I appreciate this brief video with Dr. Nate Brooks, discussing three factors that might make it difficult for us to read the Bible.
- Our sin
- Our human weakness
- Lack of skill
Each one of these factors has potential solutions!
Announcing Our 2022 Bible Reading Challenge
For this year’s reading challenge, we’re giving away a Silver base package of Logos Bible Software! Logos 9 Silver comes with many Logos features, such as the text comparison tool, sermon manager, interactive infographics, and the Bible books explorer. In addition, it comes with a library of over 250 resources, including the complete Tyndale and Holman New Testament commentaries, Tyndale Old Testament commentaries, 11 Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, and John Goldingay’s 3-volume Old Testament Theology. See my reviews of Logos 9 here and here. This feature set and library of resources (which you can browse here) would cost over $10,900 if purchased separately, and as a package Logos 9 Silver normally costs $999.99. But—thanks to the generosity of Faithlife for sponsoring this year’s grand prize—this silver package can be yours for free if you can prove you’d know what to do with it.
If you’ve been with us for the last few years, you’ve probably been expecting this post. Here I come, like the sun rising, going down, and once again hastening to its place to rise again. Like the wind blowing round and round, north, then south, and back again. Like streams running to the sea, and yet the sea is still not full. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Viruses and societal turmoil are no match for our inevitability.
If you’re new to the blog, you’ll be delighted to know we do a reading challenge here annually. This is our sabbatical (7th) year for the challenge, so we searched high and low for the best prize we could think of to reward your toil at which you toil under the sun. We are deeply grateful to Faithlife for sponsoring this year’s grand prize.
In our former days, most excellent Theophilus, we issued a 90-day Bible-reading challenge that had to begin on January 1 and end by March 31. But many folks have told us they would like to be able to get started over the holidays. While many are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, or chasing a spirit of stupor, we hear that you—the readers of this blog, the champions of the covenant, the heroes who shine like stars in the midst of a present evil age—would prefer to redeem the time when you already find yourself away from your usual responsibilities.
And who are we to stand in your way? You think about all his commandments; you will not be ashamed. You are continually overcome with longing for his judgments. Though your life is down in the dust, you seek life according to God’s word. Therefore this year’s Bible reading challenge may commence immediately. In fact, perhaps it already commenced for you, and you’re only now realizing it.
Here are the rules:
- You must read (not scan or skim) all 66 books of the Protestant Bible. You may choose the translation and reading plan (canonical, chronological, etc.). You don’t have to stop and meditate on every detail, but the Lord sees and knows when you are being honest about reading and not skimming. Listening to an unabridged audio Bible is acceptable. You may also use any combination of audio and visual reading, as long as you’ve read or listened to the entire Bible within the allotted time period.
- You must read the entire Bible within a 90-day period.
- The last day of that 90-day period must be between today and March 31, 2022. If you’d like to understand why we recommend such fast-paced reading, see our Bible reading plan for readers.
- To enter the drawing, you must fill out the survey below, letting us know the dates you read and what you thought of the speed-reading process. Your thoughts do not have to be glowing, but they should be honest; you’ll still be entered into the drawing if you didn’t enjoy your speed-read.
- Any submissions to the form below that don’t meet the requirements or appear to be fabricated will be deleted. For example: multiple entries with different data, date of completion not between November 5, 2021 and March 31, 2022, “What I thought about the experience” has nothing to do with Bible reading, or date of completion is later than the date of entry submission (please don’t try to enter the drawing if you plan to read the Bible; only enter once you have completed reading it).
- In the first week of April 2022, we will randomly select one grand-prize winner from those who have submitted the form. To celebrate the reading challenge’s 7th anniversary, we’re also planning to have several second-prize winners. We’ll keep you posted on what those additional prize packages will include. We will email the winners for confirmation. The grand prize winner will need to set up a Logos account if they don’t already have one, and second-prize winners may need to submit shipping addresses. If a winner does not respond to our request for confirmation or a shipping address within 1 week, a new winner will be selected in their place.
- Unfortunately, though they are terrific people doing marvelous work for the sake of Christ, staff members of DiscipleMakers are not eligible to win the drawing.
We will occasionally post links to the submission form on the blog between now and March 31. But you might also want to bookmark this page for easy access when you’re ready to submit your entry.
If you’d like a checklist to help you stay on pace, here are three. You may make a copy and update the dates, if you plan to start on a date other than January 1.
Or here is an iOS app that can help you track your plan. You may also want to consider making a reading plan in the Dwell listening app if you prefer audio.
You may now begin any time, and may this be the ride of your life.
Context Matters: Dashing Little Ones Against the Rock
Psalm 137:9 offers an alarming benediction on those engaged in a shockingly outrageous behavior: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” What is a serious student of the Bible to make of this, in light of Jesus’ welcoming of little children and his admonition to love one’s enemies?
Joe Palekas has a marvelous piece asking this very question. And to answer it, he takes a thorough tour of the context of Psalm 139:9. He looks at the literary context and train of thought in the poem itself. He looks at historical context when it was written. He looks at the larger literary context of the arrangement of psalms. He looks at the covenantal context, particularly in light of Isaiah’s predictions of the Day of the Lord to be brought against Babylon in Isaiah 13. Palekas looks at the context of the fulfillment in Christ. And he examines how all these contexts then lead us to application in our day and point in history.
In the end, he reaches the following conclusion:
Now Psalm 137 begins to become clearer. The community of exiles weeping by the waters of Babylon are calling for the day of the LORD. God has promised his covenant people that he will return them from exile and visit a just reward upon their captors. He promised this before he even sent them to exile. Psalm 137 contrasts the “day of Jerusalem” with the day of the LORD promised in Isaiah 13 and alluded to in Psalm 137:9. The astonishing and overwhelming image of dashing infants on the rocks is not the product of some twisted or vengeful human imagination. It is a call for God to be faithful to his covenant promises.
This is some terrific Bible study and contextual thinking at its finest. If you’ve ever wondered about that line about bashing babies on rocks, I encourage you to check it out. And if you’d like to see a skillful example of how context matters, I also encourage you to check it out!
Unfolding Grace For Kids: A Young Person’s First Readers Bible
The last 7 years have seen a praiseworthy trend in Bible publishing, and Crossway’s ESV has been at the cutting edge of it. That trend is the publication of editions of the Bible intentionally designed to encourage Bible reading. Reading not of the verse-of-the-day kind, but of the lose-track-of-the-time-on-a-lazy-afternoon kind.
That trend’s cutting edge, on which Crossway regularly seems to take up residence, has now cast its shadow into the realm of children’s Bibles. I like what I’ve seen so far, and I hope there’s no going back.
Unfolding Grace
In particular, Unfolding Grace For Kids introduces children aged 8-12 to the concept of a reader’s Bible through 40 guided readings. This is not a complete Bible, but more of a devotional work. And the sort of devotional work where more than 95% of the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit himself.
Each reading consists of a thematic graphic, a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, and a sturdy portion of Scripture (around 20-40 verses long). The graphics are both attractive and thoughtful, but the truly beautiful thing is that the introductions are introductory. The purpose all throughout is to tell the entire story of Scripture, so each introduction tends to summarize where we are in the grand narrative and set the scene for the Scripture about to be read.
The Scripture passages are thereby given the greatest focus. They take up the most space. They are presented with a marvelous cleanness, without footnotes, section headings, or chapter and verse numbers, and with sizable margins. The font used for the Scripture is even more lovely and readable than the font used for the introductions, offering a visible reinforcement of what this Bible wants the reader to care about the most.
Physically, this volume is a delight to read. Unless I’m mistaken, the paper appears even thicker than that used in the six-volume reader’s ESV. The cover and binding show remarkable sturdiness. The dust jacket is not overstuffed with fluff text. And for some reason, I failed to notice the ribbon bookmark until I was partway in. Advertising blurbs for this book focus on the “journey through 40 guided readings,” making it sound primarily like a personal devotional. Upon accessing the ribbon bookmark, I finally realized that what I was actually in possession of (thanks to Crossway for the review copy) was really a junior-grade reader’s Bible.
Not Perfect
I will not hide the fact that I love Unfolding Grace For Kids, but it still leaves room for improvement. Though the introductions are brief, they still seem wordy and unclear at times. Sometimes the graphic is misleading (for example, a graphic of a rope hanging from a window when the following Joshua text says nothing about Rahab; or a graphic of Stephen being stoned associated with a selection from Acts 5 where Ananias is struck dead and the apostles are put in jail).
And the selection of particular Scripture readings is often puzzling. For example, when helping young people to discover “how Jesus is the promised Savior who came to restore his people and renew the world,” would you direct their attention to Abraham and Isaac calling their wives their sisters (Gen 12, 26)? Or would you highlight the kidnapping of dancing girls at Shiloh just to get the narrative declaration that Israel had no king (Judges 21)? Or would you include Ananias and Sapphira, Paul’s first full sermon in the book of Acts, and Jesus’ communiques through John to the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna—while excluding the near-sacrifice of Isaac, Joseph’s rescue of the world from famine, Gideon’s conquest of Midian, Daniel’s deliverance from lions, Elijah’s showdown on Mount Carmel, and the entire body of the Bible’s wisdom literature, including the Psalms?
Many of the Scripture selections make sense. But others are not quite what I would have chosen to give kids the clearest sense of the Bible’s larger view of Jesus’ salvation and restoration of the world.
Conclusion
With that said, I am simply delighted to hand this thing over to my children, now that I’m finished with my copy of it. This is the sort of book that will remind them that reading the Bible is supposed to be fun, without having to be juvenile. This is the sort of book that, by curating 40 of the most important and most connected passages of Scripture, sets them up to read God’s word as it was meant to be read and with great joy. I eagerly commend it to you and your kids.
Find it at Crossway and Amazon.
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, this blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to yourself, thereby making you a channel of God’s continually unfolding grace.
Do Not Give Up Your Confidence in the Word
Andree Seu Peterson makes a fabulous point for World magazine: The “logic” and argumentation of the world has grown so demented that any disagreement with accepted conclusions is considered unreasonable and immoral. But all hope is not lost, for the Apostle Paul dealt with the same kind of worldly “wisdom” in his day. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18).
Peterson concludes:
I am going back to the simple Word. The Word that God says “is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). If any apologist for the New Think sexual mores comes at me with his fancy Oxford or Yale logic supposedly proving that perversion is enlightenment and enlightenment is perversion, I will make responses such as these:
“From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female’” (Mark 10:6).
“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1).
Hold tight the confidence that the Word of God has power—intrinsically—to change hearts. It will not return to Him empty.
Her piece is well worth your time and consideration. Check it out!
Observation is a Means, Not an End
When it comes to OIA Bible study, observation is the method’s beginning, not the method’s end. I find people can often get distracted from this point in one of two ways.
Distraction #1: Ending with Observation
When you develop the skills of mature observation, you can start to feel like a superhero. You’ll start seeing things the people around you don’t take time to see. You learn to identify parts of speech, sentence structure, and train of thought. Skilled observation can be quite thrilling, and it tends to receive praise. This is a good thing, because careful observation of God’s word ought to be something people find praiseworthy.
But the danger is that the thrill and the praise become your food and drink. When you train your senses to observe the Scriptures closely, you will probably start finding things that nobody in your immediate circle has found before. And you can quickly form an addiction to the dopamine released in the process.
This may result in doing even more observation, getting better and better at it. People start looking to you for insight, and they ask you for the final word on any questions they have. Sometimes this delight in observation can provide an escape from the painful labor of interpretation, or the uncomfortable humility required for application. You can also avoid having to draw conclusions about anything the text might mean, or any ways it may be speaking into your culture or community, by keeping your sights trained simply on what it says.
Perhaps this distraction resonates with your own proclivity. Or maybe your struggle goes in a different direction.
Distraction #2: Failing to Make Use of Observation as a Means
Maybe you are more tempted to skip observation to get to the good stuff faster. Your understanding of “the good stuff” could be focused on either interpretation (we have to get our doctrine in order, after all) or application (what good are we if we are not practical, right?). Either way, you try not to get bogged down by grammatical minutiae or pesky questions about big picture and train of thought.
Maybe you come to the Bible under the expectation that it must move you to some specific and inspiring action steps right here and now. Or maybe you teach others, and you feel you have failed if they don’t deliver something mind-blowing and practical quickly enough. Maybe you’ve trained yourself to spend more time looking up cross-references than discovering the structure and climax or chief conclusion of the text at hand. Maybe you’ve presumed that good teachers should aspire to preach or teach 300 sermons/sessions on Romans, and so you’re constantly bouncing away from your abbreviated text in order to fill the air space with fully fleshed-out theological or ethical reflections.
Conclusion
The answer to the second distraction is to realize (and believe in your bones) that without observation, you cannot interpret or apply. At least, not in alignment with the will of God recorded in Scripture. Observation lays the foundation for all else. If your observation is poor, your interpretation won’t be any better, and your application will fall to the ground. Any power your conclusions or instructions might have comes more from your personal persuasiveness or charisma than from the Spirit of God.
The answer to the first distraction is to realize (and believe in your bones) that your purpose in Bible study is not to impress people or thrill yourself. Your purpose is to help people—beginning with yourself—know God through his Son Jesus Christ and be transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit who inspired this text. Observation lays the foundation for all else. If observation is your end game, it’s like living your spiritual life on a cement slab in a half-acre plot, without erecting the rest of the house. You’re ready for a tempest to rise against you, but the wifi doesn’t really work.
With trained and habitual observation, we plug into the power of God found in Scripture. We’re thereby locked and loaded for productive interpretation and application to help lead people to their Creator and King.
Three Good Things About Difficult Bible Passages
L.T. Greer has a brief piece to help us when we come up against a difficult passage. Instead of yielding to the temptation to skip or ignore it, he encourages us to see how God might use it. He offers the following list of “Three Good Things About Difficult Bible Passages”:
- We learn about veracity of the Bible.
- We learn about our church’s relationship to the Bible.
- We learn about our own biases.
See his article for an explanation of these points, which I find rather compelling and motivating.
2 Thessalonians: Recovering Hope
Written a matter of months after the first letter, Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonian church came in the wake of news about their discouragement amid affliction. They have suffered tremendous opposition from the local Jews (1 Thess 2:14-16, Acts 17:5-10), likely with excessive pressure to renounce Christ. The Christian movement was still trying to show itself as essentially Jewish, in full obedience to the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, yet such pressure would be devastating. Especially when impostors abound, seeking to alarm the disciples over having missed the Day of the Lord. Paul writes into this situation to praise their success and help them regain what they have lost.
Literary Markers
Just as with his first letter, Paul marks his sections by means of logical connector phrases and major shifts in topic. In many ways, this second letter parallels the first. After the salutation (2 Thess 1:1-2) and extended thanksgiving (2 Thess 1:3-12), Paul takes up the matters of his relationship with these people (signaled by “now concerning the coming” in 2 Thess 2:1-17) and their relationships with God and each other (signaled by “Finally, then, brothers” in 2 Thess 3:1). As with many of Paul’s other letters, 1 Thessalonians ends with a closing benediction and greeting (2 Thess 3:16-18). This letter contains a handwritten postscript (2 Thess 3:17-18) to demonstrate its authenticity, in contrast to other letters they’ve received “seeming to be from us” (2 Thess 2:2).
- Salutation and thanksgiving – 2 Thess 1:1-12
- Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians – 2 Thess 2:1-17
- The Thessalonians’ relationship with God and each other – 2 Thess 3:1-15
- Benediction and closing – 2 Thess 3:16-18
Part 1 Walkthrough
While Paul’s first letter offered extensive thanks for their abundance of basic Christian virtue: faith, love, and hope (1 Thess 1:2-3), his thanksgiving in this second letter has a noteworthy omission:
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4
Some commentators read the virtue of hope into 2 Thess 1:4 (compare with “steadfastness of hope” in 1 Thess 1:3), but I find the insinuation unpersuasive. If Paul wanted to commend them for their hope, he could easily have done so, as he did in the first letter. Instead the contrast with the first letter’s thanksgiving makes the absence of hope rather glaring. And this absence is fully consistent with the rest of the second letter’s argument, which is all about helping them to recover their hope.
Step 1 for recovering hope amid affliction: Reimagine your affliction such that your perspective on it lines up with God’s. This opposition you are under is not evidence of your unworthiness, shame, and failure. It is “evidence of the righteous judgment of God”—against those who afflict you (2 Thess 1:5-8). This affliction is your calling. It is something of which God is making you worthy (2 Thess 1:11-12). It is something that ought to inspire your hope.
Part 2 Walkthrough
Step 2 for recovering hope amid affliction: Don’t allow deception to alarm you, but allow the truth to comfort you. Many false and deceptive ideas abound regarding the coming of Jesus and the Day of the Lord. None of them ought to shake or alarm you (2 Thess 2:1-3). Paul had already taught these people what to look for (2 Thess 2:5-6)—sadly there are many details they then knew but we today do not. But the main idea is clear: God judges people, in part, by subjection them to delusions; he makes others firm and holy by his Spirit enabling them to believe the truth (2 Thess 2:11-15).
What end does Paul desire for them in light of this battle between truth and deception?
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
2 Thess 2:16-17
He wants them to remember God’s love for them, so his eternal comfort and good hope may comfort them and spur them to do and speak what is good. Your Christian life is an outflow of a firmly recovered hope.
Part 3 Walkthrough
The first outcome of a recovered hope is every good word: In particular, they will pray as those with hope (2 Thess 3:1-2). They will speak of God not as a deviant manipulator, but as a faithful supporter and protector (2 Thess 3:3). They will be directed to speak of God’s love and Christ’s steadfastness on their behalf (2 Thess 3:5).
The second outcome of a recovered hope is every good work: In particular, they will labor as those with hope (2 Thess 3:6-15). They will work hard and not succumb to the idleness of despair. They will warn and admonish those brothers who fail to live out this hope along with them. They will trust their labor is not in vain, and they will not grow weary in doing good (2 Thess 3:13). There is always hope that it is worth it.
Part 4 Walkthrough
In writing these things, Paul is not wishing more affliction upon them. He is not suggesting that a mature Christian perspective on the world is one of embracing and seeking out as much affliction or opposition as possible. No, what Paul wants more than that is for the Lord of peace himself to grant them peace (2 Thess 3:16). At all times. In every way. Such is what blossoms where the Lord plants his life-giving presence.
Paul wants them to recover their hope so they and he can remain in the work, with as few obstacles as possible, of proclaiming the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess 3:18). May this be your and my work as well, and the fruit of God’s eternal comfort and good hope available to us in Christ.
Conclusion
Have you wilted under opposition for your faith in Christ? How can you regain the hope that it is worth it in the end? Reimagine your affliction so you can see and label it the way God does. Hold fast to the truth and reject the world’s delusions. Allow God’s comfort to direct you to his love, motivating you in every good work and word. Don’t give up; it will all be worth it.
Interpretive Outline
- Thanksgiving to God for abundant faith and love, along with a new perspective offered on affliction – 2 Thess 1:1-12
- What difference truth vs. deception makes with respect to regaining hope for the future – 2 Thess 2:1-17
- The outcomes of a recovered hope, in every good word and work – 2 Thess 3:1-15
- Prayers for peace and grace – 2 Thess 3:16-18
This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.
An Honest Look at the Scriptures
One of my greatest privileges at this blog is getting to share the space with one of my longest and closest friends, the sage essayist and mathematician, Ryan Higginbottom. Ryan also blogs at his own site A Small Work. If you haven’t been following him there, you really ought to consider it.
Ryan recently composed a wonderful piece called “The Weight and Wound of the Word,” a brief reflection on the piercing swordplay of Scripture well worth your time. Here is a taste:
While many today look to the Bible for comfort or inspiration, an honest look at the Scriptures reveals that not all of it was given for these purposes. If we randomly dip a ladle into the depths of Ezekiel, the brew that emerges is more likely to be sharp than sweet…
Some—perhaps much—of the Bible was given not for our comfort but for our discomfort. The Scriptures are profitable for reproof and correction, after all; they provoke, unsettle, and rebuke us. Far from harsh, this is a sign of God’s love. It is damaging for our souls—indeed, for our humanity—to turn against God in rebellion. The fact that he steers us away from sin and back to himself is evidence of his care.
Ryan goes on to describe some particular ways we may be prone to dulling the sharp edges of Scripture, thereby throwing ourselves in front of the Holy Spirit’s bulldozer. This is well worth your time and consideration.
1 Thessalonians: A Community of Faith, Love, and Hope
Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church is one of his earliest known writings, likely preceded only by Galatians. As he was still cutting his teeth on this business of writing letters to churches, it shouldn’t surprise us that he’d want to ground them in the basics of church life. Do Paul’s basics line up with what you consider the basics of membership in your church?
Literary Markers
As a piece of persuasive discourse, 1 Thessalonians marks its main sections through logical connector phrases and major shifts in topic. After the salutation (1 Thess 1:1) and extended thanksgiving (1 Thess 1:2-10), Paul takes up the matters of his relationship with these people (signaled by “for you yourselves know” in 1 Thess 2:1) and their relationships with God and each other (signaled by “Finally, then, brothers” in 1 Thess 4:1). As with many of Paul’s other letters, 1 Thessalonians ends with a closing benediction and greeting (1 Thess 5:23-28).
- Salutation and thanksgiving – 1 Thess 1:1-10
- Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonians – 1 Thess 2:1-3:13
- The Thessalonians’ relationship with God and each other – 1 Thess 4:1-5:22
- Benediction and closing – 1 Thess 5:23-28
Part 1 Walkthrough
The beginning and ending of Paul’s letters typically give us the best clues as to his intentions and main point, and 1 Thessalonians is no exception. His thanksgiving for these people introduces the triple-layered theme that saturates the letter:
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess 1:2-3)
Faith, love, hope. We’re generally more familiar with these virtues in a different order from Paul’s later writing (faith, hope, love – see 1 Cor 13:13). But early in his career—and as we’ll see repeatedly throughout this letter—Paul’s thinking followed an initial pattern of faith, love, hope.
First is faith, which Paul unpacks in the opening chapter. He speaks of what “we know” (1 Thess 1:4), and then of what “you know” (1 Thess 1:5b), before waxing eloquently about this church’s faith in God, which has “gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” (1 Thess 1:8). This church, clearly, is one characterized by its faith.
Part 2 Walkthrough
Paul recounts the history of his relationship with the Thessalonian church, but it all has a purpose. He’s not simply recording their origin story for the church’s anniversary picnic or memory book. He has a point to make. An argument.
And that argument comes to light at the very end of the section.
Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thess 3:11-13)
Here are Paul’s wishes for these people. He wants them to grow in faith, recognizing and trusting that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is the one directing them. He wants them to abound in love for one another and for all. And he wants them to have much hope as they look to the future when Jesus will establish their hearts blameless in holiness. The same three things he gave thanks for in chapter 1 are the very things he wants them to not only continue in but abound in from this day forward. You’re doing well, and keep it on going!
Going back over the section, we ought to see his description of their relationship reinforcing this trifold prayer.
First, he explains how he himself sought to help those he loved among them. He used words (1 Thess 2:1-7). He used more than words (1 Thess 2:8-12). And he gave copious thanks for worthy progress (1 Thess 2:13-16). Or viewed another way, he inspired their faith through the words of the gospel (1 Thess 2:1-7). He showed them the love of a father for his children (1 Thess 2:8-12). And he observed their stalwart hope despite all they were suffering (1 Thess 2:13-16).
Second, he defends his prolonged absence since his untimely departure from them. Paul’s heart emerges in this defense as he speaks vulnerably about his driving motivation:
- We sent Timothy to establish and exhort you in your faith (1 Thess 3:2).
- I sent to learn about your faith (1 Thess 3:5).
- Timothy has brought good news about your faith and love (1 Thess 3:6).
- We have been comforted about you through your faith (1 Thess 3:7).
- We wish to see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith (1 Thess 3:10).
Why does he care so much about their faith and their love? Because they are his hope and joy (1 Thess 2:19-20). Now we really live, if you are standing fast in the Lord (1 Thess 3:8).
The history of Paul’s relationship with these people is one of witnessing their faith, love, and hope, in imitation of Paul’s own faith, love, and hope, with the intention of further inflaming both their and his continued faith, love, and hope.
Part 3 Walkthrough
Paul moves on to practical matters, expounding on what it might look like to abound in faith, love, and hope, for these folks in this place at this time.
First, he discusses sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:1-8). And the way he discusses it makes it out to be primarily a matter of faith. That is, how does your belief about God shape your sexual ethic? If you trust that God is an avenger (1 Thess 4:6), you will turn away from the passion of lust like the Gentiles who don’t know him. And if you trust that God is a giver of his Holy Spirit (1 Thess 4:8), you won’t presume he’s holding out on you but will find motivation to walk in a way that pleases him.
Second, he discusses brotherly love (1 Thess 4:9-12). Which has to do with further developing the virtue of, well, love. It is something they are already very good at but are urged to practice more and more.
Third, he discusses how to look appropriately to the future and grieve as those who have hope (1 Thess 4:13-5:11).
He sums up his instruction with the metaphor of donning armor—the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of hope for salvation (1 Thess 5:8)—before concluding with a series of highly practical requests (1 Thess 5:12-22).
Part 4 Walkthrough
In closing, Paul wishes that God would sanctify them completely. To fill them out and make them whole. To complete his work in them. To take their great success in faith, love, and hope and make it abound even more, until the day when Jesus returns to judge all and keep his own people blameless in the presence of his Father.
Conclusion
The Thessalonian church was doing a great job in these “basics” of faith, love, and hope. Yet there’s always room to grow even further into these virtues. Such is the way of Christian maturity. How is your local community doing at these foundational principles of the Christian walk? Do Paul’s basics line up with what you consider the basics of membership in your church?
Interpretive Outline
- Thanksgiving to God for overflowing faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 1:1-10
- Ministry founded on faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 2:1-3:13
- Excelling still more in faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 4:1-5:22
- Asking God for more faith, love, and hope – 1 Thess 5:23-28
This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.
