THE PRELUDE

THE MESSAGE

This week our nation will pause and observe the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  In some ways, it does not seem possible that it has been 25 years since that fateful and terrible day.  I have shared in the past that a friend of mine from college was murdered that day.  His name was John.  He was the pilot of the first aircraft hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center.  I was working for the US Government at the time and was responsible for the security of many militarily sensitive facilities across the country.  Every day for many years after John’s murder, I started my day remembering John.  Doing so helped motivate me to be relentless in making my facilities as difficult to attack as possible.  I did not see another way to personally make sure that John’s death was not in vain.  I kept that approach to work until I retired 13 years later.

I share that story not to use the sermon as a tribute to John and the other 2,957 innocent people killed that day or the nearly 7,000 people who have died since that day due to toxic exposure from that day.  I share that story to say something about what it means to remember.

God has given humanity a unique capacity to remember.  Yes, the animal kingdom has the capacity to remember.  Animals can remember smells, sounds, and visual images that help them navigate their lives. Still, an animal’s memory is limited and focused, stimulated by recognition of something familiar in its environment, whether pleasant or threatening.

When it comes to memory, what sets us apart from the animal kingdom is that God gave us the ability to bring something from the past into the present at will.  By bringing that memory into the present, humans can relive it as a recollection or bring it to life.  That capacity of remembering, to relive or give life to memory, is unique to humanity because it is an attribute of God.

What then is it that we can say about God’s attribute of remembering? To say that God remembers is a way of describing His faithfulness toward those He has called.  Phrases in Scripture such as “God remembered” therefore use human language to highlight His attentiveness, faithfulness, and intervention on behalf of His people.  In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word zakar is used not merely to describe a mental recollection, but it means to bring someone or something into the present for action.  I did not know it then, but I now know that when I would daily recall John’s memory, his life and his death, I was practicing Biblical remembering.  I was remembering something from the past to prompt me to act in the present.  I was not remembering for historical purposes; I was remembering constructively, in a way that prompted my hands, feet, and lips to act on my memory.

Therefore, God’s remembrance almost always results in concrete action, such as deliverance, provision, judgment, or the fulfillment of a promise.  God’s remembrance is often tied to His covenants and his commitments, even when His people feel forgotten or when circumstances appear hopeless.  Consider a few examples:

• In Genesis 8:1, after the flood, “God remembered Noah… and God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” God had not forgotten the ark; He now acted to end the judgment and preserve life.
• In Genesis 30:22, “God remembered Rachel… and opened her womb,” and she gave birth to Joseph.
• In Genesis 19:29, God remembered Abraham and rescued Lot from Sodom.
• In Exodus 2:24–25, God heard the groaning of the Hebrew people and “remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,” and freed them from the Egyptians.

In each of these circumstances, we see that God remembered His people and acted to provide for or save them.

            Now, because we are created in God’s image and share God's attributes, God expects us to remember as He remembers.  Staying with the Old Testament for a moment, God repeatedly commands His people to “remember” key aspects of His character, actions, and covenant—not as mere mental recall, but as an active, ongoing response that shapes identity, obedience, gratitude, and ethical living.

• In Exodus 12, God commands that the Hebrew people shall place the blood of an unblemished lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes so that when He entered the land to impose the tenth plague upon Egypt, God would pass over the homes of the Hebrews.  God also commanded that, every year thereafter, the Hebrews were to observe the Passover as a means of remembering that God led them out of Egypt and to recommit themselves to worship of God.  The Hebrew people were to remember God’s past actions by living them out in the present.
• The fourth of the Ten Commandments says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). This is the only one of the Ten Commandments that begins with “remember.” 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates” (Exodus 20:9).  Again, the Hebrew people were called to remember what God had accomplished for them and to live that memory into the present.

We could go on with other examples.  I think it suffices to say that there are many Old Testament references to God calling His people to remember His deliverance and provision in the past, and to do so in a living and loving way in the present.

            From this quick review of the Old Testament, we learn that God remembers and calls His people to remember.  Not just to remember historically but to remember actively.

            But.  There is always a but.  But God’s capacity to remember is paradoxical.  While God has an infinite capacity to remember His people, God also has an infinite capacity to “remember no longer” the sins of His people. That is the paradox of God’s memory. He has an infinite capacity to remember His people and, at the same time, has an infinite capacity to no longer remember their sins.  We see the latter part in Isaiah.  “25 I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).  In Jeremiah, we would find similar words.  “Declares the Lord, ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’” (Jeremiah 31:34b). And so we learn that God’s attribute of remembrance includes the capacity not to remember sin.

God’s capacity not to remember sin is what we call “to forgive.”

            The Hebrew word “salach” means to forgive or grant a pardon, and it is always attributed to God’s forgiveness.  God’s forgiveness is a particular type of forgiveness in which not only is the offense forgiven, but the offense is no longer remembered.  This is where God’s attributes of remembrance and ours diverge. We may forgive someone for an offense, but it is almost impossible for us to forget it.  Oh, certainly, an offense may fade from our memory.  But a fading memory is still a memory.  To forget completely as though the offense never happened is a sign of God’s perfection.

            The paradox of God’s capacity to remember His people and to forget their offenses is a sign of His faithfulness in commitments.  Once God commits, He holds to it and does not forget.  God’s capacity to remember is a sign of His capacity to grant mercy.  In one case, He remembers and rescues, delivering those who are oppressed, lonely, and forsaken from circumstances they cannot escape on their own.  He also grants mercy by forgetting sins that cannot otherwise be wiped away.

We see the attributes of God’s remembrance and remembering play out in the person of Jesus, God’s Son.  Jesus was sent to earth as the Messiah, a promised Savior.  The mere fact that Jesus came was evidence that God remembered His people and his promises.  God did not remember those commitments in a historical sense, but in the present, prompting His hands, feet, and lips to act on His memory.

Virtually everything Jesus said and did came as a fulfillment of God’s Word, the Old Testament.  Why? So that the people would remember that God was a God of His Word.  The entirety of Jesus' life is about remembering God.  To make that latter point about Jesus, we learn from the Gospel of Matthew:

• Birth in Bethlehem — Micah 5:2 (combined with 2 Samuel 5:2; Matt 2:5–6). 
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• Flight to and return from Egypt — Hosea 11:1 (Matt 2:15; typological, originally about Israel). 
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• Massacre of the infants — Jeremiah 31:15 (Matt 2:17–18). 
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• John the Baptist preparing the way — Isaiah 40:3 (and elements of Malachi 3:1; Matt 3:3). 
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• Ministry in Galilee — Isaiah 9:1–2 (Matt 4:14–16). 
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• Healings — Isaiah 53:4 (Matt 8:17). 
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• Gentle servant ministry — Isaiah 42:1–4 (Matt 12:17–21). 
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• Teaching in parables — Isaiah 6:9–10 (Matt 13:14–15); Psalm 78:2 (Matt 13:35). 
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• Triumphal entry on a donkey — Zechariah 9:9 (Matt 21:4–5). 
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• Betrayal/price of 30 pieces of silver — Zechariah 11:12–13 (attributed to Jeremiah in Matt 27:9–10). 

From the Gospel of Mark:

• Parables and hardness of heart — Isaiah 6:9–10 (Mark 4:12).
• Triumphal entry — Psalm 118:26 (“Blessed is he who comes…”; Mark 11:9).
• Rejection of the cornerstone — Psalm 118:22–23 (Mark 12:10–11).
• Shepherd struck, sheep scattered — Zechariah 13:7 (Mark 14:27).

From the Gospel of Luke:

• John the Baptist — Isaiah 40:3–5 (Luke 3:4–6).
• Jesus’ synagogue reading — Isaiah 61:1–2 (with elements of 58:6; Luke 4:18–21: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”). 
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• Counted among the transgressors — Isaiah 53:12 (Luke 22:37).

From the Gospel of John:

• John the Baptist — Isaiah 40:3 (John 1:23).
• Zeal for the temple — Psalm 69:9 (John 2:17).
• Triumphal entry — Zechariah 9:9 (John 12:14–15). 
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• Betrayal by a close associate — Psalm 41:9 (John 13:18).
• Hatred without cause — Psalms 35:19 / 69:4 (John 15:25).
• Garments divided / lots cast — Psalm 22:18 (John 19:23–24).
• Thirst / sour wine — Psalm 69:21 (John 19:28–29).
• Bones not broken — Exodus 12:46 / Numbers 9:12 / Psalm 34:20 (John 19:36; Passover lamb typology).

These are just a few examples to show that the life of Jesus was about remembering God and God’s commitments in the Scriptures.

            But we need to remember that God’s capacity to remember is a paradox.  God has the infinite capacity to remember His people and the infinite capacity not to remember their offenses.  The Greek word aphiēmi [G863] is used more than forty times in the Gospels to speak to the unconditional release from sin and offense.  The word is used in the Lord’s Prayer to ask for forgiveness of our sins.  When Jesus said to someone, “Your sins are forgiven,” the context was aphiēmi, meaning “sins that are no longer remembered.”  The context of aphiēmi, total forgiveness, was also shared by Jesus as a warning.  Jesus said, “32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven (aphiēmi), but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (aphiēmi), either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32).  While God possesses the capacity to forget our sins, He chooses to limit that capacity by remembering the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, that is to ascribe to God the work of Satan or to ascribe to Satan the work of God.

            Why is God’s capacity to forget our sins so important?  It is for this reason.  The standard for heaven, the standard to be in God’s presence, is perfection.  Sin is the ultimate imperfection.  But if our sins are forgiven and forgotten by God, then our image before God is perfection.  What must we do to be forgiven?  We must repent and believe in Jesus Christ.  It sounds almost too simple, too easy for something so monumentally important.  Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.  But that is what God asks us to do.  Because in repenting and believing, in placing our lives in Jesus’ hands, we must take on the posture of humility and surrender.

            This brings us to our final point on remembering.  Jesus commanded us to remember not in a historical way, but in the present moment, and to recognize, in that moment, his humility and surrender.  He commands us to remember and to be humble and surrendered in spirit before Him.  Paul wrote most descriptively about this occasion.  Paul wrote, “23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).  Jesus commanded that we “do this in remembrance” of Him.  We are to take the bread and the cup.  The bread and the cup are symbols of Jesus remembering many things from God’s Word.

• The bread and the cup are symbols of Jesus remembering the Passover, in which the blood of the unblemished lamb was shed so that God’s people would be spared death.
• The bread and cup are symbols of Jesus, the great high priest, acting in the present to offer bread and wine as God’s priest Melchizedek offered to Abraham.
• The bread is a symbol of Jesus remembering God’s provision of manna from heaven, with Jesus acting in the present to remind his apostles that he is the bread from heaven.
• The cup is a symbol of Jesus remembering that God sealed his covenants with blood, as He would with the new covenant.

We are commanded to remember by acting in the present.  In a few moments, we will have the opportunity to follow Jesus' command and remember.  To take the bread and cup properly is a moment of humility and surrender. It will be our time to remember that “God is not a God of punishment, but a God of forgiveness. God is not a God who records all wrongs, but a God who washes them away. God is not a God who demands perfection from us, but a God who asks for a contrite heart when we can’t measure up. God is not a God who gives us only one chance, but a God who gives us infinite chances. God is not a God who waits for us to come to our senses after we have fallen, but a God who comes searching for us, full of understanding and care” (Bruised and Wounded, Rolheiser).

            Come, let us remember. Amen and Amen.

THE PRELUDE

THE MESSAGE

            “The end is near! The end is near!”  Street preachers frequently cry out the prediction of the world's end.  Poets, politicians, and priests have been predicting the end of the world for centuries. One man, William Miller, calculated the end of the world would happen on October 22, 1844.  In case you were wondering, the world did not end on that day. Miller later concluded that the end did not happen on that October day because Christians had not properly observed the Sabbath.  That day's disappointment led to the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, beginning in Albany, New York.

            “Is the end near? Is the end near?”  This was a question that weighed heavily on Jesus’ own disciples and upon the early church.  One time when Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jerusalem, one of his disciples said, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ 2 And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down’ (Mark 13:1b-2).  To Jesus’ disciples, the destruction of the Temple would be the end of the world.  For the rest of Chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel, Mark records a monologue essentially by Jesus on the end times.  Jesus said:

• 9 “But be on your guard… 10 The gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations” (Mark 13:9a, 10).
• 14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains… 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand” (Mark 13:14, 23a)
• 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” (Mark 13:26, 27)
• 32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark 13:32-37).

Jesus pointed out to his disciples that the world would come to an end was known, but the specific day was unknowable, as such knowledge was God’s and God’s alone.  The day could not be calculated and would come without warning.  Therefore, the most important thing Jesus’ apostles could do would be to be ready, always, to be awake always.

            Apparently, the question of the end times did not end with Jesus’ apostles but was a concern for the early church as well.  The Apostle Paul saw this as a concern among the people of Thessalonica.  Last week, we looked at Paul’s opening words on this matter in the latter half of the fourth chapter of his first letter to the Thessalonians.  Today, I would like us to look at the conclusion of Paul’s thoughts found in the first half of the last chapter of that same letter.

            Paul wrote, “1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).  Paul began his explanation of the end times by reminding the Thessalonians that they did not need instruction on the coming of the Lord any more than they need instruction on the coming of the next season.  The Thessalonians, as we do, know that our seasons follow the pattern of spring, summer, fall, and winter.  We know that by learned experience.  We do not need someone to write us a letter explaining the sequence of the seasons.  Neither did the Thessalonians need a letter on the seasons.  In a like manner, Paul said, the Thessalonians do not need a letter telling them about the day of the Lord’s coming because they already knew the day would come like a thief in the night.  The latter phrase implies that a thief comes to steal from a homeowner without any advance notice.  The thief arrives at a time of the thief's choosing.  And so the Thessalonians do not need a letter telling them the day of the Lord’s return is unknowable because they are aware of that fact. Paul’s teaching here is the same as Jesus’ teaching to his apostles.  The day of Jesus’ return is known only to God the Father.  So one of the things we can immediately take away from what Jesus said and what Paul taught here is that anyone who carries a sign and shouts, “The end is near!  The end is near!”  is trying to convince others of something only known to God the Father.  We know the end is near, as God perceives the sense of near, and that we cannot know the date and time any more than we could know the date and time a thief would seek to enter our home.  We can, therefore, stop listening to the William Millers of the world who claim they know the day of the Lord’s return, for they do not know because they are not God.

            Paul continued, “3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).  Paul said people are saying, “There is peace and security.”  What people was Paul speaking of here?  Paul was speaking about non-believers.  Nonbelievers were saying to each other, “What a wonderful time we are experiencing because we have peace and security.  We have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear.”  At the time of Paul’s letter, much of the Roman Empire was at peace, meaning there was no war.  Much of the Roman Empire was experiencing a time of security, a law-and-order period. Many people felt comfortable and safe, believing that no calamities could or would befall them.

            But Paul said, from this posture of peace and security, “Then sudden destruction will come upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3b). Jesus' return will be to the nonbeliever like an invading army swarming over the Roman Empire and conquering them as an enemy, swiftly and without mercy.  It will be the ultimate “Shock and Awe” experience as Jesus conquers the whole world in an instant.  To make the comparison relate to the individual human experience, Paul said the suddenness will come “as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman,” meaning again, not at a time of her choosing.  Labor pains come with an intensity and persistence that rule over the pregnant woman such that she has no choice but to yield her body to the will of the pain until the pain accomplishes its purposes.  Finally, Paul said, in rather sobering language, “and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3c).  When Jesus returns, the nonbeliever will not escape judgment.

The nonbeliever lives a life of denial, believing that peace and security come from their own efforts, but upon Jesus return they will find out that they are an enemy of God, that they will be pain and gnashing of teeth, like that of a pregnant woman giving natural childbirth, and that though they may think they can avoid the judgement, there will be no escape for anyone. The verse again is, “3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3), is a frightening revelation of the nonbeliever’s future.

Offering relief from this dreadful future, Paul began again with the word, “But.”  We now know that whenever we see the word “But,” it should suggest to us that some reversal of what had just been spoken of was coming.  From the bleak outcome for nonbelievers, Jesus said, “4 But you [believers] are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5a).  Paul was saying to the believer here that while you may not know the day the Lord returns, you will not be surprised by his coming.  You are expecting Him to come. You are excited for Jesus’ coming.  You know that when He comes, the nonbeliever will see Him as King and Judge.  You know that when He comes, the believer will experience him as the long-awaited King and Savior.  It is not going to be a surprise to you, as though an unwelcome thief had come into your house, but it will be a welcome visitation from God.  How is it that the believer knows and welcomes the Lord, and the nonbeliever is clueless?  Paul said this is so because the believer is a child of the light, a child of the day.  Believers are believers because they have moved from death to life, from darkness to light.  People of the light have been saved and exist already in the world of darkness as light. When Jesus returns, He will come as blinding light over all the world, coming for those who are already living in His light.  The psalmist offers, “The Lord is my light, and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1).  That statement is true in life and will be especially true on the day of the coming of the Lord.

Paul concluded his thoughts by reminding the believers in Thessalonica that as new creations in Christ they are different.  And to emphasize this difference, Paul switched language to the plural, “We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:5b-8).  Paul’s was pointed.  Christians live their lives in the light of Christ; therefore, they do not live in the darkness of nonbelievers.  They pursue a healthy lifestyle, believing their bodies are temples of God’s Holy Spirit. And to guard the purity of that life, Christians, Paul said, need to dress in appropriate spiritual armor: a breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 

Paul revealed two themes of Christian theology here.  The first is faith, love, and hope.  This is how Paul opened this letter to the Thessalonians.  Paul said, “2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).  Paul would talk about faith, love, and hope in other letters.  For example, 

• 1 Corinthians 13:13 — The most famous: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
• Colossians 1:3-5a - 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 
• Galatians 5:5-6 - 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

The second theological theme Paul introduced here was the idea of putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.  Paul spoke again of the armor in Romans 13:12, “12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12).  And famously, Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”

            These two themes of faith, love, and hope, and spiritual armor lead us to our application of Paul’s words to our life.  First, Christians, Paul said, are to be alert and sober, expectantly awaiting Jesus’ return. We do not know the date, but we know it will happen.  Our view should not be one where, out of exasperation or disappointment in life, we say, “Oh, Jesus, would you please come today.  I am so tired of all this nonsense.”  Our attitude should be one of excited expectation: “Today might be the day. Let me be ready because I can hardly wait.”

            Second, as we wait, we want to be people of the light in the world that is very much held in the darkness of nonbelief.  How do we do that?  We don’t. At least not on our own.  Paul said that to be that light in the world, we need to be equipped with the armor of God.  Now, most of us don’t walk around in suits of armor, and we don't see soldiers on our streets equipped with shields and swords.  So what do Paul’s words mean to us in our context? I think the simplest thing to keep in mind is to ask, “What is the spiritual armor God has given us?”  First, there is salvation.  Salvation is God's spiritual equipping to move us from darkness to light.  We are moved from being enemies of God to friends of God.  Why is that so important?  Because when Jesus returns, he will come as though he comes to conquer enemy territory to gather up His friends.  We need to remember that we are saved even before the battle begins. Second, while we await, we have God’s word in Scripture.  The Bible is God’s battle plan.  God’s Word guides us in how to live as God’s friend while living in enemy territory. The Bible is spiritual armor.  It is the truth, and we need to use it to equip ourselves.  Finally, we have the message of peace, the gospel.  Even though we live in enemy territory, with those who are at war with God, God has given us a peace treaty to make known to others.  It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  God wants all those who are enemies of his to become his friends before the day of judgment.  And He has given us the task of sharing peace, sharing the gospel that Jesus died for the sins of all, and that, to all who believe, can be saved. And God has said to those who are saved, share this peace offering with God’s enemies.  We are equipped.  We are saved. We have God’s plan.  And we have God’s peace treaty to offer.

            Now, to show that we are equipped by God, God said Live your life with faith, love, and hope. Express your faith.  Show love to God and others.  Live with hope and excitement about Jesus’ return.  For the believer, a life of faith, love, and hope evidences that we are friends of God, equipped and ready to follow his plan.  To the nonbeliever, the lyrics of our open song should speak to you: “One day He'll come.  And we'll stand face to face.  Come and lay it all down.  'Cause it might be today.  The time is right now.  There's no need to wait.  Your past will be washed by rivers of grace.”  Become a friend of God.  Amen and Amen.

            We must start today with some heavy thoughts.  We need to speak for a few moments about death.  Death is not usually a pleasant topic of conversation.  Death has been and remains humanity's most feared enemy. Death is an enemy to humanity because there is not one human being who is not, by bodily nature, predisposed to life. If we try to hold our breath, we can do so for a short while, but our natural bodily instinct is to breathe to sustain life.  This is why I say that, bodily, we are predisposed to life and to avoid death as an enemy.

Surveys show that at least 1/3 of Americans are so uncomfortable with the topic of death and dying that they will not talk about it.  People fear death and dying because of the finality of death and the separation it causes from loved ones.  The fears of people today are not very different from the fears ancient people experienced.  Our ancient ancestors feared death because they believed death led them to a place of eternal emptiness, a forever nothingness.  The ancients believed that nothing in life was worse than death, and that they could not overcome death.  Many people today believe and act as though this is still true.

            But something remarkable, earth-shattering happened.  A man named Jesus was executed in the most brutal of ways.  He was crucified, nailed upon a cross of wood and left there until he died.  To make sure he was dead, a spear was thrust into his side upward toward his heart. Once dead, he was buried in a tomb of rock so that eventually his body would become nothing but bones.  And that is how everyone thought the story of Jesus would end.  They thought he was destined to be just bones, with his spiritual being forever in a place of emptiness, nothingness, and darkness.

            We see this story play out as women who loved Jesus went to his tomb to treat his body with spices. We see this as two of Jesus’ disciples walked along from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus.  As they walked, a stranger, who was Jesus, asked them why they were so sad.  The disciples told the stranger they were sad that “Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him” (Luke 24:19-20).  The worst thing that could happen was that Jesus died and was buried, and with him went their dreams and hopes of a better life on earth because life on earth was the only thing that mattered.  But we know that was not the end of Jesus' story. What looked like the end of Jesus’ story was but a new beginning because, despite all the evidence of human history in which the dead stay dead, Jesus was alive again.  Jesus defeated death.  Jesus did not cheat death as though one who came close to death but did not die.  Jesus defeated death because his perishable body died and then rose to an imperishable life.  Death was defeated.

Jesus' resurrection to new life was the greatest reversal of expectations in human history, and it remains so even today.  And that Jesus ascended into heaven and promised to return, not just as Savior but as King over all the nations, setting all things right, remains the greatest promise yet to be fulfilled.

            But apparently the Christians of the early church in Thessalonica did not understand what was and would be.  We see that in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian church.  Paul wrote that he desired to be with this church again so that he could “supply what is lacking in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:10b). Paul spent only about 3 weeks in Thessalonica before riots against his presence forced him to leave the city.  And so, knowing there was more to share with this church, Paul wrote, “13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).  From Paul’s words, we get the sense that the early church wondered what happened to those who were baptized into belief in Jesus but then died before Jesus’ return.  Paul referred to them as sleeping, but the physical reality was that these folks were dead.  The questions that seemed to have been in the minds of the Thessalonians were, “Is the promise of joy and redemption upon Jesus’ return only for the living believers? Did the death of these believers leave them in an eternal state of disappointment, darkness, and eternal emptiness?”

            Paul began to reply to these questions this way: “About those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:14b).  There are two important truths.  The first truth is found in what Paul did not say. Paul did not say to the Christians of Thessalonica, “About those who are asleep, that you may not grieve.”  I have met too many Christians who have experienced the death of a loved one, and they feel guilty for grieving because they have been led to believe that grieving as a Christian shows a lack of faith. Grieving is a natural human response to the death of a loved one.  Grief reflects how deeply we love someone.  To grieve is not a lack of faith.  It is a testimony of love.

            The second truth rests in what Paul did say: “About those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:14b).  There are two truths here.  As to the first of those truths, we need to remember that Paul was writing this letter to those who were “in Christ,” believers in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Therefore, when Paul speaks of “others,” he was referring to nonbelievers.  Paul made clear that nonbelievers grieve those whom they love who have died and do so believing that their loved ones have entered an eternal death that is a place of eternal emptiness, a forever nothingness. As such, in death everything is lost, unrecoverable, and deeply despairing.  And Paul reveals the reason for the nonbeliever’s despair in the second truth—they despair because there is no hope.  Upon the death of the nonbeliever, the door to salvation is closed shut.

            Jesus explained this latter point in a parable.  “22 He [Jesus] went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, 24 ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out’” (Luke 13:22-28).  Paul was emphasizing to the Thessalonian church that once the door has been shut, and it closes upon one’s death or the return of Christ, then there is no salvation for the nonbeliever.  If there is no salvation, then there is no hope.  That is really a frightening thought.

But Paul said to the church, for those who are “in Christ,” upon their death, they die “in hope” of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  We read the equating of Jesus as hope in several places in the New Testament.

• 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope (1 Timothy 1:1).
• 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
• 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
• 13 Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Jesus is Hope.  Why?  Because Jesus defeated death.  Again, He did not cheat death as though He had had a close call with death.  Jesus defeated death.  And what is more than that, Jesus, having defeated death, did not do so just for himself but defeated death for all who would believe in Him.  We know that to be true because following the burial of his dear friend Lazarus, Jesus said to Lazarus’ sisters, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).  To prove the power of these words, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and then later Jesus was raised from the dead.  Therefore, Paul confidently said to the Thessalonians that those who die in Christ die in hope.

            So profound is this hope, Paul said, that when Jesus returns, the dead will be the first to experience a bodily resurrection and gathering with Jesus even before the living are united with Christ.  Paul said, “15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

Why should it be that way?  Why should the dead experience bodily resurrection and gathering with the Lord even before those who are alive?  I believe it is that way because those who have died, those who are absent from their bodies, are already present with the Lord.  Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).  To the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:21-22).  Those who die before Christ’s return are now in spirit with Jesus.  When Jesus returns to earth, Paul said, “14 God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14b).  Paul concluded, “18 Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

What then can we take away from these words of Scripture? Let's consider two things: grief and hope.  First, let’s consider grief.

There are many ways to think about grief, but I have found the simplest and easiest to understand is that grief is composed of two experiences: pain and suffering.  When someone we love dies, there is an immediate sense of pain in their death.  The person we loved is no longer with us, and their absence hurts.  Their absence also causes us to suffer.  We have lost part of our everyday existence.  We lost a companion, the love of our life, perhaps a future, perhaps a cook, a handyman, a financial expert, and the list of who that person was to us goes on.  We suffer because our lives have gotten harder. Now with time and support from others, our suffering tends to diminish.  We will establish new routines of life, and we will, as they say, “move forward,” or “move on.”  This is true for all people, whether they are believers or nonbelievers.  While our suffering may ebb, we are still left with the pain.  Others cannot touch our pain because they cannot replace the person who died.  Here is where hope comes in, but only for the believer.  The pain of our loss cannot be relieved by others, but it can be shared.  With whom can it be shared?  It can be shared with Jesus.  Why?  Because our loved ones are with Him.  When we share our pain with Christ, He shares hope in return.

Hope comes first as an understanding that our loved ones who lived in Christ have faced death, a death defeated by Christ, and now live in Christ an imperishable life.  We must consider that thought for a moment.  Our loved ones, as Paul said, are absent from the body, but are present with the Lord.  Our pain eases because we now are assured that our loved ones are not “lost”; we know where they are.  They are with the Lord.

Hope comes second as an understanding that we will again be with our loved ones either when we become absent from our bodies and join the Lord, or upon the return of the Lord.  We have hope in the promise of reunion.  As believers, our pain at the death of a loved one is shared with Christ, who shares hope to sustain us.  So Paul said that, as believers, we can and should grieve our pain and suffering. Other believers should help relieve our suffering, and we should share our pain with Christ, knowing that Christ has received our loved ones, and someday Jesus will receive us and reunite us with them.  For whenever we find ourselves in the presence of Christ, then all pain will be gone, and we will rejoice.  The Apostle John confirms Paul’s words through a vision in heaven where John was commanded to write, “4 He [God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

For the nonbeliever, there is only pain now followed by emptiness, nothingness, and darkness forever and ever.  Believers still feel the real pain of separation, but it is reshaped by confident expectation of reunion and resurrection. 

            The second thing we gather from Paul’s words is the joy of Advent.  By Advent I do not mean our annual Christmas celebration.  By Advent, I mean the joy of Jesus’ second coming. We will talk a bit more about that next week, but for now, we should live in hope of that day.  Every day since Jesus’ resurrection, his return has grown closer to reality.  Jesus return, Paul said, will be unmistakable.  “16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).  Now here is the thing.  When Jesus returns, hope as we understand it will end.  We will no longer be living in a time of anticipating Jesus' return, hoping in all that means.  When he returns, hope is ended because all righteousness and all justice are restored, and the greatest promise of all, Christ’s return, is fulfilled.

            Paul did not want the believers in Thessalonica to grieve without hope as nonbelievers do.  And so Paul used this letter as the vehicle to give them an understanding of the hope, the joy, that can still be held by believers even when a loved one has died.  And this hope and joy are given to the believer as a forever gift because Jesus has defeated death for the believer.  We now are recipients of these same gifts from a God who loves us now and forever.  Let us move forward in hope.  Amen and Amen.

            This coming January, I will be teaching a course on Christian Ethics.  Some of you have taken the course.  I invite others who have not to consider taking it.

            Ethics deals with what is morally right and wrong to do.  Christian Ethics deals with the way Christians ought to act.  For Christians, of course, the moral compass of what is right and wrong comes from the ethos, the character, of Jesus Christ.  It all seems so simple.  But many Christians struggle with making morally correct decisions because Christ is only part of their life, not the center of their life. Much of their life before they accepted Christ remains intact, including the morals associated with the old life. Often, their lives as Christians are not guided by Christ as much as they are guided by the way their parents or close friends live their lives.

            The Apostle Paul saw that ethics was going to be an important matter for the early church. This was a particular concern for Gentiles who had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Why more so for the Gentiles than the Jews?  It is for this reason.  The Jewish people who became Christians had a historical understanding of proper ethics through the knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, what we would call the Old Testament.  God set the foundation of Jewish ethics.  Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke to set Israel apart from all other nations and to act differently.  The transition to Christian Ethics for the Jewish people would not be overly dramatic. However, for the Gentiles, those who grew up under Greek and Roman influences, ethics were not established as an extension of religious beliefs as was for the Jewish people.  Gentile ethics came from philosophies of man. Philosophies are changeable and influenced by popular beliefs or cultural trends; for example, at the time of Paul, Gentile ethics built upon philosophies that gave fathers absolute life-and-death authority over their wives, their children at any age, and enslaved people. Fathers could take their own babies who were sickly or whom the family could not afford, especially girls, leave them outside exposed to the elements to die, or to be taken by slave traders. Philosophies of men, not the teachings of God, determined the ethics of the non-Jewish people or Gentiles.

            Now, we might think that was then, and this is now.  Humanity has evolved and progressed beyond such crude ethics.  But here is the truth.  Largely, ethics today is still set either by the Word of God or by the philosophies of humanity.  The Word of God has not changed, but the philosophies of humanity are always changing and are influenced by the culture.  But the crudeness of philosophies remains.  Consider just a couple of modern ethical philosophies that are in play.

Utilitarianism.  This view argues that "personhood" (the capacity to feel pain, think, and plan for the future) is what matters, not biological human life. Consequently, an unborn fetus, a newborn baby, or a patient in a permanent vegetative state is considered to have less moral value than a mature, healthy non-human animal. You might say, but does such a thought have any real place in the ethics of any modern society?  Consider our neighbors to the north, Canada.  In Canada, 5% of all deaths are by euthanasia, now administered to terminally ill people but will soon be expanded. Recently, an 85-year-old Canadian priest was brought to the hospital.  He was healthy other than that he had fallen and broken his hip.  He needed a hip replacement.  Twice, hospital staff met with the man, trying to encourage him to let them euthanize him instead.  Why?  Because the staff believed he had outlived his usefulness.  Today, he could say, “No.”  In the future, the ability of others with similar conditions to say “No” is unlikely.

Antinatalism.  Today, this is a fringe philosophy that believes it is immoral and unethical to have a child because the child cannot consent to being born, that all human existence involves suffering, and that humans add to the carbon footprint leading to the extinction of the planet.  Surveys show that as many as 30% of all young Americans express some hesitation about having children for such reasons.

I share the contemporary philosophies not as a means of providing a lecture, but rather to show that cultural ethics present in the first century and those of today were and are built upon changeable philosophies that are in stark contrast to Biblical ethics.  Christian ethics then and now are built upon the unchanging Word of God.  Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, as well as other letters, sought to illuminate Christian ethics and behaviors necessary to live a life worthy of the calling placed on the Christian’s life.  And here in this letter, Paul hints that while he was in Thessalonica, there were some things about walking in faith he did not have the opportunity to share with the Thessalonians, or were not being strictly followed.  Paul wrote, “9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?’ (1 Thessalonians 3:9-10).

It would seem with that sense of lacking in mind, Paul wrote, “1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk [ethics] and to please God. (1 Thessalonians 4:1a)...”3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7).  Here, as we read Scripture, there comes a very important point.  If we did a person-on-the-street interview and stopped 100 people and asked them what this piece of Scripture is all about, I would believe that about 99 of those 100 people would say it is Paul talking about the need to abstain from sexual immorality and avoid lust.  They would do so because they would focus on the imperatives, the commands, the “don’t do this” that Paul laid out.  But reading the text in this manner would be very incomplete and would be most like reading Scripture as a piece of philosophy.  Reading the text this way would leave out the most important part of the message, namely, what has been revealed about God.

Paul began this passage with an indicative.  An indicative statement reveals God and gives the reason for God’s commands, the imperative.  Paul began this passage with a revelation: “3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification (hagiasmos)” (1 Thessalonians 4:3a).

Paul was revealing the mind of God.  He said this is God’s will.  God’s will is the very heart of God, His unchangeable desire.  Paul said it was the heart of God that each person would be sanctified.  Paul used the word hagiasmos to describe sanctification.  Sanctification or holiness is a state of being fully conformed to the image of His Son.  The passage contains the imperatives, the commands, but it begins with and ends with the indicative, the revelation of the will of God.  For in verse 7, Paul finishes with, “7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness (hagiasmos)” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).  So this passage is not so much about do’s and don’ts as it is about God’s desire that each person be moved to holiness.  The commands are a means of correcting a specific shortcoming Paul likely observed rather than the central focus of the message.  This is an important point because too many people might be inclined to say Paul’s words have no application to their lives because they do not see themselves as being sexually immoral.  That was the specific example Paul cited because for the Gentiles in the church who had followed ethics based on philosophy, appropriate sexual behavior was much more expansive than Christian ethics seeking to show forth the holiness of God.  For example, men were expected to marry and have children by their wives, but were also free to have sexual relations at will with prostitutes and enslaved women. To continue this culturally accepted behavior as a Christian would be a problem in fulfilling the indicative statement that it is the will of God, your sanctification.

What then do we take from Paul’s words to the Thessalonians? I think there are two things.  Not surprisingly, those two things are the indicative and the imperative.

The indicative, as Paul said, is that it is the will of God that we would be sanctified or made holy.  What then practically does this mean for us?  I think there are three things.

First, we must choose the way we will live our lives.  Upon what will our ethics, our everyday behaviors, be based?  Will they be based upon the unchangeable Word of God or upon the philosophies of humanity? It sounds simple to say, “Pastor, I choose to follow the Word of God, not some philosophies?”  But the hard part is: to choose God’s Word, we must also be willing to push back against the forces of culture that tell our children and us to do otherwise.  So, yes, if we are to be Christians in the fullest sense of that word, then we must choose to live in accordance with God’s Word.  That is the first step.

Second.  Having chosen to follow God’s Word, we have to live a biblically informed life, meaning we have to read the Word of God to know what leads to holiness.  That has less to do with searching the Bible for things you are not supposed to do.  It has more to do with understanding from the Bible what you are to do.  And fortunately, God understands that we learn more by example than any other way.  Our example of living and leaning to holiness was best exemplified by the way Jesus lived.  To move toward holiness is to imitate Christ.  We must be informed about how Jesus lived.  He lived.  His “Yes” meant “Yes” and His “No” meant “No.”  He came to serve, not to be served.  He prayed privately, and occasionally publicly, but never for personal gain, but always for conforming his life to the will of the Father.  Jesus did not shy away from controversy.  He stood fast for rightness and holiness even when the people, even his own family, would have rather he joined them or remained silent.  Jesus walked in holiness, and if we want to fulfill the will of God, then we too must walk in the way of Christ.

Third.  We need to understand the indicative, the truth of God’s desire for us to be holy. God’s will is not born out of some sense of watching us struggle to achieve a standard only Jesus ever met. God’s will is born out of love for us, and his desire that we would be in fellowship with Him.  God’s will is born out of love for those who do not know him, and his desire that we could let God shine through us to those people. Why?  Because God loves all the people and wishes none would be lost.  So our motivation for seeking to do God’s will should not be born out of obligation but out of a reciprocal love for God.

So our first point deals with understanding the indicative—God’s revelation for our life.  God wants us to follow His Word, not human philosophies.  He wants us to imitate His Son in our pursuit of holiness.  And He wants us to know that He loves us and to seek His will as the clearest expression of our love for Him.

What then is the second point?  It is the imperative, the commands.  There are commands that God has given us as guardrails to keep us from injury, whether that injury is physical, moral, or spiritual.  Paul spoke in today’s passage about improper sexual behaviors needing to be corrected.  Sexual behaviors considered improper by God’s Word still abound in society even though fewer behaviors are labeled as improper by human philosophy. If those improper behaviors are part of your life, Paul said, stop them now so that your life would conform to God’s will. But Paul used only one example. We, living a biblically informed life, need to examine our lives against God's other moral standards.  So, for example, are we guilty of murder? Murder?  Are we, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, guilty of murder because of our anger toward another?  Do we have other gods in our lives, such as our wealth or hobbies?  Do we have jealousies that cause us to want what is not ours or speak ill of someone else who has what we want and obviously does not deserve it?  What is it about our life that follows the ethics of culture?  Whatever these things are, we must rid them from our lives. Think of it this way.  If Paul were alive today, we would be getting a letter. What would Paul so easily cite in that letter that we know we must remove from our lives?

It is God’s will that we would be made holy because He is holy. He has done all the work for us to move toward holiness.  He has given us His Word and His Son, the living word.  He has given us apostles and evangelists to speak to us.  He has given us the Holy Spirit to convict us and move us toward holiness.  Now the choice remains ours.  Move to please God or stand still for the faint and fickle applause of humanity. Let’s choose wisely.  Amen and Amen.

            My 50th high school reunion is coming up in a few days.  Even though I will not be attending, the announcement made me think back to my graduation.  The year was 1976.  The nation was celebrating the bicentennial of its founding.  Every day, CBS Television would air one-minute segments called “A Bicentennial Moment.”  There would be a total of 912 such segments.  Each one provided a story about the American Revolution and the development of our country.  The cumulative goal of these segments was to show the coming together of thirteen separate colonies into a unified nation.  The union of the colonies was exemplified by the unofficial motto of the United States, “E Pluribus Unum,” which translates into English as “Out of many, one.”

            Now, fifty years later, we are marking the 250th anniversary of our country's founding.  But today, we hear more about diversity, not union. We hear more about the divide in our politics rather than a shared vision.  I make these observations not to lead into a conversation about politics or contemporary culture.  But rather to bring greater emphasis to the unchanging nature of the Christian’s relationship with Christ.  Our relationship with Christ, with Jesus, is not about our being diverse people; it is about each one of us being in a union with Christ and, therefore, united with each other.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus described this union with Christ three times, saying:

• 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you [union]. (John 14:18-20)
• 4 Abide in me, and I in you [union]. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine [union], neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him [union], he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)
• 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, [union], that they also may be in us [union], so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one [union], 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one [union], so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23)

In each case, Jesus was talking about a union forming between Him and His disciples so that they are made one, just as God the Father and God the Son, Jesus, are one.  A Christian’s relationship with Christ, then, is a union into one. 

To say that a Christian is in union with Christ is not a soundbite we want to assent to intellectually.  The idea that a Christian is in union with Christ is a hugely important idea to grasp. If, or rather since, we are in union with Christ already, it means we have a place before God.  We are moved from being enemies of God to friends of God. This transformation is not because we followed so many steps in some process for so many years.  This transformation happens because, upon the profession of our faith in Christ, we are made new and enter a union with Christ. If we are in union with Christ, then God’s Word is not given to qualify us to come into God’s presence.  God’s Word is given to guide us in the way people who are already in union with Christ are to live this life while awaiting the life to come.

The Apostle Paul wrote often about the union of the Christian with Christ.  Paul used the phrase "in Christ" (and its variants, such as "in Christ Jesus" or "in Him") as a foundational concept, appearing in his letters over 160 times, to describe a believer's deep spiritual union, new identity, and secure standing under Jesus' authority.  So everything the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to different churches or individuals was meant to strengthen an existing union with Christ Jesus.

Our reading today was from the Apostle Paul to the believers in Thessalonica.  Paul opened his letter this way, “1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace” (1 Thessalonians 1:1).  Paul saw his life and the lives of the Thessalonian believers as being lived in Christ.  Therefore, Paul’s inspired words were written to express the reality of life in Christ rather than about some struggle in life.  This is like the idea we discussed last week about living a Christ-centered or gospel-centered life.  This means that when we talk about our lives or share our lives, it should be less about us and more about Christ.  To better understand the importance of our union with Christ, we might ask ourselves, when we share a story from our life, “Would Jesus tell this story about my experience in the same way that I am telling it?”  That is a difficult idea to consider, but I think it helps us understand the significance of being in Christ.

Let’s look at how Paul described his time with the Thessalonians from the perspective of Paul being in union with Christ.  In Chapter 2 of his letter, Paul wrote, “1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 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. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-6).  I want to start here by noting that Paul mentions the difficulties, struggles, and likely accusations he endured in coming to Thessalonica and while in the city.  As for the difficulties Paul said he suffered, he was shamefully treated and experienced conflict.  It would also appear some claimed Paul was in error, was impure, a deceiver, used flattery on people, came with greedy motives, and sought glory from the people.  Paul was aware some people saw him as a disreputable character who got all the mistreatment he deserved.  Paul was run out of town and thus failed.  Paul might have been concerned that some in the Thessalonian church saw things that way.  We might even see our lives through such a lens at times.  We might be inclined to see our lives only through the lens of struggle, suffering, and misunderstanding.  And we get disheartened and see ourselves as failing or disconnected from Jesus.

But Paul began this passage instructively as one who is in union with Christ.  Paul said, “1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain” (1 Thessalonians 2:1). Paul began by saying his experience in Thessalonica was anything but a failure even though he would later speak of the difficulties.  Why was it not a failure? Because Paul said, “1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 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. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-6). Paul saw his experience in Thessalonica through the eyes of Christ and told his story as Jesus might have told the story.  If Jesus told Paul’s story, it might sound like this, “Paul did not act in vain.  He acted in union with Me.  Because of our union, he was bold in his words, speaking the gospel which had been entrusted to him.  Paul spoke without concern about whether men would applaud him.  Paul did these things as an imitator of me.  He spoke only to please God, and God was his witness.  Yes, Paul experienced hardship and false allegations, but that only made his presentation of the gospel stronger and showed he was in union with me, for I likewise suffered affliction and false allegations for the sake of the gospel.”

When we read and interpret the New Testament from the perspective that the stories are about the joy in being in union with Christ rather than through the struggles and misunderstandings of life, we see and experience hope that never disappoints.  We no longer see lives of desperation and discouragement, but lives of fulfillment and accomplishment for God’s glory.

Having read the opening of this chapter as Paul in union with Christ, we can now better see how Paul further exhibited Christ's character among the Thessalonians.  Paul said, “7 We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us…10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 10-12).

Paul showed his union with Christ by being gentle.  In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said of himself that he was humble and gentle of heart.  Paul imitated Christ because of his union in Christ.

Paul expressed maternal behavior toward the Thessalonians, seeking to give them the best.  In Luke 13:34, Jesus showed maternal behavior when he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”  Paul again imitated Christ because of his union in Christ.

Paul expressed fatherly behavior toward the Thessalonians by exhorting, encouraging, and charging them as though they were his own children.  In John 13, Jesus showed fatherly behavior when he said to his disciples, “33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:33-35).  Paul again imitated Christ because of his union in Christ.

Finally, Paul said that before the Thessalonians he was “holy and righteous and blameless.”  Is there a better description for Christ?  Paul again imitated Christ because of his union in Christ.

Paul’s words express a union with Christ.  What then can we do with Paul’s words to the Thessalonians? It is simply this.  Each person upon their profession of faith, in that moment, ceases to stand apart from Christ and instead, in that moment and for all eternity, is in union with Christ.  If you are a Christian here today, then you are in union with Christ. Since we are in union with Christ, He in us and we in Him, we ought to see our life differently from the past. We should see life differently because our life is profoundly different.  Jesus is not an addition to our life; He is the very center of our life. The joys we have and, yes, even the struggles of life are a mixture of experiences through which Christ will equip us to be better imitators of him.  They are experiences that shape us into being able to be more gentle, motherly, fatherly, blameless, righteous, and holy.  In Christ, we are no longer concerned with the diversity among believers but rather the shared union we enjoy with Jesus.

One of the greatest symbols of being in union with Christ is to see brothers and sisters share in the Lord’s Supper.  Each time we share the Lord’s Supper, divisions should melt, and unity strengthened.  When Jesus said to his disciples, “This is my body,” and “This is my blood,” he was speaking to people with whom he was already in union.  It is now our time through the celebration of the Lord’s Supper to pause, to reflect, and to acknowledge to ourselves and to one another that we are in Christ and He is in us.  Come, let us share our union with Jesus.  Amen and Amen.

            I would like you to think for a moment about the last three weeks of your life.  For the most part, I am asking you to think about what you did in July.  For Becky and me, this is an easy exercise as most of that time was spent on vacation in Maine.  For most of us, the last three weeks were largely unremarkable.  We lived our lives.  We shopped for groceries.  We prepared meals.  Cleaned the house.  Had an ice cream cone or two.  Wrote and read some emails.  Attended church.

            I want to contrast our last three weeks with a different time.  In this different time, a man and a few of his friends arrived to visit a city they had never previously visited.  The city had about 100,000 residents.  While there, they found work as day laborers.  They found a kind man who let them stay in his home.  Three times they attended church, and each time they spoke from the pulpit.  By the end of the three weeks, the presence of these men led to a riot among the city’s citizens.  Vigilantes hunted for the men but could not find them.  So the rioting mob descended upon the kind man who offered to let them use his home.  The kind man was imprisoned.  The men the vigilantes sought were secretly escorted out of the city into safety.

The upheaval in this otherwise quiet city unfolded in just three weeks because these men came to the city, worked as day laborers, and preached from the pulpit.  What was it about these visitors that would cause a city to riot?  It was this.  These men had the nerve to come into the city and tell them about a man the residents had never met.  That man’s name was Jesus.  These men told Jesus’ story and then declared that Jesus had suffered, died, and risen from the dead.  That this Jesus was the Christ, God’s chosen messenger, God’s Son.  And if people believed in this Jesus as the Christ, then God would forgive their sins, and they would escape the wrath of God’s judgment. These men preached that good news of Jesus.  Some who heard these men speak were persuaded that Jesus was the Christ and joined the men. Others became jealous of the men and incited a mob to riot.  Who were these men who, in three weeks, caused a city to riot because they spoke about Jesus?  The two most notable men were Paul and Silas.  The city that they visited was Thessalonica.

From my perspective, in July I managed to rest, enjoy the beach, and have some lobster in three weeks.  In that same period, Paul and Silas established a church, sparked a riot, and had to make a secret escape from the city because they had the nerve to say Jesus was the Christ who suffered and died for the sins of the world.  What a difference between my activities and those of Paul and Silas during three weeks.  Paul and Silas’ story in Thessalonica is found in the Book of Acts, Chapter 17.  That story serves as a backdrop for understanding our text today from the book we call 1 Thessalonians.  This letter from Paul to the Thessalonians is believed to be the earliest piece of the New Testament.

Paul began his letter this way: “1Paul, Silvanus [Silas], and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.  2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-3).

Paul, who was in Corinth sharing Jesus’ story there, was thankful to God for the church, the believers, in Thessalonica.  Paul prayed for these people every day, praising God for three things about them: their work of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope in Jesus, the Christ and their Lord.  Let’s consider what Paul’s words here mean.

First, the Thessalonian church members had placed their faith in the gospel.  The people had reoriented their daily life to make the gospel of Jesus the centerpiece. What does that mean?  It meant that Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and offer of forgiveness and new life became the defining reality that shaped their identity, priorities, decisions, and daily rhythms more than anything else.  Paul mentioned in verse 9 that many in the church had turned from idols to God. There was nothing in the lives of these church members that was not measured or governed by the gospel of Jesus, and so Paul thanked God for the overwhelming transformation of these people.

Second, Paul thanked God for the labor of love by the church members in Thessalonica.  What did Paul mean here?  Paul mentioned that these church members became imitators of Paul and Silas and of Jesus himself.  These church members put their faith to work.  They did not keep their faith hidden or keep it as an intellectual activity. They did not use the truth that Jesus would one day return to avoid physical work.  They did not take the attitude, “Why bother working, Jesus is coming soon.”  They lived out the gospel as Paul and Silas had shown them.  They worked.  They shared what they had with other members of the church who were in want.  They embraced those who came into the church as brothers and sisters.  They cared for one another, sharing in each other’s burdens.  Their lives became a visible example of working in love for others. Paul saw this and, in his prayers, gave thanks to God for allowing him to be part of this wonderful expression of the gospel.

Finally, Paul said he thanked God for the steadfastness of hope in Jesus displayed by the church members.  What did Paul mean here?  To be steadfast meant to be unwavering in your beliefs in the face of great trials and suffering.  The church members were being afflicted and suffering because they believed in the gospel of Jesus.  The kind man, Jason, who offered his home to Paul and Silas, had been arrested and jailed for his hospitality.  Others were being persecuted for separating themselves from idol worship and worshipping the one true God.  Life as a Christian got harder, not easier, for these church members.  But Paul noted that these people remained steadfast, able to withstand such abuse because they had possessed one thing above all others. They possessed hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  These church members had hope that all things would be made right in the coming of Jesus. This hope was brought to them because they had joy in their life believing that the Holy Spirit of God lived within them and would see them through to eternity with God.  So remarkable was this church that Paul said, “7You became the example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8).  Paul was exceedingly thankful to God that the message of the gospel of Jesus had taken such deep roots in the church of Thessalonica.  So deep that others, just hearing about the reputation of this church, were convicted and convinced that God was at work through these people.

The opening words of Paul’s letter provide a breathtaking insight into the early Christians of Thessalonica.  It is a remarkable account of the impact God can make through his people in just three weeks.  The message and lived example of Christians changed idol worshippers into exemplary disciples.  And so, what then can we draw from these words?

First, we come to see that Paul saw the Christian life and the church identifiable by three words: faith, love, and hope.  In this, his earliest letter, Paul said he thanked God for the Thessalonians for three things:

• Works of faith,
• Labor of love,
• Steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This literary triad of faith, love, and hope would recur in various forms throughout Paul's letters to churches and individuals in the New Testament. Paul would say:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:8 — References the “breastplate of faith and love” and “helmet of the hope of salvation.”
• 1 Corinthians 13:13 — The most famous: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
• Colossians 1:3-5a - 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 
• Galatians 5:5-6 - 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

This literary triad used to describe the exemplary disciples and church also appears in Romans 5:1-5, Ephesians 1:15-18 and 4:2-5, Hebrews 6:10-12 and 10:22-24, and 2 Timothy 1:12-13.  When God’s Word speaks to a principle multiple times, we ought to recognize that what is being said must be exceedingly important—faith, love, and hope.

So from an individual perspective, we can use God’s Word to measure our personal life.  What might we say about our own faith?  Do we have a faith that places the gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of our life?  Do we see that God created us for relationship with Him, but sin separates us?  Do we see that Jesus, fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross bearing the penalty for sin for us, and rose from the dead, defeating death?  Do we see that through repentance and faith in Him, anyone can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and given eternal life and the Holy Spirit?  Does the gospel guide our priorities, or are we guided by something or someone else?  We should see that our faith, our perseverance in the gospel, the good news of Jesus, should set all other activities and relationships in our life because doing so would show not just our obedience to Christ but also our gratitude to Him.

Secondly, we should ask ourselves, “Do I love like Jesus?”  Do I labor in life from a posture of love to better the life, ease the burden, share the grief of a brother or sister in Christ? Is my focus on showing the beauty of a loving Christian community, or am I more interested in being served, or in being affirmed and thanked by those of the world for my acts of kindness?  Do I labor in love?  The test that Paul gives is to be an imitator.  Do I imitate Jesus in such a way that people can draw no other conclusion than I am in union with Christ?  That through my efforts, Christ, who cannot be seen, is seen in how I love Jesus’ brothers and sisters.  Am I doing the work of forgiving?  Am I doing the work of reconciling?  Am I doing the work of being a servant to other disciples of Jesus?  We must make apparent and unmistakable to all that we truly love those of the church.

Third, we must ask ourselves, do I live a hope-filled life? Do I believe and act on the belief that Jesus will return and make all things right?  Do I act as though Jesus’ return will be tomorrow and I would be excited for it, or that it could happen long after my body ceases to function, but either way I am supremely joyful?  Why am I joyful?  Because Jesus has given me hope while I await his return.

I have met a lot of people who live and act hopelessly.  They do not see life as a precious gift because living always entails trials.  Those trials may be not having as much money as someone else, or having poor health, or experiencing the loss of a loved one.  They are overwhelmed by a grief that things are not as they want them to be now.  Does that mean we, as Christians, should never feel depressed, sad, or the heartache of grief?  Of course, not.  We are human and will experience all these circumstances.  But Paul said what distinguishes the Christian from the worldly people is this: “that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13b).  God wants each of us to have a hope-filled life.

So, we can use Paul’s words today to do some self-examination and see how we are personally doing with faith, love, and hope.  But what might Paul’s words offer us collectively as a church?  I think it is this.  By what measure do we want to be known?  What do I mean by that?  Some churches stress that they are nondenominational, evangelical, liturgical, seeker-sensitive, welcoming and affirming, missional, or traditional.  Jesus or his apostles would have recognized none of these labels.  They are a later invention.  Paul had no single word to describe the church he was most thankful for to God. Instead, he described the desired church in three ways:

• You receive the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit, even when afflicted (v. 6)
• You are an example to all believers (v. 7)
• Your faith in God has gone forth from you so that we need not say anything (v. 8).

I think these descriptors are the ones we, as a church, should ascribe to live out and be known for.  These descriptors are not connected to the size of the congregation, the type of music or lighting in the sanctuary, or any other modern measure. None of those things matter.  What matters is whether we receive the word of God with joy, serve as an example for all believers, and whether our faith in God goes forth so that it is evident, perhaps without words, that we love God and one another.  That is the church we should strive to be.  For in that church, there will be found people of faith, love, and hope. Let’s walk together as that kind of church.  Amen and Amen.

            Every year, we experience a progression of changes.  We call them seasons.  We have spring, summer, fall, and winter.  Each season has its purpose and sets the conditions for the next.  There is a predictable order to the seasons.

            Similarly, the Church of Jesus Christ is subject to forces that set in motion predictable, progressive changes.  These forces have existed since the Church's earliest days and have grown stronger and more malignant over time, taking full advantage of technological advances.  How might we view those progressive steps as they affect the Church?  Today, we will call those progressive changes: receiving, rejecting, ridiculing, and replacing.

            The first force present with the message of the Church is to receive the good news of Jesus Christ. This is a good thing, and it was the work begun by the first apostles, starting in Jerusalem and then spreading from there across the known world.  Some people received the good news, accepted it, and were saved. Churches, typically operating out of homes, were established in most major cities and began to expand from there. Some people, though, received the good news, the first step, and then progressed to the second step, and outright rejected the message of salvation through Christ.  They preferred instead to continue to worship their own gods and emperors, usually with a mixture of incense and animal sacrifice.  That was the expected pattern.  Either you received the good news and were saved, or you received it and rejected it.

            But not long after the early church began, a second pattern developed among those who had received and accepted the good news.  It is a pattern within the church itself that has continued since the days of the apostles. What was the pattern within the church? The pattern was that some people who received and accepted good news later rejected it.  But they did not leave the church.  They stayed. Over time, the pattern progressed from ridiculing the church from within to finally seeking to replace it.  The four forces, the four seasons, if you will, within the church are receiving, rejecting, ridiculing, and replacing.  Today, there are entire denominations that are unrecognizable compared to their past.  They have progressed from receiving the good news to rejecting it, ridiculing it, and are now actively seeking to replace the Church.  They call themselves Progressive Christians, and yet, they are neither.  They are in their final season of life, seeking to replace Christianity itself.  Many other churches put on shows every Sunday that rival those on Broadway, while other churches throw everything they have into a message of ultra-conservative politics.  They call themselves Evangelical Christians, and yet, they are neither.  They, too, are in the final season of their life, seeking to replace Christianity itself.

            The desire to replace what has been received is not new.  Our reading today from the letter of Jude addressed earnest Christians in the early church, warning them of these dangers from within.  The letter began this way, “1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.  3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1-4).  Before we consider what Jude said, let’s consider who Jude is.

            Jude said he was a “servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James” (Jude 1a).  James here is taken to mean James, the leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem and Jesus’ brother.  Jude, once called Judas, was a brother of James and a brother of Jesus, but preferred to think of himself as a servant of Jesus, even calling Jesus his Master.  Jesus had four brothers: “James and Joseph and Simon and Judas” (Matthew 13:55). James was the oldest of the brothers, and Jude the youngest.

This Jude, Jesus’ youngest brother, half-brother to be most correct, says to his readers that they are beloved by God the Father and they are kept for Jesus Christ.  Jude, like all the apostles, began by drawing his readers' attention upward toward God. Jude said, “You are beloved in God and kept for Jesus.”  Jude was saying your existence is known to God, and He loves you.  The idea of being beloved by God was important to Jude, as he emphasized this point in verses 1, 2, 3, 17, and 20.  Jude said God loves you and sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to do the work necessary for your salvation, and that same Jesus now works on your behalf in heaven to keep your salvation for you.  Jude said God the Father and God the Son have given you mercy, peace, and love, and that Jude hoped those blessings would be multiplied. This is the starting point of Jude’s letter.  In contemporary language, the opening would sound like, “Dear Readers, before you read what I have to offer, take a moment, remind yourself that God loves you, Jesus died for you, and continues to protect you.  From God, you have received the gifts of mercy, peace, and love. This is who you are in God.” Powerful words.  Beloved.  God the Father. Jesus Christ.  Mercy. Peace. Love.  These are words with which we would do well to start each day.

            In a posture of focus on God, Jude said he wanted to write a letter about salvation, but urgent circumstances required him to address a different topic.  What was urgent? Jude said certain people have crept into the church unnoticed.  They seek to pervert the grace of God for sensual pleasures.  Not only that, but from within the church, they deny Jesus as Lord over their life.  Jude outlined four things here.

            First, some people came into the church, by all appearances, as true believers and accepted Jesus as their Savior.  But it has now become clear that they crept into the church like thieves, intent on stealing from the church.  They do not seek to steal earthly wealth.  They seek to steal God’s blessings from his people.  Jude’s words remind me of Jesus’ words from the Gospel of John describing the behavior of a thief seeking entry to the sheep’s pen. Jesus said, “9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:9-10a).  Jude was saying that thieves had come into the sheep’s pen, the church, to destroy it.

            Second, they begin destroying the church by rejecting its central doctrine.  They claimed salvation through Jesus but now deny Jesus as Lord.  In the original Greek text, Jude points out that the true believer willingly sees God the Father and Jesus, the Christ, as the master, whereas those who crept in deny this. Placing the denial at the end of that thought was done to emphasize how destructive their thinking had become.

            Third, those who crept into the church make a mockery of it; they ridicule God’s grace and the freedom to worship God in purity.  The rituals and sacrifices of the past had been done away with when they came into the church.  There was now freedom to worship God in the spirit because of Christ's work.  But these people wanted to use this freedom to bring immoral behavior into the life of the church.  What those behaviors were, we are not told.  But they must have been a very pronounced part of the beliefs of these people because Jude alluded to immoral living that they were promoting in verses 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 18, 19, and 23.  These certain people were ridiculing God by claiming the freedom they had in Christ now meant they did not need to restrain themselves from anything God had previously prohibited.  They were operating on the concept that if it feels good, it is good.

            Fourth, the ultimate objective of these thieves was to replace the good news of Jesus Christ. They were building a new theology of their own, taking parts of Jesus’ teaching, and perverting or just outright denying the balance.  This was an attempt to replace Christianity.

            Jude saw this progression unfolding within the church and sought this occasion to alert the faithful to the dangers these people posed and to their eventual destiny.  Let’s consider the dangers these people present.

            Jude said people who claim salvation through Christ but then deny Jesus’ Lordship over them, meaning they will not genuinely follow Jesus, are compared to things of nature. Jude said such people are hidden reefs (v. 12), a navigation hazard.  They are waterless clouds (v. 12), offering nothing to those who are thirsty for righteousness.  They are fruitless trees (v. 12), having nothing for the spiritually hungry.  They are wild waves (v. 12), just casting up foam and nothing else.  And finally, they are wandering stars (v. 12) from whom there will only be bitter darkness. Properly understood, people who claim the salvation of Christ, thus declaring themselves Christians, and who refuse to submit themselves to Jesus, to His authority over them, offer nothing useful to the church or its members.  Such people offer chaos, decay, thirst, and hunger for the soul.  Jude said these people rely on their dreams (v. 8) and, all day long, blaspheme the very things of God they do not understand (v. 8, 10).  They destroy like unthinking animals (v. 10).

            People within the church who claim Christ, but who do not conform to Christ, represent a significant danger to the faithful, to the very fabric of the church.  The faithful, Jude said, must “contend for the faith” (v. 3). The Greek word for contend is epagōnizomai, from which we get the English word “agonize.”  The sense here is that Jude said the faithful must fight and struggle, literally agonize, with an intense effort to remain faithful and not allow the seductive voices of these certain people to draw them into their dangerous web of lies.

            What makes the lies of these people so dangerous?  That is the second point Jude wanted to make.  It dealt with the destiny of these certain people.  Jude said, “5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 5-7).  The destiny, Jude said, of these people who crept into the church to reject it, ridicule it, and replace it is destruction and hell.  As much as the faithful’s destiny is assured and kept safe by Jesus, the destiny of these thieves is assured.  They are going to hell because they have grieved the Holy Spirit by being blasphemers.  This is the danger these people pose to the faithful.  These people want the faithful to follow them.  Jude said the way of these people is Cain’s way, it is Balaam’s error, and Korah’s rebellion (v. 11). Cain was a murderer and was exiled from God.  Balaam’s error was trying to lead the Israelites away from God, resulting in eternal judgment upon Balaam.  Korah’s rebellion was the rejection of the authority of Moses and Aaron, leading to his destruction, that of his household, and the destruction of his followers.  Jude said, “Woe to them!” (v. 10).  The judgment for these certain people was fixed.  It was destruction.  The faithful did not need to rebuke or punish these people.  God would see to that.

            What did Jude want Christians to do then and now?  I think there are two important things.

            First, we must lift our eyes upward and fully embrace that God loves us and that our salvation is not only given to us by Jesus but also kept secure for the faithful.  We are the recipients of mercy, peace, and love. This was the starting point of Jude’s letter, and that was not accidental.  This uplifting perspective of being loved, having received mercy, and given peace by God, and that our salvation is being kept for us, should be the starting point for our day.  Focusing our minds on the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit reminds us that God was, is, and will be forever faithful and unchanged.  Anchoring our freedom in God's unchanging nature helps ensure that we are not mistakenly looking for a progressive God, one who is evolving and changing His ways.  God is the same from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21.

            Christian theologian Augustine thought a lot about the unchanging nature of God and the assurance and comfort that brought him.  Augustine wrote, “What, then, are You, O my God — what, I ask, but the Lord God? For who is Lord but the Lord? Or who is God save our God? Most high, most excellent, most potent, most omnipotent; most piteous and most just; most hidden and most near; most beauteous and most strong, stable, yet contained of none; unchangeable, yet changing all things; never new, never old; making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud and they know it not; always working, yet ever at rest; gathering, yet needing nothing; sustaining, pervading, and protecting; creating, nourishing, and developing; seeking, and yet possessing all things. You love, and burn not; You are jealous, yet free from care; You repent, and have no sorrow; You are angry, yet serene; You change Your ways, leaving unchanged Your plans; You recover what You find, having yet never lost; You are never in want, while You rejoice in gain; You pay debts while owing nothing; and when You forgive debts, lose nothing.” God is not moved to change, and we should not be looking for progressive theologies.  God will not be found there.

            Secondly, we must, as Jude said, “contend for the faith.”  We must be willing to stand for the faith in its simplest terms.   We must be able to make clear to others that we believe Jesus is our Savior and our Lord. We must be able to state positively that we have received divine blessings of mercy, peace, and love, and that we know our destiny is kept for us in Christ.  We must be joyful in worship, participation in the Lord’s Supper, in baptism, and in seeking to further understand our faith.  We should never shrink from our faith but strive to live it as simply as the way Jesus called us to do when he said, “Follow me.” Christianity is not an evolving belief system.  It is the receipt of the good news of salvation from God the Father, through His Son Jesus, who are the same before, now, and forever.  Amen and Amen.