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Resounding Faith | Providing Encouragement

November 10, 2024
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

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Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world 

Opening Prayer

Lord, we pray, absolve your people from their offenses; that through your bountiful goodness we may be set free from the chains of all those sins which in our frailty we have committed: grant this, heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Responsive Prayer — Isaiah 59

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him,

That there was no justice.

He saw that there was no man,

And wondered that there was no one to intercede;

Then his own arm brought him salvation,

And his righteousness upheld him.

He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

And a helmet of salvation on his head;

So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,

And his glory from the rising of the sun;

For he will come like a rushing stream,

Which the wind of the Lord drives.

Summary and Connection

This study explores the topic of the day of the Lord. Having responded to the question of death, Paul is now responding to the question of judgment at the Lord’s coming. The Thessalonians wanted to know the exact date and time in order to be ready to stand before Christ and his judgment. However, Paul gives another solution to be prepared for Parousia (the Second Coming), which is to be awake and alert. Using light and darkness metaphors, Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that they are children of the day, not of the night, and instructs them to behave accordingly, exercising self-control. Once again, Paul points to the death of Jesus Christ for the hope of salvation. Equipped with the armor of God, the church at Thessalonica can experience peace and security in life and death, because of the gift of eternal life they have in Christ. We are in the midst of a sermon series called Resounding Faith, and we want to explore how we can have peace and hope in the day of the Lord.

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

Observation: Read the passage privately. What does the text say? What is the theme of this passage? Do you notice any keywords?

  • Why does Paul not answer the question concerning the times and the seasons? The Bible does not give us a specific time for the Lord’s return. Why is that, and what importance does that have for us?

2. Looking at Jesus

At Central we believe that all of Scripture points to Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the theological center of the Bible. Every passage not only points to Jesus, but the grand narrative of the Bible also finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

  • Read verses 9 and 10. What did God appoint us for? What is the purpose of Jesus’ death?
  • What implications does this have for our “hope of salvation”?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

  • Paul writes that Jesus’ coming will be sudden, and while people are saying “peace and security,” Christ will return with judgment and destruction. Where do we find our peace and security? Have we placed them somewhere other than in Jesus, the Prince of Peace? 

4. Looking at Our World

  • Paul calls the believers “children of light, children of the day” (verse 5). How can we act among unbelievers in a manner such that we have our “light shine before them, so that they may see our good works and glorify God” (Matthew 5:16)?
  • Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Where have we placed our hope in this world? Do we have our eyes fixed on Jesus as the lighthouse who will guide us to life? 

Sending

God’s word is a lamp to our feet. Christ’s teachings are a light to our path. May God’s word take root in our lives. May Christ’s love nourish and sustain us. Amen.

  • View Study Guide Notes

    Question 1: The Thessalonians’ question concerning Christ’s Second Coming was twofold: What has happened to those who died, and when is the day of the Lord? Having answered the issue concerning bereavement and Christian death, Paul now responds to the topic of judgment and Christian living. Paul had taught the church at Thessalonica regarding the day of the Lord, and the Old Testament often explained it as a day of punishment, divine wrath, and destruction (Isaiah 2:9-19, 13:6; Joel 2:31; Amos 5:18-20). The Thessalonian believers were fearful of the upcoming judgment and wanted to know the exact dates so they could prepare beforehand. However, Paul’s response to them echoes Jesus’ response to his disciples — using the same phrase, “times and seasons” (Acts 1:7) — that it will be sudden and unexpected like a thief in the night (verse 4). God has willed — speaking through Jesus and Paul — that we do not know when the Parousia will happen. After explaining that no one knows about that day or hour, Jesus commands his disciples: 

    Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:42-44).

    Like Jesus’ instructions, Paul teaches the Thessalonians to be awake and ready, in order to not be surprised (verse 4). Paul exhorts his readers to put on the armor of God, similar to his letter to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 6:10-17). If a soldier always has his armor on, he is always ready to fight, even if the enemy were to ambush. Likewise, Paul is instructing Christians to keep our spiritual armor on at all times — the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation (verse 8) — and continue in our jobs and daily affairs, living for the Lord (verse 10). “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). Along with the armor, Paul reminds readers to abide in the triad of virtues of faith, hope, and love, which he mentioned earlier in 1:3.

    Question 2: God has destined us not for wrath but for salvation through Jesus Christ. Often as believers we wrongly conclude that God does not want our ultimate happiness, and so we think of him as a joy-killer. The reason we choose sin and worship other idols is because we think that they will bring us more joy and pleasure. However, God is the Good Father who gives us every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). His commands and instructions are not intended to rob us of joy but to guide us toward the true joy in him. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). We must remember that God is the only being that perfectly loves us and always has our best interest. When we understand his love, we understand that his commandments are also an expression of love for us; they are for our betterment, and we can obey him enthusiastically. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

    In verse 10, Paul explains that Jesus died for us so that we might live with him. Concerning this verse, John Stott wrote: “He died our death that we might live his life.” He became our sin, and we became his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). This new life is regardless of our temporal physical state (whether we are awake or asleep). Paul writes in Romans 14:8: “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” It is also important to note that our salvation depends on God’s will and Jesus’ death. Paul says nothing about our performance or feelings as a requirement, and this is the foundation for the hope of our salvation: Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

    Question 3: During the Pax Romana age of Roman history, the Roman imperial coins used “peace and security” as their slogan for their propaganda. However, this was only an artificial, temporary concept of peace (see Jeremiah 6:14 and Ezekiel 13:10). Paul’s message throughout our text is for the Thessalonian believers to be awake and alert. Our false sense of security often misleads us toward death and destruction. In “The Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis wrote, “Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” When we think we are standing firm on our faith, Paul warns us to take heed lest we should fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). We need to be always aware that the devil is roaming around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). 

    The readers of this letter might have looked to the Roman Empire for their “peace and security.” People often look toward visual, material things for their sense of security: their savings account, their occupation, their achievements/abilities, the government, etc. But everything that can be seen is temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18), and the peace that they offer lasts only for a moment. On the other hand, the peace that God gives is different from the peace that the world gives (John 14:27): a peace that surpasses all human comprehension (Philippians 4:7). Let us continue to look to Jesus for security and pray that “the Lord of peace himself may give us peace at all times in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

    Question 4: Throughout the passage, Paul uses the metaphors of light and darkness, day and night, and awake and asleep. Paul is using these terms to describe our salvation. Darkness is often used throughout the Bible to refer to unbelievers and the spiritual state of being lost (Isaiah 9:2). Believers are often called people of the light (Luke 16:8; Philippians 2:15). Both Peter and Paul describe our salvation as God calling us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:12-13). As children of the light, the Thessalonians are instructed to live accordingly — to be awake and be sober (to exercise self-control). Perhaps some of the believers grew tired of waiting for Christ’s return and were tempted to indulge in the pleasures of the world (the sinful activities of darkness). Paul exhorts the Christians to behave in a manner that belongs to the day, since, in the same way that Jesus is the Light (John 8:12), we too are called to “shine as lights” in the world (Philippians 2:15). Paul writes in Romans 13:11-14:

    Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.