Warning Against Idleness

Date: April 6, 2025

Title: Warning Against Idleness

Passage: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

INTRODUCTION

In the 17th century, the Puritan, Richard Baxter, made the observation that:

Idleness is a constant sin, and labor is a duty. Idleness is but the devil’s home for temptation, and for unprofitable, distracting musings.

Now perhaps we don’t often think about it in those terms, but the truth is, idleness is a sign of weakness and vulnerability that the devil loves to pounce upon.

Idleness is like giving Satan a free pass.

It’s opening a door for him to freely enter in without notice.

It’s basically tempting Satan to tempt us, and when we do that it makes us especially vulnerable to his tactics. We’re an easy target. We so easily fall into his trap and when we do, it’s not altogether easy to break free of it.

Now of course there is always a way of escape with God, but still, when we become so distracted with unprofitable and useless things in life, it can just put us to sleep spiritually and make us highly ineffective in what we’ve been called to do.

And such was the case for some of the Thessalonians.

The reason why I say “some” is because we know from V. 4 that, generally speaking, the congregation as a whole were putting into practice and would continue to put into practice the commands of God: “And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command…”

So in the main, the Thessalonians were obeying what Paul told them in his first letter about living a quiet life, minding their own business, and getting to work. They were seeking to implement those principles in their lives, at least on the whole.

But that of course wasn’t true of everyone in the congregation, because given what Paul writes in this section, we can see how there were still some isolated individuals in the church who didn’t take heed to his previous counsel, which is why he saw a need to devote a whole section dealing with the issue of idleness.

It’s because there were still a few stragglers (you might say) who really needed a real push, and for that reason Paul is going to admonish the congregation on how to relate to such people and how to deal with such people.

But clearly, idleness, is the main issue Paul is addressing in this section. Just consider how frequently the word shows up:

V. 6, “that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness…”

V. 7, “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you.”

V. 11, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness.”

V. 12, “Now such persons.” = Idle persons…

So clearly, idleness, is the main issue Paul is concerned about at this point in his letter, but before we consider what he tells the Thessalonians to do about it, it’s first important for us to understand what idleness actually is. What is idleness?

Well, when we think about someone who is idle, we typically think about someone who is lazy or inactive, and that certainty is part of it.

Proverbs 19:15, “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”

So, idleness and slothfulness often do go hand in hand. A person who is idle often just wants to do lazy things that are bound to lead to poverty and hunger.

You know, like playing video games all the time… watching movies all the time… doing things that require little-to-no effort on a physical and mental level.

That is idleness… or at least that’s part of what it means to be idle… because when we look at V. 11 of our passage, we learn that idleness can involve more than someone who doesn’t want to exert any effort into something: V. 11, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.”

Well, here we learn that idle people may actually be very busy people, but it’s just that they’re busy doing all the wrong things. They’re not busy at work, but they’re busybodies… which is to say, even though they’re unproductive in what God has called them to do, they still might work pretty hard at trying to get their way in life.

In other words, they are disorderly.

An idle person is someone who is out of order…

Someone who contravenes the way God has set things up.

Someone who meddles into the affairs of others.

Someone who wastes their precious time gossiping about others.

Someone who is unruly, and who basically wants everyone else to pick up their dirty laundry.

That’s how idle people operate. They don’t care much about working hard to support themselves, but they may very well work hard at busying themselves with all the wrong activities. And according to our passage, there were a few individuals like this who needed to be addressed.

But perhaps the question we might ask is, how?

How are idlelers and sluggards to be addressed? And how are they to be treated?

Three things to keep in mind!

As Paul instructs the church on this issue, we learn that there are three things we must do in regards to the idle, the first of which is that we must admonish them!

1 - Admonish the Idle:

And there are various ways by which we can do that.

From V. 12, for example, we can see how commanding them and encouraging them is a good course of action to take: V. 12, “Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

So, issuing out imperatives to the idle is an important thing to do.

They need to be told to work.

They need to be charged and directed to pursue a better path.

They need to be exhorted to make their own living.

There must be this commanding aspect in our counsel.

But as we exhort them in this, we should also make sure to encourage them in this as well, that is, we should spur them on in this direction by letting them know that there is so much potential for them to get up and running and off on their feet.

We should remind them that God can completely turn things around, and that they can totally do this if they would just set their mind to it.

So, words of exhortation and words of encouragement should be mingled together as we admonish the idle.

But beyond commanding the idle and encouraging the idle, from V. 15, we also learn that the idle are to be warned: V. 15, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

The idle need to be warned about the fact that they cannot simply stay put in the position they’re presently in.

They need to be made aware of the gravity and severity of the situation. They need to understand that, should they not do anything about their idleness, consequences will ensue, and when they do, there will be consequences to pay for it.

That’s why Paul says in V. 10, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

You know, if someone is not willing to work, our job is not to carry them by the hand, provide everything they need, and basically do everything to make life easy for them. In fact, just the opposite is true! They’re actually to be left to themselves so that they experience the hardships of life as a consequence for their poor work ethic.

You see, the point is that God doesn’t want us enabling people in their sin…

Now of course it’s a much different situation to help people out who may simply be suffering as a result of unexepected circumstances but really haven’t done anything wrong to incur such stressful preassures on themselves.

(Note) And that’s why we really do need to exercise some wisdom in how we distribute our funds, because the fact of the matter is, according to scripture - they’re are some people in need whom we should help, but there are also some other people in need whom we should not help. Clearly, that’s what Paul is arguing for when he says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Translation = Let him starve!

Let him reap what he’s sown.

Don’t alleviate the burden for him just because you feel bad for him.

It’s not going to help him… He needs to be taught a lesson, and this is something you need to warn him about.

You need to warn him about the consequences for this kind of behaviour.

It’s not going to go well for you!

Brethren, I know these are hard words, but believe it or not… sometimes the best way to help someone is by not helping them at all. Sometimes you need to just allow the ordinary processes by which God governs the world to work itself out in their lives.

You’ve got to let go of trying to be their savior.

You’ve got to allow them to reap what they’ve sown and pray that God would get a hold of them and bring them to their senses.

I reckon that that’s not always an easy thing to do because in our hearts we so desperately want to help, but even though it’s not always an easy thing to do, it is a necessary thing to do. And we got to warn them about.

This is the way by which we admonish the idle; it’s by commanding, encouraging, and warning them.

Now, something else that’s worth keeping in mind, though, is that if we are going to truly aim to get those who are idle to reprioritize their responsibilities, it is good for them to have someone to look up to. This brings us to point # 2:

2 - Exemplify Good Behaviour for the Idle:

V. 13, “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”

Now, at this point Paul is turning his attention away from the disorderly/idle members of the congregation to address those were doing good in this particular area of the Christian life… and he doesn’t want them to stop doing good; he doesn’t want them to grow weary in doing good; he doesn’t want the other disobedient members to influence them but rather he wants the hard working members to influence the others.

(Note) Paul himself was one of those who strove to live by example, which is why in V. 7-9, we read, “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.”

You know, Paul and his associates had every right to request some kind of income from the Thessalonians when they laboured among them, because the reality of the matter is, “a labourer deserves his wages,” and when you consider how tirelessly they worked when they were among them, namely, (as Paul says) “night and day,” then it stands to reason that it certainly was within the scope of reason for them to get some kind of material support in return.

It wouldn’t have been sinful for them to think that way.

It wouldn’t have been wrong to desire some kind of financial assitance.

But in order not to lay any financial burden on them, not to mention their desire to leave the Thessalonians a good example to imitate, they chose to selflessly lay their prerogatives aside so that the Thessalonians would see what it looks like to work hard and heartily unto the Lord.

And in so doing, Paul, Silas, and Timothy were teaching the Thessalonians that hard work isn’t just something you do to make money (though that is part of it), but more importantly, it’s something you do because it pleases the Lord Christ.

In other words, work, is part of Christian service. Now unfortunately we don’t always see it that way… We tend to think that only if I’m praying or evangelizing or giving up everything I have because Jesus is coming back tomorrow, then, and only then, am I rendering true service to the Lord that will really make a difference!

Well, I don’t doubt that that’ll make a difference… but we always have to remember that obedience is better than sacrifice, and one important aspect of obeying the Lord according to this passage is that we would work! Indeed, that we would work quietly to earn our own living.

And interestingly enough, Paul did this, even without the help of the Thessalonians. He accepted no financial aid, which thereby exemplified for them what it looks like to work for the glory of God alone.

(Application) May God give us that kind of mindset… That we would motivate each other by constantly having in our purview, the glory of God as the ultimate goal for which we serve and labour!

Well, so far we’ve seen Paul underscore a couple of things about the way in which we should relate to the idle. (1) We’ve considered the various ways in which we can and should admonish the idle: command, exhort, encourage, warn. (2) We’ve considered the importance of exemplifying good behaviour before the idle… but thirdly, another point Paul wants to get across is that the idle are not people to be hanging around as if everything is all good and well.

3 - Avoid the Idle:

Now you might find this point a little surprising, but know that this isn’t just my advice, this is the authoritative command of God.

V. 6, “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is *walking* in idleness…”

(Note) Not talking about someone who happened to be a couch patato for a day or two.

We all have cloudy days, where it almost feels like it was hard getting out of bed.

Paul’s talking about a professing Christian who walks in idleness.

It defines them. They live in a state of idleness. Everyday seems to be a cloudy day.

Such people are to be avoided!

V. 14, “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.”

So, here again we learn that the idle—now not just the idle (more on that in a moment), but at the very least the idle are to be avoided. You are to take note of that person, have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed.

Which means, ultimately, the purpose of avoiding someone who is walking in disobedience to the Lord is so that they would feel ashamed of their sin, such that they would be convicted of their sin, in the hopes that they would turn away from their sin.

(Note) Now like I said, this doesn’t only apply to a person who is known for being idle, because remember, Paul said, “if anyone does not obey what we say in this letter,” and as we well know, what Paul has said in this letter obviously covers a broader range of issues than just idleness.

Therefore, while the sin of idleness is certainly uppermost in Paul’s mind at this point in the letter, the truth is, the principles Paul lays down for how to deal with idle people can actually be applied to anyone who is walking in disobedience to apostolic instruction in general.

Now that much should be clear enough… but when V. 15 is brought into the mix of this whole discussion, things become a little more complicated…

To such disobedient persons, particularly those who walk in ldeness, Paul says in V. 15, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

Now, why do I say this complicates things?

Well, the reason for that is because whenever the New Testament talks about avoiding professing Christians, it’s referring to those who’ve been excommunicated from the church; that is, they’ve been put out… they’ve been disfellowshipped… they’ve been handed over to the world… but the thing is, when that final stage of discipline occurs, the Bible teaches that they are not to be treated as brothers.

In Matthew 18, for example—the primary text dealing with this matter… In that passage, Jesus taught that unrepentant people who’ve gone through a whole process of being being called to account, yet never turn from their sins and are eventually excommunicated from the church for it, such people are to be treated as gentiles and tax collectors, which is to say they’re to be treated as unconverted people who need to be saved.

Now of course we can’t ever read people’s hearts, but the Bible commands us to make our assessment on the basis of what we can see through people’s words and actions.

And when such actions display an impenitent heart that is unwilling to repent of obvious flagrant sin, eventually they are to be disfellowshipped from the church, at which point they are, technically speaking, to be viewed not a brother but as an enemy.

(Note) Now listen, I’m not saying that they’re to be viewed as an enemy in the sense that you don’t like them or that they don’t like you, but rather they are to be viewed as an enemy in the sense that they are spiritually lost and need God to do a work in their life.

You see, to regard someone as an enemy is to regard them as an unbeliever because all unbelievers are enemies of God.

Now, why is this so significant? Well, think about it… In 2 Thessalonians 3, you have a category of persons in the church that, at least in a certain sense, we shouldn’t be associating ourselves with, and yet at the same time, we are also not to regard them as an enemy which implies that at this point we would still regard them as a brother, albeit a brother who needs to be warned!

To put it as straightforwardly as I can, this makes for a complicated situation. And when you read the commentaries, it’s clear that the commentators have some disagreements over the exact nature of the kind of disassociation Paul is calling for.

Think about it with me… When Paul talks about keeping away from the idle,

Is he calling for them to excommunicate these people - completely avoid them altogether - hand them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh, and yet by virtue of their profession, there’s still a certain sense in which you should not regard them as an enemy and even continue to address them as a “brother?” Well, maybe there’s a way of reconciling that with Matthew 18… but as far as I can see, I don’t think that’s likely.

But on the other hand, the thing is - if that position just presented is not the case - then by necessity it would entail that the type of ostracism Paul is calling for in this section would be something a little less severe than the type of ostracism that is shown towards someone who has been disfellowshipped from the church through excommunication.

In other words, when Paul tells the Thessalonians to keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness, the kind of keeping away he’s talking about is not a full fledge segregation from that person such that you never interact with him,

but rather it would be more along the lines of disassociating yourself from that person in a more limited way, where you kind of pull yourself back from building an intimate relationship with that individual, so that they might feel ashamed of their poor behaviour.

This is the view advocated for by William Hendriksen. Hendriksen argues that the kind of avoidance Paul is calling for is different in nature than the kind of avoidance he calls for when someone is excommunicated from the church.

And so, he argues that the “keeping away” from the idle person that Paul mentions in V. 6, is a qualified staying away. He says, “It does not imply complete ostracism, for verse 15 states expressly that such a one must be admonished as a brother. It does mean, however, that the rest of the congregation should not “get mixed up with him” (verse 14), that is, should not associate with such a person on intimate terms, agreeing with him and following his example.”

And you know, even in our day, this is the way we sometimes talk.

If there’s someone you’re trying to help get off their feet.

You’re pouring into them. Aiding them. Correcting them. Helping them.

After a while, if there aren’t any changes being made, and it becomes manifestly apparent that they’re pretty much just using you so that they don’t have to do anything.

Eventually you say, well, ‘I can’t have anything more to do with them.’

By that, you probably don’t mean you’re never going to talk to them, but rather you simply mean that you’ve come to the realization that the only way to help people like that is actually by having nothing more to do with them.

And so you got to take note of that person, assess the situation, and if the evidence clearly suggests that that person is just being persistently lazy on a spiritual and physical level, then you say, ‘I got to step aside.’ And that’s a wise thing to do. Because if you don’t, then you’re not actually going to be helping them; you’ll just be enabling them to keep on doing the same thing over and over again.

That defies the purpose of discipleship!

The purpose of discipleship is to help people grow.

In most situations that means investing in them.

But there are some cases where investing all your time and energy into someone isn’t going to help them.

Not only that but it’s wasting some valueable time that could be spent elsewhere.

(Note) You can see how this would have been going on in Thessalonica with the non-wokers depending on everyone else while they basically sat around and did nothing. What does Paul say? Don’t help… Stay away… Let them learn to work for themselves…

Well, when this way of approaching Paul’s command to “keep away from the idle” is bourne in mind, I think it makes a good bit of sense out of this passage.

And just to follow that up, I suppose the reason why Paul wants the church to view these people as insiders who need to be avoided to a certain extent, may in fact be for a couple of different reasons:

1 - It may be the case that the process of church discipline hasn’t run it’s full course yet. And so since excommunication hasn’t yet happened, it means that you should still regard him as a brother and warn him as a brother, but at the same time you also don’t want to get too close to that person either, lest their poisonous behaviour rubs off on you.

2 - It may also be the case that someone in the congregation is acting a little out of line. There may be something quite deficient and unsetteling about their practice that, unfortunately, they don’t seem to have a problem with—like being idle for example; but yet at the same time, it hasn’t become altogether clear that those behaviours, concerning as they might be, are egregious enough to quickly start moving them up the ladder of church discipline.

In other words, the severity of the issue might not be one that warrants such extreme measures as excommunication, but it certainly does require some measures to be taken!

And so what are you to do in such situations? Well, according to this passage, you don’t need to wait till someone is excommunicated before you should ever practice avoidance. No, there is a way to get people’s attention through that method of retrieval before it ever has to get to that point!!

Which would mean, then, it is possible, and sometimes even appropriate, to make people feel spiritually estranged within the context of the visible church in a more limited fashion, before it reaches the more extreme level of avoidance that happens outside the sphere of the church upon those who have been put out in an absolute way.

(Note) Now obviously this needs to be handled with so much wisdom and care because there’s no justification for withdrawing yourself from another member just because you don’t like them. The purpose must always be restoration, and to see each other grow in love and unity. There musn’t ever be any bitterness in our hearts towards anyone!

But still, the principle Paul lays down here musn’t be ignored.

And whatever the precise situtional context is to which these words are to be applied… … To be perfectly honest with you some of the details are a little fuzzy to me—although I will say that it does seem to represent a situation that falls short of excommunication but is still serious enough that requires you not to coddle up to people who are clearly not doing what they should be doing.

The point is that you don’t want to enable people in their sin.

You don’t want to empathize with people to their death.

It reaches a point where you have to say, ‘look I can’t support this anymore… If you’re just gonna keep acting this way and not take heed to any counsel, then you’re going to have to do it on your own, but I can’t help you with this anymore if you’re not going to do anything about it.’

And then you just leave them be (stay away), and when they starve!—which you know is going to happen, you pray they’ll come around and realize the error of their ways.

That’s how we are to relate to those who are idle: a) admonish them, b) exemplify good behaviour before them—be like Christ, and c) eventually it reaches a point when you got to keep you’re distance.

CONCLUSION

Well, no doubt, this is a strong word, isn’t it? But you know, they are words we have to take it seriously because they’ve got Paul’s signature written on it.

Paul ends his letter, saying, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

Now, there’s an encouraging word to end on. As Paul seeks to verify the genuineness of the apostolic authorship of this letter, he takes the pen out of the hand of his secretary and signs it with his very own hand.

And before he signs off, he wishes them well. He prays that the Lord of peace would grant them peace in every shape and form, and that the grace of the Lord Jesus would be with them all.

I pray the same for us all…

That as we’ve given our attention to the reading and preaching of these two small, yet fully compact letters, that the Lord would use it to draw us closer to Himself, and that in believing and obeying, we might be given an abundance of grace and peace from the fullness of Him who loves to lavish it upon all those who are thirsty!

So come and drink, and then get to work!

Prayer