We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. (5:14–15)

The closest any church has come to being what the Lord desires is the apostolic church in the book of Acts. Concerning the church’s condition in the days and weeks following the dramatic events of Pentecost, Luke made these observations:

The apostolic church had a God-honoring response to every situation, including persecution. After the Jewish leaders apprehended Peter and John, interrogated them, warned them not to preach the gospel anymore, and released them, the church promptly prayed about the situation (4:24–30). As a result,

There was another critical lesson, however, that the Lord had to teach the first church if it was to grow spiritually and be effective in reaching the lost. That lesson was the urgency of discipline for sinning members (cf. Acts 5:1–6). From Jesus’ teaching (Matt. 18:15–18) and the Acts 5 events, the apostle Paul understood that principle well and realized that even the strongest churches, such as the one in Thessalonica, must be diligent to confront sin among the people (cf. 2 Cor. 12:20–13:2). He was thankful for the Thessalonians’ spiritual health (1 Thess. 1:2–3, 9–10; 2:19–20; 3:9–10) but was eager for them to continue growing in grace (3:8, 12; 4:1, 10), and that meant directly ministering to people with problems, as this text indicates.

Paul’s approach to church growth was in sharp contrast to present-day “church growth” experts’ concerns about cultural demographics and homogeneity, subtle schemes to make the church more “seeker friendly,” sophisticated entertainment methodologies to make worship services “more relevant,” and glib marketing techniques to attract new members. Rather than relying on such man-made strategies or concepts, the apostle focused on the sinful obstacles to the Thessalonian church’s spiritual growth. In so doing he identified five types of struggling sheep that the healthy sheep needed to deal with: the wayward, who needed to get back in line; the worried, who needed to have more courage, faith, boldness, and confidence; the weak, who needed to be more disciplined in holiness; the wearisome, who needed to keep pace in obedience; and the wicked, who needed to behave righteously. The church’s lack of spiritual progress is usually due to the sinful behavior of people in those problem categories, and Paul earnestly desired that the Thessalonians know how to adequately deal with those in each category, as necessary.

DEALING WITH WAYWARD SHEEP

We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, (5:14a)

Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians reflected his sense of urgency. Urge is from parakaleō, which literally means “to come alongside” and carries the idea of providing help to someone. The apostle zealously and eagerly encouraged the brethren, the spiritually healthy believers, to get involved in helping the needy. Although he recognized that the shepherds also had responsibility for troublesome sheep within the church, this exhortation, like the one in 5:12, was directed primarily at the brethren, or the congregation.

Paul identified the wayward by the term unruly (ataktos), which in extrabiblical Greek often occurred in a military context and referred to a soldier who was out of rank and behaved in a disorderly, insubordinate manner. The word came to refer to anyone who did not perform his duty or follow through on his responsibility. Some commentators say ataktos primarily referred to the idle, indolent, or apathetic (2 Thess. 3:6–7, 11; cf. 1 Tim. 5:13) in the Thessalonian church—those who were passive and shirked their duties. But the context suggests the term could also refer to those who had an actively rebellious attitude.

The unruly were those who were out of step with the direction everyone else was headed. Such are those who fail to serve the church with their spiritual gifts (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12–13), give the church a portion of their wealth (cf. 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:7; 9:6–12), or support the church’s leadership (cf. 1 Thess. 5:12–13; 1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7, 17). They may have been unsupportive because they did not care, or because they were angry, rebellious, and contentious. Such people, if not dealt with, tend to become bitter. They can become criticizing benchwarmers and eventually rebels who undermine church leadership to justify their in subordination. Both are, obviously, divisive.

For Paul, helping the wayward did not involve some complex methodology or sophisticated psychological counseling program. In stead, other believers were to come alongside them and admonish (noutheteō) them. The King James Version translators rendered admonish “warn” (cf. Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 4:14; Col. 1:28), a meaning that connotes putting sense into someone’s head, or alerting him of the serious consequences of his actions. Noutheteō does not mean being judgmental or critical in a superior manner. Rather, it is the caring kind of warning against danger that

Paul gave to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:31) and that he sought to bring to the Thessalonians.

DEALING WITH WORRIED SHEEP

encourage the fainthearted, (5:14b)

The second group of spiritually needy sheep Paul identified was the fainthearted, literally the “small souled” (oligopsuchos). Whereas the unruly were pushing on the edges of acceptable Christian behavior, these were the worried sheep, huddled in the middle and afraid to get near the edge. There are those in the church who are bold and courageous, unafraid of persecution or difficulty, and willing to put their lives on the line for a noble cause or principle of truth. In contrast, the fainthearted lack the boldness to accept a challenging new ministry, fear change and the unknown, and want a risk-free ministry that is traditional, safe, and absolutely secure.

Some of the Thessalonians were fainthearted because they did not deal well with persecution; apparently they had not understood or were unwilling to heed Paul’s call for bold evangelism, fearing it might lead to suffering (1 Thess. 3:2–4; cf. Matt. 5:10–12; John 15:18–21; Phil. 1:29–30; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Peter 4:19; 5:10).

The apostle Paul’s instruction for how the confident sheep should help the worried was simple: the confident should encourage the worried. Encourage (paramutheomai) literally means “to speak alongside” someone, and in so doing, to offer comfort and consolation. The confident need to become personal instructors and examples to the worried and teach them the biblical certainty that their Lord answers their prayers (1 John 5:14–15), secures their salvation (John 10:27–29), includes them in a final resurrection (John 11:24–27), loves them eternally (Rom. 8:38–39), and sovereignly fulfills His will for their lives (Prov. 19:21; Rom. 8:28–29). By such reminders the joyful, confident believer cheers up the joyless, timid one.

DEALING WITH WEAK SHEEP

help the weak, (5:14c)

The weak could be those who are fragile in faith, beset by doubts (Rom. 14:1–15:13; 1 Cor. 8:1–13; 9:19–23; 10:23–33). Their faith may not be strong enough to enjoy their freedom in Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 5:1; Col. 2:16–23). They are certainly more susceptible to error (Eph. 4:14), temptation, and sin than stronger believers (cf. 1 Cor. 8:9–13). Some weaker believers have such sensitive consciences over their past sins that they perceive things as sin that are not sin at all (cf. 1 Cor. 8:7).

Weak (asthenēs) focuses on susceptibility to sin and applies to believers who struggle with abandoning sin and obeying God’s will. Though modern English versions render asthenēs in James 5:14 “sick,” it denotes sheep who are weak: “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him.” The morally and spiritually weak one is to call the spiritually strong elders to come and intercede for him, and whatever sin has caused the weakness, they exhort him to repent of that sin. (For a full discussion of this verse and subsequent verses, see James, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1998], 276–90.) The weak are always impediments and stumbling blocks to growth and power in the church.

Paul urged those Thessalonians who were strong to help the weak (cf. Gal. 6:1–2). Help is a somewhat imprecise rendering of the Greek word antechō, which means “to hold firmly,” “to cling to,” “to support,” “to hold up” (cf. Titus 1:9). Paul commanded the stronger sheep to come alongside the weaker sheep, establish close personal relationships with them, and provide them doctrinal instruction and encouragement toward righteousness and away from sin.

DEALING WITH WEARISOME SHEEP

be patient with everyone. (5:14(f)

It is easy for healthy sheep to become frustrated, angry, or discouraged with some of the chronic problem sheep. It is always disappointing in a discipling relationship when a mature believer has taught, trained, exhorted, strengthened, and encouraged a less mature believer, only to have that person manifest little commitment to Christ or evidence of spiritual growth. Some in Thessalonica had heard the truth from Paul and other teachers and had numerous opportunities to apply it, but their spiritual progress was negligible. As a result, Paul exhorted the congregation to be patient with everyone.

By using the word patient (makrothumeō), Paul gave the injunction to be forbearing with those who struggled. By everyone Paul meant all those people with whom the strong Christians might easily have become impatient. Those sheep who grew so imperceptibly, never seemed to keep pace with the other sheep, were easily distracted, and were generally undisciplined in the means of grace could easily have tried the patience of the strong. Even Jesus was righteously exasperated with the disciples’ slow growth and lack of understanding when on several occasions He called them “men of little faith” (Matt. 8:26; 16:8; Luke 12:28). But the Thessalonians were to have boundless patience with the wearisome sheep, even as God has great patience with all His sheep (Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15; Isa. 63:7–9; Rom. 3:25; 1 Tim. 1:16; cf. 1 Cor. 13:4–5; 2 Cor. 6:4–10; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12–13; 2 Tim. 2:24; 4:2; Heb. 5:1–3).

In the following exchange with Peter, Jesus best summarized the magnitude to which believers ought to extend forgiving patience to others: “Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matt. 18:21–22; cf. vv. 23–35; Luke 17:3–4). Christ taught that there should be no arbitrary limit, no matter how generous that seemed, on the amount of times one forgives another. On the contrary, believers ought to extend patience and forgiveness unendingly to their brothers and sisters in Christ.

DEALING WITH WICKED SHEEP

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. (5:15)

For Christians, the severest, most painful disappointments come not from the wickedness of the unbelieving world but from other sheep within the church. Sheep are definitely capable of harming other sheep, sinning against them in a variety of ways, such as attacking them with wicked words (cf. Prov. 13:2–3; 15:1, 4; 18:13, 21; 24:28; Matt. 5:22; James 3:1–12) that include gossip and slander (cf. Ex. 20:16; Prov. 11:13; 20:19; 24:28), ostracizing them from fellowship and ministry opportunities, or harming them more overtly by helping break up a marriage (cf. Ex. 20:14; 1 Thess. 4:6) or influencing someone toward sinful behavior (Matt. 18:6–10).

The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians on how to respond to such wickedness from others in the church: see that no one repays another with evil for evil. At some point, disobedient sheep had done evil (“baseness, meanness, wickedness”) to the obedient ones. Paul’s response—stated in the imperative—to those wronged was that no one should repay with evil. There is absolutely no place among Christians for retaliation or personal vengeance (Rom. 12:19). The only one who has the right to retaliate is God (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 32:35; Ps. 94:1; Prov. 20:22; Nah. 1:2; Heb. 10:30; Rev. 14:9–10, 14–20).

Therefore, the sheep’s proper response when sinned against by fellow sheep is not to seek revenge, but to always seek … that which is good—to always pursue eagerly and zealously that which is beautiful, noble, and excellent (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4–7; 2 Cor. 8:21; Eph. 4:25; Phil. 4:8; James 3:17). “‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20–21; cf. 2 Kings 6:22; Prov. 25:21–22; Matt. 5:43–44; Luke 6:27–38; 1 Cor. 4:12; 6:6–8; 1 Peter 2:19–23; 3:8–12).

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to respond to hostility with genuine acts of love. The welfare of one another, even those who had seriously offended them, was to be the Thessalonians’ primary concern. That concern was also to extend beyond the church to all people (cf. Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 2:1; 2 Tim. 2:24; Titus 3:2, 8).

So a healthy flock is characterized by growth in faith, love, and purity, and progress toward the likeness of Christ. But spiritually needy and problem sheep within the flock can and do impede its growth. That means the healthy sheep must lovingly, patiently, but truthfully deal with the difficult sheep to remove sinful impediments and ensure real growth. The key is not finding some clever strategy to bypass the troubles, but addressing the issues directly, as shepherds and sheep alike admonish the wayward, encourage the worried, uphold the weak, bear with the wearisome, and render goodness to the wicked.