MOTIVATIONS TO EXHORTATION

I Ths. 2:3 ... "Our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit."

In the physical operation of the world there is a cause for every effect, and in the conduct of people there is a motive for every act. A smile on someone's face might be the result of his feeling cheerful, of his perception of humor, of his recognition of an old and pleasant acquaintance, of his natural response toward everyone he meets, or of his deficient mental capacity. When Christians undertake the task of exhorting others with the gospel, their action has a motivation behind it to cause it to proceed. This motivation may be noble, pure, and spiritual, or it may, unfortunately, be base, defiled, and carnal. In Php. 1:15 it states that there were those who were "preaching Christ from envy and strife, but some also from good will." There are those whose priority in preaching is to build a career by establishing a name and reputation. They yearn for recognition, praise, and the honor of men. If someone else is achieving these goals before them, they develop envy toward that person and covet his place. There are some whose goal is to defeat others in the combat of words and ideas. Their desire is not so much to convert lost souls to the truth and its saving power as it is to conquer and devastate an opponent in the arena of debate and polemics. They are never more energetic and motivated than in the midst of strife. When Jesus sent out men to preach, He ordered them not to "acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support," (Mat. 10:9-10). The principle here is that the Christian minister is not to serve with wealth as his object, but is to be worthy of the wages he does earn. Sadly, there are those who put wages before their work; their service to Christ is secondary to the scale of pay in the position they accept.

In the chosen text above there are identified three particular motivations that must not guide a Christian to engage in communicating God's holy message to others. First, the intent must not be to deceive anyone. The message must be simple and plain that salvation is being offered to the person and that his allegiance is being directed through Jesus Christ to God. Rewards must never be offered which Scripture does not support, and there must be no effort or intent to bind the individual to the minister as his disciple. Second, the purpose must not be to corrupt anyone by putting some impure slant on the message. We are told in Jas. 3:17 that "the wisdom from above is first pure," and I Pet. 1:22 adds that our souls are purified when we obey the truth. To preach a gospel corrupted by human additions and reconstructions is to place one's life far beyond the extent of God's grace, (Rev. 22:18-19). Third, the object must not be to preach the gospel in some skewed way to achieve an ungodly advantage. For example, Paul speaks in Php. 1:17 of those who "proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment." We do not know exactly how these insincere ministers made Paul's incarceration more severe by their preaching, but whatever their method, their motive was evil. During the days of Nazi Germany there were preachers who warped the gospel to approve and support the ruling regime. They were not by any means, however, the only preachers who have re-engineered the gospel to sanction political or social movements. We see the same in our own country now.

The New Testament often warns the faithful about those who teach, exhort, or preach by motives that are selfish, ungodly, and worldly. It also attributes these motives ultimately to Satan, (II Cor, 11:13-15). We must pay attention these warnings, for our spiritual well-being is at risk, even as we scrutinize our own motives lest we slip into the position of preaching to achieve goals that are offensive to God.

BEING AN EXAMPLE FOR THE LORD

 I Ths. 1:7 ... "You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia."

      Thessalonica was a city in the province of Macedonia which Paul visited with Timothy on his second missionary journey. It was only the second city in Europe where he evangelized after receiving the famous "Macedonian call" in Acts 16:9 to "come over to Macedonia and help us." His first stop was at Philippi, where he converted Lydia and her household before being jailed. An earthquake sent by  God led both to his being released and to the conversion of the jailer and his household. The nucleus of the church in Philippi was formed by these conversions. After proceeding to Thessalonica and planting another church there in the face of great opposition, he went on to establish a third Macedonian church in Berea before he left that province and journeyed on south into Achaia. At Athens he preached the gospel on Mars' Hill to the leading men of the city but was unable to begin a congregation there. Going another sixty miles southwest, Paul stopped for an eighteen month period at Corinth and built up a congregation there.

      In the lead text above, the apostle warmly praises the Christians in Thessalonica for the outstanding example they were setting before the other congregations in the province. This example began with their ready conversion from idolatry to Christ. In v.9 he remarked how "you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God." In a world where idolatry was entrenched as a social institution as well as a religion, this was a great and much needed part of their example. Second, they became faithful workers in the Lord's service. In v.3 Paul commended their "work of faith." Third, the Thessalonians had labored in love (v.3). When Christians are motivated by love and energized by faith to respond to the duties imposed by the Lord, great results will follow. Fourth, these brethren had endured hardship in Christian hope.  Verse 3 mentions their "steadfastness of hope in our Lord Christ Jesus," and verse 6 declares that they had "received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit." The reaction of hostile neighbors did not influence them to abandon their new-found faith for peace and security. Fifth, they had proclaimed the gospel as far as they could. Verse 8 reports that "the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth." Indeed, they became in many important ways a model church, and as such they served the Lord well.

      The wonderful example of these ancient Thessalonian Christians still lives on today in the record of the New Testament to inspire and stimulate us. If we open our lives to the power and validity of the gospel, we will be motivated to respond along the same line of faith, endurance, love, hope and evangelism as they did. There is no reason why any congregation of the Lord's church should not be able to build itself up to be also such a good model. We should not be content to look at some other congregation in our region to perform this service. The motive is not to elicit praise from men, or to engage in vain competition, or to become dominant over others. Far from that, it should be our true love for Jesus and zeal for His cause that continually compel us to strive for such a commendable role. Later, in II Cor. 8, Paul used the Macedonian churches as a group to encourage the Achaean churches to fulfill their duty toward God. In doing so, he revealed the key to success in becoming a worthy example for Christ. He says there in v.5 that "not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God." Any part of one's life which he holds back for himself will diminish his good example in direct proportion.

DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER

Col. 4:2 ... "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving."

      Praying, watching and giving thanks are three fundamental activities of Christian living. The first incorporates the other two, for a person watches and gives thanks in the context of prayer. Prayer must not be erratic and spasmodic; it must be maintained as a regular, integral part of daily life. Christians are instructed in I Ths. 5:17 to "pray without ceasing." The same instruction is given in I Tim. 2:8, "I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands." In Lk. 18:1 it is said that Jesus once "was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart." Prayer is as necessary to our spiritual health as eating and breathing are to our physical well-being. We do not fail to do the latter for our bodies, so neither should we fail to pray for our spiritual welfare.

      Christians are taught in I Pet. 4:7 to "be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." Over and over again throughout the New Testament in various ways we are taught to be a vigilant, watchful people through prayer. But what is it that we are to be so keen to watch for? What is out there in the world that God is so concerned for us to see that He keeps urging us in Scripture to watch for it with fervent prayer. One thing we can identify is the opportunity to do good. The Lord has given us the ability and resources to perform deeds of service in His name and unto His glory. He expects us to watch for the occasion where we can do these deeds. Too often such opportunities pass us  by before we are aware of their existence, and we have wasted what God has entrusted to us. If we persistently pray for the vision to recognize such occasions, that ability will gradually be developed within us. A second thing we must watch for is the temptation to sin.  An army in the field maintains regular, alert watches lest it be surprised and overwhelmed by the enemy. As Christians, we are also soldiers in the spiritual army of Christ, which is arrayed against the forces of evil. In Eph. 6:10-17 we are told about the nature of this warfare and given a description of the implements in the spiritual armor that we must wear. Our common enemy is sin, which continually probes our defenses to discover where we might be off-guard and asleep. Then sin launches a deadly attack and inflicts damage upon our souls. Therefore, in v.18 we are urged to "pray at all times in the Spirit ... and be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (fellow Christians)." In other words, vigilance in prayer is necessary for our survival as the children of God.

      Our lead text tells us that we are to watch "with thanksgiving." There is a German proverb that goes, "Wer dinkt, dankt." It means, "He who thinks will give thanks." A thankful person is a thinking person, and a thinking person is most apt to be aware of conditions about him. Everyone is blessed by God, as Jesus tells us in Mat. 5:45, "For [God] causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." But before all people, Christians have more for which to be thankful than they have the capacity with which to express it. Nevertheless,we must always try harder to offer back to God sincere thanks for what He gives us and does for our good. In I Ths. 5:18 we are told, "in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It is vital to our wholesome relation with our heavenly Father to express to Him gratitude from the heart constantly, with an ever deepening sense of appreciation for His goodness. So long as we do not get tired of accepting and enjoying His daily blessings,we should also never get tired of thanking Him for His wonderful grace filling our lives.

SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE

Col. 3:2 ... "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth."

      This exhortation is set in a context concerning the nature of being converted to Christ. In Paul's explanation, conversion involves the death, burial, and resurrection of a person, not in the physical sense, but in a mental and spiritual way. In v.12 of the previous chapter he reminded his Christian readers that they had "been buried with Him (Christ) in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." As Jesus was raised from the grave, even so a person is raised from the water of baptism into a new life. The death thus experienced is the end of the old nature contaminated by sin, from which the person is evermore to keep himself separated. The one who rises from baptism is different from the one who went down into it. He still looks the same and retains the same identifying features as before. But something has changed, something is different. It cannot be seen with the eye, at least not immediately, for it is an inward, spiritual change. In time, however, the change will become evident to observers, since outward conduct reflects the condition of the heart.

      The difference is a fundamental change in one's interests and goals in life. Everyone sets his mind on the course of interests and ambitions for whatever he thinks will bring fulfillment, satisfaction, and pleasure when he interacts with it. The world is so full of things that offer these rewards and tantalize us to go for them.  We do not all direct our lives at the same objects, however, since that which appeals to one person may not beckon to another at all.  What lures one person toward it may offer minimum attraction to someone else. But the things on the earth which our text cautions us not to grasp for are so many and so enticing that no one journeys through life without hearing their siren call. When one answers and engages himself in what is offered, he is indeed rewarded. While the effect endures, he experiences a good feeling that enriches his life with identity and meaning. But it is right there that the failure appears in indulgence in the things of the world. They do not endure for very long, but begin to fade almost as soon as they are achieved. The Bible never denies the initial pleasing sensation of sin, but it warns all who will listen that the effect is fleeting. Heb. 11:25 speaks of the enjoyment of "the pleasures of sin," only to add hastily that they are "passing." Whatever exhilarates you today will not repeat its performance so well tomorrow because its construction has already been changed. Tomorrow it can do no more than bring mild satisfaction, and the day after that it is no longer present to stimulate a good feeling. In the end, all the things of this world will enter the past tense as time becomes eternity. We are told in I Jno. 2:17 that "the world is passing away, and also its lusts."

      We need something that will please us and not ruin us in the experience thereof, something that never changes and is not consumed in the using. That "something" certainly exists and is available to everyone who will seek it through Jesus. It is not to be found in the world of physical, temporal things that attract the great bulk of mankind. It is to be found only "above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God," (Col. 3:1). It is upon that higher, perfect, eternal world that the Christian must "set his mind" from the time he is raised from the water of baptism as a new creature. And it is to that future glorious home that he must keep looking day after day as he threads his way through this life of material experiences.