Spreading the gospel and growing in Jesus Christ

(1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

The message in these words today is a bit of a mixed bag as there are some interesting things in these words that we can think about. These are the scriptures I am referring to:

8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedo’nia and Acha’ia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:8)

The three things I see in these few scriptures are related to the spreading of the gospel, turning from idols to the Lord, and Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

I’ll cover each of these areas as they are worth thinking over as there are things we can learn nd apply. Also there are some good reminders for us to watch our faith and where we stand so that our faith is not compromised.

Spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ

In the early church when the gospel was new, it spread from place to place by word of mouth or physical letters.

At that time when the gospel was new, they had the perfect gospel as all of the false teachings had not yet infiltrated the church to defile and water down the truth of the Gospel. Although it must be remembered, these things were beginning to happen even in those early days as we see the Apostles on numerous occasions fighting to keep the truth of the gospel unstained by false teachings.

The gospel spread like wildfire through the early world as Paul and others travelled around preaching the truth. And it took hold because the people knew they needed a Saviour. They needed to turn to God who would take away their sins and save them from the excesses of human passions and lusts in the world.

And nothing has changed in that regard. The world STILL needs a Saviour to take away sin and to restore people to the place the Lord originally intended.

But what has changed since those early days is that the gospel is no longer new. It has been around for two thousand years and all people have heard about Christ in the world whether they accept Him or not.

The other issue is that the devil has also had two thousand years to work his evil and spread lies about the gospel. He has infiltrated the church over many generations to bring false teachings into the church and to strip away the fulness of the truth.

The challenge we have today is that the ministry of many churches now barely resembles the truth of the New Covenant. It has been so watered down and sidetracked into false teachings that I am certain the early Apostles would not even recognise the teachings as Christianity any more.

And I have heard preachers in the church preaching things that have taken away the glory of Jesus Christ thinking they are speaking the truth of the Lord. I have heard high ranked ministers take away the power of some of the miracles Jesus did. I have listened to other preachers teaching that the things of this life, (money, influence, wealth, esteem, etc.) are more important than godliness. They have stated that if you are not getting these things in your life then there is something wrong with your faith. And then there are those who focus on the needs of the body claiming if a person is overweight, or ill, or has some disability, then they can’t be a child of God.

All of these things are false teaching and have nothing to do with the truth. And what I have mentioned is just the top of the tip of the iceberg.

The Lord has stated that the gospel would be spread, and it has been to the point that around 2.5 billion people on the planet now call themselves Christians. And despite all of the faults and false teachings that exist in the modern church, people can still find Jesus in any and all of the churches. And depending on how diligent they are to find the truth, Jesus can and will take them where they can find the fulness of His truth.

So the gospel has been spread, albeit under difficult circumstance. And as the end days approach, Jesus also stated that the TRUTH of the gospel would be preached to the whole earth before He returns.

Turning from idols to the Lord

The second point I saw in these verses is that the early Gentile churches turned away from idols to come to the Lord.

Now you might think that has little relevance to modern times, but you would be wrong. Idolatry still exists today and if anything is growing, and I’m not just talking about primitive tribes or people in some third world countries. This is happening in the modern western world as well.

Let me give an example. Not so long ago I visited a hospital and saw a statue of the patron saint of that hospital in the grounds. And I noticed how shiny the outstretched hands of the statue were. As I watched I saw a father and his child come up to the statue, take hold of the hands and pray or plead to the statue for something…probably a healing of a loved one given that it was a hospital. Clearly many people did this as their grasping of the hands over many years hand polished the hands of the statue to a shine.

There is also the modern fascination with money, wealth, and the stuff it can buy. People idolise other people, like actors, singers, and artists. They treat them like gods, as if they are more special than the rest of us mere mortals because they have a particular gift or talent. But you don’t see the same accolades and adoring worship of an accountant, janitor, train driver, commercial lawyer, window washers, waitress, or any of the other mundane roles, even when they are truly superlative at what they do.

There are even television shows that search for the next “idol” in a range of different arts spheres. The best cooks, singers, actors, renovators, comedians, and so on.

This is just the modern form of idol worship and as Christians we need to reject it.

The greatest singer in the world is just a person the same as the rest of us. They have a specific gift that sets them apart from other people, but that does not make them a god. Let’s pretend for a moment that the greatest singer in the world is an opera singer. Well, if you don’t like opera music then you certainly wouldn’t put them on a pedestal. If your favourite form of music happens to be heavy metal music, then opera would probably make you puke!

And which of these so called idols today can stand in the place of God? Because in fact when you put anyone or anything before Jesus Christ, then you have an idol.

If money, music, your family, children, possessions, work, or anything else is more important to you than Jesus Christ, then you are worshipping an idol.

So as a Christian, turn away from idols. Turn to Christ and make sure there is nothing and no-one standing between you and the Lord. Be prepared to lose everything if that is the Lord’s will, so that you do not lose your salvation.

Deliverance from the wrath to come

The third point is that Jesus will deliver His people from the wrath to come. I mentioned earlier that I believe the end days are upon us. All of the signs that Jesus pointed to as the beginnings of those days we are seeing now. Earthquakes, wars, rumours of wars, famines, pestilence, and the roaring of the sea and waves have all been accelerating in recent decades. COVID 19 is just one more pestilence that I believe is a sign of His impending return.

And the scriptures tell us that these are just the “birth pangs.” The worst is still to come, which Revelation speaks about as the outpouring of God’s wrath upon the earth for the sinfulness of the people.

But to those who are called by the name of Jesus and who come to Him in repentance, He will deliver from this coming wrath.

Jesus is the Saviour. He has saved us from sin and if we follow His words He will save us from many other things as well, not the least of which is the coming wrath.

He saved those who come to Him when they believed that He died and was resurrected from the dead to sit at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places. His salvation is freely offered to all who seek Him, and it is not difficult to be saved.

So turn to Christ and be saved. And turn to Him so that you too will be redeemed and saved from the wrath that will surely come on this earth.

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