The Foundation of Your Faith
Any type of building has to have a foundation. You have to start somewhere, and you better make sure the foundation is going to be stable. Jesus talks about the differences between a stable foundation and an unstable foundation in Mt. 7:24-27. Anybody who wants to have a secure foundation is going to make sure they are starting off on the right foot. Before Paul gets into commending the Thessalonians for their faith, he first talks about the foundation of their faith. He talks about how they accepted the word of God's message. It seems their acceptance of God's message was evident in two ways: in their attitudes and in their actions. Pertaining to attitudes, they accepted it "for what it really is, the word of God" (13). People who don't accept the authority of God's word don't have the proper attitude, but the Thessalonians had the right attitude in accepting the truth. Pertaining to actions, they became imitators of the churches which were undergoing persecution at that time. Paul had already mentioned this in the first chapter, so this must have been a big deal to him. We can see how these attitudes and actions came forth from the foundation of their faith.It is evident even today that the foundation of our faith will be visible to others. What is your view of God's Word, the Bible? People will be able to catch a glimpse of your faith by your attitude toward the Bible and by your actions as a result of the Bible. Think about some other ways people can see the foundation of your faith: your personal Bible study, your church attendance, your daily activity, etc. Just as a house is built from the foundation your life will be built on the foundation of faith in Christ. That is a cause for good news.
The Fear of Your Faith
We have times in our lives where we are afraid of what might happen in a particular situation. Maybe it's because of our absence, whether at work, home, etc. Paul was afraid of what could possibly happen in Thessalonica if he didn't return to see them. He tells them he wanted to come more than once, but he had been thwarted or hindered. Have you ever had someone cut you off while you are driving, maybe even when they pull in front of you and it slows you down? This is one of the ideas behind this word thwarted or hindered, the idea of being cut off. It may be that the disobedient Jews are the ones Satan had used to cut off Paul from returning to Thessalonica. Whatever it was that Paul had in mind, he was sure to tell them what his concern was. Keep in mind that this was still a relatively young church, and he was afraid that Satan might get to them. If the tempter had tempted them, there was a real possibility they might spiritually come unglued. If this was to happen, Paul would feel that his labor was in vain.What would this mean for his labor to be in vain? One of the meanings of the word translated as vain is places or vessels which contain nothing. It seems to me that Paul is saying all that work they had put into not only teaching them the gospel but also exhorting and encouraging them as new Christians would be for nothing. Think about what Paul had done: he had patiently taught them the gospel; he had labored among them; he had imparted his own life to them. To see someone you spent so much time and effort with fall away from the faith would be crushing.
It is with this fear in mind that Paul eventually sent Timothy, who came back with the good news to alleviate Paul’s fears. They were longing for Paul just as he was longing for them. They had not written off Paul because he did not return, and Timothy found them in a spiritual condition where he could bring back the good news of their faith and love to Paul, who was comforted by this news in the midst of his distress and affliction. With Paul’s fears being alleviated, he shares just how special they are to him and his companions: “for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord” (3:8).
Even in a congregational setting in today’s time, elders and preachers should be concerned that people will fall away. The spiritual health of a congregation should be very important to those who are laboring among it. When Paul shows the Thessalonians that their spiritual standing was a determining factor to his life, it should serve to show us how important the lives of our fellow Christians should be to us. What makes you feel like you really live? Is it hobbies, family, sports or does it ever revolve around the spiritual well-being of others at North View? The fear of your faith will hopefully result in good news.
The Future of Your Faith
With where they came from in the foundation of their faith to the fear that Paul had concerning their faith, he now prays for the future of their faith. Notice what he says in 3:11-13. It seems to be a prayer of direction in two ways: he wants the Lord to direct his path to them and he wants them to increase and abound in love. Concerning the Lord directing his path, it would appear that Paul is speaking of the providence of God. This is something we don’t understand all that well; we just know it happens. The Lord has His own way of working things out in our lives. Looking through the Bible we can see that He does this through people (Ezra 1:1), through the Spirit (Rom. 8:14) and through circumstances (Rom. 8:28). If Paul was going to make it back to the Thessalonians, God was going to be the One to do it. Concerning their increase and abounding in love, they have room for improvement. This is an area they were doing really well in, but he would go on in the next chapter to tell them they could “excel still more” (4:1) in their attempt to walk and please God.
All of us who are members of the church should pray for the maturity of the congregation. Whether it’s those of you who ought to be teaching, those of you who need to attend more services of the church, those of you who need to get involved in the work of the church, there are going to continually be ways we can increase and abound in love for one another. I find it ironic that at church fellowship meals many times we drink out of red solo cups. There’s a reason it’s called fellowship and not soloship. To increase and abound in love for one another we’ve got to be involved with each other.
Why does Paul pray in this manner for the Thessalonians? It’s “so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints” (3:13). He knew about the foundation of their faith since they first heard the message. He had a fear of their faith because of what the tempter might do. He prayed for the future of their faith as he was seeking to come to them. Timothy indeed brought good news back to Paul about their faith and love, and it’s my desire that we could be the congregation that good news is spread about in this community.
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