Free Course

“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).

Look what Paul is asking the Thessalonians to pray for. He is asking them to pray for God’s word to have “free course” or literally translated, to “run freely” and for God’s word to be glorified, exalted, celebrated and magnified.

Paul is asking for free speech, to let God’s word be spoken unhindered in public and in private. No separation of church and state, no speech zones on college campuses or safe spaces, no monitoring or censorship, no ban on religion. Paul just wants God’s word, like any other word, to be able to be spoken freely.

Paul is also asking for the word of God to be respected and treated as such; as divine, holy, and wonderful; recognizing and understanding that this word is coming from the one, true, God!

And what is the one thing Paul mentions that will stop the “free course” of the word of God? It is, “unreasonable and wicked men”.

Man. It is man who will attempt to stop God. It is man who is the soul/sole stumbling block. Of course, this is all due to man’s inner self and allowing the devil in to work sin.

How will man attempt to stop the word of God? Simple, he’ll become offended. Man will place his feelings over God’s truth, his rights over God’s sovereignty.

The word “unreasonable” comes from the Greek word “topos” meaning “place”, or in this context “out of place”. (Ex: Topos is the root in the word “topography”, a reference to the study and description of 3 dimensional features of the earth’s surface.)

Isn’t it interesting how Paul describes wicked men as being out of place?

Paul also reminds us that not all men have faith and belief in God. This is a good reminder simply because we tend to forget this. One reason why is because there is no single identity, origin or characteristic of a Christian. There is no mold in which a Christian is poured from. White, black, yellow, red, tall, short, fat, skinny, male, female, Asian, European, Spanish, African, physically fit or handicapped……it doesn’t matter. There is no “A-Typical” Christian.

Christianity is not about where we are from. Christianity is about where we are going, and readying our self and others for the final destination. So, it can be easy to forget that not everyone believes in God because there are no physical markers to identify a Christian, only spiritual ones.

Later in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul tells us what to do with these, “unreasonable and wicked men”.

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6).

Note that this is a commandment, not a suggestion. You can’t get more definitive than that. We are commanded to withdraw, abstain, to depart from ungodly and unholy people. Do not engage!

Paul repeats this command BUT adds something that we all desperately need to remember.

“And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).

In today’s environment if you disagree with someone on any subject it is understood that you hate them and anyone like them. God’s word is called “hate speech” because it disagrees with the sins and whims of “every brother that walketh disorderly” and “unreasonable and wicked men”. If you disagree with someone then you are called a racist, a homophobe, misogynistic or anything off of a long laundry list of hateful names. The accusation of hate has the effect of shutting down and shutting up everyone except, of course, the actual hater.

But Paul is explicit; “Yet count him not as an enemy”. The word “enemy” comes from the Greek “echthros” which denotes hate or being odious. A Christian is never to hate anyone. Ever! Manifested hate or love is an indication of what condition that person’s spirit and soul is in.

Paul adds that we are to admonish them “as a brother”. Admonish means to warn, but to warn them of what? The consequence of their ways. Why? Because as a child of God we do not want to see anyone burn in Hell. We are not to hate the unreasonable and the wicked, we are to pray for their salvation. We are to admonish them with the word of God, not with how we think or how we feel. In actuality, the admonishment is a life ring in an attempt to save a soul from drowning in the lake of fire.

Our goal and purpose here on this earth is to prevent anyone and everyone from Hell. There are no do-overs. We can only do this through the communication of God’s love and His word to everyone, not just to the folks we know and like.

Finally, after all is said and done, if the disorderly, unreasonable and wicked continue in their evil ways, depart from them. Do not associate with, nor engage, in anything with them.

“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:14-15).

Bill Hitchcock