Based on 1 Thessalonians 1 (New King James Version)
“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
In today’s passage, we see what happens when a person truly has converted to the Lord. We see a change in life that is totally visible to everyone that surrounds them. Not much discerning or meditating is needed when someone has truly been born again in Christ. We see in these Thessalonians that they did not need to explain or say what happened in their lives, but rather, we see a Paul, a Silvanus, a Timothy, people in Macedonia and Achaia tell about the change in their lives, and what is happening as a result of this change. There were irrefutable evidences. In summary, the fruits of the Spirit were more than visible in their lives, and everything that they did (their actions) announced that the True and Living God lived in their lives. How does this happen?
To start, it is necessary to understand that when a person has truly been born again in Christ, that there are tangible evidences of that experience; things that can be seen, and they are not religious things. It’s not necessarily about going to church continually, or about giving money to a church, or about trying to be a good person (and that opinion varies from person to person, depending on what is convenient for them), or memorizing the Bible, or following the things of God like if it were a list of rules that need to be followed, or becoming a moral person, per se. There is a change of life and irrefutable actions that proclaim what has happened in a person, what the person has decided to be with all of their heart at a given moment. What has person that has been born again decided? A person that truly comes to Christ has decided the following: first, to repent and convert completely from all of their sins, as one of the conditions that need to be fulfilled so that the Lord can come into them; and second, to effectively make Jesus the Lord of their life, not just in words, but with all of their heart. When these two conditions are fulfilled, a miracle happens; the God and Lord of the Universe enters their heart by faith, into the center of a person. That is why the experience of being born again, of surrendering our life to Christ becomes an event that transforms our life, not because it is forced, but because of the fact that God came in. It is something, that when it really happens, it is not possible for it to go unnoticed. Crucial moments like these were what changed so many before, having a personal encounter with God. That is what happens when a person truly converts. That is what happened with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, with Moses, with David, with the prophets, con the apostles, and also, with these Thessalonians. That is what happened in my own life, which is now more than ever in force; that God is real, and that it is necessary to follow Him and serve Him, because one day, I know that I will see Him with my own eyes in eternity, when all of this world passes. I know that by the Lord’s grace, if I continue and abide in the Lord, I will get to what God has for those that love Him.
This is what the Bible says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. What this passage means is that when a person has surrendered their life to the Lord, if they are in Christ, which is not about believing only, but also abiding in Him, obeying Him, they are made a new creation with a new beginning. There is a line drawn between what they used to be and what they now are by the grace of God, and everything in their past life is left in the past, not because they have brainwashed themselves, per se, but rather, because they have stopped being who they were before, they have stopped doing what they used to do, they have converted from their evil ways. That is why they are a new creation. And they don’t need to put a sign on themselves that says that they have been transformed. It will be visible. This is what the Word also says: “But God forbid that I [Paul speaking] should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” Galatians 6:14-16.
But, what happens when a person cannot break with their past, when they cannot stop being dominated by sin, but they continue falling time and after time? This is also written: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-13. So then, if a person is spending more energy fighting against the sin in their life, or thinking more on fulfilling their own will rather than being focused on serving the Lord, then at the very least, there is a severe problem. We may not be perfect, but we can never come under the power of sin, nor under the power of our own will, because from the moment that we are looking to fulfill our will, we are not effectively letting the Lord be the Lord of our life. We can say all we want, if the Lord is guiding your life, it will be visible, our actions will proclaim that the Almighty truly lives in our life. In summary, our body will be at the Lord’s disposition. It is as simple as that.
So then, can irrefutable evidences be seen in your life that testify that you have truly converted to the Lord? Lord bless! John