Dr. Ben Stubblefield
Visiting Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
LIVING
1 Thessalonians 5:12–24
Respecting (12–13)
I heard a true story of a church interviewing and hoping to call a young preacher, and the financial chairman told him, “Well, I need to tell you how your salary situation is going to work at our church. See, it’s your job to work for the Lord, and it’s my job to keep you humble.” It’s probably unnecessary to say, but I’ll say it — the young preacher didn’t take the job.
Hopefully, that kind of mentality is rare among our churches, but it is important for believers to work at valuing good church leaders. Paul urges congregations to hold leaders in high esteem when they labor diligently, bear their responsibility seriously and work admirably.
Paul concludes this section by saying “live in peace with one another” because he knows leadership can sometimes come into conflict with those being led. We all know authority is not essentially evil, and we all have known some church leaders who aren’t good. But we also know sometimes we don’t like leadership in our lives because we just don’t like being told what to do.
This can make church life contentious at times because pastors must bring the word of God to bear on the lives of their congregants. Pastors carry a unique and daunting responsibility before the Lord, and most of them work hard to lead well. But if we don’t value that work or hold them in high regard, it’s likely we will not respect their judgment, and the house of God will be a place of strife instead of peace.
I often hear people say, “I want a preacher who is going to lead me.” But what they actually mean is “I want someone to lead me … when I’m in the mood to be led.” It shouldn’t be that way. Those who have answered heaven’s call to shepherd the souls of others should be esteemed highly in love by fellow Christ-followers.
Accountable (14–22)
I met a man named Rambo the other day, and I tried to share the gospel with him. During the course of our conversation, he (true to his name) got combative, cursed a lot and told me he was a “lone wolf Christian” who didn’t need to go to church. I summoned all my powers of elocution to answer him and said, “That’s stupid.”
How many people do you know who successfully navigate sin, hell’s temptations and the burdens of life? I know One — God the Son. But I’m not Jesus, and neither are you.
In verse 14, Paul tells the church to admonish one another to live Christ-honoring lives. He then gives a burst of exhortations he wants them to admonish each other to fulfill. In other words, Paul expects the church family to stimulate each other to love and good deeds.
These verses highlight how much we need each other for Christian living. We need church family because we aren’t the best at detecting and correcting ourselves. Praise God the church you belong to is there to protect you from regression and spur you to progression in your pilgrimage to glory.
Sanctified (23–24)
After exhorting the Thessalonians to work hard at righteousness, Paul draws the letter to a close with a beautiful prayer asking the Lord for their continued sanctification until the day of Christ’s coming.
Occasionally, I’ll let one of my small children sit in the driver’s seat with me and hold the steering wheel while I operate the pedals. We’re not on the interstate, mind you, just the field next to our house.
But what she doesn’t see is my knees making constant adjustments to her steering. In fact, sometimes, she’ll turn all the way around and look at me while she’s “driving” to tell me how good she’s doing. “You’re doing great!” I’ll say. But all the while, I’m making sure the car doesn’t run over the chain-link fence.
We have to work at living right. We’ve got to struggle to hold the wheel and keep things straight. That’s what these verses are about. But the real power undergirding our strength is our Father in heaven, who supplies all our needs for life and godliness in Christ Jesus.
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