And Justice For All

We live in an upside down world. What is good is now considered evil. What is bad is now considered good. What is wrong is now called right. What is right is now called wrong.

When will God make everything right? When will God deal with those who have mocked Him? When will God finally bring justice?

We’ll be looking into this today, as we walk through 2 Thessalonians 1.6-10. We can be assured that God’s justice will prevail and we will experience His glory forever.

The phrase second coming often brings confusion as to what is actually being discussed. Sometimes, it is used in reference to Christ coming to gather His church up to meet Him in the air. Sometimes, it is also used to refer to that time when He comes to present Himself as Judge to the unbelievers.

Paul tended to use the word parousia when referring to Christ coming to gather up the believers, prior to the tribulation. This word is often the word used for coming, presence.

When Paul spoke of Christ’s coming in relation to unbelievers, he used the word apokalupsis, which is where we get the word apocalypse. This word refers to revelation, unveiling, uncovering. In other words, it refers to the unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ as Judge. Sometimes, we see the phrase, the day of the Lord, used.

So, as we look at today’s passage, we should keep in mind that the second coming, or the rapture for the church, will be wonderful news for the believer in Christ. However, the second coming, referring to Christ coming in judgment, will cause unbelievers great pain and suffering.

Repayment - 1.6, 8-9

2 Thessalonians 1:6 (NASB95)

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 (NASB95)

dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

Some would think that this sounds awfully harsh. The reality is that God created a moral universe. Sin entered into this universe. It must be dealt with justly. Sin has to be punished.

The word for retribution, found in verse 8, means to give full punishment. Various translations, use words such as vengeance, punish, judgment. Retribution, which God performs, is perfect and righteous. Humanity might have its own form of vengeance, but it is quite flawed, because of our human nature, which has sin built into it. Interestingly, in the books of Romans, Hebrews, and various Old Testament books, God states that vengeance belongs to Him. “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Even in the sermon on the mount, Jesus did not give any room for us to engage in our own personal retribution.

We have alluded to who will be repaid, as found in the last part of verse 6 and 8. Obviously, this covers all those individuals who attack God's people, whether it be the nation of Israel or the church. To make it even more obvious, Paul uses the phrase, those who do not know God. In other words, those individuals do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Just because someone knows about God; just because someone knows about Jesus; just because someone knows the Bible; does not mean they have a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ. They are completely separated from God, and from Christ. It is not because they don't know any better; it is because they have intentionally denied the truth, trying to reshape it to fit themselves and what they consider acceptable. Even in Romans 1:18–20, Paul says: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in 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 His 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.”

It is even further amplified when we look at other passages of Scripture in Matthew, Luke, and Revelation, which describes that part of the punishment is that those who reject Christ will be forever separated from the presence of the Lord. In addition, according to Matthew, 2 Peter, and Jude, they will be separated from the glory of His power. All that they are going to experience is the horrific eternity in hell. They will never experience the glory of God, nor His splendor and majesty. They will never experience any joy or peace. In fact, several places in the Bible, hell is described as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

God’s justice not only guarantees retribution for those who reject Him; His justice also guarantees relief for those who belong to Him through Jesus Christ.

Relief - 1.6a, 7a-b, 10

2 Thessalonians 1:6–7 (NASB95)

it is only just for God . . . to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well . . .

2 Thessalonians 1:10 (NASB95)

when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

We remember from the last little section, that it was appropriate and right and just for God to repay with affliction to the unbelievers. Here, we see that it is also because of God's justice wherein He would give relief to believers. This relief has various aspects to it. There is first of all the relief that comes from our salvation. That is when we experience relief from the incredible burden of sin. There is also relief when we leave this planet, that moment when we die. We will never again experience the temptation to sin, nor will we have to undergo the consequences of sin on this earth, which involves heartache, death, tears, and pain. After the tribulation, for those who remain and turn to Jesus during that time, there will be an experience of relief and peace and rest.

Just like the Thessalonians, we must remember that, while on this earth, we will not experience ultimate relief. The reason is that we will experience affliction and persecution. All believers have been promised affliction from this world. We must also remember that this promise of relief is for all believers. Throughout the Scriptures, we read that if we are living for Christ, we can expect to be persecuted and afflicted.

When will this ultimate relief happen? This will take place when Jesus comes. We read that Christ will be glorified in his saints on that day. We know that each of us is to live as light and salt on this earth. We also know that the good deeds which we do is for the glory of God, so that others might get a glimpse of His glory. Yet all of what we do that brings glory to Christ is done through impure vessels. We are reminded that Christ will receive, all the glory, such as never been seen previously, once Jesus comes again.

Review

What an encouragement to those of us who are saved by what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. We know this to be guaranteed, since Jesus was raised from the dead, and is alive at the right hand of God.

At the same time, how terrifying this ought to be for those who suppress the truth, exchanging the truth for a lie, resulting in rebellion, defiance, and rejection of the One Who would provide eternal life, resulting in perfect peace and joy.

Knowing that We can be assured that God’s justice will prevail and we will experience His glory forever, should cause you and me to do all that we can to proclaim the Gospel message to as many as we possibly can.

We don’t need a special event in the church to make this happen. We don’t need a crusade or some other community event to make this happen. We don’t need a special speaker or some famous musicians to make this happen.

We simply need to share Christ with everyone that God places in our path. Remember how I’ve shared with you that there are no coincidences in this life? There are opportunities that God places along our paths, oftentimes with no announcements or fanfare. It is just life happening; don’t let life just happen. Be intentional in sharing the love of Christ. We don’t want others to experience God’s justice. We want others to experience God’s glory forever.