When Paul tells the Thessalonians that they are not to associate with people who do not believe. I believe he is talking about apostates, people who have left the church and teach false things about it to lead others away. Apostates are more often than not, people who have not repented of sin. Rather than repent, the leave the church in bitterness, blaming it for their unhappiness. But because they are still unhappy, they can’t leave the church alone. If the church wasn’t true, there would be no reason to fight against it and spend your life trying to draw others out of it.
He also admonishes the people to not be idle, but work. Elder McConkie makes an interesting point about this, “Man cannot be saved in idleness. It is not enough simply to believe the great spiritual realities. We could do that in the [pre-mortal life].” The Lord expects more of us and we should expect more of ourselves. I think this is true for those in the church and it’s true for our jobs and occupations.
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