テサロニケの信徒への手紙二3:14-15
もし、この手紙でわたしたちの言うことに従わない者がいれば、その者には特に気をつけて、かかわりを持たないようにしなさい。そうすれば、彼は恥じ入るでしょう。 （二テサロニケ3:14）
「この手紙でわたしたちの言うこと」というのは、手紙全体というよりも、特に怠惰な信徒たちに対して12節で教えられている「自分で得たパンを食べるように、落ち着いて仕事をしなさい」という命令のことを指しているのでしょう。その命令に従わない者がいれば、「その者には特に気をつけて、かかわりを持たないようにしなさい」とパウロは命じているのです。
「かかわりを持つ」と翻訳されているシュンアナミクニュミというギリシア語の動詞は「交際する」とも翻訳される言葉です。実際、教会の中で性的にみだらなことを行っている人がいたコリント教会に対しては、パウロはこの同じ言葉を用いて「みだらな者と交際してはいけない」（一コリント5:9）と書いています。そして、その意図をさらに詳しく説明して、それに続く5章11節で「わたしが書いたのは、兄弟と呼ばれる人で、みだらな者、強欲な者、偶像を礼拝する者、人を悪く言う者、酒におぼれる者、人の物を奪う者がいれば、つきあうな、そのような人とは一緒に食事もするな、ということだったのです」と記しています。ここで「兄弟と呼ばれる人」とは、教会の信徒のことです。そして、「つきあうな」と翻訳されているのが、本日の箇所では「かかわりを持たないようにしなさい」と翻訳されているのと同じギリシア語の言葉です。また、「一緒に食事もするな」ということの意味は、 第一の意味としては、主の食卓を共にするなということ、すなわち、聖餐式を共にしてはならないということであったのでしょう。そうしますと、テサロニケ教会の信徒たちに対して、この手紙の命令に従わない者には「かかわりを持たないようにしなさい」というときにも、聖餐式を共にしてはならないという意味が含まれていたのだろうと考えることができます。宗教改革者のカルヴァンも、テサロニケの信徒への手紙二のこの箇所は聖餐式に参加することの停止を命じていると理解しています(『キリスト教綱要』第4篇12章5)。
これは、教会が教えに従わない信徒に対して聖餐式に参加することを停止する陪餐停止の戒規と言われるものです。すなわち、あなたは洗礼を受けているけれども、聖餐式に参加してはなりませんということです。この戒規という手段が、教会の信徒に対する訓練を保証する機能を果たしているのであります。すなわち、信徒がキリストによって与えられた自由を濫用して、クリスチャンにあるまじき悪い行いを繰り返し、教会の指導にもかかわらずそのような行いから離れようとしないときに、教会はその信徒が聖餐式に参加することを停止して、悔い改めるように求めることができるのであります。 （1月12日の説教より）
Whether it is academics, arts or sports, it is important that those who do so receive basic training if they are to produce fruitful results. The manner of training may vary from one field to another, but it is similar for the responsible leader to train aspiring people based on his or her knowledge and experience, so that they can achieve their aspirations.
Training is perhaps most obvious in the field of sport. A good athlete trains with moderation on a daily basis in preparation for the day of a match or competition. For example, an athlete may prepare for competition day by setting a specific distance to run each day, or by creating and following a daily training routine to build up muscle strength. Interestingly, the Bible often compares the life of faith to sports, especially athletics. For example, the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14 as follows.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The background to Paul writing in this way is that in ancient times the Olympiad, or Olympic Games, were held every four years in Greece. And in the Roman Empire at the time of the New Testament, quite a few cities had Greek-style athletic stadiums, so Paul had probably seen the games taking place in these stadiums. So, Paul compares the Christian way of life, as it progresses towards eternal life, to athletes running hard for the finish line.
If the Christian way of life is like an athlete running towards the finish line, then it is clear that Christians must also be trained like athletes. The training that Christians receive is more appropriately called disciplining. In our Confession of Faith of NIPPON KIRISUTO KYOUKAI, the church “rightly proclaims the word of God, administers the sacraments, disciplines believers.” Then, what exactly does the church mean by “disciplines believers”? In the past, there have been problems in university athletics clubs where members were disciplined to death. It goes without saying that church disciplining should not be such. Disciplining in which people are unilaterally deprived of their freedom, forced to obey, and subjected to mental and physical pain without being given sufficient reasons as to why they must obey, is completely different from church disciplining.
In the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, the commandments are preceded by the preamble, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” which states that the Lord God is the one who delivered the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. In other words, after the explanation of what the basis for giving the commandments is, the commandments “You shall not ~” and “Do ~” are given. Also in the New Testament, in Galatians 5:1, Paul says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” And in Galatians 5:13 he says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” So, we are commanded to use the freedom given to us by Christ to serve one another in love. Thus, Christians can live in the freedom given to them by Christ, but they are also given a direction in life to use that freedom “to serve one another in love.”
Therefore, the church’s disciplining for the believers must also be to respect the freedom given by Christ to each believer, while at the same time exhorting and encouraging each believer to love and serve one’s neighbour. On the one hand, disciplining cannot be achieved by saying: “you are free to do as you please.” On the other hand, forcing obedience is not the way the church should discipline. We must refrain from bringing the disciplining methods of worldly companies and organisations into the church, but we must not forget that the church should discipline its believers in a way that is typical of the church.
In verse 12, shortly before today’s passage, Paul commands the idle believers in the Thessalonian church, with the authority and freedom they have in Christ, “to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” This means, of course, that they should be financially independent, but it also means that they should live a proper life and bear witness to Christ without being a nuisance to others. So, what should we do if someone does not obey these commands? Since the church is a free community, should we just sit back and wait until the person is sorry? We tend to think that if we teach in the church but the other person does not listen, we have no choice. Certainly, in the end, we may have to say so in some respects. However, a careful study of the Bible’s teachings reveals that the church has a way of bringing those who do not follow its teachings to repentance. And we see this in today’s Bible passage.
In verse 14 of today’s passage, Paul says: “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” “What we say in this letter” probably refers not so much to the letter as a whole, but to the command given in verse 12 to idle believers in particular, i.e., the command “to do their work quietly” and “to earn their own living.” If anyone disobeys that command, Paul commands Thessalonian congregation “to take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him.” The Greek verb shunanamignumi (συναναμίγνυμι), translated “to do with,” is a word that can also be translated as “to associate with.”
Indeed, for the Corinthian church, where there were those in the church who were sexually immoral, Paul uses this same word in 1 Corinthians 5:9, where he writes “not to associate with sexually immoral people.” Then, elaborating on his intention, he follows it up in 1 Corinthians 5:11: “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” Here, “anyone who bears the name of brother” is a member of the church. And the word translated as “not to associate with” is the same Greek words that are translated as “have nothing to do with,” in today’s passage. And the meaning of “not even to eat with such a one” would have been, in the first place, not to share the Lord’s table, i.e., not to share in the Lord’s supper. It can then be assumed that when the Thessalonian congregation was told to “have nothing to do with” him who did not obey the command of this letter, they also meant that they should not share the Lord’s supper. The Reformer John Calvin also understood this passage in 2 Thessalonians as commanding the suspension from the Lord’s supper (Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 12, Section 5).
This is known as the suspension from the Lord’s supper, which suspends participation in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper for those believers who do not follow the church’s teaching. This means that although they have been baptised, they may not participate in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. This means of discipline fulfils the function of guaranteeing the church’s disciplining of the believers. In other words, when a believer abuses the freedom given by Christ, repeats un-Christian bad behaviour and refuses to turn away from such behaviour despite the church’s guidance, the church can stop him/her from participating in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper and ask him/her to repent.
Calvin lists the following three ends of the discipline of suspension from the sacrament of the Lord’s supper (Ibid.). First, to ensure that the body of Christ, the church, and his name are not defiled by evil doers. Secondly, that good people may not be corrupted by fellowship with evil doers. Thirdly, that evil doers may realise their sins and repent through the suspension of the sacrament. In today’s passage, the third of these ends is specifically mentioned: “that he may be ashamed.”
It is important to note that suspension from the sacrament is not expulsion. Expulsion means that a person’s name is removed from the roll of church members, but suspension from the sacrament does not remove a name from the roll of church members. Being expelled from a church does not just mean that a person ceases to be a member of that church, it also has serious meaning of exclusion from the fellowship of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, even if there is a serious problem with someone’s conduct in the church, repentance must first be sought through the suspension from the sacrament, rather than expulsion out of the blue. According to Calvin, the suspension of the sacrament does not consign those who are suspended to “perpetual ruin and damnation,” “but assures them, when they hear their life and manners condemned, that perpetual damnation will follow if they do not repent” (Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter12, Section10).
Since the suspension from the sacrament is thus aimed at repentance, in the following verse 15 Paul tells us that we must never treat even those who have received the suspension the sacrament with personal hostility. That is, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” Calvin says that although familiar and intimate intercourse with those who have been suspended from the sacrament are not permitted, “still we ought to strive by all possible means” (i.e., to give counsel and instruction, or to show forbearance and gentleness, or to pray intercession for them to God) “to bring them to a better mind, and recover them to the fellowship and unity of the church” (Ibid). This means that when administering the discipline of suspension from the sacrament, various efforts must be made to lead the suspended to repentance.
It is often asked, “What is the point of such things as the suspension from the sacrament in the church today?” In today’s convenient and secularised age, if a Christian were suspended from the sacrament by one’s church, it would probably not affect one’s daily life in any way. Also, with regard to church attendance, if the one went to a church of a different denomination, he/she could probably be accepted there. Some people may ask: Isn’t this a completely different situation from New Testament times, when there were very few churches, or from Reformation times, when the church community and the local community were almost entirely made up of the same people? It is true that the situation is different.
But there is one thing that was and still is the same. It is a fact that God calls each Christian to the church, the body of Christ on earth, and offers salvation in heaven through the church. And the discipline of suspension from the sacrament is a solemn warning that if you do not repent, you will be declared unfit to belong to the church, the body of Christ, and excluded from the fellowship of heaven. Of course, from the standpoint that there is no salvation in heaven, such a warning would mean nothing. However, as Paul states, Christians are by nature “those who press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” so the suspension from the sacrament has the severe meaning of a temporary suspension from a match or competition, to use the athlete’s analogy. Those who belong to the same community must pray and dialogue with the person who has been suspended, seeking repentance by distancing themselves from the person, so that he or she can return.
Today, it is difficult for many people to have goals. The gap in society is widening and efforts are often unrewarded, so it is not uncommon for people to feel powerless and to act out of desperation. However, the race for the goal of heaven is open to all believers in Christ. Moreover, it is a race in which all those who has run to the goal will be crowned. As those who have been invited by God to run this long race together, we should always receive loving and rigorous training from the Lord Jesus Christ. And since the church is entrusted by the Lord Jesus Christ to train the believers, if anyone tries to abandon the race or run in the wrong direction, we must continually train that person with the word of the Bible and the Holy Spirit. In this way, let us work hard for the salvation of each individual and the formation of the church.
I would like to conclude today’s sermon by mentioning one familiar thing. That is that God directly trains us through various sufferings and sorrows in our daily life. That is, as training for our earthly bodies to die and be called to heaven, God makes us experience a small death through the sufferings and sorrows in our daily life, and strengthens our aspiration to leave this world and walk towards heaven. As we receive God’s training in our daily walk, we also humbly accept the training by the church, and shall we run towards heaven together.