Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 14:1 (NA 2009)
Article: “As A Brother”: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 And Ecclesiastical Separation
Author: Charles J. Bumgardner

DBSJ 14 (2009) p. 55

“As A Brother”: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 And Ecclesiastical Separation

Charles J. Bumgardner1

Interpreters often misread Paul’s ad hoc instructions for church discipline in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 and, as a result, misapply the passage.2 A key point of misunderstanding concerns Paul’s instruction regarding the persistently disobedient: “admonish him as a brother” (3:15).3 This language of Christian siblingship has encouraged interpreters to read Paul as commanding not a complete expulsion from the church, but a sort of probationary ostracism instead. In turn, the seriousness of the infraction is downplayed because it does not seem to have led to excommunication. It is our contention that the offense addressed in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 was quite serious, and that Paul’s response to those who persisted in it did indeed involve complete expulsion from the church. While a minority position, this is a plausible reading of the passage and coheres with other New Testament teaching on church discipline.

After giving a general summary of the passage, we will examine the situation at Thessalonica and Paul’s response to it by exploring certain exegetical questions, arguing that 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 does not provide an exception to the general NT teaching that persistently unrepentant offenders should be expelled from the church. Subsequently, we will explore certain applications of the passage to ecclesiastical separation. Specifically, we will argue that (a) 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 does not provide support for the typical understanding of a “disobedient brother” often referenced in treatments of ecclesiastical separation; and (b) while 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 does provide support for the practice of ecclesiastical separation on the basis of improper associations, such support is indirect and not as explicit in the passage as some suggest.

DBSJ 14 (2009) p. 56

Figure 1: Translation and Structure of 2 Thessalonians 3:6-154