Introduction (3)

2 Thessalonians

The Problem: Idleness

2 Thessalonians 3:6–12 ESV

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

The cause of the problem

As we may recall from our study in 1 Thess. Paul did not accept payment for his ministry among them even though it was his right. There were times that he did receive financial support. It seems that Paul discerned that idleness was such a problem that he was concerned to set example.

False doctrine & teachers

apparently false teachers were teaching that Christ had already come.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–3 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

They thought the the kingdom of God had come in its fullness and they were experiencing it. They were experiencing persecutions, but perhaps they assumed they marked the beginning of the end.

b. Their own inclination to sin

And if they thought the the beginning of the end had come, working and being productive was not as essential as it once was.

Bad theology can be used to justify what people want to do. It’s not like the Thessalonians were unwilling to stope working.

So a combination of bad teaching and their own inclination to sin contributed to their idleness.

2. The Evolution of the problem

In the present

Paul wanted them to understand that Christ had not returned yet.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

What’s important now is their relationship with God.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV)

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:16 (ESV)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

The facts that God chose them, loves them, saved them and grants to them good hope through grace all make clear they have a relationship with God, and this is what is important now.

b. In the future

Christ will win

2 Thessalonians 2:3–8 ESV

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

The lawless one will be destroyed. We do not know who the lawless one is. But we do know that he will oppose God and he will deceive.

Jesus will overthrow the man of lawlessness, but the man of lawlessness will come first. All this to say, for the sake of this introduction, Paul’s point is that there will not be any mistaking the second coming of Christ and it has not happened yet.

Christ will judge

2 Thessalonians 1:6–8 ESV

since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Paul also makes clear that when Christ does return, He will sit in judgement.

Christ will punish those who afflict His people and their punishment will be ultimately with everlasting destruction. (see 1:9)

Christ will save

2 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV

when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

This includes anyone of us who have placed our trust in Christ.... Who have believed the testimony of the gospel. This is what distinguishes Christ’s people from everyone else. Not superior morality or virtue, it’s that we recognize our sinfulness before and we therefore trust God for what He has done for us in Christ.

God will gather His people to Himself (2:1) and grant them relief (1:7)

The Take-aways

A theology of work

We were made to work

Genesis 1:28–30 ESV

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

The work of multiplying, filling, subduing, exercising dominion was work. Harvesting the plants that God had provided was work. And this work was good

b. Work is not the result of the fall

God established that work is good in His act of creation. Resting from the work that God has given us to do is also good, but this is not idleness or laziness.

Exodus 31:12–17 ESV

And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

2. A theology of living

stand firm in the word

2 Thessalonians 2:13–15 ESV

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

This is what we do now. We hold our position, and the position we are to hold is made clear in God’s word. We do this until the Lord returns

3. A theology of waiting

a. know the truth while we wait

2 Thessalonians 2:1–5 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

Paul’s frustration is seen in v. 5: Do you not remember…? You were taught the truth. Know the truth.

b. live faithfully while we wait

2 Thessalonians 3:13 ESV

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

Titus

Author & Date

Authorship by the Apostle Paul is essentially uncontested

Written while the apostle ministered in Macedonia from either Corinth or Nicopolis

Titus most likely served with Paul during the 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys

All of this dates the epistle around 62-64 AD

The Need: Righteous Teachers & Right Teaching

Titus 1:10 ESV

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

The circumcision party were those who taught and believed that Jesus was the Messiah but also require that the Jewish laws be observed, including circumcision in order to be right with God.

Paul was concerned that Titus would:

Titus 1:5 ESV

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

“put what remained in order” comes from the greek term ortho which means to make straight that which is broken or crooked. Again, this direction centered on the need for right leadership

The righteous teacher’s office

Paul left Titus on the island of Crete while doing missionary work to take care of the unfinished work of setting up the churches on there. This word centered around the concern for godly leaders.

The characteristics of elders

Titus 1:6–9 ESV

if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

b. The number of elders

a plurality

every church should have a number of leaders who are recognized and respected as having outlined above.

2. The righteous teacher’s students

false teachers

Titus 1:10–16 ESV

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

clearly there were people in the churches of Crete who were problematic. They taught error and as a result they lived error. They are:

insubordinate

empty talkers

deceivers

teaching for shameful gain

denyers of God

detestable

disobedient

unfit for any good work

But notice what Paul tells Titus to do in v. 13: rebuke them. in other words, don’t just declare them to be wrong, and don’t just tell them they are wrong, but tell them why they are wrong.

And this is crucial also because of what can happen in the church

Titus 3:9–11 ESV

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Paul was concerned that the spread of false doctrine would cause division in the churches. And what Paul’s advice makes clear is that pastors (elders) can’t waste their time engaging in anything unprofitable and useless.

b. true believers

Titus 2:1–10 ESV

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

4 Groups

Older men (6 characteristics that are not unlike the characteristics of elders)

Older women (train younger women)

younger men (be self-controlled)

slaves (be submissive)

3. The righteous teacher’s method

Sound doctrine

Titus 2:1 ESV

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

connected to the idea of being free from disease. The word “sound” is where we get our word hygiene

b. Sound motives: we should expect our elders (pastors) to do their work because of their commitment to Christ and His church and not for personal gain (financial, prestige etc.)

c. Sound manner: an elder’s teaching should be serious

Whatever you do, let the people see that you are in good earnest… you cannot break men’s hearts by jesting with them. (Richard Baxter, “The Reformed Pastor”)

4. Right Teaching

At the heart of what Paul is calling Titus and all who are concerned for the gospel to teach and embrace is what God has done in Christ

Titus 2:11–14 ESV

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Past grace: the grace of God has appeared bring salvation for all people...... who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession

Present Grace: training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled lives in the present age.... who are zealous for good works

Future Grace: waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ