Paul’s Loving Care (1 Thessalonians): When the Apostle Paul brought the gospel to Thessalonica, he was very careful to model a life aligned with his message. He demonstrated the kind of loving care found in a healthy family. This helped those early believers learn what it meant to be part of the church, and it helped sustain them, especially when times were tough. In life and ministry, the “how” matters. Recorded on May 11, 2025, on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of our series on 1 Thessalonians called Faithful to the End. Being a Christian in the Greek, first-century city of Thessalonica was tough. Thessalonica was a big and prosperous city, but it was full of idols. The Apostle Paul and the first Christians there faced fierce religious persecution and tremendous political pressure to conform. But despite their suffering, they remained faithful. Our culture is different today, but following Jesus can still be very costly. Will we be faithful to the end?
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, we’re continuing a sermon series called Faithful to the End from 1 Thessalonians in the Bible. And we’ve said that being a Christian in the Greek, first-century city of Thessalonica was tough. Thessalonica was a big city full of idols; there was fierce religious persecution, and tremendous political pressure to conform. But thankfully, despite all this, the Thessalonians remained faithful. Last week, we saw that one thing that helped them stay faithful was their commitment to Christ alone. They not only turned to Jesus in faith, but they turned away from idols. Everyone heard how they turned away from putting anything or anyone else in the place of God. This helped them, and this will help us as well. Today, we’re going to consider how the Apostle Paul ministered while he was among them. And we’ll see that the kind of loving care, the kind of care you would receive in a healthy family, is not only nice to have, but it’s vital, it’s especially necessary, when times are hard, when we are suffering, and when it becomes costly to be a Christian. If you have your Bible/app, please open it to 1Th 2:1. We’ll unpack it as we work through it.
1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 (NIV), “1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.” Two weeks ago, when we started this series, we looked at the story in Acts 17 of when the Apostle Paul and his coworkers, Silas and Timothy, arrived in Thessalonica. It was a wild story! But the drama didn’t start in Thessalonica; it followed Paul almost everywhere he went. In Acts 16, before Thessalonica, Paul and his friends were in the Greek city of Philippi, about a 4-day hike up the Via Egnatia. What happened in Philippi is about the same story as Thessalonica. Some people heard the gospel, believed, and became Christians, while others didn’t. However, Paul had the audacity to heal a slave girl who had a demonic spirit. This angered her slave masters, who made money off her supernatural ability to predict the future. These slave masters whipped up a mob, accused Paul and Silas of teaching unlawful practices, had them arrested and severely flogged, and threw them into prison. As Paul says, they were treated outrageously in Philippi. Thankfully, the Lord intervened and freed them from prison. Of course, he did so in such a way that the Philippian jailer and his whole family had an opportunity to hear the gospel and believe. He and his whole household got baptized. God is good, right? Even though Paul and his friends were asked to leave the city and were escorted out, God was still at work there and bearing the fruit of faith and of the Spirit. In the same way, he reminds the Thessalonians that his “visit to [them] was not without results” either. But it wasn’t through Paul’s towering intellect, it wasn’t because Paul had the power/approval of the Roman Empire, it wasn’t because Christianity was so cool, it was “with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.” The gospel is God’s story. Paul had been called into God’s mission. And he was empowered and sustained through it all by God. This would be an important reminder for the Thessalonians as they considered their own severe suffering, their own times when they were being treated outrageously. If the mighty Apostle wasn’t immune, they wouldn’t be either. We’ll talk more about this theme of suffering for God’s word next week. There are many lessons to learn about that. For now, let’s continue.
1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 (NIV), “3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.” Paul reminds his friends that his motives for ministry were not selfish or for self-gain. This wasn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. The gospel isn’t some sort of trick. And Paul wasn’t there because he just couldn’t say no to people. He wasn’t a people pleaser. He was there to please God, who had rescued him, called him to be his child, given him spiritual gifts for ministry, and sent him out as a missionary and apostle to the Gentiles. Paul was approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. This was a divine calling; he wasn’t doing this apostolic ministry to get rich or to get the praises of the masses. He admits he could’ve asserted authority over them to provide for his needs, but he didn’t. As a good pastor, Paul knew that how he did his ministry among them would impact their faith long after he left. As we said last week, Paul knew the Thessalonians needed more than just words. They certainly needed words. You can’t preach the gospel without words. But they needed to hear the gospel, and they needed to see someone who was genuinely trying to live it out. They needed a teacher and they needed an example, a coach or mentor to show them the way. So, how did Paul treat them when he was among them? How did he demonstrate the gospel in his life and the way he interacted with them in the church? And how does this relate to their ability to stay faithful?
1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 (NIV), “7 Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ” This is God’s word. So, instead of preaching for his gain, instead of flexing his authority as an apostle, instead of needing to be praised, Paul says that they were like “young children among” them. Throughout this section, Paul uses family language, right? And let’s think about what this language brings to our minds and imaginations. What do you picture when you picture a young child? Moms? Do you picture a cute little sleeping baby? Maybe Paul meant he cried a lot when he was in Thessalonica. Babies do cry a lot. No, I don’t think so. I think Paul meant that he was not throwing his weight around when he was there. He was gentle. He didn’t beat people up with the gospel. He was humble, not expecting the world from people, or even that everyone would believe his message. Jesus taught, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Lk 18:17). There’s a beauty and simplicity in the faith of a child. There’s a humble dependence. Paul wanted to model this kind of child-like faith for them. But then, Paul moves from the image of a young child to that of a nursing mother. How does a nursing mother care for her children? With a great deal of love, concern, attention, and affection. A good mom is tender and sweet with her children, but she’s not afraid to speak the truth in love. She can correct/teach/guide as well as encourage/support/comfort. The Thessalonians needed this kind of spiritual leader, in the home and in the church, who could speak the truth in love. They needed people who could use the whole counsel of God’s word “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Ti 3:16), but they needed someone who could do so with the gentleness of a nursing mom. Paul says, “…we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” Isn’t this encouraging? Paul isn’t ashamed to express some pretty strong emotions here. He really cared for them. We see this encouragement throughout this letter, but it flows out of his sincere love for them. “Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” Again, they could’ve asked for financial support as an apostle. We know they were staying at Jason’s house in Thessalonica. But from this, it sounds as if Paul, who worked as a tent maker when he didn’t have outside financial support, earned his own money there. It wouldn’t surprise me if Paul insisted on paying rent for food and housing. Who knows. But Paul did not want money to get in the way of his message. He would accept the financial gifts of Christians who wanted him to continue and supported his mission. But he wanted the motives for his gospel ministry to be clear. “You are witnesses, [v. 10] and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.” This isn’t Paul being prideful. (“You remember how awesome we were among you, right?”) No. This is Paul reminding them of their conduct there, of how they lived their lives. They were extremely careful that their lives lined up with their Lord’s, that their talk matched their walk, that their way of life was aligned with the gospel. Integrity mattered. Honesty mattered. Just because we’re saved by faith and not by works, and just because God forgives sins through faith in Jesus, and just because “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (Ps 103:8) does not mean we can be careless of how we live once we believe. It does not mean we can share the gospel in word only and expect other people to believe it and understand how to live it out. Then, to finish the family image, in v, 11, Paul says, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” Despite the drama of their arrival and despite the relatively short time they were able to be together, the Apostle Paul worked to form this brand-new church into a family formed by faith in Jesus Christ. Of course, there are other images too, that the church is the body of Christ, of which he is the head. Or that the church is the bride of Christ, of which he is the groom. But the family is one of the most common images for the church in the NT. This goes all the way back to the covenant that God made with the family of Abraham and Sarah. That they would be his people and he would be their God. Israel grew into a whole nation and a kingdom, but it started as a family. However, Jesus, in his ministry, taught that your biological family, as important and good as those relationships are, is not as important as the spiritual family formed by faith and obedience to him. Jesus said, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mt 12:48-50). So, whether you’re talking about 2000 years ago in Thessalonica, or in Appleton today, when you believe in Jesus, the church isn’t an optional accessory. When you believe in Jesus, you become a member of the body, you become the bride, and you are adopted into the family of God. Whether you were raised by your biological family in the church or not, whether you had a healthy family growing up or not, in Christ, you are part of a new family. You have a new Father in heaven who loves you and cares for you. You have a new heart and a new Spirit within you that is bearing all kinds of fruit, like joy and peace that passes all understanding. And you are a beloved child of God. This is why Paul uses this family language for how he ministered among the Thessalonians. They had become a family because of Jesus. It’s helpful to understand that this image runs both ways. A healthy, loving family is a great picture of how the church is supposed to work. But a healthy, loving church is a great picture of how a family is supposed to work, too. However, this is a broken world. Now, sometimes, sadly, the abuse or the evil of the world is found in the family of the church. Certain pastors or ministry leaders or church members might commit all kinds of evil deeds or have truly terrible motives for doing ministry. Churches can become toxic. Whole denominations can turn away from God. As a result, people can be deeply wounded in the name of Jesus. And some of you have experienced this kind of hurt. But friends, this should not be. Kingdom work must be done according to kingdom values. We cannot have the attitude that we must “win the lost at any cost,” for our deeds will quickly undermine and discredit our words. Now, the gospel says the power of sin and death can easily be found in the church. We are not united as a church by our own holiness, goodness, or moral perfection. We’re united as a church by our need for a savior. We need for Jesus. But still, again, we must watch our lives and our doctrine closely, both matters. And here’s the big idea for today: The “how” matters. How Paul lived there in Thessalonica mattered, how he did his ministry mattered. How he thought and felt and spoke and acted toward these people mattered. How we do ministry matters. How we follow Jesus matters. It matters because Jesus doesn’t make suggestions for us. He is the Lord of our lives. He makes commands, and we must obey him. But secondly, it also matters because others are watching. Our kids and grandkids are watching. But it doesn’t stop with our families. Our neighbors and coworkers are watching. Our friends and family members are watching. Will those Christians actually live out what they believe? Will we actually live out what we say we believe? Will our words match our deeds? Because honesty still matters and integrity still matters. How we approach people matters. How we make them feel when we’re around them matters. Today, may we be people who are sensitive and humble, thinking about our impact on the people around us. Are we committed to doing what we say and say what we do, and live lives of integrity that reflect Jesus out into the world around us? This all matters because these are the things that will sustain us, strengthen and support us, even through times of severe suffering. How can we remain faithful? We need to look to each other and learn to follow Jesus. But we also need to live those lives of integrity so others can do that as well. Will our lives strengthen them? Let’s pray.
