WHAT DOES REAL FAITH LOOK LIKE?

1 THESSALONIANS 1:8-10: “For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: 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 rescues us from the coming wrath.” CSB

OBSERVATION: What does real faith look like? Paul, in his letters to the churches, was concerned that the believers he had led to Jesus Christ would continue to grow in their faith. In writing to the Corinthian Church, Paul warns them,

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless you fail the test.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 CSB

When Paul sensed that believers were weakening in their faith, he exhorted them to test themselves. When Paul witnessed examples of vibrant faith in the lives of believers, he celebrated them and shared this with all. Paul, in the opening of his first letter to the Church in Thessalonica, celebrates the vital faith of these young believers. They had a faith to be exemplified. Their faith can be used to test ourselves.

The Church of Thessalonica gives us a picture of Real Faith!

There are three characteristics that we can observe from these faithful believers that will guide us in our quest for Real Faith. The first was their faithful stewardship of God’s Word. Paul writes, “For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out.”

The Church in Thessalonica was faithful to God’s Word and was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever they went. They were a church positioned for the harvest. The salvation of souls was primary in their lives, and their faith was not something they kept to themselves. They shared their faith boldly wherever they went, and it was evident and known. Oh, that the church today would proclaim the Word of God faithfully and proclaim the Gospel boldly so that all will hear and call upon the name of the Lord to be saved!

A church, a believer, devoted to God’s Word is a church, a believer who is engaged in the harvest to reach lost souls for Jesus Christ!

Second, their faith was evident in lives that were radically changed. Their faith in Jesus Christ affected every area of their lives. Paul continues praising them as he writes, “Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…”.

The worship of idols in Thessalonica was a public spectacle. It was celebrated in the pagan centers of worship through feasts and every kind of immoral behavior. When someone came to Jesus Christ, their faith became a dividing point in their culture that was evident to all. You could not be a closet Christian. Your faith in Christ was evident in your separation from the idol worship and activities surrounding it. The Thessalonian believers were bold in their faith, and their changed lives were a living testament to all.

Today, it is easy for believers to compromise their faith. We can go to church on Sunday, carrying our Bibles, singing songs of faith, and then return to our homes where we secretly celebrate the false idols and the immorality of our present age. Our televisions, cell phones, and computers give us a 24/7 window into this world without anyone seeing. Yet, our secret sins will become evident to all by our anemic faith. Could the lack of power in the church today be a result of our hidden compromise? Our faith needs to be life-changing. Our devotion to Christ needs to be absolute.

Our faith should be like the Thessalonians – evident to all!

Finally, Paul notes their hope that was anchored in the return of Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom of God, “…and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” In every true revival that the church has experienced over the years, there has always been a renewed focus on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Why is this?

When our hearts are hungering for God’s Word, when our passion is to reach the lost, and when our faith is transforming our lives in practical and tangible ways, our hearts begin to yearn for the things which are above. It is in the flames of revival that hymns and songs about heaven have been written. As we grow closer to Jesus Christ, we long to see the completion of His work of redemption.

Paul longed for heaven. He writes to the Corinthians, “Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling.” (2 Corinthians 5:2). When I was a young man in Bible College, I was on the prayer team. I was called to visit a man in a nursing home who was near the end of his life. As I spoke with him, he would lift up his eyes and look toward heaven and begin to speak to the Lord. There was nothing in this world that he desired more than to be with Jesus.

When our faith is alive, we will desire nothing more than to be with Jesus. Our eyes will be lifted toward heaven, and the promise of His coming will become our hope for the life we live and the life we will enter into. The coming Kingdom becomes a reality that influences how we live and anchors us in a world that is racing towards judgment. It reminds us that time is short and that we must do everything we can to lead others to Jesus Christ while we still have time.

So, this morning, as I read Paul’s introduction to his first letter to the Thessalonian Church, I am moved to examine myself to see if I am in the faith.

Am I hungering for God’s Word and sharing His truth and the Gospel with everyone I can?

Am I allowing the power of the Cross to work in my life so that my faith is not in word only but is evident in a transformed life that is the same in public as it is in private?

Am I looking up toward heaven, anchored in the hope and surety of my Blessed Hope, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth?

Heavenly Father, search me this morning and try my heart. I want to live a life of vital, vibrant, life-changing faith in my Lord Jesus Christ. I bring everything right now to the Cross of Jesus Christ and ask You to fill me anew with the Holy Spirit. May the power of Jesus Christ in me change me in such a way that, like the Thessalonican Church, it will be evident to all!

In Jesus’ Name!