1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 - God Is Faithful; He Will Do It - So... - December 15, 2021

Do you think that most of our neighbors outside of those doors know that we are in the season of Advent? I don’t. And even if they do, I’d be willing to bet that they think of Advent as nothing more than a time to prepare for Christmas. And while that is probably true even in our everyday lives, in here, Advent isn’t primarily about Jesus’ coming at Christmas – his First Coming – this time is about preparing for his Second Coming in Judgment. That’s why our theme this year has been: Waiting for the Day of the Lord. Two weeks ago we defined the Day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:3-9). Last week we explored what it means to wait for the Day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:8-14). Tonight we will put both concepts together to see that how we live now relates to being ready for the Day of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians is a fairly short read, it’s only 5 chapters long, but Paul covers a lot of ground in these chapters. He gives thanks to God for bringing the Thessalonian Christians to faith (1 Thessalonians 1); he defends his ministry against unnamed opponents who had been slandering his reputation and undermining the Gospel and expresses his desire to once again visit Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2); he explains his rationale for sending Timothy to Thessalonica and thanks God for his good report of their faith and love (1 Thessalonians 3); through chapter 4 and into chapter 5 he gives clear and specific instructions regarding sexual propriety and brotherly love; specifically the need to mind your own business and work with your own hands, and he corrected some misunderstandings the Thessalonians had regarding Jesus’ Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4-5:11). All of which leads to Paul’s closing words which we are considering tonight. A fair way to characterize these verses is to see them as summarizing the basic worldview, the default setting of a Christian – and it’s a somewhat paradoxical worldview: we live as God’s people here and now with our eyes, our focus, always set on the Day of the Lord to come.

Paul starts with the “living now” part. He concludes his list of brief commands with the prayer: may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. Could you answer the distinctively Lutheran question: what does this mean? What does it mean to be “sanctified?” To “sanctify” means to be set apart, to be made holy. In confirmation class I use this building as an illustration of sanctification. We don’t use this space to screen secular movies or Packer games or to host yoga classes or bake sales – it is set apart from the mundane things of this world; it is set apart for the worship of the one true God. In the same way, we, in both our private and public lives, are to be set apart from this sinful world; set apart for service to God alone.

But what does this mean, practically speaking? That’s what Paul was describing in the previous verses: rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. But test everything. Hold on to the good. Keep away from every kind of evil. Does that describe you? I often find it hard to be joyful and to find time to pray – especially in this busy and stressful time of year. I probably tend to gripe and complain as much as – and probably more than – I take time to give thanks. And even though I know that God wants me to be joyful, prayerful and thankful I often prefer my will over God’s. Extinguish the Spirit? I know that my sinful flesh would much rather sit on the couch and turn on Netflix or a football game than engage in serious Bible study – and in that way I’m snuffing out the Spirit’s fire and treating God’s Word and prophecies with contempt. I’m lazy in testing the things I see and hear and read in the media; I find that the good things of God easily slip out of my hands and that I’m magnetically drawn toward every kind of evil. I don’t think I could honestly describe myself as “sanctified,” “set apart,” and “holy,” – could you? Would you be bold enough to claim that you embody Paul’s description of what it means to live as a justified and sanctified Christian?

That’s why Paul prays…both for the Thessalonians and for us. He prays for God to do the sanctifying, the setting apart – because we are incapable of doing it ourselves. And this isn’t the first time Paul prayed this prayer. Back in chapter 3, he wrote: may the Lord increase your love and make it overflow for each other and for all people, just as ours does for you, so that he may establish your hearts as blameless in holiness before our God and Father, when our Lord Jesus comes with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). How does God do this sanctifying? Through the means of grace – and specifically through Holy Baptism. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians: Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word. He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27). One of the rituals that have traditionally been associated with baptism and confirmation have reflected this fact. When infants and confirmands are clothed in white gowns it is a visible illustration of the invisible truth that through Baptism Jesus’ blood has cleansed us from all sin, has washed away all of our impurities, has sanctified us and set us apart from this sinful world for God.

But God’s sanctifying work in our lives doesn’t end there. In Baptism God not only washes away our sinfulness but empowers us to live in holiness. Luther described it this way in his Small Catechism: “Baptism means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever” (SC Baptism: IV). This is the work of the Holy Spirit. From the moment you were baptized the Holy Spirit has been working in your heart, giving you a new will, new impulses, an inner desire to live for God and others – not only for yourself. Because you’ve been baptized – that is what you are. That is why I don’t have to yell and scream at you to be joyful and prayerful and thankful; to hold onto the good and avoid every kind of evil. No, even your presence here in God’s house on a dark December night is proof that the Holy Spirit is at work in your heart – setting you in thought, word, and action apart from the sinful world. You are living proof that Paul was right when he said the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

That’s the “living now” part. The other part, the “setting your sights on the Day to come,” is this: and may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s trendy these days for people to describe themselves on social media with a simple string of nouns and adjectives. For example, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers describes himself this way on his Twitter account: “Husband to Kathy, lifelong educator, Euchre and bobblehead enthusiast, and 46th Governor of the State of Wisconsin.” [1] With all due respect to Governor Evers, he’s missing one important adjective, the one adjective that will matter most on the Day of the Lord – he doesn’t describe himself as “blameless.” (In the Greek, it’s actually an adverb: “blamelessly”). Would you? Do you consider yourself blameless – that on Judgment Day no one, not even God, would be able to blame you for any evil?

You should, because that how God considers you. He considers you utterly blameless. When he sits down on his judgment seat and opens up the file folder containing the charges against you – do you know what he finds? Nothing. Not a single lie, dirty thought, or loveless action – not even a parking ticket. Of course, you and I know better. We know that an Amazon warehouse full of filing cabinets couldn’t contain all of the valid charges against us. How can God possibly find us blameless on any day, much less on the Day of the Lord?

Make no mistake, God is perfectly holy and just. He couldn’t just sweep our sins under the rug. He couldn’t just shrug and say that the awful things we’ve thought, said and done are no big deal. So what did he do? He blamed his Son our sins. He charged Jesus with committing every sin that has ever been committed and then punished him with the hell those sins deserved. Because Jesus shouldered your blame – you can feel free to describe yourself as blameless on social media, if you so choose (how’s that for an “outreach” strategy?). And the same God who didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up to take away your sins is committed to keeping you blameless until his Son returns in glory. That’s part of the mission God has given his Church; that’s what these means of grace are all about – Jesus coming here week after week to you to cleanse your sins and wipe away your guilt so that you will be found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, when you set your sights on these means of grace, then you’re also setting your sights on the Day of the Lord to come. As we remember every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper: as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26).

So that’s it for our 2021 Midweek Advent series entitled “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this series it’s this: that Jesus’ First Coming – as a baby to a virgin mother in a manger in Bethlehem, who would go on to live a perfect life and die a perfectly atoning death on a cross on Calvary – is the reason that we can wait with confidence and hope for his Second Coming. Because of Jesus we know that we will be found blameless on that Day. And until then we know that he is actively enabling and empowering us to live blameless lives, set apart from this filthy world for service to God and others. I can say that with certainty because in the end it’s not really about us or our efforts, it’s about God. [He] is faithful, and he will do it! Amen.  

[1] https://twitter.com/GovEvers?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor