1 Thessalonians 2:1

For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain... we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8)

When the enemy can't defeat the message, he slanders the messenger—so Paul answers his accusers by reminding the Thessalonians how he lived among them.

The Setting: A Young Church Under Persecution

In our study of Acts, the Apostle Paul is in the city of Corinth, in Acts chapter 18. While he was there, Silas and Timothy rejoined him, having ministered in the churches Paul had planted in Thessalonica and Berea. They brought him news of all that had been happening. You may remember that in Berea the believers were called noble because they searched the Scriptures daily to see whether the things Paul taught were so. The Berean church was growing, but the church at Thessalonica, though growing, was experiencing difficulty and tribulation.

Paul had been in Thessalonica for only a few weeks. The Scriptures tell us he reasoned with them in the synagogue for three Sabbath days. A church was birthed there, but the enemies of the cross of Christ rose up against Paul and essentially kicked him out of the city. He left on the counsel of the new church, who feared he would be beaten or killed, and headed toward Berea. Even after he left, those enemies sought to destroy the work he had done and continued to follow him throughout his ministry.

When Paul received word from Timothy about six months later concerning what was happening, he was stirred to write the two letters we still have—1 and 2 Thessalonians. Some of what he wrote concerned who he was, his character. In fact, chapter 2 is Paul defending his character to the church.

Defending the Messenger, Not the Message

Notice that Paul is not defending the gospel he preached, because the gospel of God is sure and steadfast. It can stand against any barrage brought against it. Over the last 2,000 years, many have sought to destroy the word of God, and yet it remains strong, because it is true, and those who honestly look into it find its truth.

But one of the tactics the devil uses is to slander the character of the messenger. Jesus told us that our adversary the devil is a slanderer and a liar. If you desire to speak the truth of the gospel and live as a godly witness, the enemy will oppose you. Paul told Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That is not a verse we put on greeting cards, but it is true.

This reminds us of an important truth. We are ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven, bringing the message of God to a lost and dying world. As ambassadors, we must do our best not to taint the grace and truth of the gospel by our own dishonorable character or lack of integrity. At best, our lives should validate the truth of the gospel, so that people see the fruit of the Spirit and recognize that what we preach lines up with how we live. At the very least, our lives should remove the focus from us so that the gospel shines through.

The Accusations Against Paul

As we go through this chapter, we see several accusations Paul answers. His enemies accused him of being untrustworthy. Remember, Paul came to Thessalonica on the heels of his work in Philippi in Acts 16, where he and Silas cast a demon out of a slave girl whose owners profited from her fortune-telling. They were dragged before the magistrates, beaten, and thrown in prison without a fair trial—illegal, since both were Roman citizens. Paul likely still bore those wounds when he came to Thessalonica, and the report of his beating and imprisonment came with him. So his enemies said, "He's not trustworthy. This man is a criminal."

They also accused him of being delusional because he preached the resurrection. In Athens, when Paul spoke of the resurrection, the people dismissed him. The Greeks counted it foolishness, and many Jews did not believe Jesus was the Messiah or that He had risen. They further accused Paul of deliberately deceiving people, of having impure and greedy motives, and of seeking only his own glory and a name for himself.

Not in Vain

In verse 1 Paul says, "You yourselves know, brethren, that our entrance unto you was not in vain." He reminds this young church, "You know my character. Even though I was with you only a short time, you know these words spoken against me are not true."

There are at least two ways to interpret "not in vain." One is that when Paul preached the gospel there, the people received the word of God and became believers, so the seed brought forth fruit. Remember the churches of Galatia, where Paul feared he had labored in vain because, after he left, some turned to a works-based salvation. But in Thessalonica, Paul saw fruit. In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the seed on shallow ground sprang up quickly but was scorched by the sun—the trials of life—and withered. Yet the Thessalonians were enduring persecution, clear evidence that Paul's labor was not in vain.

The other interpretation is that Paul and his team did not enter the city with a vain or self-seeking heart. His evidence is in verse 2: "Even after we had suffered before and were shamefully entreated at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention." Paul was beaten in Philippi yet continued undeterred. If he had a self-seeking heart, he would have given up. His willingness to suffer persecution proves his pure motive.

The Enemy's Wily Tactics

We all face the temptation to quit. If you desire to follow the Lord and be an example of Christ in our community, you will suffer some form of persecution. You likely will not be stoned as Paul was at Lystra or beaten with canes as at Philippi, but there will be those who oppose you. One prime way they oppose us today is by slandering the body of Christ. This is the work of the devil—the diabolos, the accuser, the slanderer.

The threat of persecution often scares Christians into silence. We live in a society where we all want to be liked—myself included. So the enemy threatens us with slander to keep us quiet. Then, once he has silenced us, he flips the coin and accuses us of not truly believing what we say, "because if you really believed it, you'd speak up." He works the same way with temptation: he dangles the bait, and the moment we give in, he jumps over and says, "You call yourself a Christian? Look what you did." He is very wily.

Paul's accusers said much the same: "If he really believed his message, he wouldn't have left the city." But Paul continues to encourage the Thessalonians.

Entrusted With the Gospel

In verse 3 Paul writes, "Our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, which tries our hearts." God counted Paul, Silas, and Timothy worthy and entrusted them with the gospel. He has done the same with us—He has entrusted us with the precious gospel of redemption. Because we have been given this treasure in earthen vessels, we ought to speak it forth.

God has chosen to use what Paul calls the foolishness of preaching to bring the message of redemption. Why foolishness? Consider how immense and awesome our God is—the Creator of all things seen and unseen, who spoke creation into being in six days. This great God could reveal Himself in marvelous ways; He could open the skies and say, "Hello, I'm here." Yet He has chosen to use a fallen part of His creation—you and I—to bear the message of redemption. He has called us to use the very same mouths we could use to curse one another to praise Him and declare His gospel.

The word deceit in the original means to lead astray. Paul's accusers, Jewish men from the synagogue, believed his message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was false and led people astray. This is exactly what Paul himself once felt as Saul of Tarsus, when in his zeal he sought to destroy the followers of Jesus and dragged them bound to Jerusalem. Now Paul faced the very persecution he once inflicted. But he says, "I was not deceitful, nor did I come in uncleanness with impure motives, nor in guile." That word guile means to catch by bait. Paul did not dangle a sweet lure to make people followers of himself.

A Message Not Designed to Please Men

What evidence does Paul give that his preaching was not deceitful, unclean, or filled with guile? He spoke to please God, not men. If Paul had come deceitfully, trying to catch people by bait, he would not have preached the gospel he brought. The gospel says to mankind, "You are sinners, condemned to hell. All have fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death." If you want to win friends, that is not the best message.

There have always been those who twist the message to make it more enticing. They say, "We don't like to talk about sin, repentance, hell, or death to self—we just want to talk about love, joy, and peace." All those things are true, but if we don't give the full message, it is not sufficient. Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, "I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God." Because of that determination, he was persecuted and slandered—and if we determine to do the same, we will be slandered too. This world will not like you, just as they did not like your Lord.

No Flattery, No Covetousness

In verse 5 Paul continues, "Neither at any time used we flattering words, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is our witness, nor of men sought we glory." His accusers said he covered a covetous heart with flattering words, wanting followers and their support. Paul says, "God is my witness, that is not the case." In fact, as verse 9 shows, "You remember our labor and travail, laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you."

When Paul was in Thessalonica, he asked for nothing. He labored to meet his own needs, just as he worked as a tentmaker in Corinth (Acts 18). This did not mean he refused all support—the church at Philippi later sent him financial help, and he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9 that those who minister spiritual things deserve to receive physical things. But while in Thessalonica he took nothing, proving his accusers' charge of greed false. "You know how I lived among you," he says. "I was not burdensome to you."

A Mother's Tenderness and a Father's Charge

In verses 7 through 11, Paul speaks as both a mother and a father to this church, his spiritual offspring. "We were gentle among you, even as a nursing mother cherishes her children." Isn't it wonderful to watch the tender heart of a mother tending her children? My wife cares for our kids differently than I do—she finds matching outfits and notices the details I never would. So Paul says, "As a nursing mother, we cherished you. Being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to impart unto you not the gospel only, but also our own souls, because you were dear to us."

Paul's preaching was not just what he said but how he lived. We must take careful note of this. What is done from this pulpit week by week is the glamorous side of ministry—but I confess it is also the easy side. It is far easier to speak the words of the gospel than to impart our very lives to one another. Yet that is what God has called us to do as ministers of the gospel. And this is not only for church staff, because we believe in the priesthood of all believers. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a minister of the gospel.

It is fitting that the word Paul used for exhortation in verse 3 is parakalesis, from parakaleo—to come alongside (para) with the call (kaleo). Imagine running a race; I fall and injure myself, ready to quit. You come alongside, lift me up, and say, "No, let's press on toward the finish." That is what it means to exhort—not just with words, but with our very lives.

Walking Worthy of the Calling

In verse 10 Paul says, "You are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe; as you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father does his children." Righteousness does not mean some spiritual elite we could never attain to; it simply means to live in a right way, the way God calls us. Paul lived piously, justly, and blamelessly among them. He exhorted them—came alongside and called them to run the race—and comforted them, and charged them as a father, saying, "No, don't do it that way; walk this way."

What does it look like to walk worthy of the calling? In verse 12: "That you would walk worthy of God who has called you unto His kingdom and glory." Our society is in desperate need of men who will be fathers, both to their own children and to the body of Christ, willing to come alongside, comfort, and charge.

Ephesians 4 explains the calling: "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit." Later in that chapter Paul gets practical: put off the old man and put on the new. "Put away lying; speak truth. Let him who stole steal no more, but labor and give to those in need. Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but that which edifies. Let all bitterness, wrath, and anger be put away, and be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you." If you lie, stop and tell the truth. If you steal, get a job and give. If you speak corruptly, speak what ministers grace. This is how we walk worthy.

In 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul exhorts them to walk to please God, abounding more and more, abstaining from fornication, possessing their vessels in sanctification and honor. And in chapter 5 he charges: "Warn the unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all. Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. Quench not the Spirit, prove all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from every appearance of evil." We do these things not to be saved, but because we are saved—this is how saved people ought to look.

As children, we would much rather have mom explain something gently than have dad come in and say, "No, this is the way." But Paul says there is a place for both in the body of Christ. We may hear this and think, "That's tough, that's rough." Yes—but that is how a father exhorts his children. God has made us heirs of His kingdom. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills—everything—and in Christ He has made us heirs of His righteousness. As those given His glory, we ought to walk worthy of it.

The Word That Works in Believers

In verse 13 Paul writes, "We thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in you that believe." You recognized that this was not our own doctrine but God's word, and you received it as such. His word works in us effectively as we trust Him.

This is a vital truth. Hebrews 4 tells us God's word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth." Paul wrote in Romans 12 that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and in Ephesians 5 that Christ sanctifies the church by the washing of water by the word. God's word transforms, sanctifies, and cleanses us.

But there is one caveat: it works "in you that believe." If you have not seen transformation since you began to follow Jesus, perhaps you are not trusting His word, not reading it, not abiding in it as Jesus told His disciples in John 15. How many of you can attest that God's word has transformed you, that family and old friends look at you and say, "You're not the same"? Only glory can go to God for this. You can't credit a self-help program—it is God's word that is transformative. Those who disregard and contend against the counsel of the Most High will not see His word transform their lives.

Persecution as Evidence of Faith

In verse 14, Paul says the Thessalonians became followers of the churches of God in Judea, for they suffered the same things from their own countrymen as those churches did from the Jews "who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men." One evidence that they truly received God's word is that they were persecuted because of it. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

In our community you will probably not be stoned or beaten with rods, but you may experience slander and opposition because you are an ambassador of Christ. Jesus said if they persecuted Him, they will persecute us. Verse 16 says these enemies were "forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved." We see the same thing today: our culture says, "Keep that religion thing to yourself—don't go telling people." God sees this as sin. "To fill up their sins always, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." Those who hinder the spread of the gospel sin before God and will face His wrath.

This is important for us. There will always be those who oppose the gospel, whether by force or by words. We are tempted to stand up and fight for our right to speak—but simply speak the truth, whether they persecute, blaspheme, or dismiss it, because God will judge them. He is just. We are to preach the gospel.

Our Enduring Hope

Paul continues, "We, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come to you, even I Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us." The enemy hindered Paul from returning to Thessalonica; the Scriptures don't clearly tell us whether he ever made it back. But he says he has hope.

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy." In the face of slander, opposition, and persecution, we have an enduring hope: we will be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. Whatever suffering or tribulation may come—and it will—it matters not, because this is our joy. "We're going to see you in eternity, in the presence of our Lord. You are our glory and our joy."

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would remind us of these things if we face slander, tribulation, and persecution—those things Paul faced as his character was slandered to the church at Thessalonica. He did not fight against the persecutors; he reminded the believers of his conduct and his character. Lord, I pray that we would remember that our hope, our joy, our rejoicing is with You in eternity. This is not our home. We look forward to the day when we will be in Your presence, when all things will be made clear, when every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more suffering and death. Lord Jesus, when I think about that, I can't help but say, come quickly. But until then, would You stir our hearts and give us boldness in the community where we live, to be bright shining witnesses of the truth of the gospel—not in word only, but also with our very lives. I ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen.