Disorderly Conduct in the Church

Disorderly conduct in the state of Georgia is a misdemeanor that can include a variety of behaviors that disrupt the peace, threaten public life, or create alarm or anger in others.

Before Paul can sign off on his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, he is constrained by the Holy Spirit to address a problem of disorderly conduct that is disturbing the peace and purpose of the church.

He writes in 2 Thess 3:6, “But 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.” 

The ESV uses the word “idleness” instead of “disorderly” which is more of an interpretation than a translation because the Greek word “ataktos” means “to behave disorderly”. It means “out of order’; not in order of battle; not at one’s post of duty; undisciplined; irregular; lawless; and disorderly. Certain believers were acting according to their own wills and were idle busybodies because of their belief that the Second Coming of Christ was at hand or had already happened (2Thess. 2:2). Paul reminds them that he did not go out of his rank or post of duty, but kept his place and discharged his duties at all times and places as a true and tried soldier of Jesus Christ (2Thess. 3:7).

Surprisingly, one of the greatest dangers to the Thessalonian church was not a blatant attack from people on the outside, but the carelessness and laziness of people on the inside. Paul refers to these individuals as those who behave "disorderly" (3:6, 11). They were the unruly church members who were causing problems for everyone else.

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonican church, he warned the idle busybodies to get to work (1Thess. 4:11). He admonished the church leaders to “warn them that are unruly” (1Thess. 5:14). The word unruly (same word as disorderly or idle) means “a soldier out of rank.” Apparently these troublemakers did not repent, because Paul devoted the last major portion of his second letter to this problem.

Misinterpretations and misapplications of the truths of God’s Word can cause endless trouble. History records the foolishness of people who set dates, sold their possessions, and sat on mountain tops waiting for the Lord to return. Any teaching that encourages us to disobey another divine teaching is not Bible teaching.

1. Misinterpretations of the Truths of God’s Word Must be Corrected

In our text – 2 Thess 3:6-15 - Paul’s main concern was that these unruly brothers were not working but acting like busybodies (2 Thess. 3:11). Many translate his wordplay as, “they are not busy, but they are busybodies.” He commands them to work to support themselves.

What was the problem? Why weren’t they working? Some members of the assembly had misinterpreted Paul’s teachings about the return of Christ, left their jobs, and were living off the generosity of the church. They were idle while others were working. Yet they expected the church to support them. It is possible that this group of lazy saints was the source of the false teaching Paul mentioned in 2Thess. 2:2. They were also spreading gossip about people in the church. They had time on their hands and gossip on their lips, but they defended themselves by arguing, “The Lord is coming soon!”

Paul was concerned both with the tension that this created in the church and with the bad witness it gave to outsiders, who would think that Christians are religious hucksters. So he devotes this extended section to deal with this problem.

Unfortunately, this mindset didn’t disappear in the 1^st Century. Although quitting their jobs is no longer the primary way this problem manifests itself, yet it continues to stymie the Church in making disciples of all nations. The teaching that the final days of history are upon us is still causing isolation, insulation, and indifference to the Church in having any cultural impact.

Gary DeMar writes, “The main reason anti-Christian civilizations survive and seem to thrive is that Christians have not engaged with and built a competing alternative culture. Moreover, many Christians don’t believe there can be a Christian civilization. Christianity has always entered the world deep in the stench of paganism and darkness. In the past, such conditions have brought out the best in the Christian worldview. Christianity infused the world with the light of the gospel and its call for the redemption of sinners and their sin-stained world. This vision of Christianity seems lost on many of today’s Christians.

One prophecy expert said it this way: “The church is not in the business of taking anything away from Satan but the souls of men. The world is a sinking Titanic ripe for judgment, not Garden of Eden perfection.”

Michael Rench was on target as he said, “Popular prophetic schemes foster an unbiblical mindset in the Christian community. Christians are no longer building the Kingdom of God, but they are digging foxholes trying to hold out for the Second Coming.

“Although there are some hopeful exceptions, generally there are no long-term Christian movements for establishing the mercy institutions for which Christians were once famous – institutions such as hospitals, universities, cathedrals with their ministries of mercy to immigrants, indigents, recovery centers for prostitutes, Christian schools with an historically Christian and biblically orthodox view of the world and of the future.

“We now slap a Band-Aid on something and call it a ministry, thinking we really are doing a work for God. There is no longer an unabashed, decidedly Christian nurturing of leaders, spokesmen, researchers, poets, historians, educators, pastors and preachers, and medical practitioners, etc., as there were in previous generations of Christians. Mostly, we are content to think in terms of street-witnessing for the next three or four years, since we are afraid that is all the time we have left. Most rapture enthusiasts have a hard time trying to finish four years of college.

“When we finally wake up after 10, 20, 30, 40 years, and Jesus hasn't raptured us out of this evil world of Satan's rule, and we haven't gotten married or had children (because "who wants to bring kids into this world when they might miss the rapture and go through the Great Tribulation"), we will find that we have wasted many opportunities for blessings and that we have failed to build a godly legacy for the coming generations.

“Woe to the evangelical rapture culture for its shallow hope in a wimpy Gospel about an effeminate Jesus who will whisk them into the air at any moment, so its adherents won't have to change another diaper. We have been so acclimated to this mindset, this diaper-escape theology, for the last 180 years that it is nigh impossible for most of us to realize that old-time Christians – Gospel-believing, Jesus-loving Christians – didn't think about the future that way.”

2. Exhortations from the Apostle’s Tradition Must be Obeyed – 2:6

Paul, in referring to “the tradition that you received from us ...” (3:6b), means the doctrines or precepts which they had received from the apostle, whether when he was with them, or after he left them; whether communicated by personal preaching or by letter. This passage can furnish no authority for holding the “traditions” which have come down from ancient times, and which profess to have been derived from the apostles.

The Roman Catholic Church has placed “traditions” on par with Scripture. In fact tradition overrules Scripture in many instances. In almost all of those traditions, only a miniscule number, if any, had anything to do with the twelve apostles. Most of them are manifestly so trifling, false, and contrary to the writings of the apostles, that they could not have been delivered by them.

With true apostolic authority given by the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul had used this powerful word command in his first Thessalonian letter (1Thess. 4:2, 1Thess. 4:11); and we met it earlier in this chapter (2 Thess. 3:4). He used it again in 2 Thess. 3:10, 2 Thess. 3:12. The word means “a military order handed down from a superior officer.” Paul considered the church to be like an army; and if the army does not obey the orders, there can be no order. Unfortunately, some of the saints were “out of rank” (“unruly” in 1 Thess. 5:14, and “disorderly” in 2 Thess. 3:6-7 and 2 Thess. 3:11).

What is the command? “If any is not willing to work, neither should he eat”? (2 Thess. 3:10, literal translation)

What authority did Paul have to issue this command?  He had the authority of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. At least twenty times in the Thessalonian letters, Paul used this complete title of the Savior. Jesus means “Savior” and is His human name (Matt. 1:21). Christ is His divine title; it means “Messiah -  the Anointed One.” Other persons could use the name Jesus (the Hebrew form is “Joshua”); and other persons could claim to be anointed, such as prophets, priests, and kings. But the two names, Jesus Christ, are further defined by the name LORD, meaning none other than “Jehovah God.”

What does the Bible teach about manual (or mental) labor? For one thing, labor was a part of man’s life before sin entered the scene. God gave Adam the job of dressing and guarding the Garden (Gen. 2:15). Though sin turned labor into almost hopeless toil (Gen. 3:17-19), it must never be thought that the necessity for work is a result of sin. Man needs work for the fulfillment of his own person. God created him to work.

Leon Morris observes, "Paul is not speaking of those who cannot find work, nor of those who through injury or illness are not able to work, but of those who deliberately choose not to work.”

To summarize, Paul affirms, implicitly or explicitly, two points in this passage: Congregations have an obligation to care for members in need, and individuals who can work have an obligation to do so in order to avoid becoming a burden on others. This second point is for Paul no minor matter: A refusal to work is a breach of conduct serious enough to warrant the imposition of discipline.

Not working to provide for your family when you’re able to work is a serious sin! Paul wrote (1 Tim. 5:8), “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I don’t know of anywhere else, except in the case of the immoral Corinthian man who was having relations with his father’s wife (1 Cor. 5:1), where Paul refers to a sin as being worse than that of unbelievers. Even most unbelievers who have never heard of Christ, work to provide for their families. If a professing Christian doesn’t work when he is able, it’s a bad witness to the unbelieving world.

3. Imitation of Biblical Models Should be Followed – 3:7-10

Paul called for the believers at Thessalonica to imitate him (cf. 2Th_3:9; 1Th_1:6) because he imitated Christ's example (cf. 1Co_4:16; 1Co_11:1; Eph_5:1).

Paul reminds them (2 Thess. 3:7) that he and his fellow-workers “did not act in an undisciplined manner among you.” By way of contrast, he confronts the unruly (2 Thess. 3:11), “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” Self-control or self-discipline is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23), which every believer should be developing. These unruly brothers were not working because they were undisciplined.

But to correct a sinning brother or sister, you must set an example of godliness. You can’t exhort someone to do something that you’re not doing. In verses 7-10, Paul refers to his own example of working to provide for his own needs when he was in Thessalonica. As an apostle, he had the right to be supported in his gospel labors, as other apostles were (v. 9; cf. 1 Cor. 9:3-14), but he set aside this right to provide an example to these new believers and to squelch any accusations that he was preaching the gospel to bilk people out of their money. In 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul tells churches to support elders who work hard at preaching and teaching. The apostle John encourages churches to support missionaries and evangelists (3 John 5-8). So there’s nothing wrong with a Christian worker receiving support. But Paul went the extra mile to provide an example of hard work to these new converts.

When Paul says that he did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, he does not mean that he paid those who invited him over for a meal! Rather, he didn’t presume on the hospitality of these new believers by expecting them to cover his room and board. He was an example to them of financial integrity and thus he had a platform to exhort them to the same level of integrity.

So if you’re aware of someone who is irresponsibly mooching off others and not taking the initiative to get a job, you need to go to him in love, show him what the Bible teaches about working for a living, and exhort him to look for work. But, what if he doesn’t respond to your exhortation?

4. Temptations to Quit Doing Good Must be Rejected – 3:11-15

3:13, “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” This is the second time this is found in Paul’s writings (Gals.  6:9, “ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”).

A. Dedication to Doing Good - Paul perceived that the faithful Christians in Thessalonica were discouraged by the conduct of the careless saints who refused to work. The hard-working believers were tired of having to support the lazy, and were ready to stop all help to those in need, giving up all charity. Paul reminded them that the truly needy still required help and that the Thessalonians must not be negligent toward them.

B. Discipline for Those Doing Bad - Since work is a God-given responsibility, don’t enable an unruly believer to continue in his irresponsible ways.

2 Thess.3:10: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” He may need temporary assistance to get on his feet. He may need some coaching on how to get a job. But he should make it his full-time job to look for a job until he gets one. If he’s being irresponsible, don’t enable him to continue in his ways by giving him food or money. Don’t let him lay a guilt trip on you: “If you were a Christian, you’d love me and help me out!” Rather, if he refuses to get a job, he should suffer the consequences. This applies even to family members! To enable his irresponsible ways is not loving.

1. Disassociation and Shaming – 3:6, “…that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” 2 Thess. 3:14-15, “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.” 

The withdrawal, the "noting" of the person, and the avoidance of company, were not the same as rejection. We really don't know how the person was to be "noted" or "marked out." But while such a person was to be avoided within the fellowship, the believers are instructed to relate to the problem person not "as an enemy" but "as a brother."

There seems to be a more severe level of discipline as indicated in 1Cors. 5:9-11, the only other place in the New Testament where the Greek verb meaning "do not keep company with" is used. There the issue revolves around those who openly profess the faith, but who is "a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner." The Corinthian Christians were commanded, not only to avoid keeping company with such, but "not even to eat with such a person" (1Co_5:11). This passage indicates situations in which people are to be excluded from any level of relationship in the fellowship.

In 2 Thessalonians, a less severe approach is indicated. The discipline has a redemptive goal. Its essential goal is "that he may be ashamed." It is to bring a person to a proper sense of guilt. Today we are told that we should never try to get people to change by creating guilt. But there is genuine guilt that exists and is to be exposed in order for a believer to experience forgiveness and restoration to full fellowship with Christ and his church.

In Paul's day, the church was essentially the only source of Christian fellowship, and churches were few and far between. Moreover, the social costs associated with belonging to the Christian community (such as loss of relationships, social ostracism, or even persecution were generally high. This meant that people who joined the Christian movement had a high personal investment in the group and, therefore, generally had a strong motivation to maintain their association with it. In such circumstances, the threat of exclusion from the congregation of God's people is a powerful disciplinary tool.

In view of this wide range of circumstances in which one might face the challenge of applying Paul's guidelines regarding discipline, it becomes critically important to keep in mind the purpose and goal of discipline. (1) The purpose of disciplinary action, as noted above, is redemptive, not punitive. (2) The goal of disciplining the erring brother or sister - who throughout the process is to be regarded as a brother or sister, not as an enemy (3:15) - is restoration to full fellowship, not removal from it. In order to accomplish these goals, it may be necessary to adapt or modify (but not abandon!) the means of discipline in light of the varying circumstances in which it may be needed.

Church discipline. Many (if not most) American churches today have abandoned the New Testament teaching about discipline with regard to members of the congregation. Reasons why this practice is so widely ignored include fear of lawsuits, a concern about appearing judgmental or vindictive, a desire to avoid conflict or turmoil, and a desire to avoid historical or traditional stereotypes. For many congregations, it may be because the effort involved seems useless or pointless (why bother, when the person being disciplined simply leaves and joins another congregation, thereby evading the force of the action?). Other churches do not view any sin as serious enough to warrant discipline.

5. Benedictions for the Church Are to Be Received – 3:16-18

These verses have been called “a peaceful close to a stormy Epistle.” In it Paul prays that the suffering saints at Thessalonica may know the peace of the Lord of peace at all times and in every way.

The Christian is not dependent on anything in this world for his serenity. It is based entirely on the Person and work of the Lord Jesus. The world cannot give it or take it away. But we must appropriate it in all the circumstances of life. “Peace is not cessation from persecution, but is the calm of heart that comes from faith in God and that is independent of circumstances.”

In summary of the issue of working or of non-working persons, I want to remind you that God hasn't given us jobs to support ministry, but jobs to do ministry. Our work is not intended to be a distraction from the "important stuff" that we do in our leisure time. The time we spend with the Body of Christ in the place where the His church meets in our community is not the focus of His plan. That time is intended to prepare us for the work that we do with all the other people in all the other places in the "normal" world. We are to work as Christians who are intent upon transforming their workplace for Christ.