Tolle Lege: Why You Need to Read 1 Thessalonians

A Compelling List To Encourage You to Take 10 Minutes and Read 1 Thessalonians

Have you ever felt the weight of a Bible in your hands? It's more than just a book; it's a portal to the divine, a treasure trove of wisdom and guidance. Within its pages lies a timeless message that resonates with people across cultures and centuries.

One such gem is the First Letter to the Thessalonians. Written by the Apostle Paul, this epistle offers profound insights into faith, hope, and the return of Christ. It's a letter that continues to inspire and challenge believers today.

In this article, I will show you why 1 Thessalonians is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of their faith. We’ll explore two reasons outside the letter and four reasons within the text itself.

External Reasons

1. It is God's Word.
   First and foremost, the Bible is the Word of God to mankind. As Peter says, "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). This sacred text has a long and beautiful history, one that has shaped the lives of countless people.

2. It reached you at a great cost.
   A letter like 1 Thessalonians demanded not only significant mental energy but also substantial financial resources. According to historians of the New Testament, it would have cost roughly 28 denarii, or about $560 in today’s currency, to produce and send the Letter of 1 Thessalonians.¹ In an age where words are so cheap and easy to send across great distances, we must recognize the great care the apostle took over every word.

   These words have endured persecution, slander, and have led to the martyrdom of many who read, believed, and preached them. Today, we hold in our hands a treasure that we can access so freely. The Bible has crossed language barriers, continents, and the vast chasm of time to reach us. To neglect it would be akin to disregarding a message brought to us by a loved one who had traveled across land and sea for years, carrying information that could save our lives. Imagine they have translated the letter into your language, provided guides and books to explain its meaning, and even offered to read it to you. Yet, we often respond, "I'll get to it eventually; I'm pretty busy right now."

Internal Reasons

1. Paul provides a powerful example of loving discipleship and communication in the church.
   In the letter to the church in Thessalonica, we do not find a cold, systematic treatise on theology, but rather a warm, heartfelt piece of literature—a love letter from a spiritual father to his spiritual children. This letter provides us with a model of the kind of love and care we are to have for one another within the church.

2. The Thessalonians provide a powerful example of the missionary work of a local church.
   In his fatherly and pastoral praise of the Thessalonian church, Paul shows us what a church worthy of praise looks like—a church characterized by love for one another, laboring to spread the fame of Jesus Christ. Their bold witness was so impactful that an entire nation became aware of the influence they were making.

3. Encouragement for those dealing with death.
   While the Thessalonians were a model church, this does not mean they understood every detail of doctrine. Paul writes to encourage them as they face affliction and loss, explaining that those who have died—whether from natural causes or persecution—are not missing out on Christ's return. Instead, they have the hope of seeing Christ now in paradise and will be the first to be raised to new life when He returns. All of us, when we lose loved ones, can find solace and hope in this short letter.

4. Practical steps of obedience and holiness.
   In the final chapter, we find a series of commands that offer a young Christian a simple step-by-step guide to following Christ in this fallen world: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22).

   Each of these statements provides a lifetime’s worth of instruction in living a holy and ordinary life.

So will you take 10 minutes and read this letter today or will you say I will get to it eventually?

1. New Testament letter cost from E. Randolph Richards, "When is a Letter Not a Letter?: Paul, Cicero, and Seneca as Letter Writers" in Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context, ed. Joseph R. Dodson and David E. Briones (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019) 88-89.