In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)
One of the main reasons Paul wrote this second letter to the Thessalonians is to correct wrong thinking regarding Christ’s second coming. Apparently some people in the church began teaching that the return of Christ was at hand or had already taken place (2:1-2). People in the church became confused by this teaching and many stopped working to prepare for His coming. ”Why work if Christ is coming back soon? Let’s quit our jobs, huddle together, and wait for Him to appear.” Ironically this same mentality has occurred many times throughout the history of the church. Some teacher predicts that Christ is coming back on such-and-such a date and many Christians get worked up or confused and start doing weird things.
I remember almost 20 years ago when some Bible teacher predicted Christ was coming back in 1988. A booklet was distributed, “88 Reasons Why Christ Is Coming Back in 1988.” I read the booklet while in Bible college and remember thinking, “Wow, if this is true I am not going to finish college. I really am wasting my time doing all this study and work. What should I do instead to get ready?” Thankfully this thought did not last long and I got back to doing what I needed to do each day in school and in life. And needless to say, Christ did not come back in 1988.
Paul basically says, “Stop this kind of thinking!” We will know when Christ comes back. It will be very clear. In the meantime we need to keep working, providing for our families, living righteously, and sharing God’s love with others. Again I think of 1 Peter 4:7-11 which says that “end time living” is being clear minded, praying, loving others, being hospitable, and using our gifts for God’s glory. We are to live with the hope and expectancy that Christ could come back today but with the perseverance and common sense that recognizes that He may not come back for another 1000 years.
The other thought that struck me from 3:6 was Paul’s statement to avoid those who do not live according to the “teaching that you received from us.” The word “teaching” is translated “tradition” in the New King James Version and that is actually the more accurate translation. The NIV apparently changed it to “teaching” to avoid the negative connotations often associated with “tradition.” The same word is used in 2:15 when Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to “stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught.” These verses remind me that there are good “traditions”–traditions built upon God’s Word and passed down by His people throughout history. We are not to live isolated lives. We are to be connected with our brothers and sisters today and with our brothers and sisters in the past. We can learn from their way of life, their understanding of Scripture, and their mistakes. But to learn these things we have to know them. Pick up a good biography on a Christian brother and sister in the past and let it encourage you on how to live for Christ today.
Lord, thank You for my brothers and sisters in the past, men and women who lived for You in hope and expectancy and in perseverance and love. May I carry on their tradition and pass it on to my children.