Work as an Act of Love – I Thessalonians

Brandon Werner   -   February 9, 2025

Work as an Act of Love

Together Church Sermon  |  Pastor Brandon Werner  | 

February 9, 2025  |  Series: 1 Thessalonians

 

 

 

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

9 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, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, 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.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Last week, we saw how 1 Thessalonians 4 marked a shift in Paul’s letter. He moved from celebrating the reports he had heard about this church to identifying and addressing specific issues on his heart.

 

A simple OUTLINE of the book so far would look something like this…

  • Celebrating Reports! (chapters 1-3)
  • Addressing Issues (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)

 

The first issue Paul addressed was the issue of sexual immorality. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Paul instructs the church to ABSTAIN from sexual immorality.

 

The second issue Paul addresses is found in our passage today. In 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, Paul instructs the church to CONTINUE in love by the way they work.

 

So, the first issue is something to NOT DO, and the second issue is something they SHOULD DO.

 

These instructions of what TO DO and NOT TO DO share some similarities. In both cases, Paul indicates that the church is “already doing” what God wants them to do. But, in both cases, Paul urges them to continue in what is right “more and more”.

 

These first two issues share these similarities, but there’s a very notable difference between them.  What is it?  Last week, we saw there were no explicit reports in the Bible that tell us the church of the Thessalonians had a known problem with sexual immorality.

 

But that changes with the issue of work that Paul addresses in today’s text. Unlike the first issue, there are actual reports of problems in the church of the Thessalonians and how they related to work.

 

That report is found in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12.

 

2 Thessalonians is Paul’s second letter to this church. Scholars agree these two letters were written and delivered very close together – likely within a year or two of each other.

 

While there is no report of work being a problem in the church in today’s passage, there is a report of this issue being a problem in Paul’s second letter…

 

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12

6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For 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.

13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

 

How serious was this issue of work to Paul? How serious is the issue of work to God? The scripture says…

  • A person who is unwilling to work should not eat.
  • If a person will not repent and change, the church should have nothing to do with that person so they might be ashamed.
    • Not regarding that person as an enemy, but warning him as a brother.

 

HOW ABSURD are these instructions in our society! (for those capable)

  • This may be a problem in society, but it shouldn’t be in the church

 

 

Clearly, the issue of work and how we relate to work is very serious to God… and understandably so!

  • Our jobs account for an incredible percentage of how we spend our lives.
  • Money issues are among the leading causes of divorce in the US.
  • An improper relationship with work can cause tremendous harm to individuals and families.

 

 

Our relationship with work matters. When Paul saw a problem in how the Thessalonians were relating to work, he addressed it. In the same way, God wants to address this issue of work with us today.

 

What does God want us to believe about work?

  1. Work is not a bad thing.
  2. Work is an act of love.
  3. Work is a powerful witness.

 

 

BODY

  1. Work is not a bad thing.

 

At the time Paul was writing these letters, he knew many in Roman culture viewed work as a bad thing. In their world, manual labor was reserved for unsuccessful, low-class individuals. They thought a truly successful person was someone who no longer had to perform daily tasks of manual labor.

 

Apparently, Paul received reports that some of the people in the church were embracing this mindset. They were seeing work as a bad thing and becoming idle in their labor.

 

Paul knew they needed instruction in this mindset! So, he warned them to keep away from brothers who were idle and unwilling to work. He reminded them that he and his companions worked while they were with them and encouraged them to imitate their example. He told them that it was pleasing to God when they worked.

 

Paul understood the importance of work because he understood where work came from. Paul knew work comes from the nature of God!  God works, God created work, and God made us for work!

 

Remember, in Genesis, God set the first example for work. God worked six days straight before resting from that work on the seventh day. God worked because work is part of His nature. God has always been working and never stops working! In John 5:17, the scripture says…

 

John 5:17

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

 

God has always been working…

  • In the creation of heaven and earth
  • In the forming of the angels
  • In His redemptive acts throughout history
  • In the restraining of evil on the earth
  • In the establishment of the nation of Israel
  • In the giving of His laws
  • Through the prophets and the fulfillment of prophecies
  • Through the life of Jesus and the disciples He made
  • By sending His Holy Spirit and founding His Church
  • By empowering His people to fulfill His mission
  • In miracles, signs and wonders, mighty acts, and providence
  • From before the foundation of the world, all throughout history, and still to this day…

 

God has always been working! And He never stops working.

 

Paul understood that work is a good thing because work flows out of the nature and example of God. And God made people in His image! From the beginning, God made us to work. Before mankind ever fell into sin, the Bible says…

 

Genesis 2:15

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

 

Then, just a few verses later, when God created the first woman, He said…

 

Genesis 2:18

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

 

God made man and woman to work together. Before sin ever entered the world, God was using work as a means of love. The work Adam and Eve did in the garden was pleasing to God and good for their relationship.

 

Now, after sin entered the world, work got harder.

 

In Genesis 3, God said it would be much harder for a woman to work together with her husband and that she would have to work much harder and through great pain to bring children into the world.

 

And in that same passage, God said the man would have to work much harder to provide for his family. In the garden before sin, their work was always productive and manageable. Now, work would cause more pain, there would be new obstacles to overcome, and it would be hard work.

 

Sin certainly impacted the difficulty of work. But sin never made work a bad thing! In fact, it is sin that makes us view work as bad thing. It is God who calls work “doing good” in 2 Thessalonians 3.

 

Paul wanted the church to have the right view of work. Work is not evil, work is good! God works, and He made us to work. We should not be ashamed about going to work and performing manual labor, Paul said we should be ashamed if we don’t!

 

So often, we think wealth and the freedom to not work will make us happy. In that mindset, we have the same problem Paul was trying to address with the Thessalonians. God does not want us to believe work is a bad thing, God wants us to see that…

 

 

  1. Work is an act of love.

 

Why does God work? I mean, God is God. He does not work because He has need. If that’s true, then why does God work?

 

God works because work is an expression of His love.

  • God works because He loves us.
  • God works to reveal to us His goodness.
  • God works so that we can experience His blessings in our lives.
  • God works to save us from our sin.
  • God works to prepare a place for those who believe in Him.
  • God works through His Spirit to help us be like Jesus.
  • God works to meet with us and be in relationship with us.
  • God works to set an example for us to follow.
  • God works for our welfare, for our good.

 

God is protector, defender, provider, shepherd, comforter, creator, sustainer, redeemer, and teacher. These all describe His work!

 

It is God’s nature to work because it is God’s nature to LOVE. Work is a significant expression of God’s love for us.

 

When we examine today’s passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, we see that Paul’s first instruction was not to work, it was to CONTINUE IN LOVE!  Paul’s first concern was the church was walking in love and doing so MORE AND MORE. And how did Paul direct them to continue in love? Of all the instructions he could have given, Paul instructed them to walk in love in the way they worked.

 

God works to because He loves us. In the same way, God wants our work to flow from love.

 

When you work to…

  • Provide for your family, it is a labor of love.
  • Manage the home, it is a labor of love.
  • Raise your children, it is a labor of love.
  • Share Jesus with others, it is a labor of love.
  • Minister to the church, it is a labor of love.

 

God is pleased by good work! In fact, His Word is very clear about works. He says our works cannot save us, but He designed us for good works…

 

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Good work pleases God!

As believers, we must understand that the desire to avoid work, to be idle in our work, or to be lazy or do our work poorly does not come from God… it is part of our sin problem in the flesh.

 

Our flesh is all about self-love. But our flesh does not define us! The Spirit of the living God that dwells in us defines us. And in the Spirit, we agree with God and love work!

 

Let me ask, “How would your enjoyment of work changed if you stopped seeing work as a terrible thing you were forced to do and started to see it as a labor of love that is pleasing to God?”

 

God does not want you to believe work is a bad thing; He wants you to believe work is a significant act of love.

 

 

And God wants you to believe that…

  1. Work is a powerful witness to the world.

 

In today’s work culture, it just doesn’t take much to stand out. If a person shows up on time, has a decent attitude, respects authority, and does the job they were hired to do, they stand out and are heavily recruited in the workforce!

 

It just doesn’t take very much to stand out in the workplace today.

 

As Christians, our view of work should make us the best employees in the world. When an employer hires a Christian, they should think, “Man! I want to hire more Christians! They’re one of the best employees I’ve ever had!”

 

Because of what we believe about work, we should have incredible reputations at work. We should be known for…

  • Showing up on time.
  • Having good attitudes.
  • Respecting authority.
  • Our integrity and honesty.
  • The kind of effort we put in.

 

Paul knew that our work impacts our witness. In today’s passage, Paul told the church why they should work as an act of love…

 

1 Thessalonians 4:12

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

 

God doesn’t want you freeloading off others or being seen as a just a consumer. God wants you to work hard to provide for yourself, contribute, and be a witness to others.

 

Paul knew that the witness of the church was tied to their witness in their work. In fact, in his letter to his disciple, Timothy, Paul said…

 

1 Timothy 5:8

But 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.

 

Wow! What a charge! What is Paul saying? He was saying that even unbelievers work to provide for their own families. Why should a believer ever do something wrong that even an unbeliever wouldn’t do?

 

Your work affects your witness. Work is not bad; it is an act of love that should flow out of what you believe about yourself and God. God made you to work, and when you work in a way that pleases God, your work is a powerful witness to the world.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Have you ever thought about work as a labor of love that empowers you to express God’s love to others? If you really believed that is true, how would it change your feelings about work?

 

Ultimately, God’s purpose for work is LOVE. We twist it around when we make work about self, about wealth, or about status. God reveals His love for us through His works, and He wants us to reveal His love to others by our work!

 

What God says about work applies to all of us. Now, I do want to acknowledge that there are actual physical limitations that can prevent some from carrying a traditional workload. However, even in those difficult circumstances, it is possible to have the right view of work and to do good work as an act of love!

 

ILLUSTRATION:

Personally, the greatest example of work in my life is the example of my father, Greg Werner.

  • Had this mindset before his car accident in 2010
  • 3 months in coma
  • Medically, he is more than 100% disabled
  • As a result, his income is limited but provided through disability
  • He could literally not work! Instead…
    • He is chairman of the deacons (completely volunteer)
    • He serves people constantly in our church
    • He is constantly spending time working on our campus, helping people out, or blessing his family
    • He leads a small group at Together Church

 

My dad has put in thousands and thousands of hours of work that he didn’t have to do because he believes what God says about work. Like Paul, he’s an example of overcoming the obstacles to work. So is…

  • Tom Hill (serving on boards, staying active in our community, Kay)
  • Eloise Murdoch (shut in, does the work of prayer and blessing)
  • Phil Apple (retired, works to serve all the time, group leader)

 

 

Regardless of your situation, you were created to work. If you are still conscience, you can at least do the work of prayer for others. God made you to work!

 

 

Work as an act of love applies to everyone here today:

  • This applies to husbands who are making a living for their family.
  • This applies to wives and moms who manage their homes and / or who work hard to add income to their household.
  • This applies to single people or single parents who are working so hard to provide for themselves and others.
  • This applies to teenagers and children in the way you do your schoolwork and fulfill your responsibilities at home.
  • This applies to the wealthy, to never stop working.
  • This applies to the poor: God is not looking at your bank account, he is looking at the way you love others through work.
  • This applies to the work-acholic who aspires to do more: your worth is not in what you do, it is in the work Christ has done for you! Have peace in God and do your work for His glory!

 

Relationships aren’t a means to get better work, work is a means to better relationships! When we love self, we overwork or underwork based on self-love. When we love God and others, work becomes a significant way for us to express God’s love in the way we live.

 

 

INVITATION

How does God want to change your perspective of work today?  PRAY

 

What if you walked out of here with this phrase? “Work isn’t bad, it is a gift from God! Through work, I reveal God’s love.”

 

 

INVITATION FOR GOSPEL

Have you been depending on your own works to be right with God?

 

 

INVITATION TO BAPTISM

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