BUYING INTO THE VISION
2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-18
NASB
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you [a]keep away from every brother who [b]leads an [c]unruly life and not according to the tradition which [d]you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to [a]follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8 nor did we eat [a]anyone’s bread [b]without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would [a]follow our example. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
14 If anyone does not obey our [a]instruction [b]in this letter, take special note of that person [c]and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but [a]admonish him as a brother.
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every [a]circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
17[a]I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
3:6 [a]Or avoid [b]Lit walks disorderly [c]Or undisciplined [d]One early ms reads they 3:7 [a]Lit imitate us 3:8 [a]Lit from anyone [b]Lit freely 3:9 [a]Lit imitate us 3:14 [a]Lit word [b]Lit through [c]Lit not to associate 3:15 [a]Or keep admonishing 3:16 [a]Lit way 3:17 [a]Lit The greeting by my hand of Paul
NLT
6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers[*] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received[*] from us. 7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”
11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. 13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
14 Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. 15 Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.[*]
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
17 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL. I DO THIS IN ALL MY LETTERS TO PROVE THEY ARE FROM ME.
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
[3:6a] Greek from every brother. [3:6b] Some manuscripts read you received. [3:15] Greek as a brother.
Great leaders have powerful vision. They understand the past —how they got where they are. They have a clear grasp of the present —the way things really are. And they can perceive the best goals for the future —the way things could be. Then they clearly and persuasively communicate their ideas to others in ways that motivate and inspire.
But that’s only part of the equation for great leadership. For a vision to be fulfilled, great leadership also needs great “followership.” Leaders need a team, a community, perhaps even an army to follow their lead. They need committed participants who buy into their vision.
Let’s look at Christ’s example. During His earthly ministry, He cast a vision of the kingdom of God —a kingdom of loving community, of righteousness, of truth, of worship and praise and glory to God. Through His miracles, He offered sips of the coming kingdom —quenching parched lips and whetting people’s appetites for a new world free from sin and pain and death.
The New Testament constantly reminds us of active involvement in the kingdom vision. Jesus urged His disciples to invest their gifts, skills, and abilities in the ministry (Matt. 25:14-30). Paul taught that we should be “always abounding in the work of the Lord” because our labor “is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). Peter implored us to employ our spiritual gifts as good stewards, serving in the strength of the Lord for His ultimate glory (1 Pet. 4:10-11). The verbs for Christian involvement are dynamic, the kinds of terms you’d use to describe an action film: invest, abound, fight, run, compete, work.[72]
As Jesus’ disciples today, we have tasted the life He offers —the eternal, abundant life available to those who submit to the King’s authority. We believe in Jesus Christ and His vision for us and for our world. But what does the Lord expect from us now? What are the practical implications of embracing His vision?
In Paul’s final words to the Thessalonians, he exhorts them to buy into the vision. Too many in that church were living by the motto, “I love ministry! I can sit around and watch it all day long!” They had forgotten a vital truth: Christianity is an active, involved faith. By accepting Christ’s invitation to the kingdom vision, we’re also accepting personal involvement in carrying out that vision.
— 3:6 —
Paul’s main purpose in writing 2 Thessalonians was to encourage those new believers to remain faithful in the midst of persecution and to quell false teaching, especially related to the details of the end times. In connection with their confusion about their place in God’s prophetic timeline, some of the Thessalonian believers seemed to be using their sincere (but wrong) belief that they were in the midst of the day of the Lord as an excuse for inactivity (3:6-15). They were so busy looking up and passively waiting for the Lord —or looking around worried about their afflictions —that they were neglecting God’s vision for their daily lives. “Hey,” they reasoned, “since we’re living in the literal last days or weeks of the world, why waste our time on futile long-term plans?” So potentially these end-times zealots were refusing to do their own work, as Paul had modeled for them (3:7), and had become a burden to the community rather than a blessing to their brothers and sisters.
Paul’s direct address to those living irresponsibly is strong and decisive. In fact, he begins not with a request, an encouragement, or an exhortation, but rather with a “command.” Clearly Paul has such serious concerns about their current behavior that there was no time for subtlety. The idea is, “Do this . . . and do it now!”
Paul refers to the irresponsible believers as those who lead “unruly” lives rather than conforming their conduct to the teachings passed down to them from the apostles. In this connection, Paul uses the same word —“unruly,” ataktōs —as in the previous letter with reference to those in the church who needed to be admonished (1 Thes. 5:14). This word can conjure up images of undisciplined soldiers who neglect their duties and endanger their squad. Or it might remind people of a young person playing hooky from school or dozing in class.
Paul commands the church in Thessalonica to “keep away” from such people. The church was to avoid those people to show them that their behavior was unacceptable, so that they would repent and return to the community as “brothers” (2 Thes. 3:15). It was important that false teaching and sinful behavior not be permitted to continue in the church community as if everything were fine, because Paul knew such attitudes and actions could easily spread and poison the whole body.
— 3:7-10 —
Instead of following the example of the undisciplined people in Thessalonica, the church should follow Silas, Timothy, and Paul as good models (3:7). Their behavior was the opposite of the undisciplined actions of the unruly. During the course of their ministry in Thessalonica, Paul’s team worked night and day so as not to be a burden on them (3:8; see also 1 Thes. 2:9). This lifestyle provided a pattern for them to follow (2 Thes. 3:9).
Even though the apostle and his co-laborers could have reaped financial support from those to whom they ministered (see 1 Cor. 9:14), Paul’s policy was that they would pay their own way so that nobody could accuse them of being in it for the money. In fact, Paul matches his lifestyle example with a quotable motto: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thes. 3:10). Paul isn’t betraying his own compassion for the poor (Rom. 15:26; Gal. 2:10). His principle doesn’t apply to those who can’t work, but to those who refuse to work. Instead of contributing to the health of the church body, these unruly, undisciplined, lazy loafers had become parasites.
— 3:11-13 —
What, exactly, did these derelict soldiers and lazy apprentices do with all the time they were supposed to be devoting to productive labor? We might picture them simply basking in the sun, lying on the beach with their feet up and a sparkling beverage in their hands, waiting for the Lord to take them away. Hardly! They were actually “acting like busybodies” (3:11). This word for “being a busybody” in Greek means to be a “meddler,” someone who intrudes in other people’s business.[73] We should picture such people fluttering about from house to house like social butterflies . . . but whose gossip stung like horseflies. Drawn to bad reports like houseflies to dung, they carried such “news” with them everywhere they went, quickly contaminating the whole church with their filth.
Paul directs his words specifically to such people who, I’m sure, would have known he was talking to them. He commands and exhorts them “to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread” (3:12). Instead of freeloading, they were to labor with their hands, leading a quiet life and attending to their own business, as he had previously commanded (1 Thes. 4:11).
Instead of buying into the vision of the church, rolling up their sleeves, and getting involved, these unruly busybodies had become a burden. They had become clingy and were distracting people from the work of the ministry by throwing obstacles in the path of proclaiming the kingdom. Paul commands the Thessalonians to stop allowing them to sponge off the limited time, money, and energy of the church in their pointless pursuits. Paul then urges the church to “not grow weary of doing good” (2 Thes. 3:13; cf. Gal. 6:9).
The Thessalonians had a work problem. Paul had instructed them earlier on how they were to conduct their lives (1 Thes. 4:11-12), but some among them persisted in their sinful work ethic. Hopefully, Paul’s admonishment and encouragement prompted these believers to repent so that they could return to the work of promoting the kingdom of God and correcting false beliefs about the end times.
— 3:14-15 —
Paul returns to the consequences that should follow the actions of the unruly. If they continue in their spiritual truancy, they should be marked out for dissociation, a breaking of fellowship. Then they would be publicly humiliated for their actions (3:14) and would hopefully repent. I know such an approach sounds exceptionally harsh to our modern ears. But if we really understood what was at stake as much as Paul did, maybe we wouldn’t put up with those kinds of poisonous attitudes and actions like we do.
There’s a fine line between putting a person to shame and shaming a person. When a person is put to shame, the individual feels sorry for those sins and laments the pain caused to others. Such a repentant person eventually seeks to make things right. Shaming a person, however, leaves little room for repentance and restoration. It tends to be spiteful, vindictive, and punitive rather than redemptive.
Yes, we are to treat undisciplined brothers and sisters in Christ as undisciplined. And that means bringing discipline into their lives. But we are also to treat undisciplined brothers and sisters in Christ as brothers and sisters. They aren’t godless heathen, apostate antichrists, destructive heretics, or false prophets. These are wayward members of the family. We are to treat them with firmness, but we are also to love with justice and have mercy with discipline, and ultimately, act with grace.
— 3:16-18 —
At this point, Paul takes the pen in hand and concludes with personal greetings. This is a shift from the first person plural (which includes Silas and Timothy) that is consistent throughout this letter. Paul’s final farewell to his beloved readers emphasizes themes found throughout his writings that are tweaked for the Thessalonians. Because they had been suffering such affliction, hardship, confusion, and chaos, he prays that the Lord of peace would grant them peace “in every circumstance.” He knows, however, that such peace can only come through the abiding presence of the Prince of Peace (3:16). The volatile situation among the Thessalonians regarding the lazy Christians who had quit working to wait for the Lord could lead to all kinds of divisions, conflicts, and additional confusion. So, when Paul refers to the Lord granting them peace, he likely has this specific situation in mind.
Silas probably penned this letter with the collaboration of Paul and Timothy. You can imagine the three men pouring over the papyrus, discussing their previous correspondence with the church and determining the best wording to communicate what they wanted to tell them. But when Paul came to his concluding remarks, he sealed this letter with an unmistakable sign of his apostolic —and therefore divine —authority (3:17). We should picture Paul literally taking the stylus from the hand of Silas —or whoever was writing —and inscribing the last two verses in his larger, distinctive script (Gal. 6:11).
With this sign, he concludes this second letter to the Thessalonians in the same place he began it . . . with grace —“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thes. 3:18).
APPLICATION: 2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-18
Working for the Kingdom
Our churches and ministry efforts today aren’t plagued with a body of sky-gazers waiting for Christ’s return, as was the church in Thessalonica. Okay, maybe you’ll find a handful of misled prophecy fanatics dropping everything and selling everything because they’re sure the Lord will be coming any minute now. But for the most part, our churches don’t face the same problems the Thessalonians did.
But 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 still has plenty to say to those in our churches who remain uninvolved, out of touch, anonymous, uncommitted, and even irresponsible for reasons other than a wrong understanding of end-times events. Far too many people on our membership rolls are content just cheering from the sidelines or watching from the bleachers. They forget that there’s work to be done for the kingdom of God in the church right now —lost people to reach, lives to change, people to teach, needs to meet, and ministries to fulfill. The truth is, it’s the church’s job —all men and women who are members of a congregation —to participate in the work of the ministry with joy, energy, long-term commitment, and perhaps ultimately, with personal expense and sacrifice.
If Christianity is an active, involved faith, we need to put our faith to work for Christ. Let me suggest three specific, practical target areas for you to work on to help move from the sidelines to the front lines of ministry.
First, join the work of the church through prayer. Every worship service I’ve been a part of has had corporate prayer or opportunities for individual prayer. Some churches were better at focusing attention on prayer than others, but they all prayed. However, if the only involvement we have in prayer is the hour or so each Sunday in church, that’s not joining the work of the church . . . that’s neglecting the work! So commit yourself to expanding your regular, daily prayer time to include prayer for your church, your ministers, and your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you don’t pray at all, begin by praying for at least a few minutes a day. If you pray for five minutes, aim for fifteen. If you pray for fifteen, make thirty minutes your new goal.
Second, join the work of the church through giving. If you have a church home where you’re spiritually nourished regularly, you’re partly responsible for contributing to that church’s financial needs. If you don’t have a church home . . . find one! The church is not optional for committed followers of Christ. And committed members of a church can’t treat financial support like an occasional tip. We can’t give only to special pet projects or when we have more money than we know what to do with. Our giving should be regular —as regular as our attendance. And it should be thoughtful, planned, consistent, and sacrificial. Remember, your financial giving is an investment in the kingdom of God —with spiritual, not material, returns. With your consistent prayers, your regular giving is an excellent way to work with your church to accomplish its goals for the kingdom.
Third, join the work of the church through serving. Pastors often lament the “80-20” principle of ministry. It seems like 20 percent of the people in any church do about 80 percent of the work. The 80-20 principle has no basis in Scripture. Zero. None. In fact, the Bible teaches the 100 percent principle: Every born-again believer, who is baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, has been given spiritual gifts to be used to build up the church. Every single one. If you don’t believe me, read 1 Corinthians 12. Then read Ephesians 4:12, which teaches that every believer is to be equipped for the work of ministry, not just the “paid professionals.” If you’re doing nothing in your church, get involved. There’s plenty to do —from opening doors to painting walls . . . from stacking chairs to visiting the aging and disabled . . . from teaching preschoolers to playing an instrument in worship. If you don’t think you have anything to contribute in your church’s ministry, it’s because you haven’t asked.
So what are you waiting for? The Second Coming? Join in on the work of your church through persistent prayer, consistent giving, and committed involvement in serving. Start today!