Paul, Silas And Timothy Were Bold
January 3, 2021
Commentary
In the margin of my Bible I have chapter two outlined as follows:
Be Biblical – (verses 1-4)Be Real – (verses 5-6)Be Gracious (verses 7-11)Be Practical – (verses 12-13)“Our coming to you” refers to Paul’s first visit to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9). The boldness with which Paul, Silas and Timothy delivered their message and the boldness with which the believers demonstrated their faith in Christ proved that their labor was not in vain (v. 1). Fear of being put in prison did not keep Paul from preaching the gospel. If this had been written today it might have had the caption: “Paul Turns the World Upside Down.”
I’m sure that at some point in your life you have suffered some unjust criticism. In such situations it is difficult to defend yourself without being defensive. As a Christian, How should you handle such criticism? The Apostle Paul probably suffered as much or more criticism than any other leader in Church history. In this letter to the Thessalonians we can see how he handled this criticism. He states that we shouldn’t soften our message to win a hearing and to be a crowd pleaser (v. 2).
Application
Instead of thinking about myself I need to think about my message. If I am concerned about getting out the message I won’t have time to worry about what people may say about me.
1 Thessalonians 2:1– 2 (NET)
1 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you—it has not proven to be purposeless. 2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of much opposition.