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The Opposition We Face By Julian Bull

 As I said, the general heading is the opposition we face.
Just if I could recap on very quickly and briefly on these other two messages,
we have looked at, in the first chapter we've looked at the church that God builds.
And I've tried to emphasise that such a church will be balanced.
And such a church will be beautiful because it is balanced.
Because it reflects the emphasis of the word of God.
And the emphasis of the word of God in all the areas that the word of God teaches.
Such a church will indeed be seeking to be orthodox,
be seeking to live godly and holy,
and it will also be seeking to reach out with the gospel.
In the second message we looked at taking up this phrase which was used
about Paul saying the kind of men that they were.
And we thought briefly about the kind of men that God uses.
And we looked at certain characteristics of those men or those people.
And then we very briefly touched on the God-given work.
At least the God-given work that's in focus in chapter 2.
And it seems that what's in focus in chapter 2 or what we saw primarily was
the work of proclaiming the gospel.
Now I don't want you to hear me saying that it's a choice between evangelism
and turning our attention to the life of the church and reforming the life of the church.
I believe very much in the reformation of the local church.
And I want you to be absolutely clear I'm not suggesting this is a choice, evangelism or this.
I'm suggesting that we have to pursue these two things.
I've talked about balance.
Imbalance is ugly.
And imbalance in that way is ugly.
So we will take that as given for granted.
Now we want to think about the opposition we face.
On one occasion John Wesley who was for all the faults we may think of his theology.
He was a great evangelist.
God did use him to bring many people to faith in Christ.
He was once asked by someone what he thought the test of true gospel living and true gospel preaching really was.
And his answer was that if we live truly and preach truly the gospel of Christ.
We will find that that gospel wins converts but also makes enemies.
And sometimes we stop with the first.
Sometimes we focus on the first.
But he was of course by his experience if you know his life story.
He was very clearly often confronted with much opposition.
The gospel wins converts but it also makes enemies.
The living of it and the preaching of it.
And that's what's in focus in 1 Thessalonians 2, the second or the last part of 1 Thessalonians 2 and the first part of 1 Thessalonians 3.
And I want to draw your attention to three things that arise out of this passage.
Very straightforward things but I hope they're very encouraging things.
They were to me.
First of all in this passage we find that God in his word exposes the true character of the kind of opposition that both the apostles and to some degree the church in Thessalonica were facing.
And the kind of opposition we will face, we should face as we preach and live for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The character of the opposition.
That's what's in focus.
I'll just give you a few examples of the character of the opposition.
For example in chapter 14 of 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul speaks about these people becoming imitators of other churches.
Other churches of God in Christ Jesus.
And he says, you the Thessalonians also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your countrymen even as they did from the Jews.
And from this we learn that opposition and persecution according to the teaching of the New Testament will be the common experience, the common lot of all Christ-like balanced assemblies.
Of all Christ-like balanced evangelistic assemblies.
We will expect it, we must expect it.
He says, look, there is nothing new, you are simply imitators of the churches of God and you are enduring the same sufferings.
He says later on in chapter 3 that they should not be surprised, chapter 3 verses 3 and 4.
He says, look, we told you that we the apostles, we would suffer persecution, you would suffer persecution.
We told you that we have been destined to this.
We kept telling you in advance, verse 4 of chapter 3, don't be surprised, don't be surprised, expect it.
Now what he is talking about is not what I am afraid is something of a current trend where so often what we are hearing about is Christians opposing Christians.
Christians versus Christians, that is not what is in view here.
That is not the kind of opposition that is in focus.
Not the kind of situation where disaffected people or disgruntled people begin to turn on other people, other brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is not the kind of opposition that is in view.
This is opposition from people who are antagonistic to the Gospel and to the proclamation of the Gospel and to living out the Gospel in our lives.
So he is saying that this opposition from these enemies of Christ and the Gospel, he is saying look, it is historical, it is traditional, if you like it is part of your pedigree, part of our pedigree, it is not you.
Expect it, it is there, it will be there.
He says the other churches have found it and so have you.
But then he also draws attention in this chapter to the fact that this opposition is really directed against Christ.
It is really directed against the Lordship and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he in two verses in chapter two, verses fourteen and fifteen, he links the two things almost with the same breath.
In verse fourteen he is talking about opposition against the church.
And then he says, these are those who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophet and drove us out.
They killed the Lord Jesus, the prophet and they turned their attention on us.
It is an attack against Christ.
It is against Christ.
Let's not get self inflated or over inflated opinions of ourselves and think people are attacking us.
People are attacking our Saviour and if they can't find Christ then they will get a Christian.
If they think that is the way to get to Christ they will get to him that way.
They will try to get at Christ through us.
Now even ungodly men, even ungodly men love good works.
They love to see good works.
But they hate a declaration of the character of God in conjunction with those good works.
And that is what we are on about as Christians.
We are not just on about good works.
We are not just on about doing this and doing that.
We are to manifest the glory of God in the world and to live for his glory and to do good works.
But we are to declare the character of God.
We are to declare the character of God.
We are to declare his holiness.
We are to declare our sins, our neighbours sins.
We are to declare that God commands men to repent.
We are to declare judgement and wrath and so on.
These are all things that are involved in the gospel of Christ.
And what the world says is look Christians we can tolerate you if only you will keep your mouth shut.
Keep your mouth shut.
Yes we will look on your good works.
And we will even say a few good things about your good works.
But the moment you start declaring to us the character of God and telling us we need to repent.
Then we will become angry.
Keep your mouth shut.
Go about your business.
Meet in your churches.
Have your meetings.
Be kind to me as a neighbour.
But keep your mouth shut.
And then we will be happy.
Well we know the bible says a friend of the world is an enemy of God.
We cannot be both.
But it is simply this point that this is directed against Christ.
Also concerning the character of this opposition.
In this passage quite a lot of information is given telling us, convincing us that opposition
against Christ and his gospel is thoroughly satanic.
There is no other word for it.
There is no other way to describe it.
Cannot be excused.
It is thoroughly satanic.
In character it is thoroughly evil.
And in this passage it is exposed.
And it is exposed not just as being anti-God.
Not just as being anti-Christ.
But also what is mentioned is that it is anti the souls of men.
It is a hindrance that is preventing the speaking of the gospel that these men might be saved.
This is told to us in chapter 2 verse 16.
This is the character of the opposition.
Now it can't be anything else but thoroughly evil and satanic.
And it is presented that way.
And it is presented clearly.
He says look they killed the Lord Jesus.
They killed the prophets.
They drove us out.
Or they persecuted us.
Chapter 3 verse 5.
He talks about how he is wondering if the tempter might have tempted them.
And perhaps that they have fallen by the wayside and their labour was in vain.
He says do you understand what Satan's aim is?
What Satan's goal is?
It is to destroy your faith.
Satan's goal.
Do you understand what it is?
Your apostasy is Satan's life's work.
That's his goal.
That's his aim.
That's what he's after.
Your apostasy.
Chapter 1 verse 18.
He talks about how Satan thwarted him.
He wanted to go to the Thessalonians.
Let's say he thwarted him.
He speaks as if the devil is personal, real, active.
He speaks in those terms.
And this is the word of God speaking.
And he speaks in this context.
He's speaking as if the satanic attacks are oppressive.
And they are.
And they're constant.
And they're stressful.
You know the story because it's a story of your Christian experience.
The story of my Christian experience.
Satan tempts us to sin.
When you sin what happens?
Who becomes your chief accuser once you have sinned?
Satan.
Once you have listened to him he then becomes your chief accuser.
You say to him that Christ has forgiven me.
And what does he do?
He denies the fact of your forgiveness.
Please remember who we're dealing with.
Satan is against Christians and the Gospel.
Now it's in consequence of all this.
Of this thoroughly evil and satanic character of this kind of opposition.
That such things are said about these people who are being the tools of Satan.
Whoever they were.
Who were oppressing and opposing and persecuting the apostles and the people in Thessalonica.
Paul says they're not pleasing to God.
See someone running around saying we're only doing what God commands us to do.
Religious people.
Religious people.
But he says they're not pleasing to God.
In fact they're hostile not only to God they're hostile to all men.
Now what could be more wonderful?
What could be more glorious than bringing to your friend or your neighbour.
Who is perishing in his sins.
Bringing to him the way of salvation.
The good news of a saviour who died for sinners.
What could be more wonderful for him than to believe on Jesus.
And what could be more wicked and more evil than to want to prevent that from happening.
And to want to oppose that.
You see.
So he says these men fill up the measure of their sins.
That's what they're doing.
And he's saying wrath has come upon them to the utmost.
The strong words.
Words reserved to be used by God against and applying to these opponents of the Gospel.
Of course this is not and we understand this is not confined to one age.
This kind of opposition is of course going on today.
We were told in Revelation 12 17 that this is what would happen.
We're told there that the dragon was enraged with a woman.
And he went off to make war with the rest of her offspring.
Who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
But then in this passage that's before us in the second place.
Our attention is also drawn to the limitations that God sets on this kind of opposition.
It is limited.
We say it's allowed by God.
Opposition to the Gospel.
Persecution of the church.
It's allowed by God but there are God-given limits.
And our attention is drawn to these limitations by God.
Our attention is drawn to this by recording what actually happened to the Thessalonians.
For example when he talks about the believers enduring.
And he's careful to mention that in chapter 2 verse 14.
They endured the same suffering.
They endured them.
They actually got through them.
They went through them.
These sufferings this persecution didn't quench the faith of the Thessalonians.
He is willing to admit that there was potential to weaken.
And it's essential for them to disturb.
Now it's potential for that.
You notice that he doesn't use the word destroy.
That's very significant.
I found that significant because I've been preaching through Romans 14 on Sunday evenings in Newtown.
And there God uses the word destroy in connection with two Christian brothers.
And the misuse of Christian liberty.
And saying the misuse of your Christian liberty has the potential to actually destroy a brother Christian.
He doesn't say that this persecution has the potential to destroy a brother Christian.
He doesn't say that in this passage.
I think that's very significant.
That seems to be an idea.
The idea of destruction.
That seems to be a concept reserved for what so-called Christians do to each other.
Of course there's a whole message in that.
Apparently that is more destructive to the church than opposition from outside.
Apparently that is more destructive to me as a Christian.
Than opposition from people who are against Christ and against the gospel.
And are not making professions to be Christians.
How many times have you heard people say.
Have you said yourself.
Yes but only it had come from a non-Christian.
What made it so devastating and so hard was it came from someone who called himself a Christian.
Well here he's willing to admit that these persecutions may disturb.
They may discourage.
And it's an interesting point whether the we that he uses in chapter 3 is.
Referring only to the apostles.
Or whether it's a we that's including the apostles and all the Thessalonians.
Whether it is that the persecutions mainly vented on the apostles.
And there is this sort of subtle form of persecution.
The Thessalonians have to watch the apostles being afflicted.
And they suffer because they have to watch that.
Or whether it's the we which is also a biblical principle.
Because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Whether it's the we of all of them the Thessalonians and the apostles.
Where you can think you can think that out it doesn't really matter.
But we understand what he's getting at.
What he says and the the end result of what he says.
You read through first Thessalonians 3.
You'll come to the conclusion that all of that opposition was ultimately unsuccessful.
It was unsuccessful.
I mean if you sat down with the devil and you said to him.
What did you want to achieve in Thessalonica by your opposition.
What did you want to do to the apostles and achieve in their life by your opposition.
And he told you and then said did you accomplish that.
Was it a success.
Of course it wasn't a success.
It wasn't a success.
It didn't destroy their faith.
It didn't cause them to apostatize.
It didn't cause them to renounce Christ.
It was unsuccessful.
And I would suggest this is the story of the church.
And this is the promise of Christ in Matthew 16.
The gates of hell will not prevail.
The church militant is what's pictured there.
The church on the march.
The church who marches up to the gates of hell.
Not a poor little towering church and hell gathering all around it and there she is.
Any minute hell is going to gush into the church and we're all going to.
The picture in Matthew 16 is of the church on the march.
And she marches up to the gates of hell and she shakes them.
How strong are these locks.
And they're not strong at all.
And she batches them down and she goes in and she plunders.
And the strong man has been bound and plundering the strong man's house.
So ultimately it's unsuccessful.
And you'll see that in a minute under the third point.
Perhaps we could illustrate the apostles perspective on these things from another place.
In 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 17 we know in 2 Corinthians 4 the apostle is actually
rehearsing or going through a whole catalogue of suffering and persecution that they endured.
This is the passage where he tells us that they were afflicted but they were not crushed.
They were perplexed but they were not despairing.
They were persecuted but they weren't forsaken.
And they were struck down but they weren't destroyed and so on and so forth.
Long list of them.
And then he comes to 2 Corinthians 4 17 and he says this.
Momentary light affliction.
It's producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.
Now the experts in the Greek language tell us that the word translated into our English language
by the word light literally means feather weight.
Literally means something that has the weight of a feather.
The weight of a feather.
And you go back and you say can he be serious?
Is he talking about being crushed?
Being persecuted?
Being struck down?
Always carrying about in his body the marks of Jesus.
And then he says what were they?
They were just feather weight.
Feather weight.
The weight of a feather.
You ever felt the weight of a feather?
You can't feel the weight of a feather.
Hasn't got enough weight in it.
You ever tried to beat somebody with a feather?
Can you imagine that?
Would not make a very great impression.
Feather weight affliction.
Not worthy to be compared.
Remember Romans 8 18.
Not worthy to be compared.
So there are these God-given limitations upon the opposition that comes
against Christ and his church.
God-given limitations.
Ultimate deliverance.
Ultimate victory.
There may be scars.
There may be wounds.
I'm not saying these things don't touch us and harm us.
They don't break us.
They do break us on the wheel of God's providences and his adversities.
They may hinder.
They may thwart.
They may prevent the gospel apparently for a period of time.
But ultimately the gospel spreads.
And the gospel conquers.
And opposition is a dismal failure.
A dismal failure.
That's the story of the church.
Ultimately.
I'm not saying if you focus on one particular little isolated part of the church's history.
You won't see carnies.
And you won't see the dismembering of the church.
And almost apparently the destruction of the church.
But ultimately.
Ultimately there is victory.
This brings us to the third point.
And the third point is that the message of 1 Thessalonians 3 and this opposition is that
it records how there was a glorious working for good in this opposition against the apostles
and against the Thessalonians.
It's a theme that runs right through the passage.
In fact what you begin to realise is.
As you listen to Paul pouring out his joy and his heart and exaltation.
Is that all this opposition has actually had the reverse of the desired effect.
Satan's desired effect.
Because you begin to see the glorious side effects.
You begin to see that what has actually happened is that here are living fulfilments of Romans
8 28.
Living fulfilments of Romans 8 28.
What the apostles were.
What the believers in Thessalonica were.
Here is illustration of that promise.
All things work together for good to them who are called by God according to his purpose
and who love him.
Here is illustration of that promise.
Look at what happens.
The afflictions come on the apostles.
The persecution comes on the Thessalonians.
What happens?
The bonds of fellowship are strengthened and deepened.
Satan suffering together.
Fighting against the common enemy.
Suffering together.
Knits their hearts together.
And here is the apostles glaring in the church.
Is that what Satan wanted to happen?
That's what he's doing.
He's glorying in Christ with his marvellous grace.
You see.
There's a wonderful working for good.
Look at chapter 2 verses 17 and 18.
It seems that the more Satan would oppose him and not want him to go to Thessalonica.
The more he wanted to.
He's tried once or twice and he's not been able to.
But he still has that desire in his heart.
He still has a longing.
He says at the end verse 11 of chapter 3.
May God himself direct our way to you.
In fact it's intensified his desire to be with them.
It's deepened his appreciation of them.
It's intensified the bond of fellowship.
You see.
Now Anzac Day is coming up.
And on Anzac Day there will be men who will gather together with other men.
And if you were to say to those men.
Now what is the bond between you?
He is too bigger.
What's the bond between you?
Where did this bond come from?
Where did it originate?
I didn't know this man until we were in the same platoon.
Never met him, never heard of him.
We fought alongside each other.
There were times when he had to watch my back.
Times when I had to watch his back.
And here we are 50 years later.
And that bond which was formed by facing the same common enemy.
Mutual adversity, sharing that adversity.
The bond has lasted.
We're not talking about that kind of thing.
We're talking about fellowship.
Spiritual fellowship.
We're talking about bonds in Christ.
And so that's really a poor illustration.
But here they are facing a common enemy.
And it's deepened the affection and the appreciation.
Intensified the fellowship.
But more than that we realize that through their endurance and faithfulness.
Through the endurance and the faithfulness of the Thessalonians.
In the face of opposition and persecution.
What's happened is, for Paul anyway.
The genuine nature of their conversion has become apparent.
He's been watching from afar.
He's wondering has Satan tempted them to the point where they've chucked it all in.
Timothy go off and find out.
Timothy comes back and he says no.
No they haven't chucked it in.
They're still standing firm.
They're still standing fast.
And Paul he then begins to see the genuine nature of their conversion is called into very clear focus.
And what joy, what encouragement is brought to the heart of the spiritual midwives.
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy.
What joy, rejoicing and confidence.
What thanks to God.
What deep encouragement.
Look at how he speaks.
Oh he says for this reason, verse 7 of chapter 3.
For this reason brethren and all our distress and affliction.
We were comforted about you through your faith.
For now we really live if you stand firm in the Lord.
Oh what joy it's brought to him.
What encouragement.
He sees the sheer power of the gospel.
He sees the wonder of the grace of God.
It's all been put in clear relief.
How?
By the fact that the Thessalonians have stood in the face of opposition.
Now is that what Satan intended?
Did he intend that his opposition, his attacks on the church of the Thessalonians,
would actually draw from the heart of the apostle a ringing affirmation of the power of God's grace?
Of course not.
But God turns things for good.
The glorious working for good.
Their discipleship has been proved in a way, perhaps it never could have been,
if they were required just to live out their lives without any opposition at all.
And you can look into the chapter and find lots of evidences of this glorious working for good.
How their standing firm has been encouraged for.
How the fact that they have gone through this opposition.
How it has knitted their hearts together.
How much joy and encouragement.
How they've proved they have a genuine article beyond any shadow of a doubt.
They proved it in the face of opposition.
God was greatly glorified, greatly glorified through this.
Then very quickly to finish off with, what are some practical conclusions?
Well just as we heard in the last session.
Obviously the first and perhaps the foremost practical conclusion is this.
God knows what he's doing.
God knows exactly what he's doing.
Things are never out of control.
And this is true in the story of the church, the history of the church.
He's still on the throne.
He allows persecution.
He allows opposition.
He allows suffering.
For his glory and for our good.
For his glory and our good.
Who was it?
One of those old Puritan preachers who had a quaint saying.
Something about breaking the horns off the devil's head.
And using them to sound the victory note.
Using them as a trumpet to blow the note of victory.
Breaking the horns off the devil's head.
Imagine that.
Well God knows what he's doing.
Second practical conclusion is this.
You know an easy, comfortable, unopposed Christianity is not the best Christianity.
And I don't think we've any right praying for that.
And I don't think we should pray for that.
We should surely hope that we are something of a threat to Satan.
We are something of a threat to an ungodly and a wicked world.
We would surely want that our church is worth opposing.
That our ministries are worth opposing.
That our preaching, our witnessing is worth opposing.
So this idea that a lack of opposition is somehow good.
I think it's not a biblical idea.
An easy, comfortable, unopposed Christianity is not the best Christianity.
And of course we're always reasoning this way.
But look at all the opportunities for the gospel.
That really history tells us it's not at those times that the gospel goes forward.
Not generally speaking, but the times when there's great difficulties as the gospel goes forward.
Third practical conclusion.
I'll just go through these very quickly.
I'm sure we would be right in coming to the conclusion that a lack of opposition.
A lack of satanic opposition is often linked.
Often linked to a lack in implementing the word of God in our churches.
Whether it's in the area of reforming the life of the church.
Whether it's in the area of reaching out with the gospel.
One's really an extension of the other.
But it is when we are a threat, it's when we're the church militant.
That's when Satan gets worried and gets angry and will oppose us.
And you say, well, look, everything's so easy these days.
Everything's so comfortable these days.
Well, perhaps it could be because we're not much of a threat to Satan.
At the end of chapter three, there is an emphasis on prayer and perseverance.
And I don't want you to go away with the idea that these believers failed through this.
I'm suggesting that the Thessalonian believers,
they just failed through their opposition.
And to the apostles, they just failed through it.
They got through it by prayer, by the promises of God,
and by perseverance, and by the person of the Holy Spirit.
That's how they got through it.
Those things, our attention is drawn to those things towards the end of chapter three.
Please don't have the idea that opposition to the gospel
and opposition to the church is something which will not take its toll.
It does, and it will take its toll upon the church of God,
upon Christians individually.
Don't just fail through it.
But finally and ultimately, our focus must be the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ was hated.
Christ was rejected.
Christ was opposed.
Christ was resisted.
And Christ was ultimately victorious.
And if we're talking about anything this weekend,
we're talking about Christ's gospel, and Christ's church, and Christ's people, and Christ's word.
It is this connection which is our most glorious connection.
It is this which lies at the heart of all of this about opposition.
It's because we are Christ.
Because we're preaching Christ.
Because we're proclaiming the news of Christ.
Christ is hated.
Christ is opposed, but Christ is victorious.
And we are Christians.
Many of us here today, we are Christians.
We share the opposition, but we share the victory.
We share the opposition, but we share the victory.
We share the cross.
We share the resurrection.
And when we go home from here, we must go home with our hearts and our minds set on Christ.
On Christ.
Preaching Christ.
Living for Christ.
Walking with Christ.
May God give us grace that we can do that.
Let's pray.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the loveliness and the attractiveness of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
To us who believe he is indeed precious.
But Lord, we don't want to just, as it were, admire him from afar.
We want to fall in line and walk where he walked.
And live in imitation of him.
We want to share the same passion for holiness.
That saw him so angry over the state of that temple.
And we want to share the same passion for souls that saw him weep over Jerusalem.
And Lord, we ask that we may not just become professional admirers of the Lord Jesus.
That really committed followers and disciples.
Help us as we go from this place, Lord, with you to give us journey and mercy.
And to grant that we can be useful for you.
Willing to live and die in the service of Christ.
Not worrying about whether we're in big places or small places.
Not worrying about whether we are well known or not well known.
But wanting to be well known with you and with the Lord Jesus.
Help us, Father, so that we can indeed glorify you.
We ask it in his name. Amen.