Early Christian Beliefs About Work

Ignatius, Epistles of Ignatius Direct teaching

...ectful fear. Masters, give orders to your servants with kindness. Let no one among you be idle; for idleness leads to need. I do not command these things as a person of any importance, though I am in bonds for Christ; but as a brother, I remind you of them. The Lord be with you!

Didache, Connection to 2 Thessalonians 3:10 Direct teaching

But if he willeth to abide with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; but if he hath no trade, according to your understanding see to it that, as a Christian, he shall not live with you idle. But if he willeth not to do, he is a Christ-monger. Watch that ye keep aloof from such.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

But if any one does not work, let not such a one eat 2 Thessalonians 3:10 among you.

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

For although there seem to be tares in the Church, our faith and our love ought not to be hindered by that. We should not withdraw from the Church because we see that there are tares in the Church. We ought only to work so that we may be wheat, so that when the wheat begins to be gathered into the Lord's barns, we may receive fruit for our labor and work. The apostle says in his epistle, "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth, and some for honor and some for dishonor." 2 Timothy 2:20 Let us strive, dearest brothers, and work as much as we possibly can, so that we may be vessels of gold or silver. But it is given to the Lord alone to break the vessels of earth, and to Him also the rod of iron is given. The servant cannot be greater than his lord, nor may anyone claim for himself what the Father has given to the Son alone, so as to think that he can take up the winnowing fan and cleanse the threshing floor, or separate all the tares from the wheat by human judgment. That is a proud stubbornness and a sacrilegious presumption that corrupt madness claims for itself. And while some are always claiming for themselves more authority tha

2 Thessalonians 3:10 Direct teaching

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 Supporting witness

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Supporting witness

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Supporting witness

remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tertullian, On Idolatry Supporting witness

Again, they say the same apostle has left a precept, according to his own example, That each one work with his own hands for a living.

Anonymous, Connection to 1 Corinthians 15:58 Supporting witness

We exhort you also, according to the word of the apostle, to be "stedfast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord."

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

Let the young people of the Church work hard to serve in all necessary things. Attend to your work with proper seriousness, so that you may always have enough to support yourselves and those who are in need, and not burden the Church of God. For we ourselves, besides giving attention to the word of the Gospel, do not neglect our lesser kinds of work. Some of us are fishermen, some tentmakers, and some farmers, so that we may never be idle. For Solomon says somewhere, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways carefully, and become wiser than she. For she, having neither field, overseer, nor ruler, prepares her food in the summer and stores up a great supply in the harvest. Or else go to the bee, and learn how hardworking she is, and how valuable her work is. Both kings and ordinary men make use of her labors for their health. She is desirable and glorious, and though she is weak in strength, yet by honoring wisdom she is improved," and so on. How long will you lie on your bed, O sluggard? When will you wake out of your sleep? You sleep a little while, you lie down a little while, you slumber a little while, you fold your hands on your chest to sleep a little while. Then povert

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

That a Christian Who Will Not Work Must Not Eat, as Peter and the Rest of the Apostles Were Fishermen, But Paul and Aquila Tentmakers, Jude the Son of James an Husbandman.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...n charity rather to the latter woman. But if anyone is in need because of gluttony, drunkenness, or idleness, he does not deserve any help, or to be considered a member of the Church of God. For Scripture, speaking about such people, says, "The slothful hides his hand in his bosom, and is not able to bring it to his mouth again," Proverbs 19:24. And again, "The sluggard folds up his hands, and eats his own flesh," Ecclesiastes 4:5. "For every drunkard and whoremonger shall come to poverty, and every drowsy person shall be clothed with tatters and rags." And in another passage, "If you give your eyes to drinking and cups, you shall afterward walk more naked than a pestle." For certainly idleness is the mother of famine.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...m to it, since they are now sound and blameless, full of good hope, diligent, and laborious in good works. Like a skillful and compassionate physician, heal all who have wandered in the ways of sin. For those who are whole have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For the Son of Man came to save and to seek what was lost. Matthew 9:12; Luke 19:10 Since you are therefore a physician of the Lord’s Church, provide remedies suited to each patient's case. Cure them; heal them by every means possible; restore them sound to the Church. Feed the flock, not with insolence and contempt, as lording it over them, Ezekiel 34:4 but as a gentle shepherd, gathering the lambs into your bosom and gently leading those that are with young. Matthew 20:25; Isaiah 40:11

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

XII. If you have by the work of your hands, give, that you may labour for the redemption of your sins;

Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas Supporting witness

Thou shalt seek out every day the faces of the saints, either by word examining them, and going to exhort them, and meditating how to save a soul by the word, or by thy hands thou shalt labour for the redemption of thy sins.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 Supporting witness

Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Ephesians 4:28 Supporting witness

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

1 Corinthians 4:12 Supporting witness

and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;

1 Thessalonians 2:9 Supporting witness

For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 Supporting witness

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.

Ephesians 2:10 Supporting witness

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

But if anyone uses his own work as an excuse, and so shows contempt by making excuses for his sins, let that person know this: the trades of the faithful are only secondary works, but the worship of God is their great work. Therefore, follow your trades as something secondary, for your support, but make the worship of God your main business. Our Lord also said, "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for that which endures to everlasting life." John 6:27 And again, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." John 6:29 Therefore, make every effort never to leave the Church of God. But if anyone neglects it and goes either into a polluted temple of the heathens, or into a synagogue of the Jews or heretics, what excuse will that person make to God on the day of judgment? He has forsaken the oracles of the living God, the living and life-giving oracles, which are able to deliver from eternal punishment, and has gone into a house of demons, or into a synagogue of the murderers of Christ, or into the congregation of the wicked. He has not listened to Him who says, "I have hated the congregation of the wicked, and I will not enter with the ungodly. I have no

Tertullian, Against Praxeas Supporting witness

To those also who inquired what they should do to work the works of God, John 6:29 He answered, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

as also our Lord said: Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that which endures unto everlasting life.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

Since, therefore, good and evil are set before a man at the same time, it is fitting for each person to consider how much better it is to exchange evils that last a short time for eternal good things, than to suffer eternal evils for goods that are short-lived and perishable. For in this life, when a conflict with an enemy lies before you, you must first work hard so that afterward you may enjoy rest. You must suffer hunger and thirst. You must endure heat and cold. You must sleep on the ground, keep watch, and face dangers, so that your children, your house, and your property may be kept safe, and you may enjoy all the blessings of peace and victory. But if you choose present ease instead of labor, you will do yourself the greatest harm. For the enemy will catch you while you offer no resistance, your lands will be laid waste, your house will be plundered, your wife and children will become prey, and you yourself will be killed or taken prisoner. To keep these things from happening, present advantage must be set aside so that a greater and more lasting advantage may be gained. In the same way, throughout this whole life, because God has provided an adversary for us so that we migh

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Twelve Topics on the Faith Supporting witness

but rather let us work the work of faith, let us love peace, let us exhibit concord, let us preserve unity, let us cultivate love, with which God is well pleased.

John 6:29 Supporting witness

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching

...cripture relates, God did not directly curse Adam, but instead cursed the ground in relation to his works, as an ancient person observed: “God transferred the curse to the earth so it would not remain on man.” But as punishment for his sin, man received the burden of tilling the earth, eating bread by the sweat of his brow, and returning to the dust from which he was made. Similarly, the woman received toil, labor, groans, the pains of childbirth, and a state of subjection, meaning she would serve her husband, so that they would neither be completely destroyed by God's curse nor remain without reprimand and thus despise God. The full curse fell on the serpent who deceived them. It is said, “God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above all the beasts of the field.” The Lord also says the same thing in the Gospel to those found on the left hand: “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels,” indicating that eternal fire was not originally prepared for humans, but for the one who deceived humankind and caused them to sin—for him who is the chief of the rebellion, a

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

...for them with severe labors, in mortar and brick, and all kinds of service in the field, by all the works in which they oppressed them with hardship.” Through immense labor, they built fortified cities for them, increasing the wealth of these men over many years, through every form of slavery; yet those masters were not only ungrateful towards them but were contemplating their complete destruction. In what way, then, did the Israelites act unjustly if, from many things, they took a few, when they might have owned much if they had not served them, and could have left wealthy, but in reality, by receiving only a very small reward for their heavy servitude, they left poor? It is just like a free man, forcibly taken away by another, serving him for many years and increasing his wealth, who, when he finally gains some support, is thought to possess a small portion of his master's property, but in reality, departs having obtained only a little for his great labor, out of the vast possessions acquired, and it becomes a subject of accusation against him, as if he had not acted properly. The accuser would seem to be an unjust judge against the one who had been forcibly taken into slavery

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

and they made life bitter to them by severe labours, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field which they did, by all the works in which they oppressed them with rigour.” And with immense labour they built for them fenced cities, increasing the substance of these men throughout a long course of years, and by means of every species of slavery;

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...he knows nothing except to weep. By a natural foresight, the untaught soul mourns the anxieties and labors of mortal life. Even at the beginning, by its cries and groans, it bears witness to the storms of the world it is entering. For the sweat of the brow and labor are the condition of life as long as it lasts. And no comforts can be given to those who sweat and toil except patience. These comforts are fitting and necessary for all people while they are in this world, but they are especially so for us. We are more shaken by the assault of the devil. Standing daily on the battlefield, we are worn out by the struggles of an old and skillful enemy. Besides the different and continual battles of temptations, in the struggle of persecutions we must also leave our family possessions, endure imprisonment, bear chains, give up our lives, endure the sword, wild beasts, fires, crucifixions, and, in short, all kinds of tortures and punishments. These must be endured with the faith and courage of patience. As the Lord Himself teaches us and says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. But in the world you shall have tribulation; yet be confident, for I have ov

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

For the sweat of the brow and labour is the condition of life so long as it lasts.

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

In sorrow and groaning we must of necessity be all the days of our life: it is necessary that we eat our bread with sweat and labour.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

In the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread, till you return unto the earth;