quiet commitment

1 Thessalonians 4 — The chapter will end with one of the more precise statements in Scripture regarding the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. Paul gives us a timeline of events, as it were, once the heavens are opened and the Lord begins His descent to the earth. Those asleep in the Lord (the dead in Christ) will rise first and those believers who are living will meet Him (and them) in the air when He comes with all His saints (3:13). Surely this will be a great moment, and what is even more astounding is that some of you reading this might still be alive to witness this in person!

But the chapter is not about eschatology; its theme is not the Second Coming. Rather, Paul uses the immanent appearing of Christ for two reasons: 1) their Encouragement (read 4:18) and 2) their Endurance (see 4:1). Faithfulness is the focus of chapter 3. Holding fast is the focus of chapter 4. And the reason they (and we!) can be encouraged to remain faithful is because of the promised return of our Lord Jesus.

How then should we live in light of the endurance needed? Paul offers a couple suggestions in verses 9 through 12. Brotherly love continues to be at the top of his list as love is the action that will call attention to our being the Lord’s disciples. Added to that are some principles of humility given the volatile nature of the culture swirling around them in Thessalonica. They must adorn the Gospel in such a way so as to be winsome with whom they live: seek to lead a quiet life, mind your own business, work with your hands . . . . so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone (4:11-12).

I don’t believe Paul is telling Christians to close down their Facebook and Twitter accounts or to sequester themselves into holy huddles and never talk with people about the Gospel, but I do believe Paul is acknowledging the many afflictions the church has already endured and is providing wisdom in how to represent the Gospel in such a way so their culture will view Christian faith as valuable and not reprehensible. They aren’t to be dependent on anyone, so they shouldn’t be perceived as beggars; instead, they should be good stewards with money, able to pay their bills and care for their families. They are to lead quiet lifestyles, not calling attention to themselves by being belligerent or bullying anyone into faith and especially not being the leading voice with some other-than-the-Gospel agenda. And of course, all of their actions and words should be characterized by intentional brotherly love.

This attitude stems from the discussion of God’s will at the beginning of the chapter: sanctification (4:3). The circumstances leading up to this point in their faith are not outside of God’s will for them. They’re not victims of unfortunate circumstances; instead, God’s glory is manifested in them through their afflictions. Recall chapter 1 and to whom they belong. We are being set apart for His glory, not ours. Every conversation, every encounter, every situation . . . . we ought to look for God’s hand in shaping us, because He is more concerned about our becoming holy and His receiving glory than we often acknowledge.