GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.
Vers. 12, 13. A Public Ministry—
- Is ordained by God.—“Over you in the Lord.”
- Has clearly defined duties.—1. To labour. 2. To govern. 3. To admonish.
- Should be highly esteemed.—“Esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.”
Ver. 13. “And be at peace among yourselves.” Church Concord—
- Possible only where there is mutual peace.
- It is the duty of every member of the Church to promote harmony.
- Peace with God is the condition of peace with each other.
- Discord in a Church mars the usefulness of the best ministry.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 14, 15.
A Group of Christian Precepts.
The supernatural character of Christianity is not less apparent in the purity and loftiness of the morality it inculcates, than in the superiority of the truths it reveals. It is intensely practical in its teaching and aim. It is not like a glow of light that irradiates the external character for a time; it is an inward radiance that cannot help making itself visible in the outer life. It is not a sentiment; it is a principle. The moral precepts of Christianity can be appreciated and obeyed only by the soul that has become thoroughly possessed by the Christian spirit. Each precept in these verses may be fittingly used as the homiletical heading of a distinct paragraph.
I. Warn them that are unruly.—The unruly are those who, like disorderly soldiers, break their ranks, and become idle, dissolute, and worthless in their lives. This disorderliness was a besetting sin of the primitive Churches, not excepting the Thessalonian. Many of them, entertaining false ideas about the nearness of Christ’s second coming, became indifferent to the ordinary work of life, and sank into listlessness and apathy, and even worse. Says the proverb, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop,” and when a man is not diligently employed in some healthy and vigorous occupation, he is apt, notwithstanding his Christian profession, to become an instrument of evil and a disturber of the Church, the peace of which he is pledged to maintain. It is difficult to pin some people down to a bit of fair and honest work. They are full of schemes and suggestions for other people to carry out; they lay down the line of conduct with the utmost precision, but never themselves illustrate the easiness or difficulty of on keeping the line; they make laws and regulations which they never dream of observing themselves and are for ever finding fault that other people do not observe them. These are the restless gipsies of the Church, the pests of every Christian community into which they intrude, the mischief-makers and busybodies in other people’s matters. Warn such. Admonish gently at first, putting them in mind of their duty. It is the fault of many to limit admonitions to gross and grievous sins; but in these cases, warning often comes too late. If admonition in the earlier stage is not effectual, then proceed to sharper and more faithful reproof. If that is unavailing, hesitate not to take more summary measures—separate yourselves from their society.
II. Comfort the feeble-minded.—More correctly—encourage the faint-hearted. The reference is not to the intellectually weak, but to such as faint in the day of adversity, or are ready to fall away before the prospect of persecution and suffering (ch. ii. 14), or who are disheartened and desponding in consequence of the loss of friends (ch. iv. 13). It may also include those who are perplexed with constant doubt and apprehension as to their spiritual condition, and who through fear are all their lifetime subject to bondage. There are some people so weighed down with a sense of modesty as to incapacitate them from using the abilities they certainly possess, though underneath all this modesty there may be the pride of thinking themselves better able to judge of themselves and their abilities than anybody else. Others, again, are so oppressed with the inveteracy of sin, that they despair of gaining the victory over it, and give up all endeavours. These need encouraging with the promises of God, and with the lessons and examples furnished by experience. Heart-courage is what the faint-hearted require.