The sermon titled 'A Tender, Serious Farewell' by Jason Dohm explores the resurrection account in John 20 and the concluding verses of 1 Thessalonians 5. It highlights the miracle of Jesus' resurrection, focusing on Mary Magdalene's encounter with the risen Christ and the subsequent appearances to the disciples. The sermon emphasizes the themes of justification and sanctification, explaining that both are works of God, with justification being entirely God's action and sanctification involving the believer's progress in faith. The concept of the 'holy kiss' is discussed as a symbol of closeness and affection among believers. Additionally, the sermon stresses the importance of prayer, viewing it as essential for fruitful ministry and spiritual growth. The Word of God is described as the birthright of all Christians, underscoring the necessity of scripture being accessible to every believer. Finally, the sermon closes with a reflection on grace, which is portrayed as the foundation and culmination of the Christian faith, highlighting its significance from the beginning to the end of the Bible.

Turn to John 20. Yes, we'll get to 1 Thessalonians. John 20. Let's read this account again as we celebrate this amazing day, the miracle of the resurrection of our Savior. John 20, verse 1.

Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb so they both ran together. And the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping.

And as she wept, she stood, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.' Now when she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "'Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, sir, you have carried him away. Tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him, Rabboni, which is to say teacher.

Jesus said to her, Oh, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God." Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. Then the same day at evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands in his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, Peace to you.

As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas called the twin.

One of the twelve was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see His hands, the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into His side. I will not believe." And after eight days, His disciples were again inside. And Thomas with them.

Jesus came. The doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, Peace to you. And he said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving but believing.' And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Now to the book written to those who had life in his name. And for those of you here who have life in his name, turn, all of us turn. Let's look together as we continue to pray for anybody here Who's yet to meet the risen Lord in their heart. First Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 25.

Brethren, Pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Oh God we pray now as we relive the story in our minds as we read it of your resurrection and the impact on all the souls that you touched And as we read the end of this letter that was written to those whose lives you have touched, I pray that you would reach out yet again today to unbelieving ears and unbelieving hearts that you, through the preaching of your word by our brother would fall upon ears and hearts today. Oh God we pray that you would resurrect souls today by the preaching and ministry of Your Word. Amen. Last week our sermon text was this in verses 23 and 24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit soul and body be preserved blameless the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ he who calls you is faithful who also will do it Here in these two verses we have a benediction.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are wrapping it up. Wrapping up this letter. And it's a blessing. They're pronouncing a blessing on these new converts. And in this benediction and blessing, it is God from start to finish.

We are reminded in these two verses that God is the God of justification. In verse 24 they say, He who calls you is faithful. It's God who calls guilty, rebellious sinners out of darkness into His marvelous light. He initiates and it's His cleansing blood that makes a sinner right and pardoned before a holy God. That justification is the work of God and you can never add one little thing to it.

In fact, if you try to add something to it, it's blasphemous. If you try to add something to it, it's blasphemous. If you try to add something to it, it is an abomination in the sight of God. That justification is all of God. But God is not just the God of justification.

He's also the God of sanctification of our making progress in the faith after we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. It says so right in the text, now may the God of peace sanctify you completely. God is the God of justification. He cleanses. But He is also the God of sanctification.

He gives Christians progress, and a little more progress, and a little more progress. And then one day they die, or He will return, and we will be completely sanctified and made fit for heaven. What we learned from these verses is that no part of the Christian is left untouched by God's works of grace. He is going to touch every part of you with His works of grace. Your whole spirit and soul and body will be preserved blameless.

You will be sanctified completely. Why? Because God is a God of grace, He is a God of peace, and He wants to touch every part of his people with his works of grace. So this is all of God and God gets all the glory. God calls the Christian.

God sanctifies the Christian. God preserves the Christian blameless. This week we're in the very last four verses of 1 Thessalonians. The letter is going to come to a close this week. The sermon title is, A Tender Serious Farewell.

Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are saying farewell, but it's two things. It's characterized by two things. It's characterized by tenderness. These last verses are dripping with affection. Like the whole letter has been really.

There is so much affection communicated in this letter. And it's also very sober minded. As he closes out the letter, there are no throwaway words here. He's giving these really serious, sober-minded exhortations all the way to the last words. I envision Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy finishing out this letter and having to bend the word, Amen, around on the page to fit it at the very bottom corner of the page, using up the last little bit of paper with these serious, sober-minded, but affectionate exhortations.

So that's what we have, a tender, serious farewell. As we go to the text, let's go to the text in prayer. God, today of all days we Thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, the grace that flows through him to his people, to everyone who has ever repented and believed the gospel. God, Every blessing flows through this work. His death and his resurrection.

So now we glory in it, we rejoice in it, we thank you for your word that speaks of Christ on every page. I pray that the truths that are in our text this week would be pressed on us, that we would grab hold of them, that they would change us. Pray in Jesus' name, Amen. So this morning we'll just go verse by verse. So here we have verse 25.

Hopefully you're following along. First Thessalonians 5 verse 25. Brethren, pray for us. Here in this verse we have a request for prayer from family. If you're taking notes on the handout and you're filling in blanks, it's request, prayer.

A request for prayer from the family. So throughout the outline I'm going to be pressing home the family language. Why? Because Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are pressing home the family language. We have four verses and in the first three of them it's, Brethren, brethren, brethren, brethren pray for us, Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

I charge that the epistle be read to all the holy brethren." So it's family language, family language, family language. And here, Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are asking that the family would pray for them. If we go up all the way back to the start of the letter, chapter 1, and if I were to paraphrase chapter 1 verses 2 and 3, I would paraphrase it this way, we're always giving thanks to God for you, and we are always praying for you. That is how they start the letter. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to these new converts in Thessalonica.

We are always thanking God for you. We are always praying for you. And then in chapter 2, if I were to paraphrase a good portion of chapter 2, I would paraphrase it this way. We are your spiritual parents. They say that they are like a nursing mother.

They are gentle like a nursing mother. That is in chapter 2 verse 7. They say, we are like a father. We have exhorted you like a father. We have comforted you like a father.

We have charged you like a father charges his children. That's chapter 2 verse 11. We're your mom and dad all wrapped up into one in a spiritual sense. They say that in chapter 2. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are the mature ones.

They've been brought to maturity in the faith. But they don't view themselves as self-sufficient at all. If we don't get anything else from the verse, Brethren, pray for us, We should get that. These mature brothers in Christ don't view maturity as equal to self-sufficient. In other words, we should pray for these baby Christians, but when they have been brought along, when they start to come into maturity, then you won't need to pray for them anymore.

Because they will have come to adulthood and they will no longer be in need of prayer and they'll be self-sufficient. No, the Bible nowhere teaches that maturity in God equals self-sufficiency. In fact, the reverse is true. The more you grow the more you know how dependent you are every day on the grace of God. Maturity equals dependence.

It's exactly the opposite. Maturity doesn't equal self-sufficiency. This is what we see from Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. Brethren, pray for us. In fact, they know that there is a reason that they have been brought to maturity.

They know that there is a reason that they have been made fruitful in their service to God. It's the work of God. And they want more of it, so they have to be prayed for. They want more of God bringing them to maturity. God can form us more into the image of Christ.

We need God for that, brethren. Pray for us. They want more fruitfulness in their service to God. They want more converts for the kingdom of God. That takes God.

Brethren, pray for us. This is not isolated by the way. Here's what we're going to study in a few weeks or months, however long it takes us to get to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Listen to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified just as it is with you and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for not all have faith.

We're going to have another letter to the Thessalonians and they are going to end it the same way asking for prayer that their ministry in the gospel would be fruitful and that they would be delivered from their enemies. Now Listen to this, Colossians chapter 4 verses 1-4. This is Paul, Colossians chapter 4 verses 1-4. He writes, Continues earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Meanwhile, praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.

Paul and Silvanus and Timothy see the prayer of the saints as a key to fruitful service in the Lord and to deliverance from unreasonable and wicked men. Brothers and sisters we have a great reason to pray for those that the Lord has raised up to labor among his people. Listen to what Matthew Henry says, and the more people pray for their ministers, the more good ministers may have from God, and the more benefit people may receive by their ministry. Matthew Henry here sees a big circle, a virtuous circle that actually spirals upward and not downward. People praying for those that the Lord has raised up to lead and to help them.

And then God doing them good in answer to their prayers, which makes them more effective in blessing the people who pray more for them. And God gives them more and it just goes on and on in A cycle of blessing. We have many good reasons to be praying for whoever the Lord has raised up. To lead among His people, and to preach, and to go out on the mission field. We should pray for them because it really, in a way, it is a prayer for ourselves.

It's a prayer for our own good and our own benefit. You should be praying regularly for me. You should be praying regularly for me. And I'm standing before you asking for it. Please, brethren, pray for me.

If only for your own good and benefit, pray for me. Verse 26. That was verse 25. Brethren, pray for us. A request for prayer from the family.

Now verse 26, Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Here in this verse we have an exhortation regarding the family relationships. If you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks, it's exhortation relationships. An exhortation regarding the family relationships. There is a way that all the brethren are to be greeted.

By the way, I read this as Paul and Silvanus and Timothy saying, you give our holy kisses to the brethren there. That's the way it reads to me. All the holy brethren are to be greeted one way with a holy kiss. Now I want to frame this in terms of the big picture. I think the big picture here is closeness and affection.

I think that is what is at the root of the Holy Kiss. Closeness and affection. Arms length relationships don't survive the Holy Kiss. They just can't survive the Holy Kiss. I have you at arms length and you break through with the Holy Kiss.

It's the closeness and affection I was trying to keep at arm's length. Nope, no way. You went around it. You went around the extended arm and you came close and you expressed affection. However as with many things there is the sign and then there's the substance.

The holy kiss is the sign here of closeness and affection. It's meant to be a demonstration. We're close. It's meant to be a demonstration. I love you.

I have affection in my heart for you. But the sign doesn't have to equal the substance. In other words, you can kiss without real closeness. You can kiss without real affection. What if we implemented the Holy Kiss today?

This is how we are all going to part today, is with the Holy Kiss. Would we really have more closeness and affection? Maybe, but not necessarily. We would certainly be past arm's length, But we wouldn't necessarily be closer or have more affection for one another. I think it might be helpful to review some unholy kisses from scripture to help us think about holy kisses.

So I'll give you two, a general one and a specific one. The general one comes from Proverbs chapter 27 verse 6. Listen to Proverbs chapter 27 verse 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Sometimes it's better to get a wound than a kiss.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. There is an unholy kiss for you. The enemy, he comes close. He is acting like there is an affection and he is deceitful in his kiss.

The specific one is exactly that in Mark chapter 14 verse 44. Now his betrayer had given them a signal saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one, lead him away safely. This is Judas in Mark chapter 14 verse 44. He gave them a signal. Okay, we're going to go together, and when we get there, I'll go up to him, and I'll give him the kiss, and you'll know that that's Jesus, because it's dark, and he's the one you should seize and take away.

This was the deceitful kiss of an enemy. But think about that for a second. Why was a kiss the signal? Because it would have been expected. Because it was normal.

It would have never been the signal if it was out of character. It was the signal because it was in character. It makes me wonder how many of disciples that Judas would have normally kissed he had to push past to not give the signal prematurely. It was the signal because this is how Jesus and his disciples related to each other. It wasn't out of place at all and that was the point.

That's why it was chosen as the signal. It was normal for Jesus to be kissed by His disciples and to kiss His disciples. Now let's review some holy kisses from Scripture. I'll give you three. The first one, Genesis 45 verse 15.

In Genesis 45 verse 15, Joseph has sort of been playing with his brothers. He has recognized them, but They haven't recognized him. He is second in command in all of Egypt. They have been coming for grain because there has been a famine in the land. Egypt is the only one that has grain.

Finally, in Genesis 45 verse 15, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and they shrink back because for 21 years they have been living with regret because they sold him into slavery. Here is Genesis 45, 15. Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Come close. I still love you.

Closeness, affection, family. So he kisses them and he weeps on them. That was a holy kiss. Here's the second one. Luke chapter 7 verse 45, Jesus has gone to dinner at the house of Simon the Pharisee.

The dinner is progressing, a woman comes in and she can't stop weeping. And she is weeping at Jesus' feet. And she is washing his feet with her hair and she's kissing his feet. Here's what Jesus says in Luke chapter 7 verse 45, Simon you gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in." Now Simon thought, boy, if you knew who was kissing your feet, you'd know that these weren't holy kisses. Jesus says, oh yes they are holy kisses.

They were kisses of closeness and affection. Jesus expected to receive a kiss from Simon the Pharisee, but Simon wanted nothing to do with closeness and affection. Jesus came into his house and what was customary was not extended to Jesus and Jesus rebukes him for it. Simon, I came into your house, you didn't give me anything to wash with, you didn't kiss me, but here is this woman. But here is this woman.

That was a holy kiss. Number three, Acts chapter 20 verse 37. In Acts chapter 20, Paul is at the, he's at close to the end. And he's almost, he's going to Rome, through Jerusalem. And He knows he's never going to see the Ephesian elders again.

So en route, he calls, he sends for the Ephesian elders to come to Miletus where he is, so he can exhort them one last time. And he's telling them, you're not going to see me again. This is it. And he gives them these great exhortations as an elder to elders Acts 20-37 then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. Why?

Because he said you're not going to see me again. Those were holy kisses. Kisses of closeness, kisses of affection. Finally, Paul ends three other letters this way with these exact words, greet one another with a holy kiss. He writes that to the church at Rome.

Greet one another with a holy kiss, Romans 16 verse 16. He writes that in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Greet one another with a holy kiss, 1 Corinthians 16 20. He writes it again in his second letter to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 13 verse 12, greet one another with a holy kiss. He is not alone.

Peter ends a letter with very similar words. Listen to 1 Peter chapter 5, that's the last chapter of that letter. So, both Paul and Peter are ending letters with this exhortation. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 14, greet one another with a kiss of love. Paul is always called it a holy kiss.

Peter calls it a kiss of love. They want the brethren greeting each other that way. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy have this closeness and this affection for the Thessalonians, and they want the Thessalonians to have this closeness and affection with one another. That's why the exhortation. Now, Think of the New Testament church.

We're a relatively monolithic church. My guess is Sovereign Redeemer Community Church is much more monolithic, much more like than the New Testament church at Thessalonica. My guess is they had a much greater disparity between the rich and the poor. My guess is they had freemen there and they had slaves there. But they were all brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so they were to greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Slave and free disappears in Christ. Rich and poor disappears in Christ. Male and female disappears in Christ. We are to have closeness with all the brethren.

We are to have affection for all the brethren. So I'm not lobbying for a return of the Holy Kiss. I don't think it's necessary and I don't think it's required by the text. If any of you holy brethren, holy brothers, try to give the holy kiss to my wife, we'll probably have something to talk about. We'll want to iron this out, Make sure we know the protocol.

But, I think it represents a closeness and an affection for one another. A lowering of the arms that we should aspire to, that we are being exhorted to by verse 26. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Verse 27, I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. Here in this verse we have a charge regarding the family birthright.

If you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks. It is charge birthright. A charge regarding the family birthright. If you are a brother or sister in Christ, the Word of God is your birthright. If you are in Christ, The word of God is your birthright.

If you are in Christ, the word of God is your most precious inheritance. It is yours and you don't have to wait until anybody dies to get it. You are owed it it today. It's yours to freely have. First, I charge you does not convey the seriousness that's in the Greek.

Listen to what you see in the Greek lexicon for this word that has been rendered charge. I charge you to force to take an oath to administer an oath to. Okay, so Whatever the Greek word, if I do this Greek word to you, I'm forcing you to take an oath. That's why the ESV renders it this way. I think the ESV renders the translation more on this one.

To render it the best you possibly can bring over the Greek into the English. Here's how the ESV renders it. I put you under oath before the Lord. I think that brings over the seriousness of what's meant by the Greek word. Thessalonians who receives this letter Thessalonians who receive this letter swear before God that this will be read to all the holy brethren.

Swear before God. Imagine, you are the first one to get the letter. Okay, I'm reading. You get to the end. Nobody else has seen it.

And Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are saying, swear before God that this is going to be read to all the holy brethren. With all that level of seriousness, you must not fail in this. All the holy brethren are to hear what Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are writing from God to the Thessalonians. This is not a letter to be given to a few leaders and then they decide what's worth trickling down to the little people. Absolutely we have to get that from this verse.

I'm a leader in Thessalonica. We know there were some. There are exhortations about how to relate to their leaders in this chapter. So we know there are leaders. I'm sure the letter came to the leaders first.

So I get it and I think some applies to me and some applies to them, so I'm going to trickle down what I think applies to them. No, no, a thousand times no. This letter, every word of it, every comma of it, every period in it is the birthright of everyone who is born again in Thessalonica. By the way, I don't think that this teaches that there aren't little people in the church. I think what the Bible teaches us is that we're all little people and that Christ is exalted and should have His say in the church.

So we're all little people. So no one is in a position to withhold anything that God has said, because it's our birthright together. When you become a Christian, the whole council of God, Every word of the Bible becomes your birthright. And you should treat it as your most precious possession. Because Paul commands that it be read to you.

He puts ministers in a way under an oath before God that all the whole council of God will be given to you. That's how serious it is. That's how Paul views what God has spoken to his people. It's your birthright. It's an inheritance that can never be withheld from you.

Because you are the Lord's and it is owed to you. It should be your most precious possession. To see how valued it is by Paul and Silvanus and Timothy and to think how dusty our Bibles get at some time. These things are incompatible brethren. Now listen to 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 37.

This of course is Paul writing to the Corinthians. First Corinthians 14 verse 37. Paul writes, if anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. That's what Paul writes through the Corinthians. If you're spiritual, recognize that the things I'm writing to you in the letter are the commandments of the Lord.

I've written some bold letters in my time, but I've never written anything that even approaches that. You'll never get an email from me that says, I require you to take an oath before God that you read this to your family. That's not how I'll be writing to you. But Paul knew that he was writing authoritatively as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now Think back on the letter.

Think of the exhortations in the letter and how much of it has clearly been authoritative. A large portion of this letter is clearly authoritative. Paul knew it. Sylvainus knew it. Timothy knew it.

And they mark this letter as such. They mark this letter as authoritative. And this is actually customary with Paul. What they are exhorting to happen here, insisting that all the holy brethren get this letter, the words of it in their ears is customary for Paul. Flip back to Colossians chapter 4.

So Colossians is the letter right before Thessalonians, so you probably only have to turn two pages. Here's what we find in Colossians chapter 4 verse 16. Colossians 4, 16. Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. So he starts out with assuming that this letter to the Colossian Church would be read to everyone.

Now when this epistle is read among you, I assume you will be reading this letter among you. And When you get done with it, pass it to the church in Laodicea. Get the letter that I wrote to them and then you read that one there too. This is customary. Paul expected that his letters would be publicly read in these churches and that they would share the letters.

Now here are some implications. I want to give you three implications from this verse. Number one, we should be reading scripture publicly here in corporate worship. Absolutely. We're going to do it next week.

As we summarize 1 Thessalonians, our scripture text will be the letter of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5. And it's right to do it. We have clear warrant from scripture for lavish readings of large portions of scripture in public worship. Listen to what Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 13. Till I come, give attention to reading.

Now the NASB and the ESV expand upon this word reading. Till I come give attention to reading and they expand that to the public reading of scripture because of what this word means in the Greek. Both are good translations. They've been acceptably translated. The NASB and the ESV, when they look at the Greek word, said, in this context, it's most appropriate.

Again, NASB and ESV is not thought-for-thought translations. This isn't just making stuff out of thin air this is looking at the Greek word and saying this is the consistent with the meaning of this Greek word until I come give attention to the public reading of Scripture. We have good warrant for that. We should be doing that here. That's the first implication.

Here's the second implication. We should be concerned with Bible translation. Think about how that is implied from this verse. If Scripture is the birthright of all the holy brethren, when you take the gospel somewhere where the scripture is not, you better find a way to get scripture into that language. It's their birthright.

You can't be taking the gospel into places that don't have scripture in their language and leaving them without scripture. It's their birthright. God wants them to have every word of it. He wants them to have the whole counsel of God. And how are they going to grow in the gospel without it?

So all the money and the energy and the time and the resources that go into Bible translation are so well founded. If nothing else in Scripture, although we could go to other places, from this verse, all the holy brethren should have the reading of these words of God. We should be concerned with Bible translation into different languages. The Bible doesn't exist in that language today. Number three, here's the third implication.

As Paul says in Colossians chapter 3 verse 16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 3 verse 16. Let the word of Christ Dwell in you richly. You should be bathing in it. You should be drowning in it.

You should be meditating on it. Can we give the Word of God a place of too high an honor? Can we read the Word of God too much? Can we meditate on the Word of God too much? The answer theoretically, I guess, could be yes.

That you could sort of make it an idol. But I'm not sure any of us is going to be guilty of that. Are we approaching that where we really need to worry about that? You should see the pages of Ezra and Nehemiah in my Bible. You should see the pages of Ezra and Nehemiah in my Bible.

You should see the pages of 1 Thessalonians now in my Bible, or 1 and 2 Peter in my Bible. They're all chewed up. They're all rolled up at the edges, because I've been to that spot so many times. Those books are probably that way in your Bible too. But I just love that part of the Bible, of my Bible, my Bible, the one I use.

The ones that are really dog-eared bad. They're really marked up. I love those sections. I want more of my Bible to look like that. There are some large sections of my Bible where the pages still stick together.

I want less in my Bible to look like that. More of them to look like 1 Thessalonians with all the curled up edges. May it be so of us. Verse 28, the last verse. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Amen. In this verse, they're ending where they began. Grace. So if you're filling in blanks on the handout, began, grace. They're ending where they began.

Grace. Turn over one page to chapter one and look at the second half of verse one. This is The first verse of the whole letter, and the second half of that verse, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you. And now, they close the book.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. What does this mean? This means that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega for the Christian. It is the beginning and the end.

It is the first and the last. Your faith begins with the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Your faith ends with the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no faith without it. There is no entry into the kingdom without it.

Grace is all that comes to you totally undeserved. If you deserve it even a little bit It's not grace, it's merit, it's pay. Grace is what comes to you undeserved. You didn't do anything for it. You couldn't have bought it.

You just get it because God is gracious. That's what grace is. Now, think of what you do deserve. You sinner. Think of what you do deserve.

Think of what you would get if God gives you what you deserve. He is holy and He is almighty and He has given you a life in this beautiful world of His and He has given you a thousand blessings. And you have thought the thoughts you have thought. And you have said the words you have said and you have done the things you have done. What if God were to repay you?

What if He were to deal with you as your sins deserved? Where would you be? But this is not the life of a Christian. All that is passed over, all that you deserved is passed over because Jesus bled and died for you. That's mercy by the way.

Not getting what you do deserve is mercy. Getting what you don't deserve. So he passes over all that that you deserve and then he pours out this mound that you didn't do anything for. That you couldn't have bought. If you had all the money in the world you couldn't have purchased what God freely offers to those who repent and believe the gospel.

Think of everything that comes from grace. Starting with your cleansing, but in no way ending with your cleansing. Count your blessings. They are grace. You didn't deserve them.

You couldn't have bought them. God just gave them to you because He is gracious. Listen to this note from the Nelson Study Bible. The greatest benediction Paul could express is that the grace of Jesus Christ would be with them. Christians are saved by grace and live by grace, enjoying undeserved blessing from their loving God.

Amen and amen. We are saved by grace. We live by grace. God just keeps lavishing out things that we don't deserve. Praise the Lord.

Did you know that this is how the Bible ends? We know the first verse of the Bible, don't we? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Do you know how it ends? This is how it ends.

Revelation 22, verse 21, the last verse of the Bible. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. It's exactly what Paul writes here, except for John adds the word, all. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen." It's exactly what Paul writes here, except for John adds the word, all.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. That is the ending of the Bible. That is how, that's God's last word to his people. The grace of Jesus Christ is God's last word to us. That's how the Bible ends.

So there you have it. A tender, serious, Farewell. A very tender, very serious farewell. They've written all the way to the bottom corner. The page won't hold any more words, so they have to sort of curl around the verse, Amen, and they end the letter with these wonderful exhortations.

Four applications. I have four of them. Number one, how much do you covet the prayers of your brethren? Do You think you're mature so that you're self-sufficient? So you don't really covet the prayers of your brethren anymore?

Too bashful to ask? Didn't you pray for it? Thinking you should be above that now? Well, Paul and Silvanus and Timothy didn't think so anyway. Maybe they haven't achieved your heights.

How much do you pray for me? How much do you pray for me? Whatever it is, make it more. Covet the prayers of your brethren. Pray for me.

Number two. Do you have the closeness and affection with your brethren that has verse 26 making sense? Do you have the closeness and affection with your brothers and sisters in Christ that has verse 26 making sense? Do you have the closeness and affection with your brothers and sisters in Christ that has verse 26 making sense? Or do we read 26 and say, that's from another universe.

What is that all about? The Holy Kiss, indeed. We are being pushed towards closeness and affection with one another. And may God speed it among us. Number three, have you sold your birthright for a bowl of lentils?

Who likes lentils anyway? Olga likes lentils. I repent. You remember Jacob and Esau? Esau comes in from hunting, I'm starving to death here.

You have lentils. Well, sell me your birthright, I'll give you some of my lentils. What good is my birthright if I die of starvation? Sure, I'll sell you my birthright. And we scoff at Esau.

We laugh at Esau. We think that probably couldn't have really even happened. And yet there sits our dusty Bible, All but neglected. It's your birthright. At least Esau got soup.

What have you given away your birthright for? The word of God, He gives it to you as a precious inheritance. We should treat it as a precious inheritance. Number four, what is your relationship with the grace of God? What is your relationship with the grace of God?

If you're an unbeliever, you're despising it. God extends it to you through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He makes the full and free offer that all who come to Him, He will not turn away. So I want to declare, if you are an unbeliever, what your relationship is to the grace of God. You are despising it.

You are trampling on it. It is the most dangerous position to be in on planet earth. But if you're a believer, you can still despise the grace of God. Having begun in the Spirit, you can begin to continue in the flesh. God hates that.

You were brought so low by Him that you recognize that you couldn't save yourself, so you threw yourself on His mercy for salvation, but now you want to work it out. And you wallow any time you fall into sin, because you're weak. God's not surprised that you're weak, And that your faith is small. You better grab onto that grace and run with it. And not despise it by wallowing that you are weak and don't have a lot of faith.

What is your relationship with the grace of God? We stand in the grace of God. Those who are His people, we stand in His grace. We don't have any other ground to be before God. It's grace, grace, grace.

There's no other ground for the Christian. And so we love it. And we cherish it. And we rely on it. Father, how sweet the exposition of this letter has been.

I thank you that you have given your word to us as our birthright. All who are born into your kingdom have a right to every word of the Bible. Thank you God for this great gift. I pray that you would establish us in truth and in grace. The law came through Moses.

Grace and truth through Jesus. We praise you. In Jesus' name, Amen.