In our world where church people seem to believe anything and everything, I sometimes wonder when/if I am supposed to draw a line. Today’s time in The Word didn’t answer my questions, but made me think…
Verse 6: In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
I found myself noodling on this verse. Keep away from every brother who does not live according to Paul’s teaching. Okay, the person is a ‘brother’ and yet he/she is not living up to the Word of God. So many questions… many of which are variations on this one. How can she/he be a brother and not follow God’s Word???
Like I said, this isn’t answering my dilemma, but challenging me to go deeper and look at it from varying angles.
Next comes verses 14-15: If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Again, you have someone who doesn’t obey -dare I say, intentionally disobeys- the instructions of God’s Word. Again, they are not to associate with him, apparently, so that he will feel ashamed and come to his senses, I suppose. But he is not an enemy but a brother in need of warning…
Processing all this it seems that when people are not living up to or are denying instructions of God’s Word, Paul counsels what I think of as ‘remedial disassociation’… disassociation in the hopes of winning back. Yet they are still considered or treated as brothers in the kingdom.
I continue to wrestle with how to appropriately apply this in our day. God surely has me thinking!
Lord, there is great challenge living in our 21st century, pluralistic world and maintaining the integrity of Your Word in my life. I pray for wisdom so that I live in a way that makes You proud and draws people to Your saving grace. Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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