hotcoffee
New Member
2 Thessalonians 3:14 Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.
In yesterday's verses I inadvertently included these verses in the Title but they weren't in the verses discussed. I've been making these kinds of mistakes a lot lately. When I take my medicine I write down what I take, what time I take it, and the date. Somehow this week I gained two days in my mind. Guess that explains why it's a good thing this bookkeeper is on disability.
Also, there was a reply to the thread. There was a statement that 90% of the work in the church is done by 10% of the members. Guess that explains, in some small way, what Paul, Silas, and Timothy are talking about in these two verses.
If the church were a business and the majority of the employees only showed up for work, but just sat there every day collecting a paycheck every week, depending on work of the 10%.... it wouldn't be a very productive company. Good thing a church is not a business.
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When a person becomes a Christian they become part of the family of God. God is the Father and the rest of us, as Christian Believers, become His children. We become brothers and sisters.
As the oldest of five children, I can tell you that sometimes brothers and sisters don't pull their weight. We can't just throw them out of the family. My sister called me a few years ago to tell me she had decided that I am not her sister. Well it doesn't work like that.... I'm her sister and there's not one thing she can do to change that biological fact.
The same goes for the church. When a person becomes a Christian they become part of the family of God. One person can't throw another out of the family of God. So the church at Thessalonica had a problem, that continues to plague churches today. This was such a problem that the church leaders felt compelled to tell Paul, Silas, and Timothy about it. Something had to be done.
So it appears to me the church was instructed to talk to the members. Tell them what they were doing wrong, in a brotherly fashion. Then after they were told what they were doing wrong, and how to fix it, the members who were not willing to pull their own weight were to be shamed by shunning.
Those who were not willing to pull their own weight were still members of the family of God and they were still members of the church at Thessalonica. They weren't the enemy. I guess you could say.... they were put in time out!
