2 Thessalonians 1 | God’s Righteous Judgment: Comfort for the Afflicted

What is the significance of eternal destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1?How can Christians remain faithful during persecution?

2 Thessalonians 1 focuses on encouragement for a church facing severe persecution while Paul reminds them that God's judgment is righteous and fair. Paul opens by thanking the Thessalonian church for their steadfast faith, which has been growing despite their trials. He reassures them that God sees their suffering and will ultimately repay their persecutors with affliction, while the believers will be granted relief when Jesus returns. 

This passage highlights the tension between the hope of deliverance for believers and the reality of eternal judgment for those who reject the gospel. Paul doesn't shy away from discussing the punishment of eternal destruction but frames it in the context of God’s righteousness and holiness. In a modern context, this passage challenges believers to hold firm to their faith, even in the face of cultural and spiritual persecution, while also warning against false teachings that can harm the church.

One of the key messages in this chapter is the justice of God. While it might be uncomfortable to dwell on eternal punishment, Paul asserts that it is an inevitable part of God’s righteous judgment. Yet, he balances this message by focusing on the transformation God brings to believers through His grace, which empowers them to live lives that glorify Jesus. 

Persecution and suffering for the sake of faith are recurring themes in this chapter. Paul makes it clear that those who afflict believers will be held accountable when Christ returns. This message would have offered great comfort to the Thessalonian church and remains relevant today, as it reminds believers that God sees their struggles and will bring ultimate justice. As Paul highlights, God's justice is not to be feared by those who follow Him; rather, they should rest in the knowledge that their perseverance will be rewarded.

In conclusion, 2 Thessalonians 1 encourages believers to hold fast to their faith, knowing that God will bring justice both in this life and at the return of Christ. Paul underscores the importance of remaining vigilant against false teachings while holding onto the truth of the gospel. Ultimately, this chapter is a powerful reminder of God's righteous judgment, the hope of Christ’s return, and the transformative power of His grace in the lives of believers.

#GodsJustice #2Thessalonians #PerseveranceInFaith #ChristsReturn #EternalHope #FaithUnderFire #FalseTe

Transcript

 2 Thessalonians 1

2 Thessalonians 1

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's Plan, Your Part, Year Two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament, one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's Plan and your part in it. Today we are looking at 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 1. This is a really interesting book because it is a very short book.

And because it's a very short book, uh, it's pretty much straight to the point. It was also written Very closely on the heels of first Thessalonians. So, uh, if you've been listening to us this whole way along, uh, first Thessalonians was most likely written around AD 49, 50 second Thessalonians may have been written within the same year.

So it, it almost feels like. One complete thought sort of because it definitely picks up on some of the themes that we were just talking about in first Thessalonians It is a little bit more firm. I think like in first [00:01:00] Thessalonians where there's something where there were some allusions To the the end times the return of Christ Some allusions to correcting people who were perhaps handling things the wrong way Second Thessalonians is going to be a little bit more direct and second Thessalonians is, is also more explicit in how, um, Paul sees this day of the Lord playing out and the return of Christ playing out.

Yep. So we were talking about this a little bit in the prior episode. Yes. Um, so I, again, I kind of mentioned that. Paul's going to get a little bit more tense with his communication. So I think chapter one, we don't necessarily totally see that here. Like we don't see that tense, but it's coming blunt stuff coming out.

However, he is kind of like, I don't know, I used this word yesterday, softballing them into the conversation. So he is telling them like, I'm so thankful for you. You've been through a lot. The things that [00:02:00] you are going through, like God's not going to stand for that in his second coming. Like stay firm to the end.

I feel like that's a pretty good overview of what this very short 12 verse chapter is and I think it's just setting us up for, okay, this is like where we've been, now this is where we're headed. And so, I don't know, this chapter for me, again, was just like, setting the tone for what is to come in his more blunt sense.

statements throughout chapters two and three, I should add that some of those blunt statements are due to the fact that he has received word that people were believing a false teaching and the false teaching, uh, that they were starting to believe was that the day of the Lord had already come, that Christ had already returned and they somehow missed out on it.

I think. My opinion is that 1st Thessalonians feels like he was sort of aware of that already, but 2nd Thessalonians [00:03:00] actually refers explicitly to the report that he received. I believe in chapter 3, so we'll cover that when we get to chapter 3, but this is a little bit more direct in that it is dealing with that specific.

Problem, which is why he's going to flesh out a lot of this. Well, and I think some of the persecution that he's referring to, we get a little bit more light into that. So our study Bible helps us to understand what the persecution was all about even. Um, so the Thessalonian church, because they were Christians.

They were obviously like a part of like a religious group. However, they only worshiped one God. And so a lot of the community would have been used to having some type of religion that they followed. But it was odd that the Christians We're separated because they only worshiped one. So a lot of like the community type things that they would have been involved with, otherwise they weren't participating in.

Um, so that was like, I guess it was just like a weird friction kind of thing that they didn't appreciate. Well, anytime you don't go along with the group, it could be [00:04:00] a problem. Um, and then another thing is that because they were meeting more secretly, our Bible says, or our study Bible says that, um, this disloyalty to the Roman empire.

So they've got. Not only just like the cultural piece of what people believed on top of why are these guys being so secret like are they trying to like rise up against whatever. So they are experiencing legitimate persecution. So Paul is encouraging them in that. He's like, hey, this kind of stuff Essentially from verse.

Oh brother. It's kind of big. Uh, basically verse five Until verse 10, which is, that doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot when there's only 12 verses, uh, it talks about like, what will happen because of their suffering, like God will not stand for the, like the things that are happening to them. Um, and because of what's [00:05:00] happening to them.

Their persecutors will be judged, um, in a flaming fire for eternal destruction. So I don't know, I don't know if I'd ever like write a letter to somebody to be like those people that are being mean to you, they're going to suffer eternally, but that is essentially what he's saying here in this section of the letter.

I would say that is somewhat. What he's saying. However, it is worth noting that we do believe that we do. I agree that they're like, if you, if you read some of this, it's like, Whoa, like this is an actual letter to actual people. Um, Paul is trying to encourage this group of people. It does appear that he is trying to encourage, encourage them, um, by talking about the destruction that awaits those who are against God.

Um, what's. What sticks out to me is that there is a, there's a major movement in our world today to remove eternal destruction from Like our belief system or our [00:06:00] narrative or even, I mean, sometimes what you'll see is people just won't discuss it or talk about it. Like people still believe it, but they don't lead with it.

I guess. I mean, it makes sense that we don't leave with it, but it feels like to me, um, From a culture perspective, we came through a period of time where a lot of people came to know Christ because they were afraid of destruction. Um, good, bad, or indifferent. I, I don't know if that was good or not. Um, but now we're kind of afraid to talk about that eternal destruction and here Paul's leading with it.

So Jesus talked about eternal destruction. Paul talked about eternal destruction. Um, hell and separation from God is definitely a thing. I don't know that we need to preach every single sermon about that. That seems a little excessive. Um, but also we don't want to hide it or be afraid of it. Like we, we do believe that because God is a righteous judge, because God is holy, um, Um, those who are not righteous and holy before [00:07:00] God cannot be before God.

So we do believe in judgment and, and we do believe that, that people that don't obey God come under judgment and that is clear here in second Thessalonians as well. I think something that I, you were like alluding to it as I was thinking through it. So prepare yourself for a. Maybe a sticky question to get into.

Okay, great. So, I was thinking more along the lines of like, so today, there's a lot of like, blanketed things like for instance, people who claim that they are XYZ, like I am this type of person, or I, and it's like, like clearly sin, okay? Okay. But at the same time it's like, but I love God. Yeah, yeah. I guess, how does that, like if this, this sounds similar to me because in this instance I'm like, well no, they were persecuting the Christians, they were like, getting rid of people left and right, yadda yadda.

So what happens in the instance of like, There are people that say, well, that's not [00:08:00] true, but I still love God. So it doesn't matter. Like, do you know what I'm saying? Does that make sense? If you love God, you can't tolerate sin. Right. And so to some degree, uh, one evidence of the fact that you do love God is that the Holy spirit is convicting you of your sin.

So if you are living a sin. sinful lifestyle, and I don't want to pigeonhole that to any one popular topic. If you are living a sinful lifestyle and you are committed to living that sinful lifestyle, um, you don't love God. But I would even say that there are like, I've, I've, I've heard of people that kind of do like the mishmash of all real, not religions, but like many different belief systems, God being one of them.

I was like, well, of course I still love God, but I also think these things have room for it too. Like to me, it's, it's interesting how we've kind of like, we've crafted our own. Yeah. I'm safe under everything kind of deal. Well, yeah. And in fact, you are not because God is one, there is only one God and you may have no other gods [00:09:00] before him.

That's, that's. What the first commandment? Um, so yeah, like if you're trying to create this pantheon of gods to feel comfortable in the fact that you are spiritual or something, um, you are still against God and you still hate God. I mean, I guess I'm purposely using strong language because you are refusing to, um, align your loyalties to God and God alone.

And that is what God demands. I don't make those, those statements. And we are trying to like, like the point of this podcast is to help people read the Bible. We want you reading the Bible every day and we want to accurately represent what the Bible teaches. And so, yeah, like you, you, you cannot be committed to sin and committed to God.

That's not possible. Um, what's really cool about it is. Is it's actually not up to you. And if you look at verse, uh, verse 11 to this end, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every good resolve for good in every work of faith by his [00:10:00] power. It's actually God working in us that helps to deliver us from that.

We in and of ourselves always desire sin. Um, we, we are continuing to be tempted. By sin, but it is by God and his power that we can resist that. And the Holy spirit in us, that we can resist that. And so we continue to purposefully yield to the Holy spirit and his direction so that we are living lives that honor Christ.

And we are continually sanctified. That is becoming more and more like Christ. That's actually a thing that Paul has highlighted previously in first Thessalonians, um, and I would say is a key theme. In Thessalonians. So yes, there is judgment. Uh, the only way we can be delivered from that judgment is to trust that Christ has covered our sin with his sacrifice.

It's a free gift from God. And when we commit to following God, he commits, continues to commit, I guess, um, to making us more and more righteous as he moves and works in us. Well, I think this idea of destruction is really what is getting me like, [00:11:00] that's what really caught my attention because I think. In this, like I said, in this instance, it seems like so obvious, like this persecution, Paul's trying to tell them, like, it will end in like a judgment destruction situation.

And to me, it feels weird to kind of say that today. Like some of the things that are crossing our paths, because it's like, they, they definitely can undermine. The church and if given a chance to like weasel its way into the church, it will destroy the church too. So, yeah, it feels kind of strange to say, but I think it's important to note that it can, it can also be apparent.

It's interesting that you're highlighting that because what you're highlighting is that false teaching is very threatening to God's church. And when we believe false things. The church is harmed. And that's exactly what was happening in second Thessalonians. Paul was aware of a false teaching. The false teaching was that Jesus had already returned.

He's saying, no, that's a false teaching. That's not true. And we need to [00:12:00] correct that because when you believe a false teaching, you start to do crazy things. I think then I guess the line could also be drawn to that. There's like physical persecution. There's spiritual persecution, of course. And so we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

And so our war is a spiritual war and we fight our battles with prayer and asking the Lord to intervene. That's not a New Testament thing. That's always what God has done. Um, and you know, I, I guess what, what I want to highlight here is that God is like, Paul is saying that God will judge the earth. He will judge those that have rejected him.

We a hundred percent believe that that is true. We do not desire that. And I think that's really important because as we talk about the end times, sometimes what makes me uncomfortable is what appeals to certain people about the end times is that the world will be judged and the world will be destroyed.

Uh, we should not be excited about that. We should desire grace and forgiveness. We should desire that People will embrace the image of God in themselves [00:13:00] and follow him. Uh, but if they refuse to follow him, yes, there is judgment. I think what he is setting up is that as we consider those things, as we consider those types of persecution, that is where we cannot compromise.

In the areas that it feels like they begin to compromise and that Paul is starting to call out. So we will see that in chapter two as we're moving ahead. We'll see that in chapter three as we move ahead and as we round out this second letter to the Thessalonians. Right. And so I will round out our episode today with saying, like, if you are committed, uh, to following Christ, if you are a believer, like you are not going to fall under judgment.

So this is not something you need to be afraid of. Uh, if you are a believer and you are excited about the Lord destroying the world, then Maybe check your heart, um, and desire, like grace and forgiveness for people desire that people would come to know the Lord and come to walk in a life that honors Christ.

Hey, before we get into the reading, we want to tell you quickly about logos, Bible software. It's [00:14:00] very helpful to us as we prep for the podcast and we can offer it to you at a discounted rate. There's two links in our description. One will get you the logos, uh, fundamentals pack for free. 50 bucks was a great price.

The other one will get you a percentage off any package that you want. We use it often. We think it will be useful to you. And if you use that link, you'll be helping out the podcast. So go check that out. With that in mind, here's today's reading. Second Thessalonians chapter one, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God, our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, [00:15:00] that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering, since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God, And on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.

When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all those who believed because our testimony to you was believed to this end, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for you. For good and every work of faith by his power so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our [00:16:00] God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, your Part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform. And YouTube, let us know what you thought of today's episode. And if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there. You can also reach out to us directly at God's plan.

Your part at gmail. com as always, if you don't have a Bible, or if you'd like to use the one that we use a reach out to us via email, and we'll be happy to send one to you, thanks again for listening. We'll see you again tomorrow.