1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1 Thessalonians was the first of two letters the Apostle Paul wrote to the Jesus-believers in the city of Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a seaport city in northern Greece and the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. Paul had founded the church there during the past year and he was already hearing wonderful things about their faith and witness.
In today’s passage Paul writes about the impact of the Thessalonian believers’ testimony. He begins by saying that he and his team members Silas and Timothy had served as examples to them. The Gospel’s power was expressed not only in the words of the message, but in the lives of the messengers. Paul, Silas and Timothy’s behavior inspired the Thessalonians and helped motivate them to accept the Gospel.
Paul goes on to say that the new believers themselves became models for others throughout Macedonia and beyond. Their witness inspired other believers and helped spread the Gospel to many other people. Something about the lives of these new Thessalonian believers was attractive and compelling.
In verse 3 Paul tells us what that was – what qualities in the new believers’ lives were so powerful. He says he always gives thanks to God for their work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope.
Faith, hope and love. We mostly remember these qualities from 1 Corinthians 13: “Now faith, hope and love remain, and the greatest of these is love.” That’s what the Thessalonian Christians exhibited that impressed both believers and non-believers. Faith, hope and love are the essential elements of Christian character that have the power to draw other people to Jesus. Let’s talk about them.
In today’s passage faith refers to the transformed life in Christ. “When anyone is in Christ,” Paul elsewhere writes, “he is a new creation.” That’s why the Thessalonian believers witness was so powerful — their lives were astoundingly changed. “You turned from idols,” Paul writes, “to serve the living God.”
Idol worship was pervasive in people’s lives at that time, the warp and woof of their everyday existence. It was, we might say, as much a part of everyday life as social media is today in the lives of many young people. The Thessalonian believers gave up their idol-based existence and centered their lives on the worship of the true God.
Their outward actions were transformed, and the believers were changed within as well. Paul writes that their lives were filled with joy by the Holy Spirit. The worship of the true God and overflowing joy. No wonder their faith had such a wide impact on others.
Saint Francis of Assisi is reputed to have said, “preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” I knew a couple in which the husband became a Jesus-believer. Six months later his wife told him, “If you had tried to get me to become a Christian, I’d have divorced you. But I see how you’ve changed, and I want what you have!” She became a believer because she saw how her husband’s faith in Christ had transformed his life.
We’re far from perfect, and being honest about our shortcomings is a vital part of our faith. But as we draw close to Jesus, with all our imperfections, God’s work in our lives will be apparent to others.
Paul also gives thanks for the Thessalonians steadfast hope. He commended them for maintaining their hope in Christ amid persecution. We can perhaps imagine how they felt. They believed the Good News of Jesus and embraced a new way of life and worship. And immediately they experienced rejection and persecution by many of their friends and neighbors. It must have been a terrible shock, but they didn’t turn back.
For us too, having steadfast hope in hard times is a powerful testimony to others. God blesses our everyday lives in the world in many ways. But a distinctive characteristic of Christian hope is that it doesn’t focus on circumstances.
Whether tomorrow brings happy times or hard times, our certain hope is for God’s work of renewal in our lives: Taking us forward in the life of his Kingdom. Maturing us in Christlikeness. Growing us in the way of love. And, when God’s kingdom comes in fullness, giving us abundant life beyond measure in a world where love and justice are at home. This is our confident hope.
Just as our faith isn’t perfect, likewise our hope can be wobbly at times. Paul himself writes in 2nd Corinthians that at one point he despaired even of life, that he wished he were dead. We too can struggle to sustain hope. But God will help us to rekindle our confidence as he did with Paul.
“Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.” Our most powerful witness to Christ is love, having the self-giving love for others that we see in Jesus.
A major reason why the Gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire was the witness of love. The early Christians started feeding programs for hungry people. They didn’t limit their aid to fellow believers but helped everyone they could reach – followers of other religions, foreigners, deserving and underserving.
The same with healthcare. They nursed the sick not only among church members but in the wider society. And during the times of deadly plague the Jesus-believers took care of the sick and dying, both Christians and non-Christians, even when it cost their own lives. As we can imagine, their selfless compassion had a profound impact on Roman society.
Love for others beyond our own circle of family and religion – for both friends and enemies — is the greatest witness to the power of the Gospel
When I was a young man before coming to faith, Christians would sometimes try to talk to me about Jesus. My response was to harshly reject their message. I would argue vehemently against them, using profanity, and even using Christ’s name as a swear word.
What’s surprising is that they didn’t return my disrespectful tone. They didn’t rebuke me or criticize me for my unbelief or hurtful words. Instead, they were patient with me and caring. That made an impression.
Later when I became a believer, I remembered how they treated me – their kindness and consideration. Though I had been their enemy, an ardent atheist, their love was a witness to me even more important than their words.
Without love our witness is hollow and often counterproductive. Mahatma Gandhi, the great independence leader in India, was known to have a deep admiration for Jesus. An evangelist once asked him what it would take for him to become a Christian. Gandhi is said to have replied, “I’d have to see one.”
He meant that the Christians he knew failed to exhibit a Christ-like character. Many, in fact, quite the opposite. He was perhaps thinking mainly of the British Christians who subjugated and exploited India in the name of Empire and Christianity. The words of such Christians were empty because of their unloving actions.
If we treat people unjustly or unkindly we cannot expect them to believe our preaching. If we speak and act with contempt and loathing toward people of other religions, or of no religion, or toward people of other nations, races or ethnicities, or people who are different from us in some way, we corrupt the witness to Jesus and push people away from him.
But if we have love and respect for all people, acting with justice and kindness, even when we disagree with them, we model Jesus and may draw them to him. It is love that draws people to Christ.
Yes, there are times when we must denounce and oppose wrongdoing, but even then, we can act in love, as the Black Church-led civil rights movement showed us.
Just as our faith and hope aren’t perfect, so our love is imperfect. But this should not dishearten us. I recently read an inspiring encouragement. The writer said, “God commanded me to love my enemies. I obeyed him and loved myself.”
We may at times feel like we’re our own worst enemy. But we can learn to love ourselves despite our failings because God loves us just as we are. And we can learn, as well, to love others just as they are.
Brothers and sisters, we have the honor of representing Christ to the world. A precious and profound calling. We’re not perfect, and don’t need to be. But as we stay close to Jesus we will grow in the likeness of his character and works, as his witnesses. That’s God’s promise.
Let me close with reading a stanza from the hymn St. Patrick’s Breastplate, which we sometimes sing. Let it be our prayer together this afternoon:
Christ be in all hearts thinking of me,
Christ be on all tongues telling of me,
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
in ears that hear me Christ ever be.
Amen! May it be so.
Marty Shupack, October 18, 2026