2 Thess. 3:6-18 “Work and Christian Discipleship”

0:59I think the skates may not have been updated since the 1980s. I used muscles I have not used since 1998 when I no longer had to rollerblade everywhere, but could drive myself places. As a result, my muscles are very sore, but I slept very well. If you're new at New Life, thanks for coming today. Glad to have you with us this morning. We've been in a series this summer called Awake, Asleep, Alive in Christ over 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. And here at New Life, we preach verse by verse through. Books of the Bible. And so, if you're not used to that manner of preaching, we hope that's a great blessing to you and that it trains you to study the Word of God inductively for yourself in order to interpret it and apply it to your life.

1:44And throughout the course of this study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we've learned that eschatology, what we believe about the last things, about the last days, about the return of Christ, that really matters. It matters because it has an effect on the way that we live our lives today. So, whether you believe that Christ has already returned, or whether you believe that He's coming soon, or that He's not coming soon, or that He's never coming back again, your belief regarding the return of Christ has an impact on the way that you live. And we have seen that throughout these letters to the Thessalonians. In the first letter, it seemed that the problem was some in the church thought they had missed the second coming of Christ. So, when their friends and their family were being killed for their faith, they were sad and confused. They didn't understand what this meant for them on a daily basis and how they were supposed to cope if they had missed Jesus' return.

2:54And then, in the second letter to the Thessalonians, it seems like there's a very different problem. Seems like a group has risen up in the church that believed that Christ was going to arrive any moment, and therefore the proper response was to quit their job and to spend their days staring into the sky, waiting for him to come back. Now, they may have had wrong theology, but they rightly connected the fact that what you believe about the return of Christ impacts how you live your life.

3:33And see, friends, I think for a lot of modern Christians, we may have right theology. We may believe the right things from God's Word. We could pass a test, but we don't always connect what we believe to how we live our lives on a daily basis. And I think that's especially true when it comes to our vocations. Not our vacations, our vocations. What God has called us to do with respect to work. The work that we do as employees or students or homemakers or whatever it is that God has called us to uniquely. You see, so many people in the church today struggle with the age-old sacred secular divide that sees all of the world and everything. In the world, in two categories, religious and non-religious.

4:36So, there is my spiritual life, and then there is my work life. There is my spiritual life, and then there is my social life. There is my spiritual life, and then there is my political life. But the Bible teaches no such distinction because Christianity is not merely a set of beliefs, it is a worldview. It is the way that we see and interact with and make sense of the entire world and everything in it. So, there is no way to live as a Christian and think of religion or spirituality or your relationship with Christ as something that is one part of your life. It is all of our life because it is our worldview and it affects everything. And that includes our vocation, our work.

5:38So, in our passage today, we're going to consider the current problem in Thessalonica when Paul was writing this letter. We're going to consider his solutions to this problem, and then we're going to look at his prayer for the Thessalonians. And what we're going to learn this morning is that work is a critical Component of Christian discipleship, not a hindrance to it. Work is a critical component of Christian discipleship, not a hindrance to it. So let's start here, and we're going to actually start in the middle of the passage in verse 11 as we take a look at the problem in Thessalonica. Join me in verse 11.

6:27For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Well, there it is. There is the problem in Thessalonica when Paul is writing, stated plainly and succinctly. For one reason or another, some in the church at Thessalonica were idle. And it's clear that the people that he's talking about are professing Christians because Paul calls them in verse 8 and in verse 15 brothers. And the problem is that these brothers, these believers in Christ, are idle. That Greek word can be translated irresponsible, refusing to work, or lazy.

7:19By their own choice, they were either underemployed or unemployed. And based on the context of the letter, it seems that they had stopped working or at Least stopped working faithfully in order to wait for Jesus to come back. Now, let me say this. Expecting Jesus to return at any moment is a very good thing. That is exactly what the Bible teaches us to do. Look what Jesus said in Matthew 24. But know this: that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

8:13Look at Revelation 22. He, that is Jesus, who testifies to these things, says, Surely I am coming soon. And then John replies, Amen, come, Lord Jesus. So those are just two examples. Jesus taught us to stay awake, to remain sober, to be ready for his return because he is coming soon, at a time that no one will expect and no one can predict. But Jesus never implied or taught that we should stop living our lives and stop living out our callings in order to wait for his return. We are not called to leave our spouses.

9:00To leave our families, to leave our jobs, to leave anything that God has called us to do in order to wait for His return. No, instead, we are called to be faithful in every area of our lives as we pray and wait expectantly for the return of Christ. And that includes our vocation, our work. But in Thessalonica, some of these Christians had stopped working and become idle to wait for the return of Christ. And that was a problem for three reasons: it contradicted Paul's example, it contradicted Paul's teaching, and it put a burden on the church. First, this idleness contradicted Paul's example. Take a look at verse 7.

9:53For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. You see, Paul, Silas, and Timothy were not like so many of the traveling teachers of their day or ours. These men traveled around, they required people. To put them up at their own cost, and then they required people to pay to come and hear them teach.

10:37That was not what they did. When they came to Thessalonica, they paid for their stay and their food at Jason's house. They paid for everything that they did. They toiled and labored night and day, so anytime they were not preaching and teaching the word of God, they were working as tent makers at whatever jobs that the other men may have had so that they wouldn't be a burden to anybody in the church and to leave them a faithful example to follow. And, friends, what's significant is that they actually had a right to financial support. As men who had answered God's call to give their lives to preaching and teaching the gospel, they had a right to financial support. Jesus Himself said that. Take a look at Luke 7, Luke 10:7, rather. This is when Jesus is sending out the 72 disciples to preach the gospel. He tells them, and remain in the same house of whatever town they go to. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. And then look at what Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 9.

11:53He says, Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple? Those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaimed the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. So you see, both Jesus and Paul were clear that those who have been called by God and been called by local churches to preach and teach the gospel have a right to be supported by those people who benefit from their ministry.

12:34But because Paul didn't want any misunderstandings about his motives and why he came to preach the gospel in these towns, he didn't want any misunderstandings from new Christians who were new to the faith, he didn't want to put a burden on them. In most cities, he made no use of those rights. He said, I don't want you to pay me anything because I'm not here for your money. I'm here to preach the truth. So he set them an example, and their idleness contradicted that example. The second problem is that their idleness contradicted his teaching. Take a look at verse 10.

13:13For even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. When they were in Thessalonica for that short time, they repeated this proverbial saying over and over. And over again. If you're not willing to work, you don't get to eat. And if you do a study of cultures, you'll see that nearly every culture has a saying that is just like this. It is not controversial in the secular world, and it should not be controversial in the church. No work, no food. Look at Proverbs 16.

13:59A worker's appetite works for him, his mouth urges him on. You see, God created the world and everything in it, and he created us, and he gave us this command to fill the earth and subdue it. But because after the fall, we are inclined not to obey God's word in every area, he also equipped us with technology that would make it hard not to fulfill that command. He gave us stomachs, and when they don't have anything in them, they don't feel good. A worker's appetite works for him, his mouth urges him on.

14:42So, Paul and Silas and Timothy left them an example, but they also taught them repeatedly that if you want to eat, you've got to be willing to work. So, their idleness contradicted their teaching. And then, third and finally, their idleness put a burden on the church. You see, you can quit your job, but you still have to eat. You still got to pay rent. You still have to pay your bills. Those things are true no matter what your theology says.

15:18And so, when some Thessalonians quit working, the faithful, hard-working Christians in the church felt compelled to take care of these people. So, they continued to work hard and to give them food, or money, or clothes, or whatever they needed, maybe for weeks or months. Now, remember, what did Paul teach? If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. You hear those words, not willing? Paul is not talking about people in the church who are working hard but are coming up short financially.

16:03Paul is not talking about people who want to work but can't find a job. He is not talking about people who are willing to work, but who are unable because of illness or injury or anything like that. And we see this principle years later when Timothy is pastoring the church at Ephesus, and he's dealing with two types of widows in the church. And one type of widow is older and maybe unable to get a job or unable to remarry or whatever. And then there are younger widows who are able to work and able to get remarried, but they're not working. And so I want you to look at 1 Timothy 5. Look what Paul writes. If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened so that it may care for those who are truly widows.

17:05Do you see the principle at work there? The principle at work is not the church should not care for people. The principle at work is that the church should care for the people that don't have anybody else in their life that can care for them. So, in the case of these widows, they have no one else. The church must care for them. The church should provide for those who are willing but unable for some reason to work.

17:34And in New Life, our wonderful deacons do a great job managing what we call our benevolence fund. And that benevolence fund is set aside to help people inside and outside the church who are willing but unable to work and make ends meet for some reason. That's a good thing. And in the same way, we should, as individuals, be looking for opportunities. Opportunities to help those who are truly in need, who are willing but unable. But in this case, in Thessalonica, there were many who had chosen not to work. They could have, but they didn't. And their idleness was putting a burden on the church.

18:17So, what then is the solution to these problems? How do you deal with this? Well, Paul gives a two-part solution, and that solution has one part that's addressed to the idle, disobedient Christians, and one part that's addressed to the hardworking, obedient Christians. So, let's start with a solution for the idle. Let's go back to verse 11. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now, such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

19:08So, Paul's solution for the idle, disobedient Christians is very straightforward. You need to get back to work. You need to stop being a busybody, stop gossiping and wasting your time, and you need to quit being a burden on the church. You need to do your work quietly and earn your own living. Now, I want you to see here in verse 11, this is not merely Paul's opinion. This is the word of the Lord Jesus Himself. He says, Now, such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ.

19:45What Paul is writing here is a command and it is an encouragement from the Lord, which is what God does for his children. Just like any faithful parent, God commands and God encourages. And His command and his encouragement are to work quietly and earn your own living. Now, friends, it's very important to say there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the Christian life. And there is no one-size-fits-all approach to how we apply this particular command. So, each one of us needs to determine before God and in conversation with our spouse or our parents, maybe mature Christians and pastors in the church, what obedience to this command should look like.

20:36But pastorally, I think I will serve you best to encourage you this morning to carefully consider the way that you're living your life and the way that you're living out your vocation as an employee, as a student, as a homemaker, whatever your case is. Because what I Found to be true is that I have yet to meet a person who does not think they're busy. Every high school and college student, every man and woman, every parent and grandparent that I have met in my 41 years on this green earth, on this formerly green earth that is now yellow and brown, every person believes that they are busy.

21:31So that's not new. But I suspect that each one of us could say that there is some time or perhaps a lot of time that we are wasting every week. Time that could be spent in discipleship and evangelism, time that could be spent creating value for your company, time that could be spent in meaningful relationships, making your home a more hospitable place, inviting people into your life. I suspect that there is some or a lot of time that we are wasting on our phones, on social media, on hobbies that suck our time and our energy away from the most important things.

22:23So maybe you've heard the expression before: if you need something done, Ask the busiest person you know. Think about that for a second if you've never heard that before. If you need something done, ask the busiest person you know. That sounds like a contradiction. But has that not been proven true in your life? If you ask somebody with nothing to do to do something for you, they never seem to get around to it. But if you ask the busiest person you know, it will be done by 2 p.m. that day.

23:03That's just the reality. Now, college students, I want to speak to you just for a moment. Some of the best advice I can give you, I, not the Lord, is to get a job while you are in college. I encourage you to get a job while you're in college. Now, that may go against some of the counsel that you've received. And if your parents are like, I forbid you to get a job while you're in college, you should disregard what I'm saying and listen to your parents. But if you are in the 90% of college students that have not heard that, I want to encourage you to get a job. Because here's the deal. When you have 12 hours a day to study, in my experience, you will spend four of them studying and eight of them. Doing nothing productive at all.

24:03But if you only have six hours a day to study because you have a part-time job and you're involved in your church and whatever else you've got going on, you will be laser-focused in your study because you can't afford not to be. And so I would encourage you to consider that. Paul is not asking, Are you busy? The idle Christians in Thessalonica were busy, but the problem was they were busy with the wrong stuff. I'm not asking you, Are you busy?

24:43I'm asking, are you busy with the very best things? Are you making the most use of your time, as Paul writes in Ephesians 4? Have you learned to number your days, as Moses writes in Psalm 90? That's what I'm asking. So the solution for the idol is to work quietly and earn your own living. Does your life match that description? Now let's turn our attention to Paul's solution for the hardworking and obedient Christians. Let's look at verse 13.

25:30For you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. Now, what does Paul mean when he says, do not grow weary in doing good? Well, I think he's got two things in mind. First, don't grow weary of working quietly and earning your own living. I think some of us need to hear this. In this fallen world, there is no such thing as a perfect job, it does not exist. There are better and worse jobs, but there is no perfect job. Every job has downsides, every company and organization is imperfect, every team has conflict. It is just a reality of living in this fallen world after Genesis 3.

26:24So, as a result, we can all grow weary of working quietly and earning our own living. And we can spend a lot of time daydreaming about the job that actually doesn't exist out there that we think will be the perfect job, the solution to all of our problems. And we can unethically spend hours a day at our current job looking for another job. We can all grow weary of working quietly and earning our own living. And it's even harder. When there are people around you, maybe even in the church, who are not doing that, we can think: why do I have to work so hard and devote myself day in and day out to my commute and submitting to my boss and working hard and not being able to mess around while I'm on the job? Why do I have to do that when so many other people seem to be able to be lazy and get by?

27:23So, Paul wants to encourage all of us who are hardworking and obedient not to grow weary of working quietly and earning our own living. But then, secondly, I think that Paul does not want them to grow weary of doing good to those in need. I don't think I have to tell you that many Americans are opposed to helping the homeless. And they're opposed to helping the homeless because they think that all homeless people are unwilling to work. Or because if they receive help of any kind, they're just going to spend it on drugs or alcohol or both.

28:06And so, a lot of Americans have stopped helping all homeless people. Well, friends, Paul does not want that attitude to creep into the church. There are Christians in the church who are unwilling to work, and Paul is going to tell us what to do with those people in just a moment. But that is not true of every Christian in need, and so Paul doesn't want obedience. And hard-working Christians to grow weary of helping those who really need help in the church. So, brothers and sisters, let's receive Paul's encouragement this morning. Working in this fallen world is hard, but it's a critical component to our Christian discipleship. And there are people all around us, even here today, this morning, who really do need our help.

28:58So, let's honor the Lord by not growing weary in doing good, and let's encourage each other in that way. So, that's the first part of Paul's solution. Let's go all the way back to verse 6 for the second part. Now, we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you receive from us. Skip all the way down to verse 14.

29:34If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Now, I think if we're honest, at first glance, this seems pretty harsh. Keep away from any brother walking in idleness. Have nothing to do with them that he may be ashamed? I mean, at first glance, that does not sound like a very Christian-loving thing to do.

30:13But friends, here it is in black and white, in the Word of God for us. God's Word through the Apostle Paul spoken to us. And if we think about this, in fact, this is the most loving thing for us to do. Keeping away from them, having nothing to do with them, so that they feel ashamed and warning them about their behavior is a loving thing to do. Because think of it this way: if they were not in the church, who would take care of them?

30:51What if they were acting like this out in the secular world? What is likely to happen to a person that does not have a support network like the church who has decided to stop working? They are likely to be fired from their job. They might be disowned or disinherited by their family. It is not going to go well for them. It is only because these lazy Christians that Paul is talking about in this letter, it's only because they're a part of the church that they can even do what they're doing.

31:24But because they're living these idle lives, they are dishonoring God. They're contradicting Paul's example and teaching, and they are putting a burden on the church. So, the most loving thing that we can do for them is to warn them, not as enemies, but as brothers. You see the spirit of this disciplinary action in verse 15. Don't think of these people as enemies. This is not for punishment. Think of them as family members who have gone astray and who need discipline.

32:00If you remember back in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul commanded us to admonish the idol. And so here he is putting some skin on that. He's teaching us to flesh out what does it look like to admonish the idol. And he says, What it looks like is warning them and keeping away from them so that they will be, look at this word in the Bible, ashamed. Now, modern people struggle with that because we have been indoctrinated since childhood. That the worst thing that can happen to anybody is that their self-esteem takes a hit. The last thing that you should do to anybody is make them feel shame.

32:49But, friends, God's word is clear that it is shameful to think or to speak or to act. In certain ways, there's no getting around that. God does not exist to make us feel good about ourselves. He is not there to tell us that we are just fine the way that we are. He tells us very clearly in His Word that thinking certain thoughts, saying certain words, and behaving in certain ways is shameful. Since these idle Christians don't seem to understand that, Paul is saying that it is the church's job to be used as instruments in God's hands to make them feel ashamed so that they will repent, so that they will ask for and receive forgiveness, and so they will be restored to God and to those that they are hurting. That is the purpose, is restoration. Friends, listen to me. One of Satan's most effective strategies is getting Christians to believe the lie that being nice to everyone at all times and tolerating all manner of sin is the godly thing to do.

34:18But you need to understand that Jesus was not nice at all times, he was always loving, but he was not always nice. Nobody thought he was nice when he was flipping the tables over in the temple. Nobody thought he was nice when he was rebuking his disciples and calling Peter Satan. Nobody thought he was nice when he was calling the religious leaders a brood of vipers. Those are not nice things to say and do. But that was the most loving thing for him to do.

34:55Sometimes the Lord is willing to take the risk of temporarily hurting our feelings in order to help us in the long run. And every parent, every coach, and every teacher understands that. Sometimes you have to hurt feelings in order to help people in the long run. So, church, Paul's command to all who are obediently working hard is to keep doing it and to lovingly correct those who are not with a view towards restoration. So, let's wrap up now with the final three verses here. Verse 16.

35:35Now, may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine. It is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. I want you to remember that when Paul wrote this letter, there was. A lot going on in the church. These believers were being persecuted for their faith, and some of them had died.

36:08False teachers had come in and were contradicting Paul's teaching. There was confusion about the second coming of Christ. And there were challenges created by sin. All that to say, things were tense and uncertain. And so Paul concludes this divinely inspired letter with these blessings of peace and assurance and grace. In verse 16, he asks the Lord of peace to give them all peace in all times and in every way. Because they were going to need peace to face this ongoing persecution and to live at peace with each other when there was real tension in the church. They could know and experience that kind of peace because they knew peace by knowing Christ through faith.

37:06He continues in verse 17 by giving them assurance that this letter is not a forgery. It is in fact the word of God through the Apostle Paul himself. He has likely dictated the rest of this letter to a scribe who wrote it in his own handwriting. And now Paul takes the quill and he writes this last little part in his own handwriting. And he says, this is how. You can know that this is from me. This is my signature, my autograph that goes at the end of every one of my letters. And so you can be assured that this is not man's opinion. This is the word of God through an apostle to you.

37:45And then he concludes in verse 18: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. And I want to highlight that word, our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Paul was an apostle, he was a chosen messenger to bring God's word to God's people, but he was also a sinner who became a saint by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like everybody to whom he was writing, just like you and me. Sinners who became saints through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his grace.

38:29Friends, it is normal for most people to divide their lives into sacred and secular components. For so many people, their religious life is just one part of their life, and it has nothing to do with any of the other parts. Whatever they do on Saturday night at Mass or Sunday morning at church or when they go to mosque or anything else, whatever that has to do with that part of their life, it does not affect the rest of their lives. That is the way most people live.

39:01But you see, for Christians, that kind of sacred-secular divide is foreign to Scripture because it was foreign to Jesus and his apostles. Christ is Lord of all. He is Lord of the church, and he is Lord of every person that has repented of sin and believed in him through faith. Every part of our lives is to be lived for the glory of God, including our vocations. Our work is a critical component of Christian discipleship, not a hindrance to it.

39:36And so, if you're a believer in Jesus and you've been dividing your life into sacred and secular parts, you need to hear the call this morning to put every part of your life under the Lordship of Christ. And that includes what you do as a Christian in your vocation. We are to work quietly, earn our own living, not grow weary in doing good, and to do it all for the glory of God. If you're here today and you're not yet following Jesus, I hope that you will carefully consider what you've heard this morning, and especially what Paul has written here at the end about grace and peace that come through Jesus Christ.

40:25You see, the Bible confirms what we all know to be true. This world is broken and it does not work the way it's supposed to. We are broken and we don't work the way that we are supposed to. It also confirms that what is broken in us and in our world cannot be fixed by more education, by more scientific advancements, or by more laws. Because we all know intuitively that the problem is so deep and so profound that education and science and government can't touch the heart, the root of the issue. We know that intuitively. The Bible tells us that our problem is sin. It's our rebellion against God and His perfect law, and that the consequence for our sin and rebellion is death and eternal punishment.

41:23But, friends, the Bible doesn't just correctly identify the problem. The Bible correctly reveals God's solution, which is the person and work of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus was sent from God the Father to redeem us from sin's power now and sin's penalty later. He lived his whole life perfectly obedient to God, never sinning, first as a carpenter's apprentice and then later on as a rabbi. He was tempted in every way, just like us, to shirk. His responsibilities at work to sleep in, to be lazy, to do other things other than what he was called to do, and yet, unlike us, he never sinned. Not in his vocation and not in any other part of his life. He claimed and proved to be the Son of God that could actually redeem us from the power and penalty of sin by laying down his life on the cross in our place and by rising again on the third day, victorious over sin and death.

42:34Through faith in his life, death, and resurrection, we receive grace and peace. And so maybe this morning, if you have come to the point where you are tired and worn out and exhausted because you've been looking for grace and peace that the world cannot and will not offer to you, then we urge you to turn to Christ in faith this morning. You will receive grace from him, not just forgiveness for your past sin, but forgiveness for all of your sin.

43:06You will not just be counted righteous in Christ through faith now. One day, when Jesus returns, you will actually be made righteous and have the blessing and joy of spending eternity in the new heavens and the new earth with Christ and with every believer who has ever lived. Friends, the good news of the gospel is that every Every person is going to die one day. We are awake now. We will be asleep then, as the Bible talks about. But if you place your faith in Jesus Christ, whether you are awake or asleep, you will be alive with Christ for eternity. Trust in Him today.

43:52Let's pray, Father, we praise you for the clarity of your word that so clearly reveals your Son Jesus to us and the commands that lead to life rather than death. The commands that lead to blessing rather than cursing. We pray that we would take your word to heart this morning and that we would obey it even when it's hard because you're so clear that obedience brings blessing, and we want to be blessed by you. We pray that any who are here today who are not yet trusting in Christ would put their faith in him and they would begin a new relationship with Jesus. This morning.

45:03Thank you, God, for speaking to us so clearly through 1 and 2 Thessalonians. May we be doers of the Word and not hearers only. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.