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Thessalonians 3:5 KJV
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know
your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be
in vain.
The Apostle's concern was that
the work he had done in Thessalonians would, through the persecution and
pressure these Christians were experiencing, become corrupted and therefore
incapable of carrying on. It was impossible that the immediate work would be
useless. Those who had gotten saved were saved eternally. The Word that was
preached was true and would never return void. What had been accomplished was
accomplished.
But the purpose of the
Christian labor is deeper than the immediate work. The purpose, whether it is
in the winning and discipling of a soul or the establishment of a local church,
is to create something that reproduces the work again and again.
- It is never vain to win a soul. But
there is a "vain element" if that soul never goes on to win another
- It is not a vain thing to plant a
church, but it becomes vain if that church begins to preach a doctrine
different than the one it was originally delivered
When someone or a church is
beguiled by other influences to change the message from what they were
originally given, then the original worker's work has become vain and the work
must be redone.
The purpose isn't just to win a
soul or to plant a church; the ultimate purpose is to win a soul who will win
souls and to plant a church that will continue in the faith and practice upon
which it began.
Anything else is labor in vain.
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