"Doing What is Right"
2 Th. 3:13-18
And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Intro:
My sermon is entitled, "Doing What is Right." Those are the last four words of verse 13. It’s a command, an encouragement, and an admonition rolled into one line.
These are the final six verses of Paul’s 2nd letter to the Thessalonians. The goal is encouragement to the end. In the closing verses, the great apostle is exhorting this beloved fledgling church in the how-to’s of the Christian life.
Christianity is lived out one Christian at a time. But it is also lived out simultaneously within a community of other believers. Those who seek to live a life pleasing to God are encouraged by the hope of His peace. Serve God individually; keep a watchful eye on one another; and enjoy the presence and peace of Jesus.
It’s Personal
And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
Doing right is a personal matter. doing what is right lies squarely on the shoulder of the individual. No matter what others do, you know what you have to do. If you know the difference between right and wrong, then you know what you need to do to please the Lord. God makes this personal; the Bible says, And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. He puts it in our lap.
This is similar to what we hear in Joshua, ...as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Josh. 24:15) We may not be able to speak for others, but we can speak for ourselves. We may not answer for others, but we will answer for ourselves. Therefore our chief concern is that we are doing right. As I read this, I thought of some old gospel choruses that reflect this individual determination;
I’m going through, I’m going through,
I’ll pay the price no matter what others do...
...
Though none go with me, still I will follow...
Every Christian is judged on his individual service. We will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, right by ourselves. No one will be there to run interference; none will offer defense. It will just be us and the record of all our deeds.
When we were little we tried to blame other kids for what we did wrong. My parents used to ask, "If they jumped off the bridge, would you jump off too?" or "If they stuck their head in the fire would you stick yours in too?" The lesson they were trying to get across was that we should act based on our own knowledge of right and wrong. That’s what God is saying here.
Doing right is not an option in the Christian life. James says, Anyone ... who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. (Jam. 4:17)
It’s not like doing right is a luxury enjoyed only by the super-righteous. It is all our responsibility.
When Paul says we are to never tire of doing right, he hints of the effort required to please God. It isn’t always easy to do the right thing. Sometimes it means disagreeing with a friend. They might get angry with you if you refuse to cover for their sin. It may require you stand on principle. You could lose your employer’s approval. You may have to choose between money and integrity. Doing right could mean you have to stand up against a bully for someone else. Whatever the price of doing right will be repaid in the judgement. In the end, the cost of doing right will never be as high as the cost of doing wrong. Paul told the Galatians, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9) He says here, never tire of doing what is right.
Take Note
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Look around you. Observe the people you are associated with. Are they obedient to the Word of God? We are known by the company we keep. People in the community ask, "Doesn’t he go to ‘your’ church?" Sometimes that’s a good thing; sometimes you hang your head and admit he does. "Yeah, he’s one of ours."
Doing what is right is everyone’s business.
How do we treat disobedient children of God? Well, for starters, Paul says, don’t treat them like enemies. They’re Christians. They don’t hate the Gospel. They don’t despise the church. They don’t persecute believers. Their problem is there are too many things they don’t do, and not enough things they do. They don’t heed the Word. They don’t give the Bible proper place in their daily living. They are too slack in their walk. They believe. They just don’t put much of their faith into practice.
That brings us to the next step in our relationship with these lax Christians. We are not associate with him. Limit your interaction with him. Let them know why you don’t feel like you can hang around them a lot. We are to warn them as brothers. "Brother, I hate to mention it, but, I think I can help you with something..." Don’t just stop calling their house or inviting them over for weenie roasts. Bring the sin to their attention. Pray with them. Talk to them about what the Bible says concerning their sin. Give them a chance to change.
Be careful with this. Don’t become a Pharisee. Don’t let this go to your head and start acting like a Nazi spy. Don’t be overly critical of every little thing someone does. Paul is talking about people who don’t live by the Bible. They’re sinning Christians. Before you scold anyone, be sure they are transgressing against the commands of Scripture, not just your own personal standards.
(There is a whole teaching on this practice. The basic passages are Mt. 18, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor. 2.)
We do this so as not to endorse sinful behavior, and so as not to be drawn into sin. The goal is to restore others to full fellowship.
Peace in Troubled Times
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
The Thessalonians lived in troubled times. They faced the threat of persecution. They feared the danger of corrupt teaching. They knew the challenges of the Christian life. They struggled with one another, and they struggled with personal issues. It wasn’t any easier for them to be Christians than it is for us.
Isn’t that encouraging? If it wasn’t any easier for those who fleshed out Christianity in the first century, it isn’t any harder for us in the 21st century. You and I can enjoy the same peace they enjoyed. We, too, can have peace at all times.
That’s not pie-in-the-sky-theology; it’s a spiritual reality. Is it always easy? Never was. Is it possible? Always has been. How can we have peace in troubled times? We just need Jesus.
We need the peace Jesus gives. may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.
We need to know His presence. We need to know He is near. The Lord be with all of you. We need to experience ancient truth in modern trials. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; ... (Ps. 23:4) Jesus is with me. Jesus is the Lord of peace. He is never separated from His peace. If Jesus is with me, then His peace is with me. If I do not feel His presence, or His peace, all I have to do is ask. He will not refuse me. He has promised to give you peace at all times and in every way.
I truly believe, in this context, our hope of peace is dependant on our doing what is right. A person with a Spirit-governed conscience cannot have peace while doing wrong. Bad deeds gnaw at them like mice on a cracker box. Paul’s prayer is that the Lord’s peace, like His presence, will attend those who keep His Word.
Close:
When it comes to these brothers who are disobedient to Scripture, who are lazy, busybodies (gossips), we are to identify them, reprove them, and love them.
Regarding putting faith to practice, Paul says, it’s a personal thing. Each of us is responsible for doing what is right. We are also obligated to observe how other members of the Christian community live, whether they keep the Scriptures or not. If not, we are to limit our association with them while trying to bring them into a godly life-style. The epistle closes with a prayer for the peace of Christ in every circumstance, and a benediction of grace upon us all. It is by His grace that we enjoy His peace.
