An Exhortation to Proper Living

 Meditations on 2 Thessalonians

July 6, 2021

An Exhortation to Proper Living

As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

2 Thessalonians 3:13

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

In this passage, Paul urges the church to take responsibility for their life, and to hold one another accountable for their growth and maturity in the life of Christ. Regrettably, these attributes of the first century church are not a priority in many churches today.

Recently, there has been much discussion about whether it is appropriate to withhold communion for a church member. In response, a person wrote on social media a long message that concluded with, “You were appointed an ambassador of the Good News, not a bouncer at the door of Club Heaven.” That message received much support, and I’ve seen it copied and pasted on Facebook pages. It is a nice thought, but it is heresy, and negates everything Paul taught about church discipline.

As we have seen throughout our reading of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, God calls us to be holy. We can’t become holy on our own. It is God working in us, and our Christian community coming along side of us that enables us to become the people God has called us to be: just like Jesus.

My Takeaway: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.