Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Thessalonians 5:6

"so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober." — 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (ASV)

Therefore let us not sleep as others do. As the wicked world does. .

But let us watch. That is, for the coming of the Lord. Let us regard it as an event that is certain to occur, and that may occur at any moment. See Barnes on Matthew 25:13.

And be sober. The word used here (nhfw) is rendered sober in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 5:8; and watch in 2 Timothy 4:5; 1 Peter 4:7. It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It properly means to be temperate or abstinent, especially regarding wine (compare Josephus, Jewish Wars, 5.5.7; Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 7.5.20).

Then, it is used in a more general sense, meaning to be sober-minded, watchful, and circumspect. In this passage, there is an allusion to the fact that people not only sleep at night but are also frequently drunk at night.

The idea is that the Lord Jesus, when He comes, will find the wicked sunk not only in carnal security but also in sinful indulgences. Christians, therefore, ought not only to be awake and to watch as in the daytime but also to be temperate. They ought to be like people engaged in the sober, honest, and appropriate activities of the day, and not like those who waste their days in sleep and their nights in revelry.

A man who expects soon to see the Son of God coming to judgment ought to be a sober man. No one would wish to be summoned from a scene of dissipation to His bar. And who would wish to be called there from the ballroom, from the theater, or from a scene of brilliant worldly amusement?

The most cheerful devotee of the world, the most accomplished, flattered, and joyous patron of the ballroom, the most richly-dressed and admired daughter of vanity, would tremble at the thought of being summoned from those brilliant halls where pleasure is now found to the judgment bar. They would wish to have at least a little time to prepare for so solemn a scene.

But if so, since this event may occur at any moment, why should they not be habitually sober-minded? Why should they not aim to be always in that state of mind that they know would be appropriate to meet Him? Christians especially should live with such vigilance and soberness as to be always prepared to meet the Son of God.

What Christian can think it appropriate for him to go up to meet His Savior from the theater, the ballroom, or the brilliant worldly party? A Christian ought always to live in such a way that the coming of the Son of God in the clouds of heaven would not cause the least alarm.

(Concerning "sober": 1 Peter 2:8)