“For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything“
Verse eight develops the reason the Thessalonian church became an example to all the churches in Greece (v.7). This was a church of faith.
For from you
The gospel went out from the Thessalonians.
Principle:
The gospel needs to go out from us as well as come to us.
Application:
The gospel often comes to Christians but never goes out again. The gospel ends in them like a dead-end street. People carry the gospel to us, but we do not carry the gospel to others.
The gospel needs to go through us to others. As far as some of us are concerned, the gospel is the best-kept secret. No one will hear it from us if we can help it. We never share it or pass it on. Many churches are that way. Few ever hear the gospel in these churches. They make apologies for the gospel.
The gospel carries both a negative and a positive message. People do not like to hear that they have violated a holy God. They do not want to know that they have sinned and need a Saviour. There is no easy way to declare this message. We must hear the bad news before we hear the good news. We must have a diagnosis before we can have a cure.
