2 Thessalonians 1:6-12 - God will repay

What does it mean to live in a world where injustice seems to go unanswered? In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12, Paul gives the early church something powerful to hold onto: the assurance that God sees everything, and that He will act.
                        
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Transcript

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Sally, the wife of a military man, she developed a very severe toothache and she needed to see a dentist immediately. Therefore, she scheduled an appointment at the local military dental office for that afternoon. She hurried in, and even though she had a fear dentist and the pain when her mouth was there, it was so severe she actually looked forward to going to the dentist. Even before telling the dentist of her painful tooth, Sally let the military dentist know her fear dentist, her fear of the pain, and the dentist assured her that they had gases and medicines to make the whole procedure totally painless, and she had nothing to fear. Sally was relieved. And then she told him about how much severe pain she had in her tooth. The dentist was just about to administer the laughing gas prior to the painkillers when he asked Sally one more question. Just what do you do in the military? Sally replied, Oh, I'm not actually in the military. My husband is. Well, what's he do? He's a recruiter. That's when the dentist's whole demeanor changed. First to a look of shock, then disgust, then anger. Then he started his sly little smile, pushed the gas and the pain medicine aside. This might hurt a little more than I thought. I think at that moment, if I were Sally, I might start reconsidering where I'm getting my dental work done. You know, people often seek to take revenge on others whom they feel have wronged them. However, the scriptures make it very clear in passages like Hebrews chapter 10, verse 30. Thus says the Lord, Vengeance is mine, I will repay again. The Lord will judge his people. It's not for us to exact vengeance upon people. This is something God says he will do, and as Paul writes to the Christians in Thessalonica here in 2 Thessalonians 1, verses 6 through 12, we see Paul pointing out very clearly that God will repay. Today I want to focus in on these verses 6 through 12 and see these instructions Paul gave to the church in Thessalonica. Verses that we should also be looking at because they will give us the motivation to do God's will. So let's start with prayer. Lord, I do thank you for your love and I thank you for your blessings. I ask, Lord, you watch over each one of us. Watch over us that we would live faithful for you. Help us, Lord, to look at this passage and see this great motivation to get out and tell other people the gospel message, and I are we ourselves to also live out this message. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. I'm going to start by reading from chapter 1, verses 6 through 12. This is New American Standard. For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day, and to be marvelled at among all of you who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed. To this end also we pray for you always that our God may be worthy of your calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. When I look at this passage, there's three main thoughts I look at that God is going to repay. First of all, verse six. Paul stated, For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you. In other words, God will repay affliction to the afflictors. Hopefully I can get this going. Got to get the right one. There we go. Woo-hoo! Got it on. Alright. When other people persecute us, God sees us. And God actually notices what happens to his people. All through the scriptures, especially the Old Testament scriptures, we clearly see that God is watching over his people and he noticed what's happened, what happens to his people. When people treat God's people with cruelty, God notices. Back in the Old Testament, when the people were in Egypt, the Egyptians began to mistreat them. They enslaved them, they beat them. God noticed, and he began the process of raising up a deliverer for his people, Moses. And when God's people were mistreated by foreign nations once they entered into the promised land, God noticed, and we can read through the book of Judges that he raised up deliverers, judges, and conquerors, kings later on in 1 and 2 Kings, the common people, to lead the Israelites in victory over even more powerful people, because when God saw the persecution, he acted and brought about justice on it. God has always proved that he can indeed repay affliction to those who afflict others. There's stories like even in the New Testament about King Herod, who died shortly after he sent the soldiers back into Bethlehem to go kill every male child to and under. God knows how to repay affliction to afflictors. One of my favorite proofs of that is that God created mama bears. Every once in a while, I try to throw something in my outlines to throw you guys off. Those people are going through there trying to fill all the blanks in before I ever get there. But I bet you guys you probably didn't get that one, did you? In 2 Kings chapter 2, starting in verse 23, we have a story of Elisha. He's traveling to Bethel, and on the way there, there's a gang of very rude young boys who start calling out, Go out, you bald-headed! Go out, bald-headed! And Elisha got tired of their insulting tirade against him. He turned around, he cursed them in the name of the Lord, and he t and it tells us that there were two mama bears, she bears, who came up out of the woods and tore up 42 of those lads. 42 of them. Was it just coincidence that those mama bears came out of the woods and tore those 42 boys up? Nope. God created mama bears to show us God notices when his people are afflicted, and God will repay affliction to those who afflict others. Probably most of us here know it's not wise to tangle with an angry mama bear. I think God not only used that story in the Old Testament to teach us vengeance, but he created mama bears and still exist today to remind us that God knows how to take vengeance upon those who mistreat his children. If mama bears can inflict harm upon those who try and mistreat their baby cubs, how much more can God inflict harm upon those who are afflicting his people? And God notices what happens to people, and he will indeed afflict the afflictors, not always in this life, but God has a lake of fire for the afflictors. Hell is real. I know I've had people leave a church where I was teaching about the reality of hell, but I cannot deny the scriptures, and the scriptures teach the reality of a lake of fire. Revelation chapter 20, verse 10 tells us the devil who was deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Verses 14 and 15, Revelation 20, same chapter. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. That is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found in the book written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Anyone who doubts the reality of this doubts God's word. Even Jesus taught Luke chapter 16 about a rich man. When he died, he found himself in Hades, and he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. He saw Abraham up in a way and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cries out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame. He was in Hades, he was in a flame. Is it too difficult to believe God's word about a lake of fire when Jesus confirmed the fires of hell? God will repay with affliction those who afflict his people. They will not escape. The warnings are not just verbal, they're written in the Word of God, so you can't be confused and you can't claim, well, I didn't know that. It's there. God is going to repay affliction to the afflictors. God will also deal out retribution. Verses 7 and 8 make this very plain. And to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. God is going to pour out his wrath, dealing retribution to those who are lost, whether they are afflicting us or not. Even if someone is the nicest neighbor you could ever hope for or dream to have, even if they haven't done wrong to you, even in the least bit, God promises in the scriptures he will deal out retribution to those who do not know him. God's wrath goes out onto all those who do not know him. I've heard many people tell me that they think this is unfair. Because not everyone has had the chance or the opportunity to know who God is. But they're forgetting Romans chapter 1, starting in verse 18, which reads, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world is invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. God has clearly shown himself to all people so that all people can know that he is, that he exists, that he is God. Even a very fast look at the primitive tribes scattered throughout the world show that each and every tribe around the world believes that this universe had to have been created by something. A creator God who made it. Because it's in them, it's visible in all creation. Even in our sophisticated and intelligent society, whether we still consider ourselves intelligent or not, that's debatable. We have to conclude there is no idea, we have no idea how life could come about, or how living creatures, or how even plants could begin by our scientific methods. It doesn't work. With all the best technology mankind has ever been able to do, we still have never been able to create life out of nonliving matter. Even with all the knowledge of DNA, we still haven't been able to create just the very building blocks of DNA. Or a new DNA and a new life form. We can't do it. Beyond our ability, and it points directly to a creator God. His invisible attributes, his eternal power, his divine nature are clearly seen throughout all of creation. Whether you examine the great big universe or you get down into the microscopic universe, it shows that God is. No one can use the excuse they didn't know about God. God has clearly shown himself, he has revealed himself. And the only people who don't know God, as Romans chapter 1 says, are the people who have become so wise in themselves that they have exchanged the creator for the created. And they worship the created instead of the creator God. Therefore, both in Romans 1 and here in 2 Thessalonians 1, we find out God's wrath goes out on those who do not know God. If they don't know God, they're going to find retribution from God. He also points out here, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, that God's wrath goes out on all those who do not obey his gospel. To me, that's a scary thought. Because there's an awful lot of people who say they believe in God, and they may even believe in the fires of hell. But unless they obey the gospel, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, they will still see the wrath of God. And that's why it's so important that we take the gospel of the Lord Jesus everywhere. It's not enough that people just know for creation that there is a God. They also need to know the gospel story that is found in our Bibles. And they need to know about who Jesus is. How else can they obey the gospel of Jesus Christ unless they hear it? How can they hear it unless we preach it? That's what Romans chapter 10 is talking about. And it goes on to say, because of that, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who bring the gospel story. And people need to know and obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. To me, what is troubling is a lot of people who know about Jesus, but they don't obey the gospel. But we must tell them the good news of the great joy which shall be for all the people. That today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior. Wow, that's a message I heard once, you know. Luke chapter 2. That's what the angels proclaimed to the shepherds. And we need to proclaim that same message that Jesus Christ is the Savior for all people, and salvation is accomplished by the grace of God and the atoning death of Jesus on a cross for us. And that we need to have faith in this gospel story, and we need to be obedient to his commands, of repenting and confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, being buried with him in the waters of baptism for the forgiveness of our sins and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, rising up to walk in a newness of life. We all need to do this. What if we don't want to obey the gospel of Jesus that he preached and his disciples, his apostles were commanded to go out and preach? What if I don't want to walk faithful to Christ? What if I don't want to be baptized for the forgiveness of my sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? What if I don't want to confess Jesus as Lord, Master, and Savior? What if I don't want to repent of my sins? What if I don't want to believe in this gospel story? What if I don't want to obey any part of this gospel? Well, let me quote again from what Paul wrote here, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, verse 8, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. You want to know what happens if you refuse to obey? You'll get retribution. God on you. In fact, Jesus told such a story, Matthew chapter 22, verses 1 through 14, about a king who held a great wedding feast. He's talking about God holding in great wedding feast for Jesus and the bride, the church. And it tells us someone came in and refused to put on the wedding garments. I used to think this was a strange story because, hey, they invited everybody on the streets and everywhere else. And a guy came in without wedding garments. Well, duh, there's a lot of times I'm outside, I'm not wearing clothes appropriate to go to a wedding. But the thing is, in the first century, when a king gave a feast, he basically wanted to a wedding feast. Basically, he did the same thing as what today in weddings are with all the best men and the maid of honors, how they're all color coordinated. They make them have the same type of thing. Well, a king would try to do that with his wedding feast, and he would provide garments for everyone. And so this man who came into the feast and he's not wearing the wedding garments, the reason he's condemned is because they were provided for him, but he refused to put them on. He refused to put them on, therefore he was bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And every time I read that story, I cannot help but connect that to Galatians chapter 3, verse 27. It says, For all of you who are baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. There's a lot of people I know who have refused to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized into Christ, to clothe themselves with Christ. They're refusing to clothe themselves for that great wedding feast. And as Jesus taught us, Matthew chapter 22, what Paul taught us here in 2 Thessalonians 1, they're going to experience the wrath of God for not obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's something horribly serious. For when God's wrath goes out, God's wrath goes out eternally. Let me listen again to the start here, verse 9. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. How long? Eternal. How long is eternal? Long time. You know, when does parole start on things like that? There's no parole. There's no early release of good behavior. There's no end. You can't even hope that in 50, 60, 90, 100 years you're going to die and you get out of there. Because God is going to give people a body that does not die. Even in the lake of fire, it will not burn up. And they will have suffering continually. And it's not going to become accustomed to the pain and then just pass out from the pain and not have any problems. It says it's going to be eternal punishment, eternal torment. And to me, it's easy to understand why God would repay affliction to those who have afflicted us. Well, that makes sense. They've been mean to us. God take care of it. But sometimes it's harder to understand why God would deal retribution to those who don't know Him as God and those who do not obey His gospel, especially those who have been misled or misguided by false teachers. But those are the facts that are given to us in Scriptures, and no wonder the Christians of that day did everything they could to take the gospel message to everyone. Because they understood that without the gospel message, people could be lost for eternity. Do we understand this? Do we actually live like we do? Do we go out and tell people about Jesus? Or, well, if they want to come to church, they can come to church and hear it. But I'm not even going to invite them to church. Do we believe that people will be lost for eternity? God will repay. God will repay affliction to those who afflict us. God will deal out retribution to those who do not know him and those who do not obey his gospel. Third in this passage, God will reward his faithful children. God will reward his faithful children. To those who have been faithful, God will repay them for their faithfulness with great rewards. Verse 7 revealed one of the first of those rewards, and that is that God will give relief to the afflicted. He'll give relief to the afflicted. If we have been suffering for the sake of Christ, God has promised that we will be relieved with all that suffering. Because in heaven there will be zero pain there. There will be no more suffering, no more headaches, no more struggles, no more trials. God is going to give us relief. Where those who have worked and labored for the Lord here on earth, even in the midst of trials and tribulation and persecution, they're going to be given rest from their labors and rest from the troubles and rest from the trials that we've had to endure on this earth. I mean, that's a glorious promise. God has promised to reward his faithful children with relief from all the cares and the worries and the troubles of this world. And the second reward he promises to his faithful children, verse 12, where God promised that he will glorify Christ's name in us and we in him. This directly followed what Paul wrote, verse 11, saying that God may count us worthy in our calling and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of our faith with power. Because of our faithfulness in every part of our life, living worthy of the kingdom, letting our faith grow and our love grow. And as we faithfully endure persecution, it says, God will praise the name of Jesus for his work in us and our work in him. We're going to hear God saying, Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the kingdom I have prepared for you. For those who have lived faithful to the Lord, God is going to reward us by praising us. And I wonder if it's going to be kind of like, remember back in the book of Job, Satan comes before God and he's the accuser and he's accusing that no one serves you, God, nobody will serve you. And God says, Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. Someday God is going to point out, hey, these are my faithful. And those who have lived faithful to the Lord, God is going to reward us by praising us and pointing us out. And our lives will be glorifying Christ Jesus, and God will glorify us together with Christ Jesus if we have been faithful. God, our Father, is our cheering section. I love that aspect. As we praise Him with our lives and with our mouths, He's praising us. Look at my good and faithful children. These are my kids. Our Father knows. He knows us. He knows what's happening to us, whether we're being afflicted, whether we're standing firm for him, whether we're taking the gospel of the Lord Jesus to all people. He knows and he will repay, rewarding us. God will also reward us by taking the faithful home forever. When Christ returns, he comes to take us home to heaven forever. What a glorious promise. To be forever with the Lord. When you consider that there's really only two choices, some people want to say three, but there's two choices. There's a lake of fire, and there's a wonderful place called heaven. Some people say, well, I don't want either one of those. I'm just going to live on this earth forever and ever and ever. Doesn't quite work that way. We're warned that this entire earth, this entire universe is going to be burned up one day. And when you consider those two options, a lake of fire where there's constant torment, or going home to be with our Father, where we're going to be rewarded. No pain, no more sorrow, no more sickness, and where it's going to be wonderful and glorious. I don't think it's a hard choice to make. I certainly find this one much more rewarding. Much more healing. Will you live for Jesus? Lord, I thank you for this passage, and I ask, Lord, that you would help us to remember you are a just God and you will do things properly. And people who are afflicting your people, you will uh afflict them one day. That you're going to bring those retribution to those who do not know you, those who do not obey you, but to those who are living faithful for you. You will reward us. Lord, let us walk faithful for you. Let us walk in your steps. Let us be your children. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.