A man can preach God’s word faithfully, clearly and accurately. He may present it with tenderness and compassion. He may demonstrate love. But this does not guarantee that his preaching will result in salvation for those to whom he preaches. Salvation depends not only on the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached, but also on it being received. How did the people at Thessalonica respond to Paul’s preaching? In chapter 2 of his first inspired letter to them, verses 13 through16 he writes, “For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe. For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews; who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.”
There is a saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” In other words, we tend to forget about those from whom we are separated. In contrast to this, Paul assures those to whom he is writing that he thanks God continually for them. What were the reasons for Paul’s thanksgiving? One was that the people recognized the message which Paul brought as the word of God. It is not enough, however, to recognize God’s word. It must also be accepted. And this is another reason why Paul was thankful for the the people at Thessalonica: they accepted the message. Many know God’s word; many have heard the gospel of Christ, but refuse to accept it. Hearing God’s word is useless unless we are willing to accept and obey it.
Another thing for which Paul gave thanks is that God’s word was at work in the believers. God’s word is much more than paper and ink. It has the power to change people. “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) In light of this, the work of God’s word should be evident in our lives. If we claim to believe the Scriptures but there is no change in us, then our belief is not what we say it is.
What is the evidence that God’s word is at work? One evidence is obedience. The person who accepts God’s word will try to live according to it. He will follow the example of godly people. In chapter 1, verse 6, Paul had already stated that the believers in Thessalonica had imitated both Paul and Christ. Here he says that they imitated God’s churches which were in Judea. Who are we imitating?
A second evidence that God’s word is at work is the willingness to suffer for the truth. The believers at Thessalonica were willing to imitate God’s churches even though it meant enduring persecution and suffering. When we accept God’s word; when we are in Christ, doing what is right becomes more important than comfort and safety. We become willing to sacrifice ourselves in order to serve Christ.
Paul writes that the persecutors of the church in Judea were Jews. Unfortunately, passages like this have sometimes been used to stir up hatred for the Jewish people. We must be very careful not to misinterpret what Paul is saying. Even if his intent was to label all Jews as persecutors, Christ taught His followers to love everyone and to pray for their enemies. Many hateful things have been done in the name of Christ, but all such actions are contrary to Christ’s teachings and the spirit of Christianity. In any case, it is obvious that Paul does not mean that all Jews are persecutors and enemies of the followers of Christ. God’s churches in Judea which he mentions, were comprised mostly of Jewish people. Similarly, the book of Acts records that some of the converts at Thessalonica were also Jews. It is apparent, then, that the Jews Paul is referring to are only those among them who rejected Christ. It is the unbelieving Jews, not the Jewish people as a whole, who displease God.
Paul calls the actions of the unbelieving Jews, sin. What specific sins did they commit? 1) They persecuted the churches. Several instances of this are recorded in the book of Acts. 2) They killed the Lord Jesus. Lest anyone use this as an excuse to mistreat Jewish people it is wise to keep in mind that the Jews do not bear the responsibility for killing Christ alone. All sinners, regardless of ethnic or political background, share the guilt. 1st Corinthians 15, verse 3, says, “…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” 3) They killed the prophets. Paul cannot mean this literally because the prophets died had long before these people were born. But, they are guilty in the sense that they display the same attitude and behavior as those who did the actual killing. 4) They drove Paul and his companions out. 5) Their attempts to prevent the Apostles from doing what God had said displeased God. 6) They displayed hostility towards all people by preventing them from hearing the saving message of Christ’s gospel.
Sin always has consequences for the sinner. Paul writes that these people had heaped up their sins to the limit. God is very gracious, patient and loving. But we should never presume upon it. As Paul writes in another place, “…Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be!…” (Romans 6:1-2) The purpose of God’s grace is to bring us to repentance, not to allow us to sin even more. If we refuse to repent, the time will come when God will no longer extend grace. The result of reaching the limit is to experience God’s wrath. The language Paul uses does not necessarily refer to a calamity which has already befallen these sinners, but a process which has already begun which will end in calamity. Paul does not specify what the calamity is, but just a few years after this was written, the Romans totally destroyed the Jewish nation and their temple in Jerusalem. We, too, will suffer God’s wrath unless we repent of our sins.