We’ll be reading there in chapter 3 as we continue our study. I believe that’s on page 1,260 of your two Bibles. We begin at verse 6. Let’s give attention to the very Word of God. And we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 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. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command, if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you brothers, Do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Amen. Praise be to God. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, come to a passage which may seem harsh, difficult, unloving maybe. And yet, Lord God, this is your word. This is your call to us. as to how we should behave, how we should act as the body of Christ. And so help us now. Help us to search our own hearts. And help us, Lord God, to apply this, your word, to our hearts. Guide us now. We ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen. What good is church discipline? Have you ever asked that question? What good is it?
Apparently the church in Corinth didn’t think much of church discipline as there was a man in sin in the church and they had failed to address it. They had failed to remove him. But we see the power of discipline, don’t we? In that passage we read from Daniel this morning. Now I’m not suggesting that Babylon was the church, or that King Nebuchadnezzar was in the church, but as we read of King Nebuchadnezzar in bringing glory upon himself, seeking his own glory as he looks out upon his kingdom and he attributes everything he sees to himself, this which I’ve built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty, we see that immediately the voice from heaven comes and he is removed from his throne, he’s under discipline.
In fact, he’s removed from all humanity. He’s taken and separated. He’s made to eat with the beasts of the field, eating grass like an ox. And then as we see that time passes and now his reason is restored as he’s driven away from men, becomes like a beast himself, his reason is restored. What happens? His counselors, his lords, seek him out.
He’s restored to that fellowship which he was missing. He wasn’t working for the glory of God. He was successful, and he attributed that success to himself, but he refused to work for the glory of God. He refused to understand that he was made, that he was a creature, and that he was given work to do to bring glory to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
There’s a sense in which that brings us to our text this morning. Paul is writing this second letter to these young believers in Thessalonica. The first letter has already gone out. It’s already been read, I’m assuming. And now a second letter is sent. And Paul has this reoccurring theme throughout both letters of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ that seems to be undergirding both of his letters, reminding them that Christ is coming back for them, teaching them, urging them to live quietly, to work with your hands, asking them not to be quickly shaken, to stand firm in the traditions that they’ve been given, and to pray. Even as this last passage that we read last Sunday, Paul asking the church to pray, recognizing that this church was maturing in all that they were doing. So we asked them to pray. And then we come to almost the end of this second letter. And we see a problem.
That men were not imitating, they were not following the teachings of Paul, of Silas, of Timothy. And there’s a call for discipline. We don’t know why these particular brothers were walking in idleness. Paul doesn’t address it. Many speculate as to what was possibly going on in their minds and hearts. As Paul doesn’t address it, it doesn’t appear to be the thing that he wants us, that the Spirit wants us, to focus on. And so Paul issues this last-minute command. Keep away. Don’t feed them. Warn them. Admonish them.
Paul’s calling this young church, this young, maturing church, to exercise church discipline. You may think that this text is all about working, And that’s important, but it’s not his focus, is it? Paul’s focused upon discipline. He’s calling the whole church to exercise discipline.
I might sum up these verses this way, that idleness is a grievous sin against the glory of God, which must be rooted out through isolating love. Idleness is a grievous sin. against the glory of God, which must be rooted out through isolating love.” We’ll see that in three points this morning, simple points.
First, church discipline is necessary. Secondly, church discipline is hard. And then finally, church discipline is glorious. As we come to this topic, I’m sure that many have asked that question in the past, what good is church discipline. So as we go through this passage, I’d like you to be asking yourself that question. How do I perceive church discipline? Is it any good?
Well, first, church discipline is necessary. Given all the accolades that Paul has written with regard to the church at Thessalonica, we could be misled to believe there were no problems. This was the perfect church. As he opened up the first letter, he mentions their work of faith and labor, of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
He tells them, your faith in God has gone out. It’s gone everywhere. So that we don’t even need to say anything about it. He reminds them of how he turned from idols to worship the living God and to wait for his son from heaven. He could have just said, you guys are great. Even suffering, persecution, and yet increasing in faith.
But it was a church, and like every church, It was made up of sinners. And so we hear, we learn, before Paul closes his second letter with another benediction, that there were those within this congregation who were not honoring the name of Christ. There were those who were not living in such a way that brought glory to his name. Surprising as it may seem, there were those who were made of dust who were not following Jesus closely. And so Paul considers that he cannot close this letter without calling this out, without bringing this matter to the attention of the entire church, to those who were actually listening. Brothers in the assembly who are walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. Now we might think, well, this is at the end of the letter. Paul’s just taken up some space and it’s not a big deal. Oh, but that would be a mistake. This is a big deal.
Most of Paul’s directives to the congregation in the first letter and in the second letter have been along the lines of encouragements. In 1 Thessalonians chapter four, he writes, finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you and urge you in the Lord Jesus.
The word command is not there. We ask you, we urge you in the fourth chapter again. In verse 10, we urge you, brothers, do this more and more. Asking, urging, not commanding. They’re imperatives, yes, but you see how pastorally he puts it. And then again, in this particular letter, in chapter two, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarm, we’re asking.
But now, we command you. Did you see that, verse six? Now, we command you. He uses this word infrequently, and it should cause us to raise up our minds, our eyes, and say, what’s happening? We command you. In this passage, Paul uses that word three times. We command you, brothers. Verse 10, for even when we were with you, we would give you this command. And verse 12, now such persons we command.
Did you note in verses 6 and 12, these commands don’t really come from Paul, do they? You’d say, well, he’s an inspired writer. Nothing actually comes from Paul. But here, Paul expressly notes that the command is given in the name of Christ. Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we command such persons and encourage them in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was as if Jesus were standing right there before these faithful believers and saying directly, do this, don’t do that. The repetition seems to indicate there’s a significance to what Paul is raising to their minds and hearts. But it’s even more so as he uses Jesus’s name, isn’t it? We command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The problem is serious, so serious that Paul uses this language which is intended to get their attention. We command you in the name of Christ.
Well, what was going on? There are those who are walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. Now Paul mentions the example that they had set before them as they were there for only those three Sabbath days. We worked day and night that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we didn’t have the right to do so, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. Paul sets forth, he reminds them that which they would have known. Oh, we know Paul was a hard worker. He didn’t ask us for bread. No, no, he was supporting himself. Even as he was proclaiming the word to us, even as he was ministering to us, he was supporting himself, he was working.
And so some were not being ruled by the word of God. As Paul had taught, as they had not only given the word of God, they’d given them an example. And there were some who were just not following the word of God. They were not taking that which we’d seen with their eyes. Just like the Pharisees, who saw Christ with their eyes. who saw his ministry, who saw his works, and just discounted it completely.
That seems to be what’s happening. Paul’s proclaiming that the truths of God, he’s being an example to these, and there are those who are just discounting it completely, not walking in accord with the tradition, not walking in accord with God’s word.
But this idleness that’s referred to in our translation this morning, That word may be a bit misleading. Did you notice Paul’s use of the word or the verb walk? For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now, Webster’s tells us that a busy body is one who meddles, one who concerns himself with the affairs of others.
That’s the idea. It wasn’t that they were doing nothing. It wasn’t that they were just sitting and watching TV all day long. No, they were interfering. They were gossips. They were working at tearing others down, not building themselves, not building others up. They were building themselves up at the expense of others. They were active, just in an unbiblical way. And it’s a problem, isn’t it?
I’m hoping that we’re beginning to see this problem of idleness or walking in disorder. Not one who is completely at rest, but one who is at rest with regard to doing the will of God. One who is actively pursuing their own will, actively breaking the law of God, actively being inactive with regard to doing the will of Christ. Disorderliness is an active pursuit of transgression. Now, you might be thinking, well, how can you say that? Because this is a foundational problem that Paul raises.
And we see it, don’t we? We see it in the beginning of scripture. We see it in Genesis. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. One of the reasons that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden was to work it. Other translations read to cultivate it. But they suggest the same concept, don’t they? The creation ordinance of work. There are only three creation ordinances, this is one of them.
Adam was placed in the Garden to work it, to cultivate it. This was certainly his duty, but his joy and privilege and blessing. He was to take that which was made by God, that which was very good, and exercise dominion over it such that the Lord’s creation would be sustained, it would grow. But here’s the key. Adam’s true work was to ensure that the creation would continue to glorify its maker. The only moral creature made by God, the only creature made in his image, the only creature who was given dominion as he’s called to work, and the only creature who was called to imitate his creator.
Beginning to see the parallels now to those in Thessalonica and Paul’s example before them? This was how Adam was to live before the Lord. such that his labors in the garden would bring a continual stream of glory to the Lord, naming the animals, keeping the garden. Once he stopped working in accordance with the will of God, once he stopped exercising that dominion that was given to him, he stopped bringing glory and honor and reverence to his maker, the living God. Are we beginning to see the significance now of this idleness or this disorderliness?
I don’t think we have a spiritual appreciation of work. And I think that’s exactly what Paul is pointing to. We miss that if we take up this passage and merely consider that these were those in Thessalonica who just chose not to work and, okay, that’s bad.
You need to work. In fact, we end up asking, what’s the big deal? They weren’t murderers, but they were neglecting and transgressing the creation ordinance, the foundational, one of the foundational commands and callings for every single human being, every moral creature of God made in his image. If one has the ability to work and nonetheless chooses not to work, then one is choosing not to submit to this call, to this command, this ordinance to work for the glory of God.
That’s the problem. These are implicitly saying, by the refusal to work, I will not sincerely follow Christ, the one who said we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day, night is coming when no one can work. That’s the problem. That’s the real problem.
The refusal to work when refusal was actually a refusal to submit to the creation ordinance to exercise dominion, and ultimately a refusal to seek and maintain the glory of God through that exercise of dominion. Casting off God to the side, casting off his throne, and then sitting upon it in his place. Isn’t that what Paul’s saying?
As he clearly indicates that those who are idly or disorderly are refusing to imitate them. In essence, they’re refusing to imitate God who does exercise dominion and is given that privilege to men, to women, to children. But they would not. They would not imitate. They refused and became disorderly or idle with regard to following Christ. I should raise a question in our hearts this morning.
How do you perceive your labor, the work that you’ve been gifted with? Whether you have an employer, whether you are an employer, whether you’re a homemaker, whether you’re a student, whatever work you’ve been given to do, how are you perceiving it? that which the Lord has given you.
Many of us might be thinking right now that, well, look, I work hard. I work hard at my job. I work hard at home. I work hard at school. I’m a hard worker. I get tired. I don’t have much time before I’ve got to go back and continue my work the next day, five or even six days a week. I’m working. I’m not idle. I don’t see this really applying to me. Maybe others, but not me. Friends, that would be, once again, a mistake.
Each of us need this passage. Each of us need to be reminded that the Lord calls us to work, to labor, to exercise dominion for his glory. Remember Jesus. Jesus was given work to do. He was sent to work. Jesus said to his disciples, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. That’s why Jesus was sent. He knew it. He had it constantly before him. This is what I’m supposed to be doing every day.
So let me suggest that each of us needs to search our own hearts and consider, are we actively pursuing the work, the labor that the Lord has given us, whatever it is, and he has given you work, in a way that seeks to exercise dominion over the creation? And as we do, Are we seeking to exalt the name, the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus Christ as son, as you imitate him? Is that how you perceive your work? All of it, every moment of it, to the glory of God. Something for us to meditate upon today.
That brings us to our second point. Church discipline is hard. And that may be what you’ve gotten out of this text so far. This is hard. Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who’s walking in idleness. The Greek there really isn’t hard to understand. Keep away. Keep one’s distance. One Greek dictionary says, stand aloof. I don’t think that’s the idea. But to keep your distance.
And Paul’s emphatic. Verse 14, if anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, put him on a list, and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. It’s a powerful command. And it’s a drastic call. Paul is likely saying, keep away from others who actually have come to faith in Christ. Keep away from others who are suffering persecution along with you. Keep away from others who are part of this church, part of this assembly, part of the body of Christ. It sounds drastic. It sounds unloving. It sounds maybe like it’s uncalled for. But it’s not.
Paul recognizes the serious and disunifying nature of the problem at hand, and that it calls for a drastic measure, a drastic solution, and so he calls them to stay away, keep away from these brothers. Think about that for a moment. This young church, this little church, the church in the fires of persecution, now called to separate or segregate themselves from this portion of the body, and they really need them from a human perspective. But Paul knew that this was in the best interest of the whole church, the best interest of those who were straying, wandering in idleness, and the best interest of those who weren’t.
And it was exactly what those who were in idleness had already done. That was the problem. They’d already departed from the truth. They’d already departed from following Paul, who was following Jesus. They’d already left the group, the assembly, at least spiritually. And so Paul, in one sense, is merely recognizing this departure and telling those who had not departed, hey, don’t follow them. So what did it look like, this separation, this keep away?
In a very real sense, they were to be placed outside the body of Christ. that they would not be enjoying what we read of at the end of Acts chapter two. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. Had all things in common. Day by day, attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes.
They wouldn’t have those things as they were separated. No longer having everything in common. No longer sitting at the feet of those who would teach and preach. No longer going to the place of worship together. No more breaking of bread. No more prayers together. They’d be alone. Nothing in common.
How difficult would this have been? When you’re accustomed to this sweet fellowship that had developed in Christ. It was clearly to be a break in fellowship. It was a break from meeting together in worship, a break from breaking bread and having that intimate communion that only believers in Christ can have. No longer able to join together in that fellowship would have been a crushing blow to those who had sincere faith in Christ and yet were walking in disorder.
But that was Paul’s intent. That they would be brought to their knees in this separation. and this segregation and this lack of fellowship, their isolation and their aloneness, that they’d be crushed. There’s another aspect, wasn’t there? The protection of the body.
In two books of wisdom literature, in the Psalms and Proverbs, they both begin with warnings, remindings, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. And Proverbs, my son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. Do not walk in the way with them. Both of these significant books of wisdom literature begin with these warnings. Don’t follow them.
And Paul is saying the same thing. It’s exactly what he’s saying. In significant part, he’s seeking to protect the church, those who were not walking in idleness, those who were being orderly in their walking, such that they wouldn’t be tempted to follow these who had been lured and who had been tempted to live in idleness, not glorifying the Christ who had saved them. But there was more than keeping away, wasn’t there? Let him not eat. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command, if anyone’s not willing to work, let him not eat.
We need to point out the difference between idleness here, as it’s described by Paul, and poverty. Paul is not saying here that, hey, don’t feed those who are impoverished. Don’t have mercy upon those who can’t work for themselves. Don’t have mercy upon those who are in a particular providential estate where they can’t feed themselves. He’s not saying that. That’s not what the sin of idleness is speaking to. So we have to begin with the truth that Paul was not heartless.
As he’s being led by the Spirit, it’s just the opposite. He was a pastor. He had a pastor’s heart. He had a pastor’s care for the church, for the body. That’s evident. And so we see that care for those who are in the midst of straying. So he writes, don’t feed them. Feeding them would have been not compassionate. Feeding them would have comforted them in their sin. Feeding them would have encouraged them in their sin. Feeding them would have enabled them to continue in their sin. And Paul is saying, just don’t do that. That’s not compassionate.
Paul was using their hunger to drive them back to Christ, back to fellowship in Christ and with those who were in Christ. Are you beginning to see why our fellowship is so critical? Are you beginning to see why our unity in Christ is so precious? Paul was counting on that. Paul was saying that these must be separated from the body so that they would come to their senses, just like Nebuchadnezzar had to be separated from his kingdom so he could come to his senses, so that they would realize that they had, in fact, separated themselves from Christ, so that they would feel, truly feel, the absence of Christ. And Paul knew that a sincere believer could not stand to be absent from Christ. He was the one who wrote, for to me to live is Christ.
Is that the way you feel? That your fellowship in this body is precious? That your communion with this body or the church where you normally worship is a precious communion? It’s so valuable. that you don’t know what you’d do without it. Is that how you perceive your fellowship?
That was the idea. That was the idea that Paul was seeking to press upon these who are living in disorder, not imitating his walk. They would so long for the precious fellowship of those who were imitating Paul that they would see their error, they would understand their sin of idleness, and cast it off, run from it, and run back into the arms of Jesus Christ through the arms of those faithful believers in Thessalonica. That was the plan. But it hinged upon these backsliders, remembering and longing for that fellowship that they were going to be excluded from.
So again, we need to ask ourselves this morning, how precious is our unity? How precious is our fellowship with one another in Christ? Does bring us to our third point. The church discipline is glorious. This last instruction from Paul as to how to engage in this work of discipline reads this way.
Verse 15, do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. All of this then, keep away, have nothing to do with them, don’t feed them, was to be a tangible, a physical and evidentiary warning That they could actually see and experience. But then there was this last part. Warn him or admonish him. This keep away was not all inclusive. And it wasn’t a never speak to them. No, in order to warn, to admonish, there needed to be some particular interaction. A message of compassion. telling them, please recognize what you’re doing. Please see the wrongfulness of your inaction. Please see what you’re doing. You’re transgressing the law of God. See how we’re blessed in our work and how our work is to glorify the living God. Come back. Repent. Reconcile.
That was the warning. That was the admonition that they were to be giving. It wasn’t mere silence. Keeping away didn’t include not talking. They were expressly called to warn, to admonish, to call them to recognize what they were doing was a violation. And it wasn’t honoring their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And then there’s this. Please don’t miss this. Do not regard him as an enemy. but warn him as a brother. See, there are two sides to this last portion, isn’t there? With every command, there is the negative and the positive, and here we see it so clearly. Do not regard him as an enemy.
That’s our tendency, isn’t it? Our tendency in Adam is to regard those who are not with us as those who are against us. and to treat them that way. But Jesus said so clearly, for the one who is not against us is for us. And so, friends, before you categorize those who are living in disorder and idleness as enemies, stop.
That’s what Paul was saying. Do that in your mind, don’t do that in your heart. Because you don’t treat an enemy well. No. And the positive, warn them as a brother. Treat this one who’s leading a disorderly life, who’s walking in idleness, as a brother. In other words, one who is still part of the family of God. One who has been called a son of the Lord Most High. Yes, separate from them so that they would feel the lack of fellowship, but treat this one as a brother.
They were not to treat them as one who had denied the faith. They were not to treat them as unbelievers. Paul was calling the church to treat them as part of the body and to seek them back to Christ, to woo them back into that fellowship. Think of how Jesus treated Peter. after he denied him three times. Did he come to him as an unbeliever? No. Peter, son of Simon, son of John, do you love me? He treated him as a believer immediately. Do you love me? Yes, Peter needed to be restored, but Jesus didn’t treat him as an unbeliever. Jesus didn’t treat him as an enemy.
And that’s the way Paul says to treat these who are walking in idleness. You see, if they were unbelievers, it would be meaningless to ask them if they had repented. If they were unbelievers, one wouldn’t approach these walking in idleness with scripture in hand. It would be foolishness.
Paul calls them in wisdom to carry the word of God to those who are living in disorder. Treat them as brothers. the word of God to them. Exhort one another every day as long as is called the day that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
That’s his call. Do you hear the compassion and kindness that was to be used in seeking to woo these backsliders to return to the sheepfold of Christ? Webster’s defines reconcile as the to call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated. That’s the idea, isn’t it? To restore that friendship. And that’s exactly what Paul was seeking to do. That was Paul’s goal. Reconciliation. He’s the one who wrote, we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Isn’t that glorious? Do you think of church discipline that way? It’s glorious? Yes, it’s difficult, no doubt. It’s hard. It’s wearing on the soul. And to do these things that Paul was commanding to be done, keep away, don’t feed, warn, admonish. Difficult.
But as you think about church discipline, are you keeping in mind its purposes, its goals? What we see here in this passage. First, to preserve the honor of Christ. Secondly, to build up and keep pure the body of Christ. And then finally, as we see coming through time and again in this passage, to restore the straying, the backsliding brothers and sisters.
There are actually other objectives and goals to church discipline, but that’s what we see in this passage. That’s what we read of in the scriptures. Psalm 94, blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord. Do you understand church discipline that way? Is the end of it being glorious? We should. We must. For a church that doesn’t practice discipline is no church at all.
But a church that does practice discipline in the way that it’s given to us in the scriptures is a church that’s bringing glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we pray that we would be a church exercising church discipline for all those reasons, but primarily for the honor of Christ.
Idleness is a grievous sin against the glory of God, which must be rooted out and rooted out through isolating love. King Nebuchadnezzar was separated from humanity, wasn’t he, as he was being disciplined by the Lord. But that discipline brought him back to his senses and back to the fellowship that he had enjoyed previously. And that’s the goal of discipline, isn’t it? to restore the one who’s in idleness, to bring the one back to seeking to work for the glory of God.
What a blessing this passage is and what a blessing church discipline is. Let’s pray to God that we would understand that and appreciate it and pursue it in the way he’s called us to do so. Amen. Our Father and our God, what a joy it is to be able to see that the compassion and the mercy of Paul as he’s inspired by the Spirit and teaching this young church to pursue this discipline in a compassionate and, Father, an effective way. Father, we thank you for discipline. We thank you that you’ve given this to the church. We pray that we will be a body that would understand it, that would appreciate it, that would seek your glory by and through it. Help us, Lord. We ask all these things in Jesus’s name. Amen.