2 Thessalonians 3

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And that we may be rescued out of the hands of these villainous heretics the Gnostics, that deal in all unnatural impieties, and are ready to oppose us wheresoever we come, and keep many from receiving the faith, and corrupt other hypocritical professors; and such there are in the world; all are not sincere.

[a] unreasonable] That ἄτοποι, absurd men, with the addition of πονηροί, wicked or villainous, signify the Gnostics here, (described ch. ii,) will appear, first, by a place in Polycarpus’s Epistle to the Philippians, p. 18, where, citing the place 1 Cor. iii. 9, against μαλακοί and ἀρσενοκοίται, those that were guilty of effeminacy and unnatural lusts, he adds, οὔτε οἱ ποιοῦντες τὰ ἄτοπα, neither they that do absurd things, noting the ἄτοπα to be an expression of those filthy sins against nature. Secondly, by the prayer which here follows, ver. 5, that God would direct their hearts to the love of God and patience of Christ, that is, that constancy of love to God which consists in confessing him in time of persecutions, the want of which is often noted in the Gnostics, and those that were corrupted by their infusions. See note [a] on 1 John ii. And accordingly in that Epistle of Polycarpus, p. 20, describing Simon Magus the father of the Gnostics, he makes up his character of these four things: 1st, “denying Christ to be come in the flesh;” 2dly, “not confessing

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But for you, I trust in that God who hath promised to secure and defend you from being overcome with such temptations of these cunning diabolical heretics;

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And through the grace of God watching over you, I am confident that ye will still continue to obey our advices to you, as hitherto ye have done.

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To which confidence I shall join my prayer to that God, that he will direct you so to love him as to endure any persecutions rather than deny the faith, to confess Christ, whatsoever it cost you.

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Now I charge you by virtue of that apostolical power given me by Christ, that if you observe any man to cast off obedience to those rules which we gave at our being with you, that is, to forsake his work, the businesses of his calling, (see note [d] 1 Thess. v,) then (after a first admonishing of him, 1 Thess. v. 14, and a second here, ver. 12,) you proceed to the censures of the church against him; by that means to keep others from being corrupted by him, or doing as he doth, see ver. 14.

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For you cannot but remember how, beside my admonitions to this purpose, I set you by my own example a pattern in this, by my not spending my time idly among you;

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Being very careful to put no man to any charges, nor to eat what we did not pay for, but earning our living by hard labour in our occupations.

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Not because we might not lawfully receive from you if we would, 1 Cor. ix. 4, but on purpose to give you a pattern, that you labour as we have done.

³ among, or, toward, upon. ⁴ absurd. ⁵ the evil one,>Norapoi. ⁶ patience of, bequorfer. ⁷ weariness and toil, nōvṛ naI nōxōvṛ.

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For when we were among you preaching Christ, it was our command to all, what the Jews have thought fit to require of all men proverbially, that they must labour themselves, and not expect to be maintained by others’ labours, being idle themselves.

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Some such idle persons we hear there are among you, that are disobedient to our orders, and give over their work, and spend their time impertinently in things that they should not meddle with.

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That so filling up the measure of their obdurations, they may fall under condemnation, or be judged and discerned to be what they are, impenitent infidels, and accordingly remarkably punished.

And to these we again give warning now, (as before we did, 1 Thess. v. 14,) that they live and labour quietly, and so earn their living, (and if upon this second admonition they reform not, let them be censured, ver. 6.)

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The more of truth there is in all this, the more are we bound to bless and praise God for his goodness to you, brethren, that he hath been so favourable to you above others as to appoint the gospel to be preached to you, and you to be called to the faith of Christ so early, (so these being Jews at Thessalonica are said to have believed before others, Ephes. i. 12,) and so to be taken out of that wicked generation by the preaching of the gospel and that grace which is annexed to it, and by your receiving of the truth, (by which means you are safe both from the apostasy, ver. 3, and the delusions, ver. 10, and from the destruction that shall shortly come upon the Jews and Gnostics, vv. 1, 8, and 12.)

And as for you, brethren, be careful to do as much good as you can, and be not idle.

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Unto which honour and advantages God hath by our preaching advanced you, that thereby ye might have your parts in all the glorious effects of Christ’s power in his servants, and over his enemies.

And as before, ver. 6, so now I say again, if upon this second admonition given by this epistle, ver. 12, any man still continue refractory in this matter, let him be censured and branded by you, and dealt with as an excommunicate person, that so by shaming ye may possibly reform him. See note

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To conclude therefore; do you, brethren, take care to retain constantly all the doctrine which I have (both at my being with you for the preaching of the gospel to you, and since in mine epistle) delivered to you, all such, I mean, as I have truly told or written to you, not such as are unduly put upon you under that pretence, ver. 2.

Yet meanwhile apply unto him your friendly Christian admonitions, that those, together with that shame, may work effectually upon him, which is your duty to endeavour on every sinner, and not to deal with him as men deal with their enemies; for how ill soever he is, you are to do him all good imaginable; and therefore I prescribe you that of withdrawing familiar commerce from him, as a method of all others most probable to do him good, and then that may be a season of advantage for your exhortations to work upon him.

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And I beseech that Lord and Saviour of ours, Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who out of his mere love to us hath thus given us his Son, and through him afforded us matter of endless comfort, even the hope of eternal joys, to reward our temporary sufferings, and revealed this to us in the preaching of the gospel (see note [c] Heb. xiii.),

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That he will now in your tribulations and persecutions refresh and cheer you up, and confirm you to persevere steadfast and constant in the profession of the truth, and in all Christian practices.

CHAP. III.

¹FINALLY, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord ²may have free ¹. And as I pray for your comfort and constancy, ch. ii. 17, so it becomes you to be constant in prayer for me and the rest of the apostles and ministers of the gospel, that our preaching may be successful and

¹⁴ judged, κριθώσι. ¹⁵ that he, ὅτι. ¹ Furthermore, Τὸ λοιπόν. ² may run, τρέχῃ.

This conclusion, wherein I salute you, I write with mine own hand, and so it is my custom to do in all my epistles. a See note [a] on the title of the first epistle.