2 Thessalonians Chapter 3
Request for Prayer
3:1 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you,
It is important that believers pray for pastors who are feeding them the Word of God. Satan is not happy with these kinds of pastors, and he will attempt to destroy them. Pastors need time to study the Word of God. Many churches overload their pastor wth ministries that should be handled by the deacons and church members who possess these gifts. The congregation is to pray for the pastor. The pastor is to spend his time studying and teaching the Word of God. If the Lord's message is going to spread quickly and effectively, prayer must be involved.
3:2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith.
There are evil people inside and outside the church who want to destroy the pastor. Not everyone in the church is a true believer. There are professing believers inside of every church. Jesus taught in Matthew 13 that there are unclean birds, or dirty birds, inside of the local congregations of Christendom. Elders need to recognize this strategy. Believers need to pray for their pastors, elders, and church leaders. There is a battle going on for the souls of man. Satan is involved, and he plays dirty.
Faith (or belief) comes from hearing the Word of God. The method of the Holy Spirit is for gifted pastor-teachers to teach the Word of God to their congregations. Either The Bible will keep believers from sin, or sin will keep believers from the Bible.”
3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
According to Job, Satan could do nothing to Job without the permission of God. Satan is handcuffed. However, God has a long leash and He will allow Satan to attack even faithful pastor-teachers.
3:4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding.
Paul is confident that the Thessalonians will pray for their teachers.
3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.
The Thessalonians were commanded to direct their personalities toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.
Response to the Undisciplined
3:6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us.
Birds of a feather flock together. The Thessalonians were warned to stay away from carnal believers. Carnal believers will seduce the mature believer into sin.
3:7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you,
The Thessalonians were to imitate Paul and his team, just as Paul and his team had imitated Christ.
3:8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you.
Paul made tents in order to support his ministry.
3:9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate.
Paul had the apostolic authority to expect care, but he refused to do so, because he wanted to be a good example to them.
3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”
Many of the Thessalonians refused to work, because they were too busy looking for the Lord's return. Paul commanded them to work or not eat.
3:11 For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others.
Some of the Thessalonians were living an ungodly life, meddling with those who were trying to work and live a godly life.
3:12 Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat.
The believers who were working were not to provide to the believers who were not working.
3:13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing what is right.
Doing what is right is studying and applying Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God. A believer should never grow weary of doing God's work. As D. L. Moody said, "I grow weary from the work, but not weary of the work".
3:14 But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed.
This letter was given as a notice to the troublemakers in the church. Paul commanded the believers not to associate with the trouble makers. Hopefully, this would shame the trouble makers and cause them to quit complaining and start working for the Lord.
3:15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
The troublemaker was not an enemy of Christ. He was just weak in Bible doctrine. He was still considered to be a brother-in-Christ. There should be an attempt to win over this disloyal servant.
Conclusion
3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
Peace comes to a believer when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is no longer separated from God by his sin. He is baptized into the body and becomes one with Christ.
3:17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter.
When Paul was blinded on the Road to Damascus, he may have lost much of his eyesight. This could have been Paul's "thorn in the flesh".
3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Paul prays that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to the Thessalonians. God is kind to believers when He saves them and brings new knowledge to them. The Thessalonians were taught to understand prophecy and to work hard until Christ returns. They were not to be lazy, be fanatics, or to stir up trouble.