1 Thess
1:3 We continually remember before
our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love,
and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV
People
often ask the question, “What is the evidence of a person who is saved?” Many
times it is because they have a friend or loved one who claims to be a
Christian, but lives a life that looks very contrary to that. Though Jesus
taught us to not judge whether or not a person is saved (Lk 6:37-7-5, Jn
8:15)), we can judge whether or not they are bearing good fruit in their life. Ultimately,
we are encouraged by Jesus to be more concerned about the evidence of salvation
in our own life, before we concern ourselves about what we see in others lives.
That being
said, Paul is commending the believers in Thessalonica, based upon the evidence
he sees of Christ’s redemptive work in their lives. He cites three pieces of
that evidence, that we should see in ourselves as well as everyone who believes
in Him.
First he
mentions, “Your work produced by faith.” Paul is referring here not to some act
of service, but rather that in faith, they turned from the idols they
worshipped to the true and living God (v9). This should be demonstrated in our
lives as well. We may not have been serving idols in the way these people did, but
we still serve them. Need an example? What are our modern day idols? Money or
material goods, power, fame. How do we know they are idols? Ask yourself, how
much of a priority are they in your life? How much time do you spend in
acquiring them? How important are they to you and could you do without them?
We can even
make other people our idols. There are the obvious ones, such as celebrities or
sports figures, but sometimes it is not as obvious. We can even worship a son
or daughter, mother or father. They can become our idol.
When we
come to Christ, He should become the number one priority of our life. We turn
to Him in faith, surrendering our will to His and no longer worship anything else. This is what
Paul saw in the Thessalonians. It was strong evidence that they were
Christians.
Next, Paul
mentions their labor prompted by love. This love (agape in Greek), is the kind
of love that puts other people’s needs above our own and is demonstrated by
action. The word labor literally means “toil,” and by implication includes pain.
This labor, produced by love may not always be easy, yet it becomes a joy to
the believer in Christ because of the love the Holy Spirit puts in one’s heart.
A third
evidence of their faith in Christ is endurance. Paul says that the
Thessalonians endurance was inspired by “hope” in Jesus Christ. What he is
speaking of here, is that despite severe suffering (v6), they would persevere
because of their expectation of spending eternity with their Lord. We should
exhibit this same perseverance or patience in times of suffering, knowing that
either by physical death or by the Lord’s return, we will spend eternity with
Him. That is why Paul could say, “I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us.” Rom 8:18
Are you
looking for evidence of your own salvation, wondering if you are really born
again? These are three things that should be demonstrated in your life. Are you worried about where a friend might truly be in their relationship with Christ?
Look for evidence of their turning from idols to worshipping Him. See if there
is a heart to serve others. Find out if
they have hope in suffering or despair. If none of those things are there, do
not judge the heart but encourage them to look at their own life.
Urge them
to look at these verses, so that they may judge themselves as to whether or not
they have truly been “born again.” They might even take offense, but better to
be offended than spend eternity without Christ because no one loved them enough
to speak up.
Remember,
all of this comes by way of faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the
power of the Holy Spirit. That is whom we worship, that is whom we serve!
God bless
you
Coach
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