1 THESSALONIANS 4:12 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”
So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one — the ethical witness before the pagan community ('outsiders,' exō) is paramount; their sanctification is visible, not hidden. Financial independence ('dependent on no one,' medenou) preserves apostolic integrity and Christian freedom. Character is the best evangelism.
Church Fathers on 1 Thessalonians 4:12
He shows of how many evils idleness is the cause, and of how many benefits industry. And this he makes manifest from things which happen among us, as he often does, and that wisely. For by these things the majority are led on more than by spiritual things. For it is a mark of love to our neighbors not to receive from them, but to impart to them. And observe. Being about to exhort and admonish, he places in the middle their good conduct, both that they may recover even from…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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