Tonight, 2 Thessalonians chapter
3. Last Sunday evening, I preached
from the first five verses of this third chapter. Brother Carl Griffith came out
the door and he said, why don't you just pick up where you left
off tonight and go on through the rest of this chapter. Nellie
said, don't tell him what to preach, Carl. I said, well, somebody
needs to help the old man. Thank you. Thank you, Carl. I got a blessing out of this,
I hope you do. All right, 2 Thessalonians. I'm going to begin tonight with
verse 6, but I want to make these introductory remarks. In these
next verses, Paul deals with a particular fault. and a particular problem that
had risen in the churches at Thessalonica. As you know, these
early believers, like the believers in this church, I thought about
you all, how generous these early believers were, and how generous
you are. They were generous people. And
due to the fact that they lived in hard times, hard times, back
in the days shortly after our Lord was crucified and risen
and ascended back to heaven. They were hard times, and times
of persecution, and people were being cast out of the synagogue
because they believed in Christ, and cast out of society. Some
of them lost their jobs because of their faith in Christ. But
these early believers, some of them sold their possessions They
were so generous, so concerned about the well-being of their
brothers and sisters in Christ, that they actually sold their
possessions, sold their goods, and shared them with these people
who were in need. Now let me read about that over
in Acts 2. These generous early believers,
they were so concerned about the welfare and well-being of
their brothers and sisters, they sold their possessions. their
goods and distributed them to those in need. Look at Acts 2.44. And all that believed were together,
and they had all things common, and so their possessions and
their goods imparted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house did
eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. They
were so generous and wanted to help others that were in need. Now look at Acts 4, just over
a page or two. Acts 4, verse 34. And it says
here in Acts 4, 34, neither was there any among them that lacked
For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them,
and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid
them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto
every man according as he had need." So this early, these early
churches, some of them were generous, generous, liberal people who
were so concerned about the well-being of those who were in need. And
that problem came from that. Here was the problem, what Paul's
writing about here. There were some people, and Paul
doesn't say they called them brethren, but he doesn't say
whether they're false brethren or true brethren, he doesn't
say. But he said there's some in the church who were lazy, living idle lives. They wouldn't
work. Wouldn't work at a trade at all.
And they were simply living off the generosity and welfare and
labor of others. And Paul said, this is a disorderly
walk. This is not the Lord's order.
The Lord has an order for all things. Home, church, business,
private lives, he has an order. All the Armenian preachers talk
about God's got a wonderful plan for you, but I know he has an
order anyway. That's something we're supposed to be doing. And
Paul called this a disorderly walk three times in these one
verses. Not to be permitted and not to
be encouraged. Verse 6, all right. Now we command
you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you
withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly.
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 6. and not after the traditions
which he received of us. Now this is a delicate, delicate
subject, but it's necessary. It's necessary to protect the
people of God who are so open-handed and open-hearted and generous
to protect them from those who use people. There are folks even
in religion that use people, take advantage of people, take
advantage of their generosity and just ride them. And grace
believers are easy to take advantage of because they're so generous.
Somebody said one time, those who believe in Christ and who
are born of God, they're rich in grace and they sympathize
towards everybody who's in need. And they're so reluctant ever
to say no. No. I've gone through this so
much, God's given you, and I feel like me, a generous heart, and
somebody comes to my door, and I know they're conning me, I
know they're taking me, and when I say no, my conscience just
tears me up, because I didn't just give it, you know. You go
through that, and just reluctant to say no to anybody who asks
for help. But this is the command of the
Lord, verse 6. Now we command you, brethren,
in the name of the Lord Jesus. What we're about to talk about
is a command. And we'll read verse 6 through
to 11 so you can see what I'm saying. The disorderly walk is
what I'm talking about. Not working. Not working. Now look at this. Living off
the kindness of gracious people. and laziness. The name of this
message is the sin of idleness. The sin of idleness. Now listen
to these verses. I would command you brethren
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw yourself
from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the
tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know that
you ought to follow us, for we behave not ourselves disorderly
among you. We didn't take advantage of your
generosity, neither did we eat any man's bread for naught. But
I worked, Paul said, I wrought with labor and travail, night
and day, that I might not be chargeable to any of you." Paul,
he didn't want to give people the impression that he was using
them, that he was in the ministry for money, that he was a covetous
man. So he just got, he worked with
his hands to keep people from getting out of there. that he
was trying to live off their generosity. Verse 9, not because
we don't have the power, he said, I'm an apostle. I've got the
right and the power to live from what the church has given me.
But to make ourselves an example unto you, to follow us, for even
when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if anybody
doesn't work, don't let him in. If any would not work, neither
should they eat. But we hear that there are some
among you which walk among you disorderly, working not at all,
but a busy body." See, that disorderly walk is not working. Isn't that clear as a bell? Now
I know a disorderly walk is in sin and evil and wickedness. That's not what he's talking
about here. He's talking about one thing, and that's people
not working. Not working. That's what he's
talking about. Now this is not a person who's
out of work temporarily. No. This is not a person who's
sick. This is not a person who's hard-pressed
occasionally. This is a fellow who walks this
way. This is his tenor of life. This
is his constant direction, laziness, idleness. This is his choice
out of laziness. Never becoming supportive of
himself and his family. Always having to have somebody
help him. Never supporting his family by
himself. Now he's telling us you're not
to continually support such people. You're to withdraw yourself from
them and from him. That's what he says. Withdraw
yourself. Now let's look at these verses.
We'll start with verse 7. You know yourself, verse 7, how
that you ought to follow us. For we behave not ourselves disorderly
among you, neither did we eat any man's bread for naught, but
we wrought with labor and travail night and day, so we might not
be chargeable. Let's look that up, Acts 18.
What Paul did, he went down here to Corinth and went to other
places. And he said, I'm an apostle, I could have passed the plate.
I could have had folks just support me. But he said, I didn't do
that because I didn't want to give the impression to anybody
that I was lazy, that I wouldn't work, that I was in the ministry
for money, and that I was dependent on them. So listen to Acts 18,
verse 1. After these things, Paul departed
from Athens and came to Colon. And he found a certain Jew named
Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife
Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all Jews to get out
of Rome. And I came unto them. And because
he was of the same craft, he did the same kind of work I did.
He abode with them, and wrought. For by their occupation they
were tent makers. That's what Paul was gifted to
do in secular work. He made tents. And so he worked
with them while he was preaching in college. And then in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2, he refers to this again. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse
9. For you remember, brethren, our
labor and travail, labor night and day, because we would not
be chargeable unto any of you. We preached unto you the gospel."
Now, the Lord's preachers are to be supported. Now let me tell
you something, they're to be supported by their churches. By their churches. That's the thing that Walter's
insisted on in Mexico, the thing we've insisted on in Africa.
We help those churches, but not their preachers. They support
their pastors. The church members support their
pastors. We help the church. I'm delighted. I knew a preacher, very personally, still know him,
pastor of a church for a long time, and I thought, well, why
is he always in a bind financially? Why is he always, never, never,
never, ever making any headway? And I found out. He never, ever
gave an offering to the church. I can't stand up here and tell
you everyone to give and not give myself. I don't know how in the world
that I could stand up and preach to you, and not every Sunday
morning just like you, come before the Lord and bring my offering,
my gift." Somebody said one time, well,
we give it right back to you and we'll pay your salary. Yeah,
but it's my salary and I want to give it. You see, and it's
yours, you work, so I'm saying that, that would be a lesson
to any preacher who may hear this. I contacted them about
it. and rebuked him. It won't work. It won't work. We set an example
for believers. This is what Paul is talking
about here. Discouraged loafing and laziness and selfishness
and all these things. Paul labored with his hands.
He said, did I read that 1 Corinthians 2.9? Yes. You remember brethren,
I labor. because we would not be chargeable
to any of you. Now look at verse 10 of our text,
2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10. Now, for even when we were with
you, this I commanded you, if anybody won't work, don't let
him eat. Did you know that this is what
the Lord, this work ethic, This work ethic. God gave that
to Adam before he ever fell. Made the garden. Turn to Genesis.
Genesis 1. This thing of working and Genesis 1 verse
28. Verse 27. Verse 27. You know, poor God put Adam in
that beautiful garden. He made the garden. It was all
there, trees and fruits and vegetables and birds and beasts and this,
all that God put at them, all that. Genesis 1, 27. So God created
man in his own image. In the image of God created he
him. Male and female created he them. And God blessed them
and God said to them, be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth,
subdue it, get busy. Have dominion over the fish of
the sea, the fowl of the air, over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth." Adam didn't sit in a hammock with
his feet propped up. He was busy in the garden of
God. We're going to do that in a new
earth. This idleness is not happiness. Happiness is production, doing
things, making things. You ladies, you sew and you knit
and you crochet and you Fix things around the house, you paint it.
Some ladies I know here paint that room six times every month,
you know. Just got to be doing something.
I wouldn't call any names. But they got to be doing something.
And that's true of anybody that knows the order of God. Well,
after Adam fell, turn back to Genesis chapter 3. He got some
orders from God in chapter 3 of Genesis after he fell. And verse 17, let's go back there. God said, Adam, because you have
hearkened to the voice of your wife, eating of the tree, which
I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is
the ground for your sake, and sorrow you are going to eat of
it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it will bring
forth. See, Adam didn't know anything about this before he
fell. Everything brought forth beauty. Everything was beautiful. Everything he planted grew. The
thorns and thistles shall bring forth to you, and thou shalt
eat of the herb of the field, and in the sweat of your face
shalt thou eat bread." And everybody who won't work says, I ain't
going to do that. I'm not going to sweat. God says, Adam, in the sweat
of your face, you're going to eat bread. You can't eat bread
unless you earn it, unless you work for it, unless you labor
for it. That's exactly right. How long are we going to work
until you return to the ground? You see, John Gill said this,
man is born to labor. It's part of the judgment God
put on him, for sin. And besides that, his conditions
and circumstances make it necessary for him to labor. He got to labor. You know why? Turn to Proverbs
16, and it will tell you why. Proverbs chapter 16 verse 26. I'll tell you why. He has to
labor. Proverbs 16 verse 26. Got it? I want you to read this.
He that laboreth, laboreth for himself. His mouth craventh it. He's got to eat. That's why he
has to labor. He's got to eat. His mouth, he
labores for himself. He labores for his children.
He labors for his wife. He labors for his friends who
can't work. Their mouths require it and his mouth requires it.
Appetite, got to work. And over here in Ecclesiastes,
Solomon said almost the same thing. Ecclesiastes 6, 7. He
must eat, so must his children. It's not in God's order to expect
somebody else to feed us. without ourselves working. It's
not in God's order, is it John? You've been talking about this
to the children. Ecclesiastes 6 verse 7, listen. All the labor
of man is for his mouth. And yet the appetite is not filled. Got to work next week too. Got
to work next year too. Got to work till we return to
the ground. When we have good health and strength and ability,
we get to work. We have the privilege of working.
We have the privilege of producing, of making things. I think about
sometimes I used to have a garden and I grew things and sometimes
Darcy and I would sit down at the table and there would be
tomatoes, corn, and beans all out of our garden. And it just
felt so good, you know, and some of you all have garden experience.
Well, the same thing's true of a man who works, builds a house,
works at the plant, works at the oil refinery, works at the
railroad, works forever, and he brings in those things that
are necessary for his family, and he can sit back with satisfaction
that God's blessed his labor, took care of his children. That's
just so. All right, verse 11. So if he
said in verse 10, if a man won't work, he shouldn't eat. Verse 11 says, we hear that some
who which walk among you, this is, like I said a while ago,
it's not a man temporarily out of work. No, sir, that's not
what we're talking about. If anybody's temporarily out
of work, we help. And if anybody's sick, we help. If anybody can't work, we help.
This is a walk. Those walk among you disordered,
working not at all, but are busybodies." I read something on that. It
really came home. Those who do not work with their
minds and do not work with their hands usually spend their idle
time working their tongues. Say it again, preacher, all right,
I will. That's what he said. They're idle and they're busybodies.
They got time on their hands. You men get up at 5 o'clock,
6 o'clock, go to work, work all day, come in, work around the
house, work with your tomatoes. No, you don't have time to gossip.
But these folks that won't work with their minds and their hands
usually spend their idle time working their tongues. And the
busybodies, having nothing constructive to do or profitable to do, they
spend their time interfering in the private lives of other
people. That's a busybody. They have too much idle time
and they spend it interfering in the private lives and business
of other people. Now then, verse 12, Now them
that are such them that are such." This is what this is saying,
them that are such. We command and exhort by the
Lord Jesus Christ three things, three words, quietness, work,
and eat. Quietness, work, and eat. Paul
says, if I can get the ear of someone given to idleness who
will not work, but expects somebody else to provide for him and for
his family, I'll tell him three things. Number one, cultivate
quietness, peace, repose. Cultivate contentment. Be satisfied
with who you are. Be satisfied with what you have. Be satisfied where the Lord has
placed you in contentment. Secondly, they
work. With quietness they work. With
contentment they work. with peace and repose, satisfied
with... This is just the way God created
us. It's something that must be done.
Must be done. All right, they work. Work and
labor is honorable. I don't know whether we may be
giving the wrong impression to our young people by by almost
indicating that I hear people say, well, I don't want to be
pumping gas somewhere. What's wrong with pumping gas? But if you don't go to cottage
and get your PhD, you're going to have to get out there and
work like everybody else. Well, tell me what's wrong with that.
Somebody's got to pick up my garbage. Somebody's got to fix your automobile. and get dirty and his fingernails
dirty and his hands crack open in the wintertime because of
the gasoline and oil on them. But I take my hat off and bow
to the man that works with his hands. Labor working, I'll show
you a scripture that says that, Ephesians 4, Ephesians chapter
4, verse 28, isn't it? Ephesians 4, I think,
28. Let him that stole steal no more. Let's don't have any more of
this pyramid stuff. Let's don't have any more of
this sending out letters. You send this, you send me $5 and
then send it out and see if you can get more people to send you
money. You know, that's stealing. Any kind of return that's without
any work or effort or production is wrong. I let him that steal, steal no
more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, the thing
that's good. And he may have to give it to
him that need it. What's wrong with getting under
the house and fixing the plumbing? Electrician. This is honorable work. Honorable
work. Farmer out there. drive down
the road and stop and buy something from these fellas and they pick
up trucks selling potatoes off the back of the truck and corn
and beans and tomatoes. They raged if their hands are
dirty. They got calluses. They worked. They worked. That's what happened to the South,
and you know this Ronnie, when they had the slaves. They were
raising a bunch of no good, shiftless, idle, Sons and daughters that
didn't know how to work, those black men were doing it for them.
That's exactly what's happening in this house. It would, by this
time, have been, have nobody, white, knowing what to do. Somebody
else did their work for them. And the third thing, he said,
quietness, work and labor in an honorable profession. And
let me tell you something, young people, listen to me a minute.
Turn to Proverbs 23. 5 verse 23, listen to this, I want
you to look at this, don't you look carefully at this
now, 5 verse 23, 4, and this is a danger
today, especially, labor not to be rich, don't make that your
goal, don't make that your goal, money is not it, labor not to
be rich, cease for mine own wisdom, Will thou set thine eyes upon
that which is nothing, which is not? Riches certainly make
themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Work all your life to try to
get money and riches, and then one day you've got to let her
go. Labor not for the things that perish, but labor for eternal
life in Christ Jesus. Let your work be a means, not
an end. Let your labor and what you're
earning be a means to pay your bills and so forth. But seek
ye first the kingdom of God. That verse ought to be just circled
two or three times, that labor not to be rich. You don't have
anything when you are rich. You don't have anything if you
don't have Christ. First Timothy 6.8, listen to
this. Chapter 6, verse 8, listen to
this verse. Having food and raiment, let
us therewith be content. Work and labor, honorable employment. God has gifted every man with
the ability to do something. And whatever God's gifted him
to be able to do, it's an honorable profession. And then the third thing he says
to him, quietness, work, and eat your own bread, which is
either earned by your labor or bought by your money. And you
can rejoice in it and thank God for it. Thank God for the ability
to work, a place to work, and thank God that he's blessed you
with the strength to work and supplied your needs through your
labor. All right, he's going to talk
to everybody else now. He's going to talk to those generous
people that I talked about a while ago that some of these folks
were taking advantage of. In verse 13, but you brethren,
the rest of you, if you're not idle, and you're not, everybody
here is, I don't, I'm teaching this because this is the way
it is in the Scripture, but you brethren, and here's what you
want to guard against. Don't be weary in well-doing.
to all the members of the congregation, Paul says, you who are diligent
and industrious in your calling, you who work with your hands,
you who take care of your families, you who love to give and help
people who are in need, don't be discouraged by these people
who are busybodies and won't work. Don't be discouraged either
by those who abuse your liberality. You're going to get abused Your
kindness is going to go to ungrateful people. But you must not, you
must not on their account quit giving. You must not on their
account cease to do good and help other people. Don't let
a bad experience rob you of the joy of giving and helping others.
Just go on your way. If you run into a bad experience
And you find out these people, you help them. Why do you find
out a lot of the time, don't you, that the people you help
are unworthy? Well, you'll meet one that is,
that needs help and you can help them. So don't give up. Don't
be weary in well-doing. Don't be discouraged. Don't let
a bad experience rob you of the joy of helping others. To this
end, we've been called. Now let me tell you this, he
says, if any man Obey not our word by this epistle,
and we've gone through this chapter 2, chapter 3, and the night we
read over the study of chapter 1, and he talked about everything
he said in this epistle. If a fellow doesn't like it and
won't obey it, you note that man. What does that mean? Single
him out and have no company with him. Don't associate with him. Don't keep company with him.
Why would he do that? Now listen carefully, listen.
Because if you humor a person who's walking disorderly, you
humor him, pacify him, tolerate him, encourage him in his disorderly
walk, you'll encourage him to keep on that way. You just keep on supporting him
and keep on pushing him and keep on promoting him while he's walking
in a disorderly fashion, he's going to keep it up. Like a lot of these welfare folks
around here, they've been, their granddaddies were on welfare
and they passed on down to them and they've given it to their
children. It's just, it's a system. They work a whole lot harder
at not working than they do at working. But if you avoid him,
if you single him out and say, I can't put up with that, he'll
learn your displeasure and he may repent. That's what Paul
said. He just may repent. He's not
going to as long as you carry him. He's not going to repent,
but he may be. Now verse 15 now, and this goes
for anybody who doesn't believe what we preach. Don't count him
as an enemy. We didn't say that. Don't get
earthly. No, don't do that. Admonish him
as a brother. Is he a brother? Well, he's a
brother in Adam if he's not in Christ. That's what Scott said
to a fellow one time. He called him brother, and a
man said, well, you know whether he's saved? He said, well, if
I don't get him in Christ, I'll get him in Adam. Rebuke him as
a brother, as a brother. But let him know you're not happy. Like when I wrote to the preacher
brother. I just wanted him to know I wasn't happy. And I couldn't
associate with that kind of attitude. Can't do it. Now the God, the Lord of Peace,
that's our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He's the King of Peace,
He's the Prince of Peace, He's the Author of Peace, and He perfected
our peace with the blood of this cross. He's the Lord of Peace. May He give you peace. May He give you peace by all
means. The Lord be with you. You're
not rich and want the Lord be with you. God be with you. The
Lord of peace, give you peace. This salutation of power with
my own hand, which is the token in every epistle that I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen.