The Making of a Godly Examply: 2 Thess Lesson 14

The Making of a Godly Example

2 Thessalonians 3:7-9

 After taking a break last Sunday for a message that was designed to enhance our celebration of Thanksgiving, I want to return to 2 Thessalonians 3 today. As you are turning there I want to correct something I said last time we were here. I said that Matthew 18, where Jesus tells us how to handle church discipline, was the first time Jesus mentioned the church in the gospels. I was incorrect in that statement. Jesus actually spoke of the church in Matthew 16:18. That was where He told Peter that he was “Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” This was the first mention of the church. The instructions of Matthew 18 are the first mandate to the church from our Lord. I apologize for that mistake and I appreciate it being brought to my attention. I am committed to telling you only the truth and I am to be held accountable if I am mistaken on something. It is important for you to know that I would not intentionally mislead you.

I would like to read 2 Thessalonians 3. Please stand together with me as we read this final chapter of this second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. Read the passage.

As we have seen in our study of this chapter to this point, Paul is concerned for the integrity, purity, and unity of the church. He calls the church to take the appropriate steps to keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life. We spent three weeks looking at the first five verses. There Paul establishes his credibility as the spiritual leader he needed to be to call the people to take these difficult steps. I would encourage you to go listen to those messages if you missed any of them. Then, two weeks ago we saw the first of these difficult things that must be done in order to protect the fellowship of the church. The church must be willing to keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the traditions Paul had delivered to these dear Christians.

Two weeks ago we looked not only at that imperative, but also at the process to be followed when this has to be done. Sometimes this is a necessary step for a church to take. Sometimes people lead unruly lives, not according to the truth of God’s word, and this isn’t to be tolerated in the church. When this must be done, it must be done right. 

Spiritual leadership isn’t just about correcting the things that are wrong, it also involves showing people how to do what is right. In life, it is easy to fall into the pattern of addressing what is wrong and leaving it at that. As parents we are really good at saying, “Don’t do that.” As a preacher of God’s word it is not uncommon for me to discourage behaviors and attitudes that are dishonoring to the Lord. The law enforcement officers that patrol our streets and neighborhoods operate in the rebuke mode. They are known for identifying law breakers and pulling them over and writing tickets. I remember being a supervisor in the industrial setting and one of the things I was expected to do was to enforce the safety rules and set expectations for compliance to the accepted norms of the workplace. I often had to reprimand those who were out of line.

It is not wrong to deal with issues. Dealing with the unruly was a necessary part of the process of protecting and preserving the integrity, purity, and unity of the church. Those whose lives were out of order were to be confronted. If they refused to repent they were to be confronted with two or three witnesses in order to confirm the facts. If the still refuse to repent they are to be put out of the church.

This is what Paul told the Thessalonians to do. Keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the traditions received from him. But Paul does not stop with the punitive instructions. Paul also includes some positive instructions. Paul didn’t just call this church to confront and correct the wrong behavior. He challenges and calls them to follow his positive example. If we are going to call others to walk away from those who are bad examples, we need to be providing them a good example to follow. 

If we are going to call others to follow our example, it needs to be very evident to them why we are a good example to follow. Paul doesn’t just call them to follow his example. He explains what it was about his life that made him the kind of example others could and should follow. Verses 7-9 are a call to follow Paul’s example, and scattered through these verses are three good reasons why his example is a positive and powerful example to follow. I am entitling this message, “The making of a godly example.”

Paul understood the power of a good example and he knew what it took to become an example others could follow. Good leadership is leading by example. Good leadership lives or dies on the issue of credibility. The explanations from our lips and the examples of our lives are not telling the same story. Good leadership does not involve saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” That is the stuff of which bad leadership is made. If the life of the leader lacks credibility, he is not leading as a positive, powerful example.

Exemplary lifestyles don’t happen by accident. Effective leadership demands excellence, consistency, integrity, and a host of other character qualities. Effective leaders in the church are godly examples whose lives can be emulated by others. Credibility as a spiritual leader demands a commitment to consistency. Laziness, compromise, and hypocrisy have no place in the life of a leader, especially a spiritual leader.

From these verses we can find some keys to the making of a good spiritual leader. I would not suggest that these verses tell us everything we need to know about good leadership, but Paul identifies three qualities on display in his own life that made him a leader others could follow. Paul does not present these qualities in a boastful fashion. That would be prideful. Humility is certainly one of the most important qualities of a spiritual leader. However, from what Paul shares here we can identify these essential traits of a good and godly example others can follow.

The things pointed out in these verses are important to understand because they are things which a person can control. There are some traits a good leader need over which he has no control. Paul was an extremely intelligent individual. Not all of us can make that claim, nor can we do anything about it. About the only thing we can do to compensate for a challenged intellect is to study harder and prepare. Paul was extraordinarily gifted as an apostle. The spiritual gifts we receive, we receive from the Holy Spirit. We don’t pick those for ourselves. Paul received direct revelation. He performed miracles. His background and education had uniquely prepared him for the ministry. Not everyone has those same opportunities. Not everyone shares those gifts. There is little that can be done about some things that impact our ability to lead.

The things described by Paul in these verses are things that every leader can do. These are things we can control. These are things that require no special spiritual gifts, no extensive training, and there are no IQ requirements. We can all do these things which Paul was willing to do in order to be a positive and powerful example to those he led. These are things that we not only control. They are things to which we must be committed. I think it is safe to say that if these things are not true of us, there isn’t much of a chance of us becoming a godly example to those we are to lead.

These verses are bracketed with the assertion that Paul does what he does so that he is a leader whom others can pattern their lives after. He says in verse 7, “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example…” He concludes verse 9 with, “but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.” In between these statements are three critical aspects of becoming and being this kind of an example.

First, to be the kind of a leader others can follow you must live a disciplined and consistent life. Strongly implied here is that this discipline and consistency is in accordance with the teaching of Scripture. In the last part of verse 6 Paul identifies those whose lives are unruly as those who are not according to the traditions received from Paul. Paul’s own testimony was that his life was not undisciplined, therefore it must have been according to the traditions he taught. A godly example is found in the one who lives a disciplined, consistent life. It is a life according to the truth.

Paul lived a busy life, but it was an ordered life. It was a life consistent with the truth he taught. Paul did not have to say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Paul could say with a straight face, follow my example because we do not live in an undisciplined manner in any respect. He wrote in 1 Thess. 2:10, “You are witnesses and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers.” There had never been a time when Paul did not live a consistently disciplined life before these dear people.

Was Paul perfect? He was not. One thing you don’t find Paul making is excuses for his shortcomings. He would never claim to be perfect, but neither do you read anywhere that he says, “You can follow my example except for my impatience, or my anger, or my laziness, or my gluttony, (I had to throw that one in on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.) or for those curse words that occasionally slip out. We do not have to live a perfect life in order to live a disciplined and consistent life. In fact we are not capable of perfection. However, we will not be living a disciplined and consistent life if we are constantly failing and offering excuses for our failure. Excuses always seek to lay the blame somewhere other than with the one with whom the blame belongs.

Because he lived a consistently disciplined life, Paul was able to write to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 11:1 and say, “Be imitators of me, just as I am also of Christ.” Listen, the only way we can tell others to do this is by living a disciplined and consistent life according to the truth. “Be imitators of me” is an imperative command. It is in the present tense, conveying the idea of continuously. If we are going to command someone to follow us as we follow Christ, and to do so continuously, we better be following Christ continuously. This speaks to the necessity of consistency in the well-ordered life.

Earlier in 1 Cor. Paul wrote, “Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.” (1 Cor. 4:16. Such a strong exhortation can only come from a leader who is living a consistent disciplined life according to the truth of God’s word. He challenged Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 writing, “In speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example to those who believe.” The reason for this instruction to Timothy is obvious. Being an example is a non-negotiable aspect of spiritual leadership.

The writer of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 13:7, “Remember those who led you, and spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” This provides important insight into the issue of following someone’s example, even that of a spiritual leader in the church. It isn’t done blindly. It isn’t done naively. You listen to them as they speak the word of God to you, and then you consider the result of their conduct, and then you imitate their faith. After hearing the word, look at their life and see if the manner of life is consistent with the message from the lips. If so, imitate their faith. 

The word translated “imitate” in all the scripture references I just read is the Greek word from which we get our word “mimic.” To mimic someone is to do exactly what they do. This has tremendous implications for those who are spiritual leaders. This does not just mean pastors or elders. This should be taken to heart by husbands and fathers who are spiritual leaders in the home. It should be taken seriously by moms who provide leadership to the children in the home. It should be taken seriously by every believer who is trying to influence anyone with the gospel message. We should all be living a disciplined and consistent life.

The first trait we find that made Paul a godly example was his consistent and disciplined life. He did not act in an undisciplined manner among others. The second trait is identified in verse 8. Paul writes, “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 would not be a burden to any of you.” Paul was determined that he and those with him would not be a burden to anyone. This determination was driven by a greater concern for others than he had for himself. To be a spiritual leader others can follow it is essential to demonstrate a greater concern for others than what we demonstrate for ourselves.

We have all often heard it said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This is true. It is also true in regards to the first point. People don’t care how much you know unless what you claim to know is reflected in the way you live. If people find someone who knows the truth, lives the truth, and cares about others more than they care about themselves, this is a leader they should and will follow.

This care for others involves more than just words that claim to care. This care is authenticated by the deeds and acts of service and demonstrations of selfless service on behalf of others. Paul’s motivation for working night and day to pay for his own support and the support of those who traveled with him was a concern for their spiritual well-being. His concern for their spiritual well-being far outweighed his own desire for financial support.

Paul had a lot of critics. Some of those critics accused Paul of only doing what he did for the money. Because Paul was aware of these attacks, he was especially careful to make sure these accusations were without merit. He obviously had to eat.  When he did eat what others provided, he paid for it. He worked night and day. He was the model for bi-vocational ministry. Paul was a tent-maker by trade and he worked to provide support for himself and his fellow missionaries.

Why did Paul do this? He cared more about the people than he did his own comfort and convenience. He was sensitive to the struggles the Thessalonians faced as Christians in a pagan society. Very often when a person became a Christian they faced the loss of opportunity in their trade. Sometimes their convictions required them to walk away from a trade. Sometimes they were ostracized by family. They were persecuted and had possessions confiscated. Paul would not place upon these people the burden of providing for his material needs. He did this because he was more concerned about the people he led than his own needs. He worked night and day. He did whatever had to be done because he cared about these people.

How different is this than what you see in the health, wealth, and prosperity teachers of today. Kenneth Copeland will tell you the lie that if you sow a seed faith offering to his ministry that God will return that offering a hundred fold. He lives on a multi-million dollar compound in Texas and flies around the world in private jets. He doesn’t care if the seed faith offering he asks for is the last money you might have in the bank. He is more concerned about his own personal enrichment than the needs of those he deceives.

The making of a powerful and godly example involves a life of consistent discipline, walking in the truth we proclaim. The making of a powerful and godly example also involves a genuine concern for others that greatly exceeds one’s own concern for self. This concern is seen in the actions, not just the words of the leader. The third thing that makes for a powerful and godly example is a willingness to lay down personal rights for the good of those we lead. Look at what Paul wrote in the first part of verse 9, “not because we did not have the right to this…” 

Paul had the right to ask for financial support from these people. Paul would not have been out of line to expect them to provide support. Paul had principle on his side. Paul had truth on his side. His right to receive financial support is well documented in the Scriptures. Yet Paul was willing to lay down his rights for the benefit of those whom he loved and led.

As I said, Paul had plenty of biblical support for receiving financial support from the church. Turn to 1 Cor. 9 for a moment and let’s look at how many reasons Paul could have asserted as justification for asking for and receiving support from the Thessalonians. Let’s begin in verse 4. Read verses 4-6. Paul could have said, “All the other Apostles of our Lord are receiving financial support. Some are even bringing their wives along and they require even more support than me.” 

Read verse 7. Paul uses the example of a soldier, a vineyard keeper and a shepherd. A soldier serves and is supported. A vineyard keeper tends to the vineyard and eats from it. The shepherd takes care of the flock and benefits from the milk the flock produces.

Read verses 8-9. Paul had the Scriptures to support his right to ask for support. The Law of Moses implied that he should be able to receive support. Just as the oxen should be allowed to eat while pulling the threshing wheel, and the plowman plows in hope and the thresher threshes with expectation of sharing in the harvest, so do those who sow spiritual things. They have the right to expect to reap material things. Paul goes on in that passage to show how those who served in the Temple ate from the things brought as sacrifices to the Lord.

Galatians 6:6 is clear on this also. “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” Paul would write to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17-18, “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.’”

Paul had so much scriptural support for asking and expecting to receive financial assistance from the Thessalonians. Yet, he determined to lay down his own personal rights for the good of those he led. He didn’t want to be a burden. He wanted to be a model of selfless leadership others could follow.

Paul truly did understand some of the most powerful teaching of Jesus regarding leadership by example. One of the men read the passage to us a few weeks ago regarding greatness in the kingdom from Matthew 20. In Matthew 20:25-28 it says, “But Jesus called them (His disciples) to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. (They assert their rights for their own personal benefit.) It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’”

To lead as a powerful and godly spiritual leader, we must learn to lead as Jesus led. Jesus led by example. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3:21-23. Read these verses.

This is the key to being able to set aside your own personal rights for the well-being of others. You do it because you want to be an example they can follow. You do it because you are following the greatest example of spiritual leadership the world has ever seen. You do it because you have learned to keep trusting Him who judges righteously.

The three qualities of Paul we identified today are important in the making of a godly example others can follow. We must be living a disciplined and consistent life. Any evidence of an undisciplined life destroys our credibility. I have often said that credibility (or integrity) takes a long time to establish and only a moment to destroy. Carefully examine your life. Ask yourself and your Lord, “Am I living a disciplined life consistently?” “Am I walking in a manner worthy of my calling?” “Is my life one that others should imitate?”

We must also be genuinely more concerned for others than we are ourselves. I think we should all ask ourselves, “Do my actions provide the evidence that I am more concerned for others than I am for myself?” If you find that this is not true of you, it might be time for you to wash a few feet. There are a lot of ways to wash the feet of others without actually pulling off their shoes.

We must also willingly lay down our rights when it is in the best interest of others for us to do that. Those who are the most impactful examples for others to follow are those who serve as slaves. They don’t do this because they have to. They do it because they care.

These are not the only things that make for a godly example. There are many other things we could identify. While these are not the only qualities that make one a good and godly example others can follow, it is safe to say that if these are not true of us, we are not nearly the example we should be.

We should not forget the context of these verses we have looked at today. Paul is in the midst of instructions to this church to do hard things. It is not easy to take the steps necessary to protect the integrity, purity and unity of the church. Leaders who call others to do hard things must be proven to be leaders themselves who will do hard things. Living a consistent, disciplined life is not always easy, but it is essential. Caring more about others than you do yourself is not easy, especially when those “others” don’t seem to always appreciate your care. Yet, caring more about others than yourself is not optional. Laying down your rights is hard, but essential. God calls us to hard things. 

Leaders who will do hard things can be followed to do hard things. Let’s pray.