Turning to God

“For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,” 1 Thessalonians 1:9 NASB 95

One of the most encouraging things to see is the transformation that occurs in a person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Before, they may have been consumed with the pursuit of money, career, fame, pleasure, or materialism. But after experiencing the new life that Jesus brings, those things become unimportant. Often, we can have the idea that if we can get a person to submit to a law, regulation, or even spiritual disciplines, their lives will turn in the right direction. The Bible states that there is a better way.

Thessalonica was a city that was filled with many pagan idols. It likely consisted of a large gentile population because Jews held to monotheism.[1]When the gospel came to them by the missionaries, their first step was to turn to God. Once this occurred, the Lord began to remove the idols from their lives. As Paul reflects on the reception of his time in Thessalonica, he indicates that it was common knowledge the impact the gospel had made.

“It was not reformation first and faith in Christ second, but it was faith in Christ firstwith the result that idols were forsaken.”[2]

The order is important because what we most desperately need is to turn to Christ first. The Thessalonians did not abandon their idols, change their ways, and then later find the Lord. Instead, they found Christ, which naturally led to the realization that all the world offers pales in comparison.  

“You do not leave your idols from some reason and painfully try to find God. What happens is that you discover something of the beauty, the glory, and the greatness of God; and, seeing that and wanting it, you are willing to forsake the cheap and tawdry things you once believed could satisfy.”[3]

If we desire to see transformation in our lives and the lives of others, it all begins with turning to Jesus Christ first. It is the addition of Christ that will lead to the subtraction of all that the world tries to offer.

Jesus is all the world to me,

My life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day,

Without him, I would fall[4]

[1]Monotheism is the belief in only One God.

[2] JohnWalvoord. The Thessalonian Epistles. Pg. 16.

[3]Ray Steadman. Waiting on the Second Coming: Studies in Thessalonians, pg. 15.

[4]Will L. Thompson, “Jesus is all the World to Me.”

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