No one doubts that man has made a great deal of progress in the
physical realm. In 1903 when the Wright Brothers flew their
heavier than air machine, the whole distance of their first flight was
less than the wing spread of a modern B 36. Progress has been
obvious. The progress in medicine has been equally amazing.
Someone has said that if they get wonder drugs any more powerful
you won’t be able to take them unless in you are in perfect health.
William E. Hocking has said, however, “Progress does not carry
with it religious progress. It means rather that men have found new
ways of being lost.” Physical and technological progress does not
bring people closer to God. It often only makes them more efficient
sinners.
Progress is the spiritual realm is the obligation of Christians in
every age. They always have the great responsibility of providing
the world with Christ-like lies. If the church is to be the light of the
world and the salt of the earth it must maintain a constant growth in
spiritual matters. Christians ought to resolve, not just every New
Year, but every day of their lives to be a more Christ-like witness in
our world that is still in the dark ages spiritually. Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians and suggested some vital areas for spiritual progress
that are as relevant today as they were then. In fact, if we resolved
to carry them out, they would revolutionize our Christian witness in
the world. In these 4 verses Paul first deals with our relationship to
believers, and then with our relationship to unbelievers.
I. OUR RELATION TO BELIEVERS.
Concerning brotherly love, says Paul, there is no need to write
to you, for you are taught of God. Love of one another is inherent in
the Christian experience. One cannot become a new creature in
Christ and not recognize that love is the basic foundation for our
fellowship. A non-loving Christian is a contradiction in terms. It is
true that individual Christians can have antagonism for one
another, and thereby place themselves outside of God’s will, but
even such Christians still love other Christian people. It is
impossible to be a Christian and not love other Christian people.
John said, “He that loves not his brother abides in death.” It is
possible to remain on a low level in this area, however. That is why
Paul says that there is no need to write, but then goes on to write
anyway. There is need to tell them about love, but there was a need
to urge them on to greater love.
The Greek word here for brotherly love is philadelphia. The
idea of brotherhood comes from this word. Few ideas have been
more abused than the one of brotherhood. It has been made so
superficial by a loose and broad use of it so that it has lost its biblical
ring. The Bible uses it only to refer to relationships within the
church. It is a relationship among believers in the Bible, but in
liberal circles the concept of the brotherhood of man has been
watered down so that it is made to refer to all people. We need to
beware of throwing away biblical truths just because they are
abused. Brotherhood is a perfectly good word that came into this
world because of Christ. It is even true in some sense that we are
brothers of all men, but the biblical use of brotherhood is limited to
those within the family of God. This is important lest we loose sight
of the distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of
darkness.
Agape is the word used in the Bible for universal love. We are
to agape even our enemies. God so agaped the world that He gave
His only Son. Philadelphia is a more particular love for the
brethren. It is where we start as Christians. We are to love the
brethren, but then go on to broaden that particular philadelphia
love into universal agape love. The New Testament makes a clear
distinction between these two loves, and it shows that growth
upward is from philadelphia to agape. In II Peter 1:5-7 we read,
“Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity.” Charity, of course, is agape.
Paul says to them that they are doing fine, for they have given
evidence of their love to all the brothers in Macedonia, but he urges
them to go on and abound more so as to love universally as God
loves. Don’t keep your love just within the realm of Christian
circles. Go beyond this to even love those who are no part of the
church. What Scripture seems to teach here is that love for the
brothers is a natural part of the Christian life. It comes with the
new birth, but only in seed form. It must grow and abound more
and more until we are mature enough to see that our love must
include event he non-Christian world. This is a goal we are to strive
for because it does not come automatically. It is a goal reached only
by growth. This being the case, there can be few resolutions more
revolutionary than to resolve to rebound in love, and seek to grow in
conformity to the love which Christ has for all men.
II. OUR RELATION TO UNBELIEVERS.
Paul advises first that they major in silence. Most Christian
schools have a major in speech, but I have never heard of one with
even a single course in quietness. Maybe it is because it would be
too tough, for Paul implies that this is no snap course, but a real
rugged one. The word for study is a strong word. It means to
earnestly strive to be quiet. Paul uses the same word in Rom. 15:20:
“Yea, so have I strived to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was
named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.” In one
other place he uses it in an even stronger sense. In II Cor. 5:9-10 he
says, “Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may
be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ...” The word labor is the same word as study is here,
and it shows how strong the word is, for it is the word Paul used to
describe his activity to please Christ.
This seems paradoxical to make such a struggle to be quiet. As
one translation has it, “Make a desperate effort on behalf of
tranquility of mind.” It sounds like the man who said, “We will have
peace even if we have to fight for it.” You wouldn’t think it would
be such a battle just to be quiet, and to live a peaceful life, but it
takes a great deal of effort, and each Christian should resolve anew
every year to concentrate on being quiet. Pascal’s statement may
seem a little strong when he said, “I have often said that all of the
misfortunes of men spring from not knowing how to live quietly at
home in their own rooms.” This was certainly true to a large extent
in this church. Paul’s letter to them indicates that they were
probably getting a reputation in the community as being fanatics.
This is only a problem when Christians are truly fanatical. They
were all excited about the second coming to the point that they
became lazy busybodies, and they were indifferent to society. Every
time this has happened in the history of the church it has left a dark
blot of shame and failure.
Paul lays down some principles in this passage that would have
prevented all of these if men would but guide their lives according to
God’s Word. Paul makes it clear that any view of the second coming
which makes one less fit for a long life of usefulness on earth is a
false view. It is a sin to be so heavenly minded you are no earthly
good. Paul urges them to mind their own business. Nose trouble has
always been a vice among Christians. Just because we have received
Christ does not mean we have been given a divine search warrant
that permits us to meddle in people’s lives. Christians are to respect
the rights and privacy of other people.
John Wesley said that the best evidence of a man’s growth in
grace is when he can say, “Every year I become more merciless in
my judgments of myself, and more merciful in my judgments of
others.” In other words, the Christian who resolves to concentrate
on his own conformity to Christ, and not try and change other
people, will be the Christian whose life most does change other
people. Someone has said, “A man who cannot mind his own
business is not to be trusted with that of the king.” If someone tells
us to mind our own business, let us not be offended, for it is not only
biblical advice, it is essential to our spiritual progress.
Paul then tells them to work with their own hands. The
Christian who does a good days work in whatever he is doing is
fulfilling the will of God in a far more realistic way than we
recognize. Even if Christ is coming again this week, the Christian
who is in the will of God will be doing a good job at his work. If he
makes shoes, he will make them good enough to last for months,
even though his conviction is that Christ may come in a week. A
sloppy job is never a credit to a Christian, and it hinders his witness
to the world. Apparently some of these Christians had quit working
completely. There thinking was that if Christ is coming soon, what
sense does it make to plow the fields and sow grain? There are two
things wrong with this thinking. First, we do not know when Jesus
is coming, and second, even if we knew it would be soon, we have an
obligation to witness to the world. Who would be drawn to a faith
that makes men less effective for life, and less responsible as
citizens?
William Barclay said, “When we Christians prove that our
Christianity makes us better workmen, truer friends, kinder men
and women, then and only then are we really preaching.” To either
run around or lay around like fanatics or busybodies, as if the world
is coming to an end, is neither good sense nor good Christianity.
Paul says to calm down and establish yourselves in a pattern of life
which challenges the world by showing the power and the love of
Christ. The Christian is to be the best citizen, the superior worker,
and the most conscientious servant. Why? It is because you have an
obligation to the non-Christian world. I have heard people say that
they don’t care what people think. This is a bad attitude, for God
does care, and he expects us to care as well.
The church is to be conscious of its image before the
unbelieving community. We are not a water-tight colony indifferent
to public opinion. We have an obligation to life a life worthy of a
people who claim to be children of God. We are epistles read of all
men. We are living products of the grace of God. God forbid that
this makes us less useful for practical living. Paul wanted these
believers to recognize that one of the most revolutionary resolutions
that can be made in life is the resolution to walk worthy of those
called of God. We are to strive to live all of life on a level that
benefits men and brings glory to God. May God help is to be
committed to philadelphia the brothers and agape the world. This
will always be our most revolutionary resolution.
