20.3

Evangelical Reminders (Box 20.1)

One striking characteristic of 1 Thessalonians is the number of times that Paul reminds his readers of things that they already know.

• “You know what kind of persons we proved to be” (1:5).
• “You yourselves know . . . our coming to you was not in vain” (2:1).
• “As you know, we had courage in our God” (2:2).
• “As you know . . . we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed” (2:5).
• “You remember our labor and toil” (2:9).
• “You are witnesses . . . how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was” (2:10).
• “As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children” (2:11).
• “You yourselves know that this is what we are destined for” (3:3).
• “We told you beforehand that we were to suffer . . . so it turned out, as you know” (3:4).
• “You know what instructions we gave you” (4:2).
• “The Lord is an avenger . . . as we have already told you” (4:6).
• “Concerning love . . . you do not need to have anyone write to you” (4:9).
• “Work with your hands, as we directed you” (4:11).
• “Concerning the times and seasons . . . you do not need to have anything written to you” (5:1).
• “You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (5:2).