September 10, 2001

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Friends help friends find Christ and thrive
___ 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5
___By Pete Freeman
___First Baptist Church,
___The Woodlands
___I teach a Bible study class that started about a year ago. The class, which has developed into a caring group of believers, named themselves the "deadwood."
___The name came from a statement I made in response to the question, "How did you get our names for your class?" I responded, "Well, to be honest, I asked our minister of education for the names of everyone, age 50-60, who hadn't been to Sunday School in a year." One member said, "Oh, so we're a bunch of deadwood, are we!" That phrase stuck, and now on our nametags is found the phrase, "Only through Jesus Christ can deadwood spring to life." All it took was some encouragement to a group who knew Jesus.
___Our passage this week deals with friends "being concerned about each other." In particular, friends in Christ caring for other friends in Christ. Such concern is demonstrated in Paul's ongoing relationship with the Thessalonian believers.
___God had used Paul and his companions as evangelists and as founders of the church at Thessalonica. Because of opposition from people outside of the faith, he had to leave Thessalonica. Yet he wanted these newborn believers in Christ to grow in faith and good works. Therefore, he sent Timothy to visit them and express Paul's appreciation of them.
___Paul reminds us of some characteristics of people who are genuinely concerned about their friends. Concerned friends make every effort to communicate with each other. In verses 17-18, we find words that speak about the heart of Paul for his friends.
___"Torn away" is from the root word meaning "to be orphaned" and speaks of the affection he had for the new converts. It is interesting that Paul's deep concern for them resulted in spite of the fact they only had been separated for "a short time." Moffat insightfully comments about the significance of Paul's words with his comment, "out of sight, not out of mind."
___It is important to note that in the majority of Paul's writings, he characteristically used the plural in referring to his work. Yet in this case, he used the singular, "I, Paul." As well, Paul wanted his friends to know why he couldn't visit them. He said, "Satan stopped us." The word "stopped" is a military term referring to the action of an army that "cut up a road or burned a bridge." One writer presents four possibilities of Satan's stop sign: Jewish opposition, medical problems (thorn in the flesh), a pressing problem in Corinth or his concern for not putting pressure on those who had bailed him out earlier (Acts 17:9). Christians should be characterized as friends who go out of their way to maintain close relationships with other believers.
___Concerned friends affirm the worth and value of others. Paul uses very strong words to describe the value of his friends. If a television camera had been available, we would have heard and seen a man full of emotion and animation. This is an excited outburst on Paul's part. Although two questions are present, we should view his words as one major rhetorical question followed by a short parenthetical question. There are two words in common use in Greek for "crown." The one used here was usually used in relationship to a festive garland or laurel wreath. Perhaps he was reminded of the words of Isaiah 62:3, "You are a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."
___One of the tragedies of our day is the failure of God's people to affirm the worth and value of others. In this day of denominational warfare, we hear a lot of criticism but very little praise. We may have lost the gift of seeing each other as "fellow heirs of Jesus Christ." I have discovered these past few years that you don't have to agree with another Christian to affirm their worth and value. Every believer and even every Baptist is valuable in God's eyes.
___Concerned friends strengthen and encourage others. We can do that in many ways. Paul chose two ways: Writing a letter and sending a message through a friend. We can just imagine how the believers at Thessalonica soaked in every word of Timothy about what the Lord was doing through Paul. From the words "strengthen and encourage," we know Timothy taught them and did whatever was necessary to lift them up.
___The reason for his visit is evident in verse 3. They were going through many trials and tribulations because of their faith in Christ. Paul even re-coined the words of Jesus about the impeding trials that would come to anyone who seriously followed Jesus.
___Concerned friends warn each other about Satan. The word "tempter" is in reference to Satan. Paul wanted his friends never to forget that Satan was out to destroy their lives. A summary of the Bible reacquaints us with the role of Satan in trying to sabotage the work of God's kingdom. Like it or not, Satan is alive and well on planet Earth. Let us not forget he has already been defeated (Colossians 2:15) and we can defeat his purposes today (Ephesians 6:16).

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