The Apostle Paul warned the Church. “Don’t sleep as others do.”
Don’t sleep. It’s time to wake up in these troubled times. Time is ticking by, we don’t know the day or the hour of our Lord’s return. So stay sober and awake.
The Church of Thessalonica was apparently very interested in Bible prophecy. And specifically, the timing of the Lord’s return. The two letters to the church are full of attention to this subject. It’s safe to say, many of those who listened to Paul’s teaching did not fall into a deep sleep.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.
Therefore:
Paul reminded the church to stay alert and avoid spiritual sleep. He reminded them that they were the children of the light — children of the day. Sleep, in a spiritual sense, was something to be avoided, not cherished. Today, that truth hasn’t changed. So, because the Church is supposedly enlightened, we need to stay awake and watchful. I say supposedly because many in the church are enjoying a good slumber. But Paul warned those of his day to stay awake and avoid being unprepared for the day of the Lord. If he were among us today, his warnings would be just as passionate if not more so.
Let us not sleep:
Sleep is tempting when we are tired. It’s often very satisfying to stay in bed a little longer. If its the weekend, or a holiday, we enjoy taking extra time to rest. Many times we fell the need to pull the covers up tight to our chins and grab an extra twenty minutes. That’s understandable.
But Paul’s warning wasn’t about physical rest. That’s important for good health. But too much sleep in a spiritual sense leads to apathy. We can easily grow careless in our spiritual disciplines.
As do others:
Who are the others that the Apostle mentioned? It could be those who were unsaved and didn’t believe in the Gospel. Or it could have been apathetic members of the church, those who didn’t take any interest in preparing for the Lord’s return. Each of these groups needed to be warned, but I think his warning was more toward believers. When believers sleep, the message of the Gospel sleeps with them. God called us to care for others, not our personal comfort. We need to set our eyes on the One who did not rest. Jesus pushed on toward the prize. We need to pray for the same passion. Stay awake. You can sleep late on weekends once you get to heaven. 🙂
But let us watch and be sober:
Paul mixes two metaphors in this phrase. Sleepiness and drunkenness, have the same effect on believers. Either one will take the believer out of the way and make him or her ineffective in the work of the Kingdom. We love our comforts and pleasures in today’s modern world. A warm bed and/or enticing alcoholic beverages have taken many believers away from the desired path for their lives.
Sleeping is not a sin, but too much of it leads to the way of a slothful believer. Drinking alcohol is not a sin, but too much of it is. Many people can’t deal with the responsibility of making the right choices. Thus Paul warned the believers.
We are commanded to watch. We can’t watch effectively if we are asleep, or drunk.
“Be sober, be vigilant” 1 Peter 5:8.
Some key cross-references
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
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Read the story inspired by the warning to sleeping Christians.
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