Someone has observed that many years ago they
did not put up signs reading men working. But
then he observed you could tell what men were
doing back then. Would you open your Bible please
to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 as we think about
this theme of work. Firming up our foundation
with regards to work. We're going to read a couple
of verses from 1 Thessalonians 4. They are verses
11 and 12. This is, of course, Labor Day weekend
and so it seems fitting for us to reflect upon
what the Bible has to say regarding work. I have
read theologies about different aspects of life.
I don't ever recall reading or even seeing. theology
regarding work, and yet God has some important
things to say to us in His Word about our work.
The text that we're going to read is penned by
a man who was acquainted with hard work. That's
the Apostle Paul. It was written by Paul to encourage
and instruct new believers in their faith and
in their lifestyle. in the midst of a pagan city,
the city of Thessalonica. Paul preached in that
city on his second missionary journey, Acts chapter
17 tells us about it. Having crossed the Aegean
Sea, leaving behind Asia and entering Europe,
Paul then went on to preach at the city of Philippi.
Following that, he proceeded down the Ignatian
Way, which was a major military and commercial
road linking the Aegean and the Adriatic seas.
After traveling about 40 miles down that road,
he came to the city of Thessalonica. And as his
custom was, he went into the city to preach in
the synagogue. As a result of that, there were
some Jews who believed, and there were many Gentiles
who also believed. So successful was he that
persecution broke out in the city against him
and his message. Even after he left the city,
the opposition continued. Arriving a bit later
in the city of Athens, Paul dispatched Timothy
to return to Thessalonica. As it says in chapter
3 verse 2 of this very book, we sent Timothy,
our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel
of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as
to your faith. So he dispatched Timothy to go
back to Thessalonica where persecution was still
raging. He wanted to hear a report as to how
the church was doing. This letter then is Paul's
response to what Timothy brought back in his
report. In verse 6 of chapter 3, he says, But
now that Timothy has come to us from you, and
has brought us good news of your faith and love,
and that you always think kindly of us, longing
to see us, just as we long to see you, for this
reason, brethren. And he goes on to explain his
burden for them in writing the letter. You see,
there were some who had already come to the city
of Thessalonica to undermine Paul's credibility.
It wasn't that they were necessarily Paul's enemies,
but they were enemies of the gospel. And they
knew that they could undermine Paul in his credibility
and thus undermine his message. And there were
others who were spreading false doctrine already
in the city of Thessalonica. And so you can see
that wherever the church has planted, Satan is
right behind the planting doing what he can to
disrupt God's work. There were those who were
teaching false doctrine regarding the Lord's
return and so Paul writes this letter to them
now to correct the false doctrine and to encourage
them in their walk especially in the light of
persecution. One of the questions the people
apparently had was how do we live out our faith
in the midst of a pagan city like this? Thessalonica
was like all of the other cities of the Roman
Empire. It was filled with temples, gods, and
altars. A lot of immorality went along with that.
And so they said, Paul, how do we live as Christians
in this kind of a culture? And so he writes now
to tell them in chapter 4, in verses 1 through
8, he says, you must live in purity. I know,
I know there's immorality all around you and
it seems like everybody else is doing it, but
not you. You learn how to possess your body in
holiness. And he says, not only must you live
in purity, you must live in charity. Learn to
love one another, verses 9 and 10. And then in
our text, verses 11 and 12, he says, as Christians
we are to live in honesty. in a pagan world.
And as part of that honesty, he talks about work.
Notice what he says in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse
11. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life
and attend to your own business and work with
your hands just as we commanded you so that you
may behave properly toward outsiders and not
be in any need. And so he drops into this epistle
this word about work, manual work. Now the economic
situation of that day was quite different than
ours. Their culture depended upon agriculture,
depended upon skilled trades. In fact, every
Jewish man had to learn a trade that was part
of their tradition. And Paul was no exception,
right? Paul knew how to work with his hands.
In fact, in chapter two of this epistle, he reminds
them of that. He says, you recall, brethren,
our labor and hardship, how working night and
day, so as not to be a burden to any of you,
we proclaim to you the gospel of God. Paul reminds
them that he had used his trade in that city
to support himself. Now from Acts chapter 18
we understand a little bit about his trade. It
was working with leather. He was called a tent
maker. Although there are some today who studying
that concept in that culture say that it may
not just have been tents. Paul may have been
a cobbler. He may have been a shoemaker. A maker
of sandals out of leather. But the point is that
Paul knew how to work with his hands. Now when
he emphasizes labor, work with your hands, he's
not talking about the kind of work you should
do, because there are not many of us that work
with our hands. We work in other ways. But what
his emphasis is, is to work rather than being
lazy, rather than being idle. Robert Frost observed,
the world is full of willing people, those willing
to work and those willing to let them work. He
tells us here that we are to be among those who
are willing to work. Honest work and labor is
respectable. Not only that, I believe that honest
work is required. of all of those who can do
it. Now there are some who cannot do it. Some
because of disabilities. Others because of their
age. And the scripture tells us that we as a
body of people are to look after the needs of
widows and orphans. But as a general principle,
God upholds hard work. Now if we're going to
look at a biblical theology of what work means,
we have to go back to where work is first mentioned
in the Bible. And where do you suppose that is?
Right, the book of Genesis. So let's turn back
to the book of Genesis and to the second chapter.
As we begin the chapter, it summarizes by saying,
thus the heavens and the earth were completed
and all their hosts. And by the seventh day,
God completed His work. That's the first occasion
of the word work in the Bible. It's not human
work. It's God's work. God completed his work
which he had done and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work which he had done. Then
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it
because in it he rested from all his work which
God had created and made. And so God's creative
acts are here described as work. Now the word
that is used here is not a word that emphasizes
how God toiled and labored. It is a word that
emphasizes the skill of what was done and the
benefit of it. That was God's work. God finished
His creating work in six days. On the seventh
day, He rested. Not because He was tired. God
exerted tremendous power in His creative work.
but he did not get tired. God doesn't get tired.
But God rested on the seventh day to set a pattern.
He sanctified that day to set a pattern for man
in his work. We see here that the creation was
designed by divine intelligence, that it honors
its creator. We see here that what God worked
on was not only skillfully made, but it was beneficial.
It was good. God saw what he made and said, it's
good. It's good. And so God's creative acts are
described as work, but not only that, we see
in the book of Genesis that God blessed mankind
with the gift of work. Did you see how I said
that? He blessed mankind with the gift of work.
The Lord didn't burden us with work. He blessed
us with work. Look over in chapter 1 of Genesis,
verse 26. Then God said, let us make man in our
image according to our likeness. And let them,
notice this, rule over the fish of the sea, and
over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth. And God created
man in his own image. In the image of God, he
created him. Male and female, he created them.
And God blessed them. Notice that, he blessed
them. And he said to them, be fruitful. and multiply
and fill the earth and subdue it and rule. Now
please notice this is before Genesis chapter
3. Some people have the idea that work is the
result of the fall in the sin. Not at all. God
commanded man to work, to fill the earth, to
subdue it. to rule it before there was ever any
sin within man. God blessed us with work. He
designated man as his vice regent, so to speak,
as a sovereign over this globe. And He said to
man, rule it. It is yours to govern. It is yours
to subdue and to fill. But we can't ignore Genesis
chapter 3 as it relates to work. God blessed
us with work to do before there was sin. But
sin did change the nature of the work. When man
fell into sin, he lost his privilege of rule.
and was, as Dr. Charles Ryrie says, condemned
to exhausting labor in order to make a living
because of a curse on the ground. Let's read
about it in chapter 3. The fall has taken place
already, and God is now meeting with those who
are part of it. And in verse 17, he has something
to say to Adam. because you have listened to
the voice of your wife and have eaten from the
tree about which I commanded you, saying, You
shall not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because
of you. In toil you shall eat of it all the days
of your life. Notice that, in toil. Both thorns
and thistles It shall grow for you, and you shall
eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of
your face you shall eat bread, till you return
to the ground, because from it you were taken.
For you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
And so we see fulfilled the curse of death because
of sin. But in addition to that we see that work
changed Now there was going to be involved in
work toil and sweat The ground was pronounced
by God good and now God says cursed Man could
eat freely of all the trees of the garden but
the one. But now God says he must eat his food
by the sweat of his brow. So now we understand
why mankind so often does not perceive work as
a blessing. Despite what the fall of man did
to work however, Work is still a blessing. And
it comes to us from God for our good. That brings
me to another point that I want to make. Not
only is God the author of work, but God has authored
work for our benefit. Let's just think about
some of the benefits of work. In the first place,
it gives to us a purpose. We need purpose. We
need meaning. We need accomplishment. We all
look forward to vacation, don't we? We can hardly
wait to get into that campsite by the lake, go
out on the boat, go fishing or whatever you like
to do. We can hardly wait to get out there and
rest. But after you've been out there about a
week, or two. What happens? You begin to get
this restless feeling inside. You're having fun,
you're with your family, or maybe you're alone,
if that's what you prefer. You're doing what
you want to do and yet inside there is this nagging
feeling that you want to do something. That's
because you're a human being and not an animal.
You're a created person and God has given you
as a human being a need to accomplish. He has
given you a need to be significant, to have a
purpose and work does that for us. Through work
we have the opportunity to do things and we see
our finished product. It is frustrating to those
of us who are in kinds of work where you don't
have that. For those of us who are in work before
you go home and the job is never done, it's good
to have a hobby. So that you can work on something
and see the finished product there and say, it's
finished! Look at it! There's a great sense of
satisfaction in that. You see, work is a blessing.
What if God hadn't given us work to do? Life
would be frustrating. Life would lack purpose.
an accomplishment, but God's given us work. It
would be a terrible punishment to have to work
without any sense of purpose to it. One of the
things that the Germans did to break people in
their concentration camps was to give them work
that had no meaning. And so the prisoners would
be taken out to this large pile of rocks and
they would labor for days and days from morning
till night to move it over here. And when the
last rock was over there, then they had to labor
to move it back over here. And back and forth.
And back and forth. Until people went crazy.
We need to have a sense of doing something and
work gives that to us. It's a gift from God not
only that work As a benefit to us provides for
our needs now, let's go back to first Thessalonians
412 Where Paul suggests this ever so briefly?
But certainly with with a point He says work
with your hands so that you may behave properly
toward outsiders and not be in any need." In
other words, he says you need to work so that
you meet your needs. He had done that himself,
hadn't he? We read the verse back in chapter
2, verse 9. Somebody said one of the hardest
ways to make a living is to work for it. But
that's the whole idea. With work we earn our
living. We meet our needs. That's God's blessing
to us. If we have the ability to work for ourselves,
we should not depend upon others. And then there's
a third reason that God has given us work. It's
a benefit. It's a blessing. It is so that we
through our work might bless others. Look back
in Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment, where again
Paul talks about work. I almost use this as my
text because he says in verse 28 of Ephesians
4, let him who steals, steal no more. Now you
know the implication here is striking to me because
it suggests that there were some of the Christians
in the church who were stealing. He says, rather
let him labor, performing with his own hands
what is good, in order that he may have something
to share with him who has need. One of the blessings
of work is that it allows us to bless others.
Paul emphasized this in a number of the churches.
He encouraged them to give even out of their
poverty so that the saints who were impoverished
even more in Jerusalem could have something to
live on. They were under great stress and persecution.
And so Paul was gathering up offerings from churches
here and there throughout Asia Minor, throughout
Greece. of modern -day Greece, and He was taking
all of that back to Jerusalem to minister to
the needs of the saints. God allows us to work
so that we can benefit others. There's great
joy in that. Jesus was right, of course, when
He said it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Isn't it a great joy when you can find out maybe
even a little secretly in a sneaky way that somebody
has a need and then to be able to channel a gift
to them some way so that they don't even know
where it comes from. And as far as they're concerned,
God just dropped it on them. There's tremendous
joy in that and delight in being able to see
people radiate and how God has met their need.
And to be the channel for that. God wants us
to work to be able to do that. Now, there are
other reasons that God has given us work, other
benefits. We can advance the gospel through it.
Through it we build up the church. Work benefits
our character. Work is good for human society.
All of these are benefits of work. God has authored
work for humanity's benefits. But God makes it
clear in his word that if there are those who
can work, who will not work, they should not
be given anything to eat. Boy, that cuts against
the grain of our welfare mentality, doesn't it?
And again, I'm not talking about welfare blanket.
I'm talking about those cases where people receive
welfare and they cannot work. That's unbiblical.
I appreciate the moves in a number of states
as well as in our Congress to make people who
are receiving public money more responsible.
I am in agreement that our welfare system has
helped to destroy our society in the name of
doing good. I mean the people who started it
probably were sincere, but it's destroying our
society. It's got to be changed. And not everybody's
going to be happy about it. But it is a biblical
principle. Look over in 2 Thessalonians. You
know, this problem of work must have been more
than we think. Paul just mentions it ever so
briefly in his first letter. But in his second
letter, there's a major problem. There's a group
of Christians, professing Christians at least,
who refuse to work. They were able to work, but
they freeloaded off of others. And so Paul does
not comfort them. He does not embrace them. He
does not sympathize with these people. He admonishes
them. Look in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians. We
command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ that you keep aloof from every brother
who leads an unruly life. That is, he's out of
step. And not according to the tradition which
you've received from us, for you yourselves know
how you ought to follow our example, because
we did not act in an undisciplined manner among
you. Nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying
for it, but with labor and hardship. We kept
working night and day so that we might not be
a burden to any of you. Not because we do not
have the right to this, but in order to offer
ourselves as a model for you that you might follow
our example. For even when we were with you,
we used to give you this order, if anyone will
not work, neither let him eat. For we hear that
some among you are leading an undisciplined life
doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.
Picture there, running from here to there, one
place to another, checking on people, you know,
a busybody. They're busy, but not doing anything.
Now, such persons we command and exhort in the
Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion. and
eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren,
do not grow weary of doing good. If anyone does
not obey our instruction in this letter, take
special note of that man and do not associate
with him, so that he may be put to shame." You
see, what he is talking about here is church
discipline. That there is to be an accountability
to the body. And if someone is a lazy, freeloading,
busybody, He is not to eat. The church is not
to take up support for him. The believers have
no obligation to support him. He is not talking
about widows and orphans, etc., etc. He is talking
about those who can work and refuse to work.
Now why is he so strict on this? It's because
God has authored work and God has called work
good. It is good for us. And so we today must
resist cultural values that denigrate the place
of work. The welfare mindset that says society
owes it to me. The consumer mindset that says
I want my desires satisfied now and with no obligations
on my part. You see, we have to be aware of these
attitudes because these values have a way of
creeping into our idea about the church too.
Why should I work in ministry? I work hard all
week. Someone should take care of my kids, my
family, and let me sit in church and enjoy it
without having to work. I've put in my time.
Let somebody else do it. I want to be served,
but don't expect me to do anything. Oh. Where
do you think those kinds of ideas come from?
Not from the Bible. They come from the world.
You see, the very attitudes that many Christians
lambaste in the world, and rightly so, they practice
in the church. Work belongs in the church, too.
And all of us have work to do. Well, there are
many other things we can say about work, but
one thing I do want to say in closing is that
when you have worked well, rest well. Will you?
You know, there are some people who have a horrible
time resting. They're workaholics. They work,
work, work, work, work, and somehow their whole
identity is wrapped up in work. Well, bless the
Lord, they know how to work, but they need to
learn how to rest, too. You see, God worked for
six days on creation. He rested on the seventh.
It only took God six days to do all of creation.
Now I know that's before government regulation.
That's before OSHA. We understand that. But when
God had finished the work of six days, He rested.
And he gave us an example. Now I know we're not
practicing the Sabbath as a religious ceremony
and ritual and all that. That's part of the law.
Christ has fulfilled the law. But there's a principle
there that we also need to rest. And some of
you need to learn that. You need to be able to
lay your work down and rest and be refreshed.
When you have worked well, learn to rest. well.
But we come to the Lord's table that reminds
us of another work of the Lord. We've talked
about the work of creation. This reminds us of
his work of redemption. When God had finished
the work of creation, he said, it is good. When
he had finished the work of redemption, he said,
it is finished. And we come to a table reminding
us of the sufficiency of the sacrifice of our
Lord. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior,
whether you're a member of this church or not,
you're invited to come to this table assuming
you're walking in fellowship with the Lord. And
let us be reminded that we do not work for our
salvation. That by God's goodness and grace,
we rest. in the finished work of Christ on our
behalf. Let's rejoice today in His shed blood,
His broken body for us. Let's bow together. Father,
as we gather around this table, we want to thank
you for the wonderful work of creation that reveals
your power and deity, your intelligence. We worship
you because of that. But if possible even more
so we worship you for the work of redemption
because through this finished work of Christ
we have found salvation. And as we come to this
table, we quiet our hearts and remind ourselves
that it's by grace that we're saved, not of works.
And we partake of this cup with gratitude. We
partake of this bread in gratitude for your finished
work. Amen.