Scripture referenced 4 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 the main passage for the sermon, read and exposited throughout
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in rebellion, and not after the tradition which they received from us.
7 For you know how you ought to imitate us. For we didn’t behave ourselves rebelliously among you,
8 neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you;
9 not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us.
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him eat.”
11 For we hear of some who walk among you in rebellion, who don’t work at all, but are busybodies.
12 Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
13 But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing what is right.
14 If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.
15 Don’t count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
17 The greeting of me, Paul, with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter: this is how I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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Keep this verse
Matthew 28:18-19
cited as the basis for Paul's use of Christ's authority when giving commands
18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
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Philippians 4:2
mentioned as an example of Paul naming individuals, Euodia and Syntyche, by contrast with his anonymity in Thessalonians
2 I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same way in the Lord.
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Micah 6:8
came to mind the morning of the sermon as a summary of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Daniel opened 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 and worked through Paul's instructions on idleness and church discipline, using the town of Jackson's idle-free resolution as a way into the text. He framed the whole passage inside what Paul wanted the Thessalonian church to be, and ended with communion.
What was said
Pastor Daniel started by noting that the town of Jackson has a resolution, not a law, committing itself to reducing unnecessary engine idling. People expending resources without being engaged is the picture he carried into the passage. Paul's concern in 2 Thessalonians 3 is exactly that: people within the fellowship who are consuming without contributing, walking disorderly among the brothers and sisters.
He set the passage inside the larger list of commands Paul had already given across both letters to Thessalonica, things like comforting one another, warning the unruly, praying without ceasing, and holding fast to what is good. Paul knew this church was doing well and advancing the gospel. The commands in chapter three grow out of that same pastoral care, not out of harshness.
When Paul says "we command you" in verse six, Pastor Daniel pointed out that the word is a military term, a charge given and expected to be carried out. Paul takes on the authority of Christ, who declared that all authority had been given to him before sending his disciples out. The command is to withdraw from any brother who is continually walking in a disorderly way and not according to what they had received.
Before going further into the text, Pastor Daniel paused on the history of how the church has handled discipline badly. He drew on Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" and "Young Goodman Brown" to show two failure modes: public shaming that humiliates rather than restores, and a pride that can see everyone else's sin while remaining blind to one's own. He was honest that his own instinct leans toward mercy, and said he is grateful the elders at First Baptist balance one another out across the mercy-justice spectrum.
Paul himself models the right posture in verses seven through ten. He reminds the Thessalonians that when he was with them he worked with his hands, night and day, so as not to be a burden, even though he had the authority to accept support. He did that to set an example. The standard he states is that if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat, with Pastor Daniel stressing that the key word is "will," not ability. This is about someone who is unwilling, not someone who cannot find work.
Pastor Daniel then read verses eleven through thirteen, where Paul addresses those who are not working at all but are busybodies. He softens his tone here, commanding and also exhorting through Christ rather than strictly in the name of Christ, urging those people to work quietly and eat their own bread. Everyone else is told not to grow weary in doing good. If someone refuses to obey, the church is to note that person and not keep close company with him, not to shame him as an enemy, but so that the shame itself might bring him back. John Piper is quoted to the effect that the aim is not alienation but restoration through tough love that insists on change.
Paul closes the chapter with a blessing, praying that the Lord of peace would give them peace in every way, and Pastor Daniel noted that this blessing is extended to all, including those currently walking disorderly. The whole passage, discipline included, is held together by the hope of reconciliation. He tied it back to Micah 6:8, which came to mind that morning: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. The service moved from there into communion, with Pastor Daniel calling the congregation to examine themselves before taking the bread and cup.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Daniel described two ditches on either side of the road: license and legalism, and mercy and justice. Where do you tend to drift, and how has that shown up in the way you've handled a situation involving someone else's sin?
- Paul's command to withdraw from a disorderly brother is described in the sermon as heavy on love and mercy, not punishment. What makes it hard to see church discipline that way, and what would need to be true of a church community for it to actually feel that way to the person being corrected?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,021 words
0:02
So there's a blank screen up there. That blank screen sorry, microphone. The blank screen up there. Before I get started, I last week, I had a great time. Just great time.
0:15
Getting ready for the sermon. It was four really clear, clear, encouraging points and it was so much fun to have that come up and I thought, wow. This is great, prayerful, confident in God, obedient, steadfast. I thought, this is wonderful. This week, I'm gonna start out with a public service announcement.
0:35
Public service announcement. Number two, number one was you remember a while back I used the texting on while driving and I jumped up and down and stomped my feet and then basically said that my tirade about texting while driving is what James was doing but he was talking about partiality and favoritism. There's no favoritism with God and we should not be partial. This public service announcement number two brought to you by the town of Jackson. It's about the no idler.
1:02
No idler. Okay? And politically, you might have agreed with it or disagree with it. It doesn't really matter to me, the point still stands. Right now, we have a resolution on the panel decks and that's not a law.
1:15
It's not on the books as a law, but it is a resolution. And the resolution that we can be idle free and they're working towards a time when we get to a place where we don't have as many people that are idling unnecessarily. And so I wanna read something to I'm not gonna read all of it. I have a of things. But this, whereas the resolutions, have you ever heard a resolution?
1:40
I thought it was bar jay. They were honored by the governor of the state of Wyoming fairly recently. It's whereas the bar jay has been serving people for so long and they're great singers and they're lovely people. We agree as the state of Wyoming and the governor gives him a governor's arts award and that was great. It was a resolution.
1:56
Wasn't enacted in the law that we have to do anything for the Varjay but it was a resolution and it was something by our duly authorized representatives to do that. This one says, whereas, Willie Neil, some of y'all knew him and many of you know his mom and dad, a passionate believer in environmental issues who continually challenge people to take responsibility for the impacts of their actions and embody the concept that change begins with an individual, actively encourage the town of Jackson and local businesses to adopt idle reduction strategies and policies through this idle free Jackson initiative. Whereas, I've been in a vehicle for more than ten seconds consuming more fuel than restarting my vehicle resulting in excessive emissions, waste of fuel, possible damage to the vehicle, and then it gets home down into the environmental causes and whatnot. When whereas idling is a source of unnecessary roadside air pollution, whereas the town of Jackson has voluntarily implemented an idle free program for their departments and employees. This program has resulted in measurable reductions in fuel use and expenditures of public funds.
2:55
Whereas town council desires to take a proactive stance whereas the town council and it keeps on, they're like 20 points. Then it ends up now, therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and the town council of town of Jackson, Wyoming in regular session, they will assemble that the town of Jackson is committed to the continued education of Jackson residents, visitors, and guests regarding the harmful effects of unnecessary engine idling and will promote and publicize the efforts of the town and partner organizations to reduce engine idling in the town of Jackson. Now like I said, politically, whether you agree with it or not, it is a resolution that the town came up with. This is what we believe. The town as a town said, we don't want to do this and if you have made the mistake of moving here from somewhere else and you pull up, you leave your car running while you're running somewhere, you might have had a couple of responses.
3:42
One of them is, while you're sitting there, while it's still idling, somebody leaves and says, we don't get that. We don't have the We resolution. Have seen this happen before where somebody comes up because you left the car and wandered out, they come up and they turn the car off for you because there's no item. Jackson, well, law is not a law, it's a resolution. It's what we believe.
4:05
It's kind of a green initiative, you know. I have seen worse than that though. I have seen people come up to the car, turn the car off, and then throw the keys. You find the keys. You left your car running.
4:16
That's your problem. That's probably not the most loving and merciful way to deal with this situation. As a resolution for for the town, there's a no idling initiative here. And I'm just being extremely literal. This passage that we're gonna deal with today has to do with people who are idle.
4:36
It has to do with people who are sitting idle. They are expending resources but they are not engaged. Does that make sense? Expending resources that don't belong to them and not engage. Now like I said, you agree with it or not, it is a resolution And I read that already.
4:57
So second Thessalonians three sixteen through 18, it's I mean six through 18. Remember that this follows one through five. I say this because often you look at church policies or denominational policies on church discipline, you will always see second Thessalonians three fourteen and fifteen will be mentioned every time. Three through 16 or three through 15 will be mentioned sometimes. But very seldom do they expand that to include the whole third chapter.
5:28
So I wanna go back. I've mentioned it once already. I mentioned it last week multiple times. This is what Paul wanted for the Thessalonians to be. Now, he knew that they were believers and they were a good church and that they were knocking it out of the park as far as the advance of the gospel goes.
5:43
He said, everywhere I go, people are telling me that they have heard this word from the church in Thessalonica. So he knows that their missions minded church that love Jesus and understand who they are in him. Now they had some eschatological difficulties and he tries to clear those up, end times issues, but this is what Paul wants for them to be overall, prayerful for the message and for the messenger. I mentioned that last week multiple times that the message would hit the ground running and that the messengers would be free to go and tell that message. Confident in God, not not only confident in man but confident in God.
6:19
Obedient to what God directs and steadfast. That was the verse in the New King James. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. I've been gave you the reverend Daniel version of this verse which is and we remain confident. We are continually confident in the Lord on behalf of you or as it concerns you that y'all are doing and that y'all will be continuing to do the things that we're commanding y'all to do.
6:48
So I'm setting you up here for the list. So far up to that point in in Thessalonians, he had given this list of commands. Now this is from the whole first book and the second book, but here, how loving and caring this is. Comfort one another. Comfort each other.
7:09
Edify one another. Be at peace among yourselves. Warn those who are unruly. Now the warning of those who are unruly is a is a loving thing and that's the only time that he mentions it in first Thessalonians. Comfort the faint heart, uphold the weak, be patient with all, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone.
7:30
Pursue what is good, rejoice always, pray without ceasing and everything give thanks and do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from every form of evil, that's in general to absolutely everybody, pray for us, greet one another with a holy kiss, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught and pray for us. That was the list. Now that is a very joyful and happy thing and we can see that and go, wow, that's wonderful. That's a guy who loves these people and recognizes that they're doing what God has for them to do.
8:05
Now we go to six through 10 and it says, but we command you and that command there is a military term. It means command. It means a charge that is given and is expected to be carried out. It is a command. But we are commanding you brothers and sisters.
8:21
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and when he says in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he is taking on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying Christ said right before his great commission, all authority has been given to me. And so go ye therefore. It's a question of authority. If we are subject to Christ's authority, he has given us a command to go and tell.
8:47
And not just tell, but teaching them to obey all that I've commanded you. So when Paul gives this command, he does so in the name of Jesus, it is an authority based thing and this is what he commands them, that you withdraw from every brother who is who is continually walking, that's a present tense bird, who walks disorderly, who is continually walking disorderly, out of line, improper, irregularly. A lot of translations right there say who is walking idly. They're not engaged. They picked that up because there's not any other sin mentioned in both books of Thessalonians.
9:25
So the walking disorderly, they changed that to be idly because the next verse is gonna talk about being idly. But it literally says walking disorderly, that's what New King James says. A lot of virgins say improperly, irregularly or idly. Withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly, that's the command and not according to the tradition which he literally is today because I have a feeling that Paul was thinking of people when he said this and he did not name the people here. In Philippians he says, Euodia and Syntyche, I implore you to get along.
10:00
He calls them by name But here he's being, I think, intentionally ambiguous. But he's saying that you withdraw from all those who don't, who are walking disorderly and not according to tradition what they received from us. The received there is actually also a military term for accepting the charge from your superior. So he's saying that y'all all receive this command together, but there are some who are walking this order. So it takes on a little bit of a militant sound.
10:32
It takes on a little bit of an authoritarian sound. But if you put it in its context, it it is heavy, heavy, heavy on the love and mercy and this is how we get along. This is how we love one another well when we hold one another accountable. So blank slide. This is what I think of when I read verses on church discipline.
10:56
I think of the scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Which ones of y'all had to read that when you're in high school? How many of y'all had to read the scarlet letter? Do you remember the story? I won't have to go into great detail, but basically, this woman had been caught in an adulterous affair and she was required to wear a scarlet a on her chest.
11:13
Now the walking disorderly continually, walking disorderly, there are things that happen. We all fall into sin. We all sin. But to hold that sin as the thing that defines you forever is not what this verse is talking about. It's talking about people who are unrepentant in their sin and they are continually, continually revisiting that and will not listen to counsel.
11:38
There are other places in the Bible, I'm trying to stick to the subject at hand exactly as Paul puts it and not get to Corinthians, we'll get to that eventually and not get to Matthew 18, we'll get to that eventually, that'll come up. Those are other church discipline issues. These are the things that I think of. Now, I tend to call on the side of, you know, I talk a lot about ditches on both sides of the road. We started that off when we were talking about on one side is license and on the other side is legalism.
12:06
And being on the road of the gospel is between those two digits. It is knowing that those are the bounds and you need to stay between the ditches. Don't fall into legalism and don't fall into license. Well, this is a similar issue in that we have on one side mercy and on the other we have justice. Now God perfectly holds both.
12:30
We are humans and I think that most of us probably tend towards one or the other. I will admit my car has an alignment issue that leads me towards mercy. I lean towards mercy and grace and y'all hear it every Sunday. That's the truth. But praise God, I'm only one of 11 elders in this church and I don't have any more of a vote than any of them And there are some of those guys that lean more towards justice.
12:53
Praise God. That's wonderful. The plurality of leadership I think is very, helpful and important in a church so that you don't come into problems with this. Now start letter is one thing. This other is a a cover of a book, Young Goodman Brown and other short stories.
13:09
Tanya, when we were in college, took a class and she was required to write several papers on Nathaniel Hawthorne. And one of the things that she wrote about was the effect of his Puritan ancestors on his works. One of his great greats, his great great grandfather was involved in the sale of witch trials. One of them was involved in the burning of an Indian village. He had some things that he held a pretty extreme guilt for and it drove him to write in the 1840s and 50s mostly about the 1640s and 50s, about the time in Salem Witch Trials were going on.
13:48
And this young Goodman Brown is a story that I even thought about recording it and posting it on our web page because it's that good. It's a really good story about I'm tempted to just read Tony's paper about it right now, but it's about how if you willingly consent towards sin and that's what had happened. At the beginning of the story, he has an evil errand that he's going on young, good man, brown. And he has already made a deal that he would meet somebody out in the wood that night. It's the opening he's talking to his wife, not so thinly disguised.
14:31
Faith is her name. He's leaving Faith to go out into the darkness of night to meet this stranger, turns out to be the devil, and as he's meeting this guy he sees he has a walking stick with a serpent around it. He could swear moves. It's a dark, dark time and he uses some ambiguous motivational detail. He doesn't tell you what's motivating him to keep on walking forward into this simple evil era, but he just seems to be drawn to it.
15:01
That's his natural bent. And as he's drawn out there, when he gets out on the path with this guy who turns out to be the devil, he sees Goody Cloyds who taught him his catechism. Oh, a wanna teacher, Sunday school teacher. Taught him the scriptures and as they're walking along he sees her and she recognizes this guy who's already having a doubt and figured out this is the death. And so he starts to question Goody Cloyes and things that she taught him when she was younger because of this.
15:34
He sees that Goody Cloyce is accusing someone else of having stolen her broom and her walking stick. And then he goes on deeper and he wants to turn back and he keeps thinking of faith and he wants to turn back but he doesn't. And he keeps on and he looks and he hears then the minister's voice and then one of the deacons. And as he's going deeper and deeper into this forest, the darkness of night, he starts seeing that everything that he believed is not real. It's not true.
16:04
That the people that he thought the most of, the deacons, the pastors and the good employees that taught him his captism, it can't be true. It's not true. So he screams out for faith but it's not. And when it comes to it, what they're doing is bringing in to the communion of the devil, young Goodman Brown and his wife's faith. Now you need to read the whole story.
16:24
I've ruined some of it for you, but it's still good. When you go through that, you see he willingly acquiesced. He willingly just kept on going. His problem was not some awful evil that we think of if we thought of a list of sins. His was the evil pride.
16:42
It was pride that didn't allow him to see sin in himself. It allowed him to see everyone else's sin and then every Sunday from then on, all he could see was their sin and he didn't have anything to do with them. Now that was a reaction to puritanical thought. Now the puritanical process for, dealing with sin in the community, it wasn't just in the church, it was in the community because Puritan New England was a theocracy. This was before this was before the revolution.
17:12
This was before the constitution. It was a time when people were the Puritans were in charge basically in town and they started to make a public exposition of people sin. That's what that was about. That's what I go to. I'm sorry, that's what I go to when I read church discipline stuff because I have seen and practiced poorly many times.
17:37
This is the continuation. So go back to six, but we are commanding you brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw from every brother who is walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. Seven, this thing is not working, Nancy. For you yourself know how you ought to follow us for we were not disorderly among you. Now that's the truth.
18:03
He's not being high and mighty, he's not being self righteous, He's very conscious of his actions when he was there in Thessalonica. You yourselves know, as in fact, you yourselves know. Think back to when we were with you brothers and sisters, we didn't do that. We were not disorderly among you nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but we worked with labor and toil night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority. As a minister, when Jesus went out to do ministry, now he was a carpenter for a long time, but when he went out to do ministry, he accepted payment for services ministering.
18:45
Peter accepted payment for services ministering. It was a tradition that you could do that and Paul is saying that he could have done it, not because we did not have authority to take that salary, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. He knew that not all of them would be ministers teaching. So he worked a job as a tent maker, we find out in the writings. To make ourselves an example of how you should follow us for even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, and I've underlined will painted in green, it's about the will.
19:21
It is not someone who's lost their job, it's not about someone who can't find a job but is willing to work, it's about someone who is not willing to work. If anyone will not work neither shall he eat And that is the command. The things that you see in pink here are commands. I've been keeping that going for last week, the imperatives. Far we have you withdraw from the one who's walking disorderly and we have he shall not eat or it's a third person command, we don't do that in English, he can't eat if he will not work.
19:56
Tanya recent running, this is just to remind me of the story. So Tanya recently was Chopin and Smith and when she came out or before she went in I think, we had several people spending the night with us. They were on a film crew going across the country to see the unseen things that were taking scenic beauties like the T times but they were also talking about the unseen things that go on in that town like in New York City. They took you know Statue Of Liberty all the scenic things you see but they talked about homelessness. In Chicago they talked about human trafficking.
20:34
In Jackson, they did not know what they were here to talk about when they got here, they were not sure. They didn't know the seedy underworld of Jackson but that's what their documentary aims to do is show the unseen in the midst of all the scenic beauty. That's incidental. Tanya was at Smith's and this lady came when she came out or before she went in and said, I need, I just need some money, I'm in a bad situation. Now I know Tonya and I know that she's generous perhaps to a fault from the very first time that I met her and talked to her for the first time in class, she showed up in class and she brought me a £0.25 because she thought I was hungry.
21:11
I guess she just brought it to you. I know her to be generous and I know that she gives selfishly and she always has as long as I know. But this lady, something did not ring true. Now she also gives to people who are lying to her. I know that, that happens from time to time and I do too.
21:30
We do as a church sometimes, local benevolent funds. Occasionally, when the spirit leaves, we will get it. I have given money to a guy before and said, I know or I have a very strong feeling that you're lying to me but I'm gonna give this in Jesus name anyway. So I tend, like I said, fall off on the side of mercy. Now ultimately, that's not helping anybody, being straight up and truthful is good.
21:52
But when Tanya met this lady, she kept on and Tanya happened to have a folder in her car of all the different community resources we have available in Jackson because we deal with a lot of those. Community Resource Center, Latino Resource Center, Community Safety Network, the food cupboard, lots of different things so she needed money for what time? There's nobody that will help. She said, did you call the church? And she said, yeah, I called the church.
22:39
Well she knew that they didn't call the church because I knew she didn't call the church, I was the only one here that day, she didn't ask for anything. So she knew that the lady was lying and she did have fun. She could have easily just said, oh yeah, don't have any money or just walk around the past, but she engaged her and they talked for quite some time and she was saying, have you tried this place, have you tried that place, have you tried this place, have you tried that place. What it came down to was this woman was just not willing to work, she would rather ask for other people. She was expending resources but she was not engaged.
23:10
Does that make sense? It appeared at least time and so Pascal was with time and And Pascal knew she had $3 and filled it in the hashtray, she just said, she could have given her $3 and Pascal knew that and rather than Tommy said no I don't make money or no I don't, she said, she's not, I'm just, I'm not gonna help with that, this student. I'm not gonna help that way. I don't think it would be helping you. That was hard for her.
23:35
I know her. Yesterday when we were discussing this passage, Tithy and I were going back and forth about Young Goodman Brown and Scarlet Letter and traditional ways that the history of the church has messed up on church discipline and we were both kind of erring on the side of mercy and I said, what if that lady that was in the parking lot was a member of our church and they were here and they were doing the same thing all the time, were expending, they were consuming resources but they were not willing to work and they were just not engaged in the cause. It would be, it looks like a tear among the wheat growing up and what Paul is suggesting that if it is a brother, if it's someone within your fellowship that you step away for their own good, it is always seeing towards reconciliation and bringing some back, someone back and resolution. For we hear that there are some, we are hearing that there are some who are walking among you in a disorderly manner continually, habitually, unrepentant. They are not working at all, but they are busybodies.
24:38
Okay. We look at this the best way that we can and we try to give benefit of the doubt to these busybodies, these people. Then we could say the whole letter and the first letter was about the day of the Lord, the second coming of Christ. And so they had been taught that Jesus was coming again soon and that they gave up their job as a step of faith, let's say. If they gave up their job as a step of faith and then the next day came and the next day came and the next day came, three day fast is over now, what are we gonna eat?
25:12
But you're sticking to your guns doggone it, we're gonna keep on doing this. Then you're trying to convince everybody to help out. That's one way of looking at it. But the busybodies thing, busybodies I looked it up, overly concerned in the affairs of others, overly concerned in other people's lives and in trying to persuade them and they're not working at all, but they're busy bodies interrupting the flow for everybody else. Now those who are such, so then he addresses those people and he said the same exact military term, we command but he softens it this time.
25:56
He says we command and we encourage or exhort. It's really exhort, encourage, beseech, implore, urge. We're trying to get you brothers, please. It's a command but with a please, it's softer. And when it says through our Lord Jesus Christ, that's not the same thing as in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
26:18
In the name of is definitely authority based. And when he speaks in the name of Christ to the whole church, it's one thing, but when he mentions now to those who are living like this, we command and we exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you brethren, and this is everybody, do not grow weary in well doing. That's a haphax legano, that's one time in the New Testament where that word is used, doing good, the well doing. But as for you brothers and sisters, don't grow weary in doing good.
26:53
Now, we're not gonna stop the local benevolence fund and we're not gonna stop that completely. But I'll tell you what, Diane will look over the top of those glasses. She will give freely freely and she'll be helpful but she also, if somebody comes in and they say, we're looking, I'm looking for a job, I'm building work, we will help them. If they come back in a month later and they say, I'm looking for a job, I'm hoping to get a dishwashing job you need to have a plan. Now again, those are not members of our church.
27:41
We right now don't have anybody that's a member of the church that's doing that. We don't have that and we would love to know if you struggle. We would love to help get you through because we know that you're willing. It's the not willingness of those who are among you, it says. It doesn't say of you necessarily but they are among you.
28:01
They're in your midst walking in a disorderly manner continually. Those are such we're trying to bring you back. As for you, brothers and sisters, I love you. Don't grow weary in doing good. Don't let those one or two bother what it is that you're doing.
28:15
You're doing good. I know that you are. You're being obedient. It's a constant thing. If anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, if they just say they're not gonna have it like this at all, note that person.
28:27
That's the next command. Note that person. And do not keep company with a noun English. That's a command right there too. Note that person is the command in Greek and don't keep company with him that he may be ashamed.
28:41
That's another one that brings up the scarlet letter for me. It's about shame. Shame has two different possible reactions. Shame for one thing, people can be actually ashamed of true guilt that's going on. When it's brought to them, that shame can turn them back to the right.
28:57
If you reach out and you touch a hot pot on the stove, pain will cause you to draw back, right? God gives us pain so that we don't burn ourselves up. Pull back, shame is the same mechanism for the spiritual life. To know that you've done wrong and have shame about what you've done should bring you back to right. It should swing you back to the right.
29:18
That's ideal. Now if the community, the church that you're involved in does not show love and acceptance and mercy along with some rebuke, then the other thing that shame can do is drive people away and that happens. Unfortunately, that happens and it has happened a lot in church history. Some of us have been, you know, some of y'all, some of us have been involved where we felt like we were the ones who were driven out. But this says, don't count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
29:57
Exhort, encourage, admonish his new newthetic, newthetic counseling. It's all about turning away from sin and repenting, admonishing as a brother. If anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person so as not to mix with him. I put that up there like that because that is in Greek, that's the way that note that person so as not to mix. It's a participle based on the verb.
30:24
The reason I put it like this is to show that it is about actually purity. When you think of paint, you have white paint, how many little dots of black paint does it take before that gray paint? Does that make sense? It's about purity. The idea of this passage is to remain a pure church, we need to have a positive sense of peer pressure.
30:47
We need to have resolution as a church and this is what Paul is asking. He is making a resolution just like the town of Jackson believes that this is the right thing to do. So as citizens, a positive peer pressure is saying come on in and do this. This is the right thing to do. Paul is doing the same thing here.
31:04
He's saying that we should be able to keep ourselves pure so as not to mix with Now Jesus has already offered to make the crimson white as snow. Right? He's already offered to take away every dark blot and make you as white as snow. So why? It's possible.
31:24
Know that person so as not to mix with him. The shame should bring them back around with the Holy Spirit, with love from people. John Piper said this, I read a lot of different sermons this week. After I did my exegetical work, after I did all the work in Greek, I I read a lot of different sermons and what I noticed is that a lot of them named people. They were naming the sinful ones that were unrepentant in front of the church.
31:52
And if according to Matthew 18 church discipline policy, that is what happens after long, long struggle, unrepentant, walking in disorderly. Piper says that the whole goal of all church discipline in particular to dispatch is obvious and this is what it is. The aim is not alienation like Hester Prynne experienced in the scarlet letter but restoration from destructive behavior through tough love that insist on change. That ultimately is the best thing that you can do for that person. And then he follows it up with a blessing.
32:28
Now as heavy as this seems to me, someone who would be in the mercy dish, he follows it right up with this. So to Paul this was not something. It's scripture. This is the Bible. This carries just as much weight as the red words, okay?
32:44
When it's about church discipline or it's about love and prayer and all this good stuff from last week, it carries just as much weight and for Paul, it's no it's not like he's preaching and then he has to sneak this in, small print. This is the word of God. Now may the Lord of peace himself give. Now that also is an imperative. It's actually an optative but some people count those as imperatives.
33:07
It is an optative mood which means that he has given God the opportunity to decide. Isn't that sweet of Paul? He's given God the option of deciding whether or not he will give you peace in every way and this is interesting because peace in every way is possible. He made a way. He's made a way through church discipline to come in.
33:27
If you repent, then you have gained your brother. Jesus says, you come back in. May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. That's what he wants, ideally. The Lord be with you all.
33:41
But the other option, if he doesn't take that option, there's another passage on church discipline that says after you've removed them from fellowship or withdrawn from them, to turn them over to Satan, like I said a few weeks ago, devil is God's devil and he can bring people back around too. If you remain there and you burn yourself, you will eventually pull back. May the Lord of peace give you the peace, give you peace always in every way. That's what Paul wants. I want for you to do the right thing.
34:12
The Lord be with you all and he says all. And in fact, it's all of y'all. And in the reverend Daniel version, that is not just y'all, it is all of y'all, every single one of you, including the ones who right now are walking disorderly. And then he does his typical note, the salutation of Paul in my own hand which is a sign in every epistle so I write or I write like this, this is my hand, you know this is for me. Y'all are believing something that Judge Schmoe wrote, said it was me a few weeks ago but this is me.
34:42
And then he ends with a very typical Pauline ending but nevertheless true. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen. So it is about grace and peace. It is about love but it is also about obedience and discipline is necessary.
34:59
The ditches, the mercy and justice. Like I said, God holds both perfectly and I believe that as we walk in his will, we can walk on that road and we can walk in the center and this is what this reminded me of. When I woke up this morning, first thing, Micah six eight came to mind. He has shown you, oh man, what is good. This is talking about the Lord.
35:18
He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God or humbly with your God. Do justly love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Don't fall off in the ditch on either side. Praise God that there are some of y'all that are really strong injustice in here.
35:41
Praise God because I'm balancing y'all out and y'all balancing me out and that's the way it ought to be. That's the way it ought to be. Scott and Judy would y'all come on up? Actually Judy would you come on up? We're gonna do communion now so I'm gonna ask the frontline team if y'all would come forward and what Paul was probably talking about, they used to do a real meal.
36:05
Y'all come on forward. Well, they were doing a real meal. It's table fellowship is what was being denied to these folks. Table fellowship was communion. What they were saying about their actions is they were not accepting Christ for his purification.
36:21
They were accepting him for his part and they said they were apart but they were not accepting his chastening for their purification. Now we don't believe in a sacrament of communion or the Lord's Supper that is a sacrament that this is a means of bestowing grace, that's not something, this is a symbol he said to do this. His blood, if you have accepted him, his blood is continually cleansing you for sin, but your yielding is important. Paul says in a couple of different places not to take this unworthily. If you have sin in your life, it's something that you know about that you've been unwilling to give up, you're walking disorderly.
36:59
That's what you're doing. Whether anybody else knows it or not, that's another. I'm Daniel Hawthorne's story that ministers black veils. But if you are walking disorderly before God, before we pass out the bread right now, I want to pray and I want to give you an opportunity to pray because Jesus has given a very real offer. It's a very real offer of salvation, but it's also a very real offer of sanctification.
37:23
As you are yielded to him, he will be forgiving your sin and continually cleansing you and you have a right relationship with him. Now, yes, that happened at least but it continually happens. So, I I warn you just as Paul does. I'm admonishing you not to take unworthily. Let's pray.
37:41
Lord, would you please forgive me of my sin, Lord, of any pride that has snuck in, of anything that I'm unaware of, Lord, and for the things that I've done in omission or commission, Lord, where I should have or should not have done things. I ask for your forgiveness Lord and we move on with confidence but we can only do that by your broken body and your shed blood. Lord would you please bless this plate as we pass it Lord this bread as a symbol of your perfect life that was crushed and broken for our transgressions. In Jesus name, Amen. And on the same evening that he was betrayed, Jesus took the the bread after supper and he said, this is my body that's broken for you.
41:32
Do this in remembrance of me. Lord Jesus, as I take in this bread, I think of your broken body and your perfect life lived completely undeserved pain that we that I inflicted on you. I'm thankful that you took that. And Lord, I'm thankful for every drop of your precious blood. Lord, as we distribute this cup, would you remind us, Lord, that it is your blood that can make us white as snow and remove every stain.
42:19
In Jesus name, Amen. Jesus also took the cup after supper and he said that this is the new covenant in my blood. Praise God for that new covenant in his blood that we don't have the sacrifice of bulls and goats. It is one time forever and so that cleansing is available. It's there.
46:12
God, thank you for this and we do this in remembrance of you. We sing the doxology. Alright. Now, God bless America. We are petitioning God to bless America.
48:17
Amen. I may y'all go. Do justly and love mercy and walk humble before you go. Amen.
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