Faithfulness in trials worked by faith

Paul’s concern is stated in 1 Thessalonians 3:3: that no one be moved by these afflictions. My friend, that is not a hypothetical concern—that is an actual concern. John Lillie says of the devil: How experienced, how subtle, how assiduous, how relentless—alas, how successful in seducing, blinding, misleading, and destroying the human soul. And Paul sees these afflictions. So he says, You are going to be moved one way or the other. And what I fear is that you might be moved by persecution away from the gospel, into disobedience.

Calvin asserts that Paul wanted the Thessalonians to be more careful upon their watch, stirring up themselves more vigorously to resist their enemy. Well, when we consider the dire threat to the Thessalonians, we understand why Paul was so anxious to hear news from them, to find out how they were doing while he was off preaching elsewhere. And the whole purpose of this letter is that he is expressing his rejoicing when he learns that this church was not only tried by afflictions but was also a church that was strengthened through faith. That is the true church: a church that is, yes, knit together by love. It is going to be tried by afflictions, but it is a church that is strengthened by faith. Now, this news gives Paul such confidence in their ultimate victory that he writes in 3:8: For now we live, if you are standing firm in the Lord.

Well, faith is so essential to our enduring the trials of this world that the writer of Hebrews penned a whole chapter—one of the great chapters of the Bible, Hebrews 11:1–40—to show how, in every case, when the people of God had triumphed in this world, it was always and only by the same way. It was always by faith. It is always through faith that we prevail. It was by faith that Noah built the ark and escaped the flood. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed God’s call and became an heir of the promise of salvation. By faith, Moses left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king. He endured, seeing him who is invisible. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. All that is in Hebrews 11:1–40.

And so Paul knew well that if these Thessalonians were to prevail over persecution—if they were to advance to salvation—it would also be by faith. And so look at 1 Thessalonians 3:5: his sending Timothy back to them to learn about your faith. Now that was a significant sacrifice for him to make. He says in 1 Thessalonians 3:1 that he was willing to be left behind. He could not bear the lack of news. And Paul’s urgency on this matter—the question of their faith—ought to cause us to be urgent to inquire about our own. Are we careful to guard and to nurture our faith? Do we realize the most precious thing we possess is that which God has given us—our faith? But now we are stewards of it, and so we must labour. We are not to expose our faith to assault. We are to build our faith—how? Through the Word of God, through prayer, by coming to be part of the church and to be gathered together with the people of God. What would happen to us—honestly—if our faith should be lost? We would be utterly ruined and lost. When we face trials, is our first concern over the brightness of our faith—that it would not grow dim? If we do not think that way, we fail to see with Paul that on the issue of faith versus unbelief, our entire well-being depends. He did not send Timothy to say, How are they doing financially? They probably were doing badly. How’s their health? Do they have adequate legal representation because they’re being imprisoned? He cared about all those things. No. No, he tells Timothy to go find out about their faith, because that is the matter on which salvation rests.

Now, we also should follow his lead. I just said we should make inquiries about ourselves—but also about those close to us, especially Christian friends and family members. You want to be a good Christian friend? Talk about faith. Share with your friends about the way God has been building up your faith and how you have learned about him. Make inquiry. Pray for one another’s faith. That is a real friend. Jonathan was a great example of friendship. He strengthened David’s hand in God. He built up David’s faith. That is what we should be doing. As parents, what do we desire for our children? Lots of things. We spend a lot of money trying to educate our children as well as we can. We give them musical training—I am all for that, for my children too. We have athletic opportunities... Are we placing as much priority on our children’s faith, and is that priority seen in our prayers—with and for them—in the worship that goes on as the Word of God is opened in our homes, in the commitment we have to the life and worship and teaching of the church?¹

Richard D. Phillips