Fellowship Bible Church - Mullica, Hill N.J.

Paul shared the gospel – the Thessalonians embraced the gospel, and then guess what happened? Their lives changed.

The Bible speaks about the reality of many religious people who never trusted Christ. They:

· did all the right things,
· said all the right things,
· but they never were convicted of their sin, turned from what they were worshipping and embraced Christ.

“The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest fear of contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of 24 years of examining thousands of people.” - D. James Kennedy

Paul gives three unique identifiers that pointed to their current conduct:

- Their Works of Faith. What was the fruit of their repentance? Look at v9: They left their idols (aka – they left their objects of worth).

- Their Labor of Love. How was this evidenced? Look at v9: they were serving the living for the true God.

- Their steadfastness of hope. How was this evidenced? Look at v10: waiting for Christ

Reality of Real Faith #3: It Was Noticeable to other Believers (6-10).

“Sounded forth”: The news of their turning from false gods to the true God “reverberated” throughout the region. That’s what that word literally means. It’s a ringing out – a sounding out, where the Thessalonian believers’ actions were being amplified all throughout the region.