2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

Living with Hearts Set on God (Part 1)

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on June 14, 2020 at Beacon Church

I once was lost, but now I'm found; I once was lost, but now I'm found; So far away, but I'm home now; I once was lost, but now I'm found…

I once was blind, but now I see; I once was blind, but now I see; I don't know how, but when He touched me; I once was blind, but now I see…

I once was dead, but now I live; I once was dead, but now I live; Now my life to You I give…[i]

Our text begins in verse 6, but verse 5 was a prayer that the Lord would direct the hearts of believers to the “love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” That’s how Christians should live: with hearts set on God. Always. That’s how Christians live. That’s how Christians grow. That’s how Christians change. You can’t be a Christian if you refuse to let God change you. Living things grow. Dead things stay the same. “I once was dead, but now I live; now my life to you I give…” That’s the song of a heart set on God. And a heart set on God, then, is a heart that belongs to God; that accepts His correction, His rebuke, His discipline; that repents when areas of our lives reveal again that we still need to have our hearts directed to God’s love and the trustworthiness of Jesus. The Gospel of grace that saves our souls and reconciles us to God never leaves us stagnating in our sin. The Gospel makes believers live. And grow. Even when that growth is painful.

In these verses in 2 Thessalonians 3, the two commands Paul gives call you to repent from ever covering up sin in the church, or using the Gospel as an excuse to justify sin in your own life. In verse 6, Paul starts with a command for the whole church; in verses 7-9, he reminds them of the example they had set for them when they lived with them; in verses 10-12, he levels a second command at those in the church who were way out of line.

The Gospel Is Not A License To Sin

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)

The first command here is in verse 6, and it’s to everyone in the church. It’s everybody listening to this letter read out-loud that first time when one of the elders stood up on Sunday and said, “we’ve received a letter from Paul!” And as these lines were read out loud, everybody squirmed in their seats. Imagine how quiet it probably got. Somebody in the back clears their throat. A bench squeaks as someone leans forward. Not only does Paul address this command to everyone, he says it comes all the way from the Top. “…in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ...” Paul speaks here in his office as an authorized Apostle and representative of Jesus Christ, that he is writing in the knowledge that these words were coming from the Holy Spirit of God. By now, everybody was beginning to sweat as they squirmed.

The specific command, from the Lord Jesus Christ, was, “to keep away from any brother walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” I can imagine them all squirming and sweating in their seats, and maybe staring at the ones they think Paul is talking about. Paul is saying they were tolerating people in their church who claimed to be followers of Jesus but whose lives were out of step with what they had been taught; out of sync with the Gospel. If it seems to you that Paul is being too harsh here on people whose only transgression was “idleness,” being a bit lazy, wait: it gets worse.

The word in verse 6, translated here as “idleness,” is atoktos, translated in the KJV as “disorderly” and in the NASB as “unruly.” It literally means “out of line,” “disordered,” or “insubordinate.”[ii] The same basic word is repeated in verse 7 and 11. It’s to play outside the rules; to say the rules don’t apply to you. When someone is guilty of “disorderly conduct” or “disturbing the peace”, that’s atoktos. When a soldier disregards a direct order, that’s atoktos. So look at verse 6 again: the command is to keep away from a brother who is “not in accord with the tradition you received from us”—some were disregarding, disobeying, what the apostles taught, (the “tradition”) saying those rules don’t apply to them; they weren’t willing to follow the apostles’ teaching. I think some translations go with “idleness” because Paul focuses on work in these verses. But atoktos is a way deeper problem than being lazy. In verse 6, it’s so serious that Paul says this command comes from the Lord Jesus: stay away from disorderly, insubordinate brothers.

Does that still seem harsh? Is it really that big a deal if a few in the church disregard the instructions they received from the apostles of Christ? If a few free spirits colour outside the lines, walk to the beat of a different drum? I was out driving into town one dark night, when I was about 17, and something up ahead caught my eye in the dark—I stared and suddenly realized it was a car. With no headlights on. Driving full speed. On the wrong side of the highway. In my lane. Straight toward me. That’s atoktos. One disorderly driver can do a lot of damage to others who have to share the road with him. One disorderly Christian whose life is “not in accord” with Christian teaching is more dangerous than a car in the wrong lane: dangerous to the unity of the whole community; to the peace and happiness of the fellowship; to those who might follow a disorderly example—not because we all have to be automatons who act like robots with no free will—but because disregarding the instructions of the Lord teaches others to disregard the authority and lordship of the Lord. Then, what does that do to the reputation of the Gospel? When outsiders see that even Christians don’t take Jesus seriously? “…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (2 Pet. 2:1-2 ESV)

When the Thessalonian church sat there, squirming, sweating, and maybe trying not to stare each other, at the people they knew, brothers and sisters they worshiped with, suffered with, and prayed with, the integrity of the whole church was at stake; the credibility of the Gospel was at stake. If the church turns a blind eye to some sin, doesn’t that contradict the Gospel itself, that sin is so serious Jesus had to die to ransom us from it? This first command, “keep away from any brother who is walking [out of line],” means you and I cannot, must not, cover up a pattern of unrepentant sin in our church. To do so is to contradict our Christian message.

The Gospel Is Not Just Theory

7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,  8 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.  9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. (2 Thess. 3:7-9 ESV)

In order to show how some Christians in Thessalonica were out of step, Paul reminds them how they had given them an example, had shown them how to follow in their footsteps. I recently started teaching Shelden to drive stick-shift. And he’s a natural. But this is one of those times when I’m reminded that some kinds of learning take practice. You can tell a guy how to let the clutch out while putting the gas down but that doesn’t mean he’s ready. I’ll bet you didn’t know a Kia Rio can squeal its tires? I am glad, though, that I showed him how to do it a few times before I let him try.

In verse 7, the way Paul says “you yourselves know” means they had learned how important it was to learn by following the examples they were shown (7a). Jesus showed His disciples how to live; His Apostles passed that example on to the churches they planted. That’s called discipleship. Mentoring. Passing on not just the message of Christ but the manner of His life. Literally, “how it is necessary to imitate us”. Heather and I were out for a drive with Jamez and Arnold the other day—Jamez is 3 and Arnold is 2—and Arnold got upset about something and started crying. Jamez leaned over in his carseat and said, “It’s okay Arnold. It’s okay…” It is normal and necessary for children to imitate their parents—and sometimes it’s super cute. But this is how we learn, how we are trained, how we mature: by following the pattern, the example of Christians who’ve been following Christ longer than us, who are more mature and progressing in the faith. The “tradition” they passed on to the Thessalonians is another way of referring to the teaching and training Paul had received from the other Apostles who had been taught and trained by Jesus Himself! This “tradition” is what Paul elsewhere described as, “I delivered to you …what I also received…” (1 Cor. 15:3 ESV)

Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy, when they planted that church, had taught the Thessalonian converts not just what to believe but how to live in Christ. In verse 7 he’s telling them to recall and remember that what they had been taught was fleshed out in how their teachers conducted their business, did their work, and lived their lives when they were with them. Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy were not insubordinate to Jesus. How so? (v8) They were not parasites sponging off of others; they say they didn’t “eat anyone’s bread” but that’s a cultural figure of speech for a lot more than bread[iii]—they didn’t rely on others for housing, for groceries, for money. What did they do? What example did these missionaries set for the people who were just discovering what it means to live life as a follower of Jesus? They worked hard: “day and night”—this could mean that, like when Paul was in Corinth, when he ran into a Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla, as Acts 18:3 says, “because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath…” Saying they worked night and day probably means they made their living during the day and preached and taught at night. Why would they do that? (v8c) “that we might not be a burden to any of you.”

They had the right though: “It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate,” (2 Thess. 3:9 ESV). In 1 Tim 5:17, Paul gave instruction for Timothy to teach the church that elders who rule well and work hard in preaching and teaching deserve “double honour”, that the worker deserves his wages. But when they were in Thessalonica, Paul felt it was more important to set them an example of how followers of Christ are to live and work hard as productive members of a society like in the secular, Greek city of Thessalonica. So Paul gave his first command, in verse 6, then an example to follow, in verses 7-9. The first command Paul gave calls you to repent from ever covering up sin in the church, the second command calls you to never use the Gospel as an excuse to justify your own sin.

The Gospel Is Not Antisocial

10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.  11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.  12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thess. 3:10-12 ESV)

Webster’s second definition of the word “antisocial” is “hostile or harmful to organized society.”[iv] One of the important topics that apparently kept coming up, when Paul and these men first brought the Gospel to Thessalonica was about work. They had taught them about work when they were there; they had written about it in their previous letter; now they bring it up again. This was an issue in that church.  In their previous letter, Paul wrote, “we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one,” (1 Th 4:10b-12). This wasn’t just about how Christians need to live “in accordance” with the Gospel inside the community of believers, but also “before outsiders” in how they “live quietly,” “mind their own affairs,” and “work with their hands.” It’s about how they fit into society in a beneficial, productive way. “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat,” (2 Thess. 3:10 ESV). This proverb applies everywhere in the world. It’s based on Genesis 3:19, where God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread…” Listen, there is no excuse to be collecting unemployment while spending most of your time playing video games. Get a job. Support yourself, or at least do everything you can to not be a burden on anyone else or on society.

Verse 11 has a clever, classic, Apostle-Paul style play on words: the ESV says some of them, the ones who “walk in atoktos”, disorderly, insubordination to the Gospel, were “not busy at work, but busybodies”—or you could say, “not working but always worked up about something.” Sometimes this word “busybody” means a meddler, someone who sticks their noses into other people’s business. (I know some of you are thinking Paul has just described the government but no, he’s talking about people who are in that church, who still claim to be followers of Christ even though they have probably not worked a day in their lives, lives that show no resemblance to the work ethic of Jesus, or of His apostles—except perhaps to Judas.) And this has nothing to do with individuals who cannot work; it’s about those who refuse to work.

Finally, in verse 12, when the whole church was squirming, sweating, and trying not to stare, Paul now directly calls out the ones who were out of line, atoktos. “Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living,” (2 Thess. 3:12 ESV). Notice two things: a) This is the second command. In verse 6 the command was for the whole congregation. In verse 10 it was a reminder about the command they gave in the past. In verse 12, it’s “we command and encourage” (ESV) but “encourage” here isn’t like “make you feel better.” It’s equivalent to “urge” or “exhort.” Doubling up the verbs, command and urge, makes obedience to this command both mandatory and urgent. And then Paul adds, “in the Lord Jesus Christ…” The command is from the Apostle Paul as a specially authorized representative of the Lord. And he’s giving you an order. To do what? To work. To work how? To work “quietly.” What for? “To earn your own living.” When you put on the apron, and get to work behind the counter in the grocery store, you are obeying a direct command from the Lord Jesus. When you fire up your computer and start checking documents or scanning lines of code, you are working for Jesus. When you park the truck and start unloading tools, you are obeying Christ. When you put on your uniform you are conforming to the will of the Lord, above all you are representing Him. When you get the kids off to school, or when you get ready to start school with your kids, your obedience to the Lord is just as holy as that of the pastor who preaches on Sunday. When Christians go to work it is a sacred and holy thing. There is no distinction in holiness between work we call “secular” and work we call “ministry” when it is Christians who do it because Jesus said so.

In Acts 20:24, Paul described his life’s work as “the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24 ESV). These commands from the Lord to work quietly and earn your own living are your calling. And when you obey the Lord in your work you also “testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Grace is God’s undeserved kindness and generousity. Doesn’t it add credibility to your testimony of God’s grace when you are generous and kind to others with your money? “…Live quietly, …mind your own affairs, …work with your hands, …so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one,” (1 Thess 4:10-12).

But there is nothing holy about staying silent when injustice and evil goes unchallenged. And there is certainly nothing holy about being atoktos, disorderly, adding to unrest in our society. Christians must speak the truth but that starts with the Gospel-- A Gospel that gains credibility when we live lives that make society healthier and kinder. When we love all people and discriminate against none. When we pray for those in government over us and seek the peace and welfare of our cities.

A blog I read the other day reminded me that when these writers were trying to plant the church in Thessalonica, a riot broke out.[v] By commanding his readers to work quietly, walk properly before outsiders, mind your own affairs, doesn’t the Scripture here call us to live out our testimony of Gospel grace by living lives that imitate Jesus and his apostles? Lives that do not condone injustice but promote true justice; that show deep concern for all lives, for the very sanctity of life in the womb, and in the city, no matter what the colour of skin? Didn’t the Apostle Peter write, “to this we were called: whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Pe 3:9-12). We of all people, as Christians, must, in our hearts, honour Christ the Lord as holy, doing God’s will (1 Pe 3:15-17). And what is God’s will? 800 years before this letter of 2 Thessalonians was written, in another time of extreme social upheaval, corruption, and injustice, God’s people were called to be radically different. The Lord spoke through His prophet, Micah, saying “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic 6:8).