“Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s off to
work we go…”
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Message #9 in 1 Thess.
Series
McEwen Bible Fellowship
25 September 2022
INTRODUCTION:
What would you do if you found out for certain that Jesus was going to return two weeks from today at exactly 2:00 PM? How would that knowledge change your life? Would you do anything differently? Is there anything you would start doing? Is there anything you would stop doing? Would you go to work tomorrow?
The Bible is an extremely practical book. It is not just a storybook. It is not just a theology book. It is an instructional manual for living a life that is honouring and pleasing to God. Please turn in your Bibles to our text for today, 1 Thess. 4:9-12.
TRANSITION:
9 Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.
MAIN BODY:
Verse 9: Now as to the
love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you
yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
·
The subject here is Christians loving other
Christians. For “the love of the brethren”
Paul uses the single word philadelphia, from philos,
love, and adelphos, brother. It is clan love, the love
between members of a family. His point is that our fellow-Christians are
members of our spiritual family, which is God’s family. He says that God teaches
us to love one another. I believe he is referring to the fact that it is normal
and natural to love members of one’s own family. God has hardwired that into
us. No one needs to teach a mother to love her children. I did not have to
take a class to learn how to love my grandchildren. Loving our family is
natural, normal, a God-given trait in humans, in believers and non-believers
alike. Loving other Christians should be just as natural.
·
Jesus taught this love for the brethren too, but
He also commanded His followers to “love
their neighbour.” You will remember that His story about the Good Samaritan
in Luke 10 was to illustrate this truth. But in Matthew 5:43-44 He ramped
things up a notch, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour
[referring to Lev. 19:18] and hate your
enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those
who persecute you.”
· It is not always easy to love other Christians. Sometimes they seem unlovable. But to love our enemies… that is even harder. In fact, without God’s help I think it is impossible.
Verse 10: for indeed you do
practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you,
brethren, to excel still more,
·
Here Paul commends the Thessalonian believers and
says that they are already doing this. They love one another and are showing
kindness to one another. However, he says, “I
want you to do it even more.” You will notice that this is the
second time he has said this same thing in this passage. He used the same words
up in verse 1: “…that you may excel still
more.”
·
This reminds me of a coach’s talk to his team. “Guys, you are doing a great job. You are
scoring and your game is right on the money. However, I know you are capable of
more. You can do even better. Now get out there and make me proud.”
·
N.B. Here is where you need to know some more
historical information. I asked you in my introduction what you would do if you
found out for sure that the Lord’s return was going to occur in two weeks. Some
jokingly said they would quit their jobs. That is exactly what happened in
Thessaloniki. After Paul and the other guys taught them about the Lord’s return
and the fact that Jesus could come back at any minute some of them decided that
they would just wait around for the Rapture. They quit working and were just
hanging out, waiting, mooching off other people. It was causing problems and
hard feelings in the congregation. One of Paul’s motives for writing this
epistle was to set these idle brothers straight and get them back to work.
·
When you think of his words here in that
historical context it is easy to see the point that he was trying to make; namely,
that it is a violation of Christian love to become a lazy freeloader, living
off the labour of other people. But apparently that is exactly what was
going on. Some of the brethren were using the hope of Christ’s imminent Rapture
as an excuse for being both meddlesome and lazy. In this letter Paul cuts loose
his first salvo. Apparently however, it did not completely solve the problem
because later in 2 Thess. 3 he fired off a second salvo, going into this subject
in much greater detail. Look at 2 Thess. 3:11 for example, “For we hear that some among you are leading
an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.”
· In the next verse of our text Paul lays out a three-point solution to the problem.
Verse 11: and to make it
your ambition to lead a quiet life, and attend to your own
business, and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,
·
“…and
make it your ambition…” Paul uses a word here that literally means
to “be ambitious” [Rom. 15:20, “I aspire
to preach the Gospel.” 2 Cor. 5:9, “We have as our ambition…to be pleasing to Him.”] However, the
word came to be used with the meaning of “strive eagerly” for any worthy
goal. Here Paul urges them to strive eagerly to “lead a quiet
life.” What does that mean? What would that look like? In part, Paul is
encouraging them to not go off the deep end about Christ’s return because no
one knows when that is going to happen. He is saying, “Calm down and don’t go nuts over this.” That is good advice.
·
You may not know it, but a similar thing happened
in more recent history. The Seventh Day Adventists started out as a group of
gullible Christians from many different churches and denominations who followed
after the teachings of William Miller, a wacky Baptist preacher from Low Hampton, New York. With great
certainty Miller predicted on the basis of his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 that Jesus Christ would return
to Earth on October 22, 1844. Many of his devoted disciples quit their jobs,
sold their homes and belongings, and cashed in their stock certificates. When
Jesus failed to appear, most of Miller’s disappointed and disillusioned
followers disbanded and returned to their original churches. However, those who
hung in there with his wacky teachings eventually formed the Adventist movement
under the leadership of Ellen G. White.
·
“…strive
eagerly to attend to your own business.” We get an inkling of
Paul’s thought in 2 Thess. 3:12 where he says: “Now such persons we command and exhort in
the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.”
In part, I believe that Paul is telling them to shut up and get back to work. “Quit
stalling, quit meddling, and get busy!”
·
“…strive
eagerly to work with your hands.” The Greeks shunned manual labour. They
thought it was fitting only for the servant/slave class. But when Paul
was with the Thessalonians, he told them that Jesus worked with his hands as a
carpenter. Paul himself worked with his hands as a tentmaker. Luke worked with
his hands as a doctor. Peter, James, and John worked with their hands as
fishermen, etc. Paul’s point is that any kind of honest labour is noble work
for a Christian. Many people today work in offices, pecking on their
computers all day. They do not do manual labour, but they work hard to earn a
living and provide for their families. That is the point that Paul is making. Any
kind of honest work is noble and good. Moreover, our God is a working God. He
worked for six days and rested on the Sabbath, providing an example for us to
follow. Creation implies work. God made everything good; therefore, man can
perform the most menial tasks knowing that he is in touch with the Creator’s
handiwork. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that we can do our work to the glory
of God.
· The fact that Christ will return some day and that life as we know it will end, is not a reason to stop working. In fact, it is a reason for working all the harder and all the more faithfully, so that when He comes back, He will find us going obediently about our Father’s business.
Verse 12: so that you will behave
properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.
·
Here Paul was telling them that they must portray
Christianity in a positive light to “outsiders,”
meaning unbelievers, by the diligence and the beauty of their lives. To
go on as they were doing, to allow their so-called “Christianity” to turn them
into useless citizens was to bring discredit to Christ, the Gospel, and their
testimonies.
·
William Barclay, in his commentary on 1
Thessalonians says this about this passage: “A tree is known by its fruits; and a religion is known by
the kind of men it produces. The only way to demonstrate that Christianity is
the best of all faiths is to prove that it produces the best of all men. When
we Christians prove that our Christianity makes us better workmen, truer
friends, kinder men, and women, then and only then are we really preaching. The
important thing is not words but deeds, not oratory but life. The outside world
never comes into a Church to hear a sermon, but the outside world sees us every
day outside the Church; and it is our lives which must be the sermon to win men
for Christ.” AMEN!
·
The last part of verse 12 makes it clear that the
antidote to Christians being in need is for all Christians to work. With
the surplus we create by hard work we will be able to help others who are in
genuine need. There will always be a few people who cannot work and will need
our help, but for a Christian who can work but chooses not to, that person
is an embarrassment to Christianity. The effect of the lazy idle
Thessalonians was that others had to support them. They became spongers,
leeches, if you will.
· As Christians it is our duty not to draw from the community, but to contribute into the community. As Christians we should take delight in giving but have a holy independent pride that refuses to take, so long as our own two hands can supply our needs.
CONCLUSION:
I believe that this passage is very relevant to our lives today. In recent elections and certainly in the one coming up in November one of the issues that separates the two major parties is the role of government in the lives of average Americans. There are those who have come to believe that government owes it to the people to provide cradle-to-grave services including free preschool, free college education, free healthcare, free everything. I believe that is dangerous, as well as unbiblical, unchristian, and cowardly.
The welfare state in this country is, in my opinion, a huge embarrassment. I am embarrassed and ashamed that there are so many of my fellow Americans who are so lazy that they think everyone else owes them a living, a free ride.
In
Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, in 3:10 he reminds them, “For even when we
were with you, we used to give you this order: If anyone will not work,
neither let him eat.” I believe this is a principle that we need
to follow in the church and in the society. Of course, I am not saying that we
should refuse to help people who are in genuine need of assistance because that
would go directly against Christ’s teaching about helping the poor, but to give
money and resources to lazy people who refuse to work only exacerbates the
problem and enables them to go on living a useless unproductive life. May God
grant us His wisdom to know how to apply this teaching to our lives, our
churches, and our society.
FEEDBACK:
·
How does Paul’s teaching here square up with the
expectations of many Americans, even Christians, toward government handouts
including welfare, food stamps, cash assistance, WIC, Section-8 housing,
Dignity Village, etc.?
·
How do we get people to take responsibility for
themselves, and work for their keep?
·
How much Christian obligation do we have toward
people who are lazy and will not work?
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