Like a Thief
I Thess. 4:1-11
Whether you’re a Steve McQueen fan or a Pierce
Brosnan fan, The Thomas Crown Affair
(with either star) is a fun movie. It’s
one of the great “heist movies,” a movie about a carefully planned and executed
theft. Now, you might argue that the
most carefully planned and executed element of the story wasn’t a theft but
don’t get too technical.
The point is, the authorities knew it was going to
happen and still couldn’t stop it. Of
course, Thomas Crown is one of the rare breed of movie burglars. Most thieves would just as soon you not know
they were coming and most of us are dutifully surprised when they do.
The Thessalonian Christians had been worried about
their deceased loved ones, especially concerned about what their fate would be
at Christ’s Return. But there appears to
have been a few who were also anxious about what would happen the living when
Christ returned—more particularly, what would happen to them.
Out of a pastor’s heart, Paul addressed their
concerns and fears. He begins by
suggesting two attitudes they should avoid.
Avoid Fruitless Speculation
Some commentators suggest that the Thessalonians
felt it might help if they knew when Christ would return. This led them to begin to speculate about
that date.
Their speculation was such that Paul felt compelled
to address the matter, “Now as to the times and the seasons…. you have no need
that anything be written to you.”
Vine
suggests that "times" (chronos) refers to the general period before
the Second Coming; "seasons"
(kairon), on the other hand, refers to the specific period of God's activity
known as "the Day of the Lord."
The Thessalonians appear to have had their
calendars at hand trying to guess the time of Christ’s coming. This was a futile exercise. Why? Because, the Thessalonians knew “… quite well that the day of the Lord
will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.”
Paul assumed—because he had taught them—that the
Thessalonians had the basic knowledge of the coming events. They didn’t know enough to mark their
calendars with certainty, but they knew what they need to know.
Paul, Peter, and Jesus himself all used the image
of the thief in the night, coming unannounced and silently. You can’t know the timing of the Day of the
Lord anymore than you can know the time of the thief’s arrival.
Pride and human curiosity will probably lead
preachers and evangelists to try to scope out the date of Christ’s Return but
they will fail Outsiders will mock and
scoff at the church.
Christians—especially those committed to the “prophets” making the
predictions—will be disappointed and lose their faith in the Scripture or they
will become even more fanatical and far-out in their unfounded predictions.
Avoid Foolish Complacency
Another response to the prediction of the Christ’s
coming is found in those who say, “All is well; everything is peaceful and
secure....” They are convinced that everything will go
on as it has always gone on. They're
convinced that there is no reason to be fervent in evangelism or conscientious
in discipleship.
Peter dealt with
scoffers who mockingly asked, "Where is the promise of his coming? For
ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of creation!"
The people Peter dealt
with scorned the doctrine of the Second Coming.
Paul is describing those who were just blithely unaware that things
could change without warning. As he
puts it, at any moment there could be “… disaster [which] will fall
upon them as suddenly as a woman's birth pains begin when her child is about to
be born. And there will be no escape.”
Paul uses a situation
which would have been true in his day, even if it isn’t true in ours. Once labor begins, there is no reversal of
the situation. The baby is coming. Once Christ returns, the events comprising
what the Bible calls “the Day of the Lord”
will take place.
On that Day, God’s sovereignty will be
revealed for all to see. There will be
no doubt about his existence, his power, or his purpose. There will be no further questions about Who
is in charge in the universe.
On that day, justice
will triumph. Ancient wrongs will be
righted.
On that Day, the wonder of God’s grace through Christ will
be revealed.
So, Paul is telling us
that we Christians walk toward the future with both uncertainty and
certainty. We don’t know when the
consummation of history will take place;
we know it will take place. It is
as foolish to say, “Not this week” as it is to say, “Next Thursday, about 3:45
p.m. GMT.”
In the face of such uncertain
certainty, how should we live?
We Should be Prepared to Live in
Light of Our Identity
Who we are and what we
know because of who we are should shape our lifestyles and world-views.
…. you are all children of light and
children of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone
else does, but stay wide awake and sober.
Night is the time for sleepers to sleep and night the time for drunkards
to be drunk, but we belong to the day and we should be sober…
Whatever others do,
whatever the seeming stability of the
cultural situation around them, Christians ought to be alert and sober. "Sober" suggests being of sound
mind; we ought to think clearly about
the culture and its enticements.
William Barclay
comments:
It is only
the man who lives in the dark and whose deeds are evil who will be caught
unprepared. The Christian lives in the light and no matter when that day comes,
if he is watchful and sober, it will find him ready. Waking or sleeping, the
Christian is living already with Christ and is therefore always prepared.
No man knows when God's call will come for
him and there are certain things that cannot be left until the last moment. It
is too late to prepare for an examination when the examination paper is before
you. It is too late to make the house secure when the storm has burst. When
Queen Mary of Orange was dying, her chaplain wished to read to her. She
answered, "I have not left this matter till this hour."
After his general call
for the Christians to be alert and sober, Paul gives some specific directions
to those wanting to know how to live. He
says, “But let us who live in the
light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing
as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.”
Like a soldier preparing
for battle, we are to put on our armor and take up our weapon.
As we look at what Paul
says about the resources the Thessalonians have in waiting for the Day of the
Lord, we’ll discover that those same resources will help us face any of the
uncertainties in our lives.
1. Sober Christians should be prepared to
face the future with faith in a loving God.
Keep this in mind, the
God who will demonstrate his sovereignty and power in the events which mark the
end, is the God who loves us.
Christians face an
uncertain future with certainty in what a loving God has done for them through
Jesus Christ.
Jesus died so we may live. This promise is unchanged whether the
believer is alive or dead. The life we
have is a life which comes from being united to Christ. It is a life which survives death.
Death had long been such an unchallenged
enemy that it is no wonder the early Christians--and even Christians
today--wondered if somehow the promise of life in Christ had been a fantasy, a
hoax. Believers may have seen husbands
or wives die, aged parents die, even children die after becoming
Christians. It may not have been clear
how the promise of the Resurrection applied to them.
Paul reminded his readers that death could
not invalidate that promise. Union with
Christ is stronger than the power of death.
The love of God would not abandon them.
2. Sober Christians should be prepared face
the future with hope.
For Christians to face
the Future beyond the future with dread is a contradiction.
God desire is not to
pour out wrath on sinners; his desire is
to pour out his grace on them. That is
why he sent Christ to die. Because of
his actions, we can face the future with confidence—if we have placed our faith
in Christ.
The foundation for our
hope is God's actions on our behalf in Jesus Christ. Paul says God initiated our salvation to give
us a future to look forward to, not a future to dread.
3. Sober Christians should be prepared to
face the future with the support of
Christian community.
Facing the future alone
can be scary; the Christian doesn’t have
to face the future alone. We can find
support from our Christian brothers and sisters.
Once again, sound
theology becomes a foundation for the believers encouraging and edifying one
another. The goal, in part, seems to be
"character building" (Williams).
The word "comfort" (parakaleo) seems
to suggest an intensity of effort in exhorting a person to be comforted. This
is not the man or woman who casually says to a struggler, “Gee, I hope things
work out for you.” This is a person who
makes a commitment to that struggler.
"Edify" comes
from oikodome which means "the act of building a house." The idea is that the encouragement leaves the
person stronger or more secure than before, with a deeper faith or
confidence.
Paul commends the
Thessalonians for already doing this.
Spiritual guidance or direction is not simply the work of a pastor or
another official in the church. It is
the responsibility of each member.
Pity the Christian who
has only the pastor to turn to for encouragement and help. Pity the pastor who is the only one in the
church who will offer encouragement and support to the needy members of the
church.
Conclusion
As I prepared this
message, I discovered something interesting.
No, I didn’t discover
that by dividing the scrabble value of Saddam by the scrabble value of Bin
Laden, you could determine the date for the Second Coming.
So, put away your
calendars and stopwatches. I discovered
something more reliable.
I discovered that the
resources you need to face the prospect of the coming Day of the Lord are the
same resources you need to face a less dramatic future—your future. What can help me face the future of the
Cosmos is what I need to face my future.
I need to hold securely
to fact of God’s love—demonstrated in what he has done for me in Jesus Christ.
I need to be confident
that God’s good purposes for me will not be thwarted by what the future brings.
I need to fully participate
in that community of encouragement that is my church.
