must learn how to serve new believers for their deliverance from everything unclean.
IT IS NOT EASY, BUT IT IS WORTH IT
As you can see, follow-up care is not an easy thing. It involves:
- a readiness for persecution and for bearing various accusations;
- taking up the responsibility of being spiritual parents;
- exercising unceasing effort to keep in touch with new believers;
- teaching unpopular truths — that the Word is God’s and not man’s, and that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”;
- and, of course, unceasing prayer for their establishing.
All of this is spiritual work. It is hard. But if we do it, many people will be saved — delivered from the power of darkness and, forever rather than only for a time, brought into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, (Colossians 1:13)