Living in the Light of the Lord's Return: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

Read the second chapter of C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.

What is your vision for the Church? In these closing verses of 2 Thessalonians Paul calls us to remember what we are here to build in the light of the Second coming of Christ.

The church in Thessalonica had some problems. Some of the believers had stopped working and become idle thinking Jesus was about to return. Because they had nothing else to do, they ran around spreading panic and putting their noses where they did not belong. Paul refers to them as busybodies. “They had time on their hands and gossip on their lips, but they defended themselves by saying, ‘The Lord is coming soon!’”

This wasn’t the first time that Paul had to address their faulty views of work. Look at verse 10: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’”

Right after starting the church, Paul gave them some guidelines for how to handle those who refuse to work. Then, because Paul’s words were not taken seriously, he stepped it up a notch in his first letter to them in 1 Thessalonians 4:11: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.” Now, just a matter of weeks after receiving the first letter, Paul pens 2 Thessalonians in part to rebuke those who withdrew from the world of work.

So this is now the third time Paul tackled this topic, and each time you can sense the rising intensity.

The Value of Work
The question begs to be asked: Why did he spend so much time talking about work? In fact, the topic of labour takes up almost as much space as the focus on the return of Christ in his letters to the Thessalonians. Before we jump into our passage, Its important that we understand why work is worthy in God’s sight. I am sure some of you can identify with the slogan at Wentworth, “My worst day of golf is better than the best day in the office.” Another one I’ve seen goes like this: “Hard work may not kill me but why take a chance?”

Indira Ghandi once said, “There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group - there is less competition.”

Our culture is pretty confused about work. On the one hand, we have workaholics and on the other there are “workaphobics.” And, in the middle, the majority follow the philosophy of another bumper sticker: “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” Homer, the famous Greek writer, said that the gods hated humans so much that they invented work as a way to punish people. That is not what the Bible says:

God commands us to work. Exodus 20:8-9: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work.” We talk about the importance of rest but we must remember that the command here involves working six days.

God models work for us. Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them…” God is the greatest worker in the universe. The Bible describes His works of creation, judgment and redemption.

Work is part of the creation mandate. Stars shine, plants grow, water does what it is supposed to do, clouds do what they do, and when we work we’re doing what we’ve been designed to do. Psalm 104:23: “Then man goes out to his work, to his labour until evening.” Work is our contribution to God’s amazing creation.

Work is a gift from God. When we labour out of love for our Lord, we put on display the genius of God who created each of us uniquely to reflect His beauty. When we work in concert with Him according to our giftedness and abilities, God is glorified and we’re fulfilled because that’s what He’s made us to do. Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  John Stott captures the essence of work when he writes: “Work is the expenditure of energy (manual or mental or both) in the service of others, which brings fulfilment to the worker, benefit to the community, and glory to God.”

As we come to our text today, it’s important to understand that the Thessalonians were being influenced by three prevailing assumptions about work. Some with Jewish background believed that only those who studied Scripture like the scribes were doing worthy work. They separated the spiritual from the secular. Those from Greek background believed that work was demeaning and belonged only to slaves. They had a superior attitude. And there were some from the Thessalonian congregation that believed work was no longer necessary because Jesus was going to return any moment. As a result, they withdrew from work and became busybodies. This background is helpful in understanding Paul’s passion to promote a biblical theology of labour to this young congregation. Notice five things:

1. Stay away from the idle (2 Thess. 3:6)
Notice Paul uses the Saviour’s full title here to communicate the absolute seriousness of the problem. This is not just Paul’s opinion or suggestion. The word “command” in the Greek comes right at the beginning of verse 6, “We command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” A general would use this word when he gave orders to his troops. The commander-in-chief of the armies of heaven is ordering us to stay away from the idle.
The phrase “keep away” means to abstain or avoid. It was used of furling the sails on a boat. When the wind would come up they would unfurl the sails, or open them up. When the wind died down, they would furl them, or pull them back in. Likewise, we’re to pull back from believers who are “idle,” which is another word from the military world that means to be out-of-step or out of rank. Those who are idle are disorderly and have gone AWOL from their God-given responsibilities. The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about those who are intentionally idle by referring to them as sluggards.

10:26: “As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him.”

19:24: “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!”

26:14: “As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.”  

The aim of this alienation is for the wayward to get back on board. Disfellowship should lead the person back to fellowship. Romans 16:17 echoes this sentiment: “I urge you, brothers, 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.” We’re to pull back for our protection and for their restoration.

2.  Follow the example of hard workers (2 Thess. 3:7-9)

Next Paul appeals to his own example. Along with Silas and Timothy, they modelled “labour and toil,” which literally means, “to work to the point of pain.” They worked hard, not because they weren’t entitled to some support, but because they wanted to give these young Christians a model that they could imitate.

The sluggards, on the other hand, were trying to leach off the church when they should have been working.

3. Work is a responsible thing to do (2 Thess. 3:10-12)

In verse 10, Paul refers back to a maxim that he repeated all the time: “If a person will not work, he shall not eat.” Now, this doesn’t mean that those who can’t work, for one reason or another, shouldn’t eat. He’s referring to those who will not work, to those who are idle even when work is available and they are able.

We should never use this verse to hammer the poor or the unemployed because we often don’t know the whole story. This verse is referring to a small minority of believers who had willingly decided to just live off others and put their noses where they didn’t belong. John Ortberg observes that when you are busy rowing a boat you don’t have time to rock it.

Proverbs 26:17 paints a vivid picture of what can happen when we meddle in matters that shouldn’t matter to us: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.” Busybodies often turn into gossips according to 1 Timothy 5:13: “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.” It’s easy to get into the habit of being idle.

When that happens, being a busybody and passing along gossip can easily become a vocation in itself. Paul has some strong words for those who are in the habit of being idle in verse 12: “Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.” Notice again the use of the word “command” and the full title of Jesus. He’s calling the slacker to mind his own business and to stop flitting around in the lives of others. To “settle down” means to be still or quiet. Work is a wonderful antidote to anxiety and an unbalanced speculation about the return of Christ. We are to work so we can eat. Jesus may come back tomorrow but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go to work in the morning.

One day, Francis of Assisi was hoeing in his garden and was asked what he would do if he knew Jesus was coming back that very day. Do you know what he said? This was his answer: “I’d keep hoeing.”

4. Don’t associate with rebellious people (2 Thess. 3:13-14).
Verse 14 deals with the matter of church discipline, a subject that we strive to take seriously: “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him.

Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.”

These idlers had refused to obey orders and were clearly exhibiting a rebellious spirit. As a result, specific and tough measures were needed. Here are three steps we should take with those who fit within the parameters of our passage for today.

The plan: Take “special note” of those who are disobeying.
The whole church is to take this seriously by keeping an eye on the person who persists in going down a wrong path.

The process: Do not associate with him. They are to watch him so they can avoid him. This verb in the Greek means that they are not to “get mixed up with” or have close associations with a slacker. Likewise, we must be careful to not endorse or enable self-destructive behaviour. Sometimes we need to pull back in order for people to fall down so they will look up.

The purpose: The goal of church discipline must always be restoration. The hope was that the idle individuals would be isolated to the point that they would feel ashamed of their actions which, we pray, will lead to repentance. Some how, we’ve lost the element of shame today, haven’t we? The word itself is distasteful. Literally in the Greek it means to “turn on yourself, to feel what you really are.” While I certainly don’t want to “shame” people when I preach, because many of us are already paralyzed by false shame and guilt, the Bible does declare that we should feel some shame about our sins. Jeremiah 6:15: “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them, says the LORD.”

Properly understood, shame should always lead us to the Saviour. Psalm 83:16: “Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD."

5. Be loving toward other sinners (2 Thessalonians 3:15)

Verse 15 provides us with a much-needed reminder to not be harsh with those who are messing up. Our default setting is to get angry with those who sin differently than we do. Paul recognizes this when he writes: “Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” The offenders are not enemies but fellow believers in the Lord. They are brothers and sisters to be admonished, not enemies to be abused. For we will all appear before the throne of grace. There is only level ground at the foot of the cross.

Conclusion: A Prayer For Peace
Paul concludes with some final words that are very comforting in verse 16: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”

First Thessalonians begins and ends with a focus on peace, and Second Thessalonians does the same. Jesus is the Lord of peace because He is the only one who can bring peace. The phrase “himself” is emphatic, meaning that it is Jesus, and only Jesus who can give us peace. This peace that surpasses all understanding can be experienced “at all times” (continually), and in “every way” (in all circumstances).

This was especially comforting to these believers because they were facing persistent persecution, rumours about the return of Christ, and now they needed to discipline fellow disciples. This reminds us that life is loaded with trouble and circumstances that can easily unsettle us. No matter what you are going through right now, you can have peace at all times and in every way.

Some of us desperately need that kind of peace because we’re caught up in the stress and anxiety of the Christmas season. Others of us are filled with fear. Some of you have friction because of broken relationships. The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always. Notice how peace and His presence are linked together in verse 16: “The Lord of peace himself give you peace…The Lord be with all of you.” Lets pray.

Based on a brilliant sermon entitled, ‘Being Busy for Christ’ by Brian Bill from www.sermoncentral.com