2 Thessalonians 3:6 (ESV Strong's)
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.
Subject: Christian Work/Fellowship
The letter of 2 Thessalonians is a letter sent by Paul to the Church at Thessalonica to correct a problem they had come across about Christ's return. Someone, or someones, had either arrived to teach the church or sent a letter to the church claiming that Christ had already returned and the church had missed it (2 Thessalonians 2:1). As a result of this teaching, some in the church had quick working and become idle. This "cancer" was about to eat away at the mission of the Church to grow in the knowledge of Christ, produce the fruits of repentance and squelch the spread of the gospel. Paul was writing to correct this false teaching. After correcting the doctrine of the false teaching, Paul moves to correct the living that had come about as a result of the false teaching. Those who believed Christ return had come were sitting around idle and doing nothing for their own growth and to contribute to the growth of the church. In fact, the idlers were living off the church and had refused to work altogether. Paul doesn't simply say admonish them. Paul tells the church to have nothing to do with them. Paul has, before, recommended separation from those in disobedience to keep one-self from corruption (1 Corinthians 5:9); as did John (2 John 10). When church members fail to hid God's Word after they are corrected, the church Fathers teach us that separation is the only way to keep the cancer from spreading. No on likes separation. It causes emotional struggles. But, it is Biblically evident that this is a method to expunge evil from the body. Like a health quarantine in a hospital because of a rare disease, so, too, a spiritual quarantine prevents the bug from spreading in the church.
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