Grosey's Messages

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more

Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer was known as a powerful defender of Christian doctrine, yet at the same time he strove to maintain love within the body of believers. He wrote:

Through the centuries men have displayed many different symbols to show that they are Christians. They have worn marks in the lapels of their coats, hung chains about their necks, even had special haircuts. . . . But there is a much better sign . . . . It is a universal mark that is to last through all ages of the church until Jesus comes back.

John 13:35: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

"for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia" (1 Thess. 4:10).

Christians ..not monasteries.. Not secondaries and factions. The ancient world was honeycombed with rents and schisms, politics.

Love was a part of their new life, and breathed into their hearts by God Himself. They were drawn together by common relation to Jesus, and driven together by common alienation from the world.

How's your love life? A card said: "I love you. "If I had an ice-cream cone, I'd give you half. If I had six pieces of candy, I'd give you three. If I had two apples, one would be yours. If I won the lottery…I'd send you a post card from Tahiti."

"you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another"   (1 Thess. 4:9)

" I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jer. 31:33)

"Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love" 1Jn 4:7

Loving others is an outflow of our relationship with God, who imparts his own love to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Because faith in Christ brings believers into the family of God, we feel "brotherly love" for one another.  

Good record: "for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia" (1 Thess. 4:10).  

"But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more"

"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Rom 5:5

Growing in Breadth  - across barriers In the midst of a world of selfishness this new faith started up, and by some magic knit warring nationalities and hostile classes and wide diversities of culture and position into a strange whole, transcending all limits of race and language. The conception of brotherhood was new, and the realisation of it in Christian love was still more astonishing. The world wondered; but to the Christians the new affection was, we might almost say, instinctive, so naturally and spontaneously did it fill their hearts.

Growing in Depth   -forgiveness, patience

1Thess 3:11  Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12  and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 

"4:11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,"

2Thess 3: 11For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

The Greek word ataktos may mean "disorderly," "irresponsible," or "lazy." Either such persons had entered into the church community or else some members of the church had fallen into this vice. It is possible that this happened as a self-serving response to the generosity of Christians who possessed means, so that the very love that Paul commended was being taken advantage of. Whatever the cause of this idleness, the result was that these people had become "busybodies" (3:11) who were not only using up resources but making themselves a nuisance to others.

Anticipating this problem, Paul amplifies his teaching on Christian love by urging his readers "to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs" (1 Thess. 4:11). Paul sees Christian love as a quiet love that avoids meddling in and disturbing the lives of others.

"mind your own affairs" (1 Thess. 4:11). We may infer from this statement that Paul was concerned that some in this young church were quick to point out the errors in others' lives and to demand conformity to a long list of items that had little to do with serving Christ. Martin Luther wrote harshly of such people:

They have the notion that they must control everything and superintend and criticize what others do. These are malignant persons. They stir up nothing but mischief and have no grace to do anything good, even though in other respects they may have excellent gifts. For they do not use their talents in their calling or in the service of their neighbour; they use them only for their own glory and advantage.  When it comes to assessing others, Christians should labour to mind our own business. Paul once wrote, "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls" (Rom. 14:4).

The 'quiet' which Paul would have us cultivate is not only external, but the inward tranquillity of a spirit calm because fixed on God and filled with love.               

No gossiping busybodying

Alexander Maclaren laments that "nothing dries up sympathy and practical help more surely than a gossiping temper, which is perpetually buzzing about other people's concerns, and knows everybody's circumstances and duties better than its own."

 

1Thess 4:11"and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."

The dignity of manual labour was a new doctrine to preach to Greeks, but Paul lays stress on it repeatedly in his letters to Thessalonica. Apparently most of the converts there were of the labouring class, and some of them needed the lesson of Paul's example as well as his precept. A Christian workman wielding chisel or trowel for Christ's sake will impress 'them that are without.' Dignity depends, not on the nature, but on the motive, of our work.

This verse has played an important role in developing a Christian view of work. Most Greeks thought that manual labour was unworthy of a cultivated person. Physical work was what slaves were for! In contrast, the Bible endorses the nobility of honest work of all kinds. Paul's example as a tentmaker underscored this point, since the hands that held the apostolic pen were calloused with the daily hard work by which Paul met his own needs. Paul was not glorifying manual labour over other forms of work, but since many of the converts hailed from the working class, he was quick to affirm the importance and dignity of all honest labour, including work that some considered menial.

Given Paul's emphasis in these letters on the return of Christ, it is possible that some believers were so focused on waiting for the second coming that they stopped working and made themselves a burden to others. Yet Christ's own teaching states that when he returns, he wants to find his people busy! In his parable of the talents, Jesus said that he will ask us to show the work we have done on his behalf. If we have worked hard and profitably at what the Lord has given us to do, he will respond, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much" (Matt. 25:21, 23). This work should be thought of as including both spiritual and temporal labour, which so often work together to advance Christ's kingdom. Along these lines, Martin Luther is said to have remarked that if he knew that the world would end tomorrow, today he would plant a tree. He meant that an awareness of Christ's return, the final judgment, and the transformation of all things in the end should not cause us to neglect the world and our duties in it but should cause us to cheerfully serve in all the various callings that we have received from the Lord.

12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

"so that you may walk properly before outsiders" (1 Thess. 4:12). For Christians to be lazy or wrongly depend on others only disgraces the gospel that we proclaim to the world. This is why Christians who run businesses should make a special point of providing high-quality goods and services and treating customers with honesty and care. By contrast, able-bodied men who are not working hard to provide for themselves and their families are a disgrace to God's people. Paul wrote scathingly in 1 Timothy 5:8: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, he commanded, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." Since Christianity "makes people better citizens and neighbours, better parents and relatives," unbelievers "should be able to look at the way Christians work and live and go away respecting them deeply."

Paul wrote, "Win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

Paul wrote that we should live in a way that even outsiders, non-Christians, respect us. The way we do that is by working so we don't become a burden to others.

"be dependent on no one" (1 Thess. 4:12). Believers should provide for themselves so as not to burden other believers. This exhortation does not apply to those who are unable to work because of illness, injury, or honest unemployment. The New Testament makes it plain that Christians are to provide for fellow Christians in legitimate need. But because there will often be many such needs, Christians should do their best not to burden the church and to contribute to the assistance of others. Love does not take advantage of Christian generosity but works hard so as to contribute to those with true needs. Paul saw such a desire as evidence of gospel change in our lives: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph. 4:28).

Writing in the late second century, Tertullian of Carthage explained the spread of Christianity by the power of its love. "See, they say, how they love one another,"

  Unbelievers are watching and wondering

punctuality and honesty in the work place . . . willingness to cheerfully take on assignments others don't want . . . or treating all people at every level of the business with friendliness and respect. The smallest acts can reap great rewards as non-Christians notice that we're not only talking about Christ, but living like Him.

  Unbelievers are listening and learning  

Our interactions with others should never be harsh, demanding, or demeaning. Holier-than-thou attitudes expressed through higher-than-thou words can turn people off like a light switch. Be aware of the words you use. Let them soften a rough demeanour or colour a bland disposition. Let them be pleasing in their kindness and truth as well as seasoned by insight.

  Individuals are important, so respond with dignity and sensitivity.

Sometimes it's easier to give people a canned presentation of the gospel or a rehearsed response to their sincere questions than to actually listen to them, get to know them, and care about them as individuals. But Paul says we need to know how to respond "to each person" (Col. 4:6)

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all,  establish your hearts blameless in holiness.