1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 Grow up and be exhorted  - building up  believers.   People taking offense with each other.   The Church needs to get its act together.   Christians need to confess your sin.  But you don't want to go into remorse but you want to go into repentance. Growing up and being accepted. In Thessalonians they received the Word and accepted it; you were saved. Jesus preached "repent".  When we give our heart and life to the Lord; we don't want to go back to the old life. The old life with stuff that is hard; the new life brings relevance. 1.  We can be confident that we are going to heaven.  Paul sends teaching to Thessalonians to correct wrong teaching.  It is important to allow grieving.  1 Thessalonians 4:13 - we grieve with hope.  We have been given authority by God to tell other people about our hope in Jesus Christ. It's natural to grieve.  John 11:35 - Jesus wept.  Jesus showed emotion and grief.  There is nothing wrong with crying. 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:22 [ Recap last week:  sanctification and love.  Allow God to do a work in your life. ] The believers were concerned about what would happen if they died before Jesus returned.   The apostles were driven out of Thessalonica, after about three weeks, only because they preached, Christ crucified. We have many problems in the world.   They can only be resolved by coming to Jesus Christ.   You can only be restored by Jesus.  The cross is not a formula.  It's not about ideas; it's about a Man, Jesus Christ. Timothy returned to Paul with an encouraging word and with questions.    They were able to stay with "Christ crucified ". There was confusion about believers who had died before Jesus returns. If you say you won't sin, the Bible tells us you are a lier.  But we can come and repent and we are forgiven. Paul had not opportunity to teach these believers himself because he had to leave.  There were false teachers that caused confusion.   W

1 Thessalonians 4 (NIV) Paul is instructing in the ways of Christian living.   Live as Christ would live.  So that we please God.   That we live holy and honourable.   We are called to live a holy life.   A life of purpose not idleness. The Bible is written about God interacting with His people.  In OT people was told how to eat, what to wear, how to wear, tie up people with traditions. Simple things like washing hands (Gospel of Mark)  became a burden to the people because the leaders commanded it, not what the Lord had said. Abraham was considered righteous.   He obeyed God yet he didn't have '10 Commandments'. Acts 15 v 20:  "Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." John 8: 29 : "The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." This is what Paul had taught the Thessalonian believer

The Queensland Mailbox Bible Club is a non-profit, non-denominational organisation operated by Christians who volunteer their time and efforts to send out Bible lessons through the mail. The  free lessons which are posted out to those who would like to learn more about God teach important truths from God's Word, the Bible, showing the way of Salvation. The lessons reinforce family values and wholesome living. To find out more about the Queensland Mailbox Bible Club and to enrol, click here