Monday 3rd March
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.” (NIVUK)
One some readings of the letter Paul now begins his instructions to the Thessalonian believers after a long introduction. On other readings these final two chapters are simply an opportunity to fill in some gaps and the real purpose of the letter was to explain how and why he loved and prayed for them. Regardless of how you read the letter and where you see its emphasis there is little doubt Paul wants the believers to prepare themselves for Jesus’ return and live lives that honour Him.
The need for instruction is clear. There is no legacy of law in their childhood. They were not raised with the Hebrew scriptures guiding their moral behaviour. But faith comes with fidelity – there are consequences that can’t be avoided. Teaching is needed to explain what those consequences are, what fidelity looks like.
The instructions Paul would have arrived with were likely quite succinct. When the elders in Jerusalem met at length to discuss what would be required of Gentile believers, the requirements were brief, yet still incredibly counter-cultural. We know what they are because Luke records the contents of the letter Paul and the apostles would have traveled with. “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” (Acts 15:28-29) (NIVUK). Short yet challenging.
How relevant are those instructions today?
