A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 2:2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Last post we spoke of the ongoing attempt of some amongst the Thessalonians regarding the character assassination of Paul, and how this may lead to the weakening, even the loss of faith for those who were so strongly converted and were such a bright light of witness in the region. Paul spoke of his initial entrance into their lives and that his coming was not without results.

In our last post, we considered the recent suffering Paul endured prior to his arrival in town. Paul sought to remind the Thessalonians of his history, as a defense against his detractors who were seeking to spread malicious statements of the apostle, in order to pull church adherents away from his teaching.

In our second post on this verse, let’s move on from Paul’s history of suffering in Philippi, and consider his time amongst the Thessalonians. He has some pointed items to remind them of!

Much Conflict

He speaks of his past suffering, and then has the Thessalonians recall their city’s response. Conflict. Contention. Fighting. Struggle.

The Thessalonian city authorities did not take kindly to Paul and his team entering their city and “upsetting the apple cart”. Thessalonica seems to be of the same general opinion as Philippi, with a similar response of resistance to the gospel that he suffered so recently.

By this time in Paul’s life, he could see the handwriting on the wall. More suffering, upheaval, conflict.

By this time, Paul should have tempered his message, guarding his communication to those most offended by the cross.

Though the Philippi experience was about to erupt in Paul’s face again in this little city, he did not hold back. The fear of suffering did not hold on to Paul’s heart or mind, but he spoke boldly.

Let’s remember that Paul’s detractors, those seeking to pull the Thessalonians from Paul’s teaching, are claiming he has impure motives for the church, that he is a liar and cheat, one who is seeking his own advancement.

Consider this claim of evil deception on the part of Paul, as he speaks of his history with both Philippi and Thessalonica.

Liars lie for self advancement.

What personal advancement did Paul gain, other than broken ribs, lacerations, severe bruising, continual pain, and walking away from public humiliation?

Liars lie to escape suffering.

Again, he endured suffering, even to the point of willing to take the suffering though it was inflicted illegally. Consider Paul’s possible motivation for accepting the beating – See Conditional Security – Philippians 1:3-11

Liars lie to gain a reward.

What reward has Paul received? Where is the gain?

Liars lie out of fear.

Here, we refer to Paul’s manner of speaking in the very passage we are in today. He spoke boldly. Freely. He spoke without considering the past or the possible outcome of his message on his own person.

This witness the Thessalonians heard and saw, for he spoke his message freely and continually though the city rose up against him. The Thessalonians knew this and needed to be reminded of his manner of life.

To speak freely is a rare commodity in today’s world. The atmosphere of restricting speech is choking the church. and I for one admit to succumbing to this environment of fear.

Let us look to the Lord for the boldness we need. A boldness that only comes from the Lord. For Paul clearly states that his boldness was “in our God”.

May God have mercy on our souls for being so timid, and may we ask Him for strength in the midst of our trials that may come!

---

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.