Paul is giving his closing remarks today in his first letter to the Thessalonians. In it he provides many practical and helpful instructions for godly living. Even though these are closing remarks, they contain as much information in them as any other portion of this letter.
"Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) We are to have respect for our pastors and teachers. We aren't to have the attitude that no one has the right to tell us how we live, for these people devote their lives to learning God's word and applying it to their lives. God has called them to the work of instructing the believers, so when we take a disobedient attitude toward them we are essentially taking a disobedient attitude toward God. (Paul is talking, of course, of instructors who are faithfully teaching the word of God. He's talking about people who can be counted on not to twist the Scriptures or teach the Scriptures for reasons of personal gain. It's of the utmost importance that we study the word of God ourselves so we can recognize any teachers that have strayed from it.) Paul knows that the pastors and teachers of Thessalonica are doing their best to teach God's word in the way they should, so he commands the believers to show these instructors the respect that is due them.
"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15) As the children of the living God, we are to treat each other as loving family members. To use an example from real life, imagine we belong to a large family and have lots of siblings. If two of our siblings are angry and arguing with each other and holding a grudge, it makes the whole household feel uncomfortable. We would naturally want to help the two of them make peace. If we have a brother or sister who is sad and discouraged, our love for them would prompt us to try to make them feel better. If one of them is weak in spirit or in body, our compassion for them would cause us to come to their aid. We are patient with our family in ways we are not always patient with outsiders, so since fellow believers are our brothers and sisters, we must be patient with them. Not everyone grows spiritually at the same rate and we can't expect them to, so patience is called for.
In addition, it's easier to forgive those we love, isn't it? So we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be willing to extend forgiveness to them instead of seeking a way to get back at them. We must forgive them even if they don't realize they've wronged us, even if they don't feel they've wronged us, and even if they don't ask for our forgiveness. We are instructed to, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) Why must we forgive a person even if he or she is not seeking our forgiveness? Because God has extended forgiveness to us and because we are to "live in peace with each other" as Paul said in verse 13. We can't have peace in our hearts or peace with each other if we're holding on to resentment. Letting go of it and letting God sort the situation out isn't letting a person off the hook; it's simply allowing peace to have the upper hand over resentment.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) We don't always know immediately what God's will is for us in our circumstances. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer and a lot of Bible study before we know what decision we're supposed to make. But no matter what's going on in our lives, we can know what God wants us to do while we wait for further instructions from Him. First, we are to rejoice. I don't know about you, but I'm going through a season in life right now where I'm finding it difficult to do a lot of rejoicing. But no matter what's facing us, we can always rejoice in our salvation. We can always rejoice that Christ loves us and gave Himself for us so that we could have redemption from sin and have eternal life with Him.
Second, we are to take every opportunity to pray. When we're discouraged we may not feel like praying. Yesterday I felt so weary about all the things that are troubling me that I said to the Lord, "You know what's bothering me. You know my needs. You know what situations I want to see turned around. I know You see me and hear me. Please help me." Our prayers don't have to be lofty and intellectual, full of spiritual-sounding phrases and noble words. When we're in distress we can't always manage laying out our problems one by one before the Lord. Our distress is often so urgent or so heartbreaking that all we can say is what Peter said when he was sinking in the sea, "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30) Paul says to pray continually, so throughout the day we are to say to the Lord whatever we need to say to Him. This might take the form of a long and thoughtful prayer or it might take the form of a quick and desperate plea for the Lord's help. Either way, it's vital that we stay in contact with our God who loves us and who is the source of our strength and help.
Third, we are to give thanks in all circumstances. That sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? But even in the worst of times, there are things to be thankful for. Things could always be worse than they are, so that's one reason to give thanks. We can give thanks for the things in our lives that are going well instead of spending all our time dwelling on the things that are not going well. We can give thanks that God loves us and that we have family members and friends who love us. We can give thanks that there's a roof over our heads and food on our tables and clothes in our closets. If we focus only on the things that we feel are going wrong, there is a danger of feeling like nothing is going right, and that's not the case. Satan would like for us to dwell only on our troubles, to become angry with God, to stop communicating with God, to stop reading our Bibles, and to fall into such a sad condition that we can't give a testimony about Christ to anyone. Let's not allow the devil to have what he wants. Let's do what God wants, which is to give thanks even when it's hard, because God will bless those who are thankful for what they already have. He will bless us for remaining faithful during our trials and He will even use our trials to do great things for us if we maintain a godly attitude. I confess my attitude lately has not been all that it should be. Paul's words in verses 16-18 have inspired me to do better.
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21) When Paul says not to quench the Spirit, he's using a term that is used for throwing water on a fire. When we disobey the Holy Spirit, it's like throwing water on a campfire, rendering the campfire useless for providing light and warmth. In the same way, when we aren't obedient to the Spirit, we are incapable of providing light and warmth to others. Paul also warns us not to accept everything as prophecy but to test it. We are to be respectful to a brother or sister in Christ who announces a prophecy, but we can't just take their word for it without checking with the Lord. A person might come up to us and tell us they feel God has given them a message for us. We can't just accept that at face value (I've had people tell me the Holy Spirit wants them to give me a message that I felt certain the Holy Spirit did not give them), but we are to seek the Lord's will in prayer, and we are to study His word, and we are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions. A person in the church might announce a vision the Lord has given him or her, but anything like this must be tested against the word of God. If in any point it contradicts the word of God, it must be rejected.
"May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) The Lord isn't telling us to do anything that He isn't going to enable us to do. The instructions we've read in today's passage are not impossible to follow if we lean on the Lord for help. He's never going to break a promise.
"Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God's people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (1 Thessalonians 5:25-28)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, precious friends.
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