Uncompromising Commitment to God's Word: 1 Thess Lesson 14

Uncompromising Commitment to God’s Word

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6

 Please go with me in the Scriptures again this morning to 1 Thessalonians 2. We will take a break from this study next week for a message focusing on the celebration of Christmas. But today I want to continue to focus on what we have been learning from Paul in this important epistle. In chapter 2 we are gaining much insight into the nature of the relationship of Paul to this exceptional church. One of the reasons for the high caliber of the church was the high caliber of the leader. Let’s read verses 1-12 together again and look at this emphasis on the qualities of a loving spiritual leader. Stand with me please.

 What resonates from this passage are the qualities of a spiritual leader. We saw last week that Paul’s ministry was marked by courage. His coming to the Thessalonians was not in vain. It had produced a tremendous harvest for the kingdom of Christ. Paul was courageous enough to bring them the gospel even though he had suffered and been mistreated in Philippi. Because of the evidence of God’s work in the lives of those he reached with the gospel, he had the boldness in God to proclaim the gospel to the Thessalonians amid much opposition.

 The church needs leaders who are men of courage. Families need courageous spiritual leaders. The next quality we find in Paul may be even more critical than courage. A courageous leader can be courageous but wrong. A spiritual leader who does not remain true to the word of God can still be courageous, and this is a dangerous thing. I would submit to you that the next quality is more critical to the spiritual well-being of those whom the leader leads.

 In verses 3-6 we find this critical quality. A loving spiritual leader must have an uncompromising commitment to the truth of God’s word. These verses describe for us Paul’s own devotion and commitment to the delivery of the message of the gospel and the full counsel of the word of God. He gives us the perfect pattern for the ministry of the church. If we were to summarize chapter 1 in one word it would be a description of Paul’s ministry in “reaching” the people of Thessalonica. If we were to summarize chapter 2 in one word it would be a description of Paul’s ministry of “teaching” the people of Thessalonica. We reach people with the message of the gospel and we teach them to observe all that our Lord has commanded. This is why the church exists.

 In order for the church to accomplish its mission and fulfill its purpose on earth, it must have spiritual leaders who maintain an uncompromising commitment to the teaching of God’s word. There isn’t a greater need that God’s people have than for a spiritual leader who will stand before them and deliver to them the powerful, life-transforming, soul-cleansing, heart-rejoicing, eternally enduring word of God.

 Paul knew the day was coming when the people would not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled they would accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. My friends, we have arrived at that day. That day is today. There are more people following false teachers today than at any time in the history of humanity. The instruction to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 has never been needed more than it is needed among God’s people than it is needed today. Paul’s solemn charge to Timothy in the presence of God and Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead was to “preach the word.” He called Timothy to be ready in season and out of season. That is “all the time.” In his teaching Timothy was to “reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Tim. 4:1-5) This was how Timothy was to fulfill his ministry. Paul was calling Timothy to follow his example.

 Paul’s entire life as an Apostle of Jesus Christ was all about reaching the lost with the gospel and teaching the redeemed the truth of God’s word. What is described in 1 Thessalonians is just one example of that. There is nothing more important for the spiritual leader to do than to stand and deliver the word of God to the people of God. There is nothing the people of God need more from a spiritual leader. We all need those who will look us in the eye and call us, as James 1:21 says, to “put aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, and in humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls” and then to call us to prove ourselves doers of the word and not hearers only.

 We all need the imperishable, living and enduring word of God through which we are born again. And we need to be reminded, as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:1-3, to put aside all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it we may grow in respect to salvation. If this is to happen we must have spiritual leaders who love us enough to study, to show themselves approved, as workmen who will not be ashamed, because they have rightly divided the word of truth. The church needs men who firmly believe that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. It is the word of God alone that can adequately equip the man of God for every good work.

 In this passage we find Paul’s description of his own uncompromising commitment to the teaching of the word of God to the people of God. We see his commitment to accuracy in his handling of the word of God. We see his accountability to God for what he teaches. Finally, we will see his approach to the ministry. Another way we can outline this passage is this. First, in verse 3 Paul will describe his message. Then, in verse 4 he will describe for us his motivation. Finally, in verses 5-6 he describes for us his methods.

 Let’s dig into this and examine these important verses. We see first Paul’s commitment to accuracy in his handling of the word of God. He uses three words that describe the improper handling of the word. He says he does not stray into any of those areas when it comes to his exhortation. Let’s start with this word “exhortation.” The spiritual leader who is committed to accurately handling the word of God must start by understanding the purpose of the word of God. The purpose of the word of God isn’t fulfilled unless it is both understood and applied to the life of the follower of Christ. Our goal in teaching the word of God is never just the dispensing of information for the sake of education. Our goal is transformation. It is like Paul told Timothy in 1 Tim. 1:5, “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

 Exhortation involves the sharing of information and the encouragement and urging to not only understand, but to apply the truth to one’s life. To exhort is to urge, advise, caution earnestly and admonish urgently. Exhortation involves instruction, admonition, warning, encouragement, assistance, clarification of understanding, and application of truth. Spiros Zodhaites writes of this word, “All of Scripture is actually an exhortation, admonition, or encouragement for the purpose of strengthening and establishing the believer in the faith.” Paul wrote to the Romans these words in Rom. 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times (Scripture) was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 An uncompromising commitment to the truth of God’s word begins with the teacher’s call to hear the word of God, understand what has been taught, and to take the revealed truth to heart and to begin to live according to the truth. If I only teach God’s word to you for the purpose of education, you are not changed. If I only attempt to entertain you with a little truth and a few stories and illustrations, you are not helped along in your spiritual development. So I exhort you, which involves instruction coupled with encouragement to do something with the truth. I instruct you, attempting to clarify the truth so that it can be understood and applied to your daily walk with the Lord. I admonish you and encourage you for the purpose of strengthening and establishing you in the faith.

 We do well to consider the words of Hebrews 4:12 every time we come to the study of God’s word. “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” That is a description of something that does its work beyond the intellect. It works in the inner being of a person. It starts with teaching but when it is taught its purpose is to transform at the heart level. The next verse is also worthy of our consideration. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” This reminds us that we are accountable to God for what we learn.

 An uncompromising commitment to the truth of God’s word begins with the understanding that nothing can do what the word of God can do in a sinner’s life. Nothing else we teach has the capacity to reach into the innermost recesses of the human heart and soul and convict, convert, and transform a person. God’s word can and does do just that. The teacher who truly believes that will never compromise on his commitment to exhort people to hear, believe, and obey the word of God.

 This is why the faithful spiritual leader will handle the word of God responsibly. Paul’s uncompromising commitment to the truth of God’s word kept him from ever allowing error, or impurity, or deceit to corrupt the purity of God’s word. Peter called it the pure milk of the word. Pure milk is delicious. I know everyone doesn’t like the milk of a cow, but we should all desire the pure milk of God’s word. You can imagine a glass of fresh, cold, pure white milk in a glass. How awful would it be to pick up that glass to take a big drink, only to see a dead fly floating on the surface? I don’t know about you but I’m through with the entire glass after that. This was Paul’s attitude toward anything that contaminated the pure word of God.

 Paul’s exhortation was free from error, impurity, or deceit. Any of these things introduce compromise into the word of God. Any of them cause the word of God to loose its power. The word error is “plane” (plan-ay) in the Greek. The root word denotes a wandering out of the right way. The same word is translated “deluding” in 2 Thess. 2:11 and “deceitful” in Eph. 4:17. Paul is saying that he never allows any delusion, false judgment or even opinion lead him away from the straightforward truth of God’s word. There is no room from even the slightest departure from the truth of the gospel and the word of God. 

 A departure from the truth in the direction to any degree is dangerous. If NASA allowed even a slight departure from the course charted for the moon, the astronauts would have never reached their destination. The faithful spiritual leader needs to be that cautious when handling the word of God to ensure zero departure from the truth.

 The second word here is impurity. The Greek word is “akatharsia.” Our English word catharsis comes from this Greek word. A catharsis is a cleansing. Here the word has the alpha negative attached which negates it. The word refers to uncleanness or filth in a physical or moral sense. Paul used it in Ephesians 4:19 to describe the Gentile unbelievers who are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, ignorant, their hearts are hard, they are calloused, and they give themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

 Paul is simply comparing his approach to ministry to those of the pagans the Thessalonians were accustomed to seeing. Many of the cult worship practices involved an illicit encounter with a temple prostitute. The corrupt spiritual leaders of those cults convinced women that a sexual encounter with them would enhance their relationship to the gods. Paul was accused of being in the ministry so he could take advantage of women in a similar way. He makes it clear that there was never a hint of anything like that involved in his ministry.

 Paul also says there is no deceit. The Greek word is “dolos.” (doe-loss) The verb form means “to bait.” Anyone who fishes understands the deceit and fraudulence behind the art of fishing. We intentionally mislead the fish. We are practicing deception to get them on the end of our line. While I have no problem being deceitful when I am trying to trick a fish, these tactics have no place in the teaching of a spiritual leader.

 A spiritual leader with an uncompromising commitment to the truth of the word of God will be able to say with Paul as he wrote in 2 Cor. 4:2, “we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

 To understand what Paul is saying we need to ask a question of this text. Why would any teacher of God’s word employ error which would lead someone from the truth, impurity that would lead someone into immorality, or deceit that would mislead someone regarding the truth? They do it to satisfy their own selfish sinful desires. They are doing it to manipulate people for selfish and sinful reasons. This is exactly what the Benny Hinns and the Kenneth Copelands and other Charismatic teachers are doing today. They use error and deceit to convince people to send them money. They tell people that if they will send them $1,000 God will send them $10,000 or maybe even $100,000. There is no such promise found anywhere in the word of God. It takes very little interpretive skill to see the error in this teaching. But this is exactly what they do. They are exploiting people for personal gain. It is immoral what they are doing.

 The key word of our first point is accuracy. The loving spiritual leader is one who is uncompromising in his commitment to teach the word of God accurately. He never allows any error, impurity or deceit to influence his handling of the word of God. He takes the whole counsel of the Bible and teaches his followers what the word of God says and how it is to be applied to our walk with Christ. He is never motivated by personal interest or personal gain or any selfish motive. 

 The key word of our second point is accountability. The loving spiritual leader who maintains an uncompromising commitment to the truth of God’s word does so because he understands his accountability before God. Look at verse 4. “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” Paul saw himself as one who had been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. He did not see himself as worthy because of anything within himself. He had been a blasphemer and a persecutor of the church. He knew he was an unworthy spokesman. He knew that he was what he was by the grace of God. But in 1 Cor. 4:1 he describes how he wanted to be regarded. He said, “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” 

 Loving spiritual leaders who remain uncompromisingly committed to the truth of God’s word do so because they are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Paul had been entrusted with the gospel. It was not his message it was God’s gospel. He repeats several times here that it is the gospel of God. He is simply the one whom God approved to be entrusted with the message. It is required of a steward that he be found trustworthy. (1 Cor. 4:2)

 The motivation of the spiritual leader is his accountability before God. It wasn’t Paul’s gospel. It was God’s gospel. It had been entrusted to Paul. God did not entrust His gospel to just anyone. He entrusted it to one who had been approved. Paul says, “we have been approved by God…” That word “approved” describes something that has been put to the test and been proved worthy. Paul was constantly being tested to see if he could be entrusted with the gospel. Everywhere he went he was mistreated and suffered. He never stopped preaching God’s gospel. God knew Paul could be entrusted with the gospel.

 Paul would remain committed to speaking the truth of God, not to please men, but God who examines the heart. The word “examines” is the same word that is translated “approved.” We just saw that it describes something that has been put to the test and proven worthy. God examines the heart. God puts the heart to the test. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart and God judges the spiritual leader according to what He sees in the leader’s heart.

 Every time a spiritual leader stands to deliver the truth of God’s word, he must remember that he is accountable to God for the message he delivers. James knew this. That is why he warned against many becoming teachers. There is accountability to God for everything the spiritual leader says. To teach anything that is not consistent with God’s truth is to lead God’s sheep down a wrong path. Spiritual leaders will give an account to God.

 There must be accuracy in the spiritual leader’s message. There must be accountability before God as His motivation for ministry. There must be a right approach regarding his methods. 

 The spiritual leader’s methods, or the approach he takes in the execution of his duties will reveal everything one needs to know about the man. Paul’s approach never involved any method designed to gain the approval of man. He never resorted to flattering speech. He never could be accused of being greedy. He was not concerned with the glory obtained from man.

 Flattery is nothing more than an attempt to manipulate others. There is nothing wrong with a sincere compliment but flattering words are designed to win favor with someone for selfish reasons. The inevitable desire of one flattering another is to get something from the one being flattered. If you are seeking the approval of men, of course you speak words that flatter those people. If your goal is to be liked by people, say only those things that people like to hear. People always like to hear how great they are. But Paul was committed to telling people the truth, whether they liked it or not. He was not concerned with gaining the approval of men. He was concerned with the salvation of men and the approval of God.

 Here is the truth about the gospel. It is hard to bring a sinner to repentance unless you confront his sinfulness and demonstrate his need for a Savior. Some people today attempt to lead some to Christ by flattering them with the idea that God loves them so much that He would have left heaven and died for them if they were the only person on earth. It is borderline flattery to tell a person that they are that important to God. There is a common and popular gospel presentation that elevates man’s importance far too high. The truth of the gospel is that man is a miserable wretch who is hopelessly and helplessly lost and separated from God whose only alternative is to cry out to God in a desperate plea for mercy.

 Some accused Paul of preaching out of a desire to obtain financial gain. Those who were false teachers and religious charlatans were in the ministry for that very reason. Paul was clear. He never came with a pretext for greed. The word “pretext” means “cloak.” Paul did not use his ministry to conceal a desire for the money he might have obtained.

 Greed has always been a common motive of religious leaders to take advantage of those they lead. All the way back in Jeremiah’s day it was a problem. Jeremiah 6:13-15 voices this accusation, “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. For they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? There were not even ashamed at all; they did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be cast down, says the Lord.”

 In 2 Cor. 2:17 Paul writes, “For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” On the other hand, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2:3 that false teachers will exploit you with false words because they are motivated by greed. He says in verse 14 of that same chapter that these false teachers have hearts trained in greed. In verse 15 he says they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. I think the easiest way to spot a false teacher is his greedy motivations. 

 Another accusation was that Paul’s motive was to obtain glory for himself from men. There was a time when Paul, back then he was known as Saul, did seek glory from men. He was a Pharisee. Seeking the glory of men was standard operating procedure for those guys. They loved to be recognized for their prayers, fasting, and giving. Then Saul met Christ and became the Apostle Paul. Everything changed.

If you know anything about the life and ministry of Paul you know he sought only the glory of Christ. He looked forward to his eternal reward and the glory of eternal blessings. But he never sought for the glory of men.

He did not seek the glory from men even though he held an exalted position in the church as an apostle of Christ. He had the right to demand more. His humble approach to ministry would not allow him to take advantage of those God-given rights. There is so much more I could say about that but I need to stop for now.

I want to close by telling you that my commitment to you is that I will strive to continue to minister the word of God, teaching you the truth, exhorting you to live by the truth, always being cautious to never mix anything with the truth that might contaminate the message with error, impurity, or deceit. I will always remember that this ministry of teaching you God’s truth is something that has been entrusted to me. I am accountable to God for what I do and what I teach. I will never forget that. And I am not ever going to worry about pleasing men. I don’t need to flatter anyone. I am not in this for money. I don’t want glory from you. I want all the glory to go to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been tempted often over the years to modify the approach for the sake of growing the church. I always come back to the same conviction. It isn’t my job to grow the church. That is Christ’s job. It is His church, not mine. If I start trying to do His work, I have taken on something that is way above my pay grade.

I want the ministry of Grace Bible Church to look like the example we are studying in 1 Thessalonians. My concern is that we be right. We will let Jesus take care of how big we become.

Let’s pray.