Context No. 3424 of 4322 · 2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 3:13-18: in context

13But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing what is right. 14If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man and have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. 15Don’t count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. 17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter. This is how I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Paul closes his letter with a word for the long haul: brothers, do not grow weary in doing what is right. Doing good can be tiring, especially when others around us do not, but Paul urges perseverance. And then he gives a delicate instruction about correcting a fellow believer who has gone astray.

Warn him, keep some distance so that he feels the weight of it and is brought to shame, and yet, Paul says, do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Even correction is to be done in a spirit of family love, aimed at restoration and not rejection. The one who is failing is still a brother, not a foe to be defeated or written off. And Paul's blessing gathers it all up: may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. Steady goodness, loving correction, and peace from the Lord belong together in the life of God's people.

Do I persevere in doing good without growing weary, and when I must correct another, do I do it as a brother seeking his good rather than as an enemy?

Sources

2 Thessalonians 3:13: "But you, brothers, don't be weary in doing what is right."
2 Thessalonians 3:15: "Don't count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
2 Thessalonians 3:16: "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways."