Let's turn with me again then in God's Word to 2 Thessalonians 3, and we're looking particularly at verses 6 to 18. Really, Paul writes this second letter to the Thessalonians to address two problems. One we've already seen, it's the doctrinal problem, the misunderstanding about the end times, that some people thought the day of the Lord had already come. And Paul writes to tell them that first, There must be the apostasy or the rebellion and the man of sin must be revealed, the man of lawlessness, a son of perdition. And so Paul is showing them that there are still things to be accomplished. But then he moves on here in chapter three to the second problem. And as we see there in verse six, it's the fact that some of the brethren, some of the Christians in Thessalonica, were walking in idleness. And that is not in accord with the tradition which had been taught by Paul, Silas, and Timothy. And remember when we think this word tradition, tradition isn't just simply the way things have always been done. Tradition, as Paul speaks of it, is the teaching of Christ handed down from his ministers. So these People are walking in idleness against the teaching of Christ, against what has been instructed to them by Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We see that also down in verse 11. We hear that some among you walk in idleness. This report has gone out that Paul has heard it. Although at this time, Paul is in Corinth, yet he has heard this bad report. In verse 12, We see that it's the command. Now, such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Well, the implication there is that they are not doing their work quietly. They're not being orderly. They're being disorderly. And they're not earning their own living. Or more literally in the Greek, they are not eating their own bread. They are dependent upon others. They're scrounging off those who are diligent, those who are working hard in order to earn their wage. You see, probably in these days, they were paid their wages day by day. At the end of the day, you received your wage. What's fair? And so someone would come home having worked a full day with their wage, ready to buy what they need for their food. And then someone from the church comes round. someone who hasn't worked all day, someone who hasn't worked for many days and expects you to feed them. Probably this practical problem is connected to the theological problem. Probably some of these brethren are not working because they believe that the day of the Lord has come, or they believe it is soon to come. If you knew that Jesus Christ were to return from heaven on Friday in the afternoon, would you go to work this week? Would you bother putting in all those hours of work or would you just say, well, there's no point, he's coming back and that's the end of it all? And that's kind of the attitude of these people here. And so they're walking in idleness. The seeds of this sin date back into the time of 1 Thessalonians. Because in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 14, Paul had said, we urge you brothers to admonish the idle. There was obviously this underlying problem, these seeds of idleness, to the extent that Paul is encouraging the whole congregation to be responsible for one another, that you all admonish anyone who is idle. The problem is that this idleness has grown. It's no longer a small underlying problem. We're past the stage of admonishment. It's moved on. The problem is so great that now drastic action must be taken in order to remedy it. We see even particularly here in verse 11, Those who are walking in idleness are not busy at work, but busy bodies. You see that play on words there. They should be spending their time in their employment, but instead they're prying into other people's business. They're offering advice or they're gossiping. They're interfering. You see this one sin is leading to more sins, accompanying sins. The devil makes work for idle hands. And if you ever find yourself idle, it's okay to rest. It's okay to have periods in our life of holiday relaxation. But if you ever find yourself idle, lazy, be sure the devil will be close at hand to tempt you into worse sins. But we notice here that this problem had grown. And friends, be aware for yourself that where there are seeds of sin in your life, If those seeds aren't checked, they will grow. They will grow and grow and grow. A little bit of idleness in the congregation turns into this huge problem that Paul basically has to write a second letter that this is the main thrust or one of the main thrusts of this letter. Don't think that your sins are small and you can just You'll cope, that you'll be able to contain your sins, that you have power in yourself. Take sin seriously. As John Owen famously said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you. Sin has the tendency and the power to grow. So idleness was the specific problem here in Thessalonica. And I wonder, as you think about the world around you, as you think about this nation, Is idleness not one of the problems that we face? Do we not see it sometimes in our own lives maybe? Or in the lives of those people who work around us? For a nation like ours, they find it hard, the government finds it hard to increase productivity. And there are various measures of productivity that they see and those measures show that we've lost a decade of productivity. Productivity, if it increases, would increase our living standards. And so there should be this big push. And yet it never seems to materialize as much as it ought. We can think of a variety of factors for that. On the one hand, there are some people who are paid benefits who are fit to work but don't want to work. I'm not talking about people who are paid benefits because they can't work. or because they've got some mental or physical problem. I'm talking about those people who should be in gainful employment, but they don't want to because it's to their advantage to get paid benefits. If they were to go out and seek a job, they would lose some of these benefits. Well, that, of course, contradicts this principle that we're examining today. It goes against what God intends for us. God put Adam and Eve in the garden to work to labor, to produce, to fill the earth and to multiply, to have dominion. So that's one problem. But let's not just think that the lack of productivity lies there. Think of the many people who are in employment, who take a salary, and yet they put in the minimum amount of work in order to keep their boss off their back. They're not diligent. They don't want to help The company or the whatever, the job is to improve and go as far as it can go. There's no pride in their work. It's just the bare minimum, living perhaps for the weekend. Is this how God wants us to be? Surely not. Surely that is a form of idleness. Proverbs has a lot to say about idleness, and particularly it addresses the sluggard, which I think is a good biblical word for this idleness. In Proverbs 24 and from verse 30, it describes what the field of the sluggard would look like. And remember, this was in Old Testament times when everyone had their own wee plot of land that they were to labor on and to produce crops. Well, if you were to look at the field of the sluggard, it's all overgrown. They haven't bothered to weed it. They haven't bothered to plow it. They haven't bothered to get rid of the stones so they can plant No, the wall is broken down. There's no pride in this piece of land, no sense of trying to improve it and grow crops. And the assessment that comes there, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. How easy it is for people to sleep, slumber, and fold their hands. But it leads to poverty. And Solomon there is drawing out these general principles of wisdom here and foolishness. If you don't put the work in, you won't see your return. If you don't work hard, you won't get an increase. But it's bad enough if you're causing your own poverty. But what about the effect on other people? What about the effect on your family? If a man is meant to provide for his household, but he doesn't do it, he doesn't work hard, he brings poverty on himself because he's a sluggard, that affects his family. And Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 5 verse 8, but if anyone does not provide for his own relatives and especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and he is worse than an unbeliever. Paul doesn't mince his words, does he? He doesn't go easy. If you are bringing poverty onto others, your family, because you're a sluggard, he says you are denying the faith. There's the implication, or there's what happens to our family, but then also what happens to the church. If someone is idle, it affects the church. Because the church has a duty of care, doesn't it? For its members. We've thought about the deacon, and what the deacon was meant to do, and we've thought about those widows, Greek-speaking widows in Jerusalem, and how they were missed in the daily distribution. And the deacons were put in place in order to ensure that they were all cared for, that everyone had what they needed. But where there is idleness at the heart of it, where idleness is at the root of the problem, that affects negatively the church. And that's exactly what's happening here in Thessalonica. Believers are being idle, and therefore are scrounging off the generosity of other Christians, eating their bread, and should we say, taking advantage of those who are committed to a biblical work ethic. And not only is that a problem, But look at verse 13 to see how this problem can intensify. As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. Now you have to think about what's being implied there. What's being implied is that the Christians who are working hard are beginning to grow weary of it. What's the point of us going to work nine to five? What's the point of working ourselves so hard? Why don't we just lie back, take it easy, fold our hands, have a little slumber? So-and-so gets away with it. They're provided for. Why can't I? See, this is the principle of temptation, isn't it? That a little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little bit of sin in a congregation infects the whole congregation. Because people look around them and they see what others are doing, what others are getting away with, and they consider that's not such a major problem. Why don't I do that? No one speaks against it. No one criticizes it. So this problem isn't just that the people were being taken advantage of, but the problem goes further that there was a temptation for them to give up in doing good. But that's the problem. Let's move on, secondly, to the solution. The solution has to be a true biblical work ethic, a way of thinking about how God wants us to labor. We know various verses, whatever we do, whether eating or drinking, we're to do it to the glory of the Lord. Our work is to be done unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And the example given in verses seven to nine from Paul, Silas, and Timothy is exactly this. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you. So much so that they worked hard. They didn't depend upon eating other people's food. They didn't depend upon the hospitality of the saints in Thessalonica, although that was their right. Although they had an expectation of receiving it. Rather, Paul, Silas, and Timothy worked day and night. They burned the candle at both ends. They would be making tents to sell in order to earn their money to buy their own food. And at the same time, then, they're also preaching and teaching and witnessing. You see, they're not just engaging in one job. They're double-jobbing in order to provide for themselves. They're setting an example. And one part of that example they're showing is that they don't want, as a Christian, to be a burden on any other Christian. Yes, there are times where Christians need help. We saw that a few weeks ago in Act 6. Those widows in Jerusalem had no one else to provide for them. And so the church has to step in. But where you can provide for yourself, the solution is not that the church throws money at you or the church just gives you handouts. The solution is that you begin to work for yourself. You follow this apostolic example that you work so that you may not burden other people. Look at what it says at the end of verse nine, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. It's worthy of imitation. And then the principle in verse 10, even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. This is something that they had taught in their time in Thessalonica. If someone is not willing to work, we could translate it, don't let him eat. Don't give him food. Don't give him a meal. Don't give him a handout. You see, Paul here isn't just describing the natural result. Sometimes people interpret it this way. If you don't work, you're not going to be able to earn money. You won't get to eat. That's a natural result. Just as the sluggard who sleeps and folds his arms, will face poverty. It comes upon him like an armed man. That's a natural consequence. You act in one way, here's the consequence. That's not what Paul is talking about here. Paul is telling the rest of the Christians what they are to do to someone who is idle. Don't give them handouts. Don't show them hospitality. Don't give them food on their table if they're not willing to work when they can work. They should not be eating. This is the moral response rather than the natural response. And this is a loving response. Love doesn't always give someone what they want. And that's an important lesson for us in many different ways. People think that love should affirm them. Love should endorse them. When people live deviant lifestyles, they think that love, the loving thing to do is to tolerate their lifestyle and applaud them for being brave enough to live their life in that way. But true love is willing to say the hard things. True love is able to say you're doing the wrong thing, you're sinning against God, and you need to think about the consequences of that. And so too here, true love does not just give handouts, but says there's a moral problem that must be remedied. And notice particularly in verse six there, how strong this is. Because Paul says, we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness. Do you hear how strong that is? It's not just we suggest to you, we would encourage you. No, it's a command. And it's not a command that comes just from Paul's own mind. It's a command that comes with the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. We command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are standing in Christ's place and we command you that this is what you're to do in this situation. Is that not harsh? Is it not harsh to say you're to distance yourself from these fellow believers? Yes, they're not doing the right thing. They're being idle. Yes, they're scrounging. But isn't it harsh to say keep your distance from them? But first, before you criticize Paul here of being harsh, look down at verse 15. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Let's keep that context in mind. This is not us versus them. This is a family relationship. And problems in the family need to be sorted within the family. So that's the first thing. It's within the family context, therefore it's within a loving context. Look also at verse 14. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. Again, you might say, well, that sounds harsh. Have nothing to do with someone to shame him. But think through, what is Paul wanting? He's wanting the person to come to repentance. The person may be ashamed of what they're doing. As long as you allow that person to keep scrounging off your table, as long as you keep feeding them, as long as you keep associating with them, having good times with them, that person is going to be confirmed and endorsed in the actions they're doing. They're going to think that they're just fine, that all's going well. But as soon as you keep your distance, as soon as you're challenging them, you are showing them that something is wrong and that needs to be fixed. And as we sang in Psalm 141, that's like oil being poured in the head. It's striking the brother in kindness. They may not think it's kindness when we're rebuked, when we rebuke someone. They don't always take it in the spirit it's given in. But nevertheless, we can't say it's harsh. It's for the purpose of bringing the person to repentance. And repentance is a good thing because it restores their relationship to God. It seems harsh to our sensibilities, but it's not. It's within the context of the family. And then also it's with the aim of bringing the person to repentance. But then can I add another level of context to consider? Remember that in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 14, Paul said to the brothers, admonish the idol. The seeds of this sin had already been present in the church in Thessalonica. Also note there in verse 10, for even when we were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. What Paul is encouraging here is not simply something that's harsh. He is saying to the people, this is something that has already been taught to you when we were with you. We set you an example and we taught you this in words. This has become a problem. And so we encouraged you in our first letter to admonish the idol. Well, now it's gone on from there. It's growing. The sin has become worse. And so, therefore, the discipline has to go up a stage. So think of it in that context. This is not the way that sin is being addressed for the first time. It's already been addressed in two separate occasions, the apostles teaching when they were first there. And in 1 Thessalonians, admonish the idol. This is now the third level, if you like. And that's an important thing when it comes to discipline in the Church of Christ. So few churches practice biblical discipline that when other churches do practice it, we're automatically accused of being harsh. And that's something I know that is often brought against biblical churches when they practice church discipline. But we should always consider the context. Church discipline is done in love. It's done to reclaim and restore and bring to repentance. But it's also in this context, we don't immediately jump to the harshest censure. We don't immediately say, well, you must be put out of the church. No, there's a moving up the scale, isn't there? Admonishment, suspension. excommunication. And that's what's happening here. Because isn't it true that in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 that Paul calls for an even stronger, I was almost going to say a harsher discipline, it's not a harsher discipline, a stronger or more severe discipline. Because in 1 Corinthians 5 there was that man who was sexually immoral of a form of immorality that not even the pagans would talk about. And Paul says to the church in Corinth Deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Notice there's still that idea of reclaiming him, bringing him to repentance, that his spirit may be saved. But it is a stronger form. Deliver him to Satan. That ties in with what Jesus says when we're to treat such people like sinners. We're not to treat them like brothers any longer. But this discipline here in Thessalonica is not yet to that most severe stage of excommunication. This is more what we would consider suspension in Presbyterian churches. Because notice again, verse 15, do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. You're not putting him outside the church. The session is not declaring that he's not a Christian. He's still a brother in Christ. but he's erring, he's in the wrong, and serious action must be taken. So friends, let us learn that discipline, biblical discipline, is justified. There must be the right balance, it must be done in the spirit of love, it must be done for the right ends, and it must be done with the right balance. Don't immediately jump to the worst form, or the strongest form, but begin with admonishment. Notice here this principle again of verse 13. Why does this need to be dealt with decisively? It's because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. Paul senses that the congregation is affected by this sin. The temptation is for them to stop doing what is good and right. This isn't the only time that Paul uses this phrase, do not grow weary in doing good. He uses it certainly in Galatians 6, don't grow weary in doing what's good because in due time you will reap if we do not lose heart. But there's a recognition here for you faithful Christians that throughout our life, it is easy at times to grow weary in doing what's right. It's easy. We're fighting an uphill battle to do what's right, to keep going, to take one step after the other, to keep plodding in the faith. We were thinking in the psalm about walking in integrity. It takes effort to keep your walk righteous before God. And it's easy to grow weary, especially when you look around you and see other people who aren't doing what's right. And friends, I want us to consider that as a congregation. Because there are some of you who are exceptionally faithful. There are some of you who are exceptionally good. You're faithful in doing what's right because you love your Savior. And you seek to go on and on and on. But is there not the danger that we grow weary in it? I don't mean when we overburden ourselves and we burn out. I'm not thinking of that sort of thing. but as we look around us at others who aren't engaging in the same way. And sometimes we speak as elders and as a minister to those people who aren't doing the right things, things like going to the prayer meeting, for example, which we believe to be a right thing to do, coming to morning and evening worship and so on. And we speak to try to encourage them to do what is right. But let me speak to those of you who are doing what's right. You're faithful in attending morning and evening worship and the prayer meeting, and your mets because you're wanting to grow in your faith. Don't grow weary in doing what's good. In due time you will reap if you do not lose heart. You're sowing, you're sowing seeds for eternity. And you're laying up for yourself treasure in heaven. And that treasure in heaven cannot be taken from you. Moths and rust cannot destroy it. Thieves cannot break in and steal it. Don't lose heart. Don't look around you at other people who aren't coming, aren't doing, and think, well, I need to keep bothering. Don't think about them. Don't let the little leaven leaven the whole lump, but keep going by God's grace. And that brings us finally to this verses 16 to 18, because I think it does tie in with this. Paul closes with a benediction and a greeting. And I think the benediction is so important Because anything that we're commanded to do, we realize that we need grace in order to do it. We need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I want just to tie that for a moment to what I've just said. I'm encouraging you not to grow weary in doing what's good. And so I would encourage you, friends, to look to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's part of the words that are announced to you. in the benediction at the close of the service. Look to the grace of Christ to enable you to keep going and not grow weary. But this conclusion, Paul closes his letter with a benediction, a greeting, and then a final benediction. You see how it's really two benedictions. First, may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. We could have a whole sermon just in that verse. It would be interesting. The Lord of peace, the prince of peace. Peace only may come by the mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way we can have peace with God is by our Lord Jesus Christ. The only way we can have peace in our conscience is by the forgiveness of sins through Jesus's precious blood. The only way we can have peace with one another is through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. And so when Paul blesses the congregation with this, may the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way, he is thinking of peace in the widest and fullest terms possible. Only Christ can give it. And so he prays as well, the Lord, be with you all. May the Lord's presence be evident. But then he includes this greeting in verse 17. Paul's practice was to dictate his letters. He had a scribe who would write for him. Then he would come to the conclusion and he would sign his own name, or he would end them in his own characteristic way, sometimes in big letters. It was quite evident that now someone different was writing. Look, he says here, He signs with his own hand. This is a sign of genuineness in every letter of mine. It is the way I write. It was important particularly in this letter that Paul draws attention to that. Because do you remember in chapter two and verse two that the people were being quickly shaken in mind and alarmed by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us. There was this claim of this is teaching that's come from Paul, but it hadn't come from Paul. Here is someone speaking on behalf of Paul with his spirit. Here is a letter that has come from Paul, but it's contradicting what Paul is teaching. Paul is saying, don't be quickly shaken by things claiming to come from me. This is the sign of genuineness. If I write something to you, I will sign it with my own hand. so that you know it's not only my word, it is the word of God. And then the final benediction, and it's the same as the one in 1 Thessalonians, with just the exception of one word. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. And there's the one word of difference, all. We don't know why that's the case, but maybe it is, and various commentators suggest Perhaps it is because of these people who are walking in idleness. They need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ too. And Paul, by using the word all, is showing that he's not restricting this grace just to those who are doing what is good, but it's to all of God's people. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Paul always magnifies the grace of Christ. The grace of Christ is necessary to save us from our sins. The grace of Jesus Christ is also necessary that we may walk in obedience. Don't ever think that you're doing well by yourself. Don't ever think that you've reached a point in your Christian life where you're standing on your own two feet. Everything is by grace. For by grace you have been saved. And by grace, we live and we do what we are meant to do. Look to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to it day by day. It's what we desperately need. And so Paul closes this letter with these benedictions. And I've told you before, we mentioned it in 1 Thessalonians, that benedictions are not just simply prayers, but it is an authoritative command from someone whom Christ has set apart for the work of ministry. These are the commands of Christ coming down from heaven. This is what Christ is putting upon the people in Thessalonica through Paul, through his benediction. Christ is bringing peace. Christ is bringing his presence. And Christ is sending his grace. Amen.