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1 Thessalonians 2 - Cold, Hard, Gentle Truth

The Gospel never has been or will be popular, but it is authoritatively true.


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1 Thessalonians 1 Summary


It's important to understand that Christianity is not now, and has never been, a 'movement.' Movements are not in and of themselves bad (think of the Civil Rights Movement for example), but by their very nature movements depend on getting large masses of people to actively support a particular idea and goal.


For a movement to be successful, it must first be popular. Even movements that begin with noble goals often implode because they are fueled by words of flattery or with a pretext for greed (v5).


Paul reminds the Thessalonians and us that the Gospel was anything but popular. Quite the opposite: it resulted in suffering, shame and conflict for those who were convicted by it (v2).


Rather than being a movement requiring popularity, the gospel is a divine announcement of good news. It's true and valid not because of the people who believe it, but because it is the word of God which is at work in you believers (v13). This means that these words have authority like nothing else in the world.