2 Thessalonians 3:13-18

Living with Hearts Set on God (Part 2)

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on June 21, 2020 at Beacon Church

The very first church I served as a pastor hired me for a ministry guaranteed to fail. An old, declining church in Vancouver brought me on as Pastor of Outreach. We lived in the manse next door and Heather and I threw ourselves into neighbourhood outreach. We led Bible studies for believers and Christianity Explored supper studies out of our home for unbelievers—and we had lots of people come out to those events. I practiced speaking Hebrew with a Jewish man who lived across the street, and talked about the Talmud and the Gospel with him; I started learning Mandarin so I could speak with the many Chinese in the area; we helped lead an ESL group out of the church building; Heather and I even recruited our nephews and some friends to help put on the most awesome Vacation Bible School I’m sure that neighbourhood had ever seen! But nothing worked. Hardly anybody who attended our Sunday service ever came back. One day, my Mandarin teacher, a man I was discipling, told me why: he explained that the members of the church are like windows people look through to see what it’s like on the inside. And a couple of the prominent church members made for very poor windows. We knew there were some problems; some long-lasting problems that had been there for decades. But the disease inside the church was never fixed. My friend from China wasn’t yet a Christian and had never been to any other church. But he could see it was not healthy on the inside.

These letters, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, were written to a church in Thessalonica, Greece, a church planted by Paul and his two missionary partners. The church had only existed for a couple of months when the number of new converts made the local synagogue angry. Acts 17:5 records what happened: “But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason (where they were staying), seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” They mob insulted, accused, and slandered these new Christians. FF Bruce noted that “membership in a Christian church in a pagan city imposed serious obligations. Christians were an unpopular minority…” and he pointed out how their enemies used whatever dirt they could find to give them a bad name.[i] Doesn’t this sound a lot like the year 2020? People are going to complain about Christians and about our church. People are going to accuse Christian churches of all sorts of things—we should not make it easier for them; we should not hand them ammunition to use against the name of Jesus.  

The kind of church honours Jesus can only exist when all its members set their hearts on God. That’s what the writers of 2 Thessalonians, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, prayed for this church in verse 5: May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. Last week we learned about some of the members in that church who gave Jesus a bad name: Christians with disorderly lives, contrary to the Gospel, and disobedient to the teaching of the apostles, refusing to work hard and living in a way that even unbelievers in their city would despise. In verse 12, Paul commands them to work hard and live quiet lives—quiet means as far as the city goes, they need to be peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Wouldn’t it be great if people in Victoria had nothing bad to say about Beacon Church?—if the only things they could accuse us of or complain about were things that honoured Jesus? Don’t you wish all the members of our church were the kind of windows that made people on the outside want to come inside? In these last verses in 2 Thessalonians, Paul puts before the Thessalonians three things you will find in a church where everybody’s hearts are set on God.

You will find correction

13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.  14 If 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.  15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.  (2 Thess. 3:13-15 ESV)

Paul’s prayer in verse 5, that the Lord would direct their hearts to God’s love and Christ’s steadfastness, is the reason for their confidence in verse 4, that the Thessalonian Christians were doing and would keep doing what these missionaries had taught them. A heart set on God = a Christian who obeys God. So when Paul says, in verse 13, “do not grow weary of doing good” he’s warning them not to let their hearts drift away from God. “Grow weary of doing good” is just two words in Greek—and it’s a play on words contrasting bad with doing good that gets lost in translation--but it’s literally like, “do not, by acting badly, stop doing good.”[ii] The same word “grow weary” or “act badly” is used 5 other times in the Bible, always to drive home the point that for Christians to do our duty means we need to keep our hearts on God. In the ESV, most of these verses translate it as “losing heart”—because the only way to not “act badly” is to keep our hearts set on God:

·         Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not act badly. (2 Cor. 4:1)

·         as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God so we do not act badly. (2 Cor. 4:15-16)

·         in [Christ Jesus our Lord] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to act badly (Eph. 3:12-13)

But here’s my favourite: a parable Jesus told to make the point that if you believe God is righteous and just, then to quit praying is to act badly—[Luke 18:1-8] my paraphrase:

In a certain city there was a corrupt judge. And there was a widowed, single mom who had been the victim of a crime but had never had justice. She kept going to the judge, asking to be heard but she got no justice from him. And so she took her protest public. She demonstrated outside his courtroom until finally he got tired of her. He said to himself, “I don’t believe in God, I don’t care about her, but to get her off my back I’ll give her justice.”

And here is Jesus in his own words,

6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.  7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk. 18:6-8 ESV)

The point of Jesus’ story, Luke explained in Lk 18:1, is that we should “always pray and not lose heart”—or “act badly”—as long as our hearts are set on God we cry to him night and day, we plead with Him for justice to come to this earth, and though justice on earth is an empty, hollow, unsatisfying dream that slips from our hands when it is found, Jesus is coming again and will bring everlasting justice when He comes. But in the meantime, the way Paul uses that word, “do not act badly/lose heart/grow weary of doing good,” (13) is a call for Christians to never let sin find a place to hide in the local church. And this we can do, if our hearts are set on God.

A local church where hearts are set on God is a community in which you will find something better than blame and condemnation—you will find correction.

14 If 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.  15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. (2 Thess. 3:14-15 ESV)

Did you notice that this command is not for the disobedient, idle church members, but for the obedient good church members? “As for you brothers…” (13). But this is hard. If you don’t have your heart set on God you will find a lot of reasons to disobey God’s command through Paul in verses 6 and 13:

·         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 received from us. (2 Thess. 3:6 ESV)

·         As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. (2 Thess. 3:13 ESV)

This is about what is usually called “church discipline.” We were talking about this in our elders’ team meeting on Thursday, about how it is rare to see churches today practice church discipline (even though it is commanded here and in other passages of the New Testament) and it is even more rare to see a church discipline one of its members well, in a way that is biblical and loving. I’ve been involved in a half-dozen or so occasions of church discipline, as a lay elder, associate pastor, and senior pastor. And I’ve made a bunch of mistakes in how I’ve handled this. It’s hard to do this when we fear how people will react; it’s hard to do it well. It takes courageous love; it takes wisdom and prayer. I can think of lots of reasons to not do what “you brothers” are told to do here. But I can only think of one reason to do it: God. Please, let’s work this out and see—is Paul really saying that if, like verse 5, the Lord directs our hearts to His love and steadfastness, if our hearts are set on God like that, then it means that one of the ways we will keep on “doing good” (13) is by being people who give and receive church discipline?

Well first, Paul tells us what to do and then he tells us what not to do. What kind of sin requires corrective church discipline? Paul here says it’s when a member refuses to obey “what we say in this letter” (14). They’ve said a lot of things in this letter and any disobedience to an Apostle of Jesus Christ is a problem. But Paul has something specific in mind. He’s talking about the “brother walking in idleness” (v6)—someone who is atoktos, disorderly, disobedient, insubordinate to Christian teaching. Look at verse 11: he’s talking about those he’s heard about who are still “walking in idleness”—still refusing to work for his living and mind his own business. I said “still” because this is not the first time Paul has addressed this particular sin in this particular church. This is not a new problem. This is not the first time these idle church members have been shown the error of their ways and given a chance to repent. This is not sudden: this command for the rest of “you brothers” to now do something about the way some of their members were giving Jesus a bad name should not be totally unexpected.

In the previous letter, Paul confronted those who were already refusing to do what the church leaders told them to do, and then tells the whole church to help give correction to their disobedient brothers who refused to get a job.

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,  13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.  14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle… (1 Thess. 5:12-14a ESV)

Now in verse 11, Paul says they have heard these members still refuse to obey. This second letter is their last chance. If they refuse what the apostle of Jesus commands in this letter, it’s time to take church discipline to the next level: “If 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,” (2 Thess. 3:14 ESV). All of “you brothers” (13) are to take note of whoever still refuses to obey, and then to “have nothing to do with them” (as the ESV puts it). This does not mean cross the street when you see them coming, or if it is one of your kids, to kick them out of your home. The word is literally “mix-together-with” and if you’d like an illustration of what it means, in 1 Cor 5, Paul gives one: Saccharomyces cerevisiae—a.k.a. baker’s yeast, leaven.

In ancient times you would mix flour meal and water and let it sit out in the sun long enough for the yeast to multiply and infect the whole lump of dough.[iii] It’s wonderful for baking bread and brewing beer, but it is by nature a microbial fungus. In 1 Cor 5:6, Paul says, “do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.” Then in verse 9 he uses our word, saying “do not mix-together-with sexually immoral people” in the church. The people of Christ are called to be a holy, local community—people whose hearts are set on God, who are being sanctified and changed by the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit. So this command in verse 14, “do not mix together with them” is about the sacred ways Christians worship and fellowship and share the Lord’s Supper—com+union as a com+unity. And when a brother in the church refuses to repent and obey the Scripture, Paul says in 1 Cor 5:11, “…I am writing to you to not mix-together-with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—do not eat with such a one.” In other words, as he explains in 1 Cor 5, if such a brother refuses to obey Christ, do not allow him to think you and he have Jesus in common. If you work with him you can still work with him, if you live with him you can still live with him, if you play hockey with him you can still play hockey with him. But you must not act like you are united together by the same faith in Christ. Why? “…that he may be ashamed” …of how he is treating His Lord and Saviour.

Then Paul tells the Thessalonians what not to do: “do not regard him as an enemy but warn him as a brother.” If your heart is set on God, your heart must be ruled by love for God and for those whom God loves—your brothers and sisters in Christ. The purpose of this corrective church discipline is not to amputate but to heal; not to cut-off but to reclaim; not to punish but to preserve. The goal of the tough love of correction and church discipline is to win back the brother or sister you love so that he or she once again sets her heart on the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.

There’s a tower in the city of Thessaloniki today, called the “white tower.” It’s pictured on the graphic for this sermon series. But it used to be called “the red tower.” It was called the Red Tower because of countless victims the Ottomans tortured and killed there. When Greece took back Thessalonica in 1912, they painted the tower white “as a symbolic gesture of cleansing.”[iv] You can’t do that with churches. You can’t paint over the windows. A church that hides evil inside, that covers over sin, that fails to confront and correct members who refuse to obey Jesus, is a church that does not have their hearts set on God; a church that is profoundly dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first thing you will find in a church where everybody’s hearts are set on God is correction. The second thing you will find is peace.

You will find peace

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all,” (2 Thess. 3:16 ESV). Paul prays that “the Lord of Peace himself” will give the Thessalonian church this peace—as they take steps to lovingly discipline and warn their brothers who have gone astray. So the peace Paul prays for is not passivity, it’s not indulgent tolerance of sin, it’s not avoiding confrontation—it’s strong, powerful, Christ-like peace. In fact, the grammar in the original shows that the peace Paul prays this church will have is none other than the peace that belongs to the Lord Jesus. Paul prays, “may the Lord of Peace himself” give you this peace—the peace He gives, He gives in person, by His presence in and among the members of the local church. It is his peace—a peace He enjoys, a peace He has earned, a peace He empowers, a peace only He can give. It’s the peace Psalm 85 longs for:

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. (Ps. 85:8-10 ESV)

It’s the peace Moses prayed for Israel, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."  (Num. 6:24-27 ESV)

It is Jesus’ own personal peace that Jesus gives to His own people; that Jesus gives to those who submit to the leading and instruction of the Holy Spirit, to the teaching of His apostles who speak and teach us in Jesus’ name; a peace that upholds us through upheaval.

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (Joh 14:25)

In a church where everybody’s hearts are set on God you will find correction, you will find peace, and finally, you will find assurance.

You will find assurance from Jesus Himself

17 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.  18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.   (2 Thess. 3:17-1:1 ESV)

Several weeks ago we saw in chapter 2 that the Christians in this church in Thessalonica had been shaken and disturbed by some really bad teaching about the end times. In verse 2, Paul refers to a letter claiming to be from him. But Paul is an apostles of Jesus Christ. He is a spokesperson for the Lord, who wrote these letters in the New Testament Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that every word of these Scriptures is a word from the mouth of God. When you and I obey what the apostles of Jesus write in the Scripture, when our hearts are set on God—his love and the steadfastness of Jesus our Saviour and Lord—it does not make us unstable; it does not shake us from our faith and confidence in Him; it does not take away our peace. The writings that are truly from Jesus, through an authentic apostle, inspired by the Spirit of God, are writings that uphold us through anything. That’ why Paul ends this letter with something like his personal signature—but back then they didn’t just sign their name. It was normal to dictate a letter to a scribe or secretary but then to add a bit at the end in their own handwriting. And Paul adds his own handwriting at the end of this letter to prove this letter is really from him: “this is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine” (17). So that, when he says, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,” it is so much more than a formality; it is so much more than a wish: it is a word from the Lord of Peace Himself, a promise from the mouth of Jesus by the Spirit of God through the pen of His apostle, that He will never leave us or forsake us; that Lo! He will be with us to the end of the Age. That His peace will be with us—at all times in every way—(v16) because of the fact of His omnipotent, steadfast, lovingkindness and grace: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with us.

What about you and me? Can we be a church where every heart is set on God? Do you need to change what your heart has been set on lately? Is your heart set on the love of God? Is your heart set on the steadfastness of Christ Jesus? Because if you walk the rest of your days with your heart set on God, you will not only give loving and brotherly correction to others in Beacon Church, you will invite others to correct you too. If your heart is set on God, you will enjoy the presence and the peace of the Lord, but also peace with your brothers and sisters in our church. If your heart is set on God, you will have a strong assurance that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you now and forever. If our hearts are set on God in our church, we won’t be perfect, but our windows will be beautiful.