1 Thessalonians 2.1-12

If you regularly shop on Amazon or look for restaurants to try on Yelp, you know that there is a serious epidemic taking over global marketing.  This epidemic is the plague fake reviews.

Does this sound familiar? You’ve read rave online reviews about a restaurant or hotel and made a reservation. Then you show up and wonder if you’re even in the same place the reviewers visited. That’s when you know: They were fake reviews.

One recent review of a restaurant was discovered to be fake when the reviewer stated they knew they had to eat at the restaurant when they drove by and saw the beautiful interior through the front window.  The problem with this review was that the restaurant was located on a pedestrian waterfront walkway with no street in front of it for anyone to drive by and look in.

It has been discovered that that phony reviews make up a big percentage of the total out there—anywhere from 26% to 50%. Some fake reviews are gushingly positive, written by employees, artificial-intelligence software, or people hired to wax poetic about the place. Others are negative write-ups by disgruntled ex-employees or competitors.

The problem is so widespread that the Federal Trade Commission just created a new rule that will seek civil penalties for violators who pay for fake reviews or testimonials. Meanwhile, review platforms and online travel agencies are stepping up their efforts to weed out fake reviews before they ever show up online.

The interesting thing is that it is not just products and restaurants that are victims of fake reviews.  Humans are also victims of fake reviews.

Have you ever been the victim of a fake review?  Has anyone ever tried to destroy your reputation by spreading false accusations or twisting the truth to fit a narrative that suits them?

In this morning’s Biblical text, from the next part of our journey through the New Testament letter of 1 Thessalonians, we are going to hear that Christians who walk in a manner worthy of God will always have the unbelieving world giving them fake reviews littered with false accusations.  These ignorant and sometimes malicious rumors say that Christians are believing and teaching lies while having false motives in their actions.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12, the Apostle Paul writes, 

[1] For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. [2] But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. [3] For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, [4] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. [5] For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. [6] Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. [7] But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. [8] So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

[9] For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. [11] For you know how, like a father with his children, [12] we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (ESV)

In these verses, Paul begins by defending himself against fake reviews of his life and ministry.  Due to jealousy, envy and fear, false accusations were made against him as He was preaching the Gospel and care for the needs of the community.

According to the defenses that Paul is taking up there were three generalized accusations made against Paul and his ministry team of Silas and Timothy.

First, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul’s teaching was pointless. 

Second, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul ran away when things got tough.  

Third, the unbelievers in the city of Thessalonica were saying that Paul’s teaching, the teaching about sin and salvation, the teaching about faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection being the only way back to God the Father in Heaven, was in error, was his own morality and was driven by his intention to deceive.

I love the way that British theologian John Stott summarizes this fake review thought process.  Stott says that the unbelievers and skeptics in Thessalonica were saying,

“[Paul] ran away … and hasn’t been seen or heard since! Obviously he’s insincere, impelled by the basest motives. He’s just one of those many phony teachers who tramp up and down the Egnatian Way. In a word, he’s a charlatan. He’s in his job only for what he can get out of it in terms of money, prestige or power. So when opposition arose, and he found himself in personal danger, he took to his heels and ran! He doesn’t care about you Thessalonian disciples of his; he has abandoned you! He’s much more concerned about his own skin than your welfare.” (The Message of Thessalonians, p 46)

Every Christian who lives in a manner consistent with the morals and mission of God as revealed in the Holy Bible will experience similar fake reviews through false accusations about their life, their faith, their beliefs and their motives.

You may not be verbally accused of the things that Paul and his pastoral team were publicly accused of, but I guarantee there are people in your life who are judging you and accusing you in their minds.  Unbelievers look at those of us that have found ourselves believing the good news of Jesus Christ as those that are brainwashed and wasting our time with thinking about sin, salvation, repentance and faith.  Those that are still blinded by their sin and who are living self-centered existences think that churches are only out to take their money in order to push an unloving agenda onto society.

So, how do we do what the Apostle Paul did and what the Apostle Paul asks us to do today?  How do we get out from under the fake reviews of our faith and the false accusations made against us?  How do we walk in a manner worthy of God?

Well, just like the Apostle Paul did, he had his faith in Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit, leading him to live like Jesus lived.  Everything Paul was accused of and everything you are accused of as a child of God was part of Jesus’ story as well.  

Let’s see how Jesus lived in the face of chaos and opposition.

Jesus’ led a life of suffering and was shamefully treated in this world.  But, those difficulties did not stop Him from being bold in proclaiming the need for you to repent of your sin and place your faith in Him for salvation.  Jesus knew this was the Good News you needed and nothing can ever stop God’s Good News from moving forward—NOTHING! EVER!

Jesus’ coming to you was not in vain.  Jesus’ coming to you to sacrifice his life for you on the cross resulted in the forgiveness of your sin, reconciliation with God your Father, and the hope of eternal life in His Kingdom.

Jesus was sent by God to you and entrusted with the Gospel, the Good News of salvation.

Jesus did not come with erroneous teaching or with an attempt to deceive you.  Jesus’ teaching was the same teaching that God put forth from the moment of Creation in the Garden of Eden.  That teaching is that God is a good and gracious God desiring to have you by His side, under His protection, and blessed by His provision every single day.  

Jesus did not seek to please the men and women of this world.  Jesus only sought to please God the Father in Heaven.  So, Jesus never veered from the message of sin and salvation.  And, Jesus never veered from the mission to die on the cross to pay the price for you sin which reconnects you back to God the Father.

Jesus didn’t flatter anyone.  Jesus always told the truth so that you would see the seriousness of your sin and your need for a Savior.

Jesus was never greedy.  Jesus never asked to be taken care of.  Jesus came to take care of you.

Jesus never asked for special treatment.  Jesus never wanted to be glorified in this world.  Even though He was fully God in the flesh, Jesus did not consider His own needs more important than your needs.  Jesus humbled Himself so that you could be exalted into God’s Kingdom.

Jesus is gentle with you like a mother is gentle with her children.  Jesus wants nothing more than to care for you, nourish you with the spiritual food you need to receive rest and peace.  And, like a mother, Jesus gives His own body over to both life and death for your health and well-being.

Jesus worked day and night in this world to lift the burden of sin off of you—the sin that weighed you down and separated you from God.

Jesus is holy and righteous.  Through faith in Him, you are made holy and righteous before God’s throne.

Jesus perfectly talks the talk and walks the walk of living in a manner worthy of a child of God so that through faith you can be given His record of full and complete obedience to God in every area and aspect of your life.  Like a Father does with his children, Jesus encourages you to live in a manner that is consistent with the values of the household as you finish out your time in this world.  

Satan and those that he has deceived into denying God’s love for them will continue to falsely accuse you with their fake reviews of your faith in Jesus love for you.

But, before the throne of God, Jesus’ death on the cross causes God to drop the case that finds you guilty of sin and completely removes the charges of disobedience to God’s law from your record.  Through faith alone, your record is now the record of Jesus’ perfection and righteousness.

Through Jesus Christ, God has called you into His own kingdom and His own glory.

Regardless of what the unbelieving world accuses you of, have confidence that through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for you, you will always hear from God’s own mouth, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Long-time Christian Heavy Metal alumni Demon Hunter pen lyrics about resilience, perseverance, and inner strength when dealing with the chaos of a broken and fallen world.

In their 2012 track, I Am A Stone, they faithfully declare,

I am a stone, unaffected

Rain hell down onto me

Flesh and bone, unaffected

Your fool, I will not be

So, go into the world, with the strength of a stone that is unable to be affected by the world around it, proving every fake review and false accusation wrong by walking in a manner worthy of God as described by today’s Biblical text, putting the needs of others above your own so that they will experience the grace, mercy, and love of a God who did lived that way not only for you, but for them as well.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

July 19, 2026.