From Understanding to Coviction


September 28, 2025
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:8–10 (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 1:8–10 (ESV)
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Introduction
The church in Thessalonica became a model for Macedonia and Achaia. The first point is that Paul praised the Thessalonian church. To praise means to value. When people are praised, their sense of worth increases. Self-esteem is very important for living as a human being. If someone grows up without being praised, they may not know their value and view themselves negatively. But when they are praised and affirmed, they recognize their worth and feel secure. That becomes motivation for even greater growth.
God rejoices over our existence. His evaluation of us is so great that He did not withhold even the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. This world only values winners in competition—like the Olympic gold medalists. But as Creator, God sees value in all living beings. Therefore, it is important that we rediscover our value through Scripture and through the affirmation of fellow believers.
Paul commended the Thessalonians in two main ways.
First, they turned from idols.

I. They Turned from Idols
At that time, idols were part of local religions, specifically objects of stone or wood that people worshiped. Today, such idols are less common. Instead, money has become a modern idol. Money is just paper or digits in a banking app, yet we rejoice or despair depending on those numbers.

Recently, I was scammed and lost $200. I asked my credit card company to dispute the charge. Even as a pastor preaching that money is an idol, I realized how much I was controlled by numbers when I discovered that money I thought I had was gone. I felt frustration, anger at the scammer, and even anger at myself. Yet about an hour later, the Holy Spirit gave me this thought: the real victim is not me, but God. All money comes from Him, and if mine disappears, God must supply again. Through this, God was teaching me that money has no eternal value.
I also learned that I am not the owner of money but its steward. Everything we have—money, time, talents—comes from God. We are entrusted to manage them for His glory.
Idols appear to give happiness but actually enslave. Behind them works Satan, our spiritual enemy.

The Thessalonians, even though they only heard Paul and Silas for three Sabbaths, accepted the teaching and turned from idols to put God first.

Living with God as the first priority means living as if God is your employer. Those who know the reality of work understand this: workers have their needs met through the power and provision of their employer. Recently, companies such as Amazon and Microsoft carried out massive layoffs. Just because a company is large does not mean that the employer will protect the lives of its employees.
When I dedicated my life to full-time ministry, an older pastor told me, “A pastor is someone who gets a job in God’s company.” The CEO is God Himself, and He is the one who provides. In over thirty years of pastoral ministry, I have experienced how faithfully God has met my needs.

Secondly, living with God as the first priority means reading the Bible and living according to His Word. God’s instruction manual is the Bible, and it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us correctly so that we do not misunderstand His commands. When the Bible and the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we can truly say that we are turning away from idols.

Thirdly, putting God first means using our time and our gifts for Him. Money, time, and talents do not belong to us; they are entrusted to us by God. When we use them not for ourselves but for God, His glory is revealed through our lives.

Next, Paul praised the Thessalonians not only because they understood Scripture correctly but also because they lived it out. Let us look again at verse 10.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV)
“and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

They understood three truths:
Jesus rose from the dead and lives today. Resurrection means eternal life after death, experienced first by Christ, and promised to all believers.
God’s wrath is revealed against sin.

Romans 1:18 (ESV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

II. They Lived with Conviction
It is important that this correct understanding becomes conviction. We understand the Bible. But whether we truly receive it as the Word of God is another matter. For example, I believe that God will judge the wicked, but sometimes I think that people who are “not so bad” will still be allowed into heaven. This way of thinking is religious thinking, not biblical teaching. The Bible says that all people are sinners before God, and that no one is justified by works.

Yet when we look at the good people around us, we think, “Surely God would not judge such good people.” But that shows that even though we understand the Bible, we are not really believing it. Some people, whether in suits, shirts, T-shirts, or wearing large cross necklaces, are always ready to explain the gospel if someone asks, “What is that?” I myself used to share the gospel on airplanes, striking up conversations with the person next to me. But these days I sometimes let the opportunity pass me by. That does not show true belief in Scripture.

Earlier, I said that idolatry today means money. But perhaps the real idolatry of modern times is evolution. Evolution denies God, teaching that all life came into being by chance through a process of evolution. At schools or in movies, no one questions this theory. Yet evolution, about a hundred years ago, was used by the Nazis as a basis for their racial theories that led to the attempt to wipe Jews from the earth. It also became bound to communist ideology, through which countless people were killed. Even today, human worth and dignity are devalued, giving rise to many social evils.

But what is truly frightening about evolution is that it teaches there is no sin. If there is no God, then there is no sin. There is no God who judges hidden sins. Therefore, evolution directly opposes the Bible.

For Christians to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, it is necessary to proclaim that the message of the Bible is the Word of God. First, Jesus rose from the dead. Second, humanity stands as sinners before God.

The third truth is that Jesus will return. For Christians, His return is a joyful hope. But for unbelievers, it means standing before God’s judgment. If we believe in His return, we must be more zealous in evangelism. However, sometimes churches only think about their own salvation and gather together just to wait for His return. On television, this can look to the world like a group of people fanatically shouting, “The end is coming!” To outsiders, Christians may appear religiously unbalanced. But the teaching to “be ready for the Lord’s return” means to live rightly and to evangelize. The Lord said:
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The early church and the apostles believed that the return of Jesus was near, so they preached the gospel with all their strength. If the apostles lived in such a way, then it must have been the right thing to do.

Today we studied the passage where Paul praised the Thessalonians. To be praised and affirmed is very important, because it means our value is recognized. Let us not become a church that never praises or affirms.
Paul praised the Thessalonians because they turned away from idols and chose to live with the Lord God as their first priority. Idols change their form in every age, but essentially they are false gods. When people worship them, they come under spiritual bondage. Anything can become an idol. To overcome idolatry, we must put God first, read the Bible, and live in obedience to Him.
Finally, it is not enough just to understand the Bible—we must hold it in our hearts as the Word of God. When we worship Jesus, our Savior, live rightly while waiting for His return, and proclaim the gospel, then the Word of God has truly become our conviction. Let us together seek from God this kind of faith that moves from understanding to conviction.