1 Thessalonians 2: 1-6 – You Are Holding The Rescue Package – 3/29/20

Written by Dave Urbanski

Entrusted with the gospel

The word “gospel” means “good news.” You might say that it’s a rescue package — and all you have to do to receive it is to believe in Jesus. As Christians we have the rescue package. The solution to the problem of sin that runs rampant through this world. And we know this because when we became Christians, we recognized our own brokenness and sin and asked Jesus to forgive us and come into our hearts. That’s the gospel. It’s for you, it’s for me, it’s for everybody.

In this strange and scary time, all of our lives have been turned inside out and upside down in one way or another. The COVID-19 virus is of course something all of us are trying to stamp out and avoid contracting. But in another way, it’s a sobering reminder of the reality of sin — the sin that’s blemished and damaged our world. In fact, the Bible says that when sin came into our world, the whole world groaned. COVID-19 is a sign that our planet and those who live upon it are broken. But the exciting and encouraging reality is that all of us as believers have the rescue package. The solution. The cure. The antidote. The vaccine. And it’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came into our broken world to rescue us. And when we accept Jesus into our lives and hearts as Savior and Lord, we receive not only his salvation and eternal life — but also something very powerful in our lives right now. Just as a hiker may encounter another hiker on a trail who’s hungry or injured — and then gives that hungry or injured hiker nourishment or care from within his backpack — we as believers can do the same thing as we walk our spiritual paths carrying our rescue backpacks. And all we have to do is open them up and freely offer what’s inside to outstretched hands and hearts.

You may say, “How can God give me that? I don’t have the righteousness for that.” Exactly right! You don’t have that righteousness. None of us has it. But as believers in Christ, we rely on Jesus’ righteousness, not our own. You also may say, “I’m not qualified for this — to be entrusted with the gospel.” Again, true — in and of yourself, you aren’t qualified. But God is.

As we read in Sunday’s passage — 1 Thessalonian 2:1-6 — Paul in verse 4 tells his fellow believers that he and Timothy and Silas “have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” That’s true for all of us: God has approved us to be entrusted with the gospel — the good news. We are worthy of that trust because the Lord is worthy; we are qualified and passed God’s test because Jesus already passed it for us.

In that spirit, let’s remind ourselves from this passage from Paul’s letter the four elements that characterize being entrusted with the gospel:

1. The first is that the gospel is full, not empty. Paul in verse 1 tells the Thessalonian church that “our coming to you was not in vain.” There is life and fullness in their message.

• The second element is that the gospel is about boldness instead of fearfulness. In verse 2, Paul says that despite their sufferings, he and his proclaimers of the gospel delivered it boldly. That’s because the gospel is the antidote for anxiety and the ultimate answer to life — and having that rescue package makes every other difficulty much, much smaller.

• The third element is that that there’s complete genuineness and sincerity in the gospel and in how we deliver it and proclaim it to others. Paul declares in verse 3 that he and his fellow workers weren’t lying or seeking flattery or money. May we have that same spirit as we proclaim the good news.

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• Finally, in verse 6 Paul says he wasn’t after glory for himself. As we are entrusted with the gospel, we must remember that it’s not about us or building ourselves up. It’s about others. It’s about being selfless.

In these trying times when so much is up in the air — our health, our finances, our jobs, and even our day-to-day connection to each other as a church — let us remember that we each carry a rescue package. And it isn’t just for us; it’s for others. Our world is waiting for us who’ve been granted an everlasting vaccine from the effects of sin to share it with them. There’s even more isolation, loneliness, and anxiety out there these day for those without Jesus in their lives. But the exciting thing is that the Lord is inviting us to be the deliverers of his message rescue to them.

Listen to the sermon here: