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FROM THE PASTOR'S STUDY

Topic: 1 Thessalonians Chapter Three: Message Outlines (Include Audio)

1 Thess 3:1-5 (2)

by Darrel Cline
(darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)

Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
August 31, 2014
Dayton, Texas
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(069)

Thesis:There is a "need" for a "fellow worker" when believers are not yet established in their faith.

Introduction:If our argument from the last study holds water, there is an extremely dangerous period of time for those who are new to the faith. Apparently, Paul considered the possibility that his labor would be vain if those new believers in Thessalonica were successfully "tempted" by the "tempter" during the period between believing the Gospel and being "settled" into that faith. This scenario of "vain labor" bothered Paul so much that he "vainly" attempted to return to Thessalonica several times and then, finally, sent Timothy in his place.

The text before us this evening tells us who Timothy was and what he was expected to do in Paul's stead. There are a couple of very potent implications in this action by Paul that we need to take seriously. The first one is that God is no respecter of persons and the second is that new believers seriously need the presence of capable help in the time of their "temptation".

As we noted last week, there is a biblical pattern of "initial faith" being allowed to be "tested" for its "heart" reality before any significant reactions are given by God. In this pattern, we need to understand the issues involved in Paul's commission of Timothy to return to Thessalonica.


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