DID YOU HEAR AND RECEIVE IT?

As a former English teacher, I always tried to make it a point in my lessons to be clear on what I was trying to convey to my students so they would properly understand my instructions and in turn put those instructions (or principles) into practice.

I say all of this because I think there is a Biblical application here for us. In Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica,
take note of what he had to say in the thirteenth verse in chapter two: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

Did you catch what Paul said? The Thessalonian brethren heard the message, received it (welcomed it as the truth, God’s word) and actively (effectively) put it into practice in their lives. In other words, they heard the truth; they believed the truth; they obeyed the truth.

For those who have yet to obey the gospel, we pray you hear Peter’s message of repentance and baptism on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38) and respond in obedience like “those who gladly received his word and were baptized” (vs. 41). And for those who have obeyed the gospel, may we continue to hear, receive and “grow in the grace and knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). It is in hearing and adhering to His teachings that we’ll eventually be blessed with the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).