1 Thessalonians 2:1
You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
Sermons
A Courageous Preacher1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
A Minister Without BoldnessW. Gurnal.1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Christian Devotion1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Essential Elements of Success in Preaching: BoldnessG. Barlow.1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Influence of CharacterBoston Review1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Ministerial BoldnessJ. Hutchinson, D. D.1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Not in Vain1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
The True PulpitD. Thomas, D. D.1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
True CourageShaftesbury.1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Effectiveness of the GospelT. Croskery 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4
The Characteristics of St. Paul's Preaching At ThessalonicaB.C. Caffin 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
The Manner of the Preachers; Or, Self-PortraitureR. Finlayson 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12














Entrance into Thessalonica. It was not necessary, however, to depend upon foreign testimony for the facts of the case, for the Thessalonians themselves were the best witnesses. "For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain," but an effective living reality, a great and gracious success. The proof of the fact is contained in two circumstances.

I. THE BOLDNESS OF THE THREE PREACHERS, "But even after that we bad suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much conflict." The insulting treatment the apostle had received at Philippi had not the effect of scaring him away, or of leading him to withdraw into Asia, leaving Europe to its fate. Such treatment would have deterred men of a different stamp. His boldness was not mere stoical courage, but based on faith, for he was "bold in our God," and was equal to present perils as well as to past persecutions; for he spoke the gospel of God "in much conflict," caused, as we know, by the league of violence which the Jews of Thessaionica formed with "lewd fellows of the baser sort" against the gospel.

II. THE SPIRIT AND METHOD OF THEIR MINISTRY. "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile." The matter is exhibited first negatively, and then positively.

1. Negatively. His persuasive exhibition of the truth was not

(1) "of deceit." He was not deceived himself - be had not "followed cunningly devised fables" - neither did he design to deceive others, for he preached the truth as it is in Jesus. Therefore there was all the greater force and fervent and directness in his teaching.

(2) "Nor of uncleanness." There were no impure or sinister ends in his teaching, implying love of gain; nor any disposition to tolerate those subtle forms of temptation which sometimes manifest themselves even under the guise of piety.

(3) "Nor in guile," for he was straightforward and sincere in his methods, with "no cunning craftiness," no maneuvers, no strategy; for they had" renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully" (2 Corinthians 4:2).

2. Positively. The method of his preaching met with the Divine approval. "But as we were approved of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who trieth our hearts."

(1) The gospel is a solemn trust, a rich treasure. There are many human trusts which men would rather shirk, but the apostle is not unwilling to accept this trust for the good of the world.

(2) He claims no independent worthiness for so sacred a trust. God gave him any worthiness or sufficiency he possessed. "Our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament" (2 Corinthians 3:5, 6).

(3) He discharged his trust

(a) with a perfect disregard for men's opinions about him (1 Corinthians 4:3);

(b) and with no desire to catch the favor of men. "Not as pleasing men; "for" as of sincerity, as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:17). Not sacrificing truth [o the fancies or prejudices of men in order to secure their favor. If "he pleased men, he should not be the servant of God" (Galatians 1:10).

(4) He had supreme and final regard to the all-seeing God, "who trieth the hearts," who knows the springs of all actions, discovers all artifices, and brings all hidden things to light, lien look on the outward appearance. God "spares all beings but himself that awful sight - a naked human heart." He "seeth not as man seeth." It is vain, therefore, to appear other than we are. - T.C.

For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain
Outsiders testified of the success of the gospel; and the apostles could confidently appeal to the converts in confirmation of the report. "For yourselves," etc. Dr. Lillie observes: "Paul's entrance was no easy, random, careless matter — not at all an affair of rhetoric or ostentation — no holiday diversion or intellectual pastime; but a fact of the utmost gravity for him and for that renowned city — a crisis, an epoch in the history of both." We trace in their ministerial endeavours four essential elements that are ever found in all successful preaching — boldness, sincerity, gentleness, moral consistency. Consider, first, their boldness.

I. THIS BOLDNESS MANIFESTED IN THE EARNEST DECLARATION OF THE TRUTH. "We are bold in our God," etc.

1. Bold in their conception of the Divine origin and vast scope of the gospel, and its adaptation to the wants of man, they were not less hold in its faithful proclamation. Their deep conviction of the supreme authority of the truth gave them unusual courage. We see the same spirit in Paul, when his fearless words roused the ire of Festus, shook the conscience of the thoughtless Felix, or swayed the heart of Agrippa. We see it in Elijah as he rebuked the sins of the wicked Ahab or threw the baffled priests of Baal into maddening hysteria — himself the while unmoved and confident. We see it conspicuously in Him whose burning words assailed every wrong, and who denounced the leaders of a corrupt Church as "serpents!" "generation of vipers!"

2. "With much contention" — amid much conflict and danger. This kind of preaching provoked opposition, and involved them in great inward struggles. The faithful messenger of God fears not the most violent assault from without: but the thought of the fatal issues to those who obstinately reject and fight against the gospel fills him with agonizing concern.

II. THIS BOLDNESS NO SUFFERING COULD DAUNT. "Even after that we had suffered before," etc. They had come fresh from a city where they had been cruelly outraged. But their sufferings only deepened their love for the gospel, and inflamed the passion to make it known. A German professor has lately made experiments with chalcedony, and other quartzose minerals, and he has demonstrated that when such stones are ground on large and rapidly revolving wheels, they exhibit a brilliant phosphorescent glow throughout their entire mass. So is it with the resolute worker. The more he is ground under the strong wheel of suffering and persecution, the more intensely will his character glow.

III. THIS BOLDNESS WAS DIVINELY INSPIRED. "In our God." It was not presumption or bravado; but tire calm, grand heroism of a profound faith in God. The prophet Jeremiah, in a moment of despondency, decided to "speak no more in the name of the Lord;" but when he could say, "The Lord is with me as a mighty terrible One," his courage returned, and he obeyed implicitly the Divine mandate — "Thou shalt go," etc. Similarly commissioned, Paul once exclaimed, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Endowed with the like spirit Luther uttered his noble protest at the Diet of Worms — "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me!" Lessons:

1. Boldness is indispensable in attacking the evils of the age — not in the mass, but in detail.

2. Boldness acquired only by studious and prayerful familiarity with God and His message.

(G. Barlow.)

I. ITS SUBLIME COURAGE. "We were bold in our God." True pulpit courage must not be con founded with that audacity, impudence, self-assurance, which, alas! is so prevalent. It is courage in God, and springs from —

1. Love for God's character. Love is the soul of courage. Strong love absorbs all selfish fears and makes the soul heroic. Paul loved his God so strongly that he lost all selfish feelings in the passion.

2. Confidence in God's gospel. Paul knew that the gospel he had received and that he preached was not of men, but of God. No infidel argument could shake his faith in this. It was to him a subject beyond question and debate, settled amongst the immoveable facts of his own consciousness. Boldness in God is what the pulpit wants now. Some preachers speak as if they were bold in their theology, in their sect, in their own capacities; but Paul was "bold in God." He felt himself to be nothing.

II. ITS TRANSCENDENT THEME. The glad tidings.

1. That God loves all men, although they are sinners. Nature shows that God loves all men as creatures; but the gospel alone reveals His love to sinners (John 3:16).

2. That God's love for sinners is so great that He gave His only begotten Son. This is God's gospel; and what a transcendent theme for the preacher! This Paul preached: not theology, science, philosophy, metaphysical theories.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

is cool and calm. The bravest of men have least of a brutal bullying insolence, and in the very time of danger are found the most serene and free. Rage, we know, can make a coward forget himself, and fight. But what is done in fury or anger can never be placed to the account of courage.

(Shaftesbury.)

Archbishop Whately once said, when a friend asked him whether he did not feel nervous about preaching, that he dared not; for nervousness implied thoughts of oneself, when we ought only to be thinking of God's message.

(J. Hutchinson, D. D.)

is like a smooth file, a knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off his gun. If men will be bold to sin, ministers must be bold to reprove.

(W. Gurnal.)

Boston Review.
The daily influence of Christ-like ministers streams into the character of their people as the imponderable sunlight enters into the solid substance of vegetation.

(Boston Review.)

Rev. Mr. Johnson, a Baptist missionary in China, relates this fact of a native convert who, when trying to persuade his countrymen to give up their idols and believe in Christ, was ridiculed and scorned, and at last pelted with mud and stones till his face was red with the blood that flowed from the cuts in his temples. Mr. Johnson meeting him said, "You have had bad treatment today." He smilingly replied, "They may kill me if they will love Jesus."

Mr. Moody tells us that there was a celebrated preacher in one of the Southern States of America, who went to a place where they told him if he dared to speak they would rotten-egg him. But he went right on. He said he wanted to tell them a story. A man in Texas went to town and sold a drove of cattle; he put the money in his saddlebags, got on his horse and started for home, his dog with him. He got tired after awhile, and laid down under a tree and went to sleep, laying the saddlebags by him. After awhile he awoke, took up the bags, got on his horse and rode off. But his dog kept barking and running back, and would not go along with him and keep quiet. So he finally, in his anger, took out his revolver and shot the dog, and rode on. But the more he thought about what he had done, the more he was troubled. He turned his horse and rode back, and found that the dog had dragged himself along until he had reached the tree where he had slept. There he was, dying; but by his side was his master's bundle of money, which he had dropped and was going off without, and which his faithful dog had lost his life in trying to save. "Now," said the minister, "I am here like that dog, to tell you of the treasure you are losing. Rotten-egg me if you want to." But they didn't; they heard him gladly.

A young man was engaged in teaching a class of rather wild lads in a Sabbath school: He thought that he was not qualified to make any impression upon them, and got much discouraged. By the inducements of his fellow teachers and superintendent, he was prevailed upon to keep at the work for years, till at last he absolutely refused to continue it longer. Many years afterward an eminent missionary wrote home: "Is that gentleman who taught in the Sabbath school still living? If he is, please let him know that there is at least one living who dates his conversion to Christ from the lessons received in his class." So you see that, although the teacher gave up his work because he saw no fruit, yet the seed sown was not lost; one soul, if not more, was saved, and used as God's means for saving many others.

People
Paul, Thessalonians
Places
Judea, Philippi, Thessalonica
Topics
Brethren, Brothers, Conscious, Effect, Entering, Entrance, Fail, Failure, Purpose, Vain, Visit, Wasn't, Yourselves
Outline
1. In what manner the gospel was brought and preached to the Thessalonians.
18. A reason is rendered both why Paul was so long absent from them, and also so desirous to see them.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Thessalonians 2:1

     5976   visiting

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

     7760   preachers, responsibilities

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

     8820   self-confidence

Library
The Bible
THE WORD OF GOD "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God." (1 Thessalonians 2:13.) THE Apostle here testifies that he believes himself to be the bearer of a revelation direct from God; that the words he speaks and the words he writes are not the words of man, but the Word of God, warm with his breath, filled with his thoughts, and stamped with his will. In this same epistle he writes: "For this we say unto
I. M. Haldeman—Christ, Christianity and the Bible

Thessalonica and Berea
'Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath- days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3. Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 4. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Calling of the Regenerate:
"Whom He did predestinate, them He also called."--Rom. viii. 30. In order to hear, the sinner, deaf by nature, must receive hearing ears. "He that hath ears let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 29; iii. 6, 13, 22). But by nature the sinner does not belong to these favored ones. This is a daily experience. Of two clerks in the same office, one obeys the call and the other rejects it; not because he despises it, but because he does not hear God's call in it. Hence
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Protevangelium.
As the mission of Christ was rendered necessary by the fall of man, so the first dark intimation of Him was given immediately after the fall. It is found in the sentence of punishment which was passed upon the tempter. Gen. iii. 14, 15. A correct understanding of it, however, can be obtained only after we have ascertained who the tempter was. It is, in the first place, unquestionable that a real serpent was engaged in the temptation; so that the opinion of those who maintain that the serpent is only
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Effectual Calling
'Them he also called.' Rom 8:80. Q-xxxi: WHAT IS EFFECTUAL CALLING? A: It is a gracious work of the Spirit, whereby he causes us to embrace Christ freely, as he is offered to us in the gospel. In this verse is the golden chain of salvation, made up of four links, of which one is vocation. Them he also called.' Calling is nova creatio, a new creation,' the first resurrection. There is a two-fold call: (1.) An outward call: (2.) An inward call. (1.) An outward call, which is God's offer of grace to
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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