The Church and Her Leaders: 2 Thess Lesson 10

CTW – 1 Timothy 4

2 Thessalonians 3

The Church and Her Leaders

 Open your Bibles with me to 2 Thessalonians 3 today. This is the final chapter of these two letters to this really good church in Thessalonica. Before we read this chapter I want to remind you of the themes of the first two chapters in this second letter to the Thessalonians. The theme of the first chapter was comfort and encouragement in the face of persecution and affliction. He said in verses 3-5 of the first chapter, “we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of Gods righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” Paul was concerned that they have and maintain a right perspective of their suffering.

 The theme of chapter 2 was correction of the doctrinal error regarding the day of the Lord. This false teaching had shaken them from their composure and disturbed them. So Paul gave instruction and exhortation intended to correct the error from some letter or message that had been sent as if from Paul. There was instruction regarding the day of the Lord and the destruction of the man of lawlessness when the Lord returns. There is the beautiful reminder of their relationship with God in the work of salvation in verses 13-15. There is the benediction in verses 16-17 designed to comfort and strengthen their hearts in every good work and word.

 As we read chapter 3 you will recognize that Paul’s theme in this chapter is confrontation of irresponsible lifestyles. Read the chapter. Just by way of warning, I won’t get into verse 1 today. I think it is important to set the table and to understand why Paul gives the instructions he gives in this chapter.

 We just read Paul’s instructions regarding how to deal with those who lead an unruly life, not according to truth. Paul told the Thessalonians how to deal with those who refuse to work. He confronted those who were leading undisciplined lives, acting like busy bodies. And, there were some who were outwardly disobedient to Paul’s instructions. These things were a reality in the church of the Thessalonians.

 What does this tell us? It tells us that there were some problem people within the church. I will remind you that this was a good church. What we learn from this chapter is that even good churches are going to have some problem people. For all the praise and commendation Paul heaped on this group of believers, there were some for whom the praise and commendation was not appropriate. There were some people, even in this good church, who were not standing firm and holding to the traditions Paul had taught them. The church at Thessalonica was a good church, but it wasn’t a perfect church.

This was the case in Thessalonica. It was certainly the case in the church at Corinth. By the way, Paul was sitting among that messed up bunch at Corinth as he wrote this second letter to the Thessalonians. There are churches with a lot of problem people, and there are churches with a few. 

 Every church has its problem people. I have not seen a church yet that was without some who do not live as they should. It has been true of every church, in every place, in every time period of church history. It is impossible to read the epistles to the churches and not see that this is the case. It is impossible to read the letters of our Lord to His churches in the first part of the Revelation and not see that this is the case.

 What we may find most surprising, and perhaps a bit challenging about this chapter is what Paul says to do in the case of those who are problems. There are calls for strong actions. Paul commands us to keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life. If someone will not work, let them go hungry. Those who live undisciplined lives, who act like busybodies are commanded to work and eat their own bread. Those who won’t obey Paul’s instructions in this letter are not to be associated with, so they will be put to shame. How much attention is being paid to these instructions in the church today? These are not instructions typically accepted or practiced in today’s church. But they should be. They are not practiced because they run counter to conventional thought. In too much of the modern church, the wisdom of man is given priority over the wisdom of God.

 These instructions would be considered harsh, unloving, insensitive, cruel, and condemning by most in the mainstream church today. Most churches today will not exercise church discipline when even the most egregious sins are committed by the members of the church. In a lot of churches you can get away with committing adultery with someone else’s spouse and divorcing your spouse and marry the one with whom you committed adultery and just keep coming to church like nothing happened. No one will confront you for your sin because they fear it will drive you away. The result is that the church is full of compromise. The church is impure. The church is as bad as the world.

 This is not as it should be. When we become followers of Christ through the grace that saves us, we become part of the church. We must never forget what the church is, or loose sight of what the church is to be. The church is the bride of Christ. What kind of bride does our Lord want? Paul wrote this to instruct husbands on how they are to love their wives, and they also describe our Lord’s desire for His church, His bride. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

 Jesus’ desire for His bride that she be sanctified, washed with the word, gloriously beautiful, having no defects, being holy and blameless. Can we honestly say that the desire of the church is the same as that of the desire of Her Savior? Is the commitment of the church to be sanctified, washed by the word, spotless and free from defects, and holy and blameless? I would submit that this should be the desire of the church and it should be the intention of the church to pursue just that. We should want to be the bride Jesus redeemed for Himself and we should be intentional in becoming that spotless, holy, blameless bride. We should regard this as not optional.

 I want to challenge you to read the letters of our Lord to the churches in Revelation 2-3. This is the record of our Lord’s messages to His bride. He repeatedly addresses the problems in these churches and warns of the need to repent. He will not tolerate the defiling of His bride. His bride should not tolerate corruption. In these letters He commends the things that are right, but He strongly condemns the thing these churches were tolerating. It starts with a departure from Him as the first love as was the case with Ephesus. This will be followed by acceptance of false teaching, toleration of stumbling blocks, acceptance of immorality, infiltration of those who are spiritually dead, and a church that is lukewarm, which makes the Lord want to vomit. The repeated warning of those letters is, “Behold, I come quickly.”

 Paul understood well the need of the church to protect its purity, unity, and spiritual integrity. Therefore, in this third chapter of 2 Thessalonians, Paul does not shy away from addressing the problem people in this fellowship. Paul does not shy away because he understands two important truths. First, Paul knew what Jesus wanted in His bride. Second, Paul knew that if he didn’t address these problems, they were not going away. Problems must be addressed. The church must be willing to address the problems with those in the church who do not live as they should. It may not be easy, and it certainly doesn’t make people comfortable. But the spiritual health of the bride of Christ requires this. If you have a tumor in your body that threatens your physical life, you better be willing to go through the painful surgery to remove that tumor.

 I am not sure that the church universal, especially the church in America, takes seriously enough our responsibility to pursue becoming a holy, spotless, blameless bride. I can’t fix the American church. It isn’t within the scope of my calling. I’m not responsible for the church in America. I am, however, responsible for this church. I am responsible for myself. I want to make sure my life is an example of one who is part of a church that is spotless, holy, and blameless. To be that kind of example my life must be spotless, holy, and blameless. I am not perfect but that is my pursuit.

 I am also responsible to this church. I am responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ as a shepherd of His flock. I have a responsibility to lead this church to become what Christ desires. Christ’s desire is for a bride that is holy, spotless, and blameless. This was Paul’s motivation in addressing the problem people at Thessalonica. If there are problem people here, I am responsible to address the problems created by problem people. It is not always fun, but it is a necessary part of the calling of God. I will give an account to Him for how faithful I am in the execution of the duties related to my calling.

 Paul demonstrated his heart as a pastor to these Christians in Thessalonica. He is an excellent model for pastors to follow. The pastor is a shepherd of God’s people. This analogy of a shepherd was established in the Old Testament. Jesus affirmed this analogy of spiritual leadership when He dealt with Peter after His resurrection. During this restorative encounter Jesus asked Peter three times to confirm his love for His Lord. When Peter affirmed his love for Jesus, Jesus said, “Tend My lambs.” The second time Jesus said, “Shepherd My sheep.” The third time Jesus said, “Tend My sheep.” Peter was the leader among the Apostles. The Apostles set the example for pastors. Pastors are shepherds of the Lord’s sheep.

The pastor’s role in the church is to feed, lead, and protect the flock. The sheep must be fed. The pastor is to feed the sheep the word of God. The necessary food of our Lord’s sheep is the word of God. This was Paul’s emphasis. He taught the Thessalonians the word of God. Please go back and read the second chapter of the first letter and you will see this clear emphasis. This is why I proclaim to you God’s holy word. We all grow by partaking of the spiritual nourishment that comes from the word of God. The church is experiencing a spiritual famine today because the teaching of the word of God has been abandoned by so many pastors.

The pastor’s role is not only to feed, but to lead. The leadership of the pastor is by example. This is clearly seen in the life of Paul among the Thessalonians. He reminded them that they were witnesses of how devoutly, and uprightly, and blamelessly he had behaved toward them. (1 Thess. 2:10) We read about the strong emphasis in this present chapter on following his example. Paul often wrote in his letters to the churches telling them to follow him as He followed Christ. He told the Corinthians “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” He told the Philippians in 3:17, “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.” He went on to warn the Philippians that those who walk otherwise are enemies of the cross.

The pastor not only feeds the word of God, and leads by example. He is also to protect the flock from danger. There are many dangers threatening the spiritual well-being of the church. The most dangerous is false doctrine. Bad food will make you sick. We just saw how false teaching concerning the day of the Lord had shaken these followers from their composure and had caused them to be disturbed. False doctrine must be exposed and rejected. This is why the pastor must be discerning. He must be devoted to the instructions of 1 Timothy. He must preach the word. He must prove himself a good servant of Christ Jesus who is constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine of Scripture. He must prescribe and teach these things. He must give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching, not neglecting his spiritual gifts. He must take pains with these and be absorbed in them. He must pay attention to his teaching and persevere in these things. This is how the pastor ensures salvation both for himself and for those who hear him. I just pulled exact quotes from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Tim. 4. 

Sound doctrine is vital to the spiritual well being of the flock. Some of the problem people Paul deals with in 2 Thess. 3 are people who had been wrongly influenced by false doctrine. It is likely that those who refused to work were refusing to work because they had become convinced of the Lord’s imminent return and they were just sitting idle and waiting. False doctrine must be addressed because false doctrine leads to unscriptural behavior.

The second threat from which the flock of God’s people must be protected is sinful influences. Bad influences will lead the church astray. Sinful influences can come from within the church. There are several indications within the text of chapter 3 that these were “brethren.” The pastor must be willing to watch and take steps to protect the flock from the sinful influences that can come from even within the flock. The Scriptures are not silent on the process to be followed when dealing with these influences. And sometimes, dealing with these sinful influences requires the removal of some from the fellowship. This is necessary when problem people refuse to repent and, as we saw a couple weeks ago, hold to the traditions taught from the word.

The thing to recognize from this chapter is that there is a responsibility to protect the purity and the unity and the integrity of the church. God cannot bless the church that is not protecting the purity. If there is not purity there can be no unity. We are not striving for uniformity. We don’t all have to look exactly the same and do exactly the same thing. But we must be in unity regarding truth. I take seriously the responsibility I have to feed, lead, and protect this flock of our Lord’s people.

There is a difference between problem people and people who are weak or immature in the faith. If you are weak, or if you are not as spiritually mature as you know you need to be, I don’t want you to sit there thinking that the pastor is going to come after me every time I mess up. Don’t be worried that I will call you out publically and put you to shame. Paul is not telling the church to keep away from those who need discipleship and encouragement and instruction. He would never advocate putting to shame anyone who is striving to please the Lord, but may not know how to do that. His instructions are intended for those who will not listen to admonition, who refuse sound biblical counsel, and who will not obey the truth or live consistent with the word of God.

As a pastor, I am standing in a position of constant tension. This is not a bad thing, it is just a very real thing. On the one hand there are people in the church whose lives are not yet all they could be, or should be as followers of Christ. The reality is that this probably describes all of us to some extent. None of us has arrived completely. However, some are doing better than others. Some are more mature in the faith than others. And there is a standard for which we strive. There is a goal at which we are aiming. I stand between you, wherever you are in your level of spiritual maturity, and this goal.

I want you to understand the goal. My desire was penned by Paul in his letter to the Colossians. Turn to Colossians 1. Colossians 1:28 says, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” Paul went on to write, “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to the power which works mightily within me.” The goal is to present every person in this fellowship complete in Christ. The pastor stands in this place of tension. He sees where the people are, and what the people need. He knows that the word of God will do the work of transformation. So he is to admonish and teach with wisdom so that the maturity happens so that every person is presented complete in Christ.

This is the cry of my heart. It should be the heart cry of anyone in the ministry as a pastor/elder. If this is not the pastor’s primary concern, he should find another way to earn a living. I have been consistently committed, and will always remain committed to admonishing and teaching you the truth of God’s word so that you may stand complete in Christ. You have no greater need, and I have no greater responsibility.

That being established, what then is the responsibility of those whom the shepherd leads, feeds, and protects? What is your responsibility? Turn with me to Hebrews 13. Verse 17 gives us a good understanding of the duty of the sheep. Verse 17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

I want to start with what this verse reveals about the duty of the leaders. The leaders are the elders, or pastors who are responsible to lead, feed, and protect the flock. These men “keep watch over your souls…” This word translated “keep watch” is “agrupneo.” It takes the word which is translated “sleep” and puts the alpha negative on the front of it. The word literally means “without sleep.” The spiritual leaders had better not be asleep on the job. They had better be watchful, attentive, and alert to the condition of the souls of the people. This word is translated “keep on the alert” most other places it is used in the New Testament. 

The pastor must watch over your souls as one who will give an account. The Greek literally means “explain my reasons.” I will explain to the Lord, our Chief Shepherd, my reasons for what I do or don’t do as the one responsible for keep watch over your souls. I think this is a fairly good indication that leaders better be paying attention. Spiritual leaders better be careful in the execution of their responsibilities. The duties are not for the faint of heart, or for those whose concern is for pleasing man rather than the Lord.

Think about the reality of what we watch over. We watch over your souls. If you give me responsibility for watching over your pets, and I fail, you will be a little frustrated with me and probably sad, depending on what happens to them. If you give me responsibility for watching over your money, I might lose it, but you would survive. But what are the consequences if I fail in my duty to watch over your souls. Think about it. There are no do-overs. The consequences are eternal. How important is this responsibility?

What then, are the followers, or sheep to do? The writer of Hebrews says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them…” This word “obey” is interesting. The basic meaning of the verb “peitho” is “to persuade.” The idea here is not that of obedience like we would obey a superior who has the authority to tell us what to do. The idea here is that of letting yourself be persuaded. It means to assent to the truth and to begin to live accordingly. We get an understanding of this meaning in Galatians 5:7-8. Paul writes, “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.” The Galatians had allowed themselves to be persuaded regarding something that was not according to the truth.

You are responsible to be persuaded by the truth. This does not mean that you don’t carefully examine what I teach. You should be like the Bereans. Search the Scriptures to make sure that what I teach is according to the word of God. And when you find it so, accept it as the word of God and believe it, and conform your life to it.

You are to obey and “submit.” This word carries the idea of surrender, yielding, and ceasing to fight. If a faithful shepherd, who has been tasked with the responsibility of watching over your soul, addresses things of concern, the shepherd has done his part. If this is a one on one setting, or even if the truth taught from the word of God addresses areas of need in your life, the leader has done what he should have done. What are you to do? Obey and submit. You are responsible to allow yourself to be persuaded by the truth and surrender. Submit yourself to the truth.

If this is your response, your spiritual leader will give an account with joy and not grief. If this is not your response, the results are unprofitable for you. According to my favorite Greek scholar, the word “unprofitable” implies exceeding harm and danger. It is unprofitable, and harmful and dangerous, because the good shepherd is only trying to lead the sheep into all the truth. He wants to present you complete in Christ. We all need to stand before Christ complete.

I did not get to our text today, but rather tried to lay a biblical foundation for why Paul addresses the things he addresses in this chapter. The spiritual purity, unity, and integrity of the church is important. The spiritual leader has an grave responsibility to address problems when they arise. It is important for the church to know how they should respond to their spiritual leaders. Paul calls the Thessalonians to do some hard things in this chapter. They are, however, important things because they protect the health, purity, and beauty of the Lord’s bride.

Let’s pray.