Get to Work
2 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsOur faith does not excuse us from putting in the work. We are to live our lives with the purpose of magnifying Christ in whatever work we are called to do.
Notes
Transcript
If you have a Bible go ahead and grab it. We’re going to be in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 this evening. I’m not sure if you have noticed this or not but as technology makes things easier, I have often noticed that mankind has become lazier. I believe that man is pretty unmotivated and lazy and this is one of the main reasons why we are often so impressed by people with long resumes and impressed with people that have done a lot of things in their life. Here’s a big question for you tonight: Are you afraid of work? Are you afraid of dedicating hours to accomplish something? What’s holding you back from doing more? I remember hearing a story a few years back how Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, will often hire and assign lazy people to the hardest jobs and when he was asked why he did this, he said it is because lazy people often will find the easiest way to get the job done. Now, does easiest always mean the best way to get something done? Not always. We often do things just so we can cross it off our to do list and I know that I am very guilty of that. I don’t want to be lazy. I don’t want to coast for the remainder of the life that God has given to me and I hope that you don’t want to as well. People don’t write biographies about lazy people. We’re here to work and work is a blessing. God gave work to Adam and Eve prior to the fall because it’s good that we work, God Himself works! In fact, Jesus says in John 5:17 “But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”” As we’ve gone through Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians we have seen that a great work is still in store as Christ returns. If Christ is working, why shouldn’t we be working? You see, the Thessalonians were under the impression that Christ is returning so soon that they could stop working. So they quit their jobs and they were just waiting. What a horrible way to live! God has created us for the purpose of glorifying Him and Paul says of us in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” What we are going to talk about tonight is what we are to do between the already and not yet. What we’re going to talk about is how it is important for us to work and why it is important for us to not just coast to eternity. What we’re going to talk about tonight is why our conduct is so important and how the things that we do may often get in the way of what others are trying to do. Finally, we will connect all of this to the greater work of redemption that is ongoing and how we can live in light of that reality. So, we have a lot to go through so let’s open up in prayer and then we will read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12
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. 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 to give you in ourselves 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 busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
What Was the Thessalonians Problem?
What Was the Thessalonians Problem?
What seems to be the reason that Paul included this section of Scripture in the letter to the Thessalonians? We somewhat already talked about it so we won’t spend too much time on it but it seems that there were several within the Thessalonian church, not all of them, that thought that the return of Christ was so imminent that they completely stopped working. Paul calls them out on this and says in verse 11, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.” We don’t really use the word idleness very much but when it is usually used, it is most often associated with people being lazy but if you look at the Greek word that Paul uses, while laziness is certainly implied, that is not all that is implied. The Greek word that is used actually means closer to unruly, disorderly, and irresponsibly. What Paul is saying is that the Thessalonian desire to not work was a totally irresponsible decision and this decision not only impacted the individual’s life, it was having a negative impact on the people around them. Paul says that they were busy making people unbusy! Paul implies that they were so adamant in not working that they strived to get those around them to do as they did so this likely means that the people who quit their jobs were doing their best to make other people stop working. They were likely saying, “Jesus is coming back soon and that job of yours looks miserable! Why don’t you just quit it since it’s not like this will all matter soon anyway!” Now it’s possible that these people did this with good intentions but good intentions void of thinking usually leads to bad results. Paul wants the church to thrive and it cannot thrive if a bunch of bums are hindering the work of the church. Paul uses him, Silas, and Timothy as an example of those that work in spite of the reality that Christ is coming soon. Paul basically says, “Look, if we’re working shouldn’t you be working? If anyone was going to have inside knowledge of the time and the hour of Christ’s return don’t you think it would be us? And if we knew the time and the hour, what do you think we would be doing until then? Since we don’t know the time or the hour, we kept on doing the work so that you would have something to imitate.” This isn’t the first time that Paul has urged the Thessalonians to continue with the work. He mentioned it back in 1 Thessalonians 4 so this was clearly something that they struggled with. So, there’s the problem and in some ways it sounds like a fairly modern problem. I think we all like the idea of sitting on the couch waiting for the world to end but clearly that’s not what we’re supposed to do. Why do we need to work then?
Why Do We Need to Work?
Why Do We Need to Work?
I’m sure that we could make an almost never ending list as to why we need to work but let’s just talk about 3 reasons as to why we need to work. I’ll even make this as broad as possible so I’m not just talking about school work or your career or physical labor or even just ministry work but these 3 things are far reaching.
God told us to
Why do we need to work? Let me give you an answer that might seem a little bit like common sense but I’ll put it out there: we need to work because God told us to. God does not need to tell us to do something more than once in order for it to be something that we must do and I believe that work is one of those things that God commands us to do. We need to be active. Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” When you look at the 10 commandments Exodus 20:9 “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,” Here we are in a post-resurrection world and the 10 commandments still apply to us. As Christians we’re not to murder, we’re not to worship any other God, we’re not to cheat on our spouses, and we’re still to work and I would argue that we still need to have a day of rest as the Lord commands us to have a Sabbath. When you go through the Bible, you see numerous commands for man to get to work and you never see one that says, “You can take the rest of eternity off.” Why do we work? Because God told us to! I remember hearing a story about John MacArthur and he was asked the question of why we should do evangelism and spread the Gospel if God has already saved us in eternity past. MacArthur, who is a strong Calvinist, was being asked this because the interviewer wanted to know why Christians should bother evangelizing if God will ultimately save His people anyway. MacArthur just said, “Because God told us to.” That should really make us think. Why do anything that we do? Why do anything in our Christian walk? We don’t need a greater reason than simply that our God has told us to do it.
Work benefits others
The next reason that we need to work is because work benefits others. It’s beneficial to those that are around us. Paul says in Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” The Bible tells us that we are to love our neighbors and work in a way, is one way that we can do that. Now obviously I’ve had some pretty horrible jobs in my day and while I was slaving away making subs for drunk people on the beach, I never thought, “Wow I’m benefiting these drunk dudes.” But I was feeding them, I was meeting a basic necessity of their life and obviously the way your heart is positioned is going to impact the desire that you have to work for others. The people that go into a job with the mindset that they are just here for a paycheck will not benefit the people around them to the same extent as one that loves their job. Why? Because when you love what you’re doing, you naturally try harder to do it well. If you hate playing soccer, you aren’t going to try as hard to win a championship as someone that grew up watching and loves the sport. Sure, you can fake it to make it in some work environments but work will always be easier and more beneficial when you put heart behind it. God puts His very heart into the work that He does because He is a God of love. We work to benefit others.
Work benefits our physical and mental well being
Finally, one more reason for work is that it really does benefit our physical and mental well-being. Proverbs 19:15 says, “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.” If you don’t work, you won’t thrive. We need to feel like there is something that only we can accomplish. We need to know that we matter and work reminds us that there is something on God’s green earth for us to do. God has us where we are at this time to do something and for whatever reason He decided, He has put you and no one else in the same position that He has put you in. Again in Proverbs 14:23 we read: “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” This doesn’t mean that if we make our living selling crack that there is profit but it does mean that God intends all God-honoring labor for our good and to profit us. As we work, we earn our living. As we work, it gives us something to strive for. I’ll use my work as an example. As a pastor, I love my job. I love preaching the Gospel and because I love my work, I’m driven to do that work. Because I love my Savior, I’m driven to do things that honors my Savior. And if I’m being honest, I want to be the greatest preacher in the world. Not for my own glory but because I want to glorify my Lord to the best of my ability. The Lord has used my work to not just benefit others but to benefit myself! Every sermon that I preach, I preach to myself first because I need it just as much as you need it and sometimes I think I need it more than you might need it! So, here we see 3 reasons why we need to work that are far-reaching to whatever the Lord leads us to do.
What Does Our Conduct Teach Others?
What Does Our Conduct Teach Others?
Now the way that you work is going to have an influence on people around you. People are always watching you so you need to ask yourself, what does my conduct teach others. What does your work ethic teach others. If you’re lazy, unmotivated, idle, busy doing nothing like Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, people are going to learn very little except maybe what not to do or have their own negative behavior reinforced. But what if your hard work pointed beyond yourself and to the God that loves you and saved you. Can what you do, can your conduct, teach others about the Lord our God? Absolutely it can! Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Notice that there are 2 aspects of this verse: there is light that is seen and there are works that are seen. The light that Jesus refers to is the light of the Gospel in our lives. It is the reality that God has made us different based on our proximity to Jesus. If you have been saved, you have been justified. God has accomplished an amazing work in you and we will get to that in just a little bit but if you have been saved, you have been saved so that you would look different. There is a light in you that was not there before you were saved. There is something going on inside of you that will relate directly to the things that you do outside of you. Prior to this, Jesus says in Matthew 5:14-15
Matthew 5:14–15 (ESV)
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
The purpose of the Church is not to bask in the light of her own glory put to resound in praises to the King and to point to the great light of the Sun of God. Donald Gray Barnhouse used to say that when Christ was on the Earth, it was like the sun being out during the course of the day and then as day faded, the moon would come out and reflect the light of the sun and that would be the church. The moon shines but it doesn’t shine from a light that it produces right? Now that Jesus is physically in Heaven, the church still needs to reflect His light and can never produce light on its own. We read in John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” Jesus knew He would not physically be in the world after His ascension and that is why the church is the light of the world. Not by it’s own power but by reflecting the light of Christ and because the Church often fails to do this, we see the world in the great darkness that it is in. There are some days where the Church is like a full moon and the light is so bright that it is like the sun is still out but there are other times where the light is so diminished that it is like a crescent moon. Whether the moon is full or just a sliver, it glows because of the sun. What kind of church are we going to be? Because the light of Christ is always shining and we need to determine to what degree that we will reflect it in this world. Your actions matter and what you do, wherever you are, with the title of Christian and for the glory of God will speak mountains worth to those around you. What does your work ethic say to others? Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” While Paul is addressing Timothy’s work as a pastor, I think this can apply to all of us. Let no one despise you or look down on you because you are young, but be an example in all things so that others may see what we are doing and say, “there is something different about that man or woman and the only thing that I can think of is that the God they worship must really exist. There is something about them that is so different from what I see in this world that it must come down to the fact that the Jesus that they worship really does make a difference and I want to know something about that.” One last thing that we will touch on is the reality that we are to work because we know that our God continues to work.
The Great Ongoing Work of Redemption
The Great Ongoing Work of Redemption
The greatest work that has ever been done is the ongoing work of redemption. God’s work of creation is absolutely incredible. No one has ever been able to create something out of nothing. God created the universe by the word of His mouth and yet salvation is the greatest work. It’s one thing to make something out of nothing. It is another thing to take something that is dead and useless and make it alive and beautiful. Jonathan Edwards said that the work of creation was a shadow of the greater work of redemption. Look at Christ’s work in redemption and you see something that is not only accomplished, it’s ongoing! Perhaps the greatest way to emphasize this is with Paul’s words in Romans 8:29-30
Romans 8:29–30 (ESV)
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Do you see how far reaching this work of God is? We are predestined in eternity past, we are justified in eternity present, and we will be glorified in eternity future. The work of redemption is ongoing and it will not finish until Christ returns. There is work to be done and as we saw last fall in the book of Acts, the Gospels wrote all about what Jesus began to do. It doesn’t say at the end of the Gospels, “Thus ends the works of Jesus of Nazareth.” And they can’t say that because the works of Jesus are ongoing! He is mediating on behalf of His people. The Holy Spirit is still working in the lives of believers and is influencing the minds of unbelievers. God the Father is still ruling and sovereignly orchestrating all things. The work of redemption is not finished. What part are you playing in it. Our God is working, are you? What are you doing for the Lord? Where is He taking you? What work is He preparing you for because I know for each and every one of us, God has planned something for us to do. He hasn’t prepped you to make a living on the couch. He has made you to glorify Him. Whatever God has planned for you to do, do it for the glory of God. Maybe that thing is missions, maybe it is pastoral ministry, maybe it is working at TJ Maxx or Burger King, whatever it may be, do it heartily as to the Lord. God always prepares the man for the moment and the moment for the man. Our God is working and you need to go on with the work. You may have a job this summer or you may be focused on school or working around your house, whatever it is that you do, may your conduct point to the Savior and may your light shine in such a way that those around you glorify the One that created you. Let’s pray.