“Back to the Basics”

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

August 15, 2004

We continue with Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica with an interesting portion of the letter. One might read this part of the letter and surmise that Paul is in some way trying to defend himself and his work with the Thessalonians. There is almost a sense that Paul is worried that his time away from the people has made them forget about him and the message he brought to them. It’s as if he is trying through this letter to reestablish the relationship, or at least remind them of how close they are to each other, and how much the Apostles care for them.

One can only imagine how much his heart ached for the people he witnessed to and the churches he started only to leave them fend for themselves in a society that was so opposed Christianity. I’m sure that at times Paul wondered if his work was in vain. I’m sure at times he felt like his work was left incomplete wondering whether or not the gospel would actually make a difference in the lives of the people he came in contact with.

The reality is that proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ always leaves us wondering whether or not the God’s word will actually take root and lives will be changed. It’s so easy for us to think that we can’t make a difference anyway, so why bother. We have so many other things to think about and do. We have so many other things that take our time and energy and resources as a church. But for Paul, even though he probably had many times when he doubted the work that he did, when he wondered if proclaiming the gospel really made a difference, he never stopped spreading the good news.

Here was a man who traveled over 20,000 miles all over and around the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, from Israel to Greece to Italy, and numerous places in between. He was beaten, flogged, and shipwrecked. He was chased out of one city after another. He was ridiculed, hounded, and demonized. He had numerous churches under his care, some of them that were effective and successful; others were torn by strife and internal conflict and heretical beliefs. Yet, in spite of it all, whether in success or persecution or hardships, Paul never wavered from his single greatest purpose – to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the world. For Paul, there was no higher purpose and calling for a Christian than this.

When we talk about the purpose of the church, of all of us sitting here today, we quickly discover that the answer to that question varies from person to person. At the pastor’s conference I attended two weeks ago, while we were having dinner together, I was asked by an Executive Presbyter of another Presbytery to define for him where I was on the theological spectrum – conservative or liberal. Around the table where I sat, I knew that everyone else at the table was much more liberal than I was theologically, socially, and politically. When I answered that I was conservative, I noticed heads turn away from me, but as I continued to talk about my place on the theological spectrum and how it influenced the outworking of my faith and what I believe is the purpose of not only the church but individual believers, something really great happened. I began to see heads turn back toward me and nod in agreement.

What we discovered together at the table was that in spite of our differences, we have a common vision about the purpose of our Christian calling – to proclaim the good news of the gospel. We may have different ways to do this, and we may emphasize different aspects of the gospel as we do this, but there is one thing we are together on and that is the sharing the message of salvation with others.

And yet, we the members of the church continue to struggle over the purpose of our calling. We continue to struggle with our differences rather than discovering together God’s common vision and purpose for us. We too easily get bogged down in theological debates, social and political agendas, and personal power struggles, all the while neglecting the biblical mandate of Jesus Christ himself, a mandate and purpose found at the ends of all four gospels and the beginning of Acts.

Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” In Mark 16:15, Jesus says, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. In Luke 24:47-48, Jesus says, “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in the name of the Messiah to all nations…you are witnesses of these things.” In John 21:21, Jesus says to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And in Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

For Paul, Jesus’ mandate to proclaim and be witnesses to the gospel is the most important mission and ministry of the church and every individual believer who calls the church family. Paul’s own conversion was the turning point of his life in which his vision turned away from himself and his own personal ideologies, to unite with the vision of the One who so powerfully called him that day on the road to Damascus. From then on, Paul made it made it his life’s purpose to tell the whole world about the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Paul didn’t proclaim the gospel to get rewards. He didn’t proclaim the gospel to make himself look better or feel better. He didn’t proclaim the gospel to deceive or trick people for his own benefit. He didn’t proclaim the gospel to please certain people or get a pat on the back from them. He didn’t proclaim the gospel to gain power over people or burden them. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ because he wanted to please and glorify God. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ because he deeply cared about the faith and spirituality of people. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ, because he had been appointed by God to do so, and entrusted with God’s own message of the good news of salvation through the Son of God.

In this portion of the letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul is doing more than just recounting for them how he, and Silvanus, and Timothy conducted themselves as evangelists and apostles. He is doing more than just sending them a “do you remember me” hallmark card. Paul is telling them and teaching them how they are to be evangelists and apostles of Jesus Christ.

He has already told the Thessalonians how they have become a great church for God, and how they have become an example of faith to all believers. And now he is telling them to remember the basic fundamentals of their calling and purpose. They are a great church for God and an example of faith for all believers precisely because they continued to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person they met.

Brothers and sisters, Paul’s words to the Thessalonians is a great reminder for all of us to never forget that God wants His message known. God wants people to know about God’s love in Jesus Christ. God wants to be in relationship with people. God wants people to love one another and care for one another, just as God has loved and cared for them. God wants people to live lives of wholeness and purpose that glories God and serves God’s kingdom.

This is why the church, our church, this church, every one of us, must never neglect to get back to the basics of why we have been brought together as the church of Jesus Christ in the first place. We must never forget that our first priority of mission and ministry, our first priority as Disciples of Jesus Christ, our first priority as God’s own chosen people, is to go and make disciples of all nations, to teach them everything that Jesus commands, to proclaim to the world in the name of the Messiah, and to be his witnesses to the ends of the world.

Paul never stopped proclaiming the gospel because he knew that it wasn’t his words, but the very Word of God to the world and for the world. He never lost courage, even in the greatest times of opposition and suffering, because he knew that God’s Word would never fail, that God’s Word would, in the end, achieve its purpose and change lives of all kinds of people around the world, which it has. For Paul, it was all about the basics: the basics of faith, the basics of discipleship, the basics of our Christian calling and purpose.

The best baseball players had to first learn how to catch the ball, throw the ball, and hit the ball, and they continue to practice the basics before each game. The greatest pianists in the world had to first learn the basics of scales and chords, and then continue to practice them over and over again. You cannot do higher mathematics if you don’t know the basics of math. You cannot hit a golf ball if you don’t know the basics of how to hold the club and swing it. Believe me I know. You cannot learn how to read and write if you don’t know the basic alphabet

If we are to be a great church for God and an example to all believers, we too must get back to the basics, and we must continue to practice them over and over again. As a church, as a believer, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must continue the practice our faith over and over again by being Biblically grounded, spiritually centered, faithfully obedient, and service focused.

But do you know what the really good news is for us from Paul’s message to the Thessalonians? To be an effective evangelist and apostle, you just have to love and care for the other person and be willing to give yourselves to them.

The continual practice of faith is critical for every Christian who wants to grow into a mature disciple, just as it is critical for every Church who wants to continue to be a living and active and growing congregation. But the continual practice of faith should never keep us from doing what is our first and most important purpose – proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

You don’t have to be a theologian to tell others about the forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption you have in Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be Biblical scholar to share with someone else the hope, peace, and joy you know in your relationship with Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be a sinless and perfect person to give your heart to someone else in Jesus name. You just have to be willing to proclaim the truth that you know. You just have to be willing to give yourself. After all, isn’t that itself the very basic essence of what it means to be Christian in the first place? Amen.