09 Handling Suffering: Encouragement for Weary Believers (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to Wednesday in the Word. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today we'll be studying 2 Thessalonians 1, verses 1 through 12. This is the ninth talk in my series on Paul's letters to the Thessalonians. Lecture notes for today's talk are on the link below this podcast. The lecture notes contain all the information I would give you on a handout if I were teaching you in person. You can also find the lecture notes by going directly to Wednesdayintheword.com slash Thessalonians 9. Let's get started. Well, we are starting Paul's second letter to the church in Thessalonica. It's hard to say exactly when this letter was written, but I don't think too much time has passed since he wrote his first letter. In his first letter, Paul encouraged this young church to continue to trust the gospel he taught them. Paul wrote his first letter from Corinth about nine months after leaving Thessalonica. Paul was driven out of town before he had a very good idea of how well the church was planted there. Paul sent Timothy back to find out how they were doing. Timothy reported back to Paul, and Paul wrote his first letter in response to that report. He knows they are facing persecution and pressure to give up their new faith, and he reminds them why they should trust him and believe the gospel, and he reminded them how he conducted himself with integrity and gave evidence that he was from God. We don't know exactly when he wrote this second letter. Most scholars think it was only a few months after the first epistle and while he was still in Corinth with Silas and Timothy, which would put this in late 51 A.D. or 52 A.D. We suspect a messenger probably took his first letter back to Thessalonica and then reported back to Paul, and Paul writes this letter in response to whatever news the courier brought back. This letter has a slightly different tone. The tone in 1 Thessalonians was mostly relief and joy as Paul heard the young church was persevering in the faith. And again, Paul opens this letter praising their tenacity. He's not just glad that their faith has survived. He's glad they are still strong in the faith after going through so many trials, and he's proud of them for hanging in there. He's especially proud because for them it has not been an easy road. They have faced both external persecution and internal theological questions, and through it all they have stayed faithful. But staying faithful through trials and persecution can get tiring. When you're being mistreated for no other reason than following Christ, you want relief. You want the suffering to end. And Paul comforts them by assuring them their tenacity will pay off, their suffering is going to end, and the ones persecuting them will be judged. Our passage today contains some very strong language about the judgment of God. In fact, I think these verses are some of the clearest statements about the eternal judgment of God found in all the letters of the New Testament. And many modern Christians find this passage difficult to accept. But remember the context. This passage was written to a young group of believers who were being persecuted. Paul's goal is to encourage them to stay the course. Let's start with the first four verses of chapter one. As usual, Paul begins with an introductory greeting and an encouragement. Paul, Savanus, 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 of faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. As all New Testament letters, they open with the author. In this case, it's Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy. Paul is the author, and the thoughts in this letter are his. Sylvanus and Timothy are with him. Paul is probably dictating this letter to one of them, but they are not authors in the sense of coming up with the content or the ideas. It's typical for Paul to open his letters by expressing his gratitude for the people he's writing to, but the particular reasons Paul gives for his thanks here are unique to the Thessalonians. Paul says their faith is growing abundantly and their love for one another is increasing. Now, as we've talked about here, love is not an emotional feeling, but how they act. They love each other by treating each other well and seeking each other's good. Likewise, a growing faith is expressed through their actions. They not only claim to believe the gospel, they are striving and living like it's true. When faced with trials and situations that test whether or not they will continue to follow the Lord, they have been choosing to follow Christ. Growing in faith is not an academic exercise, and increasing in love is not having stronger feelings. Growing in faith and love is about how they live their lives. God has placed them in a city that hates and persecutes them. We don't know what kind of harassment they faced, but we can guess. At the very least, they risked social ridicule and isolation. Their livelihood was probably threatened, and they may have been beaten, jailed, or threatened with loss of life. We know from the account in Acts that that's how Paul was treated in Thessalonica, and they are likely facing the same threats. Through it all, they are told, just give up this Jesus stuff, reject Paul, renounce the gospel, and all the persecution will end. In that kind of situation, the choices they are making to care for each other and remain faithful to the gospel reveal their growing faith. Paul is proud that they are remaining faithful even though it costs them to do so. Now at the end of the previous letter, Paul prayed that this very kind of growth would happen, and it is. He is grateful to see that the very thing he prayed for in the last letter has happened. The problem with staying faithful through a long trial is that it can be really tiring. How do you stay faithful when you're discouraged, confused, or hurt? How can you face one more day where life not only doesn't improve, it may get more challenging? And that's the issue Paul is addressing. He wants to encourage these believers in the face of an extended period of suffering and persecution, and he comforts them by pointing to their hope. Their suffering will not last forever, and God will eventually put everything right. Let's look at verses five through ten. 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. Well, you can imagine that many in this church are asking, how long will God let this suffering go on? Why would God allow us to continue to suffer, especially when we've already been faithful under suffering? How can a loving God allow these evil people to keep persecuting those of us who are being faithful to the gospel? And of course, many Psalms address this question, as do many of the prophets. The first thing Paul tells them is their faithfulness through suffering is evidence that they are worthy of the kingdom of God. And by that he means that they have a genuine saving faith, and God will grant them a place in his kingdom. This is one of the great themes of Scripture, and we've talked about it in many of the series on this podcast. God's agenda for his people in this life is to give us a strong, mature faith. The primary way he does that is by putting us in situations that test our faith. He puts us in circumstances in situations where we are faced with a choice. Will I trust God or trust myself? Will I believe what God says is true and act on it, or will I go with what the world says is true? Will I count on God and His promises, or will I abandon God and take an easy, selfish way out? Those situations that test our faith can be big external tragedies or small choices that we're faced with. They can range from persecution to failing a test to losing a job to God withholding something we desperately want. In this life, God deliberately puts us in situations where our faith is tested and shown through the test to be genuine. And this is for our benefit, not his, because we are all faced with the critical personal question of how do I know that I'm saved? How do I know that I'm not fooling myself? And tomorrow I'll walk away from God. Well, scripture tells us that one of the ways we know that our faith is genuine is that we stick to it through trials. Our persevering through trials gives us tangible, physical, external evidence that our faith is real. And that's what Paul is reminding the Thessalonians. You are suffering for believing the gospel, and the fact that you are remaining faithful in that suffering is evidence that you will enter the kingdom of God. Then Paul reminds them that their suffering will end. It is not going to last forever. God will repay those who afflict them and grant them relief. Right now, God is patient with evildoers, but one day his patience will end. One day God will deliver justice and judgment. Evil people will not get away with evil forever. His righteous judgment will vindicate his character and his people. Remember, for people who are suffering under persecution, to hear that the evil people who are persecuting them will be judged is good news. For people who are living in comfort without any suffering, these words may seem harsh and disturbing. It seems to me judgment is not a very popular topic today. In the past we had what we might call fire and brimstone preachers, but those kind of preachers are few and far between today. Judgment can make us uncomfortable. It can seem like bad publicity for God. We think it's much better to talk about God's love because people respond to God's love. Talking about God's judgment seems harsh and offensive. But however unpopular this topic is today, Paul seems to think it's important. He wants to encourage a suffering church, and he does that by talking about the certainty of God's judgment. One of the fundamental problems with all of humanity is that we are short-sighted. We live like we have blinders on. We are too focused on today and the here and now, and all we can see are the problems of today, the goals we have, the difficulties we face, the challenges, the responsibilities, and so on. In fact, many people talk about this mental health syndrome called fear of missing out or FOMO. Fear of missing out seems to be a product of social media, and people are addicted to their smartphones in part because now information is instantaneous and they think they might miss something if they get off their phones. Because of social media, we can be constantly aware of what other people are doing, saying, and thinking, and it can look like everyone else seems to be having a great time, jumping on the latest trend, and we don't want to miss out. I suspect that if the Apostle Paul were here today, he would find that not only ridiculous, but dangerous. Because it's precisely the problem of being short-sighted and blind to the bigger picture. What we ought to legitimately fear missing out on is eternity. Social media, among other aspects of modern life, blinds us to that big picture. And by the big picture I mean the eternal picture. We tend to lose sight of the fact that we have a creator and one day we are going to stand before him. This is God's world. We don't exist because of some random cosmic big bang. We don't exist because we have a right to exist and the world now owes us life, liberty, and happiness. We exist because the creator of the universe decided that we would. He created us, he designed us, and he placed us in a particular place in history. We are in the midst of a world that God designed and created. He is telling a grand story and we are part of it. The story he is telling stretches from the dawn of creation to the final day of judgment, and we, my friends, are part of it. We're not the main characters, but nonetheless we are part of a creation and story that God is telling. That's what I mean by the big picture, and that's what we tend to forget. We are in the midst of a world that is part of the grand purposes of God, and we need to ask ourselves, how are we going to relate to Him? And I would say this is a major theme throughout the Bible. The Bible repeatedly claims that the truly wise person fears the Lord. The Bible claims that the truly wise person looks at how God has acted in history and uses that knowledge to understand the present and the future. The wise person deals with reality, and reality involves seeking to understand who God is and what he is doing in this creation. Reality is not just my present experience. Reality is the grand sweep of history from creation to judgment. Now, fortunately, God told us what he's doing and where it's all going, and the wise person pays attention. And Paul is urging the Thessalonicans to remember what God has said he is doing. He is urging them not to be short-sighted, thinking, My only problems are the problems of today. Rather, remember the big picture. Jesus is coming back to bring both judgment and salvation. God doesn't change the rules on us. How God dealt with rebellion in the past is how God will deal with rebellion in the future. How he showed mercy in the past is how he will show mercy in the future. This is a very important truth that we need to know. In his second letter, the Apostle Peter speaks to this same theme of God's coming judgment, and he makes the point that God's judgment should not surprise us because we've seen it before. God's judgment came in the days of Noah through the flood, and God's judgment fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. These are historical events. These events teach us how God has always handled rebellion in the past, and this is how God will handle it in the future. This is how God has worked with those who trust him in the past, and this is how he will deal with them in the future. From a biblical perspective, there are really only two kinds of people in the world. There are those to whom God is imparting his moral character and holiness, and these God will keep faithful and will save them on judgment day. And then there are those who pursue their rebellion against God, and those God will also keep till judgment day, but their destiny is judgment and destruction. God did not fail to judge the wicked generations in the past, and he will not fail to judge those who persecute his people now. God will surely judge the rebellious, and God will also surely save those who trust him. And that's Paul's encouragement to the Thessalonians. God will surely save you, and he will judge those who persecute you. God is just and justice has two parts, the punishment of those who commit evil and the salvation of those who are victims of evil. Justice means that evil is punished and victims are rescued. If you fail to punish the bullies, the bullies will just find new victims and there will be no justice. To explain the necessity of punishing evildoers, someone once used the analogy of rescuing people who are drowning in a river. We can focus all our efforts on dragging people out of the river one by one, drying them off and sending them out in their way. But if there is someone upstream who is continually tossing people off a bridge into the river, then we will never have justice. Justice requires stopping the person committing the evil. And remember, these people are not just victims of nameless evil or a rigged impersonal system. Someone is actually persecuting them. Someone is actually committing evil against them. Now, all of this is to make the point that justice is two-sided. Punishment is an important part of justice, and God's love is not complete without God's wrath. Now, for us, punishment is difficult because we know we're all sinners. All of us have seen times where those inflicting punishment abuse their power and cross the line into revenge or evil, but God is not like that. God is holy and just. God will forgive their sin and evil because he accepts the death of Jesus on the cross as payment for their sins. For those who are enemies of God, who remain unrepentant, who rebel against him and scoff at the cross, for them God will bring justice. They will be judged, found guilty, and appropriately sentenced. So justice is going to be done one of two ways. Either I will find mercy because of Jesus' death on the cross, or I will continue to reject God and I will get what's coming to me. In Thessalonica, we see these two groups. One group has set itself against God's people and is seeking to wipe them out. The other group is patiently enduring their suffering and trying to remain faithful to God and not retaliate in kind. Ultimately, God will bring a just and appropriate justice. Those who have set themselves against God's people will get what is coming to them. Those who have humbly cast themselves on the mercy of God and the blood of Christ will receive life. Paul says this is how it's all going to turn out in the end. So hang in there and keep the faith. It may not happen by Friday, it may not happen in your lifetime, but it will happen. Trust God and keep the faith. One day God will act and fulfill all his promises. Now, Paul uses two phrases to describe the nature of the punishment. He describes it as the punishment of eternal destruction and as away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. What do those phrases mean? Are they different topics? Are they a single idea? What exactly is Paul describing? There are many opinions. On this topic, but I understand these phrases to be synonyms. I think they refer to the same thing, and that eternal destruction is being away from the presence of the Lord. Part of salvation means being forever in the presence of God, and eternal destruction means being separated from God. Now that makes a fair amount of sense based on how God has described himself throughout the scriptures. We see him described as the source of life, and if he is the source of life, then being apart from his presence is to experience eternal death. In that sense, the punishment of eternal destruction for those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ is simply God doing what he's done throughout all of creation. God gives people what they choose. If they don't want the presence of God before he comes, they won't be forced to endure it when he returns. We choose our destiny for ourselves. Some choose destruction rather than humbling themselves before God and accepting the Lordship of Christ. So to summarize, justice involves punishment because there is no justice unless you rescue the victims. Evil people will just find new victims, and justice isn't complete without their punishment. So the wrath of God is good news in a sense. Who will God punish? Those who decline God's offer of new life and a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. What's the extent of the punishment? Being forever separated from the source of life, the punishment is eternal destruction. And Paul is writing these words to comfort a suffering church. He says, if you're plugging away, if you're remaining faithful, trying to follow Jesus in the midst of persecution, know that it's worth it. If you're frustrated by the injustice of the world and how long it seems to take for justice and mercy to prevail, keep going because justice and mercy will prevail. And if you're suffering for the sake of the gospel, stay with it because it's your suffering is not going to last forever. Jesus is coming back and he will bring justice with him when he does. Then Paul ends this chapter with 11 and 12. To this end we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve 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 God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul concludes this section by praying that God would continue to make them strong in the faith. He prays that God would make them worthy of his calling. He would take their resolve to do good, to hold fast to the faith, and make it true, make it real. And he prays that God would glorify Jesus through their persevering in the faith. Now notice that Paul does not encourage them to double down and try harder. This is not a pep rally. This is not a message to keep on trying. Paul has reminded them what is true. He reminds them of the hope of the gospel, and he reminds them that God has the power to bring all of this about. They will continue in faith because of the promises of God. Genuine saving faith is a gift, and once God has given it to you, he does not take it back. So you don't have to grit your teeth and try harder and work harder. You can turn to God and cry out for his mercy and grace. You can cry out, I want to follow you, help me in my wavering, my doubt, and my unbelief. You don't have to be brilliant, you don't have to be dazzling, you don't have to be a rock star, and you don't have to change the world. You just have to stay in the game, and God has promised to make sure that you do. Maybe that just means loving your spouse day in and day out, or teaching your children day after day, or faithfully doing your job even when no one notices that you're doing it or thanks you for it. Maybe it means helping a friend in need or serving even when it's confusing or discouraging. We are to strive to do whatever God has called us to do and whatever place he has put us. Then we trust him and we wait. It's hard to stay with something for the long haul, but the gospel is worth it. Hoping the gospel does not disappoint. Let me wrap this up with just a couple more thoughts on God's judgment. As believers, we start with the assumption that God has the right to tell us what to do and what he made us for and how we should live. Refusing to acknowledge that is the heart of rebellion and leads to destruction. All of us struggle with accepting God's will sometimes, and none of us accept it perfectly. But at some level, to be a believer, we have to want what God wants for us. Maybe talking about judgment makes you uncomfortable, or maybe it's just something you've always had as part of your theology. I think at some level, judgment makes everyone uncomfortable because we all know intellectually that death is coming, maybe someday far off in the future, but we all know death is coming. But judgment is the death that is worse than death. We're talking about our creator saying, Life is mine to give and mine to take. If we're going to take the Bible seriously, then we have to come to terms with judgment. Sometimes folks talk about the Bible presenting two different pictures of God. They say the Old Testament picture is a God of wrath and judgment, while the New Testament picture is a God of love and mercy. Well, 2 Thessalonians is in the New Testament and it talks about God as a God of judgment. The fact is that the God of both the Old Testament and the New Testament is a God of both judgment and mercy. And it's really easy to find plenty of examples of that. The idea that our God is a God of judgment is one of the distinctives of a biblical view of God. Over the centuries, mankind has formed different views of God. We think of God as a clockmaker who made the clock and then left us on our own. We think of God as a big sugar daddy in the sky who gives us what we want, or we see him as a benevolent but somewhat absent-minded, loving grandfather, or maybe just an impersonal force that binds the universe together. But the biblical view of God includes judgment. The Bible teaches us that God is holy, righteous, and good. We owe him our gratitude and our obedience and the very air we breathe. And yet we have rebelled against him, and unless we listen to him about how to find life, we will all fall under his judgment. The gospel is good news, but it is good news because it is a response to the bad news. The bad news is we are sinners before a holy God and one day we will stand before him. Our eternal destiny is in his hands. One day we will fall under judgment unless we listen to God and accept the way He has revealed about how to find life. God is merciful and God is compassionate, but He is also our judge. He has lovingly reached out to us to redeem and rescue us from judgment. He sent His Son Jesus to be the Messiah, to keep the covenant, to willingly and voluntarily die on the cross in our place, and to pay the price for our sins such that on judgment day we can be forgiven. Paul is sounding a message of both warning and encouragement. Yes, God is coming to judge, and yes, God will rescue his people. There is a right way and a wrong way to approach God and to seek his mercy. We can be washed away in judgment like the flood, or by the grace of God we can be in the boat with Noah. We can perish in the fire like Sodom and Gomorrah, or God can graciously take us by the hand and lead us to safety like Lot. One day judgment will come and suffering will end. On that day, we will look back at all we endured and rejoice because that suffering proved our faith was real, and we have a place in the kingdom of God. You've been listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. My mission is to teach you both what the Bible means and show you how to figure it out. I pray that this podcast has blessed you, and if it has, please share it with someone else you think will benefit from it, and leave a positive rating wherever you listen to your podcast. Your ratings really do help others find the podcast. If you'd like to hear more or listen to previous episodes in this series, please go to my website, Wednesdayintheword.com. Our theme music is graciously provided by Red D. Coates. You can find his music and his CDs on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.