There is so much good info in Chapter 2. I will break it up into two separate posts.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Paul reminds the readers in Thessalonica what happened to Paul, Silas, Timothy, and those with them as he preached the gospel. Let me take you back to the book of Acts. In chapter 16, Paul meets a young man named Timothy. Timothy was a disciple in Derbe and Lystra. Timothy found favor with Paul, and Paul wanted Timothy to journey with him to spread the gospel. So, Timothy, Paul, and Silas were the traveling preachers/missionaries.
The Holy Spirit had forbidden Paul to preach the gospel in specific areas. He was directed by a vision of the Lord to go preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16:9). Fast forward a bit, Paul and crew met up with a woman named Lydia in the city of Philippi. Lydia gave her life to Jesus and was baptized. As Paul was staying with Lydia, there was a slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit. Paul was frustrated by this evil spirit, and he told the evil spirit to come out of this girl, which is exactly what happened. You can imagine, there should have been joy in the people because this girl is now free. However, the girl’s owners lost their income and had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in jail. No trial; they couldn’t give their side of the story—no justice for them. However, God is always in control. Acts 16:25 – paraphrased, around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, and those around them heard them. Even in their misery, they were praising God! Then there was an earthquake, and the jail doors flew open, and the prisoners’ chains fell off. The prison guard saw the door open and drew his sword to kill himself, and Paul called out, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here (Acts 16:28).” Fast forward, the jailer gave his life to Jesus, and so did his family. There is more to share, but these are the bullet points to 1 Thessalonians 2:2 “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.”
Even after Paul and Silas were beaten, jailed, and hated. They continue to remain faithful in sharing the gospel with others. As they entered a new town or province, they were not afraid to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said it best, Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. Paul was not phased by what man could do to him physically.
Let me be very clear here. Paul and his team were hated by the Jews. Let me clear this statement up. Not all the Jews hated Paul. When Paul and Silas went to different cities to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some Jewish people listened to Paul, Timothy, Silas, Barnabas, and all the rest. These Jewish Christians (Paul and team) would go to the synagogues and reason with the Jewish people and their beliefs. Paul and team would quote from the Jewish scriptures and show the people that it all points to Jesus. Now there were Jewish converts, not a ton, but there were Jewish converts. Take Paul, for example; before Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, Paul’s only desire was to put the Jewish Christians to death. So, Paul understood the frustration of the Jewish people who hated Paul and who hated the gospel of Jesus.
In Verse 5, Paul writes, “For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is witness. How true is this statement from Paul? “We never came with words of flattery.” Paul came with the truth of the holy scriptures, what we call the Bible, more specifically, what we as Christians call the Old Testament. Paul would bring the words of Jesus and of the prophets of old, and show them what it means to live a Christian life. Paul never said it’s ok that you do these immoral things, for example, the worshiping of idols. He said there is but one true God. Turn from idols and worship God. On sexual sins, he would call this out as well. He never gave a comfortable sermon. He gave truth. We, as humans, are all born with a sinful desire. That is what happened when man fell in the garden of Eden. Our flesh rules our brain and heart. We need to turn from our selfish human desires and turn to Jesus. If we do not turn to Jesus and put our faith in Him, God’s word tells us in Revelation chapter 20, those whose names are not found written in the Lambs Book of Life will be thrown in the lake of fire. I know it’s scary, but this world is not about you; it’s about Jesus. He is our redeemer. We must do is put our faith in Him, and He will save us.
End of Part 1. Stay tuned for part 2.