1 Thessalonians 3 -- Helping New Christians

Paul gives us lots of information for helping new Christians in this chapter.  One of the first things he mentioned dealt with the “helper” himself.  According to my commentary,  “It is a demanding thing to establish new Christians.  They have many problems and often do not grow as fast as we think they should.  Teaching them requires love and patience.”

Often, new Christians get sidelined by trials and testings, but they need to see them not as accidents, but as appointments.  God uses them to grow our faith.  “We must expect to suffer for His sake.  Persecution is not foreign to the believer, but a normal part of the Christian life … Satan will use any means to attack the Christian and weaken his faith in God.”  Trials grow our faith when we see them from this perspective.

My commentary mentioned the importance of continually praying for new Christians, and cited something Samuel said:  “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.”

Testing of our faith comes for a reason, and new Christians need to understand that.  “God tries our faith, not to destroy it, but to develop it.  Faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted.”

Paul also wanted love to abound in new Christians.  The testing plus the suffering would require growing love.  “Nothing reveals the true inner man like the furnace of affliction.  Some people build walls in times of trial and shut themselves off.  Others build bridges and draw closer to the Lord and His people.”

Paul also wanted them to have holiness of life, and my commentary noted how Christ’s return is a source of stability for us, and that stability allows sanctity which builds assurance.  That’s something all new believers need.

Father, thank You for this timely reminder about trials building faith, and about how I can help new Christians.  I’ve got one on my mind right now.  Help me to help him with what You’ve shown me today.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford