Quite often in Paul’s letters we find him expressing gratitude to God. He does this twice in the first two chapters of 1 Thessalonians. The first time is in 1:2-3 where he thanked God for the Thessalonians, in particular for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope. The second time he thanks God is found in 2:13 Here he goes beyond what he said in 1:2-3 and in effect gives God all the credit for the way they responded to the gospel when Paul preached it to them.

Why does Paul “thank God constantly” instead of congratulating the Thessalonians for receiving and believing the gospel? Let’s make sure what it is for which Paul gives thanks. It is for the way they received and accepted the gospel when it was preached in their city. “Sam, are you saying that God is the ultimate cause of the faith of the Thessalonians?” Absolutely, yes!

In Ephesians 2:8 Paul explicitly says that faith “is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” In Philippians 2:29 Paul says: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” We read much the same thing when it comes to repentance. Here is what Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

Here is what Luke says in Acts 11:18.

“And when they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (see also Acts 5:31).

So, let me ask you all a question. When you look back on the time of your conversion, how do you account for the fact that your heart responded in faith and repentance instead of unbelief and denial? Perhaps the best way to make this point is to cite the example of Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher of the 19th century.

“One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, ‘How did you come to be a Christian?’ I sought the Lord. ‘But how did you come to seek the Lord?’ The truth flashed across my mind in a moment – I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, ‘I ascribe my change wholly to God’” (Charles H. Spurgeon, Autobiography, vol. 1, The Early Years, 1834-1859, reprint ed. [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1973], p. 165).

Praise and thanksgiving be to him who loved us and granted us both faith and repentance unto eternal life!