Walk Worthy of Your Calling 2Thessalonians 3: 6-15
“6But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.
7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,
9not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
11For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
12Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
14And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
This passage is used to talk about the concept of employee/employer relationships and how we are to relate to those who refuse to work. BUT it comes home to the Church in a big way…
What are the first four words in verse 6?
These are some very strong words and a command that is given by Paul in the Name of
the State and local Government
the First Baptist Church of Thessalonica
the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the command? The believer is to withdraw or separate themselves form those who walk disorderly.
Paul leaves no room for debate or discussion on this matter.
Here’s what was going on in the church.
Some of the believer’s were getting so excited about the return of Jesus and the promise of being with Him forever that they began to sacrifice everything they had to meet the needs of others.
Some kind of went too far, ignoring the words of Jesus that NOONE knows the hour or the day when He will return.
These people started predicting dates and times when Jesus would return, causing some to quit their jobs in order to have more time to minister. Many gave away all they had and were now forced to sponge off the believers in order to survive.
This is the exact opposite of what we are taught, as believers. Believers are to set the example of how life should be lived and work is certainly one of the responsibilities of men and women.
The word “withdraw” [as used here] means to stay away from the idle worker.
According to this passage we are not to hang out with the disorderly or idle person.
We are not to condone [overlook] this kind of behavior nor are we to enable them.
The word enable simply means that we provide somebody with means:
It means to provide somebody with the resources, authority, or opportunity to do something.
We should NEVER put our stamp of approval on this kind of behavior.
Who are the disorderly?
1. They are the idle ones…
2. They are the slothful…
3.They are the lazy people who refuse to lift a finger to help but expect all the benefits…
They always have a good reason why they can’t help or they sign up but never show up.
Some are what we call eye watchers. These are people who watch for the boss and as soon as they see the boss coming they jump and work.
To put it another way…these are the people who work ONLY when they are being watched and they absolutely have too.
These verses give us 4 reason to “WITHDRAW” or separate ourselves from the disorderly worker.
1. The idle worker disobeys the instructions of God.
Look at the word tradition in verse 6. This word means all of the Word of God whether written or taught.
2 Thess. 2: 15NLT says: “15With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
2. The idle worker has been given an example by committed workers.
The believers of Thessalonica had the example of Paul…
We have the example of dedicated servants who have blazed the trail for us.
I often hear about men and women who lived long ago and the things they did for the church where they were members. After these people died the church was never able to maintain the forward momentum and some even began to lose ground.
WHY do you think that happened? Even though they had the example of those who worked they held back and let them do the work…Never developing a desire to follow in their footsteps.
What are some examples we see, in society as well as the church today?
Senator who told me she teaches her constituents to draw welfare check because they make more $$ than flipping burgers.
Farmers who don’t plant or care for the crops they planted because the Government will pay more if they sit back and do nothing.
3. The idle worker must lose his/her right to eat. Now this is rough language
Paul makes it clear that if you don’t work you don’t eat.
This command is for every man, woman, boy and girl, regardless their situation: True False
This command deal with those who choose to be idle or those who refuse to work.
Paul is not talking about those who have a legitimate reason or who are unable to work, due to some disability.
Discuss people who have to work because they can’t get the help they need while others who are fully able to work leech off the system. There are people who want the full benefits of being a part of the local body of believers without being committed to the body…
4. The idle worker tends to be a busybody.
Have you ever noticed the truth in this statement? It always seems to be true that the people with too much time on their hands seems to be the people who are always in someone else’s business.
The Human mind is an active thing. The mind is either thinking positive things or negative things…Good thoughts or evil thoughts. The mind is always at work whether we are or not.
This passage deals with Christians and the trouble they cause by being busybodies.
Too many believer’s are busybodies and cause trouble everywhere they go.
List some things a busybody does:
1. They are always nose deep in somebody else’s business.
2. They are quit to tattle. Most can hardly wait to tell what they heard or saw.
3. They spread gossip like a wildfire…true or not. They never take the time to find out if what they share is fact or fiction. “If I don’t tell it now, some one might beat me to it.”
4. They spreads rumors and out right lies…just so they can be noticed. Not once do they consider the lives that can be destroyed by their junk.
If the busybodies in the church would use half the energy it takes to destroy people, in ministering to the hurting we would have churches full of people…instead of emptying them out…
All this because they refuse to be of any use to God…the church…their families or society.
SO if we are to walk according to our calling we need to understand:
The believer is not to walk disorderly.
The believer is not to hang out with disorderly people.
The believer is not to be lazy.
The believer is to refrain from being a busybody.
Walk Worthy of Your Calling 2Thessalonians 3: 6-15
“6But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.
7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,
9not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
11For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
12Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
14And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
What are the first four words in verse 6?
These are some very strong words and a command that is given by Paul in the Name of
the State and local Government
the First Baptist Church of Thessalonica
the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the command? The believer is to withdraw or themselves form those who walk disorderly.
Paul leaves no room for debate or discussion on this matter.
This is the exact opposite of what we are taught, as believers. Believers are to set the example of how life should be lived and work is certainly one of the responsibilities of men and women.
The word “withdraw” [as used here] means to the idle worker.
According to this passage we are not to hang out with the disorderly or idle person.
We are not to [overlook] this kind of behavior nor are we to them.
The word enable simply means that we provide somebody with means:
It means to provide somebody with the , authority, or opportunity to do something.
We should NEVER put our stamp of approval on this kind of behavior.
Who are the ?
1. They are the ones…
2. They are the …
3.They are the people who refuse to lift a finger to help but expect all the benefits…
They always have a good reason why they can’t help or they sign up but never show up.
Some are what we call . These are people who watch for the boss and as soon as they see the boss coming they jump and work.
To put it another way…these are the people who work ONLY when they are being watched and they absolutely have too.
These verses give us 4 reason to “WITHDRAW” or separate ourselves from the disorderly worker.
1. The idle worker the instructions of .
Look at the word in verse 6. This word means all of the Word of God whether written or taught.
2 Thess. 2: 15NLT says: “15With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
2. The idle worker has been given an example by workers.
The believers of Thessalonica had the example of Paul…
We have the example of dedicated servants who have blazed the trail for us.
I often hear about men and women who lived long ago and the things they did for the church where they were members. After these people died the church was never able to maintain the forward momentum and some even began to lose ground.
WHY do you think that happened?
3. The idle worker must his/her right to .
Paul makes it clear that if you don’t you don’t .
This command is for every man, woman, boy and girl, regardless their situation: True False
This command deal with those who to be idle or those
who to work.
Paul is not talking about those who have a legitimate reason or who are unable to work, due to some disability.
4. The idle worker tends to be a .
The Human mind is an thing.
The mind is either thinking things
or things…Good thoughts or thoughts. The mind is always at work whether we are or not.
This passage deals with Christians and the trouble they cause by being busybodies.
Too many believer’s are busybodies and cause trouble everywhere they go.
List some things a busybody does:
1. They are always in somebody else’s business.
2. They are quit to . Most can hardly wait to tell what they heard or saw.
3. They spread like a wildfire…true or not. They never take the time to find out if what they share is fact or fiction. “If I don’t tell it now, some one might beat me to it.”
4. They spreads and out right …just so they can be noticed. Not once do they consider the lives that can be destroyed by their junk.
If the busybodies in the church would use half the energy it takes to destroy people, in ministering to the hurting we would have churches full of people…instead of emptying them out…
All this because they refuse to be of any use to God…the church…their families or society.
SO if we are to walk according to our calling we need to understand:
The believer is to walk disorderly.
The believer is not to hang out with people.
The believer is not to be .
The believer is to refrain from being a .
