when we stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves “So in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.” Same thing in verse 5. this reason, when I stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your “For faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” And so this shows us Paul’s concern for genuine faith? It’s not enough for Paul that someone responds to an altar call, and prays the sinner’s prayer, and fills in a response card, and expresses faith in Christ. That’s not enough evidence for Paul. He still questions the genuineness of their faith. He fears that their faith might be fake. And so that’s one of the main purposes of this series in 1 Thessalonians. We gona see the marks of genuine faith. And its an opportunity for us to question our faith. Is our faith really genuine? And thats not a popular thing to do today. To say to someone: I’m not sure if you really saved. I’ve got question marks about your salvation. There a couple of times I’ve felt led to say that to people in the last couple of years. And I don’t do it lightly. I do it reluctantly and with much prayer. And sometimes the response has been positive. People have appreciated my concern. But mostly its been negative. Some people have left the church. People have been angry. How dare you say that to me? How dare you question my faith?
“So when we stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.” Same thing in verse 5. “For this reason, when I stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” And so this shows us Paul’s concern for genuine faith? It’s not enough for Paul that someone responds to an altar call, and prays the sinner’s prayer, and fills in a response card, and expresses faith in Christ. That’s not enough evidence for Paul. He still questions the genuineness of their faith. He fears that their faith might be fake. And so that’s one of the main purposes of this series in 1 Thessalonians. We gona see the marks of genuine faith. And its an opportunity for us to question our faith. Is our faith really genuine? And thats not a popular thing to do today. To say to someone: I’m not sure if you really saved. I’ve got question marks about your salvation. There a couple of times I’ve felt led to say that to people in the last couple of years. And I don’t do it lightly. I do it reluctantly and with much prayer. And sometimes the response has been positive. People have appreciated my concern. But mostly its been negative. Some people have left the church. People have been angry. How dare you say that to me? How dare you question my faith?
1%20Thessalonians%20Introduction.docx