Treasures in Heaven – 5

24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

“Stored up” for Fire

Romans 2:5–11 (NIV84)

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”

7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;

10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

11For God does not show favoritism.

Romans 1:18-32 lists some big sins. Those being addressed in Romans 2 were the stubborn and unrepentant, who believed that the wrath and judgment of God rightfully applied to the Gentile sinners but did not apply to them, because they didn’t commit the big sins.

We have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we should; we think we are generally good people.

Our first inclination is to think of other people who fit the descriptions.

Rarely do we place ourselves at the top of the list.

There is always someone else more evil and vile.

Paul uses the list of sins in Romans 1:29–31 to set the stage for a reversal in 2:1.

Romans 1:18-32 starts out listing some serious sins that include sexual sins, idolatry, and homosexuality, of which, many people can say, “I never did any of those sins.”

Verses 29-31 lists sins that everyone can say they committed in whole or in part.

The sins listed in verses 29-31 exposed the true sinfulness of the self-righteous who condemned others for their sins but failed to see that they were just as sinful.

Romans 2:5 (NLT2)

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

The sinful, unrepentant people would be facing the judgment of God.

In the past, God judged the world by sending a flood, which destroyed the evil and wicked.

In the future, God will destroy the ungodly by exercising His wrath and judgment by fire upon the present heavens and earth, which are being kept for the day of judgment.

2 Peter 3:7–10 (NIV84)

7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

2 Peter 3:7 (NLT2)

7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Slow = βραδύνω bradyon 2x (1 Tim. 3:15) = To be slow, to delay; referring to the fact that the Lord will not be tardy or slack in respect to His promise.

This verse addressed the idea of some who believed that God had made a promise and did not keep it.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Store up; reserved = θησαυρίζω thēsaurizō 8x = from thēsaurós (2344), treasure. To lay, store or treasure up goods for future use.

Will be laid bare = εὑρίσκω heuriskō = to find, to be disclosed, to be manifested.

‘to be found,’ ‘to be discovered,’ ‘to be disclosed,’ ‘to be exposed,’ ‘to be exposed to judgment,’ ‘to be laid bare,’ ‘to be made manifest,’ ‘to be brought to judgment.

Will be laid bare implies God laying bare His creation in judgment.

The verse describes cosmic renewal rather than complete annihilation.

All evil ways will be exposed, and the present evil world will be destroyed.

Because of the sinfulness and lack of repentance of sinful, wicked people, the wrath of God is being stored up against them.

God’s wrath will be unleashed by fire, which will destroy all the wicked who live on the earth.

God has given orders that the present heavens and earth will experience another judgment yet future.

Unbelievers will realize too late that destruction is imminent since the end will arrive without warning, just as birth pangs suddenly seize a pregnant woman.

When the Lord Jesus comes back in judgment people will be taken by surprise, and no time will be left for repentance then.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 (NIV84)

1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,

2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Like a thief. How does this apply to the believer and the unbeliever?

Can both unbelievers and believer be caught off guard?

1 Thessalonians 5:4–11 (NIV84)

4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

Should surprise = καταλαμβάνω katalambanō = to happen quickly and without warning; understood as if being discovered or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly while doing something.

Darkness = σκότος skotos = the sphere dominated by evil, sinfulness, and ignorance of God and His ways; understood as the absence of light.

5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

Of the light = φῶς phōs = the sphere dominated by righteousness, goodness, and the knowledge of God.

Of the day = ἡμέρα hēmera = the sphere dominated by righteousness and goodness; especially the realm of the allies of God.

To the night = νύξ nyx = the sphere dominated by evil, sinfulness, and ignorance of God and His ways.

6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

Who are asleep = καθεύδω katheudō = To be spiritually asleep, i.e., secure and unconcerned in sin, or indolent (lax) and careless in the performance of duty.

Let us be alert = γρηγορέω grēgoreō = to be in constant readiness, be on the alert.

Self-controlled = νήφω nēphō = be sober; be free from every form of mental and spiritual drunkenness, from excess, passion, rashness, confusion, etc. be well-balanced.

7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

Who get drunk = μεθύσκω methuskō = inebriated; to be or become stupefied or excited by alcohol.

Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy, was worshiped in Thessalonica with drunkenness and sexual immorality. Paul’s criticism of drunkenness may refer to the cult of Dionysus.

8But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

Like armor, these virtues protect believers from being unprepared for the Day of the Lord.

John Calvin: “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.”

J. Vernon McGee: “Faith” looks to the past when we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. “Love” is for the present, which is the relationship the believer should have with those around him. The “hope of salvation” is that blessed hope of the future.

Warren W. Wiersbe: “The day” is approaching, it is time to wake up, clean up, and dress up. And when we dress up, we had better put on “the breastplate of faith and love: and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”

Only the armor of light (Rom. 13:12) will adequately protect us in these last days before our Lord returns.

Outlook determines outcome; and when your outlook is the uplook, then your outcome is secure.

Hope of salvation means “the hope that salvation gives to us.” There are actually three tenses to salvation:

Past: I have been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin;

Present: I am being saved from the power and pollution of sin;

Future: I shall be saved from the very presence of sin when Christ returns.

The blessed hope of our Lord’s return is the hope of salvation.

9For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wrath = ὀργή orgē = punishment; the punitive outworking of God’s righteous indignation at sin.

Christians will not suffer God’s wrath, but they will experience persecution, which is not the same as God’s wrath.

God’s wrath involves condemnation or judgment, while persecution originates from hostile human powers.

The book of Revelation makes little sense if we say that Christians will never experience suffering and persecution.

We need to abandon the exemption theology made popular by end-time novels in favor of endurance theology made clear by Jesus himself.

2 Timothy 3:12 (LSB)

12Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Those who pursue such a life (of godliness) “will be persecuted” (διωχθήσονται). It was used in the LXX to describe the hunting down of humans by soldiers (Ex. 15:9) or other hostiles (Gen. 31:23).

In the NT it came primarily to describe the harassment, molestation or troubling of Christians.

10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

2 Timothy 4:7–8 (NIV84)

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Do we have a heavenly mindset that longs for Christ’s appearing?

Matthew 25:1–13 (NIV84)

1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6“At midnight, the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.

8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9“ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

12“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Ten is the Jewish number of completion, as illustrated by the fact that there were ten Commandments and that ten Jewish males in a community warranted a synagogue.

Background: In a typical wedding scene of first-century Palestine, the wedding guests were entertained in the bride’s home until late evening. There they waited for the bridegroom, whose visit was announced by messengers.

Some time after nightfall, the groom came to claim his bride and to take her to his father’s home, where the wedding ceremony and other festivities took place.

Both the coming of the bridegroom to the bride’s home and the procession to his father’s home were accompanied by bright lights, especially by torches.

It was customary among the Arabs of Palestine for the groom to be late for the wedding.

The delay results from the traditional haggling over the gifts due the bride’s relatives, for if such haggling is neglected, this may indicate that the bride is not to be prized very highly.

The wise virgins’ unwillingness to share their oil reflects their concern for their friend’s wedding; since they had only enough for their own torches, sharing would cause all the torches to be extinguished, ruining the whole procession.

Bridal processions were so important that later rabbis even suspended their lectures so they could hail a passing bride; for the groom and for the attendants, weddings even took precedence over some ritual obligations, so a breach of etiquette was serious.

Thus, the foolish virgins were not excluded simply because the door was locked, nor because the host actually did not recognize them, but because they had insulted the bride and groom as well as all their relatives!

To participate in their friend’s wedding was a great honor; as virgins, these young women were in a sense practicing for their own impending weddings around the age of twelve to sixteen.

To have spoiled the wedding for their friend by failing to do their part was a great insult to everyone else at the wedding.

Instead of speaking of people who are obviously saved or lost, such as those who perished in the flood or the wicked, careless servant, Jesus seems to speak of people who look like believers and who even think they are but who will not be ready when he comes.

All ten virgins professed Christ, but only five of the virgins possessed Him.

The five foolish virgins had “a profession of faith in Jesus Christ without a saving relationship to Him.”

Association with God is not the same as knowing him.

By no means all who read the Bible, attend and even belong to a church, sing the songs of salvation, make public professions of faith, even preach in Christ’s name, are going to share in the blessings of Christ’s return.

Some are sensible. Religion with them is not sham and pretense. They believe in being prepared by faith in the Savior and lives dedicated to Him and therefore to God Triune.

Others are foolish. “They have a form of piety but deny its power.” Unprepared they travel on—to meet the Judge.

Titus 1:15–16 (NIV84)

15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

To know = οἶδα oida (EE-tha) = to be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about.

They habitually claim to know God. This word differs from γινώσκω (ginōskō), which emphasizes a personal, experiential and relational nature of know-ledge.

They claimed to know God, yet their “knowledge” (oida) was only intellectual; they never knew (ginōskō) Him through a transformed, obedient relationship.

“Oh, Jesus, yeah, I’ve heard of him.”

Their continual profession of faith in Christ was continually contradicted by their ongoing way of life.

Matthew 7:21–23 (NIV84)

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew (ginōskō) you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

1 Corinthians 8:3 (NIV84)

3But the man who loves God is known (ginōskō) by God.

Does God ‘know’ you? Do you ‘know’ Him?

Don’t be one of the “many”!

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