By Mark W. Christy
In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul says to the church, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly.”[i] This directive is given not just to the leadership but to the church as a whole. The Greek word translated as “urge” demonstrates that this was of paramount importance to Paul. This is hardly surprising given Paul’s frequent overtures to churches concerning their unity and spiritual health.
In this portion of the verse, he specifically addresses the unruly or wayward and chooses to employ the Greek word which identifies these as being like the soldier who behaves in a disorderly, insubordinate manner. Such a soldier is derelict in his duty and refuses to take responsibility for tasks in which he is charged. In the church setting, this dereliction will of course begin in the heart of the wayward Christian who places himself/herself before others. This awakening of the self which occurs as one gives way to temptations could arise from any number of sinful choices.
Regardless of the sin involved, its fruit will become apparent when disorderliness manifests itself within the church. In his longsuffering with the Corinthians, Paul provides a list of unruly behaviors that can be found among the unruly: “strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, [and] disturbances” (2 Cor 12:20). In Galatians 5:20, he adds “idolatry, sorcery, enmities, …outbursts of anger, …dissensions, [and] factions” to this list (cf. 1 Tim 2:8).
For the Thessalonians, it would seem that the unruly among them had chosen to become idle and thereby burden those around them (cf. 2 Thess 3:6-7, 11; 1 Tim 5:17). Such laziness of course has as its root the love of self. These idle believers had become undisciplined busybodies. In response, Paul reissues his directive from 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and commands the faithful to admonish the wayward person and disassociate from them until they repent (2 Thess 3:14-15). Like them, the church of today must practice church discipline (both corporately and personally) as this is a biblical mandate given and exemplified by Paul. With this in view, church members who exhibit various qualities that breed dissension and disrupt the unity of the fellowship must be corrected (cf. 2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20; 1 Tim 2:8). This, of course, includes correcting the “criticizing benchwarmers and eventually rebels who undermine church leadership to justify their insubordination.”[ii] Those who become irresponsible and fail to render their best efforts as church members through self-sacrifice and service must also be confronted. These include those who “fail to serve the church with their spiritual gifts (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12–13), give the church a portion of their wealth (cf. 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:7; 9:6–12), or support the church’s leadership (cf. 1 Thess. 5:12–13; 1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7, 17).”[iii]
[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.
[ii]John Macarthur, The Macarthur New Testament Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Chicago: Moody, 2002).
[iii]Ibid.