Last year, Harold Camping predicted that the rapture of the church would occur on May 21, 2011. When that date came and went, Camping explained that a spiritual rapture had in fact occurred, but predicted the physical rapture would occur on October 21, 2011. When that date came and went, Camping told an associate that nobody could predict the date of Christ’s return. Ah, now he tells us… The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is an article of Christian orthodoxy. Summarizing the biblical evidence, the Nicene Creed says of Jesus, “he will come again in glory to judge the living … Continue reading All Real Living Is Meeting (1 Thessalonians 4:15–18)

In the past three weeks, three Christians whom I knew and revered died. Paul Finkenbinder, known as “Hermano Pablo,” was an evangelist whose radio broadcasts in Latin America reached millions. Florence Tracy was a counselor and colleague from my days at Newport-Mesa Christian Center in Costa Mesa, California. Glen Colewas a veteran senior pastor, denominational leader, and college president from Northern California. All were longtime family friends. I mention these wonderful people by name because death is never abstract. It is always concrete, always personal. A person dies, and we who knew and loved them mourn. According to Paul, Silas, … Continue reading Do Not Grieve Like the Rest of Mankind (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14)

Love is not amorphous. It takes particular shape in the attitudes that guide and the actions that express how we feel toward others. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Paul, Silas, and Timothy wrote: “you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” Now, in verses 10–12, they go on to show one application of that general principle to a concrete situation in the Thessalonian church. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your … Continue reading Do So More and More (1 Thessalonians 4:10–12)

What are Christians in American most known for? A few years back, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons published unChristian, which surveyed the perceptions non-Christian young adults held of the American Church. The results were not pretty. We American Christians are perceived, according to Kinnaman and Lyons’ research, as hypocritical, too salvation-focused, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental. Obviously, caveats apply. Perception is not reality, for one thing. For another, surveys may only reveal “lies, d***ed lies, and statistics,” as Mark Twain famously put it. On the other hand, as any marketing expert can tell you, perception is reality as far … Continue reading Taught by God to Love Each Other (1 Thessalonians 4:9–10)

Is the Bible out of touch with contemporary sexual mores? First Thessalonians 4:3–8 seems to be so, for three reasons: First, it frames Christian conduct in terms of “holiness,” a word contemporaries typically use ironically rather than sincerely. Second, its prohibition of “sexual immorality” seems quaint, given the prevalence of extramarital sex and widespread use of pornography, even among Christians. Third, its warning that the Lord will “punish” the sexually immoral seems heavy-handed, as if God is a pleasure-hating killjoy just waiting to send unmarried, sexually active couples to hell. Consider, with this last point in mind, verses 6–8: The … Continue reading Holiness, Sex, and Punishment (1 Thessalonians 4:6–8)

Few matters roil contemporary sociopolitical waters more than issues related to sex. Sex education, mandatory contraception coverage, abortion, single parenthood, same-sex marriage, divorce…the list goes on. You might think that these issues are modern, that in ancient times, the moral lines were more clearly drawn and more consistently observed. You’d be wrong. In many ways, the first-century social world in which Christianity was born was as polymorphously perverse as our own. One writer, known to classical historians as Pseudo-Demosthenes, stated his culture’s mores this way: “Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our … Continue reading Sexual Holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)

Ethics consists of three elements: an authoritative rule, a desired outcome, and a manner of life or habit. Each of these elements is present in 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2. As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. The authoritative rule is the easiest element of ethics to understand. Paul, Silas, and Timothy wrote, … Continue reading Ethics as Rule, Outcome, and Manner of Life (1 Thessalonians 4:1–2)

In 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, Paul, Silas, and Timothy offer three prayers: Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. The first prayer asks that God would overcome the distance that separates us from one another. … Continue reading The Priority of Face to Face (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)

My wife and I are trying to teach our three-year-old son good manners. When he wants something, we remind him to say, “Please!” And when he gets it, we remind him to say, “Thank you!” “Please!” and “Thank you!” are good table manners, but they’re also good prayer manners. Indeed, prayer seems to be little more than asking and thanking. Consider what Paul, Silas, and Timothy wrote in 1 Thessalonians 3:9–10: How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we … Continue reading Good Prayer Manners (1 Thessalonians 3:9–10)

What is the good life? It is not having a pulse, at least not merely. Having a pulse is a necessary condition of the good life, of course, but it is not sufficient. A good life requires more. It is not experiencing pleasure either, at least not simply. Of course, pleasure is generally better than pain. (I am a chronic pain sufferer, so I know whereof I speak.) But not all pleasures are created equal. Not only is the pleasure of doing right better than the pleasure of doing wrong, but even the pain of rightdoing is better than the … Continue reading The Good Life’s Complicated Calculus (1 Thessalonians 3:6–8)