What Kind of Men

You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For 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. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. I Thessalonians 1:5-10  

“what kind of men” were these apostles who brought the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles at Thessalonica and then instructed them in the doctrines of the faith? The Thessalonians knew. We know Paul pretty well by now, having studied several of his epistles and having read his own testimony, as well as Luke’s account of his sudden conversion on the road to Damascus. He had started out as a fire-breathing Pharisee, bent on destroying the Christians, and in an instant he was a blinded, humbled servant of the living Lord. As he wrote this letter, he was an authoritative apostle to the Church, especially the gentile congregations.

Silvanus, called Silas in other references, was an early member of the congregation of believers in Jerusalem. He, like Paul, was a citizen of Rome, which probably gave him some protection in various situations with the government authorities as their evangelism was challenged along the way. Silas must have been very trustworthy, because Paul would not have had anyone he couldn’t completely trust as a helper and traveling companion. Later on, Silas was mentioned as being a helpful supporter of Peter, as he ministered to the Churches. We can be sure Silas was a man of integrity as well as a mature believer in Jesus Christ.

Timothy, another familiar New Testament name, was a special favorite of Paul’s, as a dear personal friend and as his “son” in Christ. When Paul preached at Lystra, he met Timothy’s mother and grandmother, who were Jews. Timothy’s mother was married to a Greek, so Timothy had both Jewish and Gentile family. Paul had led Timothy to faith in Christ and then nurtured him in the Word, taking him along on his missions and training him to pastor Churches himself, later on. Timothy always had Paul’s total trust, in any situation.

There will be more about “what kind of men” these were as we move into the next chapter, but I prefer to study the epistle as it was written, so we will examine those comments when we get to them. The point here is that these former idolaters had come under severe pressure when the evangelists brought them the gospel and they believed. They received Jesus Christ with great enthusiasm because of the joy inspired by the Holy Spirit as they came to understand His grace. The Thessalonian Church was renowned in Greece and other areas of Paul's ministry for their faith.  They had turned TO God, and in so doing, had turned FROM idols. That defines repentance.  About face. Change of attitude and allegiance.  In turning to Christ, we always turn from something. The Bible doesn't say "repent of your sins." It says "repent."  Change. That's toward Christ. He paid for the sins. 

The Thessalonians modeled the gospel to others as they grew in grace. Others knew all about the complete conversion these people had experienced, and they reported what they had heard back to Paul, Silvanus and Timothy at their visits.

It is important for pastors and evangelists, and indeed all Christians, to be the kind of men that new believers are willing to imitate. New believers need to see someone who accurately represents Jesus Christ and the Christian way of life, so they can see the difference between worldliness and Christianity. They need to be taught, however, and Paul did teach, that human righteousness (relative righteousness, -R) is nothing to God. It is Christ’s perfect righteousness (+R) that has saved us and that keeps us and that is our daily bread. The new believers were imitating the men because they and the men were imitating  the Lord. They had learned about the true God, Whom they were eager to serve. They were waiting for His Son from heaven (the rapture) Whom the true God had raised from the dead (resurrection). This is Jesus, Whose perfect work (atonement) saved our eternal souls and delivers us from the wrath (great tribulation) to come. The patience of hope is to wait, not for wrath, but for Christ.

To imitate the Lord is to represent truth. Our human righteousnesses are filthy rags. Our only hope of eternal life is to receive the righteousness that belongs to Christ. That was His whole purpose in coming to earth as a human: to give us that righteousness and bring us back into the family of God. Self-righteousness is as filthy as idolatry, and it is totally nonproductive.

Comparing sins and comparing good deeds and comparing philosophies are all pointless endeavors, because it is only the perfect righteousness of Christ (+R) that means anything to God. We need to not only receive His righteousness at the cross, but we must live His righteousness daily in order to have testimony to others and assurance for ourselves. Unless our good works flow from a soul filled with the Holy Spirit, the works are no good. Human good works do not make us Christian. Morality does not make us Christian. Ritual does not make us Christian. Unbelievers can do those things, and if an unbeliever can do it, it is NOT the Christian way life.

The believers at Thessalonica had learned this, and we have learned it, too. Let’s keep it in mind.