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Thessalonians 2:1-12
The Gospel had made an impact in the
lives of the Thessalonian believers, in part, because of the way they
faithfully received it (1:2-10).
Paul praised them for this;
But another thing that contributed to
its success and spread, was the character and conduct of
those who preached it to them - specifically Paul,
Silvanus and Timothy.
In Titus 2:10, Paul urged Pastor Titus
to exhort and teach the people under his care to live in such a way as to
"make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." (Titus 2:10).
The success of the Gospel always depends
ultimately upon Our sovereign God; but Paul's admonition to Titus reminds us
that we can either live in such a way as to promote its advancement, or in
such a way as to hinder its progress.
And this passage from 1 Thessalonians 2
shows us the qualities in Paul and his ministry companions that made the
preaching of the gospel so effective and helped to advance its impact among
those who heard it.
We see this in two main aspects of
Paul's ministry:
I. AS AN APOSTLE (in giving the gospel
to those who had not heard) (vv. 1-6).
A. Paul displayed boldness in
proclaiming the Gospel (vv. 1-2). The background for this is Acts 16 & 17.
Paul often had to pray for boldness; as we see from Eph. 6:18-20 and Col.
4:2-4. But he was never ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17).
B. Paul proclaimed the gospel as one
given a trust (vv. 3-4); see Eph. 3:1-13.
C. Paul didn't rely on human resources
in proclaiming the gospel (vv. 5-6); see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
II. AS A PASTOR (in building into the
lives of those who had believed) (vv. 7-12).
A. Paul was gentle toward those
who heard and believed (v. 7); see 2 Tim. 2:24-26.
B. Paul was sacrificial in
serving them out of the motive of love (v. 8-9).
C. Paul was godly in his conduct
toward those he ministered to (v. 10); see 1 Thess. 1:5.
D. Paul was diligent to exhort
those under his care to live worthy lives (vv. 11-12); see Titus 2:11-15.
* * * * * * * * * *
All around us are people whom God has
place in our spheres of influence. He wants us to
let them know of His love through Jesus, and to help them grow in faithfulness
to Him.
May we learn from the example of Paul,
and live and work in such a way as to advance the cause of the gospel in the
lives of others.
*Adapted from Greg Allen , Ray Pritchard
& Bruce Gooetsch
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