1 Thessalonians 5 - The 22 Commandments

Good morning, more specifically, happy Christmas morning. What a glorious morning to celebrate what this day is all about, the arrival of a baby that would grow to save all mankind from themselves. I hope that you are making the story of the birth of Jesus part of your celebration. (If you’d like to, but are not sure how, grab a Bible and read Luke 2:1-21. I know God will honor you sharing His Word on this beautiful morning that celebrates His one and only Son!)

Christmas for Marge and me has always been quite different with no kids. It’s always pretty quiet and simple. Last night I cooked us a tasty dinner and we ate while enjoying a crackling fire and some nice mellow Christmas music. After dinner, we opened some gifts to each other and enjoyed some great conversation. God is always at the forefront of our conversations and for that I am so thankful. Sitting with my Margie and talking about God’s goodness is a treasure I will never tire of.

Also, with this being Christmas morning I was pondering what to do with the 5MC. Write or don’t write? The 5MC has become such a part of me that without it I feel a little lost. You know, the ‘challenge’ in the 5MC is not to just read God’s Word everyday but to do it for 30 days in a row. That was the whole challenge. When I created the 5MC it was for the youth in Maui and I was hoping to change daily routines. Replace current daily habits with new ones. It’s pretty funny, I never thought that ultimately God was wanting to dramatically change my daily habits! So anyhow, it’s Christmas morning and I can’t think of anyway, I’d rather start out the day than by spending valuable time with God in His Holy and precious Word.

This morning I finished up 1 Thessalonians by studying chapter 5 and what a chapter it is. Paul gives us a tremendous list of commandments we can follow to enrich our walk with Christ. 22 in fact. This brings up a great topic that we’ll touch on before moving on to these great rules for joyful living. The point? Where do the 10 Commandments fit into our Christian walk today.

I ran into a guy the other day and the topic shifted to God. He was not a believer and he told me, “I try to be good and I try my best to follow the 10 commandments.” It made me start thinking about how people really view the 10 commandments of the Old Testament. I think that they are so clearly listed and given such great emphasis that people still relate to them as penultimate. I mean today we are going to hear of 22 commandments, but you don’t hear people walking around talking about the 22 commandments, but the 10 commandments. You don’t see granite monuments of the 22 commandments on the lawns of courthouses, but the 10 commandments. Don’t get me wrong, the 10 commandments are honorable, and we should all strive for those, but God has more. In my commentary McGee states this comparison just about as well as it could be said, so I’ll start with a quote before we get into looking at the 22 commandments for joyful Christian living.

“Let me say this carefully, The Ten Commandments have no part in a sinner’s Salvation, nor are they the standard for Christian conduct. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to take us by the hand, as a pedagogue would take a little child by the hand, to bring us to the cross and say, “Little fellow, you need a Savior!” The Ten Commandments are like a mirror which lets us see that we are sinners. The Ten Commandments were not given to save us; they were given to show us that we are sinners and that we need a Savior. That is their purpose. However, there are commandments for believers, and the standard for Christian conduct, which set us on a much higher plane than the Ten Commandments. In this chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians we will find 22 commandments for believers.” Thru the Bible McGee IV pg 390

Well said indeed. Lets explore chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians and 22 commandments that will grant us a joyous and peaceful walk with Jesus Christ.

1) Encourage one another (5:11) – if you think about it, it cost us nothing to encourage others, so why don’t we encourage more? When you experience someone struggling in their walk, it is not an accident, it is God giving you the opportunity to fulfill this commandment. Stop what your doing, put aside your distractions, look them in the eyes and speak encouragement into their lives. Often times we cannot see the forest for the trees when we are in the throws of turmoil, but others can. You can. Encourage others in the faith.

2) Build one another up (5:11) – To speak goodness into someone’s life costs us so little and is often times so very easy. Seize these opportunities. Set a goal and pray to God that He offers you opportunities to build others up on a daily basis. If you’re praying for these opportunities, you will be hyper aware of when they present themselves. The Holy Spirit will be on the lookout for you. People need the encouragement you possess, don’t hold it tight but let it flow freely into others. You will be blessed by it, it’s a promise from God.

3) Recognize (respect) those that teach you the Word of God and admonish you (5:12) To some God has given the gift of teaching and preaching His Word. To others He has given different gifts, helps, prayer etc. Recognize those that have the gift of teaching and that by giving out the Word of God there will be correction (admonishment) within it. Respect the correction that comes from the teachers of God’s Word. You could also read this as don’t disrespect your pastor and talk ill of them.

4) Esteem them very highly that in love because of their work (5:13) Have a high level of love for those that give out God’s Word. This is not just your Pastor but anyone that gives out the Word of God to see the Gospel go forth. Notice it says ‘very highly’. We should have a tremendous amount of love for those that have given the priority of their life to serving God by preaching His Word.

5) Be at peace among yourselves (5:13) This is a commandment not a suggestion. You are to be at peace with those around you. It’s not easy sometimes but as follower of Christ you are commanded to make peace happen. This doesn’t always mean that we get our way or get to lead. Too many cooks can spoil the broth, sometimes in order to achieve peace we might have to step aside. I heard it said one time, “would you rather be right or be happy?” Peace takes work and we are called to make it happen.

6) Admonish the idle (warn the unruly) (5:14) Those that are seeking their own selfish desires instead of God’s way. You could kinda say they are troublemakers. They should be warned. Now, take very careful notice here what it says and don’t add to it. It can’t be, “well, I’ll tell them off and set them straight!” It says to ONLY warn them. Not correct them, argue with them, fight with them, gossip about them, stop talking to them. Warn them. And pray for them too.

7) Encourage the faint-hearted (5:14) This is those that are timid or lack courage to step out and truly follow God. We are commanded to come along side them, put an arm around them and lend them courage for their journey. If God has filled you with an abundance of courage today, He intends you to share it with someone that needs that extra dose. Seek them out and change their day.

8) Help the weak (5:14) There are some that are babes in Christ. They might be new Christians or just need help growing in God’s Word. Help them, support them. It makes me think of a child taking his first steps. They need a little help and support to get them going. Help those that are weak in the Faith.

9) Be patient with all men (5:14) No matter how difficult people may be, don’t lose your temper. Be patient and be long-suffering.

10) Do not repay evil for evil (5:15) This is a biggie and possibly one of the hardest of all of God’s commandments. As a Christian we are called to a higher plane. We are not to treat others the way that they treat us. I want to go a little deeper here and look at the three basic life philosophies or standards of conduct and how they react to the world around them.

The ‘unbelieving’ or pagan world – This philosophy operates on doing evil in spite of good. They

may have treated you well, but if you can get the upper hand do whatever it takes. This is a

take care of yourself at any costs way of life and one you see predominately in our world today.

The refined or cultured world – this philosophy is elevated over the pagan one and holds the belief that you do good to those that have done you good. Basically if you rub my back, I’ll rub yours. But note here what happens if someone does not rub your back. You owe them nothing.

The Christian world – God commands us to do good to all. If they do bad to us, we repay it with good. If they do good, we repay with good. We are to “do good to one another and everyone.

11) Always seek to do good to one another and everyone. (5:15) Notice carefully it says to “one another and everyone.” One another is other believers and everyone is the rest of the people on the planet. Folks, nobody on the planet is excluded here, we have no excuses, we are to do good to everyone on the planet.

12) Rejoice always (5:16) God is so good to us all the time, we are to rejoice in His goodness all the time. Always.

13) Pray without ceasing (5:17) This is an attitude of prayer. To be in constant contact with God. Take all of your concerns, worries, doubts, anxieties and problems to the Lord in prayer. And do it without ceasing, don’t stop.

14) In everything give thanks (5:18) No matter how circumstances may be going, give thanks for God is always at work for the good of those that love Him. (Rom 8:28)

15) Quench not the Spirit (5:19) If you have called upon the name of Jesus as your Savior, you have been gifted the Holy Spirit of God to live within you. If you are embracing sin or living in sin you can ‘quench the Spirit.’ One of the figures used to describe the Holy Spirit is fire and how do you quench a fire? Dampen it and therefore not let it burn. By not listening to the Holy Spirit and following His Will you can quench Him.

16) Despise not prophesying (5:20) Do not look down upon the Word of God or its study.

17) test everything (5:21) This means that Christians should be not be easily mis-led. We should not be easily fooled or taken in. Don’t be gullible.

18) Hold fast to what is good (5:21) To hold fast means to cling to, to hold on to tightly. We should be clinging to that which is true and genuine and good.

19) Abstain from every form of evil (5:22) This addresses all types of evil in our lives. There are many questionable activities and pastimes that we can embrace that can really be evil for us. If you have any question in your mind if what your doing is right or wrong, then it’s wrong for you.

20) Pray for those that give out the Gospel (5:25) This is not just pastors, preachers or missionaries, but anyone who is telling others about the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for them and that God opens doors for them.

21) Greet all believers with a Holy Kiss (5:26) This has to do with how we greet brothers and sisters in Christ. Are you genuinely excited to see your brothers and sisters? A kiss is not customary here in the US, so a hearty handshake or hug is more appropriate. There is not much that makes me happier than being greeted with true love by a brother or sister. We just had couple that we served with in Maui come to Texas and we had not seen them in a year or so. When we first saw each other, it was so touching. There was huge hugs and embraces all around. It should warm your soul to greet a brother or sister in Christ!

22) Share the Word of God (5:27) We are commanded to give out the Word of God. You don’t have to wear a suit and have perfect hair and be on TV to give out the Word of God. Wherever you are is where God put you and that’s where He wants you to give out His Word.

Well, the list is long and beyond complete. If you are looking for a list of commandments to live your Christian life by, you have found it. We ourselves can never of course achieve this list, but with the power of God’s Holy Spirit and the knowledge and wisdom of His Word, we are fully equipped.

Have a beautiful Christmas Day and may God give you the opportunity to speak of Him today.