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Perseverance in 1 Thessalonians

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There must have been serious questions in Paul’s mind concerning the long-term viability of the church in Thessalonica. The church had barely been formed before Paul and Silas had to move on to Berea due to great opposition (see Acts 17:1-10). This fledgling young church was left in a hostile environment, without anyone obviously qualified to be their pastor, and reliant on a very brief (but intensive) period of teaching from Paul for their Christian doctrine.

Hence there is a strong theme of perseverance running through 1 Thessalonians (and 2 Thess, although I have mainly used examples from 1 Thess). Paul fears that the devil may tempt them to fall away, yet at the same time he has confidence in God’s power to sustain them. This is the paradox of perseverance for Paul – it is assured, but not automatic. His confidence in God does not lead him to be casual about continuing in the faith.

Perseverance is assured

Several verses in 1 Thessalonians demonstrate Paul’s confidence in God to sustain the believers despite the attacks on their faith. He has seen in the work of the Spirit amongst them evidence that they have been chosen (1:4,5). He knows that his evangelism there was not in vain (2:1). The believers do not stand firm in their own strength, but in the Lord (3:8). He knows that their final destiny is not wrath, but salvation (5:9). Ultimately, their perseverance depends on God’s faithfulness, hence it is sure (5:24, 2 Thess 3:3).

Perseverance is not automatic.

Yet, despite this confidence in the faithfulness of God, Paul was greatly concerned, even fearful, that the devil could have got in, and everything that had been done would end up have being “in vain” (3:5). In particular, he knew that suffering and persecution, could be causes of failure to persevere (3:4). It was therefore a source of overwhelming joy and relief for Paul to discover that the Thessalonians were in fact standing firm (3:7-10). He also recognises that he himself cannot presume on his own strength and is also in need of prayer (5:25).

Perseverance is through means of grace

So if perseverance is not automatic, how is it obtained? Paul sees three things as being crucial means of grace, by which God has ordained to keep his people close to himself..

First is constant and persistent prayer on behalf of others. Several times in the letter he expresses his continual prayers for them (1:2, 3:10) as well as encouraging them to be constantly in prayer (5:17) themselves. When he expresses the content of his prayers, it is that they will continually grow in love and holiness, and most importantly, that they will be blameless on the day of the coming of Christ (3:12-13). In other words, he prays that they will not just keep going until the end, but that they would keep growing until the end.

Second is the importance of encouragement and exhortations. This was Paul’s regular practice with all the churches he founded or visited (e.g. Acts 14:22). He did not just “teach” them, but got alongside them and urged them onwards. He was like a father in the way he lovingly but firmly encouraged them (2:11,12). Several times in the letter he urges them to keep going (e.g. 4:1). He expects that there should be constant progress in the Christian walk (4:10). Like riding a bike, forward motion is what will keep you from falling. Paul also calls all the whole community of believers to play an active role in encouraging one another to continue in the faith (5:11).

Third, and most importantly, though it is only obliquely referred to in this letter, through the work of the Spirit. It is God’s work to sanctify us (5:23), which he does through the Spirit who is the one who empowers us to live in purity (4:7-8). Indeed, he understands the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be a crucial component of our salvation (2 Thess 2:13)

The Purpose of Pain?

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I’ve had toothache this week. Which is never fun. But neither is it on a par with the intensity of the suffering that many others endure, so I’m trying not to complain too much. Nonetheless, pain is hard to ignore, and causes you to view life from a different perspective.

So I’ve been reflecting on the ways that God uses suffering for good in my life, even though I would much prefer to have the “glory” without the suffering, and the power to escape instead of the power to endure.

First, suffering drives me to prayer. To my shame, I too easily allow my prayer life to become sporadic and mechanical. But pain reminds me that I am not self-sufficient, and I desperately need to know God’s presence with me, and drives me to my knees in prayer.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. James 5:13

Second, suffering increases my compassion for others. Far too often I remain self-absorbed in my own activities, but my own suffering often brings to mind others I know who are in need of prayer and encouragement.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Cor 1:3,4

Third, and perhaps counter-intuitively, suffering increases my thankfulness. It makes me realise quite how many blessings I enjoy and take for granted. Often suffering involves something good (e.g. our health) being taken away from us. This leaves me reflecting thankfully on the multitude good things that I still have, including most of all the blessings of the gospel which can never be stolen from me.

give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:18

Fourth, suffering brings an eternal perspective. When things are going well for me, I can become absorbed with the things of this present age that are passing away. But suffering, particularly health issues, serve as a stark reminder of the fact of our mortality and focus us on our future hope.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:16-18

Fifth, suffering gives an opportunity to grow in patience and perseverance, two virtues that by their very nature cannot be learned in an instant, or simply by reading about them. Just maybe this is part of the reason that answers to prayer often don’t come as quickly as we would like.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Sixth, suffering presents an opportunity to fight sin. Pain has a way of bringing out some lurking character issues. For me, the tendency to be irritable with my family is something I need to fight. However, though suffering can be the occasion for sin, it is also the perfect opportunity to grow in character. As Paul says in Rom 5, “perseverance produces character”.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Rom 5:3,4

Finally, suffering leads me to the cross, where Jesus willingly chose to suffer, in order that I may be saved from eternal suffering. At any moment Jesus could have said, “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here”, yet instead he prayed:

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42 

None of this means that I like suffering, or want it, or even that I think it’s good. But it’s good to remind myself that God is working his purposes out even in the circumstances I don’t enjoy.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28

False Dilemmas 2 – Gifts versus Rewards

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We all know that grace means getting something we don’t deserve; something we haven’t earned. On the other hand, wages are something we have earned and we do deserve.

That’s why Paul says that the “wages” of sin are death (Rom 6:23). By sinning we have earned and deserved our wages. But the eternal life we are given is described as a “free gift”, meaning that we have done absolutely nothing to earn or deserve it.

But where do rewards fit into this? Many Christians seem to assume that for God to reward us would somehow violate the principle of grace. Isn’t a reward something you deserve? And therefore if God could reward us for behaving in a certain way, wouldn’t that mean he was dealing with us on the basis of law, not grace?

The trouble is, throughout the Bible we find promises of rewards to those who honour and obey God. And they are not just limited to the Old Testament. Jesus didn’t seem to have a problem with holding up “rewards” as incentives to his followers. Here’s just a few examples where the word “reward” itself is used (and many others could be given where the concept of reward is clearly found):

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honour and life (Prov 22:4 ESV)

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matt 10:42 ESV)

If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. (1 Cor 3:14 ESV)

I have heard some people try to wriggle out of the implications of these verses by suggesting that God completely ignores everything the Christian does in life, and looks instead and only at what Jesus did. That way every Christian will receive an identical reward (whether now or at judgment day).

However, I do not think that does justice to the Biblical texts, which really do seem to indicate that what we do does matter to God, that we can bring him pleasure or displeasure (for example see Eph 5:10).

The solution is to recognise that rewards operate on the basis of grace, just as as gifts do. God is never obligated to give us a reward, just as an employer is not obligated to give a bonus to his employees. Yes, a reward may be given in response to something that has been done, but it is always given on the basis of grace. It was not “deserved”, nor can it be presumed upon.

Suppose one of my children is very helpful in tidying up after dinner, and I decide to reward them with an ice cream. Did they earn or deserve the ice cream? No. Can they expect another the next day by doing the same thing? Not necessarily. Rewards are not our right.

So if a person decides to honour God by tithing their income, then he might bless them financially as a reward. But he might bless them in a completely different way. He is not obligated to reward them in any particular way (after all, all the money is God’s in the first place).

So don’t be afraid that you are being legalistic by seeking to please the Lord. We cannot earn his love, or our salvation, but we can bring him pleasure, and in his grace he may “reward” us for our feeble attempts at honouring him.

False Dilemmas 1 – Discipline versus Delight

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I have been meaning for some time to start a series of posts on what I call “false dilemmas”. These occur when we are presented with an either/or choice, when in reality it is possible to have both/and. Or maybe that we’re presented with a choice from two options, when in fact there is a third option.

My first one is delight versus discipline, with regards to obeying or serving God. Thanks largely to John Piper, many have embraced the notion that we can only fulfil our life’s purpose of glorifying God if what we do for him flows out of treasuring him and delighting in him. Thus to teach people to discipline themselves to behave in certain ways without them delighting in God is pointless.

So far, so good. But a problem arises when it is assumed that delight and discipline are polar opposites, or mutually exclusive. For example, the suggestion that a Christian should make a daily habit of prayer and Bible reading is viewed with suspicion in some circles. Is disciplining myself to read the Bible when I don’t feel like it simply legalistic behaviour?

To show that delight and discipline are not incompatible, a simple example will suffice. Consider a professional sportsman at the top of his sport. Doubtless he will say that he plays his sport because he loves it so much. He is motivated by delight. But at the same time, if you ask about his training regime or diet, you will find evidence of a very disciplined life. It may be more pleasurable for him in the short-term to lounge around eating cake rather than spending a rigorous day of training, but he refuses himself that luxury because his eyes are on a greater prize.

So delight and discipline are not opposites. A more helpful distinction could be drawn between delight and duty. They are competing motivations for serving and obeying God. Either can be motivations for living a disciplined life. To go back to our original example, daily Bible reading can be a discipline that flows merely from a sense of duty, or a discipline that flows out of delighting in God.

In essence, being disciplined is being deliberate about your priorities. George Mueller spoke of “glad self-denial”. His priority was to delight in God, and so he ordered his life accordingly.

Listening to the Bible

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This year, I had been planning to read my way through the new ESV Study Bible I was hoping to get for Christmas. But sadly, due to the supply shortage, it didn’t arrive (I’m getting it this Christmas instead), so I came up with a change of plan. I have been listening my way through the entire ESV Bible in MP3, in a version called “The Listener’s Bible” read by Max McLean.

First Impressions

Max McLean has a rather strange accent, which took some time to get used to. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any British accent reading of the ESV available. The guy is a reading machine though, having completed three versions of the Bible, plus numerous other audio books.

Reading Plan

I decided to go with a similar approach to Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s reading plan. I listen to four or five chapters a day, which is just about enough to cover the entire Bible plus the New Testament and Psalms twice.

It typically takes around 15 minutes, as most chapters of the Bible can be read in around 3 minutes, with some books such as the gospels or historical books averaging more like 5 minutes per chapter.

Getting set up is a bit of a pain. I don’t have an MP3 player that would be usable for navigating the whole Bible, so I use my laptop PC. I keep track of what I’ve listened to in OneNote, and set up a playlist for each day in Windows Media Player. The search feature makes it quick to find the chapter to play, and most media players keep track of your play count for each file, so you can see easily where you are up to if you have lost track.

Holidays are a bit problematic. I have taken my laptop with me on some, while on others (camping!) I have had to catch up on my listening after getting back.

Concentration

Losing concentration can always be a problem with daily Bible reading. I wondered whether listening would make it easier or harder. My first problem is the simple fact that I have my laptop on, which tempts me greatly to start looking at Twitter, or email or facebook or news.

My second problem is that if your mind wanders, even to think about what you have just heard, the narration just continues. It is especially hard not to let your mind wander, as the spoken word comes at you much slower than reading.

The technique I have settled upon is using the online ESV Study Bible website. This allows me to read along, and highlight bits that stand out. You can add your own notes, and if you own an ESV Study Bible, you have full access to the study notes. Again, it is possible for me to start reading ahead and not really be listening to the narration, but at least its the Bible I’m looking at.

Another issue I found was that having a playlist meant that I quickly moved from a chapter in one book of the Bible to another part of the Bible with barely a moment for reflection, making it seem quite disjointed. I am now tending to listen to at least three consecutive chapters from the same book, which gives a good sense of flow.

And my final concentration issue is children. It’s amazing what mischief they get up to the minute you open your Bible!

Benefits

I think one of the main benefits though of listening to the Bible is to hear things more in their context (hence the move to consecutive chapters). Probably the most beneficial way I found of listening, when I could discipline myself to do it, was to simply close my eyes and let the story be narrated at its own pace. This is especially useful in narrative parts of the Bible, which I tend to read through really fast with almost no pause for thought.

Another benefit is that, unlike if you attempt to read the Bible in a year, you can (if you are at all like me), sometimes find yourself racing through four chapters in five minutes flat, reading so fast that you can’t possibly have taken anything in. Listening does force you to slow down and take 15-20 minutes over it.

Conclusion

I’m glad I embarked upon this year of listening to the Bible, after going a few years without covering the entire Bible in a year. While I wish more of it had sunk in, I think any way we can find to let the words of Scripture hit us in a fresh way is worth trying.

I’d love to hear from anyone else who has practical suggestions on they keep their mind focused during Bible reading.

Some Links

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I’ve had a quiet month on the blogging front, so I thought I’d post a few links to some stuff worth taking a look at elsewhere:

Persecution Resources

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On Sunday I preached on Matt 5:10-12, on the subject of persecution (you can listen here). It is of course a subject we naturally shy away from thinking or talking about, but must not be ignored. The more I looked into it, the more I realised that this subject is discussed right through the New Testament, but we can too easily skip over those verses as they don’t seem directly applicable to our less pressured situations.

As part of my preparation, I sought out a few books of stories of persecution and websites of current news. I thought I would share them here, first as a reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith, and second as an encouragement to us to live with an eternal perspective.

Websites:

Books:

Do let me know in the comments if you know of any others worth looking at.

Tomorrow’s NIV – Thoughts on the New NIV

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The announcement that we will be getting an updated NIV has caused a bit of a stir. The TNIV, which was the last update to the NIV has not really taken off. Partly this was due to clumsy marketing, with it being presented as an alternative to the old NIV, rather than a replacement. It probably also suffered from coming out around the same time as the hugely popular ESV translation. But most of all, it found itself in limbo due to the decision to use gender-neutral language wherever possible. I think this is a shame, because the TNIV offered many improvements other than just the gender-neutral language. So this is a bold decision by the translators, but one that makes sense if the NIV is to remain in widespread use.

Here’s a few of my thoughts on the matter:

1. On the whole, I am supportive of the change to gender neutral language where possible. For example, in the NIV, Matt 5:16 reads “let your light shine before men”, while the TNIV changes this to “shine before others”, which is the same choice the translators of the ESV have made. This type of change should not be considered controversial, and has no need to be reversed.

2. My main criticism of the TNIV, from what I have read of it so far, is that repeatedly using the phrase “brothers and sisters” instead of “brothers” quickly becomes cumbersome. It is unfortunate that there is no viable single-word generic alternative in English. When this phrase is repeatedly used (e.g. James 5:7-12) it becomes jarring, particularly when read aloud. Also, as the translators have pointed out, this kind of politically correct speak is waning in popularity. We have moved on. Hopefully the new NIV will revert to “brothers” and put “brothers and sisters” as an alternative reading in the footnotes, allowing those reading it in public to choose whether to put it in or not as they go.

3. Ultimately, no translation can avoid the problem that there is a huge historical and cultural distance between us and the first readers of the Bible. More than that, the NIV is read by a wide variety of people who will detect different shades of meaning in the same English phrase. With any translation, the need for careful and prayerful study remains if we are to fully grasp the meaning of the text. If you look at who is on the CBT, you will see a collection of first-class Biblical scholars from both complementarian and egalitarian perspectives, and I have confidence that we can expect sensible decisions from them.

4. I sincerely hope that the new NIV finds widespread acceptance amongst both the reformed crowd who have preferred the ESV in recent years, and amongst those from a egalitarian perspective. It does not seem appropriate that we use Bible translations as a badge to indicate which theological ‘team’ we support. I will continue to make extensive use of the ESV for my personal Bible study, but I still feel that “dynamic equivalence” is the most appropriate translation technique when it comes to readability and comprehension.

Together at Accelerate 09

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I got back today from the Newfrontiers “Together at Accelerate” conference, which is a mini-Bible week running over the bank holiday weekend for the churches in the “Wessex” region. Here’s a few miscellaneous thoughts about what was a great holiday for our family.

First the bad. The less said about the football tournament the better. We crashed out in the first round, and I drew the short straw to play in goal so didn’t even get a proper game.

There was a better layout to the site this year, with tents surrounding the big top rather than all at one end, which made us a lot closer to the action than last year. And like last year, it was a very well run event – a superb effort from the organizational team.

Evan Rogers led worship for the opening meetings which those who have heard him before will know means lots of silly dancing. While his style not to everyone’s taste, you had to be impressed at the way he managed to get everyone joining in, and it gave a good kick-start to the weekend.

John Groves preached on the first night, and the remainder of the talks were shared between Guy Miller and a visiting Indian speaker Vinu Paul. I only heard one of Vinu’s talks, in which he gave a very Pentecostal style reminder of the vital need of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives.

He warned us against low-risk Christianity which revolves around cake and coffee. I thought Guy Miller’s messages were well targeted and challenging. At the Brighton leaders conference, many of the talks revolve around how to be an inspiring visionary leader, but Guy made it very applicable to the whole church by tackling issues such as the importance of family, of sexual purity, submission to authority, and of how we behave in the workplace. If we are to be a ‘kingdom’ people, we need this kind of practical teaching on what it means to live under the rule of King Jesus.

One slightly interesting thing about this weekend is that it featured churches in the “apostolic sphere” of Guy Miller and his apostolic team. This was why we had the visiting speaker from India, and also why there were a good number from a church plant in Portugal. But the fact remained that for the British churches, we were simply carved up by region.

I still think newfrontiers need to wrestle with how they deal with the inevitable tendency for apostolic movements to tend towards a structure with regional apostles over time. If we say that “apostolic spheres” are built on relationship (particularly through an apostle being involved in the planting of the churches in his ‘sphere’), rather than on geography, do we not set ourselves up for tension in the future where churches are in the region of an apostolic leader but do not particularly consider themselves have a close relationship with him? I guess I am saying that the mechanics of a future for newfrontiers of “interconnected apostolic spheres” is a little unclear to me. This is a particular problem for established churches who may not really consider themselves to be in anyone’s “apostolic sphere”.

Although these smaller and shorter gatherings don’t quite reach the same heights that the old Stoneleigh Bible weeks did, I am glad to see they are becoming a regular fixture in the church calendar. Whilst the Brighton Leaders Conference and Mobilise serve as something of a replacement for envisioning church leaders and students, I always felt that the ‘ordinary’ church members were missing out, so it was great so see many families and grandparents on site – people who would never make it to the Brighton conference. It was also good to see many people still very new and immature in their faith, or not even Christians come along. Smoking, swearing and heated family arguments may not be the ‘nice Christian behaviour’ we try to encourage, but it does at least show that some our churches really are beginning to reach the “unchurched” and “urban poor” of their communities and experiencing the ‘messiness’ that brings with it.

Which brings me on to the subject of church planting. If in newfrontiers we are serious about spreading the gospel through church planting then we need everyone to catch the vision, from the youngest to the oldest. So I was very pleased to see that church planting was very much on the agenda, with a well attended seminar outlining some of the opportunities and practicalities of church planting, and a call to commit to church planting on the final night which many responded to.

New Wine 2009

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Last week I attended the first week of the New Wine summer conference. This is run by a Network of evangelical charismatic churches, mostly Anglican and Vineyard. With four children all in different age-groups, and some heavy rain during the week, I didn’t get to as many meetings as I would have done in previous years, but still there was plenty to enjoy.

One of the highlights was the morning Bible teaching from Kenny Borthwick. His teaching on worship, holiness, Spirit baptism and revival stirred us to seek more of God’s presence. I also attended two seminars from John Lennox, speaking on a Christian response to the new atheism, which was interesting as I had already heard his debate with Dawkins.

Most of our evenings were spent in Venue 1, a huge tent seating around 5000, where we enjoyed the worship led by Kathryn Scott and Eoghan Heaslip. There was also a smaller tent, called Venue 2 which we visited one evening. The worship was a bit louder and edgier and we appreciated hearing Matt Redman lead with some of the songs from his new album.

Another interesting feature of Venue 2 was the resident “theologian poet”, who got up and performed a mini theological treatise in the form of a poem for which he earned a standing ovation. I thought it was a superb and creative idea, although it gave me food for thought as his topic was a forceful defence of a fully egalitarian position with regards to women in church leadership. I thought a few of his points were a little weak, but to his credit, he didn’t dodge any of the “difficult” verses, and made his case well given his limited time.

Another boost to his argument was that probably the best Bible teacher I heard during the week was Amy Orr-Ewing. Whilst that alone would not be sufficient reason to overthrow my belief that the Bible teaches a complementarian position, it does raise some important questions for those of us who hold this view. First, how would we make use a woman with such an outstanding teaching gifting in our own churches? And second, would it even be possible for that gift to develop in the first place, let alone flourish? As an evangelical, I do place primary importance on obeying the Scriptures, but as a charismatic, I consider it vitally important that the grace gifts the Spirit bestows on the church are developed and used for the edification of the body.