WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.019 Okay, so we're looking again at 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, at least part of it. 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:15.140 Derek looked at the first part last week. 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:23.059 And it's really helpful to remember when you come to a passage like this that what we just 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:26.960 read isn't the only thing that Paul sends to the church at Thessalonica. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:27.960 It's one letter. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:32.600 And so even though we've been looking at this for a few weeks, when the church received 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:37.560 it, you could have read the whole thing in five minutes, in ten minutes. 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:43.520 And I think I say that to say this passage, it's really helpful to read it in spite of, 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:49.920 not in spite of, in light of what Paul has already said in this letter. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:54.480 And in particular, I want to just note one verse. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:58.000 In chapter 1 verse 3, this is Paul's opening. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:01.399 And he says this to the church in Thessalonica. 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:08.719 He says, We ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers, as it is right, because 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:12.400 your faith is growing abundantly. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.319 And the love of every one of you, this is the point, what I want you to notice most, 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:24.000 he says, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:29.040 And I think that verse is really significant, because when you read people talk about the 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:35.359 difference between the different letters that Paul wrote, one of the distinctives of Paul's 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:40.840 letter to the Thessalonians is that it is clear that he is really proud of them. 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:47.079 And he is amazed by their faith, and he is loving, watching their love grow. 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:53.200 And I think that's the best context for understanding why, when we get to chapter 3, Paul looks 00:01:53.200 --> 00:02:00.920 at this thing called idleness, this sin, and he takes it really seriously. 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:07.040 Because when Paul realizes that there's a small contingent in the church that's being 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:14.240 idle, I think part of what scares him about that is it's a threat to what has been so 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:19.120 wonderful about the church in Thessalonica, which is that their love for one another has 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.199 been growing and growing and growing. 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:27.079 And so when Paul realizes that there's idleness in the church, he's worried about that because 00:02:27.079 --> 00:02:30.679 that is a threat to the love of the church. 00:02:30.679 --> 00:02:37.679 And so tonight we're going to look at what Paul says about the sin of idleness in this 00:02:37.679 --> 00:02:38.679 letter. 00:02:38.679 --> 00:02:40.799 And there's only one point that I want to make tonight. 00:02:40.799 --> 00:02:44.479 And so if you hear nothing else, just hear these words. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:50.319 I want to draw out one point from what Paul says here, which is this, where idleness grows, 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.959 love doesn't. 00:02:52.959 --> 00:02:56.799 Where idleness grows, love doesn't. 00:02:56.799 --> 00:03:03.719 And what you find in Paul's letter is that it does seem like idleness, if it's not growing, 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:06.919 it's not going away, even though Paul has said something about it. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:12.359 And so if you read all of his letters, you realize this is at least the third time that 00:03:12.359 --> 00:03:16.439 Paul has warned the church in Thessalonica about idleness. 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:23.439 So if you were to go back and read 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, Paul says to the church, and it's 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:28.359 almost, I don't want to call it, maybe it's not a side comment, but he just says in passing, 00:03:28.359 --> 00:03:34.319 make sure that you work, that you live quietly and you work with your hands. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.520 So he's telling you, make sure that you're working. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:42.199 And then in the passage that we read tonight in verse 10, he says, even when we were with 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.599 you, we would give you this commandment, that if anyone is not willing to work, let him 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:47.599 not eat. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:53.319 So at least twice before he's been telling them, listen, everyone in your church needs 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:57.599 not to be idle, but if you have the ability to work, you should be working. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:02.439 And that's why when you come to chapter 3, and he's using such strong language like 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:06.759 keep a distance from these people who are being idle, part of the reason that he's 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:11.519 speaking so strongly is because he said this over and over again, and nothing seems to 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.920 have changed. 00:04:13.920 --> 00:04:20.720 And when you read people talking about what actually is going on with this idleness, well, 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.400 one theologian put it like this, he says, the bad news about this passage is we don't 00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:27.280 know why these people were being idle. 00:04:27.280 --> 00:04:32.120 And Derek has done a really good job of showing how one of the things that Paul talks about 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:37.639 in this letter is that these people thought that Jesus was coming soon or had already 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:41.879 come soon, had already come soon really, and that they were, that's what Paul is trying 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:44.759 to correct them and say, Jesus has not already come. 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:49.240 And some people think that the idleness that was going on in this church were people who 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:54.719 were so sure that Jesus was going to come any day that they just stopped working. 00:04:54.719 --> 00:04:55.959 And they thought, why work? 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:58.319 Because Jesus is going to be here any minute. 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:00.839 And some people think that's not what happened. 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:06.039 And some people think that the idleness is just people who figured out how to take advantage 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:09.040 of the socioeconomic systems of the time. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.439 And they just became idle and they realized that other people in the church would support 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:14.560 them, so why work? 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:16.400 And they just stopped working. 00:05:16.400 --> 00:05:18.760 And so one theologian said, that's the bad news. 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:20.320 We don't know why they're being idle. 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:25.280 But the good news is it doesn't matter because what Paul addresses here is not why they're 00:05:25.280 --> 00:05:28.000 being idle. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.160 What he's doing is he's addressing the reality of idleness. 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:35.800 And in that sense, there's something universal to what Paul is saying here that applies to 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:40.040 idleness wherever you find it. 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.800 And what we do know is what idleness looks like in this context. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:51.199 So in verse 10, Paul says, we commanded you, if anyone is not willing to work, let him 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.360 not eat, for we hear that some among you are walking in idleness. 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.680 And so what it looks like is happening is the people here, there's a group of people 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:02.680 in the church who are just not working at all. 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:07.040 And they're not providing for their own bread, and they're just expecting other people in 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.840 the church to provide for them. 00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:16.400 And let me just say, you could have just heard me say, Paul is really mad at people who don't 00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:19.040 work, which is not true. 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:24.040 What it says is Paul is really frustrated with people who are able to work and are not 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:25.540 willing to work. 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.699 Some people for various reasons can't work. 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:33.519 And the church is always called to be merciful to the needy and to the poor. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:40.839 But the operative word in verse 10, he says, we hear that if anyone is not willing to work, 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:45.399 and that's the difference, Paul is saying there's people who are not willing to work. 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:51.079 Anyway, so clearly Paul in this passage is his anti-idleness. 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:57.159 And the scriptures have a lot to say about idleness and the importance of work. 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.480 One of my favorite is in Proverbs chapter 6, and I remember telling my daughter this 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.600 one time when we passed an ant bed. 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:09.400 But there's a line in Proverbs chapter 6 where the wise man says to the idle person, he says, 00:07:09.400 --> 00:07:14.600 go to the ant, oh sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:21.360 And so the Bible is full of illustrations like this where the wise man says, go look 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:25.720 at the ant on the ground and study him and see how hard he works. 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:30.960 And see how the ant is able to provide for himself because he's so busy. 00:07:30.960 --> 00:07:36.080 And then the wise man goes on and he says, but if you're not like an ant, he says, a 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:42.120 little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.760 on you like a robber. 00:07:44.760 --> 00:07:47.840 Now this is really important to understand this passage. 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:49.520 I think it's important. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:58.799 The logic of what I just said is you should not be idle because idleness is bad for you. 00:07:58.799 --> 00:08:00.159 And that's not just a Christian concept. 00:08:00.159 --> 00:08:05.519 I mean, there's all kinds of self-help books that are dedicated to that idea that you need 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:10.959 to be busy because if you want to be successful, you don't need to be idle. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:12.519 And there's truth to that. 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:15.240 And there's truth in the Bible that says work is good. 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.240 We were made for work. 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:24.160 But what I want you to notice in this passage is I don't think that's Paul's primary reason 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:28.519 for coming out against idleness. 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.240 I think Paul would agree with those statements. 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:36.680 But the problem that he points to with idleness in this context is the effect of idleness 00:08:36.680 --> 00:08:38.879 on the church community. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:44.919 Paul looks at idleness and he says idleness hurts the church. 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:50.799 And the way that I want to prove this is you look at what Paul gives as his own example. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:53.279 This is in verse 7. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:55.159 Paul says, he says don't be idle. 00:08:55.159 --> 00:09:00.159 And then he says in verse 7, for you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us because we 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:05.159 were not idle when we were with you nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.639 But with toil and labor, we worked night and day. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:14.039 And then this is the line I want you to notice, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:16.679 That's what Paul says. 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:18.399 He says we worked night and day. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:24.519 We toiled so hard so that we might not be a burden to any of you. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.279 Paul loved the church in Thessaloniki. 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.959 And he was attentive to their needs. 00:09:30.959 --> 00:09:37.399 And even when he had worked and even when he would say I had every right to be supplied 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:42.959 by you because of my work, even then he did not push his rights and he chose not to receive 00:09:42.959 --> 00:09:43.959 anything. 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.040 He was at other times in the Bible where he did receive goods for the work that he did. 00:09:48.040 --> 00:09:53.440 But you see the contrast Paul is drawing between the way that he lived with the Thessalonians 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:56.360 and the way that these idle brothers lived with the Thessalonians. 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:02.320 Paul saying, I worked in order not to be a burden to you. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.080 That's how much I cared about you. 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:09.960 And these other brothers, they're able to work and they won't work and they're willing 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:15.440 to not work and to take from you even if it means being a burden to you. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:19.920 And the reasoning I think that Paul has here is that he's saying what I showed you when 00:10:19.920 --> 00:10:21.720 I was with you was sacrificial love. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.840 The kind of love that said I'm not going to place a burden on you. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:31.400 And then what the idolers do is they say we'll place a burden on you because we don't care. 00:10:31.400 --> 00:10:33.440 It's a sign of apathy. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:40.720 And the choice here for Paul I think is not just will you be idle or will you work? 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:44.760 It's will you be idle or will you love the church that you're in? 00:10:44.760 --> 00:10:47.560 Will you love your brothers and sisters? 00:10:47.560 --> 00:10:52.720 John, in the book of 1 John 3 he says this. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:59.840 He says by this we know love that he, Jesus, laid down his life for us. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:03.400 And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.000 And then John illustrates what that might look like in an actual community. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:13.439 And he says, but if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet closes 00:11:13.439 --> 00:11:17.799 his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:24.159 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but indeed and in truth. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:28.159 And then John illustrates what that might look like in an actual community. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:33.600 Let us not love in word or talk, but indeed and in truth. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:41.279 So John in that passage is saying the measure of our love is not what we say about the believers. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:42.639 It's not the words that we say. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:47.559 It's in our willingness to sacrificially love our community. 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:52.839 And you know, people ask me sometimes, do I like the church I go to? 00:11:52.839 --> 00:11:56.120 Just casual conversation or people ask me back home. 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:57.559 And my answer is always, yeah. 00:11:57.559 --> 00:11:58.559 I love this church. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:59.559 I like it. 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:00.559 I love it. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:01.559 I love St. Columbus. 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:02.879 I love the people that are in it. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.519 Not just the building, even though the building's nice. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.159 And I hope that you feel that same way that you love coming here and that part of that 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.759 is that you love the people who are here. 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:21.359 And but that doesn't necessarily answer the question that I think John asked in that passage 00:12:21.359 --> 00:12:25.639 that I just read or that I think is implied in our passage tonight, which is not, you 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:28.919 know, do you have affections for the church that you go to? 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:31.360 But have you loved those people? 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:40.319 Have you have you given sacrificially with your time and your service and your gifts? 00:12:40.319 --> 00:12:43.039 Or do you talk like I do? 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:47.639 Well, like I worry I do sometimes about how much I love this place. 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:51.519 But that has nothing to say about whether I'm actually giving myself to it, giving myself 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:56.120 to these people. 00:12:56.120 --> 00:13:01.759 This what we have in this passage is an egregious example of idleness where a person comes 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:06.399 to the church and says, I'm just not going to work and I want everyone to provide all 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:07.399 of my needs. 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:08.960 And it's egregious. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.919 But I don't think Paul would say there's idleness and that's what it looks like. 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:14.039 And then everyone else is fine. 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:18.639 I think Paul would say in all of our hearts, there's this temptation to idleness sometimes 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:26.179 where we look at the needs of the church and we step back and we say, not me, let someone 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:28.240 else carry that load. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:34.519 And part of the problem with that is God, and the Bible tells us this, God has given 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:41.439 every single one of us unique gifts to serve the church. 00:13:41.439 --> 00:13:46.720 And he wants us all to bring our gifts to this place as one body to serve him. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:54.639 I've had moving on the mind because Corey has come here and I did not serve in getting 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.560 Corey's luggage from the church to his house, but I know that other people here did this 00:13:58.560 --> 00:14:05.279 weekend and I was thinking about moving and how you can move someone and all their things 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.960 with maybe two people. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:10.720 And if you ask for help, you might get six people and you could do it much quicker, but 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.600 you could move with two people. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:20.519 And then there may be a piece of furniture that is so heavy that not even two strong 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:22.800 young men could move. 00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:27.320 And what maybe the case is, and if I understand the laws of physics correctly, you could have 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:32.360 a 400, I'm going to try to do this correctly, you could have a 450 pound piece of furniture 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:39.320 and two strong men that could carry 200 pounds of piece and they will not be able to carry 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:40.840 that piece of furniture. 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:47.200 But if a much weaker person comes and all they can carry is just 50 pounds, with them 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.399 added to that, they're able to lift something that those two men couldn't before. 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:54.480 And what does that have to do with what I'm trying to illustrate tonight? 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:00.759 It's that if one of us here, if any of us here chooses not to serve the church and not 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:06.200 to lean forward into loving here, it's not just that everyone else will be able to do 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.960 the same amount of work, it might just take a little bit more time. 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:16.560 It's that there are things that we can only do if all of us pitch in and if all of us 00:15:16.560 --> 00:15:17.960 serve the church. 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:19.360 Does that make sense? 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:25.680 So when any one of us says, you know, I just enjoy coming to St. Columbus, I just enjoy 00:15:25.680 --> 00:15:31.120 watching everything happen and watching all the people do great things, God has given 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.360 each of us a gift. 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:38.680 And if it just makes me wonder, this is good news, what could happen if all of us leaned 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.279 in to serve St. Columbus? 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:42.839 Like what would God do by using all of our gifts? 00:15:42.839 --> 00:15:47.199 Because I'm convinced of this, that there are no spare parts in the body of Christ, 00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:48.879 that all of us has been given a gift. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:50.679 Romans 12 says that. 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:53.279 Okay, I'll move on from there. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:57.879 So back to my main point of what I was saying, what I'm trying to prove in this passage, 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:05.679 which is that if we're being idle, then one of the implications of our idleness is that 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:11.159 we are not loving our brothers and sisters in Christ like we're called to. 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:16.079 Idleness and love are mutually exclusive because love is about sacrificing for other 00:16:16.079 --> 00:16:18.719 people. 00:16:18.719 --> 00:16:22.799 Idleness says I will not help, I will expect other people to meet my needs. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:27.159 It may not say that, it may put it in different words, but that's the message that comes across. 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:32.319 And the point of this passage is where idleness grows, love can't. 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:38.240 Just to push that point one step further to show that Paul's really concerned about idleness's 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.960 effect on the community. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:45.440 Depending on what Bible you're holding in your hands or looking at it on your phone, 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:48.440 different translations translate the word idleness differently. 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:52.360 So if you are looking at a King James version, everything that we've talked about is probably 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:57.040 really confusing because when the King James version talked about idleness, the word that 00:16:57.040 --> 00:17:00.520 it uses is disorder. 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:06.200 If you look at the NIV, which I'm sure a lot of you do, instead of idleness, it says idleness 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.680 and disorder. 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:10.319 Idleness and disorderly. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:15.799 And the reason it does that is because the implied in the word idleness in our Bibles 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:18.119 is disorder. 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:23.599 And that's why in verse 11, Paul can say that one of the other effects of idleness is, 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:29.359 it says we hear that some of you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.679 And we all know what is implied with busy bodies. 00:17:33.679 --> 00:17:34.679 It's gossip. 00:17:34.679 --> 00:17:39.279 It's causing unnecessary conflicts within the church. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:43.679 And the point that Paul is making is when idleness comes into the church, it's a form 00:17:43.679 --> 00:17:48.479 of disorder that actually threatens the life of the church. 00:17:48.479 --> 00:17:55.079 So the more idleness there is in a place, it's not just a group of people set aside who 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.919 do their own thing and it doesn't affect everyone else. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:01.840 It actually introduces disorder into the church. 00:18:01.840 --> 00:18:05.680 And it's the same thing with other organizations like marriage. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:16.080 When one person chooses not to do a thing, that introduces disorder into that relationship. 00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:19.440 So I want to move on from there. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:23.880 Everything that I've just said is Paul's words to people who are idle, about people 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:25.320 who are idle. 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:30.079 But if you read the passage, you realize Paul's not just talking to the people who are in 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:31.079 the church who are idle. 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:35.279 In fact, he never actually directly addresses the people in the church who are idle. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.879 He always talks about them in third person. 00:18:37.879 --> 00:18:43.480 And who Paul talks to in this passage is actually the rest of the church, the people who are 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:45.480 not being idle. 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:50.839 And what's really interesting is Paul has a message for them as well. 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:55.879 And in a sense, he's warning against idleness in them, but in a different way. 00:18:55.879 --> 00:19:01.319 And I think the key text here is in verse 13, where Paul says this. 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:06.720 So he's been warning them about all these idle brothers who are not helping the church 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:07.720 at all. 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:16.319 And then he says this, he says, as for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.639 And that's a broad command. 00:19:18.639 --> 00:19:19.720 You could say that anytime. 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:22.519 You could say that from the pulpit every Sunday and it would make sense. 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:27.480 But Paul says this in this passage, and it's meant to be understood in the context of what's 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.120 going on. 00:19:29.120 --> 00:19:33.000 And you can imagine these people are kind of coming to their senses. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.160 And they're realizing they've, in one sense, they've been taken advantage of. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:42.880 They've been supporting people who were not working just because they were unwilling to 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.880 work. 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:48.279 And all of their good, all of their kindness to those people wasn't helpful. 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:50.200 It wasn't good. 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:54.960 And Paul knows the human heart. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.559 And he knows that there is nothing worse in this world. 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:01.000 Well, I may be exaggerating, but there are a few things worse in this world than the 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.039 feeling of being taken advantage of. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:04.720 And it makes you angry. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:10.759 And I remember someone told me today, actually, how our society, one of the distinctives of 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:16.799 our society is that we crave justice and we don't like people being unjust. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:23.319 And Paul knows that these people are going to get frustrated about the idol, the people 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:27.519 who are idol in their congregation, as they probably have good reason to be. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:33.680 But Paul's message to them is this, do not grow weary in doing good. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:38.720 Don't let bitterness keep you from continuing to do good. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:43.960 And in a sense, Paul's warning against this almost like a different form of idleness, 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:50.360 what you might call idleness in mercy, where you try to do good and your good works are 00:20:50.360 --> 00:20:56.640 not well received or they don't work out or they're misused and it can make your heart 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:02.840 bitter and it can make you want to say, if this, if trying to do good is this hard, why 00:21:02.840 --> 00:21:05.120 I keep, why even keep trying? 00:21:05.120 --> 00:21:08.840 And Paul's saying, no, don't give up, keep doing good. 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:14.799 And I'm sure maybe you've had this experience before, not just in a church context, but 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:19.319 in any context where you try to do something good. 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:22.199 There's someone that you love and you try to do good for them. 00:21:22.199 --> 00:21:28.720 And again, it's not well received or it doesn't work out or essentially you're taking advantage 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:33.959 of and it makes you angry and you say, fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame 00:21:33.959 --> 00:21:36.759 on you. 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:43.079 And it can be so hard to try to do good for someone and see it bear no fruit. 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:48.559 Again, Paul's response is, don't stop doing good. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:56.240 Don't grow idle in doing good because where idleness grows, love doesn't. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:01.240 And that doesn't mean that Paul doesn't have hard words for these people who are idle. 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:05.799 I mean, Paul doesn't just say, you know, just keep giving to them until they finally turn 00:22:05.799 --> 00:22:06.799 around. 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:08.240 He says, keep a distance from them. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.319 He says, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:15.960 the brother who's walking in idleness. 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:23.599 And what that probably meant was, do not continue to, well, support them materially. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.960 That's the main thrust of what he's saying. 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:31.919 It may, and it probably meant, you know, they need to stop coming to worship for a time. 00:22:31.919 --> 00:22:34.960 We need to put a distance between them there. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:43.039 But notice what Paul calls these people who have hurt the church so badly. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:47.160 And I didn't read it, but at the beginning of the letter, Paul references the fact that 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:52.759 this is a church that has grown in love, but it's grown in love in spite of persecution. 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:57.400 This is a church that knows suffering, which makes it even sadder that there's people who 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.480 came in to take advantage of them. 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.440 And what Paul calls these people who were idlers. 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:05.440 What does he say? 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:08.799 He says, he calls them brothers. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:14.160 And in the last verse that I read, he says, all these people who are idlers, do not regard 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:19.480 them as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:26.160 So even in the very people who have wronged you, Paul says, don't turn your back on them. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.440 Don't push them away and do nothing. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.320 And the beauty in that is, even though what Paul is asking the church to do to these people, 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:39.960 may sound harsh and it even says, let them be ashamed for what they've done. 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:45.200 All of those measures that Paul is recommending them take is all done for the purpose of drawing 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:49.079 those people back into the church so that they see what they've done wrong and then 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.159 they can come back into the fold. 00:23:51.159 --> 00:23:58.279 And that requires mercy and it requires loving someone who has done you wrong. 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:03.679 And as we get to a close here, I think it's fair to ask ourselves because all of us may 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:09.000 face times in life where we try to do good, it's not well received, and part of us wants 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.720 to be bitter, not just bitter to the person that's standing in front of us, but bitter 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:18.680 about the prospects of continuing to do good. 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:24.880 And where can we get that strength to continue to do good? 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.360 Where does mercy like that come from? 00:24:26.360 --> 00:24:30.400 And I just want to give two suggestions as we close. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:34.920 These aren't just suggestions, these are commands almost. 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:44.000 Number one, remember the gospel. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:54.280 We remember as Christians that we were once enemies of God, that we were selfish, we were 00:24:54.279 --> 00:25:01.160 unloving, we were idle, and Christ took our burdens from us. 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:06.319 And that even as we are Christians now, so often we are ungrateful for the good things 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.319 that we have received. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:10.559 And what does Christ do for us? 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.319 What does God do for us? 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:14.279 He's steadfast in love. 00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:18.559 And our God never grows weary in doing good. 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:23.639 And because of that, we have hope and we've been shown mercy that we do not deserve. 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:29.080 And when we remember that and when we remember that our burdens have been taken from us and 00:25:29.080 --> 00:25:37.440 someone has loved us and has not let us go, that empowers us to go out into the world 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:43.480 we love and the world we know and into this church community and bear one another's burdens 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:46.240 and forgive each other when we're wronged. 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:50.280 Because the closer we grow together, won't it be the case that there will be friction 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:55.399 and it will be difficult sometimes to live in community, but Paul says, don't grow weary 00:25:55.399 --> 00:25:58.279 of doing good. 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:01.639 The other thing that we can remember is this. 00:26:01.639 --> 00:26:07.440 Romans 8 says that Christ's spirit lives in us. 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:15.519 So the very things that Christ calls us to do, He gives us the spirit to do. 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:20.960 Every day, God is making us more and more like His Son so that we can do what we could 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:27.519 have never done on our own, which is to forgive and to love and to not grow weary of doing 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:28.519 good. 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:35.960 And one thing I love about this passage is that Paul, well, at least twice, twice he 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:40.920 does this, he says, what he commands, he says, in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:45.720 And that's a great reminder in the midst of these hard words that these words are spoken 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:50.440 by Paul, but Paul is giving them with the authority of Jesus Christ Himself. 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:58.160 So it's as if Jesus Christ is standing here and saying, do not grow weary of doing good. 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:02.120 Because I remember John Watson used to say this so often. 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:12.439 He would say, remember Jesus said, come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden. 00:27:12.439 --> 00:27:17.119 God forgive us if we ever become a church that says no burdens are welcome here. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:21.639 We are a church that's called to love one another and to say, if you have need, if you 00:27:21.639 --> 00:27:28.559 have sorrow, you can come to this place and we will welcome your burdens gladly and we 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:31.799 will not grow weary in doing good. 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:32.799 Amen. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:46.720 Thank you for your time and we pray that you would forgive us for our own idleness and the 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:54.440 way that we so often don't lean into your community and we step away from being a part 00:27:54.440 --> 00:28:00.139 of your body and we pray that you would remind us of your kindness to us and that you would 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:06.420 help us tonight, not to grow weary of doing good and that we would love you and we would 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:22.700 love your church. In your sons name we pray. Amen.