“our coming to you was not in vain” (1 Thess. 2:1, NKJV)
A well-known evangelist once said that it is not the raised sword but the raised eyebrow that inhibits believers in their witness for the gospel.
Most of us do not live under the threat of prison or death at the hands of civil government. What keeps us from speaking to others about Jesus is not loss of life or property but loss of esteem in the eyes of others. What will people think of us? What prestige or promotion might we jeopardize by telling others the good news of great joy bound up in Christ?
Paul was not bound by such fear. Prior to his arrival in Thessalonica the apostle found himself in Philippi, and that at the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:10). He met with initial success in his ministry. We are told of Lydia that “the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14).
But then things went south. When Paul cast a spirit out of a servant girl and cost her masters the opportunity for continued financial gain by her divination, he and Silas received unwanted attention. The crowd attacked them and the magistrate had them beaten and cast into prison. Yet even there the Spirit was at work and their jailer came to Christ.
Paul alludes to this experience and his mistreatment but he is quick to mention that it in no way slowed him down in his gospel mission. “But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict” (1 Thess. 2:2).
What did Paul do in Thessalonica on the heels of his Philippi experience? Luke tells us: “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.’” (Acts 17:2–3). Again, he faced opposition and oppression, but he would not be deterred.
For one thing, Paul saw the hand of the Spirit who had led him working in the hearts of people through the ministry of his preaching. “And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas” (Acts 17:4). That’s why Paul writes now to the Thessalonians: “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain” (1 Thess. 2:1).
For another, God was at work not only despite the conflict but in the conflict. Paul’s boldness to speak the gospel was not squelched by the conflict but that opposition became the theater for his preaching. And that word of life was heard amidst the clamor because of the spiritual ears to hear granted by the Spirit.
While we are not to be obnoxious with the gospel, we are to be obedient with it as ones called to be witnesses to it. Peter says we are to give a defense for the faith with gentleness and respect, neither cowed nor coercive.
The conversion of others, like Lydia and the jailer, did not come about by arm twisting or the twisting of the word of truth to make it more palatable. There was no altar call, just the good news of life in Christ going forth and finding its home in the hearts of those prepared by the Spirit.
How can you be “bold in God” to speak the word of life into the lives of others?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
