The Righteous Judgment of God

“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.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 ESV)

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were commending the believers in Jesus Christ in Thessalonica because their faith in the Lord Jesus was growing abundantly, and the love they had for one another was increasing, and because of their steadfastness and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions that they were enduring (see verses 1-4).

In the words which follow (quoted above), I find the sentence structure a little difficult to comprehend. And in checking out the commentators of old, many of them also struggled with understanding what was intended here beginning with verse 5. And they didn’t all come to the same conclusion, either. So I am not going to try to resolve that issue, but I will move on.

What is the lesson for us here? I believe, because of the sincerity of their faith in the Lord Jesus – which was evidenced by the fact that their faith was growing, that their love for one another was increasing, and that they were steadfast in faith in all their persecutions and afflictions – that it was the righteous judgment of God that they should be considered worthy (fitting, suitable) of the kingdom of God. And this is not teaching works salvation.

So, what is the message for us here? It is the same message taught all throughout the New Testament. Genuine faith, which saves, is evidenced by us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and us walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living, and no longer in sin. And it is evidenced by how we treat God and our fellow humans, and with regard to us growing and maturing in our walks of faith and obedience to the Lord and us not stagnating and becoming lukewarm in faith.

And the evidence that we are not of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus is if we have continued in walks of sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord. For faith in Jesus Christ is not just something we profess with our lips, but it is about putting that faith into practice in our daily living via dying to sin and living for the Lord in submitting to his will and purpose for our lives and us obeying his New Covenant commands, in practice. So if we continue in sin and not in obedience to our Lord, we do not have eternal life with God.

For when Jesus Christ returns he is going to judge us all according to what we did with him and with his salvation. If we died with him to sin, and we walked with him in obedience to his commands, in practice, in his power, he will reward us with eternal life in heaven with him. But if all we did was give lip service to him, but we kept on in our sinful practices, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, then we will die in our sins and we will not have eternal life with God. And we need to take this seriously.

For there are a whole lot of people on this earth who have given lip service to the Lord by professing faith in the Lord Jesus but who never truly bowed the knee to him in humble surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. They just continued living as normal, still doing what they want to do, but while assuming that heaven was now guaranteed them when they die. But Jesus said that not everyone who confesses him as Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones DOING (obeying) the will of God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

The Righteous Judgment of God

An Original Work / February 9, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love