General Articles

1 Thes. Lesson 10: Hold to What is Good, Part 2 :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR7

Chapter 5: 12-22

“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

Last week we looked at the idea of taking care of those that labor among us as churches. I saw a post on FB from one of my dear friends who is also a pastor, and he pointed out that the only person in a church that does not have a pastor is the pastor. All too often, the pastor is required to carry the burdens of the people he ministers to, his family, and himself; he has no one to turn to.

I speak from experience, and it can get a bit lonely at times. I recall the very first day that I was in seminary. We had an assembly; there were 52 men in that assembly, and the president of the school had us stand and look to the left and the right. He made the comment that the person standing there would not be here at graduation. He was right; of the 52, there is just a handful of us that are still in the ministry and pastoring. Some of the men did not even last until the end of the first semester.

The burnout rate among pastors is very high, and I do not know about other church groups, but there are fewer and fewer young men willing to surrender to the ministry in our little association. I speak to a lot of young women who make it clear that they are not going to marry preachers. If you have a good pastor, praise him, thank him, thank God for him, support him and his family, and cherish them.

We also talked about the importance of peace among the Lord’s people and in the Lord’s churches. This does not mean that we do not face tough decisions and situations. Rather, we face these in the right mode, the right spirit, and seek to lift up the Lord and His people at all times. Peace requires strength. Peace requires tenacity, and it takes work. Chaos can take over at any time. Peace takes spiritual discipline; it takes humility, and it requires sacrifice on each of our parts. Today we will focus more on verse 14 and dissect it so we can put it into practice.

  • Warn the Unruly

The word ‘unruly’ refers to those that are out of order. In military terms, according to the Guzik commentary, it refers to a soldier who has broken ranks and is marching out of step with the rest. This is a self-willed person; he or she demands that their preferences be done. They want to interject their opinions even when it is in opposition to the word of God. We, the leaders especially, are called to warn these folks that they are making bad choices. Often these folks leave or threaten to leave, and we panic. This is especially true in smaller churches; we are afraid to lose even one. But if they are out of step with the clearly spoken Word of God, we are required to warn them that they are wrong and that God will not tolerate their divisive behavior.

Sadly, these types of folks run from church to church causing havoc, and no one stops them. I have seen this time and time again. If people turn up to your church and want to be members, find out where they were before and make a phone call. It may confirm that they have just moved and are looking for a good church, or it may save you a world of trouble. They are out of fellowship with their last church, and rather than be humble, they repent and get right; they have just run to your church to repeat the dangerous pattern. Do not take them; warn them and send them back to get right with the last group.

  • Comfort the Fainthearted

The word here is ‘small souled.’ They tend to be timid, lack courage, and need constant comfort. Now, the idea is not to comfort them in their faintheartedness but to comfort them into being stronger and braver in the Kingdom of God – stepping out of their comfort zone, maybe as a greeter or someone to make sure that all the bulletins are handed out if you still do that. Maybe they can take up the offering; the idea is to get them into situations where they can expand their souls and God can grow them. Many have come through and come from painful situations; they are acquainted with failure, hurt, and being put down. They become timid and would rather not even try. We are to help, comfort, and lead them to service. They are children of God as well, and God can use them if we help them to be useful.

  • Uphold the Weak

These tend to lapse into sinful temptations. We all sin. 1 John 1:8-9 reminds us of this fact. We sin. But some will fall into temptations that can take them away and cause them to fail. Don’t write people off; uphold them. In 1 Thessalonians 4:2-8, we are called to learn how to possess our ‘vessel,’ our bodies. This is the idea of spiritual discipline. We are not to be given over to lust or to deal fraudulently with a brother. We are called to live clean in these verses. When we see a brother or sister who has failed, lift them up, hold them, help them; one day, you will need them to help you. Call out the sin, uphold the sinner; do both lovingly with the intent to gain and restore, not to destroy and cast aside.

  • Be patient with All

Man, this is hard. Let us be honest; patience is not our thing. At least for most of us. I am not a patient person in many cases, okay to be honest in most cases. However, we expect God and all of mankind to be patient with us. We are to be patient with the unruly, the fainthearted, and the weak. We are to lovingly and carefully encourage them and nurture them in Jesus and for Jesus. We are to be gentle and kind, merciful and gracious as we would have God be with us. There are no perfect people to minister to. None!

Right up to the very night before the crucifixion, the apostles and many others there with them were timid and unruly; weak and all, not just Peter, forsook Jesus. Thomas doubted, and as for Peter, he went back to fishing in John 21. He gave up, and many of the apostles followed him. BUT… Jesus; He came and gently encouraged Peter to come back (John 21). He made him breakfast (verse 12), performed a miracle with a huge load of fish (verse 6), and took him as he was able to begin again (verses 15-19). Jesus was patient with these men, and they went on to change the world. Without these men, most likely, you and I would not have heard the Gospel.

Take a look at the commands; warn, comfort, uphold and be; these are action words. God is telling us that they are things that we have to do in the Kingdom. There are things and, more specifically, people that we are responsible for in our local churches. We need to be involved and invested in the people that God sends our way. We need to be hands-on in our churches, helping and serving. The pastor cannot do all of this on his own. This also means we have to form relationships and let people in. We have to become disciple-makers and be wholly invested in our brothers and sisters. These kinds of efforts stop or diminish the back-biting and division that plagues all too many churches.

When we understand that the highest calling in the Kingdom of Heaven is to be servants, then we can make progress and truly lift, hold, and carry each other when needed. Let us be determined to do church better. This is how we hold on to what is good. This is how we make good churches and good families that lift up Jesus and make Him the focus of this life.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

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Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)

Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Where Is Jesus in All This? :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR7

My wife and I enjoy watching a movie in the evening, especially those that glorify Jesus Christ, but I have begun noticing a trend that is disturbing. For example, we watched a great movie the other night and noticed that the word “faith” was used over and over. So, what’s wrong with that, you say? Nothing, but even though God was mentioned several times, there was no specific mention of Jesus, except one time Jesus’ title as “Christ” was used from a quote in a letter. I’ve noticed this trend in other movies as well.

I’ve also noticed that the world at large very often speaks of faith, whether it be a politician, well-known celebrity, etc. It seems that faith has become the politically correct terminology for superficial Christianity. Most everyone says they have faith, but faith in what or in whom?

As I watch several good religious movies, one thought keeps coming back to me. It appears to me that Satan is promoting a subliminal message in good, decent movies that we don’t need Jesus. All we need is faith. Has it (faith) just become a byword people use to impress others?

There is certainly nothing wrong with having faith. We need faith if we wish to be saved. We must exercise faith in Jesus to be born again (John 3:3). Here is how the Bible defines “faith.”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Without true faith in Jesus, we cannot be saved. My concern is that we are placing more emphasis upon our faith than upon the grace of God that provides salvation. Salvation of our soul is found in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, our faith must be applied, but it is grace that reaches out and saves us. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life because of His grace.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Notice that we are saved BY GRACE, and it is THROUGH FAITH. It (salvation) is a GIFT, NOT of WORKS, lest any of us should boast about our faith.

Some may argue that I am just being “picky,” but I beg to disagree. When we watch movies, we need to keep in mind that man wrote the script for the movies, but God wrote the Bible to give us Truth. I’m afraid we are getting to the point, and may have already arrived, that we are placing salvation upon “lip service.” In other words, the emphasis is on me instead of Him.

How much faith is needed? According to Jesus, just a spark to turn the engine and get it going.

“So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you'” (Luke 17:6).

I stated earlier that most everybody states they have faith. I ask again, “faith in what?” Faith in yourself? Faith in your church affiliation? Faith in your position in society? Faith in your so-called works? Faith in some false gospel you have latched on to? We could go on and on with this, but really, what do you mean when there is no mention of Jesus as the subject of your faith?

Our works are also important, but only after we are saved. True faith is important because it opens the door to let Jesus in. Jesus is most important because He, and only He, provides salvation by His death, burial and resurrection. That is God’s grace in action.

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Real faith rests in Jesus Christ, and in it, we recognize we are a sinful person. We also accept that Jesus has done all the work. We just need to trust and follow Him.

We are saved by the wonderful grace of God, and shown in the following verses are faith (belief or trust), salvation and works.

“that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:15-16).

Twice this verse mentions belief. True belief is faith that rests in Jesus.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).

Again, Jesus does the saving. By faith we come to Him, but He is the one who saves.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

In this verse, belief is mentioned once and non-belief twice. Belief is faith. In this verse, in what do we believe? Our faith must be in the “name of the only begotten Son of God,” Jesus.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

We must agree with God that we are a sinner who needs to be saved. Only in that Light can God shower His grace upon us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20).

Again, we are sinners and must come to the light (Jesus) to be saved.

“But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:21).

The truth is in Jesus and His Word. Those who come to Him are saved.

Notice that we open the door (Revelation 3:20) by faith, and we are saved by the gift that God gave, the gift of His Son, who provides the gift of salvation. Then in the last verse (21), those who believe produce works because they have come into the Light. [1] Faith (belief) opens the door. [2] Grace saves through Jesus, the Gift in verse three. [3] Works come from a new believer.

Is faith important? Of course it is important, but faith in anything other than Jesus is no faith at all. Even for those who are already saved by God’s grace, faith continues to be very important. Our faith is the stepping stone that leads us to the Savior. It is also the mechanism we use to depend upon God in our walk as a true Christian.

Has the world taken a term (faith) that God says is required for salvation and the Christian walk and totally missed the point?

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18).

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Both of these last two verses are referring to a faith that is grounded in Jesus Christ. If we have faith, let us be certain that Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. If our faith rests in anything or anyone other than Him, it is misguided and we remain in our sins, lost and without His saving grace.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com

Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com

Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html