Full Assurance
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1 - 2:8
(October 9)
Paul writes this letter on behalf of himself, Paul, and Timothy. Shortly after arriving in Thessalonica, he was forced to move on to Berea, then to Athens, and finally to Corinth because his life was being threatened. It was from Corinth, on his second missionary journey, the Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians. It is one of the first and believed to possibly be THE first of his epistles.
Thessalonica was the largest city and the capital of Macedonia. Located eastwardly on the main Roman highway and had access to a great number of people. It was basically a Greek city, but there was also a strong Jewish community.
This city was allowed to rule itself without the usual restrictions Rome placed on cities. But because of the large population, you can imagine there were all sorts of religions and cultural influences that would challenge a new believer.
The new converts that this letter was intended for were former pagan idolators, "God-fearing" Greeks, and some Jews. Several of the "leading women" of Thessalonica had also become believers.
Paul had sent Timothy back to check on them as soon as he could, and Timothy returned to Paul with a great report that the new believers were standing firm in their faith and were united against the outside influences.
But they did have some "faith questions" for Paul, so Paul wrote this letter in hopes of answering their questions.
He speaks of how happy he is that they are remaining faithful, and that the Holy Spirit is alive within them. He tells them of all the great things he is hearing wherever he goes about how eager the Thessalonians are to share the Good News.
Paul reminds them of how much suffering he had been through before reaching them, but that God gave him the courage to share the Good News with them in spite of the opposition.
He then says, "So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery." What did he mean by that? This is his response to the Jewish leaders. They had been stirring up the crowds with accusations that Paul was seeking fame and fortune in sharing the gospel. By making this statement, he was letting these new believers know that he and Silas had suffered quite a bit for sharing the gospel. It was not for fame and fortune, but for the true and sincere purpose of growing the church.
Paul wants the Thessalonians to hold to the fact that he preaches to them out of pure love ... for God and for them. And they can have full assurance that his motives are pure, just as he has full assurance that they are united in spreading the gospel.
There is something so secure in having full assurance ... when you know something without a doubt, no questions ... just certainty. Our faith, the love of Christ, and the promise of salvation should be facts that we have full assurance in each and every day. We should stand firm in what we know, despite the enemies of the world coming against us. We can cling to this truth in moments of trouble and fear. Despite what comes our way in this life, we can have full assurance in a God who saves, and a God who protects those who call on his name.