2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 ESV
“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.”
Now this is addressed to a specific group of people in a
particular place at a given period of time in history. So this doesn’t apply to
everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ. So, we can only apply this to our
lives if the words expressed here are true of who we are and what we are doing.
But if this is a true description of who we are and what we are doing, then
praise Jesus. All glory to God! For this should be who we are.
Our faith should be growing abundantly. We should be
trusting in the Lord more and more each day. We should be walking in closer
fellowship with the Lord, growing in our understanding of his will for our
lives, and responding with obedience to the things he calls us to do. And our
love for one another should be increasing as more and more we put on Christ and
his love and we love one another with a godly love.
And we should be those who are being persecuted for our
walks of faith in Jesus Christ. We should have enemies coming against us. We
should be being opposed. Everyone should not like us and want to hang out with
us, because we are different, unlike the world, because we are being conformed
to the likeness of Jesus. And we should be those who are steadfast in our faith
in Jesus Christ despite persecutions and afflictions we are enduring.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ESV
“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, 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 who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”
Now, we as followers of Jesus Christ should all be living
lives worthy (fitting, suitable) of the kingdom of God, which was described for
us in the previous passage. We should be living holy lives, pleasing to the
Lord. We should not be living in sin, but righteousness and obedience to our
Lord should be our practice. And we should be growing in our faith, and our
love for one another should be increasing, and we should be steadfast in faith
despite persecutions and afflictions.
For if we are true followers of Christ, we will be
persecuted, and we will face many afflictions for our walks of faith in Jesus
Christ. But one day Jesus is coming to take his bride home to be with him for
eternity, and then our suffering will be no more. We will have no more pain and
sorrow. We will no longer be the persecuted. But we will be at total peace. For
we will be with our Lord for eternity in a place where sin does not exist and
where evil people will not dwell. Only what is good will be in heaven.
But for those who are enemies of the cross of Christ, it
will not go so well for them. He will repay them for the evil that they did on
this earth. He will inflict his vengeance on those who do not know God. But
please know here that if we say we know God but we do not obey him, then we don’t
know him. So those who do not know God are not just those who make no
profession of faith in Jesus Christ. They are many who profess Jesus as Lord
but who by their actions deny him, for they will not obey him.
And so, yes, this includes those who do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus. And what is that gospel? Jesus said that if anyone would
come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to
sin and to self) and follow (obey) him (see Luke 9:23-26). And the Scriptures
teach that we must not make sin our practice, but that righteousness and
obedience to the Lord must be our practice or we will not inherit eternal life
with God.
So those who continue in deliberate and habitual sin and who
do not obey the Lord will face the wrath of God even if they say they are
Christians. They will not go to heaven as they expected they would, but 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. For Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you. Depart
from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Songwriter: Andrew Lloyd-Webber
Merciful Jesus,
Pie Jesu,
Who takes away the sins of the world
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Give them rest, grant them rest
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Lamb of God
Agnus Dei,
Who takes away the sins of the world
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Grant them eternal rest
Dona eis requiem
Forever
Sempiternam
Requiem
Requiem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkVJVgxe4_U
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