The Manifestations of a Good Church: Part 4 - 1 Thess Lesson 8

CTW – Titus 2

The Exemplary Christian Life

1 Thessalonians 1:7

 Let’s continue this morning in our study of 1 Thessalonians. I was tempted to break from this study to do something of a pre-election message. The temptation didn’t last very long, nor was it very strong. I simply looked at the passage and decided that this was exactly what we needed to hear today as we prepare to go vote. I think it is important to vote. But voting isn’t the most important thing we do. We have a little power with our vote, but we have a lot of power if we live our lives the way God calls us to live. We can change very little with a ballot cast. We can be used of God to change a life, if we live as He intends for us to live. 

 I want to challenge us today concerning our commitment to live the exemplary Christian life. Our text is 1 Thessalonians 1:7. Please stand together with me as I read the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians.

 If you have been with us through this study so far, you know that I am impressed with this church. Paul was impressed by this church. He saw in this church the marks of a good church. A good church is marked by several things as we found in verses 2-4. There was a great relationship between the leadership and the laity. There were the marks of the work of faith, the labor of love, and the steadfastness of hope. There was the mark of them living in the reality of the presence of God.

 Paul knew the work of God that went into the making of this church. Paul knew intuitively that these were brethren beloved by God, who had been chosen of God. He knew this because when he preached the gospel to them it came not in work only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. He knew that these believers had been impacted by the kind of men Paul and his companions had proved themselves to be among the Thessalonians. We saw in verses 4-5 all that goes into the making of a good church.

 When God makes a good church there are manifestations of what God has done. It shows up as those who are part of that church become imitators of their leaders and of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also shows up in the way the word of God is received by those in the church. We kind of got stuck in verse 6 for a few weeks as we looked deeply into what it means to be an imitator of Christ, and what it means to receive the word of God.

 We will gain a little traction today because we will get through verse 7 in just one message. But I must tell you it is a challenging message. Verse 7 says, “so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” “So that” connects the truth of verse 7 with what comes before it. Because they had experienced the work of God that made them a good church, as we saw in verses 4-5, and because they were manifesting the evidence of this work by the way they were imitating Christ, and receiving the word, they had become an example to all the believers in the entire region. They would have been examples to two churches that were fairly close geographically, those are churches at Philippi and Berea. They were examples to other churches. They are examples to us.

 This should make perfect sense to us. Anyone who is truly following the example of Christ, imitating Jesus Christ, and receiving the word of God which will do its transformative work in our hearts and minds, that person will be an example others can follow. That word “example” is “tupos” (too-pas) in the Greek. It describes a pattern, a prototype, or a model. Here, it describes someone whose example is to be followed and who can be imitated. The Thessalonians were not just examples of Christians. The Thessalonians were examples as Christians. The challenge I will throw at you today is to examine your life and honestly determine whether you are an example of a Christian, or are you an example as a Christian.

 What is the difference? Let me illustrate it this way. By virtue of the fact that I am a married man, I am an example of a husband. The bar is set very low to be an example of a husband. If I am to be an example as a husband, that I can encourage my sons, and my sons-in-law, and grandsons to follow, I must be more than an example of a husband. I must be a husband that others can look at and know that if they do the husband thing the way I do it, they will also be good examples as husbands. Do I want to simply be a husband, or do I want to be a model of excellence as a husband so that I can influence others?

What does it take to be an example of a Christian? You can be an example of a Christian by attending church, speaking Christianese, avoiding certain things, contributing a little money, showing a little concern for others, and just basically trying to be a good person. The problem with too many who call themselves Christians is that they are content to be an example of a Christian. They are not concerned with knowing too much because that might mean they would have to do more. They want to be enough different to be known as a Christian, but not radically different from everyone else. They want just enough to validate their claim to be a Christian and to feel confident that their claim is legitimate. They want to be enough of an example of a Christian so that others are convinced they are Christians. Really, all they want to be is an example of a Christian.

 What does it take to be an example as a Christian? This is what the Thessalonians were. Theirs was not some watered down version of the Christian life. Theirs was not some social gathering with like minded people where fun was had by all. This was a church where the people had obviously been radically transformed and had become imitators of Christ and were receiving the word of God that was producing fruit in their lives and they had become examples as Christians. In other words, their lives had become the kind of life that others could follow. That is the point I want to stress today. We are to be living this Christian life in such a way that others can follow our example and be living it the way it is supposed to be lived.

 This verse sets us up for some really challenging questions. Are you content to be the kind of Christian who is an example of a Christian? Or, are you striving to be the kind of Christian who is an example as a Christian? Are you striving to live the exemplary Christian life? Do you really want that much of Christ? Do you really want that much of God’s word? Are you so determined to live for God’s glory that, when others look at you they can say, “I want to be like that?” “I want God to make me like He has made that person.” If others are following your example, are they going to be becoming more and more like Jesus?

 Paul understood the importance of living his life as an example. Turn over to 2 Thessalonians 3. Read verses 6-9. Living as an example of a Christian doesn’t mean you tell everyone else how to live as a Christian but take your responsibility lightly. Paul was able to say, “follow my example.” Paul also implored others to lead by example. Look at 1 Tim. 4:12. “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” This is an example “of those who believe.” Paul insinuates strongly that all who believe should be living as this kind of example.

We read Titus 2 in our Call to Worship. Titus 2:7-8 says, “In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” In 1 Peter 5 Peter writes instructions to elders telling them how to shepherd the flock of God, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for sordid gain, but with eagerness. Then in verse 3 he says, “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

So the New Testament has considerable emphasis on the importance of living as examples others can follow. If you are a discerning student of the word, and you were inclined to be a little cynical, you could say, “Brad, the verses you just referenced were instructions to elders. You elders are the ones who are to be the examples for others to follow.” You would be right. Those were instructions written to pastors. And if we have a church where the pastor and the elders are the only ones who are examples of how a Christian ought to live, then we have something other than a good church. We have a worldly, carnal, ineffective church.

This passage in 1 Thessalonians is not a pastoral epistle. This passage in 1 Thess. 1:7 acknowledges something factual about all those who were part of the congregation of the church of the Thessalonians. They were all examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. They are examples to us. That is why I am digging into this passage. This passage illustrates for us the power of everyone in the church living as an example others can follow.

How important is a good example? The business world understands the importance of following good examples. Toyota Motor Company took over the automotive industry a few decades back. They transformed the Toyota brand from junk to the jewel of the industry with their quality management system. Now, not just every automaker, but all successful manufacturing processes follow the Toyota production system to some degree or another.

Being a good example gives credibility to our claims as followers of Christ. And credibility increases our influence. We are not trying to influence how a car is built. We are trying to influence others to follow us into the kingdom of heaven. If we lack influence it is because we lack credibility. If we lack credibility it is because we are not a good example of what the Christian life should look like.

Look back at verse 5 for a moment. Paul said, “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” It was Paul’s example as a man of God that helped the Thessalonians see the power that is inherent in the gospel. He proved what kind of man he was by the example he set. The Thessalonians saw the evidence. They were convicted by the Holy Spirit and convinced by the life they saw lived by Paul and his faithful companions. As a result, they became imitators of Paul and of Christ and they received the word and they themselves became examples for others to follow.

Here is another tough question. If we are not good examples, what are we? You are probably inclined to answer “a bad example.” You might argue that even though you might not be the best example, you wouldn’t see yourself as a bad example. Is it possible to be a neutral example? Maybe. Perhaps you can lack the devotion and faithfulness to be an example of what a Christian is to be and not be a bad example. But is that what you want to be? Is that what God wants you to be? Norman can tell you how easy it is to fall off a horse. Wanda can too. Falling off of the fence as a neutral example is even easier than falling off a horse. And you will not fall off the fence in the direction of being a good example. It will always be in the disastrous direction of being a bad example.

I have to tell you that if you are not a good example, you are at risk of being a bad example. If you are a bad example you are a stumbling block. If you are a stumbling block it would be better for you if a heavy millstone was hung around your neck and you were drowned in the sea. Jesus said in Matthew 18, “Woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” That is why He said that if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble you cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. That is serious stuff. 

Are we to be content with just being a good enough example that we don’t cause others to stumble? I don’t think that is what Jesus designed for citizens of His kingdom. Peter tells us that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) The proclamation of the excellencies of Christ is always more effective when it comes from people whose lives are producing convincing evidence.

I just ask you to consider where this verse finds you. If you are a good example as a Christian I praise God for His work in your life. If you are simply an example of a Christian because you are here and doing many of the right things, I want more for you than the mediocrity you settle for in your Christian life. I don’t want you trying to ride the fence as a good enough example. If I may borrow the prayer of Paul for the Ephesians, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” The surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe is the power that transforms us into convincing examples of the power of the gospel to save.

Let me show you where Paul is going with this. Look at 1 Thess. 5:23. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is what Paul wanted for the people in this good church. This is what I want for all of us. We are on the path toward entire sanctification. We will not fully arrive until we are translated into the presence of Christ, but we are growing in that direction. However, we will not grow in that direction without intentional pursuit. If you are not intentionally pursuing Christlikeness in your life, you are simply an example of a Christian but not a good example as a Christian.

Paul tells us here that the Thessalonians were examples to “all the believers” in the region. They were examples to the Jewish converts and the Gentiles. They were examples to the slaves and the free. They were examples to the men, women, and the children. They were examples to the rich and the poor. If you are an example as a Christian who is imitating Christ, you are an example anyone can follow.

What does it take to be an example to all believers? Just be like Christ. Everyone will recognize that. Everyone will be drawn to that. Everyone will benefit from that. If you have ask me, “How do I be like Christ?” I would say that you need to go back to the message of a couple weeks ago and listen again. We explained what it meant to be an imitator of Jesus.

Let me close with another challenge. I would ask you to look honestly and humbly at your own life and ask yourself, being honest with yourself and God, “What kind of an example am I?” Am I the kind of example Paul commended the Thessalonians for being? Am I the kind of example others can follow, and in doing so, will become more like Jesus?

Or am I just an example of what too many people are who call themselves Christians but lack the evidence of a radically transformed life? I want you to be honest with yourself and with the Lord about what kind of example you are.

I’m not through challenging you. Here is the next part of the challenge. Your honest answer to the first question should motivate you to action. If you can honestly say that you are an example as a Christian, meaning you are striving to grow into the image of Jesus, not yet being perfect, but showing evidence of steady progress, then please be an example. You can’t be an example as a Christian unless you are living so that others can see it. If you are living in isolation you are not utilizing the work God has done in you for the benefit of others. There was a reason Paul commended the Thessalonians for being an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. That revelation to Paul did not come from the Thessalonians. It came from the people before whom they were living as examples.

The purpose for which God has made you an example as a Christian is so that He can use your example in the lives of others. Be available. And I will now show you to whom you should make yourself available.

This is for those of you who have to admit that you are not a good example as a Christian. Why are you not a good example as a Christian? What is there that is preventing you from being a good example? Stop hiding it. Seek help in overcoming whatever it is. Look around at those whom you think are good examples and seek their help. God puts good examples in the body for the benefit of others in the body. If you are in the body as one who needs the help of one who is a good example, reach out to them. Seek them out and ask them to help.

Paul gave to Timothy this model for discipleship. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul writes to Timothy saying, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

We are called to be good examples for others to follow. The church needs good examples. What kind of example are we? It is a thrilling calling to be an example that is equipped and ready to make an eternal difference in other people, even if it is just at one at a time.

John Wesley was so convinced of his own relationship to Christ and God’s calling on his life to missions that he boarded a ship from England to travel to Georgia to do missions work. His ship contained a group of Moravian Christians. Wesley was astonished by their conduct. He described these people who were often persecuted as “always employed, always cheerful themselves, and in good humor with one another.” He said, “they adorned the gospel of our Lord in all things.”

The Moravians spiritual lives were made vibrant by receiving the word of God. They were Christians who lived out God’s word in such a way as to not only experience God’s blessings on themselves, but to have an eternal impact on others. Wesley spent a year in the American colony and had regular contact with these Thessalonian-like Christians. On his way home to England he told of the unexpected impact this had on his life. He said, “what I least expected, that I, who went to America to convert others, was never myself converted to God.” Wesley attended a Moravian meeting where the gospel was shared by those whose lives had been so obviously transformed by the gospel. He recalled, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” A Methodist missionary got saved because he heard the gospel from some who were living examples as Christians.

May God make us all examples like those who influenced John Wesley, and like the Thessalonians.

Let’s pray.