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 and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 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. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 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. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
2 Thessallonians 3:6-15
We lived in a different culture when I was a child in the 1940s and 1950s. The culture of my childhood was shattered by the 1960s sexual revolution and its godless worldview. At the time, I didn’t realize just how revolutionary it was. By today, in the 2020s decade, it is like the world of my childhood has been totally turned upside down.
There was another time in which the world was turned upside down from a totally pagan world to a predominantly Christian world. It resulted from the impact of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the culture of the time. Christian Nationalism is now a hot topic seen as good by some and evil by others, just as Christianity was a source of division in the old culture of Rome and the other pagan cultures in the first century.
There is no commonly accepted definition of Christian Nationalism, but let me take a stab at it. It is an approach to civil life that recognizes the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all creation. It is a life organized around Biblical truth. Business is conducted according to Biblical norms. Family life is ordered according to Biblical norms. When ordered well, it is a society essentially free from corruption.
The controversy comes from two sources. Those who oppose a Christian worldview and don’t want to live a life according to those norms. The other source is among Christians: How do we become a Christian nation? One approach I embrace is pursuing the Great Commission and seeing a large portion of the nation becoming Biblical Christians. The natural result of this conversion of individuals will be the conversion of society as people’s hearts are turned to righteousness and a desire to love God and to love people. A “Christian Nation” comes from the overflow of the population desiring to live and please God. Institutions will naturally become “Christianized.” There is no coercion here.
The other approach is to use a power move to demand laws be changed to conform to Biblical norms. It is coercive. It is confrontational. I think this is getting the cart before the horse. In a democratic republic like the United States, a certain amount of change can come via the ballot box. But that will only work when there are more Christian votes than non-Christian votes. This takes me back to my preferred approach. There must be a majority of Biblical Christian voters to make changes via the ballot box, thus the emphasis on the Great Commission.
Today, in 2 Thessalonians 3, our text shows Paul’s approach to creating a “Christian Culture.” Paul had apparently recognized a cultural weakness at Thessalonica and established his methodology while among the Thessalonians to demonstrate how Christians should live. There was a tendency for some in society to be lazy and not work but rely on the largesse of the working and wealthier families to care for them. That is not acceptable conduct in a Biblical society. This occasioned one of Paul’s better-known quotes, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
With his Apostolic authority, Paul expected his disciples to obey and included an enforcement mechanism. “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.”
Because of this teaching, pre-1960s American society lived mainly by it. It was a firmly held value that one never take “charity” from the government or any other source. A real man would always find a way to work and meet his and his family’s needs. To accept charity was shameful. For a man to have self-respect, he had to work and provide. We were a stronger nation then and had, I believe, a lesser poverty problem. Families were stronger. Fathers married their wives before having children and provided for them.
If applied broadly, this simple Biblical principle would transform our society. But the pagan person with no concept of the Lordship of Jesus and the authority of God’s word in their life would probably resist heavily the application of this principle if he were one of the “idle” persons Paul addresses. There is a great deal of our welfare society that is contrary to God’s word. Simply, it is sinful. Is fixing this simple? Absolutely not! But I know where to begin. It is the Great Commission and the salvation of God penetrating American society from coast to coast. Then, solving these kinds of problems will be possible.
