Pastor Dana Kidder preaching from II Thessalonians 3:6-15 at Redemption Bible Church in Bellefontaine, Ohio.
Redemption Bible Church
Work and Discipline
I am a child of the '70s and '80s. So you'll have to forgive me for what I'm about to say. But in 1981, the Canadian band "Loverboy" released their song "Working for the Weekend." Everybody's working for the weekend. Everybody wants a new romance. Everybody's going off the deep end. Everybody needs a second chance. Most of that song makes no sense, actually. But the attitude behind it has actually been infecting humanity for more than just the last 40 or 50 years. When you think of the legacy of the Reformation, there are a number of things that come to mind, things like justification by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone, according to the authority of God's word alone and for God's glory alone. But there's another Reformation doctrine that's often overlooked. It's generally known as the Protestant work ethic. Sometimes it's called the Puritan work ethic, but really it has its roots long before the Puritans in the Reformation. And the reason it's called the Protestant work ethic is because one of the things that was articulated or re-established really by the Reformers was the idea that all lawful work, not just religious or church-based work, but all lawful work is sanctified by God. To put it kind of succinctly, the Reformers recaptured the biblical concept of the dignity of human labor. It's known as the doctrine of vocation. Well, consider the significance of labor, of work in Scripture. So in fact, start by thinking of the many passages that severely condemn idleness or slothfulness, even just from the book of Proverbs. The hand of the diligent will rule while the slothful will be put to forced labor. The slugger does not plow in the autumn, he will seek at harvest and have nothing. The desire of the slugger kills him for his hands refuse to labor. The Bible very clearly teaches that it's an extremely consequential sin for an able-bodied person to refuse to work. The apostle Paul makes his point very clearly in 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 8 when he writes, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, "and especially for members of his own household, "he's denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. "Worse than an unbeliever." I can't think of any passage that says that if a person claims Christ but commits a certain sin, then they're worse than unbelievers. This is, at heart, a breaking of the fifth commandment. Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land and that the Lord your God is giving you. The Protestant work ethic emphasizes the virtue of honest labor, but then also a diligence in that labor. Work and work hard, work diligently, work persistently as for the Lord and not for men. Proverbs, chapter 18, verse nine, captures kind of the opposite of that. Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys. Throughout the book of Proverbs, it's not just the man who works, who is commended, but the man who works diligently. In other words, we are to put forth our best effort in our labors. So, hear this very carefully. Enjoying the weekend is fine. Enjoying the weekend is fine. In fact, an enjoyable day off is a good gift from God, but we're not working for the weekend. Leisure and recreation are not why we work. We work because God has created us to work. He's given us responsibility to care and provide for our families. And frankly, he's given us different responsibilities for men and women, for husbands and wives, but responsibilities to both. But it's because of our fallen state that some are lazy and refuse to work. Others are slothful sluggards and work carelessly. Work without diligence, Scripture says. Sin causes some of us to work, to view work selfishly. View work only from a financial perspective and not caring at all for the service that they might actually be able through their work to offer to God or the glory that is due to him. If you work only as a way to get money and stuff for themselves. One article I was reading said this. Sin causes some to become so immersed in their work that they neglect their families and even their own spiritual welfare. The go-getter, workaholic mindset, characteristic of so many in our day, masquerades as the diligence called for in Scripture, but this is self-deception. Our diligent labor is not intended to compete with God and family. Lasiness, idleness, slothfulness. And yes, even selfish ambition are all examples of a rebellion against God who made us. God who called us through Adam to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And then God, Genesis tells us the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Work, labor, it's part of the mandate of creation. It's the task that mankind has been given. And Christians of all people should be the ones who understand this and diligently work to the glory of God. But what if we don't? What if we don't? Well, that's what the Scriptures address for us today in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verses 6 through 15. As we come to the end, near the end of our study of this letter, let's read this. 2 Thessalonians 3, beginning in verse 6. Paul writing to the church at Thessalonica. Says, "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. "For 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 don't have that right, "but to give you in yourselves an example to imitate. "For even when we were with you, "we would give you this command. "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. "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. "As for you brothers, do not grow weary and doing good. "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. "Do not regard him as an enemy, "but warn him as a brother." Let's pray. Father, I pray that you would give us what we need today. Our greatest need is Christ. Our greatest need is to know Jesus Christ and him crucified. And from that, how we ought to then live. And so I pray that you would teach us today from your word that your spirit would be working in our hearts and minds. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Now you may have noticed in the bulletin I titled this sermon, "Work and Discipline." And since we've already introduced the topic of work, let's think for a moment about discipline. These days it seems that very few churches practice anything that could be called a church discipline. It's very rare for a church to actually remove a person from the membership roles for persistent, unrepentant sin, probably because it's very difficult to do. It can sometimes end in almost always ends in some kind of broken relationships, sometimes split churches, sometimes a general distrust in the church leadership. It shouldn't be that way because the Bible is very clear in teaching about this, and yet sometimes it still happens. Well, Matthew chapter 18 is generally the go-to passage when it comes to church discipline, because there in that chapter, Jesus clearly lays out steps for patiently calling sinning members to repentance. But there are also instances in other passages of scripture where discipline is kind of fast-tracked. So for example, both the end of Titus and the end of Romans clearly teach that for a person who is stirring up division in the church, the church is to have nothing to do with them after a couple of warnings. Additionally, we can conclude from passages such as like Romans chapter 13. We can conclude that in cases of, for example, suspected criminal activity, even church members are to be turned over to the governing authorities, to the police. So to give a very important example, in cases of abuse or suspected abuse, we will call the police. But I also wanna point out that when we start talking about these things, when we start talking about church discipline, particularly when it comes to minor disagreements, the attitude we ought to have is one that we can clearly see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. The attitude that we ought to have is one of love for one another. In 1 Corinthians 13, we are told that love covers a multitude of offenses. In other words, we really ought to be long-suffering with one another, and so if someone offends you, you don't necessarily need to bring charges against them. You might just need to forgive them. So the apostle John is helpful here. In 1 John chapter five, verses 16 and 17, John writes this, he says, if anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life. To those who commit sins that do not lead to death, there is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there's a sin that does not lead to death. So if we see a brother or a sister in Christ doing something that is sin, yet is not one of those sins that brings a total destruction, like adultery or drunkenness, or in this case, idleness, we should absolutely pray for them, help them as appropriate, maybe confront them for their sin, but generally speaking, we should be quick to forgive and quick to reconcile. But for those who claim the name of Christ and yet are actively involved in a sin that is on one of those lists in the New Testament that ends with the phrase shall not inherit the kingdom of God, you know what I'm talking about? If we see somebody, if we know somebody in that we are in fellowship with that's actively involved in one of those sins that in that list, those lists in the Bible that end with the phrase shall not inherit the kingdom of God, we should actively warn them, call them to repentance, and when repentant, we should restore them with a spirit of gentleness. But as we think of those lists of those kind of horrible sins, we usually think of adultery, theft, abuse, divisiveness, gossip, those kinds of things. But when we see a brother who is idle, as it says here, who's unwilling to, not just doesn't have a job, but is unwilling to work, to provide for himself or his family, we sometimes just ignore it, don't we? But as I said, the Bible says that that person is worse than an unbeliever, if they refuse to provide for their family, first Timothy 5, 8, they refuse to provide for their family, even their own household. Paul says they're worse than an unbeliever. As we consider the issues to which Paul is addressing here in 2 Thessalonians, oh, it's important to remember the context in which this is written, right? Remember, as we've looked through both of these books and we're coming now to the very end, Paul has been assuring the Thessalonians saints over and over, that contrary to previous reports, Christ has not yet returned. He will, but he hasn't yet. And so as Christians, we are called, and the Thessalonians are called to live in a manner that is fully pleasing to God. So you can imagine, you can imagine that if most of your fellow church members, most of your fellow believers, all of the Christians that you know in your town, if they started to believe that Christ had already returned and you missed it, you can see that there is a temptation to stop working. This is what has happened historically when charlatans, false teachers have said, Jesus is going to return on whatever, June 1st, 1985. And people sell all of their possessions, quit their jobs and go stand outside because they think they're gonna... You can see that's happened historically many times, actually. There are some rumblings in the church, church at Thessalonica, at the time of his first letter when he wrote first Thessalonians, there were some rumblings in which he quickly urged the church to admonish the idol, he says. But now those rumblings seem to have blossomed into a full-blown problem in the church. A little leavens the whole lump, right? He said that in 1 Corinthians and some other places. But again, you can imagine people saying, what's the point? What's the point in working and building anything? What's the point in owning a home? What's the point in keeping it beautiful if Christ has already returned and he's in Jerusalem establishing his kingdom and in a couple of years we're gonna reign with it? What's the point? You can imagine also some defeat and discouragement. Paul is really combating that attitude. And as he does, he does not do this with empathy or with compassionate understanding. He does it with a stern command or really several commands. So command number one is verse six. Now we command you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from any brother who's walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you receive from us. That command is not something that Paul here just simply makes up. It comes with the authority of Jesus Christ. We command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he says. In other words, this is not something to be taken lightly. But as I said, he's already given them several instructions on this before. So writing earlier with a less harsh mood or tone and more positively, he calls on them and in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 11, he says, aspire to live quietly, mind your own affairs, work with your own hands as we instructed you. And for those that were not working, Paul encouraged the church just a chapter later in 1 Thessalonians 5, 14, he says, and we urge you brothers, admonish the idol, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all, be gentle with them, be patient with them, but admonish the idol. But now he's writing again, evidently, some at least of those who were idle didn't listen. Because the idol didn't listen and didn't obey, Paul now strikes this kind of harsher, more authoritative tone even while giving instruction to the brothers, he says. Look again, verse six, 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 you receive from us. It's worth noting that when Paul frequently, when he gives commands to churches, when he calls his readers to obey, he usually uses a friendlier statement. He usually doesn't say, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ. Usually he says, I appeal to you, therefore brothers. So in Romans 12, one and two, I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship, do not, this is a command, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect, I appeal to you, therefore brothers. That's a charge though, it's not really a rebuke. Romans 12, one and two, it isn't really a rebuke, it's just a charge. Because of what Christ has done, I appeal to you therefore, don't be conformed to the world. But listen to 1 Corinthians chapter one, verse 10. He says there, I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. If you remember of our study of 1 Corinthians, I don't know, it seems a couple of years ago, I'm not even sure how long ago it was, Paul does correct often in that letter. He even rebukes their disunity throughout the letter, yet he's still doing so a bit more gently than he is here for the Thessalonians. I appeal to you, brothers. It almost certainly means that the Thessalonians are beyond his gentle appeals and they need some forceful instruction. I command you, he says. As we consider what church discipline looks like in this situation here, it's worth noting that once the issue becomes public in any church, once you get to the, tell it to the church stage from Matthew 18, Jesus instructs the church there to treat the unrepentant sinner like a Gentile or a tax collector. In other words, treat them as an unbeliever in need of salvation or as in the case of a tax collector, somebody who is within God's covenant people yet is actively working to hurt God's covenant people. The thing we need to keep in mind here, really in any case of church discipline is that the goal is always repentance and restoration, always for church members who have fallen into serious grievous sin. The goal is not punishment. The goal is to bring them to repentance and restoration. Paul even identifies the purpose here down in verse 14. Look at it near the end. He says, "If anyone does not obey what we say "in this letter, take note of that person, "have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed." The purpose of that shame there is not simply in the shame. It's not simply in shaming someone. The purpose is so that they would repent and rejoin the fellowship of believers. Historically speaking, and even in the scriptures right here, shame is actually a powerful tool that God uses to bring people to repentance. We just seem to have eliminated it in our society. We live in a society literally that has no shame for lots of different reasons. But for starters in verse six, as Paul is telling them to do this, commanding them, he says simply, "Keep away, keep away." Again, verse six, "We command you brothers "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, "that you keep away from any brother "who's walking in idleness and not according "with the tradition that you receive from us." That's very similar to what he tells Titus, in Titus chapter three, verse 10. "As for a person who stirs up division "after warning him once and then twice "have nothing to do with him, keep away." Or consider first Corinthians chapter five, verse 11. That's part of an entire chapter, dealing with a man who is caught in gross sexual sin. Paul instructs that church in first Corinthians five, 11. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he's guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler not even to eat with such a one. Keep away, have nothing to do with him. Now think about this for a minute. Honestly, one of the things that Christians don't like to admit is that this is a shunning. We like to say, no, no, no, we don't shun people, that's the Amish, that's other people, we don't shun. But that's what this is, keep away. This is an ostracizing to those who claim Christ, you need to be really careful who this is. These are people who claim Christ, but are sinning, actively sinning, and refusing to stop, refusing to repent in such a way that is hurting everyone and showing contempt for the name of Jesus Christ. And so Paul says they cannot be a part of the church and act like nothing is wrong. They cannot be a part of the church and act like nothing is wrong. People say this sounds unkind or unloving, but this is a call, this is a call for this person to return to a Christ-honoring lifestyle. In this case, this is about actually stepping up and working to provide for your family. And in reality, we'll see this in a couple of minutes, this is also about working to provide for the church family as well. We need to understand, this is a last resort. This is a last resort. Paul has already written to them, calling on them to admonish the idol. He has called them to, as a church, to plead with this person, these people, whoever it is, to repent. And one thing that's kind of understood in all of this, especially when we consider the persecution of the Thessalonian church, we have to consider that these idol folks here that he's talking about, they were probably receiving their food from the church. They were likely taking up valuable resources that others who were genuinely in need needed. Now again, I want to be very clear, there are a couple of ways in which churches air when it comes to these things, when it comes to church discipline. They either completely disregard it, which is surprisingly common, or they are far too harsh. But I want to point out verse 15, this is important. Do not regard him as an enemy, regard him as a brother. Even in the keep away, regard him as a brother. Regard him as someone that you love, who's hurting his family. Regard him as somebody that you care for, who is hurting the body of Christ, actively hurting them. Also, I want to acknowledge that church discipline is the hardest part of pastoring, of shepherding, by far. By far, mistakes are often made. Sometimes we don't explain things thoroughly enough. Sometimes we provide too much information. Sometimes churches go through the process way too fast. Sometimes far too slow. And so even as elders, we would ask for your grace and patience, if and when these kind of issues come up. And I will also add that almost always, you never hear about it, it never gets to that point. And that is because of the grace and mercy of God. Almost always, you never hear about it, because it never gets to that point. Back to this. Notice the comparison, or rather the kind of standard that these idle people are not keeping at the end of verse six. He says, keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. So Paul has taught them something. Here it is in verses seven, eight and nine. This is Paul's example. He writes, for 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 because you used to give in ourselves an example to imitate. The Christian tradition, the tradition that the Thessalonians had received from Paul, that he had passed down to them, the Christian tradition is one of hard work and self-sufficiency. Now, when Paul writes about traditions, he's gonna do so in a couple of different ways. So sometimes he's talking about a Bible doctrine, Bible teaching specifically. So he did this right back in chapter two, verse 15, when he said, "So then brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter." So there he's talking about the things that he taught them from the Scriptures. But now he's pointing to his own work ethic, really. He's pointing to his own work ethic, and he has learned that both as a Jewish scholar or even a Pharisee before his salvation and also from the other apostles. And presumably Barnabas as well, as he traveled with Barnabas before he did with Silas. Now, of course, by his own admission, before Paul was saved, he did some terrible things, including and especially thinking of persecuting the church. But his education tells us that as a young man, he learned to work hard. Some of you learned to work hard before you were saved. That's a good thing. That's a common grace thing. Paul learned to work hard even as he was being trained to persecute Christians. In Acts 22, he gives his testimony. And he says in verse three, he says, "I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Solicia and brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day." That's his resume before he was saved. He had the best education is what he's saying. You don't get to that point where you are educated at the feet of the well-known and famous scholar Gamaliel by being lazy or a C student as I was. We also could consider some of the other disciples. For example, Simon and Andrew, James and John, they were fishermen. They were fishermen when Jesus called them. They worked hard with their hands. Those guys had blisters and scars and they smelled at the end of the day like fish and sweat and seaweed. They stunk at the end of the day. They knew what it meant to work by the sweat of the brow. In the Old Testament, do you remember the work of the priests as we studied Leviticus recently? They were essentially butchers who worked hard to provide the meat for the offerings. David, before he was king, he was a shepherd and as such, one of his tasks was to fend off wild animals including lions and bears. The list of hardworking people in the Bible goes on and on and Paul puts himself in this same category, really the same category as the apostles as he passes on the tradition of hard work along with the traditions of the faith. When they saw Paul's work ethic, they saw that he, along with Silas and Timothy, they worked hard to provide for their own daily needs. They did not mooch off other people. That phrase there that he uses eat anyone's bread that can either mean take food or it can also be a figure of speech that refers more broadly to the idea of accepting support. So it's not that Paul wouldn't go and eat at a church member's house if they offered him a meal. It's that it really means that they paid their own way. They did not rely on the church at Thessalonica to support them financially. And Paul did this specifically here in Thessalonica because this church was already suffering. Because of the pressure of the Jews and the pagans in the city who opposed the spread of the gospel, they opposed the church. It's almost certain that Christians in the city of Thessalonica found their businesses economically shut out. That it was becoming harder and harder for church members who were public about their faith to feed their own families. And so Paul laid down his right to financial support from them. That was not always his habit. He makes note of that here. In fact, the book of Philippians is essentially a thank you note for their partnership in the gospel. They even sent him support while he was ministering in Thessalonica. So he writes in Philippians chapter four, he says in you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving. He had nobody supporting him except you, he says. Then he says, even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. The Philippians sent him what he needed. But here in verse nine, he strikes the same note that he did in Corinth when he carefully explained there that ministers of the gospel have a right to earn their living by their work of the gospel. Not just a simple living. 1 Corinthians chapter nine says, but one that provides even for his family, he talks about Peter bringing along his believing wife. And even at the end of that passage, gives hope in the sharing of the crop, he says. So not an income that just gets by, but one that he can provide for his family and give hope. But as he did in Corinth, Paul and his co-laborers of their own accord, so Paul, Silas, and Timothy, they laid down that right. And in fact, they worked night and day in order to be an example of hardworking Christians for this church. But even then, this is not merely an example. These aren't merely suggestions. Remember, he's giving them a series of commands. So command number two is in verses 10 and 11. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now, we can deduce from verse 10 that the church likely followed the pattern of the Jerusalem church that we find in Acts chapter two. So Acts 2, 45 says this, and all who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And really, the difference between the Jerusalem church and the Thessalonian church was that the church in Jerusalem in Acts chapter two, at least for a short period of time, they were living in harmony with the world. Actually, verse 48 of chapter two says that they were increasing in favor with all the people. The Jews loved them until they didn't. But for a while, they were living in harmony with the world, but in Thessalonica, they're doing these things out of necessity. They're meeting one another's needs. They're caring for one another, sort of like the underground church. They're selling things and taking care of each other. And yet, even while Paul was there, he had to make this rule he says. So verse 10 again, "For even when we were with you, "we would give you this command. "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." You understand, I'm sure that rules like that are generally created out of necessity. In other words, even when he was there, there were people who were idle and refused to work, but would show up at the bread line, expecting to be handed something. So we need to put all of this together. We put this together, we can see that when Paul was there in person, he taught this to them. If anyone is idle, let them not eat, get a job. Then he wrote about it in his first letter, admonish the idle, work quietly with your own hands, and now he's dropping the hammer. Or I should say, he's instructing the church to drop the hammer. See, discipline doesn't come out of nowhere. In fact, not only did he write about these things in his first letter, but as I said earlier, not only did he teach them this while he was there, but it's actually rooted in the creation mandate. We're created to work. Genesis 2.15, the Lord, God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And then even after Adam sinned and was removed from the garden, as God is laying out the curse in chapter three, he says, "By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread." And I think you understand that that's a picture. God's not saying that chewing bread is gonna be hard to make you sweaty. He's saying that you're gonna have to work hard, even for the basic necessities of life. We were created to work, and to fail to do that, to fail to do that is disobedience to God. Notice the details that he gives in verse 11 again. He says, "For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, "not busy at work, but busy bodies." They're not busy, they're busy bodies. And I wanna point that out, because this means that they were clearly causing problems of some kind. See that word for idle that's used throughout this passage and also in the first letter, it can also be translated unruly. So the idea behind all of this is not just that these people are simply lazy, right? Laying on the couch watching TV all day. That's not really the idea behind this. They are rebelliously idle. They know that they're supposed to work. Everyone is telling them to work. You can imagine providing opportunities for them to work, and they're not doing it. And instead, they want the church to feed them. They're not being obedient to the creation mandate. They're not following the apostolic example of when Paul was with them. They're not paying attention to the apostolic instruction that he had given them, that he'd written to them. And now he's writing to them a second time. They're putting their noses where they don't belong as well. They're getting involved in things, whatever busy body means. They're getting involved in things that they should not be involved in. They're being those busy bodies. They're being gossipers. No doubt this means that they are causing division. And these things can be the scourge, scourge of a church. And the church here is not to provide them with meals, he says. If an able-bodied person is able to work and yet refuses, he's not welcome at the table. He's not welcome to share in the meals that they were sharing with one another. But he's not done with his commands. Command number three is verse 12. Now, such persons, we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. All of the sudden, there's a change in tone. He's still using the word command. He's still stern, but now it's command and encourage. Because of what we've seen in these letters, especially the fact that false teachers have come into Thessalonica, they've spread lies. Because of that, we can easily conclude that the person who is not working, or at least some of them, people who are not working, it's because they've been led astray. Do you remember chapter two, the first couple of verses? Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and are being gathered together to him, we ask you brothers, verse two, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. They've received some, what looks like, credible false teaching. And so they've given up. But the letter said, that teacher said, Paul is advocating here in verse 12, a gentle restoration in the same spirit that he tells the Galatians and Galatians, chapter six, verse one, he says, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in the spirit of gentleness. And then he adds, keep watching yourself lest you two be tempted. And so we should see this this way. There's a command. In fact, the command can simply be summed up with the phrase, get to work. There's a command, work and work as for God and not for men, work hard. But that's not the command of a harsh taskmaster with a whip beating his servants. This is the command of a gentle shepherd. Shepherd who has a staff and he's not afraid to use it, but also his eager to patiently encourage, patiently prod the people along, his sheep along, which brings us back really to what he'd already written in the first letter. Turn back to chapter four of first Thessalonians. Verse nine. He writes, now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. But that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge your brothers to do this more and more and to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, to work with your hands as we instructed you so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. This should be the command or the daily goal of all Christians to live quietly, to work with our own hands. And we actually could add verse 13 from today's passage to that. As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. Do not grow weary in doing good. Keep working hard for each other, for all of the brothers throughout the whole Macedonia. Remember in the first letter, the gospel is going out sounding forth through all of the region because of this church. Continue in that. And so let me finish today with this charge. Think of it this way. Consider, I'm gonna read from Ecclesiastes chapter five, consider these verses that I'm about to read, Old Testament, consider them from a distinctly Christian point of view, okay? So we have the New Testament, we have it, we have it with us, you have a copy right there in your lap, you have the New Testament, we believe in Jesus Christ, we've read and considered this passage today. So let's go back and see what God said in the Old Testament. In Ecclesiastes chapter five, verses 18 to 20, thinking of Jesus Christ, keeping Jesus in mind, reads this, "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun, the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart." So then we could say, "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word." It's okay to work hard. We gotta work hard. We gotta work by the sweat of our brow. We should work. We should enjoy it because it is a gift from God. That's what Ecclesiastes tells us. And we know from the New Testament that Jesus has saved us, that we might continue in the good works. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word, continue to provide for your families, care for one another. If you are able, help provide for others. Let's pray together. Father, when we talk about commands and discipline and correcting sinners, we have to put ourselves first in this and know, Lord, that there are times when I'm lazy, when I don't want to work, when I want to land the couch and watch TV. And yet we are called to be faithful. We're called to get up every morning and go to work and provide for our families. In one way or another, so some of us in here are retired. Some don't have jobs at the moment. Many are stay-at-home moms caring for their families and working in that way. Father, I pray that we would be a people who work hard, not just to build businesses or make a name for ourselves, but to work hard for your glory. That we might use the good gifts that you have given us in whatever capacity and way that is to give honor and glory to you. Father, we thank you for the gift of work and we pray that we would be faithful. And Lord, even as we come to the supper now and we think of the work that Jesus did on the cross, the work of paying the penalty for our sins, the work of atonement, the work of His active obedience, even before He got to the cross, we come with hearts of thankfulness. We are thankful for the bread and the cup. We are thankful, Lord, for the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the victory over sin. And we are thankful, Lord, that in Christ there is therefore now no condemnation, for all who have called upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.