How Lives Are Transformed

 How Lives Are Transformed

1 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 1:1 (NKJV) Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy traveled together for a while, and during those travels, they visited a place called Thessalonica. The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians tells a remarkable story of transformation and redemption. Verses says

1Thessalonians 1:8 (NKJV) For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

God willing, we will examine this incredible transformation more closely later. But first, I want us to consider the transformation of the three men who sent the letter: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. We will spend some time with these three men, and through that, we will build our understanding and strengthen the foundations of our faith.

You may be wondering if God is working in your life, if God is transforming you, or perhaps you may be wondering if God has forgotten you.

When we think of Paul, we think of the great Apostle, the man whose letters compose a good portion of our New Testament. But he did not start out that way. He initially vigorously opposed Jesus and the Church. Today, we will consider God’s work in Paul’s life and his transformation, and I hope to cover Timothy and Silas later, assuming things proceed as planned. 

Let’s begin by reviewing a couple of things Paul said about himself.

First, when Paul told us about his background, He said:

Philippians 3:5-7 (NKJV) 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Paul was perfect. Of course, being a Hebrew, he went by his Hebrew name, Saul. In those days, the Jews had two names—a Hebrew name and a name used for the rest of the world. Saul’s Hebrew name was regal; he was named after the first king of Israel. His Greek name meant “little.” This is part of the reason some people say he was of small stature. Paul was a zealous, proud Jew—a Hebrew of Hebrews. In verse 7, he says these things were profitable for him. Living where he did in Jerusalem, these qualifications placed him among the elite, powerful, and wealthy. But, once he found Christ, look what he said, “I have counted loss.”

This term, loss, is incredibly important. The Greek word is “ζημίαν” (Zēmian). When I looked it up in the dictionary, the first definition given was “detriment.” Do you want to know what a detriment is? It is:

From Britannica and Oxford - causing damage or injury to

He was not saying loss in the sense that he missed these things. He is saying loss in the sense that these things hurt him. They were damaging. To say they were worthless or useless is not incorrect, but it does not convey the full meaning of what Paul is saying. Later, in verse 8, he talks about value when he says that compared to the value of knowing Christ, everything else is just garbage—yucky, stinky garbage.

For us, this lesson that Paul learned is essential. We all have backgrounds, and we are all proud. Our pride might be that we overcame our background, but it is still a form of pride. We may have a poor self-image and hate ourselves, but we still have pride. Pride is a part of being human. If you consider yourself human, know that you have pride. (Of course, for the smart aleck, there are exceptions, such as babies and those who might be severely disabled.) Whatever we are proud of, pride is a hindrance—a detriment.

In Paul’s mind, not only was his background perfect, he was successful. When he was explaining to the Jews in Jerusalem who he was, Paul said the following:

Acts 22:3 (NKJV) “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

Earlier in Acts, we see Gamaliel as a leader of the Jewish people when he cautions the Sanhedrin to think before killing the Apostles.

Acts 5:34 (NKJV) Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.

Paul was educated by the Rabbi, not “a” Rabbi, but “THE” Rabbi. Gamaliel is still famous among those who practice Judaism. He was and is revered as a man of wisdom. Paul had the best teacher and credentials anyone could have. He was as successful as a man can be in that he was precisely where he wanted to be.

He was active and involved in the life of the nation at the same time Jesus was. And he would have known about the proceedings when the leaders of the nation decided to kill Jesus. He was involved with the Sanhedrin when we first meet him in Acts. When the Elders and leaders of the nation stoned a man named Steven, Acts 7:57-58 tells us:

Acts 7:57-58 (NKJV) 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast [him] out of the city and stoned [him.] And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Paul did everything within his power to stop the gospel until Jesus interrupted his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus. Acts 9:3-5 tells us:

Acts 9:3-5 (NKJV) 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It [is] hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Please notice two things about this passage. First, Jesus accuses Paul of persecuting Him. (I am pretty sure Paul was persecuting Christians.) And Second, Jesus says Paul is kicking against the goads.

These two things go together, and they, like pride, are part of us all. 

First, we all persecute Jesus before we accept Him. The Bible says,

Romans 8:7 (NKJV) Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

According to this passage, our flesh (our human will) considers God our enemy. We may not be in a powerful position like Paul, but our attitude can still be hostile toward Jesus. 

Along with this hostility, we all kick against the goads. We resist God’s work in our lives.

The oxgoad was a dangerous weapon, usually about seven or eight feet long and having an iron point. A goad could be used as a spear in a pinch. Judges 3:31 describes a judge of Israel who delivered the Israelites from the Philistines by killing six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. The usual use of a goad was to poke the backside of an ox to encourage it to pull a plow. If the ox complied, there was no problem. But, if the ox responded by lashing out with a hoof, it just bloodied itself—harsh, but it worked.

Paul knew the truth; he was fighting against it. If you read Acts, you will see that within days of accepting Jesus as his Savior, Paul was able to argue expertly from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He knew the truth. He knew the Old Testament better than anybody else, and the Old Testament is about Jesus. Paul was fighting against what he knew, and by doing so, he was hurting himself.

We also can discern the truth, but often we resist. The Lord warns us of this repeatedly.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NKJV) 11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son [in whom] he delights.

In Israel’s years in the wilderness, we see the results of resisting God’s proddings

Psalms 95:6-11 (NKJV) 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He [is] our God, and we [are] the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as [in] the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 When your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved with [that] generation, And said, ‘It [is] a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

Paul surrendered to God and was transformed from a hate-filled persecutor to the one who gave his life preaching the gospel he once opposed. Surrendering to God is necessary for each of us. Another word that we can use in place of surrender is repent. Repentance or surrender is an act of a moment, but it changes everything. It transforms our lives. Just as one country surrenders to another in war, surrender is the act of a moment in time, but it changes everything, so it is with surrendering to God. As long as we refuse to surrender, we kick against the goads. We hurt ourselves.