1 THESSALONIANS 2:1-8 – For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
THEME OF THE DAY: A GOSPEL-CONSUMED LIFE. We may have titled today’s nugget “A Christ-consumed life” and the message would be the same for a life consumed with the gospel is a life transformed and consumed with Him who is the Gospel – Jesus Christ.
As we enter into the scripture of the day, we find the Apostle Paul modeling the gospel-consumed life. He suffered for the gospel, was eager to declare the gospel to these Thessalonians, and to do so with passion, affection, and sincerity. His emphasis on the gospel was not just in service or preaching. It radically changed his life. The last time Paul mentions the gospel in today’s scripture shows us the fruit or result of the gospel in a believing person – We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Do we see it? When the gospel of Jesus Christ is believed, the DNA of sin is destroyed – selfishness. Apart from the gospel, every human being is a slave to Satan, sin, and self, and the evidence is a life consumed, not with Jesus, but self. Again, do we see what Paul is saying? Because of the gospel, he was willing and did share his very life with these Thessalonians and that with the deepest of affection. This is what the gospel does. It produces a people who love people, God’s people particularly, with a love that is self-denying, self-sacrificial, and gives oneself over to the good of others, not in isolated acts of service, but a lifestyle for all of life.
So, the Christian life is to be a Gospel-consumed life because it is a life transformed by Him who is the Gospel -the Lord Jesus. All areas in our lives are touched and to be shaped by the Gospel; our relationships, our stewardship of time and resources, our priorities, pursuits, and pleasures, our goals, and everything else is to be Gospel-altered, not in part, but the whole of our being. And this lifestyle is self-less, not selfish! What a gospel we have! May we be daily changed by its power.
PRAYER: “Father, shape all my life around the Gospel. Make it be the consuming passion in my life, all my life.”
QUOTE: “The Christian life is to be a Gospel-consumed life because it is a life transformed by Him who is the Gospel.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim