Open the Bible UK Daily

You remember, brothers, our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:9

The Apostle Paul’s definition of success is very different than the world’s definition. His definition of success is: to advance the gospel and to live under the approval of God.

• We had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict (2:2).

Success is to advance the gospel.

• We speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts (2:4).

Success is to live under the approval of God.

Western postmodern culture places great emphasis on the way that each person is uniquely wired. Follow your heart! You do you! The Word of God does not major on what is uniquely you, but on what is commonly us.

All of us (if we are human beings) are created by God. All of us are descended from Adam. All of us share the effects of his sin. And all of us depend on Christ for our righteousness.

All of us (if we are Christians) have the Spirit of God living within us. We all struggle with the flesh. And we all suffer.

All of us are being conformed to the image of Christ. All of us are entrusted with the gospel. And all of us are called to lay down our lives in the service of others.

What are some ways you might be tempted to emphasise your own unique design over our common calling in Christ?

Not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere.
1 Thessalonians 1:8

The church in Thessalonica was a bridgehead for the gospel. It was the most exciting church in the New Testament, and yet some of the believers there didn’t know it. Some thought Paul’s ministry was a failure. That’s clear from how Paul answers them:

• Our coming to you was not in vain. (2:1) Obviously, some people were suggesting that it was.
• Our appeal does not spring from error. (2:3) Some thought that it did.
• Our appeal does not spring from… impurity or any attempt to deceive. (2:3) Some felt that Paul was trying to manipulate them.

Sadly, some in the church, who were surrounded by a great work of God, did not have the eyes to see it. All they could see were problems. We know that Paul’s accusers were Christians, because he calls them “brothers.” How could they have thought that Paul’s ministry was a failure?

Because they had a false definition of success. They defined success as “everything being comfortable and everyone being happy.” If that is your standard, you too will likely feel that your life, your family, and your church are a failure.

A successful ministry does not mean a comfortable ministry. And a successful life, in God’s sight, is not the same as a carefree life. Plenty of God’s servants in the Bible were seen by the world as failures. But God’s view of success is different than the world’s.

What is your definition of success? How do you know if your life is a success?

Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
1 Thessalonians 1:5

Deep conviction does not fit well with our culture today. The prevailing spirit is one of uncertainty. We have more questions than answers.

The person who speaks with certainty is quickly accused of being arrogant. None of us want to be thought of as proud, so it has become fashionable to reshape the gospel in terms of our questions and our searching.

Notice how far this is from the spirit of the New Testament: “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” The weight of Paul’s message came across in the conviction with which he spoke.

People communicate in different styles, but whatever your style, the way you speak about the gospel has to fit the scale of the message.

Think about a man making a marriage proposal. He decides to leave a voicemail: “Hi there, just wanted you to know that I love you very much. And I wanted to ask you if you would marry me. Get back to me when you have time.”

That wouldn’t be very appropriate, now, would it? This man knows that what he is proposing will cost him everything. What he is asking will cost her everything.

We must communicate the gospel in a way that is appropriate to the message. The gospel should not be presented like a high-pressure sales pitch, or like a free piece of candy, but with power, with the Holy Spirit’s help, and with deep conviction.

Think about the people you talk to—children, grandchildren, colleagues, neighbours. What would they conclude about the gospel from the way that you speak about Jesus Christ?

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

The church exists to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, that through

The church exists to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, that through His death He bore the wrath of God, and that our risen King is coming to take His people into the presence of God.

These things are so central to the message of Christianity, that…

If we could show everybody how to navigate life, answer all human problems, mend all marriages, and heal all wounds, but we did not proclaim Christ, we would not have fulfilled our commission.

If we could restore morality to the nation, cleanse Hollywood, and sanctify social media, but we did not proclaim Christ, we would not have completed our work.

If we could provide meaningful relationships and personal fulfilment for everyone, but we did not proclaim Christ, we would not have fulfilled our calling.

The health of a church and the effectiveness of a ministry cannot be judged by numbers, or programmes, or relationships, or commitments, but rather by the degree to which people have placed their confidence in Jesus Christ and found Him to be sufficient.

That’s the message. The gospel exalts Jesus Christ, and we can count on the Holy Spirit to honour this gospel with His presence and power.

What are you most tempted to place at the centre of Christianity (at the expense of the gospel)? Why?

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

The gospel message is about a person Paul has come to know and wants to introduce to others. This person is unlike any other person who has ever lived. He is God’s Son from heaven. The gospel is about Him, and what He is able to do for you.

Jesus, whom the Father raised from the dead

The distinctive declaration of the gospel is: Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead! Because He conquered death, He is uniquely positioned to bring us into life. Christians still die, but through His resurrection your death will not be the end of your life, but an entrance into a better kind of life.

Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath

Every person is faced with “the wrath to come.” This is God’s judging of every life—punishing every sin, righting every wrong, eradicating all evil, and destroying all sinners in the lake of fire.

Without this coming wrath, the gospel makes no sense. What is the point of telling self-confident people that Jesus can give them a wonderful life when their lives are already full? Paul was convinced that there is a “wrath to come” that every person needs to be rescued from.

The glory of the gospel is that, at unfathomable cost, Christ, through His death, has borne the wrath of God. And He now offers Himself to you so that you may be rescued from the wrath that, apart from Him, would come upon you.

Why is understanding the wrath of God necessary to understanding the gospel?

You know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

The apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica pulsates with a sense of urgency. He regularly uses words like: exhort, encourage, urge, and admonish. For example:

We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. (4:1)

We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (5:14)

Why does Paul use these words so often? Because we don’t have forever to fulfil the work God has given us to do. Every day the coming of Christ draws nearer. Every day more people pass into eternity. Every day we draw nearer to that great moment ourselves.

You are closer today to your unbreakable appointment with Jesus Christ than you were yesterday: “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Ps. 144:4). Therefore, since God has been so gracious with the time He has allotted to you, cultivate a sense of urgency—with one eye on the cross, and the other on the rapidly approaching Day of the Lord!

Pray that God would renew a sense of urgency in the church today. Pray that this urgency would cause us to intentionally point people to the Saviour. Pray that He would teach us to live like there’s no tomorrow.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
John 5:39-40

As long as you are looking to yourself for salvation, there is absolutely no hope for you. Salvation does not come from within you. It cannot. The life you need is found in Christ and your hope lies in Him.

If you are drawn to Jesus today, then turn away from yourself and look to Him. Look to Him for what you do not have in yourself. Ask Him to be for you what you cannot be in yourself.

Do you lack a feeling of love for God? Look to Christ to give you what you do not have.

Do you feel that you cannot live this Christian life? Look to Christ to give you the strength you do not have. Don’t sit there looking at yourself. There’s no hope there.

You may feel that you are far from God today. You may even wonder why you are reading this. You don’t need to take a long journey to come to Christ. He is able to make you a new man, a new woman, today.

The resurrection of Jesus happened in a moment. God just raised Him, and He is able to do that for you today. He is able to give you a new mind, a new heart, new desires, new affections, new power, new direction, and a new spirit. He is able to make you a new creation. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Where are your eyes focused right now? Are you looking to yourself to generate some hope? Or are you looking to Jesus to give you what you do not have?

“An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
John 5:25

The first thing we learn about God in the Bible is that when He speaks, things are created that did not exist before. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen. 1:3).

Now here is God the Son, God in the flesh, and when He comes to people who are dead in their sins, He says, “Let there be life!” And the dead who hear the voice of the Son of God live.

We see this in the Gospels. Jesus speaks to the daughter of Jairus, “Talitha cumi” which means “Little girl, I say to you, arise” (Mark 5:41). And when Jesus speaks, what happens? Life enters into her, and Jesus “told them to give her something to eat” (5:43).

Lazarus was in the grave for four days when Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43). John tells us, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth” (John 11:44). The Son of God speaks and physical life is imparted to the dead.

When Jesus speaks to those who are dead in their sins, He creates in them a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. The Bible calls this the new birth. Those who are dead in their sins hear His voice and live!

Jesus is in the business of raising people who are spiritually dead. We see this throughout the Gospels, and He is still doing it today. He gives new life through His Word and by His Spirit. For this reason the Bible says that we are born again of the Word (1 Pet. 1:23), and born again of the Spirit (John 3:6). New life is generated in the person who was dead.

If you are a Christian today, is there someone in your life that you could ask Jesus to do this for? And if you are not yet a Christian, do you think it is possible that Jesus could do this for you?

By grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:5

Grace is more than God making salvation possible. It’s more than God opening a door and then standing back to see who will come through. By nature nobody would come through. An open door is no different from a closed door to a dead man.

Grace means more than God making your salvation possible. Grace is God saving you. Here’s what has happened to you if you are a Christian. “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ”(2:4-5). This is what the Bible says happened.

Yes, but how did it happen? Jesus tells us: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). What did Jesus mean when He spoke about “passing from death to life”? Death is where we all begin. But it need not be where we end. Jesus holds out this marvellous offer: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me does not come into judgment.”

The Son of God has life, and He gives life. New life, eternal life can be yours if you will hear His word and believe the Father who sent Him. How can a person who is spiritually dead hear the word of Jesus and believe?

Jesus gives life to people who are spiritually dead. “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” (John 5:21). Death is the end of all hope for us, but not for God. The Father raises the dead. And, in the same way, the Son gives life to whom He will.

How would you explain God’s grace to someone who has never heard of it?

You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.
Ephesians 2:1

Many church people have bought into a view of sin that goes like this: We all mess up in various ways, and nobody is perfect. But God is gracious and kind. If we are sorry and want to do better, God will forgive us and help us, and it was Jesus who made all this possible.

If this is the size and the scale of the problem, Jesus will not seem to you like a very great saviour. But the wrong things we do are only the tip of the iceberg. Once you understand the Bible’s doctrine of sin, it will provide the building blocks to understanding the nature of salvation.

The Word of God teaches that, by nature, we are sinners from birth. By nature, we are children of wrath. By nature, we can’t change our position. And, by nature, we are completely hopeless. This is the inside story of human life, according to the Bible.

Someone might object, “Wait a minute… I have a question. You say that I’m dead in my sins, but I’ve already taken some steps toward God—I repented, I believed, and I’m following Christ. How did I do all that if I was dead in my sins?”

Here is the Bible’s answer: When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ! After Paul lays out the inside story of human life in verses 1 to 3, he says: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us… made us alive together with Christ” (2:4-5).

This is what Paul says to all his Christian readers, and this is what he is saying to you, if you’re a believer today.

When you think about your own salvation, do you tend to emphasise how good of a person you’ve been or how great of a salvation Jesus earned for you?