Many people talk big, but you can tell a lot about someone by the way they live. Our lives demonstrate our real convictions. In Scripture, a word that's often used to describe a man's manner of living is his "walk." In our culture, we echo that sentiment with sayings like, "He talks the talk, but does he walk the walk?"
I made the mistake of looking at hiking shoes online recently. I was thinking about getting a new pair, and now with the advertising cookies that are embedded in my computer's memory, I'm seeing ads every day for all kinds of hiking apparel.
I enjoy living in Langhorne, but one of the things I miss about living in the Poconos was the easy access I had to traffic-free spaces where I could take long walks. When we lived there, I had access to that right outside my back door, and I would regularly walk for hours at a time. At one point, that was something I did daily.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:9-16, Paul talks about the importance of walking in a manner worthy of God. Faith is what pleases the Lord. He makes that clear throughout Scripture. In this passage, Paul speaks about the manner in which we choose to live, and whether or not we're showing our faith in Christ to be genuine.
This passage gives us at least four principles that demonstrate what it looks like to walk in a manner worthy of God.
I. Honor God in both your labor and your conduct
“For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. ”
Paul did not grow up knowing the people of Thessalonica. They weren't neighbors. They didn't go to school together. He wasn't from their city. He came to them as a missionary with the intention of preaching the gospel and organizing a local church from among those who came to faith in Christ.
When you're the new guy in town, the people who have already been there a while tend to look at you with suspicion. They usually take some time to attempt to figure you out. What's your personality like? How do you interact with people you don't know? Are you here to get something from us?
Paul was savvy enough to realize that people would be curious about him when he came to their city, so he went out of his way to remain mindful of his actions. He worked hard and treated people honorably. This contributed to his reputation among the people of the city. In his letter to the Thessalonian Christians, he calls this activity back to their memory as he reminds them of the fact that he worked day and night manufacturing tents so as not to burden them financially.
At the same time, he preached the gospel and lived in such a manner that his actions did not dishonor the name of Christ. That's admirable, and certainly contributed to the founding of the church in that city, but sadly, that's not always the behavior we see from those who claim to come in Christ's name.
Years ago, I was driving through a town with one of the pastors who mentored me. As we drove, he pointed out a church that had closed years earlier. When I asked him why they closed, he told me, "Their former pastor was continually drunk and would not show up for his responsibilities. He also destroyed the church's reputation in town by failing to pay his bills to local businesses. In time, it was too much for the church to recover from, and it folded."
If we're going to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, we need to honor Him in our labor and our conduct.
II. Nurture the faith of those you love
“For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”
Over the past few months, my sons have started volunteering to teach Scripture to children in various contexts. One is volunteering to teach a class of 8-10 year-olds on Sunday mornings, and the other is leading devotions for a group of teens he's counseling at a Christian camp. These experiences are new for them, so they both asked me for some assistance on how to teach the Bible to others. I have been enjoying our ongoing conversations about how to structure a lesson, what to emphasize, and how to show that the entire Bible is pointing to Jesus. I consider it an immense privilege to be able to guide them this way.
Paul wasn't a biological father, but he definitely had the role of being a spiritual parent to a great many people, including the young believers in Thessalonica. Because he loved them with the kind of affection a father has for a child, he invested his time in nurturing their growing faith.
As he was attempting to help stimulate the growth of their faith, he utilized a three-fold approach to spiritually nurturing them. Paul says he exhorted, encouraged, and charged them to walk in a manner worthy of God. This is to say he strongly urged them, gave them hopeful guidance, and emphatically assigned them the responsibility of living out their faith in Jesus.
Paul did this while also reminding them they had been made partakers of God's glory, and citizens of His kingdom through Jesus Christ their Savior. As members of God's kingdom, they weren't to live enslaved to worldly passions any longer. They were to glorify the Lord who had lifted them up and made them His own.
III. Receive the teaching of God's word eagerly
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. ”
I listen to a lot of podcasts. The other day, I was listening to one that was hosted by someone I have known for decades who has become a news media celebrity near where we grew up. In the podcast, he was interviewing a Catholic priest, and he confessed that he frequently looks things up online during the sermons of the priest at his home parish because he thinks they're "boring." It was a comical segment of the interview, but it also reminded me that the word of God can be presented in a boring way, AND received with disinterest. I think both occurrences are tragic. Scripture shouldn't be preached in a dull, lifeless manner, and it shouldn't be received as if it's unimportant.
Thankfully, that's not how the Thessalonians received the teaching of the word of God. Paul makes it clear that these believers received God's word enthusiastically, and readily accepted its divine origin. What kind of difference does that make in someone's life if that's how they receive the teaching of Scripture? Let me suggest several ways your life will be different if you receive God's word with eagerness.
You will experience more peace because you will develop confidence in God's sovereignty as you read about His activity throughout history.
You will be much less likely to be deceived by the false promises of this world, the passions of your heart, or the schemes of Satan because the Bible exposes them.
Practically speaking, you will make much better life choices and experience far less regret.
You will come to the realization that Christ is the solution for everything you need.
You will discover the key to lasting joy, and a hope that isn't dependent on circumstances.
The Thessalonian believers received the word of God eagerly, and that fact bore powerful fruit in their lives. Our lives will also bear the fruit of how we've received the teaching of God's word.
IV. Be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ
“For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!”
It's easy to forget just how difficult life has been for Christians throughout history when our lives are being lived with relative ease. Jesus and the prophets were killed. Early Christians were persecuted severely. Christians in Jerusalem experienced banishment, imprisonment, and death. Paul was often beaten and imprisoned. And at the time of writing, it appears the Thessalonians were being given a taste of this harsh treatment as well.
As Paul illustrates through what was taking place at that time, there are people in every generation who will do their best to hinder the message of the gospel from being proclaimed. They may have different motives for doing that, and they may take different approaches, but their end goal is the same. The goal is to prevent people from coming to faith in Christ and experiencing His gift of salvation. But thankfully, no scheme of Satan or effort of man will ultimately prevent the spread of the gospel to every corner of the earth.
It isn't my preference to suffer, and I suppose it isn't your preference as well, but don't forget the example of the believers who came before us if you're ever called to suffer for the cause of Christ. Their willingness to endure persecution displayed the depth of their genuine faith. Their willingness to endure persecution has resulted in the gospel traveling over land and oceans, and eventually reaching your ears and mine. I'm grateful for the precedent they set for us.
With the example of Christ and the early believers who worshipped Him fresh in our minds, let's also be people who walk in a manner worthy of God. Honoring Him in our labor and conduct. Nurturing the faith of others. Receiving His word eagerly, and remaining willing to suffer for the cause of Christ if that's what we're called to do.
© John Stange, 2020
