Difficult Disciples

2 Thessalonians 3:6–18 NASB95

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

INTRO: How many of you have ever worked on a group project? I remember in school, hating group projects. Every person on the team gets the same grade, but inevitably there is at least one person on that team who contributed very little if anything. This happens because not everyone has the same convictions and values when it comes to their responsibility and relationship with others.

There are these folks in every organization, every family, and even in the church.

As we come to this final week in our study of 2 Thessalonians, Paul addresses some of these people, who we will call ‘difficult disciples’. Now there is a reality that we must acknowledge- it was true for Paul and it’s likely true for us this morning as well. The difficult disciples are likely not the ones who are hearing the message. And our point is not to berate or belittle these difficult individuals, but more so that those who interact with difficult disciples might have clarity in responding to them. So, this morning, if you happen to be sitting next to someone who fits these descriptors, remember what your mother would tell you.

Ultimately, as we walk through our text, we are going to identify 3 behaviors of difficult disciples, and then we will learn how we ought to respond to them- all of this within the context of building up God’s church. This is our goal, and the purpose of Paul’s teaching.

Last week, James led us through Paul’s heartfelt request for prayer. Notice that Paul’s focus was God’s kingdom growth and perseverance of the church. It is important that we recognize that, even though he is addressing some difficult people, it is done in love and hope for God’s best in their lives. BTW, thank you James- you did a great job.

So, if you picked up a bulletin, grab that and fill in your sermon guide as we learn together how we respond to difficult disciples. Let us begin by examining the 3 behaviors Paul points out. These behaviors do not belong in the church, but you will likely recognize them.

Difficult Disciples Are Lazy (6-7)

Now, without poking anyone, let us look here at how Paul instructs the Thessalonians (READ 6-7)

Paul describes these as unruly and not following the teaching and says to avoid them. Let’s break that down:

Unruly = Literally this means undisciplined or idle. That is to say that they have not put into practice the things that are necessary to grow as a disciple.

This is naturally coupled with the description that they are not following the teaching of the apostles.

These individuals are the ones who refuse to be an active participant in the work of the church. They are there, but that’s about it. Paul takes the physical picture of laziness/ idleness and applies it to the spiritual life of these believers.

They likely came to hear the teaching, but never applied it to their own lives.

I remember hearing about a preacher who preached at a small country church. After every sermon, one member would come to him and say, “Boy you really gave it to them today preacher! These folks really needed to hear this!” This happened time and time again, but the preacher noticed that this man was the most undisciplined person in the whole congregation. One day, it snowed. The preacher showed up and so did this one man, but nobody else did. But, where two or more are gathered… so the preacher preached. It was awkward at first, but he thought surely this old man will finally realize that this Word is for him!! After the sermon, the guy came up to the preacher and said, “Boy, that was one good sermon- if they’d a been here, you surely woulda give it to them!”

These people evidently believed that the teaching did not apply to them. Perhaps they saw it as simply a discussion to be had or an abstract idea where they could sit and ponder the truths without asking how that should change their everyday life.

Francis Chan talked about this mindset. He used his teenage daughter to illustrate it: He had told her to clean her room. Later that week, when he inquired as to the condition of her room, she responded- “Oh, daddy, that is such a good question. You know, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what you said. I journaled about it, memorized it… I even looked up the Greek origin of the phrase ‘clean your room’! Last night, I invited some friends over and we discussed the concept of cleaning my room and how that impacted our lives...” Chan then said, “Well, did you clean your room?” “Oh, no, but what you said really had a lot of impact on me...”

Discuss: How has spiritual laziness impacted your life? Do you apply God’s Word to your life?

Difficult disciples are lazy when it comes to applying God’s word- the clear commands of scripture - to their lives. We must be careful to not surround ourselves with these kinds of people who would undermine what was taught by the apostles. The warning here is about their influence on us. We mustn’t get sucked into being a Spiritual Couch Potato.

But next we see Paul give the description:

Difficult Disciples Are Moochers (8-10)

Do you know what a moocher is? Let’s read 8-10 (READ)

Here is what was evidently happening. Some folks, perhaps thinking that Jesus would be coming back at any moment, quit their jobs, and just depended on other folks to provide for them. After a while, they saw that it was much easier to mooch than to actually work, so they took advantage of the generosity and hospitality of those who did work.

But this is not what the apostles taught or modeled. Paul says that they were careful to provide their own food and supplies so that others would see how to have personal responsibility as they lived out their faith. They worked night and day even!

In fact, Paul evidently had a mantra while he was in Thessalonica- If you weren’t willing to work, you ought not eat.

That is not the same as if you don’t work- some may not have been physically able- he’s not talking about them. Scripture is clear that Christians ought to help care for those who are disabled or unable to work. But the problem was with the able-bodied people.

This is a problem today as well.

ILL- It would seem that people are enticed to be moochers today. I know people that are perfectly capable of working that live on handouts. Government programs give them cell phones and rent checks. They have food stamps and when they come up short, they reach out to a food bank, church, or charity.

But, this mindset has no place in the church. Paul taught the same truth to Timothy

1 Timothy 5:8 NASB95

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.

This is the element of social responsibility. We live in relationships and have a responsibility to work so as to provide for our needs.

Look, if enough people take on the “moocher mindset,” eventually you run out of other people’s money and food!!

Difficult disciples are lazy. They are moochers. But Christians are to set the example for personal and social responsibility.

Discuss: How has our society responded to moochers? Does the Bible give us any insight regarding welfare and other programs?

Finally, Paul gives this final portrayal:

Difficult Disciples Are Busy-Bodies (11)

Let’s read v. 11 again (READ)

The original language is a play on words- Paul says “some of you are not busy; but you are busy-bodies”

A busy-body, as we know it, is a meddler/ gossip. We might characterize these as people worked really hard at being in everyone else’s business. And that’s not a bad definition, but I believe what Paul is defining is a bit different.

Paul is describing someone who works hard at getting out of work. The word is literally “going around the work”

ILL- When I was a kid, my siblings and I would get tasked with the job of raking the leaves or cleaning up sticks in the yard. I can’t tell you how much time we wasted trying to think of easier ways of doing what needed to be done. And every time my mom would walk out to check on us, we’d have to ‘look busy’. That was harder work than if we’d just picked up the rakes and got to it!

This is what Paul is talking about. Someone who works really hard at not working.

When Peter was talking about the persecution that would befall the church as they shared in Christ’s sufferings, he warned that some persecution is in fact deserved. Thus, he encouraged the church not to be persecuted for the wrong reasons. Let me just read this:

1 Peter 4:15 NASB95

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;

Busy-bodies were a problem in the 1st century church. They are still very real problems in the 21st century church.

Now, we don’t need to start looking around, but I am positive that you may can think of someone who fits this description. When there is work to be done, they find ways of looking busy without actually accomplishing anything. They always seem have excuses as to why they aren’t doing something- whether it’s a feigned injury or an untied shoe… but they are conveniently available to accept the credit for work accomplished.

You can imagine why this is not a welcomed attitude in the church. This is the

Difficult disciples, Paul says, are lazy. They are moochers. They are busy-bodies. And while we might be content to just call out the wrong attitude, we mustn’t just stand here and shake our fingers at this wrong.

Discuss: What is a busy-body? Why do you think some people behave this way?

Instead, Paul gives us instructions on how we ought to respond to these difficult disciples. So, look at v. 13-15 with me and we’ll draw out 3 responses to difficult disciples: (READ)

We must not lose heart because of these.

The danger of these difficult disciples is that it can make us jaded. We see others not pitching in, and it makes us want to stop working hard ourselves.

We might also find ourselves angry or resentful towards these.

But Paul says we ought to continue doing what is good.

We must not enable their behavior.

Paul does not want to encourage them to continue in these attitudes by ignoring their sin.

In fact, Paul says we ought to distance ourselves from them. (do not associate with… v.14b)

In the 1st century, this would have been a shaming technique that would cause the offender to take notice of the impact of their behavior. It’s probably taboo to say shaming in our day, but the point should be clear.

Today, it might mean that we do not allow them to ‘serve’ on a committee or team if they aren’t really doing anything. Look, I can fill a chair with a stuffed animal. I want people serving who are going to really do what needs to be done.

The culture of the church should be so that if someone has taken the attitudes described today, that they would feel out of place. If you aren’t involved. If you aren’t engaged and serving somewhere, you should feel a bit uncomfortable. God did not save you so that you could just hang out like you joined the country club.

We must teach and model Christian responsibility.

These difficult disciples are not our enemy. They are our family.

They need to be taught and shown how to take personal and social responsibility.

This is another reason it is so important that you get into a small group. It’s why we need to learn and grow ourselves so that we can teach others.

Do you know any “difficult disciples”? How will you respond to them in the coming weeks? What would you add to this teaching?