Living for Jesus in the Real World
2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - December 30, 2009
*I can’t believe it’s been 20 years, but Alan Jackson wrote this country hit:
Cowboys don't cry, -- And heroes don't die.
And good always wins -- Again and again.
And love is a sweet dream -- That always comes true
Oh, if life were like the movies, -- I'd never be blue.
But here in the real world, -- It's not that easy at all,
'Cause when hearts get broken, -- It's real tears that fall.
And darlin', it's sad but true, -- But the one thing I've learned from you,
Is how the boy don't always get the girl, -- Here in the real world. (1)
*God knows we live in the real world, not in some fairy-tale land where everything is hunky-dory all the time. God knows we live in the real world.
1. So sometimes He calls us to difficult decisions.
*God calls us to some difficult decisions, -- hard choices for His high calling. We see an example in vs. 6, where God tells us to separate ourselves from certain other Christians. As Paul said, “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.”
*The word picture for “walking disorderly” is a soldier marching out of step. And God commands us to separate ourselves from Christians who are living in a disorderly way. That’s not an easy thing to do. It is something that we have to approach in a very careful and prayerful way. And it helps us to understand the specific situation Paul addressed here.
*A.T. Robertson explained that in Thessalonica some of the Christians were victims of false teachers with the bogus theory that the Lord would return any second. So you might as well quit working and take-it-easy until the Lord got back. And that’s what some of those people did. Of course their food ran out pretty quickly and they began to mooch off other believers. (2)
*Now Jesus did tell us to be always watching and ready for His return. But He also said that we did not know the day or time. And the Lord addressed this “take-it-easy” error in Luke’s Gospel. Listen to Luke 19:11-13:
11. Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12. Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’”
*Jesus wants us to keep busy, keep working and keep serving until He comes. Thankfully, most believers don’t fall into the “take-it-easy” error. But I think that a few years ago a group of believers in Korea or Japan did quit their jobs, and started waiting on their roofs for the Lord to return. So this does happen, and Paul dealt with it very strongly in vs. 10-12:
10. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
11. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. (i.e. busy running around doing nothing.)
12. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
*Paul said, -- God said, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” Of course the assumption is that they are able to work, just not willing to work. Now we will probably never have to deal with that specific problem. But there is a greater principle here, because there are other ways to walk disorderly, not according to the tradition we received from God’s Word.
*John Gill helps us understand the times when we should separate ourselves from disorderly Christians. Gill said that this is “only to be done when they ‘walk disorderly’; -- not for every disorder they are guilty of.” That’s because “there is no man (who) lives without sin; and church members have their infirmities, and will have, as long as they are in the flesh, or in the body; and they are not to be made offenders for a word, or for a single disorder, or for the common infirmities of life. Nor are the just to be set aside for a small offence, not continued in.”
*Gill says: “It is one thing to be guilty of a disorder, and another thing to walk disorderly; which denotes a way, a course, a series of disorder, and proceeding on in it, a going from evil to evil, an increasing to more ungodliness; for walking is a progressive action, and disorderly persons do not stop, but grow worse and worse . . .” (3)
*So we are talking about a case where someone who obviously, habitually and increasingly is bound and determined to walk in the wrong direction. Down in vs. 14&15, Paul shows us how to handle these cases:
14. 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.
15. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish (warn or gently reprove) him as a brother.
*God’s main goal here is that the person would realize the problem and turn back to Him. We are not to separate ourselves from these wayward people because we look down on them, or because we don’t love them, or because we don’t care about them. We are to warn them like much-loved brothers and sisters. But God knows we live in the real world, so sometimes He calls us to difficult decisions.
2. And God blesses us with excellent examples.
*Paul is a great example for us in vs. 7-9:
7. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you;
8. 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,
9. not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
*Paul was basically saying here that all of the work his mission team did when they were at Thessalonica, they did without pay. Paul said, “We worked extra overtime, day and night. We toiled and we struggled, so we wouldn’t be a burden to you.”
*Many times Paul supported his own ministry, and he did this by making tents. Was Paul trying to teach that churches should not support their ministers? The answer is no. Churches definitely should support their ministers and missionaries. Paul made this clear in 1 Cor 9:4-14:
4. Do we have no right to eat and drink?
5. Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
6. Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?
7. Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
8. Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?
9. For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.'' Is it oxen God is concerned about?
10. Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.
11. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?
12. If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.
13. Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?
14. Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
*There were certainly other times when Paul did receive financial support. He talked about this for example in Philippians 4:15-16. There Paul said:
15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.
16. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
*So Paul was accepting money from the Philippians at the very time he was not accepting it from the Thessalonians. Maybe Paul did not accept money from brand new churches. Maybe the Thessalonians were going through hard times. They were certainly going through hard times when Paul wrote this letter. We get a hint of this in chapter 1 vs. 4, where Paul said, “We ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure”
*For whatever reason, Paul’s work among the Thessalonians was a situation that called for a special sacrifice. And Paul set the example by making that sacrifice for the Thessalonian believers. As always, Paul is an excellent example for us. And Christians, we are surrounded by other excellent examples. Almost every day of my life I am blessed by the way someone I know is living for Jesus. And these living examples inspire us. They help us to live for Jesus too. I think all of us here tonight could say that we have had some great examples in our lives.
*Here is a great testimony from a young lady who lives in Huber Heights, Ohio. Her name is Holly Ruddy, and she writes:
“My grandmother was the one who took me to church at a young age and introduced me to Jesus. She was the one who raised me during the early years after my parents divorced. She was the one who prayed for me as I grew up, going between parents and providing a port in the storm when things got too tense with my parents.”
*Isn’t that great! -- “My grandmother was a port in the storm.” Holly went on: “Had it not been for my godly grandmother, I shudder to think how my life would have turned out. Even though as an adult, I have often failed, her example to me has been my beacon and I thank God for her. To me, she was the epitome of Jesus in the earth. She truly expressed his love for me through her life.” (4)
*God knows we live in the real world, so He blesses us with excellent examples.
3. And God leads us with dependable directions.
*We see some of these directions in these verses. Notice that in vs. 6 Paul says: “We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And in vs. 12, to those who were not working, Paul said: “We command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And in vs. 14, Paul said: “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.”
*Why did Paul say these things? -- Because he wanted them and us to know that this is not just Paul’s word. It’s God’s Word. And it is always reliable as a guide for life.
*Zig Ziglar tells the story of a young couple, lost on a road way out in the country. They spotted an old farmer, so they stopped the car and asked, “Sir, could you tell us where this road will take us?”
*Without a moment's hesitation the old farmer wisely replied, “Son, this road will take you anywhere in the world you want to go, -- if you are moving in the right direction.” (5)
*The only way to be sure you are moving in the right direction in life is to follow the directions in the Word of God. God knows we live in the real world, so He leads us with dependable directions.
4. And God gives us priceless presents.
*God gives us priceless presents, -- invaluable treasures, things you will never be able to get from any other source. And we see some of these presents in vs. 16-18:
16. Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17. The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.
18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
*The first present we see here is the peace of God. What a blessing Paul prays for in vs. 16! “May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.” This includes eternal peace -- peace with God through the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But this peace also includes internal peace -- the peace of God that passes understanding, as we trust in the Lord to help.
*Here in the real world, God gives us His peace. And He gives us His presence. Also in vs. 16: “The Lord be with you all.” Young Christian, old Christian, rich Christian, poor Christian, white or black, smart or not so smart, struggling or strong, “The Lord be with you all.”
*Here in the real world, God gives us His presence. And He gives us His grace. This is in vs. 18: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
*God’s grace reflects His super-abundant ability to help us, and His super-abundant willingness to help us, because of His boundless love for us. I like what Philip Yancey said about Paul and God’s grace:
“Paul knew better than anyone who has ever lived that grace comes undeserved, at God’s initiative and not our own. Knocked flat on the ground on the way to Damascus, he never recovered from the impact of grace. The word appears no later than the second sentence in every one of his letters. As Frederick Buechner says, ‘Grace is the best he can wish them because grace is the best he himself ever received. . .’ When it came to grace, Paul stressed that a price has been paid-by God himself. God gave up His own Son rather than give up on humanity.” (6)
*God knows we live in the real world. So He offers His grace to all who will receive it by trusting in Jesus Christ.
*Here in the real world.
-God calls us to some difficult decisions.
-But He blesses us with excellent examples.
-He leads us with dependable directions.
-And He gives us priceless presents -- even His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
1. “Here in the Real World” by Alan Jackson - released 1989
2. A.T. Robertson’s Word Pictures on II Thess 2:15
3. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible - II Thess 3:6
4. SermonCentral illustration - SOURCE: Holly Ruddy, Huber Heights, OH. http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/grandparents/features/grandparents.html
5. “See You at the Top” by Zig Ziglar - copyright August 30, 2000 - Pelican Publishing Company
6. “What’s So Amazing about Grace?” by Philip Yancey - Zondervan Publishing House - Copyright 1997 - p. 59
