Persevere in Faith

Introduction

Welcome everyone! We are about to get started. Please come on in and find a seat.

Alright, please open your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians 1. Jacob got us started with the first five verses last week, and tonight, we’ll jump right back in at verse 6. We’ll be studying 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10. Let me read it for you, starting in verse 3,

2 Thessalonians 1:3–10 LSB

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is only fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases all the more, 4 so that we ourselves boast about you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 Since it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give rest to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our witness to you was believed.

Mm, this text is amazing. There are so many good truths here. Pray with me now, and we’ll start at verse 6.

Remember what we studied last week in verses 3-4. Paul praised the Thessalonians for their faith and love. He said they were growing in the midst of persecutions and afflictions. And he said their perseverance was the reason they would be considered worthy of the kingdom of God. But even though they were doing well, they needed help.

Remember how David envied the prosperity of the wicked in Psalm 73? Paul knew that while the Thessalonians were holding their ground, they would also benefit from being encouraged to persevere in faith. And telling them they were famous for persevering wasn’t enough. They needed to know that Jesus would return and obliterate the wicked. He would come back to vindicate their cause. That’s what would help them to press on.

Tonight we are going to look at four things you should be doing to persevere, especially when you’re under fire for your faith. You must trust the righteousness of God, await the revelation of Jesus, expect the retribution of evildoers, and fulfill the reverence of believers. Righteousness, revelation, retribution, and reverence. These four things will help you persevere in faith as you endure affliction. Let’s look at the first one now.

Trust the Righteousness of God (6-7a)

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to trust the righteousness of God. Verse 6 begins with the clause,

“Since it is right for God," or in the NASB, “Since it is just for God”

The word “right” means “obligatory in view of certain requirements of justice.” We might say something is right, just, fair, or equitable. It carries the idea of precise balance. In 1 Kings 8:32, Solomon prays that God would,

1 Kings 8:32 LSB

32 then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, condemning the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

That is the sense of this term in our passage tonight. God is correct. Psalm 19:9 says, “The judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether.” God is not unjust, unfair, biased, arbitrary, or wrong. He is right.

God will righteously repay those who afflict you

And Paul says there are two things that it is right for God to do. The first one is in the second half of verse 6. Paul says, first, that it is right for God,

“to repay with affliction those who afflict you,”

Notice the perfect balance here. They have afflicted, and now they will be afflicted. This is poetic justice at its finest. But notice who is acting here. It wasn’t the Thessalonians then, and it isn’t you now. It is God. God is the one who repays with affliction. This warns us against usurping God’s role and taking matters into our own hands.

That said, the main point here is that God is right to pay them back. But isn’t it obvious that God is right to punish the wicked? Why does Paul need to say this? It’s because their punishment is going to seem greater than they can bear. In fact, it will be so bad, they might seem like the victims. But Paul is saying that’s not true. God is right.

He will give rest to all of us who are afflicted

Now look at the first half of verse 7, where Paul explains that God is also right,

“to give rest (or relief) to you who are afflicted and to us as well”

Consider the difference between these two statements. Here Paul gives hope that your affliction will eventually end. After some time, God will give you rest. There is no promise like that for the afflictors. Their affliction is open-ended.

We don’t have time to explore this, but just know that Paul’s use of this fairly unusual term for “rest” is built on his understanding of Psalms 23, 74, 79, 95, and 100. All of them identify believers as sheep in God’s pasture, and they work together to explain that God will avenge the affliction of His children and bring them into eternal rest.

But that’s not all. Paul’s other point here is that the Thessalonians aren’t the only ones who will enjoy God’s rest. He says God is also right to give His rest “to us as well.” So don’t be like Elijah and get discouraged by thinking you suffer all alone. Keep things in perspective. Remember that God will gather all His children to eternal rest.

Summary

Now, let’s briefly take a step back see how this fits together. Paul writes to encourage the Thessalonians while they are suffering great persecution. He commends their faith and love first, but then He says, “You may be suffering now, but God will make things right in the end. God Himself will take up your cause, afflict your afflictors, and bring you into His eternal rest. Be encouraged! You will be vindicated.”

This raises some questions. When will this finally happen? Will God really afflict our afflictors as much as they’ve afflicted us? And in the end, will we think God’s rest was actually worth all of this affliction? Graciously, Paul anticipates and answers these questions. These are the other three main points, and they all fit together under this first one that we need need to trust the righteousness of God. These things will help us persevere in faith.

Await the Revelation of Jesus (7b)

Look with me at the second half of verse 7, where we find the answer to the first question “when.” It says,

“at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,”

The first thing to notice here is the phrase, “the revelation of the Lord Jesus.” You probably recognize it from Revelation 1:1, and it is also used in 1 Corinthians 1:7 and 1 Peter 1:7. But what is special is that 2 Thessalonians was written before those other three books. This is the very first time the phrase is mentioned. For the Thessalonians, this knowledge would have been a precious reward for their patient perseverance.

Gene Green comments,

This affirmation was of great importance for these Christians who had neither a temple nor a visible god as did their pagan contemporaries. He whom neither they nor their pagan persecutors could see will be revealed in all his glory and power, and on that day all will see him…

That will be amazing, and Paul explains three details about how Jesus will be revealed:

1) Jesus will be revealed “from heaven”

The Thessalonians knew Jesus had ascended into heaven, so it was natural that He would return from the same place. And the descent from heaven indicates that He will return with all the authority of God Himself.

Besides this, we also see that Jesus’ revelation will be spectacular. He’s not coming back just to pop into the upper room with the disciples and eat a broiled fish again. This time it will be super public, just like Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” And that leads us to the second detail from God’s plan for Jesus’ revelation,

2) Jesus will be revealed “with His mighty angels”

As with the first characteristic, this one affirms Jesus’ authority. He does not come alone. Deuteronomy 33:2 says that when Yahweh delivered the Mosaic Law to Israel, “He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones.” The law was given in the presence of angels. In the same way, Paul is teaching here that Jesus will return with His mighty angels and they will mediate His law and order, to set right things that were wrong and to avenge His people.

The third and final detail picks up on this theme of judgment,

3) Jesus will be revealed “in flaming fire”

This flaming fire is not some graphical illusion or eschatological CGI. It’s totally real, and Jesus means business. In the Old Testament, verses like Psalm 21:9 and Deuteronomy 4:24 associated Yahweh’s judgment with fire. Here we see that Jesus has appropriated Yahweh’s authority. He will return with blazing fury in righteous anger.

Summary

You should be encouraged by this. First you need to trust the righteousness of God. And then, to strengthen your faith, God condescends to reveal when He is going to judge the wicked and how you can recognize it. This should help you persevere in faith. But this is not all, because God also outlines what He will do to the wicked.

Watch the Retribution of Evildoers (8-9)

Look with me at verses 8-9 now, where we will watch the retribution of evildoers.

Jesus will execute vengeance on two types of people:

The beginning of verse 8 says that Jesus will be revealed,

“executing vengeance,” or your translation might have “dealing out retribution”

This is a powerful present participle. As a participle, it indicates that Jesus’ return will be primarily characterized by vengeance. The two almost become synonymous. And the present indicates that this is urgent. Jesus is in the car and on the phone. Before He even hits the ground, he’s already executing vengeance and dealing out retribution.

Interestingly, this word for vengeance comes from the same root as right and righteousness. The Greek terms are δικαίας (v. 5), δίκαιον (v. 6), ἐκδίκησιν (v. 8). You could read this as “executing righteousness.” Remember, God is right. So Jesus will return to execute vengeance, and Paul says He will do it to two types of people.

Those who do not know God

The first group Jesus will execute vengeance on is in the middle of verse 8. It says,

“on those who do not know God”

You hear that and maybe wonder, Wait, they don’t even know God and He’s going to execute vengeance on them? Isn’t that a little harsh? Well remember, this is why Paul stressed the righteousness of God. This is just.

There is no excuse for sin. There is no excuse for disobedience. If you do not know God, do not pretend to yourself that you can escape His wrath by pleading your ignorance. To not know God is to deserve judgment.

Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus

We find the second group at the end of verse 8, Jesus will also execute vengeance

“on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

The relationship between this group and the first one is interesting. On the one hand, this group deserves worse punishment because they apparently knew the gospel before they disobeyed it. On the other hand, this group might have thought they were being sly about their sin. But as Moses said, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

Notice also that Paul conflates the ideas of believing and obeying the gospel. He gives no option for believing and disobeying. In John 3:36, Jesus said the wrath of God abides on everyone who does not believe and obey.

So now we know who Jesus will execute vengeance on, but we still need to discover what it will look like.

Jesus will exact the penalty of eternal punishment from them:

We find the explanation in verse 9, which begins,

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,”

The key term here is “eternal.” That should make you suck your breath in and cover your mouth. This is shocking.

Think about it. Imagine an evildoer wreaks havoc in your life for a long time, like 50 years. Then when God afflicts them back, He does it for all eternity! And He doesn’t just afflict them, this verse says He destroys them!

See, the real question you should be wondering when you suffer affliction is not, “How could God be right and allow this to happen to me?” but actually “How could God be right and punish them so severely just for this?!”

Your affliction is peanuts! At best it only consumes this life. Jesus says to fear God rather, who can cast body and soul into hell! And this is the reason why.

Away from the presence of the Lord

Paul describes Jesus’ judgment with two themes from the Old Testament. The first is in the middle of verse 9,

“AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD”

This is based on the account from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:8,

Genesis 3:8 LSB

8 Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

When Adam and Eve sinned, the first consequence was separation from God’s presence.

Away from the glory of His might

You can see the second theme of Jesus’ judgment at the end of verse 9. It says,

“AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT”

This theme comes from Isaiah 2:5-22, where the prophet says in verse 10,

Isaiah 2:10 LSB

10 Enter the rock and hide in the dust From the dread of Yahweh and from the splendor of His majesty.

Actually, Isaiah goes on to repeat this idea two more times in the same chapter, in verses 19 and 21.

it is interesting that Paul chooses to quote two passages about Yahweh’s advent. Specifically, these passages are focused less on the eternal state and more on the immediate reaction of the wicked when Jesus returns.

The wicked will try to run away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. They will flee as cowards. But they won’t escape, and Jesus will make them pay the penalty of eternal destruction.

Summary

These are sobering truths about final judgment. When Jesus returns to condemn the wicked, there will be no one to save them. The Thessalonians will finally reap their sweet justice, and Jesus’ power will be mind-blowing.

Paul’s intention here is to encourage the Thessalonians. Anticipating the righteousness of God demonstrated through the retribution of evildoers at the revelation of Jesus should thrill the hearts of believers. This should motivate us to persevere patiently while suffering unjust affliction. We know the tables will turn.

And in response, Paul explains that we will all fulfill the reverence of believers when this day comes.

Fulfill the Reverence of Believers (10)

Look at verse 10, which begins with,

“when He comes”

This little phrase helps us understand the main reason Jesus is going to return. This is different from the manner of Jesus’ return. The manner of His return is with vengeance and judgment, but the purpose or reason for His return is what we are going to look at now. Jesus wants to come back so we can do two things to Him:

We will glorify Jesus

In the middle of verse 10, we see the first reason Jesus wants to come back is,

“to be glorified in His saints”

This verb “glorify” occurs in the New Testament only here and in verse 12, and Michael Martin helpfully points out that it is probably based on Psalm 89:7, where the LXX uses it to tell of God being glorified “in the council of the saints.” That whole psalm is filled with magnificent praise for God’s power over all creation and all men. So also in the future, all believers will join together in magnificent praise to worship Jesus. And He can’t wait for it.

We will marvel at Jesus

But that’s not all. Look at the other reason that follows in verse 10. Jesus wants to come back,

“to be marveled at among all who have believed”

This carries over the same idea of public praise, but it’s like a key change in a song. Not only will we glorify Him by praising Him, but we will be absolutely stunned! Jesus is going to wow and dazzle us like never before. His second coming will be a greater show of divine power than any other event in history.

We will see something greater than the Flood and the Exodus! Jesus is going to absolutely blow our minds. It is going to be beyond anything we can imagine. This will be the privilege of those who persevere in faith.

We will be at peace

As we we begin to wrap up, notice how Paul reassures the Thessalonians and provides a test for us,

“our witness to you was believed.”

The Thessalonians could have confidence because they had believed the witness of the Apostle. The question for you today is this, “Do you know God and have you obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus?” Knowledge and obedience are the only ways to grow in assurance that you will be exempt from Jesus’ vengeance.

We will wait eagerly

Lastly, there is the tiny little phrase “on that day,” which shows up somewhere in verse 10. It depends on which translation you have, and it shows up in at least six different places. It’s like nobody knows what to do with it.

This phrase actually refers to Isaiah 2, just like the phrase “from the glory of His might.” Isaiah 2:11 says,

Isaiah 2:11 LSB

11 The lofty look of man will be made low, And the men made high will be bowed down, And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.

Isaiah repeats the same thing again in verse 17. The connection is that we will eventually see the glory of Jesus’ might, and “on that day” we will glorify and marvel at Him. The correct location for this phrase is at the end of the verse, where it is located in the Greek. Verses 3-10 in this chapter are all one long, run-on sentence. And Paul is crowning this incredible revelation of truth with the resounding cry, “On that day!” when Jesus will return.

Conclusion

This is so great. Paul reminds us that though we may be afflicted and suffering, God is still righteous. He directs our attention toward the justice of God. He explains that Jesus is going to return in vengeance and make right all the wrong that has ever been done against us. We will see with our own eyes the eternal destruction of the wicked. And we will join together in praise and worship at the breath-taking power of our great God and King. It will be amazing, and Paul wants us to know it will be worth all our afflictions. It will be worth it. And so, we must persevere in faith.

Postlude

Psalm 58:10–11 LSB

10 The righteous will be glad when he beholds the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

I hope your discussion time was encouraging. There are so many great truths in this passage!

I want to take a minute, though, to briefly address what might seem like a problem here. The problem is this, how are we supposed to be encouraged by awaiting the destruction of our afflictors? Aren’t we supposed to count the patience of the Lord as salvation?

This is the same problem many Christians have with what are called the imprecatory psalms, or the curse psalms.

How are we supposed to apply these passages today? What are we supposed to do when we are afflicted?

First, you need to understand the historical context of the imprecatory psalms. Here are two examples:

Psalm 137:9 is the one about dashing infants against the cliffs. This one makes more sense when you realize that the Edomites had actually just done that to the Israelites’ children. So the Psalmist was simply praying that fair justice would be served.

Psalm 3:7 is the one that talks about striking enemies and shattering their teeth. Once again, you have to realize that David wrote that after Absalom had seduced Israel with his winsome beauty and sexually abused David’s concubines on the roof of the palace. Rather than getting back at Absalom’s women, David was simply praying that God would punch Absalom in the jaw and ruin his son’s seductive smile.

Perhaps those examples run the risk of over-simplification, but I think you can see my point. These aren’t arbitrary prayers.

Often these prayers reflect times of terrible suffering. That is true of our passage in Thessalonians as well. The reason we are so appalled by these prayers for the destruction of the wicked is that we have never experienced suffering and affliction like this. We don’t know what it’s like to have our children smashed. We haven’t had to endure the violent persecution that the Thessalonians did.

In addition, you have to realize that imprecatory prayers are not limited to the Psalms or even to the Old Testament. Remember that Jesus also said in Luke 12:49, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” And Jack just preached on the martyrs in Revelation 6 who pray for God to act swiftly and avenge them of their murderers.

It is also helpful to consider the behavior of David and Jesus. David was a powerful warrior king, and all but two or three of the imprecatory psalms were written by him. However, he still showed great mercy and love to Saul, Shimei, Doeg, and Absalom. David never took matters into his own hands. Jesus was the same; dying on the cross, He still prayed, “Father, forgive them.”

It is important to distinguish between personal and divine offenses. We should not pray curses on people whenever things just don’t go our way. Biblical imprecations or curses are the response to offenses against God. They are a form of righteous anger. As with righteous anger, they are also very rare and particularly powerful expressions of our love for God. Most of David’s psalms were full of edification, exhortation, and encouragement. His primary language was calculated to inspire worship and praise.

On the other side, though, we need to be careful not to be found opposing God. You might wonder, “Wait, what does that mean?”

Well, if you believe that we should never pray for the destruction of the wicked, then what are you going to do about Jesus’ second coming and all the judgment we’re studying in Revelation? That is part of what it means to pray that Jesus would return! When Jesus said in Luke 18 that we should pray always and not give up, He wasn’t talking about getting a Ferrari. He meant that we should continually pray for God’s final justice to be served, for God come quickly to destroy the wicked and vindicate our cause.

Imagine for a minute if you were a judge. If someone came to you and said their daughter had been raped and murdered, would you delay in finding and executing that criminal? I hope not! It would be unjust to pray that God would delay in bringing judgment. Instead, you should do everything you can to bring the perpetrator to justice. You must plead the victim’s cause!

But what are we supposed to do with the wicked while we wait for Jesus to come back and destroy them? I think Romans 12:17-21 is helpful here.

Romans 12:17–21 LSB

17 Never paying back evil for evil to anyone, respecting what is good in the sight of all men, 18 if possible, so far as it depends on you, being at peace with all men, 19 never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The idea is that we do not retaliate on our own. Instead, we should pray for them and serve them. And we should do all of this knowing that their judgment will be more severe as a result. This is how we look forward to their destruction.

Until that happens, we should do what Peter says in 2 Peter 3:15 “and consider the patience of our Lord as salvation.” In verse 9, Peter also says that God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. Do you realize that the great Tribulation is actually a mercy? Rather than coming back and in one instant sending billions of people to hell, God is going to put his divine power on display for seven whole years. He is going to confront their sinfulness with judgment after judgment until they are fully without excuse for their rebellion. He will give them every opportunity to repent, and we know from Revelation that they will harden their hearts. Only then will Jesus come back and slay them with the breath of His mouth. So the Tribulation demonstrates the patience of our Lord as He really does desire everyone to come to repentance, though He will by no means pardon the guilty.

If I was to put this into a simple illustration, I think I would say that we should pray for justice to drive quickly, and that we should also pray for repentance to get there first. We should not pray for God to delay or dilute His justice. We should pray that it would be strong and swift. And we should also pray that people will repent before it comes.

Then when God brings justice, we can look forward to worshipping Him for His great righteousness and power.

Pray summarizing key points, also gently thanking the Lord for His mercy toward us since we deserve the same