Day 2: Read 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
- What does Paul know about his brothers and sisters in Christ in verse 4?
- This is sometimes called the “doctrine of election.” Let’s look at a few other verses about God’s sovereign election/choice. What do these verses say in your own words?
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 (regarding his choice of the nation of Israel)
John 15:16
Ephesians 1:4-5
Colossians 3:12
“Election protects us from thinking of salvation as depending on human whims, and roots it squarely in the will of God.” —Leon Morris, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians
- According to 1 Thessalonians 1:5a, what is the evidence of God’s choosing the Thessalonians?
- What does Romans 1:16 say about the power of the Gospel?
GOSPEL
Our word gospel comes from the Greek word euaggelion which means “a good message.”
We get the English word evangelize from this.
- What does John 16:7-8 say about the Holy Spirit’s conviction?
- 1 Thessalonians 1:6 gives further evidence of their salvation. How so?
- The Thessalonian believers were imitating Paul, and therefore imitating Jesus. Paul lived with integrity! He preached the gospel wherever he went, but he also lived it. And so his life was worth imitating because he imitated Christ.
He wrote these words to the Corinthian church:
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. —1 Corinthians 4:1-4
How about you? As a believer, you represent Christ. Is your life worth imitating? Finish your time today talking to the Lord. Ask Him to reveal any inconsistencies. Ask Him to help you live with integrity.
“It was important, when the gospel was brought to people who had never heard it before, that those people should see Christianity in action—and where would they see it, if not in the conduct of those who brought it? The preachers were conscious of this responsibility, and paid special attention to the ‘ways in Christ’ (1 Cor 4:17) for the sake of those whom they were evangelizing.” —F.F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians