2 Thessalonians 3:6

‘Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother or sister who walks disorderly, and not after the tradition that they received from us.’

This final injunction is stern. Paul was so concerned for the reputation of the church that he commanded withdrawal from any who brought a stain upon it. And it was in the name of Christ that he commanded it, for it was that that would be sullied. He could have used no stronger words. To command in a name put all the authority of that name behind the command. The command was basically from Christ Himself. ‘Disorderly’ refers to a failure to keep in rank. They were behaving wildly and foolishly. They were not following the ways that Paul and his companions had laid down. The following verses show that the particular failure in mind was the way in which they failed to work for their own living, tending rather to take advantage of the generosity of others, so that they could act as busybodies in the church, snooping into things, engaging in carping open criticism, and generally being a nuisance.