Addendum to last weeks sermon; dealing with deception is online
While you are finding the passage of Scripture in your Bibles, let me refresh your memories as to the theme of the whole epistle. We’ve been calling it; 3 Debilitating conditions in the Church; Discouragement, Deception, and Disobedience.
It’s interesting that this second letter deals with things in the church at Thessalonica that can render them powerless; because remember that when we studied Paul’s first letter, we called it; “The Church as it is supposed to be.”
The church at Thessalonica was a church which was held up as an example, in the first letter, of what a church is supposed to look like.
And remember what they were like? They were a people of encouragement, self-sacrifice, joy, clarity, work, unity and growth. So, they were an example for us, and for other churches through the ages since.
But now we have described in this letter 3 debilitating conditions; Discouragement, Deception, and Disobedience, that are rearing their ugly heads in the church.
That just goes to show you that we have to be ever vigilant. A great church, a church that God is blessing, a church that is on fire for God’s will, will be the immediate target of Satan. He will look for everyone’s weaknesses, and attack them. And collectively, those conditions, or call them what they are, “sins” can suck the life from a church.
Well, we looked at Discouragement in chapter 1, Deception in chapter 2, and now we look at Disobedience in chapter 3.
2 Thessalonians 3 6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which [a]he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread [b]free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and [c]exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this [d]epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but [e]admonish him as a brother.
prayer
There were some people in the Thessalonian church who were disobeying the Word of God. And not only were they involved in private sins, which is bad enough, they were involving other members of the church, and directly disobeying the specific instruction of the apostle Paul on the matter.
That kind of flagrant sinfulness in the church, especially if it involves other church members, and is a kind of “in your face” disobedience toward church leadership, can tear a church apart, and bring its power to its knees.
Why is it able to do that? Because the power of the church is from the Holy Spirit, and when you grieve the Holy Spirit, His power is quenched.
DISOBEDIENCE
Elisabeth Elliot, at Urbana 76, told of her brother Thomas Howard. Their mother let him play with paper bags she'd saved if he put them away afterwards. One day she walked into the kitchen to find them strewn all over the floor. Tom was out at the piano with his father singing hymns. When confronted, he protested, "But Mom, I want to sing." His father stated, "It's no good singing God's praise if you're disobedient."
And there is a lot of truth in that statement. We can gather for “church,” sing, and go to Sunday School, give the right hand of fellowship to other believers; but if we are living in disobedience, it’s no good; the Christian work we are doing is no good; it’s powerless.
So, today we are going to start looking at chapter 3 of 2nd Thessalonians, about the disobedience that was occurring in their church. And just like the other 2 debilitating conditions, we don’t want to just study them as some sort of church museum exhibit; saying, “Well isn’t that interesting what they went through.” We want to learn from what happened to them.
And I think that our learning comes in two forms; first we can learn from the particular sin, or disobedience. Here some were not working; they were freeloading off of other church members. And the second way we can learn is by looking at how Paul dealt with the disobedient. And that gives us a guide as to how to approach people in our own church who may be disobedient.
III. Disobedience (3:1-15)
So, first, what was going on in the church of Thessalonica?
A. What’s the problem in Thessalonica?
Clues in the passage
6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which [a]he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread [b]free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
What’s going on here? There are people who are not working. They are sponging off of other believer’s charity. Now, we have some understanding of this. We know that the early church did a lot more to support some of its members than we do. And there was a reason for that. First, there were some who were unable to work and provide for themselves, particularly widows. And the church in the book of Acts set up a system to ensure that they ate every day. They had their needs, that they were unable to meet, met.
And they were doing things for people that we’ve never had to do. Why? Because their society didn’t have all the safety nets in place that ours does. They didn’t have Social Security, and retirement accounts, and disability payments from the government. Family was expected to care for their own; but when there was no family, the church stepped in. And they provided the basic necessities of life. We really need to try and put ourselves in the setting of this first century church.
The first thing I thought about in regard to that was the question, “What did it take to live a typical life then compared to now?” Today we have so many things in our lives that are add-ons. In order for me to live a typical life, I have to pay the mortgage, taxes, electric, gas, water, garbage, and other things, fuel and maintenance for vehicles, on top of groceries. If I don’t pay them, I’m on the road to homelessness.
But, in the first century, it really was just the basic necessities; food, clothing, and shelter. They had no electric, gas, phone, vehicle maintenance, maybe no mortgage if your hut or stone dwelling is complete. So, the people the church was providing for had two conditions; they were unable to provide for themselves, and they were deprived of the very basic necessities. They weren’t asking the church to pay their cable bill.
I still remember an incident at the very start of my time as pastor at 1st Baptist Mound Valley. It was the afternoon of the Sunday of the first business meeting I was to moderate. And one of the women of the church came to our house and asked me to ask the church to pay her son’s electric bill. I didn’t know her, and I didn’t know her son. But, I’m a new pastor, I don’t know any better. First off, I should have applied a couple of principles. The first charitable obligation of the church is to its members; he wasn’t a member. And second, I didn’t inquire about his ability to work and pay his own bill. And third, I believe that the church has to try and limit its charity to basic necessities. This young man would not die without electricity.
But I went to the meeting, and at the appropriate time, I read her request. The room got stone cold silent for what felt like minutes, but was probably just seconds. Then, from the back of the room, the voice of one of the senior adult ladies spoke up. She said, verbatim, “I believe the Bible says, if you will not work, you should not eat.” She quoted the passage we are studying now. And, with that, the discussion was over.
And the church in Thessalonica had that phrase in their teaching from Paul. “remember, I told –verse 10.
But, they were dealing with a dilemma. They knew the principles of Christian charity. They knew what Paul had said. But the problem was compounded by some other beliefs and principles.
They believed in Christian/jewish hospitality came in. Remember the story of the two angels visiting Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament? This story has always fascinated me. Abraham is sitting outside his tent door, and he sees 3 strange men. And he immediately goes and greets them. And he has food prepared. Sarah bakes bread, a calf is butchered and roasted. And I’m thinking, “Why is Abraham doing this for 3 strangers?” Well part of it was, I believe he realized these were no ordinary men, they were 2 angels, and the Lord himself, manifested as men. But part of the reason that he did it was because their culture lived by a code of hospitality. It was an obligation to entertain strangers.
The closest comparison I can make to our society is what used to be in the south in our country. Maybe it still is, I don’t know. But in the south, Texas and Alabama, in my experience, if someone knocked on your door, a friendly person, someone you knew, you invited them in. It was an unwritten rule of hospitality. You then followed another unwritten rule of hospitality; you offered them a drink.
Well, in the first century church, and society, if a friendly knocked on your door, you invited them in, gave them a drink, and even felt an obligation to feed them. You might even let them stay in your home.
So, some people in the church were just “visiting” other members, at meal-time, every day. Maybe they were even taking advantage of the guest bedroom for long periods of time.
What kind of people would do that? Again, we need to understand the mindset of the first century world.
Something interesting is happening when these people are “visiting” other church members. Paul says,
11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
They are going from house to house, they are “busybodies.”
The word “busybodies” in the Greek is an interesting one. It means to be over-busy. In short, it describes someone who is busying themselves in all sorts of things, but not the important things, or the things they should have. They are going about being over busy with useless things.
1 Timothy 5:13 13 And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
Now, if we put that together with some of the other things happening in the church of Thessalonica, we can get a picture of what might have been happening. Remember that in 1st Thessalonians there were people over worried about whether their loved ones who had died, had missed the return of Christ. And in 2nd Thessalonians, someone was running around, purporting to have information indicating that the Day of the Lord had come. And they were upsetting people.
So, I think a good understanding of what is happening is that there are people who have quit working, who are busily flitting from one house to the next, at meal-times, to sit on the couch and spin tales about the end times and the return of Christ. I keep seeing, in my head, the matchmaker from “Fiddler on the Roof” going from house to house. “True? True.” They may have even presented themselves as teachers, or “rabbis.” And that would have compounded the problem. Why?
Because a false doctrine had made its way into Jewish theology. The idea that there are two kinds of professions in this life; the sacred and the profane. The idea is that rabbis and religious teachers, scribes, and priests are doing “God’s work,” and everyone else who does manual labor is doing profane, or the dirty work.
Again, I can’t help but be reminded of “Fiddler on the Roof” where Tevia, a lowly farmer in conversation with God, asks Him why he has to work so hard, if it would have been so bad if he were born a rich man. And, in song, this is what he said he would do “if he were a rich man.”
"Dear God, you made many, many poor people.I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor.But it's no great honor either!So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?" If I were a rich man,Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.If I were a wealthy man.I wouldn't have to work hard.…. The most important men in town would come to fawn on me!They would ask me to advise them,Like a Solomon the Wise."If you please, Reb Tevye...""Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!…. If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lackTo sit in the synagogue and pray.And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.That would be the sweetest thing of all.
So, Rabbis were elevated as though they were more holy. They should not be required to stoop to manual labor, they are doing “God’s work.” Spreading the Word of Christ.
Now, we have to be careful here. It is an ideal condition in the church, if a pastor/teacher can dedicate himself entirely to the work of the Church. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is what a church strives for, to support a full-time pastor.
But that was not these people. These people took that role on themselves. They said, “We can’t stoop to farming, or digging, or labor, we’re doing God’s work.” And they were managing to live, and get their meals, by taking advantage of other Christian’s hospitality, charity, and beliefs about “God’s work.”
And this idea about manual labor was not just in the Jewish world. The people of Thessalonica were mostly Gentiles. And in the Gentile world there was also this dualistic philosophy; a division between sacred and profane. Most of the Gentile world were slaves. A small percentage were free people. And one thing we learn from the history of the 1st century world is that free people didn’t work, slaves worked. Free people were above physical labor. It’s not that foreign of an idea to us. When America was founded, Captain Smith wrote about the problem in Jamestown; that some of the upper crust who came from England refused to do manual labor, it was beneath them.
And remember that in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the whole idea behind monasteries was that society should support monks and nuns who would dedicate themselves to the sacred work of prayer and studying Scripture. Sacred work was higher. Secular work was base, banal, even worthless. So, the lower classes supported the higher work of the upper classes.
It made its way into the church. Martin Luther hated this designation of the clergy and the laity.
But, just to be clear, and this is where we will conclude today. This was not, and is not a Biblical theology. In Christianity there is no difference in value, before God, between sacred and secular. They are equally valuable before God. Yes, the early church tried to support people like Paul, Silas, and Timothy so they could dedicate more time to spreading the message of Christ. But it wasn’t that Paul, or the others said that manual labor was beneath them, or “dirty work.” They did not demand or force churches to support them. Quite the opposite; Paul says in this letter, “7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread [b]free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.”
Let me share some Scriptures about the value of hard manual work. Hard manual work is as holy before the Lord as preaching the Word. The heroes of the Bible were manual laborers.
Creation began with God doing work.
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Adam was given work to do, before the curse. He was to tend the garden.
Joseph worked in the house of Potiphar in Egypt.
The 4th commandment was to rest from work on the 7th day of the week. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, Which means that the other 6 days were reserved for what? Work. The 4th commandment is not only a commandment to rest, it is a commandment to work.
Do you know who Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah was?
Exodus 31:2-4 2“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, Wow, that sounds great! Was he a prophet? Or a preacher? An expositor of the Word of God? no 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze,
He was a metal worker, designing the workmanship for the tabernacle. He worked with his hands in hard physical labor, and it tells us here that he was inspired by the Spirit of God.
Did you know that most of the priests in God’s Levitical system in Judaism were basically glorified butchers? Most of them didn’t spend their days studying the Scripture. They were butchering animals and roasting them on the altar.
The heroes of the faith in the book of judges were first soldiers.
The love story of the book of Ruth is about a young girl who went out to work every day with the harvesters of grain, in the field of Boaz, a farmer, who becomes a type of the Christ like kinsman redeemer.
Abraham, Isaac, Israel, were shepherds. David was a shepherd before he become the soldier king. And when he got into the greatest sin of his life was when he stayed home from work one day.
Ezra and Nehemiah were famous for building a building and a wall.
Proverbs is full of warnings about being lazy, not working.
He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.
She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
Most of the Old Testament prophets had day jobs. They did not live out of the offering plate.
And the greatest hero of the faith; Jesus. We often talk about Jesus as a preacher who was completely supported by others who took care of His, and His disciples needs during His 3 year ministry. But we must remember that before Jesus was a preacher for 3 years, for at least 20 years, He labored as a carpenter, or as more recent study indicate, as a builder or bricklayer. Thus, He sanctified both manual labor and labor in the Word.
They are both of equal value before God.
In the 1600s, there lived a monk named Brother Lawrence whose job was dishwashing. He learned a profound truth that God's presence could be experienced even in the grind of daily, routine work. "For me," he wrote, "the time of activity does not differ from the time of prayer…in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling together for as many different things, I possess God in as great a tranquility as when upon my knees at the blessed Sacrament." He found no urgency for retreats, because in his mundane tasks, he met the same God he loved and worshiped as in the stillness of the desert.
Colossians 3:23-24 exhorts us: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (NIV).
Oswald Chambers summed it up well: "God comes into our mortal flesh and we do our ordinary work, in an ordinary setting, among ordinary people, as we would do it for Him."