When Justice is Final


2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 "This is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you."

 Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians and commends them for their faith and love, which he sees is growing more and more.  He sees this as evidence that they are in Christ and will not be judged but counted as worthy for eternal life one day.  He also acknowledges that though they are being persecuted and suffering now one day those who are persecuting them will be judged.  And this will come when Jesus comes back to judge the living and the dead.  

 Paul gives an apocalyptical vision of Jesus' return. When Jesus returns from heaven he comes blazing with fire with his angels.  In the bible fire is always seen as a sign of judgment.  When Jesus returns those who have rejected (the verse says "disobeyed") the Good News will be judged and separated from God forever.  We often call this "hell".  A better definition for hell is "separation from God".  Fire was used to separate the wheat and the chaff, and was a metaphor for God separating good from evil. Separating those who believe from those who don't believe. Fire not only destroyed but also cleansed and purified.  

 While it is hard for us to imagine someone being judged forever for rejecting Jesus, the bible teaches a final judgement upon Jesus' return.  It is not because God doesn't love all people or want them all to be saved, but some will reject the Good News Jesus came to bring. In rejecting Jesus, they rejected God.  God showed the whole world the full extent of His love when He sent His only Son to die on a cross for our sins.  But those who reject Jesus' sacrifice remain in their sin and have to pay the penalty for it because God is a just judge. After all if you were in the courtroom, you would not want an unjust judge.

 So at the end of the day those who are evil and don't repent from it will be judged.  When we see bad things happening to good people it is because of the evil in the world done by those who choose to do evil and disobey God.  It seems like some who perpetrate evil go unscathed in this life, but in the life to come there will be justice.  While we don't want anyone to be judged for all of eternity, God is always right in his judgment and never does so unfairly.  This is why it is so important for us as the church to contine to spread the Good News so more people will be found in Him when Jesus returns. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more