2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 - Christian Work Ethic

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, several retired men showed up in my front yard with chainsaws and a small tractor with a grappling attachment in order to clear out two giant pine trees that fell in during the recent storms. The time, labor, and resources they spent on my problem was significant. They didn’t get paid for it, and I can’t even remember most of their names.

Was what they did something we would call “work”? That’s what I call it.

I know a guy who is recently retired, and he has decided to bring a troubled young man into his home in an effort to give him a new start. The 9-to-5 office job is over, but his days are now marked by at least a few hours of encouraging, counseling, and shaping a teenager… trying to help him become a man.

Is that something you would call “work”? I would.

Most of the members of FBC Diana who are between the ages of 16 and 65 give a good deal of their time to some sort of job… driving, cooking, delivering, building, maintaining, administrating, machining, engineering, investing, learning, and teaching. And all of us spend lots of time doing at least some of this stuff in the general ordering of our lives… personally and/or as a family.

All of this is work, and all of the work we do (if we do it to the glory of God and for the good of ourselves and the good of others) is good and right. In fact, I’m going to argue today that Christians ought to work… Christians ought to be exemplary workers… and Christians ought to embrace and display a particular kind of work ethic.

The word “ethic” means a set of moral principles, and it refers to the stuff we believe that makes us speak and act in a certain way. One can study medical ethics or business ethics or accounting ethics and arrive at a set of moral principles that should guide us to a specific action in any given situation.

Today, we’re focusing on work ethic… particularly a Christian work ethic. Is there a Christian or biblical way to view work? Are there moral principles in the Bible that should guide the way we speak and act regarding work?

The short answer is “yes,” but let’s take some time this morning to think this through together.

Today is another installment in our series “How Should We Live?”. My aim is to give a practical and biblical explanation and defense of the most basic Christian institutions and behaviors. These are more topical or systematic sermons on a concept or theme or doctrine, so we will draw from many passages of Scripture.

Let’s begin by reading together from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, where we can see the Apostle Paul give some commands about work and some instruction for the Christian’s work ethic.

Scripture Reading

2 Thessalonians 3:6–12 (ESV)

6 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.

7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 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. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

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. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Main Idea:

Work is a created good, a command of Christ, and a worshipful way of life.

Sermon

1. What is Work?

Various words in OT/Hebrew and NT/Greek are translated “work.”

In Genesis 2, the Bible says that God “finished his work” (mission, craftsmanship, business) by the “seventh day” of creation (Gen. 2:2).[i]

And in the same chapter, we read that “God took the man and put him in the garden… to work it…” [serve, toil, accomplish] (Gen. 2:15).[ii]

In our main passage this morning, the Apostle Paul wrote, “with toil and labor we worked” [labored, produced] (v8), and “work” is contrasted with “idleness” and being a “busybody” (v11).[iii]

Work is bigger than a job; it’s a fundamental commission from God.

The climax of God’s creative work in Genesis 1-2 is man (i.e., humanity), and the climax of God’s creation of man is a commission (work and reproduce) and an institution (marriage).

Man (male & female) is the climax of God’s creation!

On the “sixth day” (Gen. 1:31), God created land animals and man, but man alone was “created in [God’s] own image” (Gen. 1:26-27).

And the climax of God’s creation of man is a commission (work and reproduce) and an institution (marriage)!

Genesis 1: When God created man (male & female) in His own image, God “blessed them” (Gen. 1:28) and commissioned them to “be fruitfuland multiply (i.e., replicate) and fill the earth and subdueit, and have dominion (i.e., rule and order) over [everything]” (v28).

Genesis 2: We read the same commission with different language: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15)… cultivate and guard, order and protect.

And finally, God’s creation of man comes to its end (at the end of Gen. 2) with the institution of marriage – the most fundamental institution of an ordered society.

After having repeated the commission to “subdue,” to “cultivate,” to “order” creation as God has intended it, God established the institution of marriage, joining a man and a woman in “one flesh” union that is designed to form a new family structure, produce children, and last a lifetime (Gen. 2:23-25).

Offering a definition of “work.”

Work is the focused expenditure of effort for an intended purpose.

Not all work is good on this side of Genesis 3. Not only has good work become hard and often unfruitful; some work is aimed at accomplishing bad goals.

We learned this last week that nearly 20% of all the “Covid relief” money spent by the American government was stolen by fraudsters. That’s about 200 billion dollars of taxpayer money that went to thieves who figured out a way to scam the system. And the scam (I’m sure) was hard work!

They focused an expenditure of effort toward the intended purpose of what the Bible calls “dishonest gain” (1 Tim. 3:8) or “filthy lucre” (KJV). But I’m interested in “good work,” not just some general idea of “work.”

Good work, God-honoring work, is the focused expenditure of effort toward the ordering of creation according to God’s intended purpose.

Don’t only think “job,” or “career,” or “paid labor.”

I’m thinking any effort to order ourselves, others, and creation.

Young children, retired folks, and everyone in between can and should work… we should focus the expenditure of our effort toward the ordering of ourselves and the world around us according to God’s intended purpose (good, true, beautiful).

2. Work is Good

God’s commission to work came before the Fall.

In Genesis 1, God “blessed” humanity (Gen. 1:28) and commissionedthem to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over [everything]” (Gen. 1:28).

In Genesis 2, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15).

And in Genesis 3, that’s when God cursed everything in creation (including work) because of sin.

God said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you… [and] by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken” (Gen. 3:17-19).

Because of sin and God’s curse, work is now hard.

Work was good before the Fall, and work is good after the Fall, but now work became cursed, painful, and laborious… and the result of good work is often thorns and thistles, as well as grain for bread.

The work of education is hard. We often take little joy in our studies, we are easily distracted, and growth in understanding sometimes feels like a hard slog uphill.

The work of business is hard. We are often at cross-purposes with fellow employees or bosses, problems arise in every area (structures, raw materials, systems, and personnel), and we are prone to invest either too much or too little of our time and effort in any given aspect of the job.

The work of child-rearing is hard. We are often unsure about how best to parent, our children are regularly ungrateful, disrespectful, and resistant to our leadership, and even our best efforts sometimes go unnoticed or seem ineffective.

The work of society-building is hard. We often disagree about how best to order things, we often don’t work well together even when we do agree, and the best laid plans still regularly produce a mixture of good and bad results.

Work of all sorts is hard because of sin… because creation is cursed… and because we are sinful.

But work is a created good. It is good for us to work. We were designed for work. And God both intends and commands us to work.

3. Work is Required

The command to work is all throughout our main passage.

“we command you” (v6), “you ought” (v7), “we would give you this command” (v10), and “we command and encourage” (v11).

These commands are after the Fall and aimed at Christians.

There is even a recognition that work is hard here.

Paul says, in v8, “with toil [i.e., “difficulty” or “hardship”] and labor [i.e., “trouble” or “suffering”] we worked…” (v8).

But this in no way diminishes the repeated commands!

In our passage, Paul gave 1 positive (or constructive) command:

“you ought to imitate us” (v7).

“we were not idle when we were with you” (v7)… “but with toil and labor we worked night and day” (v8)… “It was not because we do not have the right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate” (v9).

Part of Paul’s pastoral ministry among the Thessalonians was to do what we might call “secular” work while he was doing his pastoral work… not because he didn’t “have the right” to be paid for his pastoral labor (1 Cor. 9:3-14)… but so that he might “give” them “an example” of good work “to imitate.”

In our own church, there are many hard-working and responsible men and women who are worth imitating!

The Scriptures teach us that older men are to “be a model of good works” (Titus 2:6) and so teach younger men how to live. So too, the Bible tells us that older women are to “teach what is good” to younger women, so they might “busy” themselves (NIV) in the good work to which God has called them (Titus 2:3-5).

If you are older, who are you teaching? If you are younger, who are you imitating? And how are we all generally giving and receiving a good display of responsibility, diligence, and the concept of a good and honest day’s work?

In our passage, Paul also issued 3 negative (or corrective) commands:

The idle must get to work.

“we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ… [that those who are “idle” and “busybodies” (v11)]… do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (v12).

There are two phrases here that give us an indication of what sort of person Paul has in mind.

Phrase 1: “some among you walk in idleness” (v11).

“walk… disorderly” (KJV)

“lead an undisciplined life” (NASB)

The idea here is order…God’s intended order.

We can all envision someone who lives a disordered, undisciplined, and idle life. They don’t focus effort on ordering themselves or anyone according to God’s purpose. Instead, they just let life happen to them. They wake up each morning with no goals and no plan; and the go to sleep each night with no progress and no sense of a job well-done.

Phrase 2: “some among you… [are] not busy at work, but busybodies” (v11).

either “acting like” they are working (NASB)

or “meddling in the work of others” (NET)

The idea here is either busy at useless stuff or busy at other people’s work.

We can all envision someone like each of these as well. Some people are always busy, but they never actually do anything. Or they are always talking about how they would do someone else’s job, parent someone else’s kid, or run someone else’s life… but they aren’t taking care of their own responsibilities.

Brothers and sisters, the Scripture teaches us that we must not be like that! We must learn what God would have us do, and then we must get on with the work of doing it. Generally, we should love God with our hearts, minds, and strength; and we should love our neighbor as ourselves. And we should “do [our] work quietly” and “earn [our] own living” or pick up our own responsibilities (v12).

The church members are to discipline an idle brother or sister.

“we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness” (v6).

This is church discipline vocabulary.

The Scripture uses similar language (“keep away” or “do not associate with” or “do not receive him”) for false teachers (2 Jn. 10) and unrepentant sinners (1 Cor. 5).

Paul makes it plain that he means church discipline in v14: “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” (2 Thess. 3:14).

The point here is that laziness, irresponsibility, and an unwillingness to get in the driver-seat of your own life to put things in order is not merely a personality quirk, or a cultural issue, or a bad habit… this is a moral issue… this is a sin issue… this is an unbelief or a false belief issue.

Tim Challies wrote (in his little book Do More Better), “As you study the sluggard throughout Proverbs you will see that he is a man who refuses to begin new ventures, a man who will not finish what he has begun, a man who will not face reality… and, through it all, a man who is restless, helpless, and useless. His life is chaotic because his soul is chaotic.”[iv]

How many people have tried to conquer laziness through better scheduling, better to-do lists, better organization tools, better priorities, better motivation… only to discover that the root of that laziness is far deeper? Laziness, idleness, aimlessness… these are more than just an issue of self-discipline… these are an issue of wrong belief or maybe even disbelief.

We might be believing wrong things about ourselves, wrong things about God, wrong things about sin or pleasure… or finances or luxury… or work or rest… or a whole host of other stuff. And our laziness or aimlessness needs to be confronted… not only for the sake of our well-being, but for the sake of our soul.

Christians are to refrain from enabling laziness.

“we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (v10).

Now, here we have come to one of the most difficult commands of all. It is difficult to know when to apply it; and it is difficult to actually apply it when we know we should.

When do we know that someone is “not willing to work”?

Most of us will experience joblessness, seasons of economic downturn, and circumstantial hardships of various kinds.

Some of us will work hard and still have financial or material needs.

Just think of a single mother who works doubly hard, raising children and also providing for herself and others… or a young man just getting started in an economy that runs on the assumption that most households will have two incomes.

So, we cannot assume that “not willing to work” equals poor or needy. But once we do identify somebody as unrepentant in idleness or a busybody or “not willing to work,” then we must actually stop enabling them.

Friends, we must care for those who need assistance, and we must bear one another’s burdens, but we must not enable sinfully lazy people to continue in their sin. Just like any other sin, we must repent, and we must call one another to repentance… and we must re-commit ourselves to trust and to obey our Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy of our whole lives lived in service to Him.

You see, work is not merely a means to an end (a job to make money, a title to win prestige, or a race to run until you’ve crossed the finish line into retirement).

No, work is a worshipful way of life.

4. Work is Worship

The phrase “in the name of our Lord” or “in the Lord” appears twice.

This is religious and authoritative language.

Jesus commands it, and we should do it in service to Him.

“I appeal to you… brothers… to present your bodiesas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1).

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

“whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).

The phrase “giving thanks” comes from one word, εὐχαριστεω, from which we get the word eucharist.

But unlike Roman Catholics, Protestants (since the 16th century) have believed (they recovered the fundamentally Christian idea) that there is no substantial distinction between worshiping or thanking God as a clergyman or as a layman.

Our whole lives can and should be lived in worshipful work to the Lord.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24).

If work is the focused expenditure of effort toward the ordering of creation according to God’s intended purpose, then, brothers and sisters, let’s work… let’s worship God and do the work of ordering ourselves and the world around us according to God’s purpose.

Men, let’s work to become godly and diligent and responsible men… and let’s encourage other men to do the same.

Women, work to become godly and diligent and responsible women… and encourage other women to do the same.

Moms and dads, let’s work to raise our children to be honest and hard-working and contributing members of society… for their own good, for the good of others, and to the glory of God.

Whatever your skill or trade, whatever your intellectual or physical capacity, and whatever your opportunity… do what you can with what you have to make your little patch of this world take on the order God has intended…

And remember that we’re doing it all, not for the sake of money or men, but as a worshipful service to the Lord Jesus Christ… who will one day reward our efforts according to His own judgments and according to His riches in glory.

Conclusion

Friends, I’ve tried today to lay out a biblical theology of work, a Christian work ethic. I’ve argued that work is a created good, a command of Christ, and a worshipful way of life. And I’ve tried to challenge and to encourage us all to live with this biblical perspective of work in mind.

Of course, we all fall short of the biblical perspective and commands, and that’s why we all should run to Christ, confess our sin (of laziness or pride, aimlessness or work-a-holism), and repent. And then we should keep on repenting and believing, living our whole lives in an effort to both trust or rest in Christ and to serve and obey Him.

I pray that the Lord will help us all to honor Him with our labor, that He will help us all to be exemplary workers (in both public and in private, on the job and in our homes). And I pray that the Lord will grant us grace… that He will provide for our needs through our diligent labor and that He will help us be content with whatever He gives us (whether much or little).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schaeffer, Francis A. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. Logos Research Edition. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Logos Research Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Logos Research Edition. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Endnotes

[i] מְלָאכָה(melā(ʾ)·ḵā(h)): n.fem.; ≡ Str 4399; TWOT 1068b—1. LN 42.7–42.28 work, i.e., that which is done, with some focus on the energy expended (1Ki 7:14b); 2. LN 42.7–42.28 work, workmanship, i.e., the result of one’s work (Ge 2:2); 3. LN 57.1–57.21 possessions, i.e., what is owned and managed by the expenditure of work (Ge 33:14; Ex 22:7[EB 8]); 4. LN 42.41–42.50 task, job, deed, i.e., that function which one normally does (Ge 39:11; Ex 12:16; Ps 73:28); 5. LN 42.51–42.53 craftsmanship, i.e., a skill specific in a trade or occupation (Ex 35:31, 33, 35); 6. LN 13.104–13.163 anything, matter, i.e., a thing that happens (Lev 7:24; Ezr 10:13); 7. LN 59.44–59.47 supplies, i.e., goods and stores for keeping provisions for military purposes, implying sufficiency (2Ch 17:13); 8. LN 53.53–53.64 service, i.e., a function performed in religious service (Ne 13:10); 9. LN 57.189–57.208 merchant, formally, worker, i.e., one who buys, sells, and barters goods (Ps 107:23); 10. LN 65.30–65.39 something useful, formally work, i.e., an item made with a focus on the usefulness of the object (Eze 15:5); 11. LN 42.7–42.28 unit: עָשָׂה מְלָאכָה(ʿā·śā(h) melā(ʾ)·ḵā(h)) workman, formally, one doing work, i.e., one that expends energy on a task (2Ki 12:15[EB 14]). James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). [ii] עָבַד(ʿā·ḇǎḏ): v.; ≡ Str 5647; TWOT 1553—1. LN 42.7–42.28 (qal) work, labor, do, i.e., expend considerable energy and intensity in a task or function (Ge 2:5; Ex 5:18), note: this is highly generic term for almost any activity; (pual) be worked (Dt 21:3+); (hif) work (Ex 1:13; 2Ch 2:17[EB 18]; Eze 29:18+); 2. LN 35.19–35.30 (qal) serve, be a slave, be indentured, i.e., give considerable energy and intensity to give aid to another, often in a social arrangement of having lower status than free (Lev 25:46; 2Sa 16:19); (pual) be made a slave or indentured servant (Isa 14:3+); (hif) reduce to servitude, enslave (Ex 6:5; Jer 17:4+), note: for a focus on possession and low status, see also domain LN 87.76–87.86; 3. LN 53.53–53.64 (qal) worship, serve, minister, work in ministry, i.e., give energy and devotion to God or a god, including ceremonies (Ex 23:24, 25); (hof) be made to serve (Ex 20:5+); 4. LN 22.21–22.28 (hif) burden, i.e., cause an unfavorable circumstance or hardship to another (Isa 43:23, 24+); 5. LN 43 (qal) cultivate, plow, i.e., work soil (with or without an animal) as part of the agricultural process (Ge 4:2; Isa 30:24); (nif) plowed, be cultivated (Dt 21:4; Ecc 5:8[EB 9]; Eze 36:9, 34+), note: for MT text in Ge 47:21; Isa 23:10; Jer 15:14, see 6296; note: further study may yield more domains; 6. LN 43 unit: אִישׁ עָבַד אֲדָמָה (ʾîš ʿā·ḇǎḏ ʾǎḏā·mā(h)) farmer, formally, man working soil (Zec 13:5+). James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). [iii] ἐργάζομαι (ergazomai): vb.; ≡ Str 2038; TDNT 2.635—1. LN 42.41 work, labor expending effort (Mt 21:28); 2. LN 57.198 do business, be involved in buying and selling (Mt 25:16+); 3. LN 90.47 perform, do; a marker of an agent relation, implying effort or work (Ac 10:35); 4. LN 13.9 bring about, make happen (Mt 7:23). James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). [iv] Tim Challies, Do More Better, page 20.