2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1Thes. 1:2-10
I have been on multiple mission trips and led over 100 to the Lord both here and abroad and yet wonder how many of these will greet me in Heaven? In Sunday School we just looked at the unjust steward in Luke 16. The bottom line was use your worldly resources in such a way that they further the gospel so when you die, the people who got saved from the use of "your" wealth will be there to welcome you. How many people will welcome me? I won't know till I get there. Is there any way to tell, while we are visiting this planet, who is truly saved? Not completely as the parable of the wheat and tares explains. Are there some signs that a tare has turned into wheat? Yes there are as seen in this passage. There are 7 that I see.
First, they will begin to work. They will want to use their spiritual gifts for the body of Christ. Service prompted and energized by the Holy Spirit indwelling them.
Secondly, there should be a new hope. They should start living from the perspective that Jesus is coming back and this world is passing away and we aren't discouraged by all we see on TV or social media but encouraged by a new hope.
Third, a deep conviction that manifests itself in prayer, Bible study, worship, Church attendance, etc. Basically the faith got to your core and you want to get past the surface belief.
Fourth, new inner circle friends. You are an imitator of Christ and even more humbling, fellow believers who are further ahead of you in their walk with Christ. You get a new peer group and the common denominator, you are all imitators of Christ
Fifth, new God. In the past you had gods/idols. You may have worshipped money, comfort, pleasure, adoration, physical appearance, power, sports, entertainment, but now you worship Jesus and nothing really else matters.
Sixth, this new found joy and hope endures. 6 months/ a year later people are saying, I can't believe how this person changed!
Lastly, witnessing. Reproduction is something life does. Jesus said that if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before the Father.
So, as a new believer do we write down this checklist and "work out our salvation with fear and trembling?" That is a thought but ideally, if the Holy Spirit has transformed you from a tare to a wheat, it should happen organically. His wheat DNA is inside you making you do "wheaty" things. Surrender to His control.
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