A CHARGE TO THE CHURCH

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 26, 2019 under PM Bible Study |

PM Bible Study Group: June 26, 2019 from 2 Thessalonians 3:13-18

Theme: Paul offers some closing words to the persecuted church in Thessalonica.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

We come now the closing words that the apostle Paul wrote in this small letter to his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. And because we’re coming to the close, it would be a good time to stop and review where this letter had taken us.

Paul—along with Sylvanus and Timothy—wrote to encourage this church with the good news they had heard about it just a short while after sending their first letter. The Thessalonian believers had been suffering persecution from their countrymen, but the report was that these believers were nevertheless enduring in the faith and were remaining faithful to the Lord. Paul and his colleagues wrote, in the first chapter, to offer enthusiastic words of thanks and praise for their faithfulness.

But there was a problem; and they dealt with this problem in the second chapter. Some within the Thessalonian church had been made upset in their faith by some false teaching that had spread among them through fake letters—written as if they had come from Paul and the other apostles. These letters propagated the idea that the Day of the Lord had come, and that the Thessalonian believers had been left behind. Paul corrected this doctrinal misunderstanding; and gave encouragement to keep on working and laboring in the prospect of the Lord’s return.

In Chapter three, he asked his brothers and sisters in Christ to keep on praying for him and for the work of spreading the gospel. But he also exhorted some within the church not to be lazy about the Great Commission’s call, or to be disorderly in their conduct.

We have found, then, that we could divide this book up into three sections according to the three chapters: Chapter 1 deals with the offering of thanksgiving; Chapter 2 with matters of doctrine; and Chapter three with prayer and exhortation—all with an emphasis on continuing faithfully in the cause of Christ. And we suggested that the key verse to this book is 2:15; “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”

There’s much good for us in this little letter. And now, we come to Paul’s closing words to this persecuted but victorious church family that had encouraged his heart so much. We find it in 3:13-18;

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (2 Thessalonians 3:13-18).

This is a very personal and warm closing; and in it, we find a set of practical exhortations and words of encouragement to this persecuted church. They are words that reflect many of the themes dealt with throughout this letter; and they are words that are a blessing to us also, in the challenges that we face as a church today.

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First, Paul urged the Thessalonian believers …

1. DO NOT GROW WEARY (v. 13).

He wrote; “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” And the use of the word that is here translated “but” may be intended to point our attention back to what he had just written to them. In verses 6-12, he wrote;

But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12).

It may be that some had misunderstood the promise of the Lord’s return; and had gone so far as to become lazy and indulgent in their Christian life—perhaps thinking that it didn’t much matter what else they did in life, since the Lord was coming soon to take them away. Whatever the motivation had been, though, Paul urged these Christians not to grow weary in their work, or to allow their zeal for the Lord to grow weak. To the Christians in Galatia, Paul once wrote;

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9-10).

This would be particularly important to do in anticipation of the Lord’s return. That’s not a time to get lazy. Rather, that’s the time to be even more energetic in our labors for the Lord. We can do a great service to one another by encouraging each other in this. We can ‘stir’ one another ‘up’ in view of the Lord’s soon coming. Hebrews 10:23-25 says;

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25).

Another thing that Paul urged the church to do was to …

2. ADMONISH THOSE WHO ARE OFF TRACK (vv. 14-15).

He went on to write, “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed” (v. 14). This may be a further exhortation with regard to those who had been living in a ‘disorderly’ (that is, ‘lazy’) manner. The church family is not only to make sure that it is zealous and faithful in its labors for the Lord, but it is also to admonish those who refuse to do so.

Note that Paul speaks of “anyone who does not obey our word in this epistle”. Already, he had spoken of those who had been writing false ‘epistles’ (2:2); and it may be that some of the content of those fake epistles encouraged laziness and disobedient behavior. And if this is so, then Paul is setting-forth this letter as a source of authority to be followed and obeyed. If any of them will not walk as Paul has written to them, then the rest of the church family is to “note” or “mark” that person out for special attention; and to refrain from keeping familiar association with them. This is so that this disobedient church member will become ashamed of their behavior and repent.

This sounds a lot like what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians. They had a member of the church who was engaging in immoral behavior. Paul wrote to them and said;

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person (1 Corinthians 5:9-11).

The purpose of this was not to leave that disobedient person in a state of alienation; but rather to move them to repentance. In the case of the Corinthian church, that’s what eventually happened; and the immoral man was eventually restored to the fellowship (2 Corinthians 2:6-8). And that’s Paul’s intention also with those who may be disobedient to his epistle to the Thessalonians. Notice how he tells them in verse 15, “Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

The church is the Lord Jesus’ appointed and Spirit-empowered witness-bearer of Himself to this world. And so, it’s vital that we show forth a good witness—not only in the way that we encourage faithfulness within our fellowship, but also in the way that we lovingly deal with those who are behaving unfaithfully. We demonstrate to the world both the Lord’s unchanging character and His gracious pardon when we do this correctly.

Now; those are words of exhortation. Paul then seems to end with words of blessing. He first encourages the church to …

3. REST IN THE PEACE OF CHRIST (v. 16).

He wrote, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all” (v. 16). This is a wonderful blessing; and the way that Paul says it is important to notice.

Note first how he speaks of the Lord. He calls Him “the Lord of peace”. The Lord Jesus is not only the one who brings us into a peaceful relationship with God the Father; but He is also the one who is the giver of peace in daily circumstances. He is the great source of overwhelming and victorious peace; because the peace He gives us is His own peace. He is the one who once told His disciples,

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

And notice, in this light, that Paul wishes for this “Lord of peace” to give peace to his readers. In the original language, there is a definite article before the word “peace”. It is best translated, ‘the peace’. It is the peace that cannot be had from any other source from this world; because it is the true, ultimate peace that prevails in all circumstances. Jesus also told His disciples;

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

This is truly “the” peace; because it comes from a relationship of dependent love upon Jesus Himself. Paul Himself experienced this peace. When he was in prison, he was able to say;

… I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13).

It is a peace that truly prevails—no matter what the circumstances may be—because it is Jesus’ own gift of peace to us. And that’s why Paul closed off this wish for peace by saying, “The Lord be with you all.” It is a peace that is the blessed privilege of all those who are in close fellowship with Him. What a word of encouragement this is to the persecuted church! Whether persecuted or not, may it be our daily experience too.

And finally, notice how Paul encouraged the church to …

4. BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S GRACE (vv. 17-18).

Paul closed off this particular letter in a very unusual way. He wrote, “ The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write” (v. 17). It may be that Paul here ended his letter with his own signature—writing his own name in a distinguished style because (as we’re told in Galatians 6:11), he had to write big due to his bad eyesight.

But there may be more to it than just his signature. He wrote a familiar ‘salutation’ or ‘greeting’ with his own hand; a sign in every epistle that he wrote. Note carefully what he writes in verse 18; “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Did you know that you will find this kind of closing in every one of Paul’s New Testament letters? You find it in Romans 16:24 (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”); 1 Corinthians 16:23 (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”); 2 Corinthians 13:14 (“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”); Galatians 6:18 (“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”); Ephesians 6:24 (“Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”); 1 Thessalonians 5:28 (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”); 1 Timothy 6:21b (“Grace be with you. Amen.”) ; 2 Timothy 4:22 (“The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.”); Titus 3:15b (“Grace be with you all. Amen.”); Philemon 25 (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”); and—of course—here in 2 Thessalonians 3:18. Interestingly, you also find it in Hebrews 13:25 (“Grace be with you all. Amen.”); which may suggest that Paul is also its author. Why would Paul make a special point of this? It may be because there had been some who had been sending out fake letters; and he wanted the believers in Thessalonica to be assured that this one was genuine. He pointed out to them his trade-mark closing; so that they would know that it was really from him.

But in all this, we shouldn’t miss the importance of the words of this particular closing. In a time when the church is suffering trouble and persecution and opposition, the precious assurance of God’s grace is a rich treasure. That grace—our gift through faith in Jesus—was the great theme of the gospel that Paul preached. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” is a wonderful word of blessing—particularly as it comes from the apostle Paul’s own hand. It was a wish that they would all live faithfully and consistently in God’s grace.

May it be that we always live in it too.

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We may not be in the same sort of trial that the church in Thessalonica suffered. But we, too, are called to be the faithful witnesses of our Lord in a hostile environment. May these blessings and exhortations be ones that we take to heart as we also “stand fast and hold the traditions” which we had been taught.

EA