1 Thessalonians 5:15

First Thessalonians 5.15. First Thessalonians 5.15. Continuing our look at the list of imperatives in chapter five from that book written by Paul, says this, see that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Very simple instruction, I think. I think that's the beauty of this whole passage. It gives us very simple imperatives in which to follow, but if we look closely at this verse, he starts out by saying, see to it. And he's talking to the church there of the Thessalonians. And so he's saying, see to it, not only as you as an individual, that you personally don't repay evil for evil, but also see to it that no one. So you're looking after your fellow brothers and sisters as well. Encourage them along and if you read Thessalonians, you'll see that a lot of times within this book paul It tells them to encourage one another and so see to it that no one else repays evil for evil but always seek to do good to one another. So as fellow believers in that body together, seek to do good to one another and then also to everyone. So the people in your city, the people in your family, your coworkers, So the verse is how Paul writes it, touching a lot of things and saying more than maybe what we can see here on the surface. As I read this verse when Ben sent it to me, it reminded me of a saying by Marcus Aurelius. He was the second century emperor of Rome, and he was known for being somewhat of a practitioner in Stoic philosophy. And in his book, Meditations, which he really just wrote to himself, he said in there, when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself, the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surely they are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own, not the same blood or birth, but the same mind. I think that's a good, perhaps you could say secular way of thinking in a lot of ways about this verse as we approach it, so that we're not just accusatory that the evil is out there, but also remembering that oftentimes the evil is in here. And when Paul wrote this verse, he was writing to a church persecuted. When he was moving through Thessalonica, he really was just passing through in a flash because when he preached the gospel there, people believed, Gentiles and Jews alike. However, the city was extremely hostile to the fact that this Christian was bringing this thing that they had heard of in other places into their city and attacking their way of life. And so, Paul was run out of town very quickly along with his companions, and the people in Thessalonica were so adverse to the message of the gospel that they even took it upon themselves to chase him down in Berea, the next city. So they weren't just happy to send him out, they wanted to go track him down and make sure that he stopped preaching the gospel. And so as we read this context, see that no one repays anyone evil for evil, we have to understand that this was a church certainly under the persecution of many evils, many trials. And so we have to understand that they were indeed victims of evil. But I think the words in this verse also indicate that they may have even been victims of evil amongst themselves. There's nothing to say that in the time that Paul was able to write to them, because he wrote to them worried that they may have been given back over to the world, that they were mature believers. And so we certainly could believe that there were many sins and many evils even going on amongst themselves. It was clearly important to Paul that he write back to them. so that he could help them to understand that this was important. See to it that no one repays evil with evil. For a man who couldn't spend much time with them, if he's going to write a letter to them, especially in those days, I mean, if I write a letter today, my hand hurts. Like, I can't write one letter, you know, so to write a letter, and to have a limited opportunity to share with these people, he's going to put the meat of what he wants them to understand in this letter. And this is one of the imperatives that he said. And so it was clearly extremely important. And with it being imperative, I think we can really just get straight to the why of this command, straight to the application, you might say. And I would say this whole passage doesn't have an explicit why. But I ask myself, why does it matter? And I think ultimately why this command matters is for our gospel witness. For the gospel witness of the church in Thessalonica, that as they were under the persecution of the people, it mattered for them to spread and share the gospel, that they not repay that evil with more evil, right? They needed to gain an audience with unbelievers. And this is exactly what Paul said that he did to them in chapter three. He didn't ask much of them. He came to them in meekness and in kindness so that he could gain an audience with them. And so I think do not repay evil with evil is a command that is helping to preserve our gospel witness in our community. And really this command really stands out against our most baseline desires to defend our honor. You know, if someone challenges us, we've got to answer with a riposte, arguing with your wife at home. You know, you got to get the last word. You know, the boss that you don't like, you got to say the thing to cut them down just a little bit. And this this verse challenges us to go against those desires. He's saying, church, do not repay evil with evil. Don't lose your witness because of your desire to achieve misaligned justice. And there were lots of evils in his day, a lot that you might say are more serious than at least in the context of the church, the church risking death and serious injury. In order to spread the gospel. But friends, let's not be deceived. There is just as much malicious evil today. Because sin is evil. Your seemingly small efforts to retort against the evils done to you can be sin. An unkind word in response, slander or gossip. Simple bitterness towards the evil people in your lives so that you lay in bed thinking all night about the wrongs that they've done against you and the things that you wish you could say to those people. All evil, all sin, and when we act on those things and feed those things. We fall victim to disobeying this command. And we can think to ourselves that some of those things seem very inconsequential, even if they are sins, right? But every sin, when set next to the holiness of God, is extremely consequential for you, for me, for our gospel witness, And so, brothers and sisters, we get to the second part of the verse, and that is that it is better for you to spend your time repaying evil with the second half of this verse. Seek to do good to one another and to everyone. How about we repay evil with justice? And I don't mean the kind of perverted justice that social justice culture that has pervaded the church and the nation would try to put forward today. I'm not talking about that kind of justice. What I mean is let's repay evil with evil by leaving the justice to God. At least three times in this book, Paul mentions the wrath of God upon unbelievers and evildoers. Leave it to God. Leave it to God. Let him repay evil with righteousness. And friends, why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you? Can you exact better justice upon evil than God himself? I ask you, brothers and sisters, to give your faith the chance. No matter what evil has been committed against you, Give your faith the chance to allow God to be the one who punishes evil. So instead, brothers and sisters, let's spend our days encouraging one another, building each other up. This command expresses confidence in what Paul has previously said to his readers here, that the day of the Lord is coming. And it's better for us to spend our time seeking to do good to one another and to spend our days encouraging one another. Another thing that I thought of as I read this verse was a foolish thing that seems to happen in my own house every single day. And that is that when brother and sister fight like cats and dogs. I'm sure some of you may be familiar with that experience. And the foolish thing is, is that brother and sister or sister and sister, they fight evil with evil all the time. Pinch, pinch back. Mean thing, saying that, I'm gonna say a mean thing back, right? But it is wiser, little children, to let the father do the disciplining and to set things right. Because our attempts at achieving justice are feeble. And further, brothers and sisters, be humble. Because going back to what Marcus Aurelius said, we're evil too. We may be justified, we will someday be glorified, but we are in the process of being sanctified. And so our sinful hearts and our corrupt nature still comes out every day. And so we can't look at our husband or our wife or a fellow brother and sister and say that we are blameless or faultless. Because we say misaligned things, we hurt on a daily basis, we act with ill intentions against other people and for our good at the expense of others. Marcus said, I have seen the evil doer as a nature of my own, the same mind. None of us are without fault when it comes to being evil. Having said all of this, brothers and sisters, we don't merely view people as evil. People are image bearers created in God's image. created for his purposes, to serve him with a special place in all of creation, to be his representatives on earth. And those of us who are redeemed, we are ambassadors of that message to the world, but all of the world are created in God's image. The murderer, image bearer. The rapist, image bearer. the abusive spouse, image bearer, not a kid, image bearer, capable through God's providence and will of being redeemed. And so this is a real litmus test for our hearts and confidence in the gospel message as we seek to be a good gospel witness. Can we desire to pray earnestly for the salvation of those who have committed evil against us? What does this command not mean? It doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to sin and evil. I think really it's saying quite the contrary. In the context of JPBC, and I always like to think of that whenever I'm looking at a verse to share with you all, I always want to know what does this mean for us here as fellow believers? And I ask myself, What does it mean? What is the greatest absolute good we can do to everyone? Well, I think to everyone, it's to call sinners to repentance, right? And to recognize them as such. But what does it look like amongst ourselves? I think what it looks like as members here is to hold each other accountable. Not ignoring a brother in sin. confronting fellow believers with the intent to do them gospel good. Encourage them to repentance. And I dare say in a polite church such as this, we may fall into the error of inflicting evil upon our fellow brothers and sisters by simply not wanting to rock the boat or confront. it would be better for us to speak the truth in love rather than sit silently with each other. And friends, if you were in this church and you think to yourself, well, I don't know anyone here doing gospel good towards me. I don't know anyone doing good towards me, maybe speaking a word into my life that would move me in faithfulness. I would say the first step in that is for you to be that person for somebody else. Don't wait for someone to initiate that with you. You initiate that with them, and then you will see that encouragement be reciprocated. And so in closing, I'm reminded from this verse as well of our membership covenant. And we just read it this past Sunday night that really serves as a guiding framework for how we encourage each other in gospel fellowship. And so I will read two parts of that. We will watch over each other in brotherly love. We will pray for each other. We will participate in each other's joys and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens. That is doing good to one another. We will humbly warn a brother who is in danger of falling into disobedience or error. We will speak the truth in love, be slow to take offense, and be eager to seek swift and lasting reconciliation. So see to it that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Father, thank you for just the magisterial wisdom within all of your words, that even the most simple phrase or statement from you through the people who wrote the scriptures can move us and inspire us to recognize your holiness, to recognize our part in this world in relation to you. May we this week spur each other on towards faithfulness, seek to do good towards one each other, especially as we call each other towards holiness. It's in your son's name that we pray. Amen.