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"Finally brethren, pray for us." Paul is here establishing the necessity of prayer and they need that he has and those who were with him, for their prayers. Here we see that Paul was experiencing some bad times. He was being lied about by evil people, he was being persecuted by wicked men of no faith. Paul believed that God would honor the prayers of these Thessalonians and not only deliver him from those who persecuted him but would also honor his efforts in Corinth as He had in Thessalonica. This was one way that the Thessalonians could be part of Paul's ministry.
Paul, in turn, encourages the Thessalonians to increasingly trust in the Lord. Remember that in this chapter, Paul is trying to establish these people in Christian habits. By "trusting" we lay hold of God's boundless Grace. By "accepting" Christ, we claim perseverance to the end.
What about that period from "re-birth" to "death"? That's the time that Paul is speaking about. Trust can level out those bumps that are certain to occur during that time and God's Grace is sufficient for every need.
Paul prays that the Lord will direct their hearts and enlighten their understanding so that they know that God's love is steadfast and that He is faithful and just in His care for them. Wiersbe, in his commentary on this scripture, sees a great need in the church today to follow these instructions. He believes that we trust our programs more than we trust God, that we advertise "our plans" more than we advertise God's. He believes that we spend to much time and money on human words than we do on the Word of God.
The universe was created and is sustained by the Word of God. Surly that Word can sustain His Church. Preaching from the pulpit has to often been replaced by entertainment. Someone has said that when the sheep are fed, they will flock together in love, reproduce and follow the shepherd, and they can be "fleeced" and they will love it.
So in these verses, Paul establishes 4 great responsibilities for the Christian:
To do this, we need to know the Word and lay hold of the strength that comes
through prayer.
Working and Eating
["Click here for II Thessalonians 3:6-13"]
Here Paul establishes the Thessalonians in the areas of working and eating. This is an interesting passage of scripture. Remember the situation that caused Paul to write this letter. Two things had occurred. One, we call socialism. They had put all that they had into a common fund and each received according to their needs. The idea being that all would be alike. There would be no poor or any rich. This never worked, and never will, because of the nature of some people to be lazy. The second problem was the belief that Jesus was coming soon, so why work, Jesus would take care of everything when He came. So many quit working, assembled themselves together and waited on the Second Coming of the Lord.
Sounds good, but what happened? Soon the money was gone. What happened? Why wasn't Jesus here? Could Paul have been wrong? When Paul heard about this he suspects that there was more laziness involved than the expectation of the Second Coming. So he sets some rules:
It's a well-known fact that idleness will lead to trouble, and so it did. These people who quit their jobs became "busybodies", meddling in other people's affairs and spreading rumors.
Think back, did God ever call anyone who was not working? Moses was caring for sheep, Gideon was threshing wheat, David was caring for his father's sheep, Peter, Andrew, James and John were busy fishing. Paul was very busy when the Lord called him, even if it was busy doing the wrong thing. If you want something done, get someone who is busy to do it. Work was an idea that was contrary to the Greeks. The Jews honored honest labor and required their Rabbis to have a trade but the Greeks despised manual labor and left it up to their slaves.
The church at Thessalonica was made up of mostly Greeks. Paul knew this when he went there, so he set the example and worked at making tents to support himself. He was showing those Greeks that work was good for the soul. He did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it. So his work ethic was twofold. It was meant to set an example and it was done to shout the mouths of those who accused him of "sponging" off of people. Many "peddlers" of religion in Greece where all religions were welcomed, did so for the purpose of "filling" their pockets, but Paul insisted that the Gospel of Jesus Christ we free to all and he would not let anything hinder that ministry.
Then Paul hangs a verse on the end of this thought as though to balance it. "Do
not be weary in well doing." Sometimes we are unemployed and cannot help it.
We all have had times of need and here Paul encourages us to meet peoples need when
we can and not grow weary in doing it. Part of that help must be in the
encouragement of them to help themselves and seek out work where it may be found.
It is a very delicate chore that we are called to do.
Hearing and Doing
["Click here for II Thessalonians 3:14-15"]
Lastly, Paul establishes guidelines for hearing and doing. This section covers a wide range of activities that govern our attitudes and opinions.
First, what should our attitude be toward Christians who disobey the scriptures? In verse 14, Paul says, "Have nothing to do with them that they might be ashamed." In other words, shame them into doing what's right. But Paul fortunately does not stop there, he gives us instructions on how we are to do this. First, do not look upon them as an enemy. Second, warn them as a brother. All church action toward a member should be done out of love and the desire to see that person change. It should never be done out of revenge.
I thought it might be interesting to look at other similar cases where Paul instructs in church discipline. In Philippians 4:1-3, he deals with differences between members. "If a brother or sister sins against you, either deliberately or unknowingly, you should go to that person privately and seek to get the matter settled." "Only if the person refuses to settle the matter, should you bring anyone else into the picture." In the case of a doctrinal error, we should first determine why the person is teaching the wrong doctrine, determine if it is out of ignorance or if they are doing it knowingly. Then, Second Timothy 2:23 says, first you must attempt to teach him patiently the truth, then secondly, Titus 1:10, if he resists, rebuke him. In Galatians 2:11, Paul had to do this to Peter. In Romans 16:17, Paul says that if he continues in his false doctrine, you must avoid him.
In Galatians 6:1-3, a case of a believer caught in a sin, "Seek to restore him with gentleness and love." Sometimes we pass judgment to quickly and irreparable damage is done. In a case of a repeating trouble maker, in Titus 3:10, we find a person who was guilty of this and Paul says that we should give these people two official warnings. If they continue in their trouble making, a third and final warning should be given. If they continue, they should be rejected from the church.
The second thing that these verses teach us is what our attitude should be toward
other members of the congregation. The word is simply "Peace at all times in all
ways." Paul believes that if there is trouble in the church, it means that there
is trouble in people's hearts. If we are to escape this kind of trouble, we must
make Jesus Lord of all of our lives. If He is really Lord of our lives, than peace
will be our chief concern and if peace is our chief concern, Paul says that the
Lord will then be with us. The Lord will only work with a peaceful loving church.
The Conclusion
["Click here for II Thessalonians 3:16-18"]
The final instructions in this letter deals with the authenticity of this letter. Notice the author of this letter was established two ways. First, by the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. All scripture is established this way. Only by the Grace of God can any one say that what is written in the Bible is the word of God. Paul knew this, he also knew that his handwriting was distinctive and he tells them to look for this. "This," Paul says, "Is the way that I write." I'm sure Paul was speaking not only of the characteristics of his penmanship, but also of the nature in which he spoke. The contents of Paul's letters all are characteristic of Paul himself. "You can be assured that I, Paul, wrote this letter by the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Paul makes a note of this here at the end of this letter because, as we have noted before, there were false letters being circulated that attributed to Paul. He wanted them to be able to differentiate between that which was false and that which was true.
Finally his benediction for them was that the Lord of peace Himself might give them peace at all times, in all ways and that the Grace of the Lord be with them. What more could Paul have wanted for them than Peace and Grace, both f4rom the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus ends a second letter that Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica to try to correct false teachings that had been creeping into the church and to encourage those who were suffering.
THUS ENDS THE BOOK OF SECOND THESSALONIANS
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