I Thessalonians 1:4 - “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.”

God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Gal. 2:6). Those saints in Thessalonica, like all others everywhere, were elected to be in God’s family for one reason only: they had become Christians. All who believe the gospel, and are baptized are saved (Mark 16:16). All the saved are added to the church (Acts 2:47). The gospel of Christ was preached in Thessalonica (Acts 17:3). Some were persuaded and were added to Paul & Silas (v. 4). The epistle was written to these (I Thess. 1:1), in which they were said to have been “elected” (v. 4). To be “elected” simply means to be added to the church, which is God’s family (I Tim. 3:15). The “elect” are all those whom the Lord has added to His church.

I Thessalonians 1:6 - “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.”

People in Thessalonica “became followers” of those who were following Christ (I Cor. 11:1), and therefore followers “of the Lord.” They had converted to Christ in a time of “much affliction.” Zealots of the town’s predominate religion created civil unrest, kidnappings and false legal suits to oppose the gospel (Acts 17:1-9). Yet Paul was able to say that people in the next province knew the manner of his work in Thessalonica, “for from you sounded out the word of the Lord ... in every place” (v.8). People over there demonstrated the manner of the preacher over here (v.9). With many of us today people right next door don’t know the church even exists, much less the manner by which people were added to it. How many churches today can count as many personal studies in a year as there are members in the church? That is, does each Christian tell even one person per year about Christ? Or, for every one who tells nobody, is there one in the church who will tell two? Why is the church smaller today, in most locations, than it was a decade or two ago? Well, how many people have you told about Jesus in the last 10 years? Years ago I heard Ira Rice wonder aloud whether the church needs another persecution to get us back out on the streets evangelizing. What would it take to move you to tell your neighbor?

I Thessalonians 2:14 - “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus:”

Paul had just written the commendation that the people now in the church, when Paul had first come to the city, had recognized his preaching as the word of God. The evidence of their acknowledgment and acceptance of the word is then stated in this verse: that they became followers of the churches which had previously been planted and were thriving in Judea. Paul’s meaning is not that the churches in Judea are the standard; he made that clear in I Corinthians 11:1 (“be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ”). His point is that it was a well-established and universally recognized fact that the churches in Judea were true to the will of Christ. Thus, a church copying the pattern seen in the Judean churches was following the pattern given and blessed by God. The implication of Paul’s observation, which implication is still true today, is that people who accept the New Testament as the word of God will constitute a church that follows the pattern seen in the churches of first century Judea. Thus, every church today which is pleasing to God is a church that preaches and practices what is admonished and commended in Acts 2 through 12, and the other scattered references made by inspiration in other New Testament epistles. Does the church in which you are a member look like the church Christ built in Jerusalem?

I Thessalonians 5:17 - “Pray without ceasing.”

Jesus taught that Christians “ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Regular, fervent prayer is one mark of a faithful Christian. However, Some people are confused about commands such as these concerning prayer. Did Jesus mean that there should never be a moment in time when a faithful Christian is not praying? Did Paul mean that Christians should never stop a prayer, but continue it forever? The last three words of Luke 18:1 (“not to faint”) should help us to understand this matter. Jesus is saying, “Don’t ever be discouraged from praying.” The love and faith of the Christian should be strong enough to remind him to pray, regardless of the troubles of life - or the blessings - that come his way. Trouble so overwhelms some people that they don’t think to pray. On the other hand, prosperity deludes some to think that they don’t need to pray. In good times or bad - or in the everyday run of things - “Don’t Forget to Pray.”