THESSALONICA AND ITS CHURCH The precise situations that prompted Paul to write these two letters have been much debated. For our purposes, it is sufficient to say that Paul wanted to encourage believers who were trying to live faithful Christian lives in a hostile pagan environment. In addition to the typical struggles against things such as idolatry and sexual immorality, they were also confused about the end times, the role of everyday work, and the life of faith. WORKING FAITH, FINISHING UP, AND KEEPING THE FAITH (1 THESS. 1:1–4:8; 4:13–5:28; 2 i) WORKING FAITH (1 THESSALONIANS 1:1–4:8) In light of the problems with work that will emerge later in the epistles, it is interesting that Paul begins by remembering the Thessalonians’ “work of faith, and labor of love, and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:3). Paul writes his letters carefully and, if nothing else, this opening serves to introduce the vocabulary of labor into his discussion. The verse reminds us that faith is not simply mental assent to the propositions of the gospel. It takes work. It is the total life response to the commands and promises of the God who renews us and empowers us through his Spirit. The …show more content…
They all have something in the letters to support them, and it is not hard to see modern analogies in the modern church. Many people today undervalue everyday work because “Jesus is coming soon, and everything is going to burn up anyway.” Plenty of Christian workers justify substandard performance because their “real” purpose in the workplace is to evangelize their co-workers, John Page 109. And questions of unhelpful dependence on the charity of others arise both in the local context (e.g., pastors who are asked to give money to a man whose mother died . . . for the third time this year) and the global context (e.g., the question of whether some foreign aid does more harm than