At the time of the Great Evangelical Awakening in the 18th century – there is no question that among the incredible preachers God raised up then, George Whitefield takes 2nd place to none. God used him most extraordinarily – preaching at times up to 5 times in a day. And, it is estimated that he preached on the text of John 3 and “You must be born again” around 3,000 times.

When asked why it was he kept preaching on that same text over and over, he replied “Because you MUST be born again!”

It occurs to me more and more, especially as I see the state of our nation, and the state of the broader church in our nation, that a Biblical sense of what being a Christian is – is seldom as informed by the Bible itself, as it is by opinions, feelings, culture, and religious systems. That the need for men and women to be truly born again – is once again at a critical point – even in places where people have some sort of profession of faith – but have never experienced the internal transformation that without which – one cannot see the Kingdom of God.

What do we even mean by it? – being born again, being a Christian that is.

And let’s begin first by differentiating between two things:

1 – The Biblical DEFINITION of a Christian, and

2 – A Biblical DESCRIPTION of a Christian.

Many have argued (rightfully so) that a Christian is one who has been supernaturally regenerated – born again and indwelt by the Spirit of God;

Raised from a state of spiritual deadness to life, and given sight – Sight in terms of the reality of God and the Bible and Jesus Christ in His substitutionary atoning work;

A vision of their own sinfulness; the justness of God’s coming wrath upon that sinfulness; That their sin has separated them from God and that Jesus Christ alone can satisfy God for their sin, in such a way as to see the sinner and God reconciled.

In short, a Christian is: One who being regenerated by the Spirit God – and having heard the Gospel of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection for sinners; Believed that Gospel as true and trusted themselves and their salvation to Christ and His finished work on Calvary alone.

So BEING a Christian is not a matter of joining a particular church or group, or even simply subscribing to a set of truths – even though that is involved – but in a true, fundamental inward change supernaturally wrought by the Holy Spirit.

Unquestionably there are a host of other things that accompany these essentials, but it is absolutely certain this change is at the core.

J.C. Ryle the great 19th century Bishop preached: “Sinner, man or woman, mark that! no salvation without this new birth! Christ hath done everything for thee; He paid the price of our redemption, lived for us, died for us, rose again for us; but all shall avail us nothing, if there be not this work in us: we must be born again.” _{Ryle, J. C. The Christian Race and Other Sermons. Hodder and Stoughton, 1900, p. 16.}

It’s of eternal importance for us to have clarity on this point – to know conclusively whether or not we are truly “born again.”

We have it in the words of Jesus Himself when conversing with Nicodemus in John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

Let me quote Ryle once more: “To be born again is as it were to enter upon a new existence, to have a new mind and a new heart, new views, new principles, new tastes, new affections, new likings and new dislikings, new fears, new joys, new sorrows, new love to things once hated, new hatred to things once loved, new thoughts of God and ourselves and the world and the life to come and the means whereby that life is attained. And it is indeed a true saying that he who has gone through it is a new man, a new creature, for old things are passed away,—behold, he can say, all things are become new! It is not so much that our natural powers and faculties are taken away and destroyed; I would rather say that they receive an utterly new bias and direction. It is not that the old metal is cast aside, but it is melted down and refined and remoulded, and has a new stamp impressed upon it, and thus, so to speak, becomes a new coin.” _{Ryle, J. C. The Christian Race and Other Sermons. Hodder and Stoughton, 1900, pp. 22–23.}

So it is I ask everyone of you within the sound of my voice today whether or not you know something of what has just been described to you?

Nothing in all the world – this one or the next – is as important as how you answer that question.

Moving beyond the mere definition, it is also good to look at a sound description of what a Christian is.

After all, this it seems is where even more confusion arises; for the culture, individuals, various religious and even secular groups – virtually all have some idea of what a Christian ought to look like.

In our current society, that is often associated with political affiliation; stands on certain social causes; behaviors that may or may not be directed by Scripture etc.

While there may be SOME truth in that, to be clear one can be pro-life without being a Christian.

One can be conservative, or liberal, and not be a Christian.

One can hold to the existence of God, special creation, gun control or not, abortion or not, big government or not, teatotalling or not, homeschooling or not, common core or not, tattoos or not, King James only or not, or a million others, and not be a Christian.

Being a Christian will certainly impact how you stand on one or all of these things – but standing on a particular side of such things does not make one a Christian.

Well then, what kind of objective evidence, Biblical evidence might be safely marshalled to help us answer this question?

Fundamentally, all other things aside, what does a Biblical Christian (that is actually a redundancy) look like in the eyes of God? In the Bible?

It is that which brings us to the text we have today in 1 Thess. 1, specifically vss. 9-10.

Some background is helpful here. Thessalonica was a large and cosmopolitan city of 100K- 200K people. Acts 17 records Paul’s visit there, the riot that ensued and how he and Silas had to scurry away just to stay alive. Later, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on the new believers. And is it Timothy’s report which notes the key things we want to look at today.

How were the Christians doing?

What marked them out AS true Christians in this large, cultural center with lots of competing religions, philosophies and ideas? What set Christians, Believers apart from moral and faithful Jews, and other groups? What could Timothy tell Paul which would set Paul’s mind at ease that these had truly become Christians?

Four things: Paul records that Timothy told him – They had –

1 Turned TO God, FROM idols.

2 To SERVE the Living God.

3 And to wait for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead.

4 Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

4 Powerful descriptors that for the Apostle, assured him that these were now genuine Believers – true, Biblical, Christians.

Let’s look at each one individually.

1. They turned TO God, FROM idols.

Now this needs some unpacking. For in truth, as Acts 17 records, not all those who heard Paul preach on the 3 consecutive sabbaths he did there, were idolaters in the sense of serving literal pagan idols.

Paul’s preaching was done in the Synagogue at least primarily.

So as Acts 17:4 reads: “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.” It was a rather mixed crowd.

History tells us that wealthy women of the day had a tendency to seek out and attach themselves to various religious groups, even funding them. Many did this with Judaism as with other religions.

Some were pagan, Gentile women intrigued with religious trends and concepts. It was a hobby of sorts, bred out of curiosity.

But if all this started in the synagogue, how did the issue of idols become front and center?

The answer is: because in essence, anything that takes the place of God in any way in our lives – is itself a “false” god – an idol – even God’s own Judaism itself.

And in truth, this is still the primary issue today.

If you were to ask me: What is the biggest problem facing the Church today, let me assure you it is NOT:

Gay Marriage. Terrorism. Islam. Homosexuality. Transgenderism. The LGBTQ+ agenda. Socialism. Evolution vs Creationism. Pornography. Divorce. Un-wed mothers. Abortion. Worship Styles. Or Gender inclusive Bible Translations.

The single biggest problem the Church is facing today is: IDOLATRY

Let me elaborate.

Idolatry comes in a number of different forms.

a. PURE or FORMAL Idolatry. Pagan worship with god substitutes represented by images of different kinds.

This is what most of think of first when we hear the term idolatry. Worship of pagan gods. The Bible names many of these especially in the OT – Molech, Baal, Ashtoroth, Rephan, etc. And some in the NT like those you can read about in the Revelation in like Emperor worship or like that of Diana in Ephesus and others.

This form of idolatry has a – not so obvious – but very interesting subset – Atheism.

For in Atheism, man makes himself the measure of all things. He worships his own desires, dreams, purposes, etc.

The idol is self. The ultimate false god.

b. MIXED Idolatry. This was especially attractive to some pagans because in its 2 varieties.

First, you simply add Christ to your existing god or gods.

This became very common during the conquest of the Mayans, Incas and other people groups in South America when the Roman Catholic missionaries tried to convert them.

They found if they let them keep their existing gods, they were pretty willing to add Jesus to them. And so the missionaries claimed success in converting them, when in fact they had just obscured Christianity and reinforced the false worship of the idolaters.

The second variety is when you in some way come to Christ but also add another god or gods to Him as valid as well.

Another term for it is syncretism.

Yes, I’m a Christian, but then there is ancient Chinese wisdom, and reverence for pagan philosophies, things like “The Secret” or “A Course in Miracles” etc.

c. DISGUISED Idolatry. This is the idolatry of the religious – like the Jews Paul was preaching to.

This is serving the God of the Bible, but doing so as though He is a pagan god. That shows itself in a number of ways.

One way is serving God, SLAVISHLY like He is a harsh task- master and needs human appeasing through our sacrifices and rituals. We have an example of this in Micah 6:1-8

Micah 6:1–8 “Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.

“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

God just needs me to jump through certain hoops, and if I perform the prescribed set of rites and rituals, all is well.

Truth be told, there are many who would call themselves Christians today who serve God this way. And He rejects it.

A 2nd kind of DISGUISED idolatry is serving God SUPERSTITIOUSLY

This shows itself in things like thinking God must be addressed in Elizabethan English or your not using the right magic phrases; putting superstitious emphases on certain Postures in prayer; adding requirements God never did like requiring certain amounts of time in prayer or Bible reading where if you don’t meet the quota, you’re sinning. Adopting a special “Prayer voice”. Making deals with God. Etc.

God warns against it quite plainly in Deut. 18:9-14 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.”

A 3rd kind is like that of Nadab & Abihu in Lev. 10 – where they just decided to get real innovative with God’s prescribed form of worship and in offering strange fire before God He had not commanded. They were killed by God for it. SELF-ORIGINATED worship.

The 4th we might call SELF-CENTERED WORSHIP (Matt. 15:9). Where we craft Church after the likes and dislikes of the people, without seeking to see what God says worship ought to be like from the Scriptures.

In these last 2, worship itself becomes an idol.

At the bottom of all of these, is a man-centered approach to God, and it is as much idolatry as is outright paganism.

And this was surely where most of Judaism was in Paul’s day – where it was superstition about God’s name, following rites and rituals rather than worrying about a heart which is right before God by God’s appointed means.

And it is from all of these types of idolatry that Timothy told Paul – the Believing Thessalonians had turned FROM, and turned TO God instead.

In a word, this is the idea wrapped up in the word repentance: Turning away from one thing and to another.

Away from sin to righteousness.

Away from rites and rituals to faith in the finished work of Christ.

Away from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

Away from superstition to the true and living God.

Let me tease this out just a tad more for our use today.

For as I said already, an idol is anything that takes God’s rightful place in our hearts and minds. And there is a simple test we can use for hunting out possible idols in our own lives.

Let me give you a simple self-diagnostic in the form of a few questions. I give you 5 here. Which unfortunately we can’t expand upon right now.

1 – What do I FEAR most? Matt. 10:26-28 – “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops…And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

2 – What do I VALUE or DESIRE most? Matt. 6:21 “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. i.e. what elicits my greatest devotion

What fills in the box when I say: “If only X THEN, I would be happy”?

Or better, without X_ I cannot be happy.

As long as you are looking for that thing to make you happy, then your attainment of it will be dissatisfying. It will leave you unhappy and discontented.

If my ultimate and supreme happiness isn’t in Him, then I am trading “creatures” for the Creator.

3 – What do I seek my ultimate JOY in? 1Pet. 1:8 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

Ps. 16:11 “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

God in His goodness has given us countless things we may freely enjoy – but all of them are only meant to be tokens of Him – in whom we are to seek our supreme joy. Especially when we see how fleeting earthly joys are.

4 – What DICTATES my BEHAVIOUR most? Jer. 7:23-24 “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.”

The juxtaposition of self-determination vs. love for God-determination.

How do I make up my mind about what is right or wrong to do in any given situation? My own opinion? Feelings?

Simply what is considered legal or illegal according to the laws of the land?

5 – What do I place my HOPE in? What is my hope for the future? What is my hope for right standing w/ God?

Is my hope informed by passages like 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

What is the source of my peace of mind? What do I look to for a sense of well-being? What is my comfort in the hard times?

a. What do I FEAR most?

b. What do I VALUE or DESIRE most?

c. What do I seek my JOY in most?

d. What DICTATES my BEHAVIOR most?

e. What do I place my HOPE in?

Answer these, and you will know what your god or gods are.

And the 1st mark of the truly converted soul is that one seeks to turn away from those gods – to the true and Living God.

Nor is this done just once – but it becomes a lifestyle of turning from those false gods to the God of the Bible over and over and over.

Choosing this way of thinking and life over and over every day.

With that established we can work through the balance of these much more rapidly.

2 The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the Living God.

The genuine Christian now realizing all that has been done for them in Christ – seeks to serve this merciful, gracious, loving, pardoning, holy God.

You’ve saved me for yourself – now use me! How can I serve your ends, your agenda, your plans and purposes, your kingdom?

If your Christianity is all wrapped up in God just being a blessing dispenser, without any regard for what it means to be His servant, saved for His purposes, you need to ask yourself if you have truly come to faith.

Coming to Christ is not a ticket to earthly and worldly pleasures, but the gift of eternal bliss in the service of the King!

One of Christ’s harshest rebukes in the NT is couched in a parable in Luke 19.

The Nobleman in the parable (an allusion to Jesus Himself) was to go into a far country to be given final title to a land and a people. When he left, the Nobleman gave 10 servants money to invest on his behalf while gone. Startlingly, the text says: Luke 19:14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying,

‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”

What was the problem? They liked the money but they hated Him – and watch this closely – in that they did not want Him to REIGN over them.

It was fine and well to take his gifts, but they rejected his right of authority over them.

So Jesus adds after settling with those who took the money – Luke 19:27 “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ”

Many is the professed Christian who wants Jesus as a gift giver, a forgiver of sins, a healer and Savior – but if they do not want Him to reign over them – He counts them His enemies, and they will not escape His wrath.

These are profoundly sobering words.

Especially to all of us who take the name Christian to ourselves today. Do we want Him to reign over us?

If not, if we have imbibed the popular but false notion that we can have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord – we are sadly and tragically mistaken.

Those who do not want Him to rule over them, are counted as His enemies. Nothing else.

The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the Living God… A N D

3 To WAIT for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead.

The genuine Christian lives a life of expectancy and hope located in the return of Jesus either to translate us or resurrect us to be with Him forever. And this hope is fueled by the conviction that Christ was raised from the dead already as the first-fruits of God’s people.

Scripture places the historic fact of Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead as a core essential of the Gospel message to be believed. Apart from believing it, ( along with some other central revelations) one cannot be considered a Christian at all.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”

Paul then goes on to argue that if this is not true – we have an utterly worthless religion.

At the risk of overusing my source – let me quote Ryle one last time on this, when he comments on those who have no desire for Heaven: “By nature we are altogether unfit for Christ’s kingdom in glory. The lives which we are in the habit of leading, and the practices we are fond of indulging, and the tastes we are always seeking to please, and the opinions we hold, are all such as prove we have no natural [suited-ness] for the inheritance of the saints in light. They do not follow after holiness in all their walk and conversation. Then what place can they occupy in that blessed abode where there shall enter in nothing that defile[s], nor whatsoever work[s] abomination?—how shall they stand in His presence, who charge[s] even His angels with folly, and in whose sight the very heavens are not pure! They do not take pleasure in the exercise of prayer and praise on earth; and how could they enjoy the employments of that glorious habitation, where they rest not day nor night worshipping and crying “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” [If] They do not count it a privilege to draw nigh to God through Jesus Christ, to walk with Him, to seek close acquaintance with Him; [then] where would be the comfort to them of dwelling for ever in the presence of the Lord God and the Lamb? [If] They do not strive to walk in the steps of holy men of old, [and] they do not take example from the faith and patience of the saints; [then] with what face then would they join the society of just men made perfect?—with what salutation, after a life spent in pleasing the devil and the world, would they greet Abraham and David and the Apostles and all that blessed company who have fought the good fight? Alas! beloved, a natural man in heaven would be a miserable creature,—there would be something in the air he could not breathe, the joys, the affections, the employments would be all wearisome to him, he would find himself unfitted for the company of the saints, as a beast is unfitted on earth for the company of man; he would be carnally minded, they would be spiritually minded, there would be nothing in common. I know there are vain dreamers who fancy death will work an alteration, that they may die sinners and rise again saints; but it is all a delusion, there is no work nor device nor knowledge in the grave; if we die spiritual we shall rise spiritual, if we die carnal we shall rise carnal, and if we are to be made fit for heaven our natural hearts must be changed now on earth. _{Ryle, J. C. The Christian Race and Other Sermons. Hodder and Stoughton, 1900, pp. 20–21.}

Christians are those living now, with their eternity in view, and have stopped living for just today or the foreseeable future. They say with Paul: 2 Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Beloved, if you are not one who loves His appearing, and is longing and looking for it, you need to ask if you ever been truly born again?

The genuine Christian turns from idols to God – To SERVE the

Living God and to WAIT for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead …

4. Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Christians are living these ways, because they have a sense of the wrath of God which was due them, and the wonder of knowing they’ve been delivered from God’s coming wrath on all the world through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. All of this is wrapped up – not in religion or a system – but in Jesus Christ.

Christians know – know in their very bones, God in His holiness and justice must one day set the universe to rights.

And they have a true sense of the reality of that coming day, and have run to Christ for shelter.

They have run to the cross to have His blood plead on their behalf as having washed away their guilt and the stain of their sins.

And they keep running to Him in every failure, with every sin, with all of their brokenness, for they know that they know that they know on the authority of God’s Word, that no one can deliver them but the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So let me bring all this down to you once again:

Have you turned and continue to turn TO God, FROM idols? Is this an ongoing part of life?

Have you turned, so as to SERVE the Living God? Seeking to be of use to Him in His plans and purposes?

Are you consciously waiting for His Son from Heaven who He raised from the dead?

Are you trusting in this Jesus alone, as the One who alone delivers you from the wrath to come?

If so, you rightly call yourself a Christian today.

If not, no matter what your religion, or profession or to use the modern parlance – your self-identification – you are still dead in your trespasses and sins, and need to be born again by the Spirit of God. The wrath of God still remains on you as Jesus said in John 3:36.

And let me be careful here – I am not asking if this is the whole of your reality – as though there is some magical amount of this that saves. We do all we do imperfectly while still in these fallen bodies and in this fallen world.

The question is – do these things have a place at all in your daily reality? And if that is not so – beloved hear me – you are in a seriously dangerous place. Your eternal soul may well be lost.

But it is not too late! You can come to Him today!

You can a call upon Him for forgiveness, and to have your guilt expunged by His blood and to be made His own and reconciled to the Father.

Won’t you come to Him today?

Plead with Him to give you the new birth. You have the warrant in Jesus’ own words: John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

He will not refuse you.