Are We Christians? 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23

1 Thessalonians 5:12-23
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Commentary:
I was reading somewhere and come across this quote from Ghandi, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  Thankfully not ever christian fits Ghandi’s observance. But he brings up a good point. The Scriptures are full of lists of Christian virtues by which we can measure ourselves. When we do make the comparision?

Lets use this passge of scripture for an point of reference to measure ourselves to see what kind of christian we are.

Comfort the Feebleminded. The Greek version of this phrase is the faint-hearted, despondent. Do we comfort the feeble minded? Do we take time out of our day to do so? Are we looking to do so?

Support The Week. It’s one thing to support the week when the oppotunity is placed before us but do we go looking for it?

Be Patient Toward All Men. Are we patient towards are fellow men all the time? We’re at a resturant and we are not getting the service we want or expect. We’re paying good money for the food and experience. Are we patient when things don’t go right. does paying someone money give us the right to be rude and overly demanding?

None Render Evil For Evil. We shouldn’t try to get even with someone who has wronged us. Others scriptures tell us to pray for them which do bad to us.

Ever Follow That Which Is Good. We we find joy and pleasure in evil things? We should always be looking for that which is good and prasieworthy and support such things. The righteous cannot find joy in things that are wicked.

Rejoice Evermore. Do we rejoice in the Gospel according to what we have with the Holy Bible and Christian Scripture? Do we rejoice the potential savation wrought for us by the Atonement of our Savior?

Pray without ceasing. Do we pray without ceasing? Can we be full, drawn out in prayer continuosly while we are at work? While we are asleep? While we are in conversation, etc.? If we agree that there are various levels or degrees or prayer than I say that we can pray with ceasing. We have our formal prayer in private, we have our family prayer, we have our prayers at Church. We have our silent private prayers while our mind is doing the talking to an ever listening Father and Heaven. We have quick prayers when we find ourself in distress. Not all prayers use the same words or share the same urgency but they are to the same Father in Heaven. If we are participating in all those forms of prayer and if our mind is always on the lookout for help from our Creator then I think we can say we pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks. Do we continually pratice the “attitude of gratitude”? Do we preceed our meals with a prayer of thanks. Do we feel we earned that raise or do we feel to thank God for the raise. We worked hard and got a promotion. Do we feel good about our hard work and long hours or do we acknowledge Him from whom all blessings flow? It may appear that we paid the price to earn or gain something but in truth we owe all that we have to the merciful grace from our Father in Heaven.

Despise not prophesyings. This is an interesting point. So many Christians feel that we have a Bible and that we need no more than that. Yet this phrase from this passage of scripture we’re studying indicates that it’s an ongoing thing and that we should not dispise it. What do you think it means.

Abstain from all appearance of evil. Is it right to keep company in a situation where the participants are using drugs, drinking to get drunk etc, even if we ourselves are not doing any of that? Someone could see us from a distance and make a fair assumption that we are involved. Whatever example we may have been to that person is shot. When we take upon ourselves the name of Christ we make a promise to look after mankind and do whatever we can to help. Part of that is being an example. If we loose the opportunity to be an example then we have hurt a chance we may have had to help.

For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. These things we have reflected on are the of God and christ concerning us. If we are always striving to do these things then we can be seen as Christians and what Ghandi said will not be the case with us as we really live our religion.