1 Thessalonians Chapter 1 Discussion Page 2

First of all nobody is perfect.( Romans 3:23-25) Second of all i will pray for you to the Father.( 1 Timothy 2:1-4) David, Solomon, Moses, Aaron, and others in the Bible were not perfect, sinned against God and were corrected for it.( Hebrews 12:6-11) The key thing we all need to do daily is repent of our sins because we are not perfect but Jesus Christ our Lord is and he loves us wanting the best for us.( 1 John 1:9)( 2 Peter 3:9) Our choices decide how close or distant we are from the Father.( James 4:7-10) The main thing we need to remember is that God loves use and created us for his pleasure.( Revelation 4:11) The Lord never falls short but we do. This is why he wants us to humble ourselves and ask him for forgiveness in sincerity.( Proverbs 28:13) If we are not pleasing to him he will correct us to keep us from being deceived and falling away from him. The Lord instructed use through his word and sacrificed himself to draw us closer to him.( John 1:1-5)( John 3:16) Pray believing in the Lord with a humble heart and talk to him, he loves you because your his child( Mark 11:24).

Chris

Many have made shipwreck of their faith by surrendering the battle. We fight on. No truer words have been spoken. I fathom this Love that still speaks to me after all these years. I wish I could say" I fought the good fight" but to be honest I have not" to many yields" not enough VICTORY. Nevertheless this love that beckons me on is beyond my comprehension or understanding. I get up dust myself off and start another day.

Thanks Chris

Harry

Harry, this is our constant battle - and in some folk, the battle rages more so as the enemy of our souls seeks our spiritual destruction. The only way he can do it is by appealing to that sin nature that still is within us & convinces us that some of those sins we repented of & sought forgiveness for, are actually sins that we miss & want to revive them again.

Apostle Paul spoke of this in Romans 6:11-14: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body....Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you..."

Paul was speaking of that one sin offering that Christ made for us - that He died only once (& no more) for our sin. In like manner we should have this same mind as He did & appropriate our dying to sin as a past experience, but our ongoing quest to not resurrect sin but to yield our mind/our desires/our members towards pleasing the Lord in all that we do. Easy to say but hard to do, eh?

God has not left us without witness & help ( John 14:16-18). We have to grab onto His Holy Spirit & not let Him go until we realize victory over that sin that so easily besets us. We need to first hate the sin & then with the Spirit's Strength to immediately look to Jesus, the Author & Perfecter of our faith, & oppose the enemy's taunts with the Word of God. Why we fail, is not because of any failure by God, but of our failure to Him to despise the very thing that He hates rather we entertain it by giving any excuse.

Our battle in this area is constant - many have made shipwreck of their faith by surrendering the battle. We fight on because we have our gaze on the Lord Jesus & "for the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus". The fight will not be long.

If you'll read books Apostle Paul wrote, you'll see how good you have it. He was stoned, beat to a bloody pulp, locked up in prison; locked up and chained to jailer on the inside, bit by a snake that kills everybody else (Paul shook it off into a campfire).

Much much more. It's been an inspiration to me. We're not strong by ourselves alone. We need the company of the Holy Spirit to get through the dark times.

Sounds like you need a change of scenery. Our flesh is our biggest obstacle. We develop bad habits that will persuade us to think that we deserve something that is probably not what the spirit of God wants or can use. When you give yourself to Christ, that's when the holy spirit starts its work. We should never frustrate the holy spirit, but if we do, He will forgive us and show us another way! The first thing that will happen, is the same thing that happened to Christ. When you truly give yourself to Christ, Satan will be right there ready to tempt you. Just like Christ we must confront evil with good. The word of God! The only way that we can live in the spirit is believing that Christ died and rose again , and that his spirit will live in you! That's it. very simple, right? No, its not simple! We live in a world ruled by Satan. We cannot overcome Satan unless we are IN CHRIST! Peace is one of many blessings you will receive. If you have no peace, than you are probably not in the spirit of God!

Hello Harry. I feel your frustration. Once being led to the truth and being cleaned up a bit. It's truly sad to see how twisted this world really is. Just keep on giving it your best, to do what's right, brother. The Lord is with you always. Cry out to Him and pray, tell Him your frustrations and ask for help. One thing I always think of is "what good is a test if it's easy". Take it one day at a time. God Bless you brother.

1 Thessalonians 1. 9 ,10

V 10 and wait for His Son from heaven , whom whom He raised from the dead , Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come .

This is very reassuring to know we are already delivered by The power of God from the wrath to come upon the ungodly and sinners .

No need to be raptured out !

Romans 8 v 35 ,36,37,38,39

Amen !

These scriptures define the system that Jesus set forth in Scripture. People call it the Five Fold Ministry. If you spread your fingers: the apostle is the thumb because it can touch on the other four fingers;

the Pastor is the ring finger, because they daily care for Jesus's sheep.

The prophet is the forefinger calling people to repent (points).

Teacher is the center finger.

Pastor, Keeper of the sheep.

Last but not the least: Evangelist. The Gospel with shoes on.

Jesus demonstrated the entire 5 fold ministry.

Some people call themselves Apostles today. So as to not judge, you should spiritually discern the fruit of the Tree which is Jesus. Some people say the disciples were set apart as Apostles by having seen the risen Jesus; and that the modern Church does not have the office of Apostle in it.

Ephesians 4:11

And he (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

1 Corinthians 12:28

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

I'm sure other comments will be added to this post. Just enter those as a new comment so my mailbox doesn't overflow.

Mishael

Is there a passage in the New Testament that speaks to man's need for hierarchy in a congregation, or "branches" or "campuses" of a congregation being established?

Verse 6-The Christians in Thessalonica were prepared for persecution and their joy came from imitating good examples and the joy of having God's holy spirit upon them.

Matthew 28:19

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"

Mule, in reply to Thessalonians 1... those who are without sin, cast the first stone.

Just curious as to what happened to the thief on the cross did not get baptized or do you any good Thief is a thief only thing he did was believe in Jesus Christ and who was the son of God and Jesus told him today you will be with me in Paradise

But that's the thing, Biblical Salvation is contrary to your interpretation: John3:15-16 John3:18 John3:36 John5:24 John 6:40 John6:47 Acts16:31 and Acts10:43 are all verses that plainly explain how to be saved. There's no question, the Bible is clear that any who simply believe on Jesus has everlasting life. In fact, they clearly say we "receive the remission of sins" we "Shall not perish" we are "not condemned" and we "HAVE eternal life" all by believing on Jesus. Nowhere in any of these verses is Baptism mentioned as a requirement. Even in 1Corinth.15:3-4 the clearest definition of the Gospel doesn't even talk about Baptism. You have Gods word that you will be saved if you just believe.

People find all kinds of excuses to deny Jesus. Each time, their hearts harden. Too bad.. all the love they ever craved was standing at the door of their heart; knocking.

James, actually The thief is the perfect example of someone saved without works (including Baptism), The thief did not die in the Old Testament. The thief had died after Jesus thus the new Testament was in effect (see John19:31-33) Where soldiers had broken both thieves legs to officially finish the job (Because they had not yet died by the crucifixion). But Jesus himself was already dead. The thief died saved and unbaptized. Now some people might come and say it wasn't until the resurrection that the new Testament went into effect. But as Romans 9:15-22 explains "And for this cause, he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of DEATH, for the redemption of the transgressions."

Benji, I am not here for a vain argument. If you study the scriptures as they are written you will find what I said is true. Remember that we must rightly divide the word of truth and study to show ourselves approved unto God.

Hi James peace be unto you in Jesus' name. I apologize I took so long to reply. Regarding the thief, he lived and died during Old Testament times. He was a Jew and Jesus was sent unto the lost sheep of Israel. Jesus said that he must be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness and whoever believed in him would be saved. This refers to Numbers 21 where Moses made a brass serpent and whoever looked upon it was saved from serpent bites they had received. Similarly, the Jews at that time needed only to believe in their Messiah to be saved. He believed on his Messiah and thus was saved.

Matthew 7:1 is one. Link

where does it say do not pass judgement on others , or to judge or be judged

Ravi Zacharias has a good video on this subject you can find online.

All people have done wrong and sinned. Those who think Christians are worse are mistaken, because atheists have created more atrocities, like Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong. It doesn't mean their religion is to blame though. Christianity teaches to turn the other cheek and to love others. Killing is a violation. Just because someone violates their religion doesn't mean the religion is somehow to blame. I can't play the piano and if I try to play Mozart and do a bad job, does that mean Mozart was a bad composer? The associations are logical fallacies. Also the crusades were mostly Catholic, in certain part of the world that was recently attacked. So, its false to blame all Christians for it.

What do I tell people who think Christians are bad because of the crusades?

I did ask the 3 boys if they had received Jesus as Lord & Savior. The whole point of that testimony is people being judgements about the Catholic Church. God leaned in on me and said DONT judge! Then He set me down to see the prophesy spoken to Mary by the angel, which she repeated. In Matthew. ALL generations will call me blessed. I don't have to defend God. He will work out every detail. Fact is your garden variety Christian doesn't give Jesus's mother a 2nd thought. Admit it.

Hello, why would you assume the KJV ever said 'skins'? Other translations use that word, but not KJV. KJV has always been 'bottles' and that is proven by looking at a scan of the original printing 400+ years ago which happens to be right here on this site: Link - Usually not a good idea to accuse others of things you haven't fully researched yourself then to ask people you don't know to 'repent' about it already being correct? Have you prayed to God before making these claims? Matthew 7:5

Why have you removed the word "wine skins" and replaced it with "wine bottles"? And would you please return the bible to its original form?. It is not wise to tamper with God's word. Please repent and correct it.

Thank you.
jb mac.

None of us have the right to tell someone they are going to hell because they are Catholic and they pray to Mary, even though we are to pray to God alone through Jesus Christ. A more proper approach would have been to show them what the Bible teaches about prayer, and who we are to pray to. You asked some great questions, but did you ask them if they ever received Christ and been born of His Spirit? Even though they answered yes to all your questions, belief in itself does not save them. A person must receive Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
Can we tell someone they will end up in hell? Yes! If someone flat out rejects Christ, we have the authority to tell them that will end up in hell.

(This continues my last comment)Also you're right. People are damned for not believing the Gospel. But you have a different Gospel. The Gospel does not include Baptism. In fact despite tons of scriptures explaining Salvation is not of works and even in Gods definition of the Gospel 1 Corinth. 15:1-4 not including Baptism. We also have an example of someone saved without Baptism. Remember the thief? "But wait he was saved in the Old covenant"...not quite. Luke was not the last we heard of the thief. Look in John 19:31-33 It shows clearly that the thief was alive AFTER Christ Death and therefore not only was he saved without Baptism but it was also in the new covenant

David, "Water" is referring to flesh birth, Read John:3:6 with John 3:5. Jesus just explained the 2 births to Nic. One flesh, one Spiritual. And Of course, the flesh isn't what makes us born again. Jesus was not presenting these 2 births as joined means of Salvation. He hadn't explained how to be born again yet. He's just explaining what the 2 births are. Which obviously the first is natural birth because if I'm being born again by the spirit evidently I must've had a first birth. Was my first birth by the Spirit? No last time I was born was in the flesh. The Womb. (And it's not far off to say by water because when a baby is about to be born what normally happens? The Water breaks.) cont....

David what about the thief on the cross with jesus he was not baptised but yet jesus told him today you will be with me in paradise