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6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thess. 5:6-11)
Paul issues a challenge to motivate the Thessalonian believers through these verses. He recognized that their new position in Christ Jesus demanded a change of life and also a change of outlook. He uses a continual contrast between darkness and light, drunkenness and sobriety, sleeping and being awake. While he is writing to a receptive audience, he recognized that until glory, there is no time for a Christian to be caught sleeping or living in darkness.
The Christian life is certainly one filled with challenges from checking our motives, to curbing our natural reactions, fighting sin, pursuing holiness, loving one another, serving one another, reading our Bibles consistently, and striving for spiritual growth. However, there is another reality that we have a confidence that our Savior has defeated sin and death and called us into the family of the king. While unintentionally, this understanding could even be a pitfall for some believers to kick back and not engage as much as they should because they know the end of the story.
In verse 6 Paul used a very interesting word for “sleep.” Again he challenged them, “6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” This word for sleep is the very word used by Jesus when the Apostles continuously dozed off while waiting in the Garden. The issue for those 11 disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane was not that they were tired, it was that they did not put the value on not only the situation, but the spiritual reality of what Jesus was going through. In short, they “checked out” of that moment. Paul immediately challenged the Thessalonian believers to keep awake and be sober! Now there was no indication that the Thessalonian church was filled with drunkards or even narcolepsy. It is pretty clear that Paul is using these descriptions as metaphors for how they should live. Paul is saying that Christians must live temperately, avoiding excess of all kinds; they must live balanced lives.[1]
There was no ignorance for these believers what he meant either. They understood and agreed with Paul that those who got drunk were drunk at night and those who slept slept at night. For them the struggle was going to be to continually hold themselves to a high standard that never gave way to idleness or spiritual laziness.
Paul is going to remind them of three things as they strive to live as children of the light. Without getting too technical, Paul wrote that they “have put on” these articles of warfare. That idea is not that they are putting them on in the future, or that they are putting them on now, but that in the past (we can assume rightly at the moment of their salvation.) The secret about living a successful Christian life is that there really is no secret. We have everything we need provided by the Father, on account of the Son, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit according to the power of the Scriptures. Right? So, let’s understand a little more what they and we already have access too.
We once again are reminded of the three virtues Faith, Love, and Hope. In other passages Paul refers to these as “The armor of light” (Rom. 13:12), “The armor of righteousness” (2 Cor. 6:7), and “The armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). Why are these three virtues so foundational?
“Faith” can be broadly described as the entirety of all truth, certainly general but especially revealed biblical truth. All four of the Gospel accounts are unified in describing “faith” as believing true facts, believing in people, believing in the Scriptures, but most importantly in believing in Jesus Christ. This belief is not dependent on the effort of the one believing, but on the validity and certainly of the thing being believed, namely Jesus Christ Himself. Paul reminded his readers that the substance and person of their faith would protect them from any and all spiritual attacks.
“Love” is both the spirit in which we receive truth, but also the quality of how we share that truth. For “love” to be a defense against idleness or spiritual slumber, it was going to have to surround and bind this Christian community together. This love is certainly more than a fleeting emotion. It is something rooted in sacrifice and dedication that is most perfectly displayed through the example and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. This kind of love protects and sacrifices for another, completely.
“Hope of salvation” is the virtue that really gives credence and meaning to the other two. Why? Because if we have no confidence about life after death, what is the point to all of this sacrifice and endurance? The hope that is rooted in Christ’s resurrection will protect the Christian against bruises and bumps that will naturally come along the narrow road as Bunyan so beautifully described in the Pilgrim’s Progress. The hope that rests on what Christ has done and reaches forward to the final unfolding of all that salvation means is indeed a helmet for the Christian, warding off the world’s hard knocks.[2]
God has not left us wandering aimlessly through this world to make things up as we go. No! He has provided us the tools necessary to not just survive, but thrive as Christians. This expectation was shared as Paul continued. “9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” The Apostle John described this hope and calling as this. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.” (1 John 5:4)
What a comfort to those who are struggling and enduring hardship either spiritual or physical. The gospel of Jesus Christ breaks through and transforms all of our lives so that we might truly live for Him, in Him, and ultimately with Him. Paul concluded in verse 11 with the instruction to keep encouraging one another and to keep building one another up with these truths. So let me do that this morning as I conclude.
May you continue to strengthen your faith as you study the Scriptures and grow in your love for the Savior.
May your love for one another continue to grow as you use your unique gifting of experience and wisdom to pour into your local body.
Finally, may your certain hope convince you more and more that that certainty is not found in you or your worthiness, but in our Sovereign and all-powerful Savior.
[1] Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 13, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 96.
[2] Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 13, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 97.
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