Thessalonica AD 49 II
Established in Faith: Stand Firm
By The Rev. David McMaster
July 8, 2007
Text: I Thessalonians 2:17 - 3:10
“For now we really live, since you are
standing firm in the Lord.”
- I Thessalonians 3:8
Fifteen or so years ago, I was on a committee that had been struck to find a new Professor of Hebrew Bible in a university's Department of Religious Studies. We sifted through the applicants, interviewed a few, and eventually invited two to give lectures and interview with the broader departmental faculty and students. The first candidate was a very gifted scholar and he gave a paper on an obscure Egyptian text that hinted that Yahweh may have had a consort. It was interesting - shocking to some - and was followed by a question-answer time. Various questions were asked and answered beautifully. Then the wily and astute Professor of New Testament put forth a question that set up the real question he had. The real question has been etched in my mind ever since. “Is it true?” he asked.
The erudite scholar who gave the paper grew uncomfortable. For a couple of minutes he spoke without saying much. What the response boiled down to was that he, being a textual scholar, could make no determination of truth. His job was to say what the text said. “I am not a theologian or philosopher,” he replied.
I knew right then that he had fumbled the ball, for that university's Department of Religion prided itself in its holistic approach to religious thought. They wanted people to think beyond mere texts. The scholar was not invited to take the post because of one simple question: “Is it true?”
Truth is something that is much sought after. Truth, if one can find it, is worth savouring and committing oneself to. When interviewing Jesus before the cross, Pontius Pilate asked (without any hope of finding it) “What is truth?”
Today, in an age when pluralism is championed, some say that there are many truths. Others suggest there is no truth, like the young pre-law student who came into my office at that same university. During a discussion of morality in which I talked about truth in an absolute sense, she declared, “But there is no truth,” to which I respectfully replied, “Is that true?”
It was because the Thessalonians sensed that they had encountered God and truth that they responded with conviction to the gospel in AD 49, give or take a year or so.
Just to review, the city of Thessalonica was, and is, a great city in the Mediterranean region. Today it is the second largest city in Greece behind Athens. With a population of over 800,000, it is larger than Ottawa and its suburbs, a little smaller than Vancouver.
If one sails north up the eastern seaboard of Greece, right up into the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea, there one will find Thessalonica. Founded in 315 BC by Cassander, it quickly became a key trading city with its magnificent harbour and, later, its location near the mid-point of Rome's great road, the Via Egnatia. During the reign of the Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) and under the Pax Romana, the city was prospering as Paul, Silas, and Timothy ventured into it.
When Paul and the boys entered Thessalonica, it was probably only days after they were beaten, imprisoned and sent away from Philippi. Given their recent difficulties, it would not be too much of a surprise if they were a bit nervous about what they may encounter in this new place, the chief city of the province of Macedonia. But something took over as they began to teach. We are told in First Thessalonians Chapter One that the message went forth “with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction,” and that a good number of Thessalonians responded with great joy, turning “from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” Paul lauded the Thessalonian Christians because they responded to the truth and quickly became established in the faith. In fact, their faith had become the talk of the region. The late Professor F. F. Bruce, who held the prestigious Rylands Chair of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at The University of Manchester, wrote that the Thessalonians' response to Paul, “was no momentary response to the gospel. It was a real turning to God which brought grace and the power of his Spirit into their lives.”
Paul's letter reveals several things that contributed to the strong faith and commitment entered into by the Thessalonians. One of them surely has to do with Paul's note that they “received the word of God … not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God.” (2:13) They received it as a matter of truth, as the very word of God.
There is something about the word of God. It can bring blessing; it can bring comfort; it can evoke response. Who among us is not moved by the power of the word when we read in Isaiah, for instance: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Who is not comforted when, in times of trouble, the 121st Psalm is read?
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.”
There's just something about the word of God. It has power in various situations; it rings true; it moves people.
Recently, I visited a church that is struggling, yet doing some wonderful things in terms of social ministry among Toronto's poorest residents. In the midst of my conversations with the leaders, one told me about how he had given a staff member from another faith background a Bible as a gift. He wasn't really expecting anything, but some weeks later she came to him and said she'd been reading the book that he had given her. She found it very interesting and asked him some questions. Later, she came back and asked more questions. He said she had just spoken to him that morning about getting together to find out more about God and Christian faith. He is amazed at the effect it seems to be having on her. But should we be? It is the word of God, and there is something about the word of God that moves people who honestly encounter it.
Paul brought the word of God to Thessalonica in AD 49. He brought the sacred Hebrew Scriptures and the gospel of what God had done in Jesus Christ. He illustrated how the messiah had been prophesied and how in his death and resurrection, Jesus showed the way to eternal life. His words came with power and deep conviction. The power was linked to the Holy Spirit of God, the conviction to the integrity with which Paul brought the message. Unlike other teachers who travelled into cities and towns with their brand of learning, he wasn't doing it for income. He wasn't operating out of greed, error or impure motives. He did not try to convince them with flattery, nor was he a burden to them in any way. He worked; he earned his own keep. They could visibly see the wounds he had received on account of the gospel. They saw him face persecution in their own city, yet keep going because he would rather please God than human beings. There was integrity in Paul's message. There was conviction and power, and those who heard it entered into a committed faith in the living and true God.
The extent of their faith - their level of commitment - was demonstrated in how they, though young in faith, emulated Christians elsewhere. Paul used the word “imitators” to describe them. He said they became “imitators of God's churches in Judea,” (2:14) and “imitators of us, and of the Lord.” (1:6) Each time the word appears in chapters one and two, it is in a context of suffering. The churches in Judea had suffered for their faith. Paul and his compatriots had suffered for the faith. Jesus himself had suffered on the cross. Paul was worried about the Thessalonians. He had only been in Thessalonica for a few weeks, and their faith was young. He knew that the wider community had risen up against them, and they were facing trials. He wanted to make sure they were not unsettled by this or, as he wrote, “I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labours might have been in vain.” (3:5) When Timothy, who had been sent to find out about them, came back to Paul with a good report of the believers' faith and love, Paul was greatly encouraged. In the midst of trials, they were emulating strong and mature Christians in Judea and elsewhere; they were “standing firm in the Lord.” (3:8)
Christians can encounter trials that test their faith throughout their lives. But sometimes I have noticed that, like the Thessalonians, it is in the early stages of faith that the greatest challenges come, things that really test one's metal. This was the case with a good family friend. John grew up in the same country as my family, so we had always had a good camaraderie. That camaraderie grew when he announced one day that he had become a Christian and was going to attend our church. The change in John was incredible in those early weeks; his whole countenance was altered. There was a joy that we had not seen in him before, but then adversity struck. John's 18-year-old only son was killed in a tragic accident. John had been a Christian for six weeks. I have known people who would be knocked down by that sort of news; they would question faith and God, and turn another way. But I remember walking up to John just after the funeral. I conveyed my sympathies and asked how he was doing. He looked at me, his eyes full of pain, and spoke about his son for a while. He spoke about life - and the faith he said he would never turn from. Those were tough days, but years later, John is still standing firm in the Lord. He too is imitating the first churches of Judea and the apostles. He is standing firm in God's truth, and serving “the living and true God.”
One wonders if our faith is a committed faith that is strong enough to follow that pattern. Priscilla Jane Owens asked about this in her wonderful, 1882 hymn. She wrote,
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife,
when the strong tides lift,
and the cables strain,
will your anchor drift or firm remain?We have an anchor that keeps the soul
steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love!
One wonders if our faith is strong enough to battle the onslaughts of persecution and suffering. Perhaps more apropos for our culture, one wonders if it is strong enough to battle the onslaughts of pluralism and the many world views, faiths and philosophies out there all vying for our attention with claims of truth. The thought environment we face today may not be that different from the one Paul faced in Thessalonica, AD 49 with its various views and polytheism. Like theirs, ours is not an easy thought environment to be in if we hold to a concept of absolute truth. It is not easy, but some of us - even after a lifetime of study - have found nothing more deserving of faith than Christ.
The academic study of religion may be one of the most difficult paths a person of faith can travel. Certainly, it can broaden a person's thinking. But the critical thought one encounters has shipwrecked many a faith as people despair of ever finding truth. During my own studies, I spoke with a friend about this. We had watched several of our colleagues in doctoral studies fall by the wayside. We both had our own struggles with the critical thought we were encountering, and struggled with faith, doubt and meaning. One time, I asked John (another John) what kept him going and he said this:
David, a number of years ago I had an encounter with God. The gospel changed my life. In fact, it has changed my life so much that I cannot deny it. I may have things that I question, but that experience of God and Christ keeps me going no matter what thoughts or philosophies I encounter.
In the temptation of alternate thoughts, John has stood firm.
And so the torch is held to you and to me; to carry it into a new generation. The one who is “the way, the truth, and the life” calls out to us, “Stand firm!” Take the faith that I spoke about - the faith of Paul, the faith of the Thessalonians, the faith passed on for generations, the faith of your fathers and mothers - and stand firm! Be a new source of light. In a new age, in your city and in your community, ”˜Stand firm!'” as we continue to wait for the coming of God's Son from heaven.