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Yeah I meant 2 Thessalonians. The context is the whole of chapter 3 verses 6 through 15. Basically the Apostle Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica wit
by triangleman 8y ago
Yeah I meant 2 Thessalonians. The context is the whole of chapter 3 verses 6 through 15. Basically the Apostle Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica with advice on how to make the communal lifestyle there work. Because if everyone is living together and working together, you're bound to have some issues with some people taking advantage of that. So the Apostle is saying, first of all, set a good example, and secondly, go ahead and exercise some discipline in the community.
Verse 15 hints at how you might want to interpret these verses as compared to the references you cited: "Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers." You see, a Christian has rather different conduct when he is dealing with a believer or a non-believer. If someone is your brother in Christ, it's ok to be a little hard on him. Same way you have the right to be a little harder on your own family members than I would. It's all supposed to be done in love, of course.
Hope that helps.
- groby_b 8y agoThat does help, thank you. (Not that I'm entirely agreeing with it, but it's helpful in understanding where it comes from :)