Good morning! Today is the final
message in our series “Follow Christ. He Comes!” which has been a study of the
two letters to the Thessalonian church.
Acts 17 tells the story of how Paul and his friends came to Thessalonica
as they passed through Macedonia preaching the gospel. They spent only a short time in the city, two
to three weeks, before the Jewish leaders who opposed the gospel formed a mob and
incited a riot to drive them away.
Paul and his companions then traveled on to Berea to preach the gospel
there. Once the Thessalonians opposed to
the gospel heard of it, they in turn went to Berea to stir up crowds against
the message. Immediately, Paul is sent
away by the Berean believers and escorted by them to Athens where Timothy and
Silas would join him later.
It was in this environment that the Thessalonian church grew up. The people there faced opposition and
persecution. I Thessalonians 3:4 says, “In
fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted.
And it turned out that way, as you well know.” This persecution is something
which many believers face as a regular part of their lives. Today is in fact the International Day of
Prayer for the Persecuted Church. And we
will take time after the message to pray for the global church as a body.
The letters to the Thessalonians are likely the earliest letters of
Paul which are recorded in Scripture.
The two letters were written only a few weeks apart, from Corinth,
during Paul’s ministry there. The focus
of the two letters is in keeping with the short title of the series. There are exhortations and instruction about
the Christian life. In addition, there
have been significant details shared about Jesus Christ’s future return to
earth.
While today’s passage concludes the second letter, it holds the most
poignant corrective instructions in both letters. The instruction is practical and applicable
today. So, let’s pray and ask God to
speak to us from these closing words of II Thessalonians.
Lord God, thank You for the Bible.
Thank You that it is living and active and applicable to our needs
today. It is truly amazing. We can read You Word for years, and it keeps teaching
us and reminding us and growing us again and again and again. Teach us now, we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Let’s begin by reading II Thessalonians 3:6
In the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every
believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching
you received from us. –II Thessalonians
3:6
In I Thessalonians, there were several points of instruction regarding
this topic. Chapter 5:14 says, “Warn
those who are idle.” Chapter 4:11-12 say,
“Work with your hands, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders
and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” Based on this verse in II Thessalonians, it
appears the problem may have worsened between the first letter and the second
because the issue is dealt with more emphatically here.
The instruction here is given both in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and as a word of command. This is a
strong statement. It is not the only
time where this kind of instruction is given in the Bible. Romans 16:17 says something quite similar, “I
urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and
put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them.”
In this case, we see that the warning is against being idle and
disruptive. Other translations have
unruly or disorderly. The Greek word can
be applied to soldiers who are out of rank, not in line with one another. That seems to fit with the end of the
phrase. These individuals are not living
according to the teaching they had received.
Their behavior is persistent and ongoing. One commentator (Hiebert) writes, “Their
disorderly conduct is not an occasional lapse but a persistent practice.” They haven’t merely stumbled, but they have
continued to live apart from the ways of God.
Paul is not merely warning the faithful believers to protect
themselves, but rather the separation from these idle and disruptive people is
intended so that they miss the fellowship, they repent of this sinful behavior,
and they return and are restored. What
then should a church be that these idle and disruptive people would want to
give up their wrong ways? Well, churches
should have an environment of love and comfort that you want to be a part of.
What then is the right way? The
teaching that we should be living according to?
For you yourselves know how
you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor
did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked
night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of
you. –II Thessalonians 3:7-8
The example here is one of simple and direct hard work. Paul and Silas and Timothy had lived out the
example among the Thessalonians and as we read in I Thessalonians 1:6, these
young believers became imitators of their teachers. This was a practice which Paul regularly
employed. He encouraged the Corinthians
in a similar way to follow his example of hard work and imitate him. (I
Corinthians 4:11-16)
This idea that they did not “eat anyone’s food without paying for it” has
a bigger thought of “making a living” in Hebrew. In Genesis 3:19 for example, it says, “from
the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” We should not assume that these missionaries
didn’t accept hospitality but rather they were not dependent on others for
living, for survival.
In I Thessalonians 2:9, it says more specifically why they did not want
to be a burden. “We worked night and day
in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to
you.” And so, there is at least a two-fold
purpose behind their hard work. First,
they worked hard and were willing to sacrifice to further spread the Gospel, so
that it would go out unimpeded. They
also wanted to maintain the integrity of the Gospel so that others would not be
confused as to the reason they preached.
We have to be aware that working hard with your hands was a
countercultural message, particularly in ancient Greece. Many Greeks despised manual labor and viewed
it as fit only for slaves. The average home
held 2-5 slaves. The total number of
slaves in ancient Greece is debated because exact figures are unobtainable. But, there is reason to believe that half of
the people living in Greece at this time were slaves. In Rome, the numbers are estimated in the
35-40% range throughout the peninsula of Italy with highest concentrations in
cities and owned by the wealthiest people.
Some have wondered why Paul didn’t write more specifically against
slavery, but he certainly showed by his actions that he was opposed. He worked night and day to prevent being a
burden to anyone, even their slaves. Why
did they work hard?
We did this, not because we
do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model
for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule:
"The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." –II Thessalonians
3:9-10
Paul says these two things generally in his letters. First, he points out that apostles do have
the right to support. I Corinthians
9:3-14, II Corinthians 11:7-11, and I Thessalonians 2:6-9 are all examples of
this message. But then, he doesn’t take
advantage of that right. Why not?
Again, Paul and the others with him are seeking to be a model for the
new believers to imitate. They had told
this to them when they were with them, and they had lived it out.
A Christian must not be a loafer.
Saying a Christian should not be a loafer is not consistent with the
example we see lived out. We began with the
verse, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you …” This is a
direct message. A Christian must not be
a idler.
We already looked at I Thessalonians 4:11, but I will share it again.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business
and work with your hands, just as we told you.”
This is God’s plan for how to provide for us. How does God give us our daily bread (and in
this country often far more)? He
provides for us through our work. I
think this is a part of God’s likeness in us.
God is constantly at work. He
gave the example in the creation narrative.
Six days of work and one day of rest.
Yes, rest is needed. However, the
proportion is significantly more days of work than days of rest. Some who would agree that there was a creator
of the world would say that it was created and then God has left it to its own
devices. A Christian, though, cannot say
this. God has consistently been engaged
in the history of the world including entering it through His Son Jesus Christ
to save all people who believe in Him.
Colossians 1:17 says that in Jesus the created universe is held
together. Psalm 139:13 says that the
Lord knits each baby together in his or her mother’s womb. God is at work in so many ways, and we are
meant to be like Him.
Before we go on though, I think we must also be clear that this verse
is not talking about ones who cannot work or are unable to work. It is addressing the ones who are unwilling
to work; those should not eat. There are
people who cannot work. The early church
did provide for the truly needy, but only after being sure they were truly in
need and after putting them to work in the church. I Timothy 5:3-16 clearly explains this. For those who need help and support, it should
come first from family and then if there is still a need, help should come from
the church.
Let’s continue in verse 11:
We hear that some among you
are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we
command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they
eat. –II Thessalonians 3:11-12
In addition to idleness (not doing good) which is a real problem, some
of the Thessalonian idlers were interfering in other people’s affairs (doing
harm) which is a natural outgrowth of idleness.
Paul wrote similarly to Timothy (I Timothy 5:13), that idleness leads to
being busybodies. The exhortation is to
settle down and to earn a living.
Ephesians 4:28 says, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no
longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they
may have something to share with those in need.” One clear goal of useful work mentioned
earlier is “not to be dependent.” Ephesians 4:28 gives us another goal to do
useful work to have something to share with those in need which leads directly
into verse 13.
And as for you, brothers and
sisters, never tire of doing what is good. –II Thessalonians 3:13
I mentioned Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven
in an earlier message in this series.
Afterward, I ordered a few copies of a 64-page booklet based on that 500
page book. We’ve been reading through it
together as a family, and it has been both instructional and encouraging. The book is well-founded on Scripture and
many references are included so that you can go and read the corresponding
passages for yourself. This week, there
was a reference to Luke 16:9, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends
for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal
dwellings.”
Jesus says this after telling the disciples a parable, the parable of
the shrewd servant. That parable tells
of the shrewd servant’s use of earthly resources to get people to welcome him
into their houses. The thought in the
book was that we don’t get into heaven by doing good works, so this verse must
be talking about something else. This
idea of using wealth to gain friends would then open up relationships which you
would experience in heaven. Our
“friends” in heaven will be people whose lives we’ve touched on Earth. Rather than a general reference to heaven,
the “eternal dwellings” will be heaven’s equivalent to private homes on
earth. Places where we’ll stay and enjoy
the companionship of our friends.
The closest I’ve gotten to social media is keeping a LinkedIn
account. I don’t get a chance to look at
it more than about once a month.
Occasionally, I may find an interesting bit about technology or
business, but I certainly don’t think of it as a source of wisdom or spiritual
instruction. Earlier in the week however,
I came across the story of Nicholas Winton on my LinkedIn feed.
In 1938, Nicholas Winton was a single man living in London. He was a successful stock broker and quite
athletic to the point of being skillful enough to compete at the Olympic level
in fencing (although he never did compete).
That Christmas, he was planning to take a skiing vacation for two weeks
to Switzerland.
Instead, he was convinced by a friend, Martin Blake, to go to Prague,
Czechoslovakia to help him in his work with the British Committee for Refugees. When he arrived, Nicholas found people
shivering in camps all around Prague because the Nazis had taken control of the
Czechoslovakian border region known as the Sudentenland. In response to this action, thousands of
Jewish people fled those regions for their own safety.
Nicholas was particularly moved by the plight of the children. He decided to see what he could do to
help. Not surprisingly, the governmental
bureaucracies involved made things difficult and slow. Nicholas got creative as time was very short
for rescuing any of the children.
Finally, after collecting information on the children as well as finding
places for them to stay, they began to bring trains carrying the children
through the heart of Germany into Holland (which was technically closed to
refugees), and then by ferry to England.
In total, 669 children were saved in this way before war broke out when
the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939.
In 1988, Nick’s wife Grete found his scrapbook in the attic containing
pictures and information that he had gathered in order to bring the children to
England fifty years earlier. It was a
story which Nicholas had hardly told to anyone.
Even the children did not know to whom they owed their rescue. The BBC arranged a reunion to tell Nick’s
story:
One of the survivors tells students about her rescue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hrmc2q7FbM (we viewed 1:50-2:30)
The families that grew:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0aoifNziKQ (we viewed 14:28-15:14)
Nicholas Winton’s story is a beautiful one. It is one to be celebrated and repeated. In addition, it fires the imagination to what
God can do through a person who proves faithful. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 4:15, “In Christ
Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.” What a wonderful reunion each one of us has
to look forward to if we touch the life of another believer through kindness,
service, and prayer. How much more so
will that joy be when we lead a person to put their faith in Jesus Christ? What glorious reunions will we have to look
forward to!
Let us not become weary in
doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give
up. –Galatians 6:9
David Guzik wrote, “We should not become discouraged or give up doing
good even though sometimes it will be taken advantage of, or it may be
misattributed to some other motive … The King James translation says don’t grow
weary of well-doing. Well, there’s
plenty of well-wishing in the world. Well-resolving, well-suggesting, and
well-criticizing are also found in plenty. Many people are good at
well-talking, but there is not enough of simple well doing.”
May each of us “do good” to the glory of God.
Take special note of anyone
who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them,
in order that they may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but
warn them as you would a fellow believer.
–II Thessalonians 3:13-15
Our writers realize that some will not follow the instructions in this
letter. There is no despair, it is just
acknowledgment of reality. We should
appreciate the genuineness of the Word of God.
The Greek phrasing here translated as “do not associate” is an unusual
double compound meaning “do not mix up together with.” It is also found a couple of times in I Corinthians
5 with the same intent. It’s a kind of
word picture of relationship. In a
family, lives tend to get mixed up together, coming and going, connecting,
encouraging, sharing, caring, moving forward.
The warning here is not to get mixed up with people who call themselves
believers but live in sin. We are not
being warned about avoiding unbelievers.
Also, the goal is not punishment but restoration. Discipline in the church should be administered
gently, not in a harsh way. Galatians
6:1 says it this way, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you
who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves,
or you also may be tempted.” In I
Corinthians 4:14, Paul explains, “I am writing this not to shame you but to
warn you as my dear children.” We’ve
discussed it earlier in the series, but I will repeat it here, I Thessalonians
5:14, “We urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive,
encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
The picture is one of gradual escalation. First, there is gentle reminder. Then, there is warning, then an effort to
restore gently. Finally, there is
separation, but even this has the intent of drawing the person to repentance
and restoration. These individuals are
not enemies but people in desperate need of the grace of God.
And the letter concludes by praying a blessing to all.
Now may the Lord of peace Himself
give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. I,
Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in
all my letters. This is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all. –II Thessalonians 3:16-18
This is a common ending to all Paul’s letters. It is Paul’s desire and the Lord’s that the
Lord be with them all. That includes the
idlers and disorderly.
We don’t say “the Lord be with you” very often, at least I don’t. Some churches use it as a responsive
statement before praying. When I was a
younger believer, I thought it was an odd thing to say because we already have
God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us.
(Hebrews 13:5) But, we see it here in Scripture and other places, too,
like in the book of Ruth when Boaz goes to his fields and greets the
harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” They
answer, “The LORD bless you!” (Ruth 2:4)
So, if you were wondering, we have good evidence that this practice is
good and it is godly to bless and pray for others in this way, “The Lord be
with you.”
It makes sense to note here that someone else often wrote down the
majority of Paul’s letters as he dictated.
It is typical though that, toward the end, he would write a few words of
greeting. And in that handwritten
greeting, in spite of having confronting some who have done wrong, Paul closes
with a prayer for all. It is a
benediction of grace. “The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” And that also concludes our series, “Follow
Christ. He Comes!”—a study of practical teachings and powerful truths for the
saints in Thessalonica, and for us, too.
Let’s pray and thank God.
Thank You Jesus for saving us when we put our faith in You. Help us to be diligent and faithful in
service, in work, in sharing our faith with those who do not know You. Thank You that You are coming back for
us. We look forward to eternal life with
You. Lord be with each one here, and may
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each individual. We pray in the beautiful and powerful Name of
Jesus. Amen.
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