2 Thessalonians 3:13-18: Final Words to the Church

Church let’s turn our attention one last time to the Book of 2 Thessalonians. In March of 2022, we began a journey through the book of 1 Thessalonians. And in July we continued in the book of 2 Thessalonians. And today, we finish our study of these two great books with some final words from the Apostle Paul. Paul gives us some “final encouragement.” He gives us a “final command.” And then he gives us a “final prayer” in a book that was full of prayer. 

As we look back on these two great books of the NT, we can see an incredible array of theological and practical instruction. Paul has lectured the church on how to press through persecution in the city of Thessalonica, and why they should press through persecution. Paul has taught them about how to live a life that is pleasing to God, a life that is devoid of sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:1-8) and devoid of idleness (2 Thess 3:6-12). Paul has expounded on great truths like Christ’s second coming and the rapture (1 Thess 4:13-18), the cataclysmic day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:1-11), the eternal destiny of unbelievers (2 Thess 1:5-12), and even the antichrist (2 Thess 2:1-12). Paul has told the Thessalonians how to love each other, how to follow their leaders, how to press on with endurance, and how to live quietly and work hard. Paul has prayed for the Thessalonians that God would make them worthy of his calling and “fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified… according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess 1:11-12). 

So, with all that good stuff in our rear-view mirror, we come finally to the last six verses of 2 Thessalonians, which close rather simply. Paul gives one final encouragement, one final command, and one final prayer. And that’s it. What happens next, after this letter, in the church in Thessalonica is lost to history. But Paul’s letter and the instructions he gives continues in churches like Verse By Verse Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas. The Holy Spirit co-wrote and preserved Paul’s words so that we could be edified in our day. And we have been. And we will be one more time this morning as we look at the final words of 2 Thessalonians.   

So here we go. Here’s your outline for today. A Final Encouragement. A Final Command. And a Final Prayer. Here’s Paul’s … 


1. Final Encouragement: Don’t quit on doing good (3:13)

Paul says in verse 13,

13 As for you, brothers, 

This is a transitional statement in Greek, which lets us know that Paul is drawing his letter to a close. And “Brothers” is a technical term here for believers in Christ Jesus. Brothers are those who are part of the church. We are sons and daughters of God, therefore we are brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s true only of those who have embraced Jesus Christ as their savior, by faith. 

13 As for you, brothers [i.e., believers or Christians], do not grow weary in doing good. 

“Do not grow weary in doing good.” There it is, right there, church. Christians are “do-gooders.” You thought that was a bad thing, didn’t you? It’s not. Paul told us to do good. He told us to not tire in doing good. 

The Greek word for “doing good” is general enough, but it could be used to convey the idea of benevolence. And that might be what Paul is getting at here. “Yes, there are people that are idle in the church. Yes, there are people who cheat the system so to speak. But don’t let that keep you from doing good. You keep working hard. You keep being generous. You keep loving others. Don’t grow weary in that!” 

The Greek word for “grow weary” here is the word ἐγκακέω. And that word can indicate both physical and emotional exhaustion. More often than not in the NT it refers to “emotional exhaustion.” That’s why it is often translated “lose heart.” You could translate 2 Thessalonians 3:13, “Do not [lose heart] in doing good.” That would be a perfectly appropriate way to translate this verse. 

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:1, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart [ἐγκακέω].” Paul says in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary [ἐγκακέω]of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Jesus taught his disciples the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. Remember that parable? The persistent widow keeps bothering the judge over and over again, until the judge finally relents and grants her request. Why did Jesus teach that parable? Luke tells us why. He taught it so that his disciples would “always pray and not [ἐγκακέω] lose heart” (18:1).

Let me ask you Verse By Verse Fellowship, are you ever tempted to lose heart as a Christian. Do you ever feel like, “Man, I’m tired of sharing my faith! I’m tired of living out my faith. I’m tired of pursuing a life of holiness. I’m tired of going to church and worshiping when I feel discouraged. I’m tired of listening to Pastor Tony preach sermons from the Bible”? I wouldn’t blame you if you did feel that way. 

That’s why Paul says repeatedly in the NT, “don’t stop.” “Don’t quit.” “Don’t lose heart. Don’t stop following Christ and believing in Christ and pursuing a life of Christ-like holiness.” Do we need to hear that from time to time here at Verse By Verse? I think we do. I do. 

You know, the older I get, and the more I preach, the more I realize that my duty as a preacher is about 50% teaching and 50% encouragement (maybe 70/30 some days?). And part of that encouragement involves reinforcing what you already know. It involves me saying, “Don’t quit, church.” “Keep serving Christ! Keep pressing on all the way to the end!” And I’ll be honest with you, encouragement doesn’t come naturally to me. My son would tell you that I’m much better at giving lectures than I am at giving encouragement. But I’m trying to grow in that. So, I’m here this morning saying to you church, “Don’t grow weary in doing good. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up.” 

Now what are some things that we are tempted to give up on? Paul says… 

do not grow weary in doing good.

What are some “good things” that we are tempted to grow weary doing? Let me just get a few things out there for you to consider from 2 Thessalonians. I’ll give you four. You can write these down. 

What are some “good things” that we can grow weary of (lose heart doing)? 

1) Obedience [to Scripture]

Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” Paul says in verse 14: “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him.” Long obedience in the same direction! That’s the Christian life, church. Don’t lose heart with that. Don’t grow weary in doing good; don’t grow weary in obedience to Scripture. 

Here’s a second thing that we can grow weary of. 

2) Prayer 

I think we are tempted to lose heart with prayer. Prayer for our country! Prayer for unsaved family members! Prayer for our community! Prayer for lost people! Prayer for our church. Pray, Pray, Pray. Paul repeatedly prayed for the church in this letter, and he calls the church to pray for him. Is there any place in the NT other than 1 and 2 Thessalonians where we see more examples of prayer and more mandates to pray? I don’t think so. Paul is adamant about prayer, and he says don’t grow weary doing that good thing. There’s no such thing as a non-praying church in the NT. Part of being a church is that we cry out to our Lord and ask him for the things that we can’t provide for ourselves. 

Here’s a third thing that we can grow weary of. 

3) Working Hard

Paul rebukes those in the church who weren’t working hard in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12. But to the rest of the church he says, “Don’t grow weary doing good.” Don’t be like the idlers and busybodies. Work hard, earn your own bread, and live a quiet, peaceful, godly life. That’s good. That’s a good life. That’s a good goal for us all to have. 

And here’s a final thing that we can grow weary of. 

4) Being Generous

I’m not so sure this isn’t the main thing that Paul is exhorting the church with here.   

do not grow weary in doing good.

Sure, you have idle people in the church. Sure, you have troublemakers who are sponging off the resources of the church. Don’t let that be an excuse for withholding generosity. You keep doing good. You don’t grow weary doing good, even if others are repaying that goodness to evil. 

Go ahead and write this down as #2. Here’s a final command that Paul gives. 

2. Final Command: Protect the spiritual health of the church (3:14-15)

Paul says this in verse 14. He says, 

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. 

Now this is a tough command here, and it’s something that makes us uncomfortable in our relativistic and “anything goes” era. Paul says essentially, “if anyone ignores what we say in this letter, keep your distance from them. Ostracize them! Let them feel the weight of their sinfulness, so that they may be ashamed.” John Calvin said once that “Shame, like sorrow, is a useful preparation for hating sin.” 

Now let’s be clear with this. What’s the goal of what Paul is saying here? Is the goal that people would just be ashamed? No. Not ultimately. That’s not the ultimate goal with what we would call “church discipline.” The goal is repentance and restoration. 

Now keep your finger in 2 Thessalonians and turn with me to Matthew 18. As a parallel text, Jesus gave us some instruction on this in Matthew 18. Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (18:15). That’s the “best-case scenario” right there. The brother (or sister) listens, repents, and is restored. Like I said last week about the issue of idleness, hopefully there were some people in the church who heard Paul’s letter read out loud. And hopefully they were convicted of their idleness, repented and were restored. 

Those people in the church who were engaged in false teaching, teaching that Jesus had already come and that the church had missed the day of the LORD, hopefully after hearing 2 Thessalonians, they repented and were immediately restored to fellowship in the church. We don’t know if that happened, because there’s no “3 Thessalonians.” But that would be a best-case scenario. But if they didn’t, Paul says, keep your distance from them so they may be ashamed. In other words, enact church discipline on them. 

Jesus says similarly in Matthew 18, “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (18:16-17). I know that sounds harsh and completely countercultural in our day, but that’s God’s expectation of the church. Sometimes we need to be countercultural. 

And why does Paul want us to do this? Why does Jesus want us to do this? Confront sinners in the church and even ostracize unrepentant sinners? It’s to protect the health of the church. It’s to protect, even, the reputation of the church. And also, it’s the best thing for unrepentant sinners. Sin is destructive. When you choose to sin, you choose to suffer. And whether it’s idleness or false teaching or sexual immorality or divisiveness in the church, God doesn’t want us to turn a blind eye to those who are blatantly and unashamedly sinning inside the church. 

Now here’s the caveat. Turn back to 2 Thessalonians 3 with me. Here’s what Paul qualifies this command with. Paul says in verse 15,

15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

We should never treat an unrepentant believer like an enemy. They are not our enemy. We don’t hate them. We don’t despise them. We don’t withhold the offer of full restoration with repentance. They are not our enemy. They are fellow believers in Jesus Christ. And it’s because of our love for them, as brothers, that we warn them. 

The loving thing to do is warn them. The loving thing to do is convey to them the seriousness of their sin and how it is hurting them and the church. The loving thing to do is to not enable them. The loving thing to do is to not overlook their blatant sinfulness. We don’t treat them like an enemy; we love them as a brother. And the loving thing to do, as a brother or sister in-Christ, is warn them, turn away from them, challenge them, and encourage them to repent of their disobedience. 

Let me give you an extreme example to illustrate this. If your friend was walking head-long into a volcano, you surely would warn him against that. You surely wouldn’t agree to go with him. You surely wouldn’t pretend like there’s nothing dangerous about volcanoes and say, “to each his own. Go ahead!” 

I know with stuff like this, that things can get really messy, really fast. Things aren’t always cut and dried when it comes to church discipline. So, here’s my advice for you. If you know about someone here at Verse By Verse Fellowship who is unrepentantly sinning, in the spirit of Matthew 18, you should address that privately. Let’s say someone is having an affair and cheating on their spouse. Or maybe a person is gossiping throughout the church and causing division. If that’s happening, and you know about it, you should speak with that brother or sister. Not with a spirit of condemnation or malice, but with love and concern. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

And according to Jesus, if that person listens to you, you’ve gained your brother/sister back! That’s awesome. That’s exactly what you want. That’s a wonderful thing when repentance and restoration are demonstrated. And it would be great if all issues like this ended with repentance and restoration. But you and I both know that that’s not always the case. So, if that person doesn’t listen, then it’s time to be more public with it. In Jesus’s words, “if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (Matt 18:16). 

So first you deal with the matter privately. If that doesn’t work, you take one or two others along with you to assess the situation. It’s a good idea to have a third party in instances like this. And my advice to you is to get a spiritual leader involved at this point, an elder, an elder’s wife, or a small group leader. I would encourage you when you find yourself in a situation like this to (1) pick someone who has a track-record of wisdom in matters of counsel to go with you, and (2) pick someone who will evaluate the situation objectively. Maybe it’s not a sin matter like you thought? Maybe it’s an issue of preference or a gray issue that a wise counselor can discern?

Now assuming you’ve done due diligence with all of these matters, what happens when it doesn’t work? What happens when that sinning believer remains entrenched and refuses to turn from sin? Well, here’s the “nuclear option.” Here’s what Jesus says. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matt 18:17). I call this the “nuclear option,” because this is a last-ditch effort to help this person to be restored. But if somebody is hell-bent on refusing to admit their sin, then they should be removed from fellowship. More often than not—just being honest with you—in my experience that person will leave a church of their own accord. It’s one of the unfortunate aspects of having many unbiblical churches in a community. Oftentimes a person will leave a church unceremoniously and join another “church” that is perfectly willing to tolerate their sin, no questions asked, no problem. 

Elders, if I can speak to you for a moment… Jerry, Bob, Forrest, Mike, Don and myself. One of our most difficult duties as elders is protecting the purity of the church. As elders, we are in charge of shepherding the flock. And God’s word tells us to “shepherd the flock of God that is among [us] exercising oversight” (1 Pet 5:1-2). We are going to have to give an account for that to the Lord (Heb 13:17). And part of that corporate shepherding of the church also involves policing ourselves. 

So, Paul’s final command in this letter is “Protect the spiritual health of the church.” Protect the spiritual health of the church, elders and people of Verse By Verse Fellowship.

And then Paul prays. And the severity of what he says in verses 14-15, may be the reason he turns to prayer in verses 16-18. Paul turns to prayer, and he prays for two familiar things to be manifested in the church of Thessalonica. He prays for grace and peace. 

3. Final Prayer: May Jesus give grace and peace (3:16-18)

Let’s talk about peace first. Paul prays… 

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 

Now two questions here, Verse by Verse. The first question should be really easy for you. The second question is a bit harder. Here is the first question. Who is the “Lord of peace”? Who is it? It’s Jesus, right? He’s the Prince of Peace prophesied in the OT! He’s the one who bled and died to offer us peace with God! He is the Lord of peace. 

Now here’s the harder question. What is peace? Specifically, what is the peace that the Lord Jesus gives? What is it? Well let me start by telling you what it’s not. John MacArthur says the world defines peace this way: “Peace is the sense of calm and tranquility and quietness and bliss and contentment and well-being that you feel when you believe that everything is well. Peace is that attitude of calm, that attitude of tranquility, that attitude of settled quiet that comes when you believe… everything is the way you’d like it.” 

Sounds pretty good, right? But here’s the problem with that definition. That definition of peace is shallow. MacArthur says it’s shallow, “because frankly, calm feelings, tranquility, quietness can be produced by a pill. They can be produced by a lie. They can be produced by a deception. They can be produced by a nap. They can be produced by alcohol. Calm, peace, tranquility, a sense of well-being can be produced when your old aunt dies and leaves you a fortune…” 

Is that what Paul prays for at the end of 2 Thessalonians? That your old aunt would die and leave you a fortune? No! MacArthur says, “we’re not talking about a fragile, human, circumstantial sense of calm, a calm induced by a drug. We’re talking about something completely different. We’re talking about a spiritual peace. And spiritual peace – the true, deep-down peace – is the attitude of the heart and mind that calmly, confidently believes and thus knows that all is well between the soul and God.”

According to MacArthur, “[Peace] is the presence of a calm assurance built on the knowledge that my sins are forgiven… It is the peace that God gives to His beloved children. It is their possession and their privilege by right.” 

The reality is that peace is an attribute of God. The Hebrew word is shalom and it has the idea of wholeness or completeness. You don’t get that apart from God. That’s why Paul prays to God for it! That’s why Paul prays may the “Lord of peace” give you “peace”! That’s why Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit, because the fruit of the spirit is “love, joy, peace…” It’s a peace that surpasses understanding (i.e., it doesn’t make sense to our feeble human minds!). It’s a peace that comes to those who know in the depth of our being that God is sovereign and in control of everything that happens in our world. And nothing (nothing!) will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not death. 
Not life. Not angels. Not rulers. Not things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (Rom 8:38-39)!

You might say, “Ok, Tony, well if we have this peace of Christ, why does Paul pray that this peace of Christ would be with us?” “Do we have it or do we not?” Yes, we have it, but sometimes that peace doesn’t permeate every part of our being. Let me say it this way. Sometimes our emotions are not in line with the peace that God gives us, and so Paul prays, “may it be so.” “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.” 

You know some people, their emotions, are like a well-trained Golden Retriever. They say ‘heel’ and their emotions heel. They say, ‘roll over and play dead’ and their emotions roll over and play dead.” Other people, their emotions are a like a well-trained cat! They say “heel,” and their emotions just ignore them and walk away. My emotions can sometimes be like that. So, I need this prayer from the Apostle Paul. I need this prayer from you and from others in the church.

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.   

Paul prays that the church in Thessalonica would have the peace of Christ, even in the midst of their trials, struggles, and shortcomings. Even as there were disruptive idlers within the church fellowship. In the midst of that Paul prays for peace, for shalom, for the Thessalonians. And that’s his prayer for us too. That’s my prayer for us too, that the Lord of peace will give us peace and be with us.

And also, look at verse 18, there’s “grace.” Actually, let’s look first at verse 17. Paul says, 

17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 

Remember earlier there were these forgeries going around. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul says, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come” (2:1-2). Ostensibly there were these fake letters circulating that were reported to be from the Apostle Paul. Paul says at the end of 2 Thessalonians, “this letter is legit, people!” This is my handwriting. This is my autograph. It’s too bad we don’t have any original copies of 2 Thessalonians, because it would be fun to see Paul’s actual handwriting and autograph. 

By the way, there are times when Paul used what’s called an amanuensis (a secretary) to write his letters for him. But I guess it was important to him to write 2 Thessalonians with his own hand, at least this greeting at the end, so that it couldn’t be dismissed as a forgery. 

And then Paul closes this letter with a doxology. 

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 

At the beginning of this letter, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Paul said, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now he closes it with a prayer for peace and then grace. At the beginning of 1 Thessalonians, Paul began that book by saying, “Grace to you and peace,” Thessalonians (1 Thess 1:1). Paul closed that book with a similar statement in chapter 5, verse 23 about peace: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely (1 Thess 5:23).” And a few verses later he makes a statement about grace: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (1 Thess 5:28). So, 1 Thessalonians is bookended with grace and peace. And 2 Thessalonians likewise is bookended with grace and peace. Do you think grace and peace are a big deal to Paul? I think so. 

Why is that so? We talked about peace already. Why grace? Well, here’s how one person describe the glory of God’s grace. Tell me if you’ve heard this before…

O to grace how great a debtor // Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter // Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it // Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it // Seal it for Thy courts above.
Or here’s how another person describes it. Maybe you’ve heard this before.
Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound // That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found // T'was blind but now I see
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear //And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear // The hour I first believed

Do you have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ with you? Do you now? Paul prays at the end of this book, 

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 

It’s a great little reminder here at the end of this book, that we aren’t saved by works. And we aren’t saved by anything we’ve done. How are we saved? We’re saved by grace. The Lord Jesus Christ took on human flesh and died on the cross for our sins. And he offers you, by grace alone, unmerited favor, that’s what grace is. He offers you by unmerited favor freedom and forgiveness of sins. That’s the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. May it be with you, says Paul. 

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.