Balance

 “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:19-22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In the Christian Church today, some tend to believe that, once we’re saved, there’s no need to worry. We don’t need to worry, they tell us, because we cannot fall away from the Lord. We cannot lose our salvation. And this often becomes a false sense of comfort.

There are also those who are quick to accept anything and everything as though it were from God. They listen to any and every preacher and teacher, accepting everything they say. They never question anyone or anything.

As with everything, there is a balance to the Christian life. There is the possibility of going to one of two extremes. And we must take care to do neither.

We see this reflected in the above passage. As he’s concluding his first letter to the believers at Thessalonica, Paul tells them that they must not quench the Spirit. They must not put out the Spirit. And clearly, if he’s warning them against this, it’s a real possibility.

It’s by the Spirit of God that we are brought to faith in Jesus. It’s he who works in us, through the Word of God, establishing us in faith. And he also is responsible for the fruit of faith seen in our lives.

If we, then, quench the Spirit, we refuse his work. And this puts us in a dangerous place. It puts us in a place where our faith cannot be sustained.

Paul also told the believers that they were not to despise prophecies. Prophets, of course, are those who convey the Word of God to the people. So, to put a positive spin on it, he’s encouraging the people to receive the words that the Lord is speaking to them.

Again, it is possible for us to despise prophecies. It’s possible for us to refuse the Word of God. But, once again, this leaves us in a dangerous place.

It’s dangerous because it's by the Word of God that we become aware of our sin. It’s by the Word of God that we learn of Jesus. And it’s by the Word of God that we receive the hope of the gospel. Without this, we cannot and will not be saved.

However, on the other hand, Paul warned the people to test everything. In other words, they weren’t to blindly receive everything that was fed to them. They were to put it to the test. They were to prove it, ensuring it was genuine.

We’re warned over and over in Scripture against false prophets. We’re warned of false teachers who will come into our midst. And this is what makes this testing necessary.

Paul then called on his readers to hold fast to what is good and to abstain from what is evil. So, they’re to receive that which is clearly from the Lord, and they were to reject that which wasn’t. They were to cling to that which was from God and dispose of that which wasn’t.

Because God is holy, righteous, and good, because God is all-knowing, he cannot and will not contradict himself. We must, then, test any message or teaching that is given to us with the Word of God we’ve already received. We must ensure that it’s consistent with the Word of God.

In this way, we find that balance. We don’t take God’s blessings for granted, relying on a false assurance. But, at the same time, we’re not blindly accepting anything and everything as though it were from God.

The Source of Faith

Most of us know and believe that we are saved only by the grace of God. Our works play no part in it, nor can they. It’s a free gift of God.  

We know also and believe that this grace is received only by faith. It’s through faith in Jesus that we receive the grace of God and are saved. As we read in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

However, what is this faith and where does it come from? Have you ever thought about that? How do we come by this faith which enables us to receive the grace of God?

Most of us tend to think that our faith results from our ability to reason. This is why so many of us believe that babies cannot have faith and that they are automatically saved. We reason that they are not yet at the point where they are able to believe.

Scripture, however, tells us otherwise. David tells us in Psalm 22:9-10, for example, that God made him to have faith while he was at his mother’s breast. From the time he was an infant, God made him to believe.

In Matthew 18 we see that, calling to himself a small child, Jesus told the people that unless they became like children, they would never enter the kingdom of heaven. And he went on to say that whoever caused one of these little ones who believe in him to sin, would be better off dead. In this way, Jesus clearly stated that young children can have faith.

The Bible is equally clear that none of us can come to faith on our own. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us that the natural person (the person without the Spirit) cannot understand the things of God. And in Romans 3, Paul tells us that there is no one who understands or who seeks for God. So, even as adults, we are incapable of understanding the gospel. Our ability to reason has no bearing on this whatsoever.

As we investigate this further, we learn that it’s only by the Spirit of God that we are able to confess faith in Jesus. Paul tells us at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 12 that a Spirit-filled person cannot deny Christ. And he goes on to say that a person without the Spirit cannot confess Jesus as Lord. In the same way, in John 6, Jesus says that no one can come to him unless he’s drawn by the Father.

This tells us that, just as salvation is a gift of God, so too is faith. The ability to believe in Jesus, the ability to trust in Christ, is not something we possess on our own. It’s something that God enables in us.

And, finally, we see that this faith is received through the Word of God. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. So, it’s as we hear God’s Word, and as the Holy Spirit works through the Word, that we’re enabled to believe.

This, then, reveals to us why it’s so important for us to be in the Word of God. It reveals to us why it’s so important for us to share the Word of God with our children. And it reveals to us why it’s so important for us to share God’s Word with those who don’t yet believe. It’s through this Word that God works in us, enabling us to believe and to be saved.

Our Gospel Hope

 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

 

As we read the above passage, it sounds pleasing and it seems simple enough. But, in reality, it’s anything but simple. It’s anything but simple because life is hard.

 

Life is full of problems and hardships. And, as we face them, we don’t feel like rejoicing, we don’t feel like praying, and it doesn’t seem to us that we have reason to give thanks. These admonitions, which ordinarily seem good and easy to fulfill suddenly become difficult on so many levels.

 

After all, why would we rejoice when life is hard? Why would we pray when it seems that our requests go unheard? And why would we give thanks when it seems we’re receiving only the curse and never the blessing?

 

These are all fair questions. And, as we live in this world, they seem logical. They reveal, however, that we’re short-sighted. They reveal to us that we’ve failed to understand the gospel.

 

According to Scripture, the difficulties and hardships of life are the consequences of sin. They’re the natural result of sin. And we must not pretend that any of these consequences are undeserved.

 

Yet, as we reflect upon this truth, our tendency is to point to the forgiving and gracious nature of God. And Jesus, indeed, came into this world to save us from sin and its consequences. This does not mean, however, that our life in this world will be perfect. It does not mean that it will be free of problems.

 

We will only be free of sin when we meet Jesus face to face. And we will only be free of the consequences of our sin when the end of this age has come. At that time, sin and its consequences will be no more as we are conformed to the image of Christ.

 

In the meantime, this means that we’ll continue to face hardships and difficulties. But we must realize that they’re only temporary. They will not endure forever.

 

That which is eternal provides us with ample reason to rejoice. It gives us ample reason to pray. And it gives us ample reason for thanksgiving.

 

We can rejoice in Jesus and what he’s done for us. We can rejoice in the sacrifice he made on our behalf and his resurrection from the grave. And we can rejoice in the blessings he’s provided for us in this way.

 

We can rejoice even in the face of hardships. We can pray in the face of difficulties. We can give thanks when it feels like we’re on the receiving end of God’s judgment. We can do so because of the gospel. We can do so because of the hope we have in Jesus.