07 July 21, 2013 1 Thessalonians 2;7 12, Follow-up & The Care Of New Christians

Follow-up & The Care Of
New Christians
1 Thessalonians 2:7-12
July 21, 2013
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

July Memory Verse:
John 14:1-3

“Your heart must not be
troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in Me. In My
Father’s house are many
dwelling places; if not, I
would have told you.
I am going away to

prepare a place for you.
If I go away and prepare a
place for you, I will come
back and receive you to
Myself, so that where I
am you may be also.”
John 14:1-3

Galatians 6:7-10 KJV
7 Be not deceived; God is
not mocked: for
whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also
reap.

8 For he that soweth to his
flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption; but he
that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting.

9 And let us not be weary
in well doing (1 out of 4):
for in due season we shall
reap, if we faint not.

10 As we have therefore
opportunity, let us do
good unto all men,
especially unto them who
are of the household of
faith.
Galatians 6:7-10 KJV

Start asking God now
who He wants you to
invite into
your home
in
November.

Why do some unbelievers
not understand
the Gospel
as we communicate it?

All unbelievers are
spiritually blind and
cannot understand the
Gospel without God’s
intervention (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV
3 But if our Gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are
lost:
4 In whom the god of this
world hath blinded

the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light
of the glorious Gospel of
Christ, Who is the image
of God, should shine unto
them.

What can be done in the
hearts of those who will
attend the presentation of
the Gospel between now
and November?

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus
said: “whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt
loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.”

So, one way to pray for
your loved ones who are
not saved is to pray that
God will bind that work
of Satan that has blinded
their mind and is holding
them captive.

Pray that God will bind
Satan's work in their lives
that has prejudiced and
poisoned their minds
against the Gospel, in
order that they may be
able to consider the Truth

of God without this
ungodly pressure from
Satan.

So God, through prayer,
can set them free from
Satan's power, and once
set free from this blinding
influence of Satan upon
their minds, can accept
this gracious offer that

God has made to
everyone through Jesus
Christ.
Make that the direction of
your prayers.

Pray that God will take
away the blinders that has
been put over their mind,
and they'll be able to see
rationally and clearly the
offer that He has made
through Jesus Christ.

Loose the work of the
Holy Spirit and the
conviction of the Holy
Spirit upon their hearts
and the drawing of the
Holy Spirit of their hearts
to Jesus Christ.

You can't just say,
"O Lord, save him."
God will not save them
against their will.

There has to come the
change of will and that
desire in their heart and
that asking of God for
salvation.

*Jesus said, “him that
cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out” (John 6:37b).
*So, our prayers are to set
them free so that they can
see the Truth and respond
to it of their own free will.

The Holy Spirit must
work in the hearts and
minds of lost people to
make the Gospel clearly
understandable to them.

*That is why it is so very
important for you to be
praying about who you
invite into your home this
November. *God will then
put into your mind who
He wants you to invite.

In addition to spiritual
blindness, when an
unbeliever’s worldview is
very different from the
essential Gospel truths of
the Bible, worldview
noise makes it even more

difficult for him/her to
understand the Gospel
message.
As we present the Gospel,
we must understand this
worldview noise problem.

We must then deliver
God’s message of
salvation in such a way
that the worldview noise
can be penetrated and the
unbeliever can clearly
understand the Gospel.

1 Worldview: Perspective
through which a person
sees and interprets life.

2 Worldview Noise:
Unbiblical elements in an
unbeliever’s worldview
belief system that (1) confuse
his understanding of
essential gospel truths and/or
that (2) predispose him to
reject the gospel.

*How do we learn what
another person’s
worldview is?
*In one very important
sense, all humans are like
onions—we all have
layers.

Our worldview layers are
covered with an external
layer of human
commonalities: the needs,
wants, and interests that
we have just because we
are human.

As we initiate “entry
conversations” on topics
of common interests, we
look for entry points that
allow us to transition to
deeper worldview issues.

Appropriately sensitive
“investigative questions”
help us learn more about
their behavioral patterns,
personal choices, and
internalized values.

Ultimately, we want to
learn what their core
beliefs are in order to
know what worldview
noise we may encounter
as we engage in
“conversion discussions.”

How can we help an
unbeliever to clearly
understand the Gospel?

When presenting the Gospel
to an unbeliever who knows
very little or nothing about
the Bible and the Christian
faith, it is likely that his or
her worldview noise will be
very dense.

In order to penetrate that
worldview noise, we need
to explain the Biblical
facts that are essential to
understanding the
Gospel.

But for those facts to make
clear sense, we also need
to set them in the
historical context of the
overall redemptive story
that unfolds through the
Bible.

Luke 15:7a KJV
“Joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that
repenteth”

How do you take care of a
new believer?
How can we help a new
believer to become not
only a disciple but a
disciple-maker?

1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV
1 Be ye followers of me,
even as I also am of
Christ.

Just as evangelism is a
combined divine-human
process, so it is with
discipleship.

Once they pray to receive
Christ, you then have the
opportunity to become
their mentor.

God has chosen to use
you to “make disciples.”

Matthew 28:19-20 KJV
19 Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations,
baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost:

20 Teaching them to
observe all things
whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo,
I am with you always,
even unto the end of the
world. Amen.

FOLLOW-UP &
THE CARE OF
NEW CHRISTIANS
1 THESSALONIANS 2:7-12

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 KJV
7 But we were gentle among
you, even as a nurse
(mother) cherisheth her
children:

8 So being affectionately
desirous of you, we were
willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel
of God only, but also our
own souls, because ye
were dear unto us.

9 For ye remember,
brethren, our labour and
travail: for labouring night
and day, because we would
not be chargeable unto any
of you, we preached unto
you the gospel of God.

10 Ye are witnesses, and
God also, how holily and
justly and unblameably
we behaved ourselves
among you that believe:

11 As ye know how we
exhorted and comforted
and charged every one of
you, as a father doth his
children,

12 That ye would walk
worthy of God, who hath
called you unto his
kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 KJV

The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.

www.img.docstoccdn.com
www.img.docstoccdn.com

In 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12
the apostle views the
outward functions of an
effective mentor – what a
good mentor looks like.

Paul could have presented
these functions by
discussing:
discipling,
protecting, and
overseeing.

But as the New Testament
writers often did for the
sake of vividness and
richness, the apostle used
a metaphor.

He could have chosen any
one of several metaphors:
a steward or household
manager (1 Cor 4:1-2);
a bond-slave or servant
(Col 4:12);
a herald or proclaimer of

the message (1 Tim 2:7);
the common image of a
shepherd
(1 Peter 5:1-4; Ps 23);
a teacher, athlete, farmer,
or of a soldier
(2 Tim 2:2-6).

All those metaphors are
replete with significance
and paint helpful pictures.
Soldier by Eddde on Newgrounds

However, Paul chose to
use the most intimate,
compelling metaphors of a
mother and father, which
illustrate the primary kinds
of spiritual care a mentor
must provide.

*Such metaphors are not
limited to this epistle.
*In Galatians 4:19 he
wrote, as if a mother
calling believers,
"My children, with whom
I am again in labor until

Christ is formed in you."
He pictured himself as a
mother who first labored
to give birth and then, as
it were, labored longer to
bring her children to
spiritual maturity.

In 1 Corinthians 4:15 Paul
pictured himself as a
spiritual father:
"For if you were to have
countless tutors in Christ,
yet you would not have
many fathers, for in Christ

Jesus I became your father
through the Gospel."
He was the human source
of their spiritual life as
well as their teacher and
protector.

Paul's use of these familial
metaphors emphasizes
the care and affection of
shared life that he had
with those he brought the
Gospel to.

THE SPIRITUAL
MENTOR AS MOTHER

NASB
7 “But we proved to be
gentle among you, as a
nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own
children.

8 Having so fond an
affection for you, we were
well-pleased to impart to
you not only the gospel of
God but also our own
lives, because you had
become very dear to us.”

As mothers are absolutely
and indisputably essential
to the well-being of
children, so spiritual
mentors who minister
with a mother's
gentleness, intimate

affection, sacrificial love,
and unselfish labor are
essential for the health of
the new
believers
and the
church.

GENTLENESS
But we proved to be
gentle among you, as a
nursing mother tenderly
cares for her own
children.
(1 Thessalonians 2:7)

*The term gentle is at the
heart of this verse.
*It means to be kind to
someone and
encompasses a host of
other virtues: acceptance,
respect, compassion,

The Compassionate One
God's Revolution Today
tolerance of imperfections,
patience, loyalty, and
tenderheartedness.

As the phrase her own
children indicates, Paul
was no paid surrogate
mother or modern-style,
hired day care worker.

Mentor the soul: 668 Park Avenue,
the concerned next door neighbor .
As good parents are
concerned about their
children's hearts, so are
good mentors.

The verb rendered
tenderly cares literally
means to warm with body
heat.

The loving mother would
take the little one in her
arms and warm the child
with her
own body
heat.

Such a vivid metaphor
perfectly illustrates the
kind of personal care the
Thessalonians received
and those that we mentor
need to receive.

INTIMATE AFFECTION
1 Thessalonians 2:8a
“Having so fond an
affection for you,”

In extending the
metaphor of a nursing
mother, it was logical for
Paul to mention the
motive for such nurturing
gentleness — love.

He possessed fond
affection for the
Thessalonians as we
should for those we are
discipling.

A mother who carries an
infant son or daughter on
her breast has a naturally
fond affection that is
unequalled in other
human contexts.

The Greek word
translated fond affection
(himeiromai; him-MER-oh-
my used only here in the
NT) means to long for
someone passionately and
earnestly, and, being

linked to a mother's love,
is intended here to
express an affection so
deep and compelling as to
be unsurpassed.

Ancient inscriptions on
the tombs of dead babies
sometimes contained this
term when parents
wanted to describe their
sad longing for a too-
soon-departed child.

Paul acknowledged that
God naturally designed
such intimate affection
into the hearts of mothers.

The hearts of all righteous
spiritual mentors are
supernaturally given the
same type of affection for
their people, even as Paul
and his companions had
for Christ’s followers.

That desire defined an
eagerness and
zealousness generated
from love-filled hearts.

SACRIFICIAL LOVE
“we were well-pleased to
impart to you not only
the Gospel of God but
also our own lives,
because you had become
very dear to us.” (2:8 b)

They came first of all to
impart . . . the Gospel of God.
The verb translated impart
means to share, or give
someone something of which
one retains a part. (impart)

That is exactly what
happens when Christians
impart to other people
divine truth.

They give someone else
the Good News of
salvation, yet without
losing possession of it
themselves.

It is like sharing your
candle flame with
another person.

Paul and his fellow
workers taught the
transforming truths of the
Gospel of God and yet
retained those truths,
even strengthening them
by the giving (as all good

mentors know), thus
forming a loving,
enriching fellowship with
those who accepted the
message.

The term Gospel of God
appears three times in
chapter 2 (vv. 2, 8 & 9) as
well as in Mark 1:14; Rom
1:1; 15:16; 2 Cor 11:7; and
1 Peter 4:17.

It describes
the Gospel
from the
perspective
of God as
the Source.

Implicit in the expression
Gospel of God is a
doctrinal fullness that
encompasses:
justification,
sanctification, and
glorification.

Paul and friends exhorted
the Thessalonians to
repent and embrace
Christ's death
and resurrection
(justification).

They also instructed them
on how to live holy lives
in obedience to Scripture
and in the power of the
Holy Spirit (sanctification)
and to wait for their
eternal glory at the

glorious coming of the
Lord for His beloved
church (glorification).
*In reality, all New
Testament teaching
relates to the complete
Gospel in some way.

As you mentor new
believers, you want to
help them understand
justification (past),
sanctification (present)
and glorification (future).

www.theresurgence.com
Besides imparting the
complete Gospel, Paul,
Silas, and Timothy shared
also their own lives.

Literally, they gave up
their souls — their real
inner beings — for those
they were mentoring.

There was nothing
superficial or partial
about their sacrificial
service.

The chicken made a
contribution to breakfast,
but the pig made a total
commitment to breakfast!

Someone else has poured
their life into yours, now
it is your
turn to do
the same.

A woman who fulfills the
Biblical role for
motherhood does the
same thing when she, at
great cost to herself,
unselfishly and
generously sets aside her

life for the benefit of her
beloved children.

Paul ministered to his
people with that same
attitude of all-out
commitment because, as
babies to a mother, they
had become very dear to
him.

“Very dear” adds to the
images and descriptions
intended by Paul to
unmistakably
demonstrate the heart of a
godly mentor.

The maternal metaphor,
however, only partially
describes the effective
spiritual mentor.

Describing the spiritual
mentor as a father
completes Paul's picture.

THE SPIRITUAL
MENTOR AS FATHER
“You are witnesses, and
so is God, how devoutly
and uprightly and
blamelessly we behaved

toward you believers;
just as you know how we
were exhorting and
encouraging and
imploring each one of
you as a father would his
own children, so that you

would walk in a manner
worthy of the God Who
calls you into His own
kingdom and glory.”

THE FATHER AS MODEL
1 Thessalonians 2:10a
“You are witnesses, and so
is God, how devoutly and
uprightly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you
believers;”

www.ubdavid.org
Devoutly means "in a holy
manner" and emphasizes
how Paul, Silas, and
Timothy lived before God.

The adverb uprightly
("righteously") refers to
how well the men dealt
righteously toward both
God and man.

www.1bp.blogspot.com
And finally, the word
blamelessly pertains to
their reputation before
people.

In every respect, they
were exemplary spiritual
fathers, setting the
standard
for all
who have
followed.

1 Timothy 4:12 NIV
12 Don’t let anyone look
down on you because you
are young, but set an
example for the believers
in speech, in life, in love,
in faith and in purity.

THE FATHER AS
TEACHER AND
MOTIVATOR
1 Thessalonians 2:11
“just as you know how
we were exhorting and
encouraging and

own children,”

As a father would his own
children expresses the
natural, normal function
of a father concerned
about the well-being of
his own children.

Fathers are not only
examples, but also
instructors.

www.discipleblog.com
So the spiritual father is
not to be merely a model
but also a personal
teacher and motivator.

This fatherly instruction
Paul uses in
1 Thessalonians is
conveyed in three verbs
describing what fathers
do and what Paul had
done continually.

THE FATHER AS
TEACHER AND
MOTIVATOR
“just as you know how we were
exhorting and encouraging and
imploring each one of you as a
father would his own children,”

1) Exhorting
2) Encouraging
3) Imploring

Exhorting is from
parakaleo,
(para-kal-EH-oh) literally
"to call alongside," and is
related to the noun
parakletos, "one who
comes alongside," which

is one of the titles for the
Holy Spirit.
*The apostle referred to
coming alongside for the
purpose of aiding,
instructing wisely as a
source of character.

Encouraging comes from
paramutheomai,
(para-moo-THEH-oh-my)
meaning to encourage in
the sense of comfort and
consolation, is so critical
in assisting toward

www.ebenezerame.org
spiritual growth because
of the many obstacles and
failures Christians can
experience.

Used in John 11:19 and 31
for the consolation given
to the grieving family of
Lazarus, the word was
reserved for the tender,
restorative,
compassionate uplifting

needed by a struggling,
burdened, heartbroken
child.
*This beautiful expression
of natural fatherly
kindness also fits the
spiritual father.

“just as you know how
we were exhorting and
encouraging and
own children,”

Finally, Paul reminded
the believers that he had
been imploring each one
(singling them out
personally).

Imploring is the Greek
participle marturomenoi,
(mar-TOO-rome-my)
which is usually
translated "testifying," or
"witnessing," is related to
the word martyr because

so many faithful
witnesses died for their
boldness.

Paul warned the
Thessalonians that any
deviation from the
divinely prescribed course
of conduct had serious
consequences.

The warning was an
admonishment that if
they did not follow the
course laid out for them,
they, as disobedient
children would receive
from a father, could

www.2.bp.blogspot.com
expect to receive spiritual
discipline from the
apostle.

THE FATHER AS
PRODUCER
“so that you would walk in
a manner worthy of the God
Who calls you into His own
kingdom and glory.”

Like a father whose goal
is the mature wisdom of
his children, the apostle
Paul concluded his
exhortation by affirming
that a spiritual father will
endeavor to continue his

efforts until he produces
sons and daughters who
walk in a manner worthy
— live mature lives.
Walk refers to daily
conduct.

10 walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord,
pleasing Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and
increasing in the
knowledge of God; (Col 1)

THE FATHER AS
PRODUCER
“so that you would walk
in a manner worthy of
the God Who calls you…

In referring to the God
Who calls, the divine call,
as always in the epistles,
refers to the effectual
saving call.

www.thefinalcall.org
By it God, through the
faith graciously granted to
sinners,
justifies and
sanctifies
them.

Paul stated the singular
end of that saving call —
entrance into God’s own
kingdom and glory.

6 I have planted, Apollos
watered; but God gave
the increase.

7 So then neither is he that
planteth any thing,
neither he that watereth;
but God that giveth the
increase.

Though they had not yet
seen either the millennial
kingdom or the eternal
kingdom, they were
already citizens of the
redeemed kingdom over
which God now rules.

Romans 14:17 KJV
17 For the kingdom of
God is not meat and
drink; but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the
Holy Ghost.

Thus they had a present
share in the glory of God
as well as a promise of the
future glory in the
kingdom yet to come.

All believers (that would
be us) look forward to
sharing in the full glory of
the heavenly kingdom
when God raises them to
be like Christ and with
Him for eternity.

The parental pictures of
spiritual mentorship in
clearly demonstrate that it
is not enough for mentors
just to be compassionate,
tender, and caring as

spiritual mothers.
We also need to live
uncompromising, pure,
and exemplary lives as
spiritual fathers — lives
that, in their motives and
actions, set the standard

for all to follow.
Furthermore, we need to
teach the truth faithfully,
building up the saints in
spiritual wisdom
(Ephesians 4:11-16) and
display the courage of

conviction to come
alongside and exhort and
call our spiritual children
to obedience, through
both strong discipline and
tender consolation.

These efforts lead those
we mentor to live in a
way that honors God,
Who has called them to
His eternal kingdom and
glory.

07 July 21, 2013 1 Thessalonians 2;7 12, Follow-up & The Care Of New Christians

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (8)

Similar to 07 July 21, 2013 1 Thessalonians 2;7 12, Follow-up & The Care Of New Christians

Similar to 07 July 21, 2013 1 Thessalonians 2;7 12, Follow-up & The Care Of New Christians (20)

More from First Baptist Church Jackson

More from First Baptist Church Jackson (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (17)

07 July 21, 2013 1 Thessalonians 2;7 12, Follow-up & The Care Of New Christians