You Got Mail: Paul's Letter to the Church in Thessalonica

October 14, 2026

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace and peace to you. (I Thessalonians 1:1, NIV)

Thessalonica was the capital and a city of about 200,000 in the Roman province of Macedonia.  More importantly, it was located along the Roman highway which ran from Rome to the Orient; therefore, men and women from countless nations, with countless beliefs and faiths, filled the city. 

For many, Christianity was seen as a threat.  Paul had established the first church there in A.D. 50 but we are told in Acts 17 that he had to escape the city because his life was threatened.

Paul is writing the Thessalonians about a year later in A.D. 51, having heard that there are problems including false teachings, disobedience, misconceptions about Jesus’ second coming, persecution, and failure to avoid the diverse surrounding cultures, many which stood in opposition to what Christ taught.  Paul writes II Thessalonians only a year after his first letter as the issues in the church continued.

One of Paul’s major themes in his letters to the Thessalonians is OBEDIENCE. 

Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should

abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and

to please God;  for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord

Jesus.  

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from

sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in

sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know

God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and

testified.  

For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.  Therefore he

who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy

Spirit. (I Thessalonians 4: 1-8, NKJV)

I like the Message version of this scripture:

One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing

what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a

living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the

Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.

Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn to appreciate and give

dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know

nothing of God.  Don't run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and

sisters. Their concerns are God's concerns, and he will take care of them. We've

warned you about this before. God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt

life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the

outside.

If you disregard this advice, you're not offending your neighbors; you're

rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit. (I Thessalonians 4: 1-8,

The Message)

God’s Word tells us, in Deuteronomy 5:32, “You must obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail.  Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow…” 

Think of it like this:

Imagine you are driving somewhere you've never been before. You turn on your GPS, and it tells you, “Turn left at the next intersection.”

But you look at the road and think, “I don't want to turn left. I think I know a better way.”

So, you keep going straight.

A few minutes later, the GPS says, “Recalculating.” It gives you another direction. You ignore that one too. Eventually, you realize you've made the trip much longer and more difficult than it needed to be.

God's commands can be like that. Sometimes He asks us to do something that doesn't make sense to us. We may not understand why He is telling us to go in a particular direction, but obedience means trusting the One who can see the whole road when we can only see the next turn.

Obedience isn't always about understanding God's plan; it's about trusting God's character.

A bit later in his letter, Paul talks to the Thessalonians about Jesus’ return:

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I

should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so

comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden

destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they

shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should

overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not

of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us

watch and be sober. (I Thessalonians 5: 1-6, NKJV)

The Message translation puts it this way, “Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.”

Paul wants the Thessalonians to understand that Christ may return at any moment, ”like a thief in the night,” and each of us are to be ready, for “sudden destruction” will come upon those who are not ready, who live “in darkness."

Paul writes, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day.”

We are called to live as children of light, creatures of the day. It is the light, Christ, which should define us.

Remember, Paul wrote, back in chapter 4, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”

The dictionary defines sanctification as “to make holy” or ”to set apart.”

Paul explains that “the will of God” is our sanctification. The will of God is for us to be made holy…set apart…so that we will be ready when Christ returns “like a thief in the night.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” 

Paul is telling the church in Thessalonica:

(1) Christ will come like a “thief in the night”;

(2) In order to be ready for that moment that Christ returns we must live as

children of the light;

(3) God wants us to be sanctified, set apart...God wants us to become like His

Son, Jesus so that we will be found blameless

We are called to be obedient.

Paul continues to describe what obedience looks like:

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are

over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love

for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.  Now we exhort you,

brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak,

be patient with all.  See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always

pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.  Rejoice always, pray without

ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for

you.  Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies.  Test all things; hold

fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil. (I Thessalonians 5: 12-22,

NKJV)

In II Thessalonians 3, Paul goes as far as telling the Christians in Thessalonica to withdraw from anyone who walks disorderly and does not obey God’s Word.

Paul wants the Christians in Thessalonica, and us, to remember that “For this is the will of God, your sanctification,” that we become like His Son, Jesus.  Paul wants us to remember that God desires you and I to be found “blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” so let us live as “children of the light.” God is speaking through His servant Paul, and Paul is clear:

…he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His

Holy Spirit. (I Thessalonians 4:8)

This theme is reiterated throughout the Bible, including in John's writing:

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.  The man

who says ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth

is not in him.  But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in

him.  This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must walk

as Jesus did. (I John 2: 3-6)

Obedience is the outward expression of your love for God. 

We tend to think obeying God means doing something dramatic like becoming a missionary, preaching to thousands, or doing something extraordinary. Obedience often happens in ordinary moments. Sometimes obedience is simply:

• Calling the person God puts on your heart.

• Forgiving someone when you have every reason to hold a grudge.

• Giving when God puts a need in front of you.

• Telling the truth when lying would be easier.

• Helping someone when you're busy.

• Apologizing when your pride says, “Don't.”

• Saying no to something you know God doesn't want you doing.

• And…sometimes it is repenting when God makes it clear to us that we have taken the wrong path.

  
  

Many years ago I had such an experience.  I decided to watch a movie so I picked up a comedy called Bridesmaids, the story of Annie, whose life is turned upside down when she takes on the Maid of Honor role in her best friend’s wedding.  This film won critical acclaim, some hailing it as the best comedy of 2011; it was even nominated for two golden globe awards.

I watched it.  It was filled with sex, language, immorality, crude jokes and many other moments that were completely contrary to the faith I profess. 

The next morning I was reading scripture for my devotion.  In the Bible reading plan I am doing, the New Testament scripture for the morning was 2 Corinthians 7. The first verse read, “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”

This was a moment of truth.

I had several choices:

1) I could skip over this verse that hit me that morning as a coincidence, having

nothing to do with the Holy Spirit convicting me about what I watched the

evening before.

2) I could reject the truth I had just read and rationalize or outright rebel against

God, joining the surrounding culture, convincing myself that it wasn’t that

bad a movie, look at the awards it won, it taught a good message in the

end.

3) Or I could allow God’s Word to convict me and obey, and in this case, confess

and ask forgiveness.

Whenever I have obeyed God and spoken to the person God was convicting me to approach, left teaching to go to seminary and enter ministry, accepted an assignment to serve at Zion Church, or traveled to Peru to work with children…Whenever I have been convicted of sin in my life and have confessed that sin, changed the behavior, allowed God to have control…Whenever I have obeyed God, I have been blessed. 

James 1:22, “And remember, [God’s Word] is a message to obey, not just to listen to.” 

Whenever you and I obey God we are blessed. More importantly, God sees in those moments of obedience our love for Him, that our love is not simply words.

We must ask ourselves, as I’m sure the Thessalonians asked after receiving Paul’s letters:

• Are we in obedience to God, following His guidelines, His rules, reading His Word and trying to live it out, seeking forgiveness when we “fall,” and striving to be faithful disciples? 

• Do we refuse to rationalize in order to justify behaviors that the world seems to accept, but God’s Word is clearly against? 

• Are we disobeying God, telling Him “no” when it comes to how God wants us to live, who God wants us to forgive, the direction God wants us to walk, the ministry in which God wants us to serve, the people whom God wants us to love?

At times obedience is difficult. It forces us to change behaviors, to swallow our pride, to lose friendships, and to make difficult choices. On our own strength we will fail often.

Jesus taught us in John 15:5 (NKJV) – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” 

Paul discovered this truth, where his strength came from, and wrote, Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

We are not alone in our struggles. We are not alone in our fight against temptation and the enemy that roams the earth. We are not alone on this journey unless we choose to be. 

And don’t ever forget when you fall that there is forgiveness. There is grace. There is always One whose name you can call upon.

May we pray like the psalmist, Psalm 119: 33-35 (NIV):

Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.

How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life.