The Sanctified Life - The Simple Life: 1 Thess Lesson 27

CTW – Colossians 3:12-4:6

The Sanctified Life/The Simple Life

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

 Let’s open our Bibles again this morning to First Thessalonians. We are in Chapter 4. We have gotten to the instruction part of this letter. Paul has written this letter to the Thessalonians because he can’t be with them to address issues in person. Paul had been there for a brief time when the church was planted. He had been forced to leave but when he couldn’t stand not knowing how they were doing he sent Timothy to find out how they were doing and to strengthen and encourage them as to their faith. Timothy returned to Paul with some concerns. The last two chapters of this letter addressed these concerns.

 In reality, Paul has had much more positive to say to this church than anything else. As I said last week, the instruction doesn’t even begin until the fourth chapter. The first three chapters are descriptive. Paul describes many good things happening in the church. The last two chapters are prescriptive. Paul is telling them the things they need to be focused on so they continue to progress in the faith.

 He gives the general exhortation in the first part of chapter 4 to excel still more. He had instructed them on how believers ought to walk to please God and the Thessalonians were, in fact, walking to please God. But as we all know, there is always room for us to excel still more. There are always the commandments given to us from the Lord (v.2) that we should be always concerned with perfecting our obedience. We all need the challenge to excel still more.

 Excelling still more is part of the sanctifying work of God in the lives of His true children and Paul makes it clear that the will of God for all of God’s children is our sanctification. Then Paul goes into the areas where the further sanctifying work of God is needed. The first area is addressed in verses 3-8 is the area of sexual immorality. When Paul was with the Thessalonians he preached to them the gospel of God. He called them to repentance from sin and faith in Christ and to leave behind the rampant immorality of the culture. Since he had been away, evidently some of these new converts were struggling with a complete break from their old way of life. So Paul makes it clear. The only acceptable approach for the sanctified believer is complete abstinence from sexual immorality. If you missed last week’s message, you need to go to the website and listen to it.

 Now we are ready to move on to the next verses. Stand together with me as we read verses 9-12.

 It is evident from what we just read that Paul moves into some very practical aspects of the Christian life. There is a good reason why Paul addresses these practical areas of life. He is instructing the Thessalonians to excel still more in their love for one another, to lead a quiet life, to mind their own business, to work responsibly, and to behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. These are not just random issues that Paul decided to discuss. There were some things going on among these new believers that motivated Paul to give this exhortation. All we need to do to understand what was going on is to follow the flow of the text.

 In the verses following what we just read Paul is going to teach on some important doctrinal issues related to the return of Christ. He is going to be giving them further instruction regarding things related to the end times. Paul had already taught the Thessalonians to expect the return of Jesus. What he had taught them had been received and believed. Look at chapter 1, verses 8-10. The Thessalonians were waiting for Jesus to return. They were expecting the return of Christ at any time. They were living expectantly, as we all should. One of the characteristics of the early church was that they universally expected Jesus to return soon.

 There is a difference between living expectantly and living presumptuously. Apparently, there were some in Thessalonica who were waiting for Jesus to return and they presumed that this return was about to happen any day. Their presumption led them some lifestyle practices that were not appropriate or honoring to the Lord. So these instructions from verses 9-12 are pointed at those who were not living responsibly. These people were apparently so convinced that Jesus would be back soon enough that they didn’t see the necessity of continuing their duties in this world. They were living irresponsibly.

 It is not hard to see how this could happen. If we were convinced that Jesus was going to come back tomorrow evening how many of us would worry about doing laundry tomorrow morning, or spending time standing in line to get our driver’s license renewed? Evidently, some in Thessalonica were neglecting their duties even to their brothers and sisters in Christ and were being perceived as not loving one another as fervently as they should. Others were all stirred up and making crazy claims. Still others were refusing to work. Their overall behavior toward the world was anything but proper. As a result, the credibility of their testimony was being damaged before the people of the world. 

 It appears that Paul thought he could address the issue by briefly mentioning these issues here and then teaching the doctrines they needed to understand. If they came to understand the truth about the Lord’s return, they would know what to do to bring their duty in line with proper doctrine. So Paul points out in these verses to these believers how their lifestyles were not consistent with what is proper among believers. Then he will teach them what they need to know about the doctrines of the end times and this will solve the problem. 

 We have the benefit of a second letter to the Thessalonians that gives us insight as to how this worked out. Since Paul wrote a second letter to the Thessalonians, and because he had to address some of these same issues again, we can surmise that maybe they didn’t get the teaching the first time around. Paul has to address many of these same issues again in the second letter. He also has to give more doctrine concerning the second coming. 

Imagine that. Do you know anyone who is a Christian who doesn’t always get it the first time around? The fact is that we are all a little slow sometimes. And this was the case with the Thessalonians. I will point this out as we work through these exhortations to the Thessalonians in the verses we are looking at today.

 The first exhortation is to love more. We find this in verses 9-10. “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more.” 

 From the beginning of the work of God in this church it was obvious that these Christians had come to love one another. Back in Chapter 1, verse 3 Paul said he was constantly bearing in mind their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. One thing we previously learned about the Thessalonians is that their lives produced evidence of the saving grace of God in their walk. The Thessalonians had become imitators of Paul and of Christ. They were examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The word of the Lord had sounded forth about how these people had turned to God from idols. Their lives were a reliable testimony of the work of salvation.

But there is always room for growth. So Paul writes to exhort and encourage and instruct them to love more. Paul uses two different words for love in these two verses. When Paul speaks of the “love of the brethren” in verse 9 he uses the word “philadelphia.” This is “brotherly love.” This is the love Christians have for one another. It is the love that grows out of the common spiritual life we share as the regenerated children of God. This kind of love is not based on something about the other person that makes them desirable or attractive. This is the love we have for one another because we share a life in Christ as those who have been chosen of God, adopted as His children, and made heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:10 tells us to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” This is again the use of the word “Philadelphia.” Hebrews 13:1 says, “Let love of the brethren continue.” Again the writer uses this same word. 1 Peter 1:22 tells us to “fervently love one another from the heart.” To love fervently is to love intently, earnestly and continually.

As to the love of the brethren, Paul acknowledged that it wasn’t really necessary for him to write to them, because they had been taught by God to love one another. The Greek word translated “taught by God” is “theodidaktos.” It literally means “God taught.” This particular word is used only here in the New Testament. 

In what way had the Thessalonians been taught by God to love one another? We are taught to love one another and John’s gospel contains a lot of instruction from Jesus regarding this very issue. John 13:34-35 and John 15:12-17 are great examples of our Lord’s instruction to love one another. That teaching was from God because Jesus is God and the words Jesus spoke were the very things He had received from His Father. So we have been taught by God to love one another. But John’s gospel wasn’t written until about 20 years after this letter was written to the Thessalonians. John’s first epistle also contains a lot of instruction regarding loving one another, but this letter wasn’t written yet either.

In what respect could this be true, that Paul didn’t necessarily need to write to these believers about loving one another because they had been taught by God to love one another? Turn to Romans 5. I think we can find an answer. Verse 5 says, “…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” We are “God taught” to love one another because the “God Teacher,” the Holy Spirit, has been poured out within our hearts. If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and He does dwell in every true child of God, we have been taught of God to love one another.

And what was true of the Thessalonians will be true of us. Having been “God taught” to love one another, we will indeed practice it toward all the brethren. In the case of the Thessalonians it was all who were in Macedonia, or the entire region. 

But Paul urges these loving brothers to “excel still more.” How do we excel still more in our love for one another? One way to answer that is to notice the different word Paul uses for “love” in verse 10. When he says that we are “taught by God to love one another” he uses “agapao.” The root word “phileo” in “Philadelphia” refers to the feelings and warm affection associated with love. “Agapao” is the purest and noblest form of love. This is the love of the will. This is sacrificial love. This is love not motivated by superficial appearance or emotional connection or sentimentality. This is love that serves, love that gives, love that sacrifices, love that meets needs without expecting anything in return. This is love that is rarely seen in today’s culture and sadly, even in today’s church.

We excel still more in our love when our loves progresses beyond the brotherly love to the sacrificial, serving love which is the love with which God loves us. We excel still more in love when we love like God loves.

I think the people of Thessalonica who were guilty of not loving one another to the extent they should were of the opinion that they weren’t going to be around all that long. They would soon be with Jesus after He returned and then their love would be perfect, so they weren’t committing themselves to one another. 

How did the Thessalonians do? Did they take this instruction to heart? Did they excel still more in their love for one another? Turn over to 2 Thess. 1:3. It is evident from this verse that the Thessalonians did as they were exhorted. Their love grew ever greater. It just kept excelling more and more. And this is as it should be.

The second exhortation is to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” The idea of ambition is to aspire to something. It even carries the idea of striving hard after something. Paul uses the same word in 2 Cor. 5:9 where he writes, “Therefore we have as our ambition, whether or at home or absent, to be pleasing to the Lord.” Make it your goal, or your aspiration, strive to achieve a quiet life. The Greek word translated “quiet” means “to rest from labor.” It carries the idea of being silent, or at least not speaking out inappropriately.

Why would Paul give this exhortation? Probably because everyone kept pointing to everything that happened as a sign that Jesus was about to return. Have you ever noticed how some people are quick to buy into every prediction about this sign or that event signaling the return of Christ? Many theories were put out there about last summer’s total eclipse being a signal of Christ’s return. The eclipse came and went and we are still here. The people who buy into these speculative assertions feel it necessary to tell everyone to get ready. This needlessly gets people anxious and worried.

There is a better way. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. Just live your life making it your ambition to be pleasing to the Lord. Just lead a quiet life and do the right thing. Share the gospel as the Lord gives your opportunity. Meet needs quietly. Love fervently. Focus on your own sanctification. Let the silly people who think they can predict when Jesus will return do what they are going to do. If Jesus didn’t know this information, I can assure you they don’t either. Just make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. Don’t get all riled up. You have a responsibility to live your life in a way that lends credibility to the work of salvation. Listening to speculative theories on the internet isn’t the best way to do that.

How did the Thessalonians do with this exhortation? Look at 2 Thess. 2:1-2. This was an area where they still needed to listen and apply what Paul was telling them. They were letting speculative theories and heretical claims shake them from their composure and disturb them. They were a little slow. Thankfully Paul did not give up on them. He kept writing and telling them what they should do.

The next exhortation is simple. Mind your own business. “Attend to your own business” is the way Paul puts it in verse 11. This phrase was common in secular Greek but used only here in the New Testament. The idea is that we are not to be sticking our noses into things that have nothing to do with us. This does not mean that we turn a blind eye to everything going on in the world that is wrong. But it does mean that we are not to be trying to tell every other believer how he or she ought to be doing things. We are to be focused on our own lives. We need to remember that we are all individually accountable to the Lord for how we live and what we do. Jesus spoke to this when He told us to take the beam out of our own eye before trying to take the speck out of our brother’s eye.

The emphasis on attending to your own business is on making sure we are doing the right thing when Jesus does come back. This is at the heart of what Jesus taught in the Parable of the Faithful Steward in Luke 12:41-48. We must live in such a way that we are found to be faithful and sensible stewards when Jesus does come back. The faithful and sensible steward was found to be faithfully and diligently taking care of what his master had given him to do. This is also at the heart of Paul’s instruction to the Colossians in 3:23-24. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

How did the Thessalonians do? Look at 2 Thess. 3:11. “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” A busybody is one who runs around meddling in everyone else’s business. There were some in this church who were not listening very well. Some were not heeding Paul’s instruction.

The next exhortation is “to work with your own hands, just as we commanded you.” The problem was that some who were living presumptuously regarding the return of Christ had decided that there wasn’t any reason to work. One thing I am sure I would do if I thought Jesus was coming back tomorrow evening is work diligently, but I’m the preacher. If I had Nubbin’s job, or Dustin’s, or Tristan’s, or Shawn’s, and I was certain the Lord was coming back tomorrow, I’m sure I wouldn’t bother to go to work tomorrow. This is evidently what some were doing at Thessalonica. Perhaps they thought this was a great display of faith. But Paul had a different view. He said “go to work.”

How did the Thessalonians do with this exhortation? Turn to 2 Thess. 3:6-10. Paul not only commanded that Christians should work, he modeled it. Many in the culture of that time believed that manual labor was undignified and was only for slaves. It may have been that many of these Christians were slaves. It may have been that having come to faith in Christ they found freedom in Christ and equality in Christ and decided that they were no longer obligated to work for masters who were profiting from their labors. Paul said, “work with your own hands, just as we commanded we commanded you.” The New Testament sanctifies hard work.

The final exhortation is found in verse 12, “so that you behave properly toward outsiders.” This is for the sake of our testimony. If we truly believe that Jesus is coming back and that those who are without Christ will endure eternal condemnation, then we should be very careful concerning the way we live before them.

 Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 8:21 saying, “for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” In other words, the Lord is watching and we want to do what is honorable in His sight. But others are watching also and it matters how we live before them also.

This is what Paul had in mind in Titus 2:6-10. We must be careful to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” A virtuous life makes attractive the message that God saves sinners. Peter emphasizes this in 1 Peter 2:12 where he writes, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

The final thing Paul says in this section is “and not be in any need.” Those Christians who were refusing to work were not doing what they needed to do to provide for their own needs. The faithful believers in the church were having to support them. There are times when members of the church will need some help from the church and it is the right thing to do to help them. But this should not be the result of someone living irresponsibly and putting themselves in need because they refuse to work. This was not a good testimony.

We are not like the world. The world does not understand and does not care to practice the kind of love for one another that is to be found in the church. It is the love we have one for another that makes us different from the world. We must excel still more in love so that there is a drastic distinction between us and the lost world. 

The world is full of agitated people. Lost people get anxious and disturbed and upset about many things. Christians are to lead quiet, peaceful lives. This will mark us as distinct from the world. When the whole world is in an uproar, we have peace knowing that nothing comes but by the sovereign hand of God.

The world is full of lazy, irresponsible people who refuse to work. The Bible sanctifies hard work. We should be the most responsible, hard working people around.

The world is characterized by improper behavior. As we behave properly toward outsiders, always purposing to do the right thing, we will be recognized as different.

All these things work together to demonstrate the difference Christ makes in our lives. Jesus is coming back. When He does, my prayer is that He will find us being faithful stewards who excel in love, lead quiet lives, mind our own business, work responsibly, and behave properly toward those outside the church.

John MacArthur called this section “shoe leather faith.” It is practical. May God bless us as we seek to show Christ to the world by the way we love and the way we live.

Let’s pray.