1 Thess. 5:1-11 “The Day of the Lord”

1:11So that leads me to begin this morning with three introductory comments. First, the study of biblical prophecy is not my greatest passion in life. This is not to say that. Biblical prophecy is unimportant. It is important. But far too much energy has been spent trying to lay out a neat scheme of events, which is not the purpose of prophecy. The purpose of fulfilled prophecy is to demonstrate God's absolute control of human history. What God says, He does. What God promises, He fulfills.

2:09Fulfilled prophecy gives us confidence in the scriptures and assures us that prophecies pertaining to the future will be fulfilled. The purpose of yet to be fulfilled prophecy is to give hope, is to produce perseverance in difficult days. It is to motivate us to trust and obey, and it's to motivate us to lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth. Note, all of those benefits that I just gave you for yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy do not require a full-blown prophetic scheme with all of The details and sequences spelled out. So that's my first introductory comment.

3:07Second, I want to remind you about the Greek word appentesis, which was covered last week, to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In Greek culture, the word had a technical meaning to describe the visits of dignitaries to cities where the visitor would be formally met by the citizens or a delegation of the citizens who had gone out from the city to meet the dignitary and would then ceremonially escort that dignitary back to the city.

3:50There are only three occurrences of what is almost uniformly used in all Greek literature, but three uses of appentesis in the New Testament. 1 Thessalonians 4, 17, Acts 28, 15, and Matthew 25, 6, which is the parable of the ten versions. So, let me, for the children in the audience, let me help you understand appentesis very clearly. There is a wedding planned in this city. The bride is in. City waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. The bridegroom is traveling from a city that is at afar.

4:40What did the ten virgins in this city do? They were to wait for the bridegroom who was coming. So, guess what they did? They kind of went outside the city, and we remember five bridegrooms had enough oil, and five bridegrooms virgins didn't. And guess what the virgins did? When the bridegroom arrived, the virgins met them, and where did they take the bridegroom? To the wedding, and where the bride is. That is the use of appentesis. That's my second introductory comment. Third, this text, the text this morning, is found in Paul's first epistle written to the Thessalonians. Intense persecution had forced Paul to leave Thessalonica after three weeks of preaching. And despite repeated efforts to return to them, Paul was prevented from doing so.

5:49So, as a result, Paul sends Timothy to Thessalonica. And Timothy returned with glowing reports of how the Thessalonians had not only persevered. But we're growing in faith, hope, and love. In his first epistle to the Thessalonians after Timothy's visit, and after challenging the Thessalonians to press on in the process of sanctification, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:11, Paul addresses how Christ will come again. This passage has two subdivisions. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 18, the passage studied last week in Pastor Joshua's excellent sermon on this passage, Paul explained that the death of some saints before Christ's return was not a problem. Those saints have the same hope that the saints who were living at the time of Christ's return would have. For when the Lord returns, he will raise those saints up who have already died. They will be joined by the saints who are alive at the time of Christ's coming to meet the Lord in the air.

7:20And consistent with the Greek concept of appentes, the risen and living saints will escort the Lord. To the earth to live together in the presence of the Lord forever. If 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18 deals with the Lord's delay by focusing on the fate of believers, those who have died and those that are living at the time of Christ's return, 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 through 11 deals with the delay itself. How long do the readers have to wait just when is the Lord going to return?

8:09In 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 through 11, the passage we are studying this week, Paul compares and contrasts the attitudes and actions of believers related to the day of the Lord. And remember, the day of the Lord is his second coming, his return to begin judgment. How do the believers respond to the future day of the Lord as compared to those who are unbelievers and how they respond and prepare for the day of the Lord? Let me repeat that. The passage we're studying, Paul is going to compare and contrast the actions and attitudes of believers related to the day of the Lord with the mindset and conduct of unbelievers related to the day of the Lord.

9:00Thus, the practical question 1 Thessalonians 5:1 through 11 has this morning is: how do we prepare for the day of the Lord? Or stated differently, how do we live life in light of Jesus' pending return? Ligand Duncan answers this question by saying, not by prognostication, but by the pursuit of godliness. So, borrowing his answer, not by prognostication, but by the pursuit of godliness, to my question, how do we live life in light of Jesus' return? We're going to borrow that answer as the central point of our sermon. With that central point of our sermon, not by prognostication, but by the pursuit of godliness, I would like you to see the abruptness of Christ's return in verses 1 through 3, the alertness Christians are to maintain awaiting his return in verses 4 through 8, and the assurances his return grants to us in verses 9 through 11. First, let us consider the abruptness of Christ's return. More specifically, let me allow us to see.

10:30The abruptness of return is going to be characterized by unpredictability, unpreparedness, and irreversibility. Look at verses 1 through 2. Now, concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The Thessalonians must have said to Paul, Hey, Paul, got a question. We'd like to hear more about the timing of Jesus' return.

11:14And Paul's written response is, You don't need me to write anything about the timing of Jesus' return. Embedded within his passage here in 1 through 2, Paul's reference to the times and the seasons is a reminder to the Thessalonians that they already know what Jesus said at his ascension. In Acts 1:7, Jesus says, It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. The Thessalonians also likely knew. From the early gospels that were circulating, what Jesus had said only days before his death. No one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

12:18Note to self: when Jesus says he doesn't know something, it's probably a good thing for you to drop trying to figure out what Jesus says he doesn't know. Finally, in this passage, Paul likens Jesus' coming to be like a thief in the night, just as Christ did in Luke 12:35 through 40. So, what is Paul's point in answering this question that the Thessalonians have? Jesus' return, brothers and sisters, will be unpredictable. Thieves can go out of their way to be unpredictable, but if you knew when they were coming, you would be there so they couldn't break into your home. But they intentionally make sure you're not in your home because they want to be unpredictable. The abruptness of Christ's return is characterized by unpredictability. It is also characterized by unpreparedness. Look at verse 3a.

13:26While people are saying there is peace and security, Then sudden destruction will come upon them. On the day of Christ's return for judgment, the world, that is, unbelievers, will be eating and drinking, buying and selling, building and planting, marrying and giving into marriage. None of these things are, in and of themselves, wicked. But when the soul becomes entirely wrapped up in them, so that they become ends in themselves, they are a curse and no longer a blessing. So unbelievers, fascinated with earthly pleasures, will not realize that judgment is creeping closer and closer on them until very suddenly it overtakes them, catching them wholly unprepared. The abruptness of Christ's return will be characterized by unpreparedness. It will also be characterized by irreversibility. Look at verse 3b.

14:44As labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. The moment a woman knows that she is pregnant, she knows that labor pains are coming. Granted, she does. Know the exact time when they are coming, but she has a fairly good idea as the time of the baby's birth nears. But once the labor sets in, there is nothing the woman can do to stop those pains. She is now irreversibly committed to the consequences of her being pregnant.

15:25Likewise, once the second coming begins, once the dead in Christ are risen, and those who are alive gather together to meet the Lord in the air, to escort Him to this earth, at that time the unbeliever will not be able to escape the inevitable judgment. The abruptness of Christ's return will be characterized by irreversibility. So, as we look back at these verses one through three, all the Thessalonians needed to know about the timing of the day of the Lord had already been revealed prior by the Lord.

16:13Paul does not seek to add anything to what our Lord had already taught regarding the timing of the day of the Lord. For what he does seek to do is to focus on the Christian's perspective. And practice during the time they wait for his return. And he does this by contrasting the Christians' response to the coming of our Lord with that of unbelievers. Christians are certain that the day of the Lord is going to occur. They just don't know exactly when.

16:52That is, it's unpredictable. Non-Christians are certain the day of the Lord is not coming and that they have nothing to worry about. That is, their certainty results in their unpreparedness. Yet, nothing they can do will stop the day of the Lord because it is irreversible. That is the abruptness of Christ's return. Let us now consider the alertness that Christians are to maintain awaiting his return. In verses 1 through 3, Paul says the way to get ready for Christ's return is not by prognostication. In verses 4 through 8, Paul says that the way to be ready for Christ's return is to pursue godliness, to keep awake, to be sober, to cultivate faith.

18:00Love and hope. Let us think about these five aspects for just a few moments. Look at verses 4 through 5. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. The watchful person is to keep awake. To keep awake means to live a sanctified life in the consciousness of the coming judgment day. The watchfulness has nothing to do with watching for the signs of Jesus' return.

18:56The watchfulness is all about spiritual and moral alertness. To sleep in this passage means to live as if there is not going to be a judgment day. Spiritual and moral laxity is being indicated. So the picture of being awake and not being asleep, of being a watchful person is like one who has lamps burning, his loins girded. And it's in that condition that he looks forward to the return of the bridegroom. Look at Luke 12:35 through 40. I referenced it earlier. This is a picture of being awake and not being asleep. Stay dressed for action. Keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants who the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants. But know this: that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

20:45Brothers and sisters, we are to keep awake. Second, we are to be sober. I'm scratching our heads here for a second. What does being sober have to do? With living life in light of Jesus' return, I'll answer it this way: if you think that this world is all there is, you are probably trying to grab as much of it as you can. There are some of us that are old enough that remember the commercial back in the early 70s that encouraged us to grab all the gusto we can because you only go around once in life.

21:33That's not an example of being sober. To be sober means to be filled with spiritual and moral earnestness, being neither overly excited on the one hand nor indifferent on the other, but calm, steady, and sane. We are to be sober. Look at verses 7 through 8. For those who sleep sleep at night, those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. A.T. Robertson, in his commentary, believes that Paul uses these defensive pieces of armor because the idea of watchfulness brings the figure of a sentry on guard. And armed to Paul's mind. So the third aspect of pursuing godliness is to put on the breastplate of faith.

22:44The life of faith is learning to believe in the Word of God, trust in the promises of God, and putting our trust in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The life of faith is learning to trust the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not to our own understanding. The life of faith is learning to take God at his word despite evidence to the contrary. And Paul says, if you want to be ready for Jesus' return, you need to live by faith.

23:26Fourth, we are to put on the breastplate of love. Jesus summed up the whole of the commandments when he said, love God, love your neighbor. Brothers and sisters, love God. Love your neighbor. Love your spouse. Love your fellow congregation member. Love one another. And finally, to faith and love, Paul says, Paul adds the hope of salvation. The hope envisioned by Paul is not just wishful thinking, but a sure and certain hope that Jesus is coming again. The believers in Thessalonica were already in possession of salvation. But what Paul is really wanting to emphasize here is the full aspect of salvation, that hope. It's that confident and firmly assured, that anchored assurance that the full inheritance will one day be ours that has been promised to us.

24:43So, how do we prepare for Jesus' coming? Not by prognostication, but by the pursuit of godliness. We keep awake, we are sober, we live by faith, we live in hope, we live in love. That's how we prepare for Jesus' coming. That's the alertness that Christians are to maintain awaiting his return. But let's now consider the assurances his return grants to us. The first assurance is the difference between eternal salvation and eternal judgment. Look at verse 9. For God has not destined us for wrath.

25:30But to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Negatively, believers are not appointed to wrath on the day of the Lord. Positively, all believers are appointed to obtain salvation on the day of the Lord through the Lord Jesus. The second assurance is the difference between enjoying eternity in the presence of our Lord and facing the wrath of God away from his presence. So look at verse 10. He who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep might live with him.

26:21Harking back to last week's sermon, awake or asleep refers to the survivors and those who had already died at the time of Christ's coming. For both groups of Christians, Jesus didn't only die so that our sins would be forgiven. No, Jesus died so that we might live with him. What is Paul saying to us here? Paul's saying is that fellowship with Jesus is why Jesus died for us, so that we might live with him. So we might fellowship with him, so that we might be with him forever. That's the great blessing. Jesus is not the means to an end, he is the end, he is the goal, he is the prize.

27:20Our final assurance is that which comes from believers encouraging one another about these truths. 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 5:11 was written to assure us that Jesus is coming and that the process of sanctification is how we prepare for his return. Paul wanted to motivate the Thessalonians and us with these truths. That is why both parts of 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18 and 5, 1 through 11 end with this. Encourage one another. Look at these two verses in front of you. 4.18. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. 5.11. Encourage one another. Build one another up with these things.

28:17Brothers and sisters, we are to encourage one another with these words. This exhortation calls on us to be involved in the lives of one another in order to give comfort. Comfort and encouragement. We are to encourage one another that we are children of the light. We're not destined for wrath. We're destined to obtain salvation and that we will be with the Lord forever. But in addition to encouraging one another, we are to build one another up. We are to edify or to restore fellow believers as might be needed. We are to help one another stay sober and spiritually awake in view of who we are as Christians and in view of our glorious inheritance. These are the assurances His return grants to us.

29:20Let me conclude the message this morning with three additional practical applications. First, since the coming of the day of the Lord is certain, and since we cannot know its precise timing, we must be ever watchful in waiting. His delay is for at least two purposes. One, he's delaying out of peace, excuse me, out of grace, giving men further time to repent and believe. He's also giving Christians by his delay the time to be. Purified by sanctification and thus for us to be prepared for his return. We must be watchful and waiting. Second, Paul's words should prompt us to pray for the salvation of the lost and to strive to share the good news of the gospel with those who are unprepared and irreversibly going to face eternal judgment. The time of waiting is also not only a time of watching, but it's a time of working. We are to be making disciples. We should pray for the salvation of the lost because unbelievers will be caught by surprise in the day of the Lord because they feel safe and secure in their unpreparedness. And for any in this room, the gospel is very straightforward.

31:04God is a holy God who hates sin. And he will not allow sinners to be in his presence. And we, as humans, are sinners. We were born and we are dead in our trespasses and sin. But God loved us enough to save sinners. Send His Son to die for our sins. And if we but place our faith in His work on the cross to save us, we can be saved. Finally, those who profess to be believers, but may not be true believers, should find our text to be a warning.

32:00If professing believers become too attached to this life and to this world, they will be inclined to think and to act as the world does regarding Christ's return. Worldliness will desensitize them to the certain reality of the day of the Lord. The things of this world will no longer be seen as the passing pleasures of sin, but they will begin to pursue them rather than laying up treasure in heaven. If you can allow the apology for the more modern-day picture of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, does it even show up? Yes, it did show up.

32:47We read in Pilgrim's Progress, I then saw in my dream that as Christian went, he came to the bottom of a hill, where he saw three men fast asleep. Chains around their ankles. The name of one was simple, another sloth, and the third presumption. Seeing them in chains, Christian went up to him with the hope of waking them up. He cried, Awake, come away. If he, that is the devil, if he comes about like a roaring lion, you will be certainly eaten by him. But if you are willing, let me help you off with your chains.

33:33With that, the three looked upon him and replied in this sort. Simple said, I see no danger. Sloth said, just a little more sleep. The presumption said, everyone is responsible for themselves. And with those responses, they lay down to sleep again, and Christian went on his way. What is Bunyan speaking of here? Bunyan is speaking of self-examination. The Bible warns us again and again to examine ourselves. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

34:24To those here today, not everyone who presumes Professes the name of Jesus Christ will be acknowledged on the last day, but only those who persevere to the end. There are Christians, they're professing Christians, who hardly ever attend church. They attend when the mood occurs to them. Days, weeks, months go by, and these professing Christians never read the scriptures for personal profit or edification. Professing Christians hardly ever pray except when they're in trouble. They call themselves Christians, but their names are simple, sloth, and presumption.

35:18This text is a warning about worldliness to those who profess to be believers but may not be true believers. So, how do we live life in light of Jesus' pending return? Not by prognostication, but by the pursuit of godliness. Let us pray. Father, we adore you, for you are faithful. You fulfill all of your promises, and you will fulfill all of your prophecies. Lord, we confess that we know enough about your return, and we confess that we would ever spend time and energy trying to interpret through modern-day events when and how you're going to return. That is simply not what you call us to do. And we confess that some of us are praying for your quick return because we don't want to endure persecution, despite the fact that believers have suffered persecution for centuries.

36:53Lord, we are thankful that you gave us the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are thankful that Jesus was willing to pay for our sins so that those who are dead in their trespasses and sin can one day be in your presence because of your justice. And we thank you that Jesus is coming again. And we have that not as a hope that we just think might occur. This is an assurance that he will return. And when he returns, judgment will occur and we will be able to be with him forever.

37:44Lord, we pray that the believers in this room will pursue godliness. They will stay awake. They will be sober. They will cultivate faith. love and hope. And we pray that the message this morning will challenge those who are professing believers to examine where they stand so that they might be assured that they know Christ and they're not leaning on an understanding that is based on their works and not on the work of Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

38:38Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.