Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast

Title: Declaration of Dependence Text: 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17 FCF: We often struggle fulfilling what God has set out for us to be and do. Prop: Because our loving God graciously gives all we need to be and do as He has commanded, we must depend on Him alone. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read from the New English Translation starting in verse 16. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Paul has officially ended another major section in this second letter to the Thessalonians. He has had nothing but good things to say about them. He knows they are genuine believers who have devoted themselves to growing in their faith and love for one another. But they are experiencing even greater persecution since the last time Paul wrote, only a few short months ago. Paul seeks to give them comfort through the better part of the first two chapters. He assures them that they are called of God and worthy of that calling. He assures them that the ungodly, who are persecuting them, will be judged by God and cast from His benevolent presence. He then addresses a great concern of theirs. They have been convinced somehow that the Day of the Lord had already come and that they had missed it. Paul reminds them what he taught them and tells them that the great apostasy and the man of lawlessness must come first. He will deceive many and will be the agent causing much of the falling away of professed believers. But they need not worry. Why? Because God has chosen them from the beginning to obtain Christ’s glory by receiving the gospel and with it the truth and growing in holiness by the power of the Spirit. But they cannot be idle just because God has chosen them. No, they must stand firm and hold to the Christian beliefs and practices that they have been taught. Today, Paul finishes up this section and prepares for the next with another benediction. A hopeful prayer for them. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Loving and gracious God, we confess that it is by Your grace that we exist. We recognize that we are wholly dependent on You and that without You nothing would be. You are not the clock maker who set all in motion and left it to run. Instead, all things consist in You. Without Your personal, intimate involvement in Your creation, all would crumble. If this is true for all of creation, how much more so is it true for us as Your people. Lord show us through this prayer of Your apostle, the truth of our dependence on You and help us to know and live by that dependence. We pray this in Jesus’ name, and by His authority and power alone… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “No folly is greater than to suppose that God is optional for daily living.” Edmund P. Clowney “A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day, as we need it.” D.L. Moody [Slide 3] “They travel lightly whom God’s grace carries.” Thomas A Kempis “Grace is something more than ‘unmerited favor’… grace is favor shown where there is positive demerit in the one receiving it.” Anonymous “Grace grows by exercise and decays by disuse.” Thomas Brooks These thoughts will help set our mind aright as we approach the text this morning. I.) Our loving God is the gracious source of eternal comfort and good hope for His people, so we must depend on Him alone. (16) a. [Slide 4] 16 - Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, i. Paul’s habit in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians has been to conclude a section of the letter with a benediction. ii. This is his fourth benediction and his second in this letter. He concluded chapter 1 with a benediction and will now conclude his thoughts on the Day of the Lord, the man of lawlessness, and the great apostasy with a benediction as well. iii. Once again, a benediction is a good word, or hopeful prayer, usually lifted up to God and is for fellow believers. iv. Paul begins this benediction addressing once again the two persons of the God head that He has featured in these letters. v. We do find it a bit conspicuous that he does not include the Holy Spirit in this benediction, but by excluding The Spirit we should not infer that Paul does not see the Holy Spirit as a person of the Triune God. vi. Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit a handful of times in both letters. And as we’ve mentioned before, there may be some cultural or local reason that Paul does not talk much about the Spirit, whether that be the Thessalonians level of theological understanding, perhaps the local superstition of the pagans, or perhaps even the Jews may come into play regarding the third person of the Godhead. vii. Since the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, we see that He would ultimately be the divine agent carrying out these hopeful words toward the Thessalonian church anyway. viii. In any case, the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father are addressed in this hopeful prayer for the Thessalonians. ix. The descriptions added to Jesus’ name of Lord and Christ reflect the Jewish understanding of Jesus being the Messiah or Anointed or Chosen One of God and also the King or Sovereign One in the line of David. x. Furthermore, when Paul quotes Old Testament Scriptures which use the proper name of God, he usually replaces the name of God with the Greek word, Kurios – Lord. xi. Since Jesus is referred to as Lord and Messiah this sets Him apart as co-equal in essence and attributes to God the Father and thus equally and rightly called Yahweh. xii. Paul addresses his benediction also to God our Father, which is significant to the Gentile population of the church since Yahweh is the God of the Jews and often relates Himself as their Father and they His children in the Old Testament. xiii. So, the Thessalonian church, predominantly gentile, and these Jewish evangelists sharing the same Father, is significant theologically to understand that although the Israelite people have a particular place and status in the redemptive plan of God, it is not significantly different than that of the church which combines all Jesus followers regardless of nationality. xiv. Paul addresses the Father and Son in His benediction. But He is not done describing the triune God, on whom He is calling. b. [Slide 5] who loved us i. Interestingly, the participles loved and gave are both singular, even though there is a compound subject of two persons of the Godhead. Some commentators are hesitant to make conclusions on this – but I am not. Paul understands that although the Lord Jesus Christ is a separate person from God our Father, He is one co-eternal being. Therefore, when one person of the Godhead acts, they all act. ii. But what of this God? iii. There is no attribute of God’s that needs greater clarity and exposition today than the love of God, particularly the love of God for His own people. iv. Just as the “our” in Paul’s description of the Father sharpens our understanding of a Father that adopts children from all nations through Christ, so also the “us” here sharpens the Divine love which Paul references as being poured out specifically and especially to those children whom He has chosen from the beginning to obtain the glory of His Son. v. God’s love for His elect is boundless. It is super-abundant. vi. Make no mistake, God’s love for all His creation is abounding. 1. God loves all He has created, even the pots that are made for wrath. 2. Even the animals that act on instinct. 3. Even the plants that provide sustenance. 4. Down to the smallest single celled organisms to the pinnacle of His creation, mankind, whom He made in His own image, and everything in-between, material and immaterial, physical and spiritual – all He has made He loves. vii. How do we know that? 1. God’s mercy is lavished on all of creation. 2. The fall of man occurred in excess of 6,000 years ago. 3. For 6,000 years God has allowed men to hate and love Him. 4. He has allowed wicked men to have happiness in the world He created. 5. He has allowed men to confess Him and to deny Him. 6. He holds together all things. By Him all things consist. 7. My friends… that is love. He is literally keeping all His creation running. He is the power, the energy, the fuel that keeps things going. viii. If that is true… of the smallest organism. If that is true… of the greatest sinner. ix. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those who are betrothed to His Son? x. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those His Son left heaven to save? xi. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those He chose in Christ before Adam fell? xii. When we would measure God’s love for His elect… all other loves of God, men, and angels, would appear to be hate by comparison. xiii. Husbands you say you love your wife… But your love might as well be hate when compared to how Christ loves His bride. xiv. Mothers, you say you love your children… But your love for them might as well be hate when compared to how God loves His children whom He adopted from their murderous father the devil. xv. Oh, how vast and how deep and how overwhelming is the love of God toward believers. xvi. His love for the nations is so great that He gave His unique Son, sent By His Hand to see to it that believers from every tribe, tongue, nation, and ethnicity would not perish but have everlasting life. xvii. Far from a trivial human love based on warm fuzzies… xviii. Far from a love proven by tolerance that never corrects or rebukes… xix. Far from a passionate physical lust… xx. Far from admiration or appreciation… xxi. The Love of God toward His people… is a force that cannot be stopped, it cannot be conquered, it cannot be questioned, and it cannot be earned. xxii. What business does the God of the Universe have… in loving us this way? We who were wretches and sinners from birth? We who were born spiritually dead? We who didn’t love Him, didn’t seek Him, didn’t want Him? xxiii. And yet… He loved us. xxiv. The aspect of the word “loved” in the Greek stresses the fact of it and implies a specific act of it. Now we could point to the cross, and we might be right to do so. But within this text Paul has already told the Thessalonians of a particular act that God has done that is loving. Which is, of course, His election of them from the beginning. xxv. The two participles share one article in the Greek. This means that we should see the next participle as connected to and flowing from the fact of God’s love for us. xxvi. What did His love do? c. [Slide 6] and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, i. We should begin by recognizing that although His love by grace gave us what appears to be two things they are most likely referring to ONE thing. Or at least two things that are interconnected. ii. First eternal comfort. iii. If the adjective eternal were not present, we could make the case that God is providing some comfort for them in their persecution. However, by adding eternal, we are clued in to the fact that God is not simply the comforter of earthly problems. Instead, He is ultimately in His love, by His grace, giving us a comfort that goes beyond death. iv. The comfort that God offers in His love by His grace is one that endures forever. It will never fade. v. But Paul elaborates on that eternal comfort by the second description. vi. Good hope. vii. Paganism of this time believed in hope in a purely ambivalent way. And all hope was lost upon death. Though some pagans believed in a spiritual existence beyond death – no pagan taught life after death. viii. And so, God’s love for us gave us by grace both eternal comfort and good hope. To what could Paul be referring? ix. What else but the choosing of God from the beginning a people who will obtain the glory of Christ. This is both an eternal comfort and a good hope. x. But how has God’s love given this by grace? xi. What is God’s grace? We should know this by now CBC. xii. [Slide 7] Grace is God’s power which he grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to be, receive, or do something which they are unable and unwilling to be, get, or do on their own. xiii. We’ve been looking at that definition for grace for some time, and there might be a test on that answer soon. xiv. Because if you understand God’s grace this way, it allows you to crack open the mystery of God’s love for His people. xv. Like here: xvi. The other common definitions of grace, “Unmerited favor” or “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” are certainly appropriate. But how much more do we understand when we realize that God is actively giving us strength to recieve eternal comfort and good hope. xvii. Why? xviii. Because of ourselves, we could never earn or acquire for ourselves eternal comfort and good hope. xix. It is something that must be given by the free will of God. And He has given it freely to us… His children. d. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Paul starts his hopeful prayer for the Thessalonian church addressing the request to the only One who can answer. He seeks these requests from the Triune God who loves His children in giving them eternal comfort and good hope by his grace. He gives these things to us, which we could never earn or acquire for ourselves, and He does so out of His love for us. Although Paul does not specify any response the Thessalonians must have toward this truth, the implication is that they must depend on this God alone for eternal comfort and good hope. Therefore, we too must depend on God alone. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] All of what has been said in this benediction is exclusively about God. He is loving and gracious to give us eternal comfort and good hope. So, what does Paul ask for from this loving and gracious God? What does having eternal comfort and good hope mean in this life? II.) Our loving God is the gracious source of courageous faith and strong character, so we must depend on Him alone. (17) a. [Slide 10] 17 - encourage your hearts i. Paul prays that the Lord would use His love and grace to bring courage to the Thessalonians. ii. They are experiencing increased persecution. iii. They are suffering for the name of Christ. iv. Paul’s first thought is that this loving and gracious God would give them courage and boldness. v. This, of course, flows out of the reminder that God has chosen them from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ. vi. That God has graciously given them out of His abundant love for them, eternal comfort and a good hope. vii. Boots on the ground… what that looks like now… viii. That they would be able to stand firm and hold fast to what they have been taught and endure for the Lord’s sake their trials. ix. The body may fail them, but Paul prays for their souls, their inner person, to be courageous. x. But not courage alone… b. [Slide 11] and strengthen you i. The word strengthen here has the idea of a buttress or a crutch. ii. That God’s love and grace would come alongside them and hold them up and firmly establish them. iii. That they would not only be bold but powerful. iv. This too flows from eternal comfort and a good hope. v. Knowing that we will endure to the end because we’ve been chosen from the beginning. Knowing that we have been chosen from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ in the end. This pushes us, motivates us, and propels us to be strong. vi. To endure. vii. But this strength is not simply to keep believing or to keep going or living… it I strength for something specific. c. [Slide 12] in every good thing you do or say. i. This is an idiom to include every outward expression of human agency and responsibility. ii. An outward witness. iii. Paul prays that they would be courageous in faith and strong in character. iv. That they would hold fast to what they were taught not just in what to believe to be true, but in the Christian tradition of how to live. v. That is such a delicate balance to strike. vi. Many have remained steadfast in their beliefs but have become just as hateful and vile in their treatment of those who disagree. vii. Many have tried to love outsiders but have compromised on what they believe in order to appear more palatable to those who seek them harm. viii. Paul prays for both. ix. That they would be uncompromising in what they believe, while remaining steadfastly good in what they say and what they do. x. True Christianity, built on the love of God to graciously give eternal comfort and good hope to us, must produce both a people who cling to what they have been taught to be true and also a people who by word and action demonstrate, not merely admiration of Christ, but as true devotion to Him. We believe what we were taught and we live what we believe. d. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: And so, Paul’s hopeful prayer not only looks to God’s gracious love for eternal comfort and good hope but also for encouragement and strength to remain steadfast in doctrine and practice. The implication again, is that the Thessalonians would rely on God alone. Not that they are passive – but they must remember that God is the source of all these good gifts. They must depend on Him for them. And so must we. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 14] In Paul’s fourth of five benedictions in these two letters, Paul looks to the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father as the sole provider of the things he desires for the Thessalonians to have. Paul desires that the Thessalonians would stand firm and hold fast to the Christian tradition both in doctrine and practice. In order to do that, they must be encouraged in their hearts and strengthened in their character. That flows from an eternal comfort and good hope that God alone can provide by grace in His love. As Paul looks to God to give these things to the Thessalonians he demonstrates to them that they too should be seeking the Lord and depending on Him alone to embolden their faith and to bolster their righteous living. So, we too must look to God alone for the same. But what does this mean for us? How does this impact our daily lives? 1.) [Slide 15] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God’s love for His people is abounding. a. Without denying that God loves all His creation and all men, we can affirm that God has a special love for those who belong to Him. b. That love is demonstrated in the lengths by which He went to redeem us from sin and death. c. That love is demonstrated in His choice from the beginning to appoint us for salvation. d. That love is demonstrated most abundantly on the cross where the perfect Son of God bore the wrath of God for all who believe. e. That love is demonstrated by His grace to continue to be with us and to seal us until the day of redemption by giving us His Spirit to dwell in us. f. That love is demonstrated in His doing all to make sure that we obtain the glory of Christ. g. God’s love for His people is beyond anything that we can point to in comparison. h. God does use examples for us to help us to understand. He is known as our Father. He compares His Son to our groom and we His bride. i. But these pictures ultimately fail to adequately communicate the heights, depths, and riches of God’s love for His people. j. That is not because God has failed to communicate it to us – but because we are unable to truly comprehend it. k. Added to this, is the extra point that we are undeserving of ANY love from Him much less this abounding love. l. All of mankind deserves His wrath and as Jesus says, are condemned already. Yet He reserves His judgment until the final day. He holds out and gives mercy, even to those who deny He exists or mock Him. m. If God gives love like this even to the wicked – how much more abundant must His love be for us whom He has chosen to save and conform to the image of His Son. n. No other god in any other religion has love like this for His worshippers. o. The gods of Eastern religions have no love for their worshippers. The gods of pagan religions are as flawed and selfish as their worshippers. The god of Islam while claiming to be loving, never promises to allow his worshippers into paradise, even if they adhere to the 5 pillars. p. And all the gods of every religion force their worshippers to earn whatever it is they are offering. q. Only Yahweh… Only Yahweh tells His worshippers that they are UNABLE to earn His love… yet He gives it to them freely and abundantly. r. Only Yahweh says that we love, only because He first loved us. s. Though this God is fierce in His wrath and Just in His judgment. Though He hates sin and those who love it. He is abounding in love to all… and especially to His people. 2.) [Slide 16] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that we are able to produce on our own the courage and strength necessary to be what God desires us to be. a. Here we have a riddle in the bible that has been debated for hundreds of years. b. Does God command us to do things we are unable to do? c. Some say that since God commands us to do things it implies that we are able to do it. d. Some say that God’s commands of us to do things merely implies responsibility… not ability. e. How can we be responsible to do things when we are not able to do them? f. But here we see the same riddle on display. g. Paul has commanded the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that the evangelists taught them. h. But in the previous breath he thanked God for choosing the Thessalonians from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ. i. And in the next breath he prays to God to provide what the Thessalonians need to stand firm and hold fast. j. The riddle isn’t actually that hard to figure out. k. I believe Paul gives us the secret to deciphering it in his letter to the Philippians. l. He tells them to work out their salvation in fear and trembling knowing that the One who works in them to will and do His good pleasure is God. m. Meaning what? n. They are responsible to live out their faith and obedience to God. But they must do so in awe and humility. Why? Because without God they would be unable and unwilling to do it. God provides the desire… and the power… to make them what He wants them to be. o. A command does not mean we are able. Just that we are responsible. But God graciously provides what we need to enable us… as we endeavor to do as He has commanded. p. Our flesh is weak. We are prone to fear. But God makes us strong and courageous. q. His power is made perfect in our weakness. r. Because all this is true… 3.) [Slide 17] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must depend on Him alone to embolden our faith and empower our character. a. God gave us the faith that unites us to Christ. b. God gave us grace. c. God gave us love d. God gave us eternal comfort and good hope. e. Does it not naturally follow that He will encourage our hearts and strengthen us to be what He has called us to be? f. When we depend in our own strength and try harder to live for Him, we usually fail. Or, perhaps worse, we succeed for a time, convincing ourselves that we did it. g. In truth, we must set out to obey the Lord’s commands… by faith. h. Faith is not simply the way the Lord connects us to the atonement of Christ. i. We live by faith. We walk by faith. We grow in faith. j. We actually keep trusting and depending on God to mold us and shape us. k. This seems like an obvious step but I know that this is one that I miss all the time. l. I set out to obey the Lord and correct my behavior… BY MYSELF all the time. m. I don’t pray and ask God and if I do, I pray once and then set out to do it on my own. n. Grandma Dorothy was such a shining example of this. Even in her old age, and even in her dementia, she would walk through the kitchen asking God audibly to give her the strength to make it to her chair. o. We might snicker at such a thing… p. But perhaps she was closer to what this means than we realize. q. Do we depend on God for every single step we take? r. We live in a culture that values independence. And not just independence from God but independence from anything. I don’t need anyone. I just need to seek self-fulfillment. s. And what a terrible lie it is. t. We not only need each other… we desperately need God to breathe… let alone to stand firm in our faith and hold fast in Christlike character. u. So how are you doing Christian? Do you feign dependence while trusting on the strength of your own arm or cunning? v. Do you not realize that even these are gifts from God which He can take away in a moment? w. We must relearn dependence. For we are truly dependent on God… for everything. 4.) [Slide 18] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God alone has given, by grace, in His love, eternal comfort and a good hope. a. If you are not a mere admirer of Jesus but are a devoted follower, then you know the eternal comfort and good hope that God has given you in His love by His grace. b. You know it. c. You know the comfort that it is to know that no matter what happens, no matter how bad life gets, no matter how many things go wrong, and no matter how much the world hates you – you are not of the world. You belong to a different Kingdom. d. You belong to a King who is not of this world. e. This world is just a shadow. It’s a shade. A dream and at worst a nightmare. One that all God’s people will one day wake up from. And just like the memories of nightmares fade… God will wipe away the tears from our eyes over the pains of this life and we will never know them again. f. We know hope. Real hope. Not hope that some president promises. No… Good Hope. g. Hope of abundant life. Hope of obtaining glory for Christ and in Christ. h. Hope of reigning with Him in that new Kingdom. i. Hope of never failing Him again. j. God’s love, by His grace… has given this to us. 5.) [Slide 19] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” This love, this grace, this comfort, this hope, this courage, this strength is available to all who believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. a. Though God has chosen His own from the beginning… the only way we can know that we are His… is when we believe. When we see our faith rest on Christ and grow. When we see our lives change and conform to His example. That is when we are assured that we are His. b. And so, if you are here this morning and you have never professed Christ as your Lord and Savior… if you are here today and you have convinced yourself that you are His but you don’t see your faith growing or your life conforming to His example… c. My friends… I offer Christ to you. d. In Him, God gives love, grace, comfort, hope, courage, and strength. e. Stop trusting in you. Stop trying to please God. Stop trying to make it through this life. f. Get off His throne and make a declaration of dependance on Him. Cry out to Him to save you from your sin and unto an obedient and Christ like life. [Slide 20(end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Robert Hawker Blessed promise! Holy Spirit, make it happen in and upon my soul, day by day. Bring me under the continued baptisms of your sovereign influence, and cause me to feel all the sweet anointings of the Spirit sent down upon the hearts and minds of your redeemed. These are the fruits and effects of Jesus, the promise of God the Father. Yes, blessed Spirit, cause me to know you in your person, work, and power. I need you day by day as my Comforter. I need you as the Spirit of truth, to guide me into all truth. I need you as the one who reminds me of the Lord Jesus, to bring to my forgetful heart all the blessed things he has revealed to me. I need you, as the witness of my Jesus, to testify of my wants, and of his fullness to supply. I need you as my advocate and helper, in all my infirmities in prayer. I need you as the deposit of the promised inheritance, that I may not faint or lack faith to hold on and hold out in every dark season. I need you, Lord. I cannot do a moment without you, nor act in faith, nor believe a promise, nor exercise a grace, without your constant hand on my poor soul. Come then, Lord, I beg you, and let me be brought under your unceasing baptisms. Shed abroad the love of God my Father in my heart, and direct me into the patient waiting for Jesus Christ. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: Hear the word of the Lord, In favor I will show you compassion, So that men may bring you the wealth of nations, In favor I will enlighten the eyes of your heart, That you might fully understand the hope to which He called you, even the glorious inheritance of the saints. Until we meet again, Grace and peace to you.

Title: Chosen To Obtain Glory Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 FCF: We often struggle with fear at the thought of falling away from our faith. Prop: Because those whom God has chosen for Himself will obtain the glory of Christ, we must hold fast to the truth with thanksgiving to God. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read from the New King James Version starting in verse 13 and reading through verse 15. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. As a reminder to you, I always make sermon notes for each sermon, so if you looking for a way to follow along or if notes typically help you attend better to what is being said, I’d encourage you to grab a set each week. There is also an outline of the book of 2 Thessalonians out there too, which should provide a nice snap shot of where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going. Paul has, more or less, finished his discussion about the coming of the Day of the Lord which must be preceded by the apostasy, or the falling away of many professing believers, and then the coming of the Satanic Superman, the man of lawlessness. Certainly, it is comforting to the Thessalonians to know that they have not missed the Day of the Lord because something must happen first that hasn’t happened. Most of Christendom understands that this has not yet ultimately come to pass. So, Paul’s words are also a comfort to us… the Day of the Lord has not come, we are not living in the eternal state. Jesus has not yet judged the world. And that is good – because the world kinda stinks. But as comforting as it is that we have not missed His coming, it is terrifying to think that a great apostasy is still on the horizon and the man of lawlessness, the beast, the Anti-Christ, is still yet to come and be given power to overcome the saints. What Paul will say next, is designed to give full comfort to the Thessalonian church and by application, will also give all those who are truly God’s people, comfort too. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: All powerful, Good, Gracious, and Sovereign King. We are thankful that You are in control of all things, including the redemption of Your people. We recognize that we do not see all that You have planned. Your story has been written, but we as characters in your book do not know what our destiny is or even what our next moments will be. But it is enough to know that You are the author of it all. It is enough to know that You have written all things. It is enough to know that nothing and no one can keep You from accomplishing what You have purposed. Although we wrestle with Your absolute control while we seem to have freedom of will, and that may be something we continue to wrestle with for the rest of our lives, we must believe that You are Sovereign over all if we are to trust You and Your promises. So, Sovereign Lord, we ask that you would be with us today and help us. Give us comfort with Your Word, we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “We do believe in eternal security, but we do not believe in eternal presumption. Let a man examine himself.” Donald Grey Barnhouse “Glory for the Christian is more certain than the grave.” John Blanchard [Slide 3] “The ultimate answer to the insecurity or security of the believer rests on the question of who does the work of salvation.” Lewis Sperry Chafer “The perseverance of the saints reminds us very forcefully that only those who persevere to the end are truly saints.” John Murray [Slide 4] “Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling, yet they are kept from falling altogether.” William Secker “It is a glorious truth that God will keep His people, but it is an abominable falsehood that sin will do them no harm.” C.H. Spurgeon [Slide 5] “God never repents of His electing love.” Thomas Watson “The question is not one of the retention of salvation based upon a persistence of faith, but of the possession of salvation as evidenced by a continuation of faith.” Kenneth Wuest Let these words prepare our hearts for the exposition of the text this morning. I.) Those whom God has chosen for Himself will obtain the glory of Christ, so we must give thanks to God. (13-14) a. [Slide 6] 13 - But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, i. Greek conjunctions are always somewhat of an interpretational issue. ii. The Greek conjunction here is typically translated either “but” “and” or “now.” iii. As far as coordinating conjunctions go, there isn’t much difference in their role for the sentence. But as far as meaning, “and” is simply connecting two thoughts together, “now” progresses the thought, whereas “but” is providing an adversarial or contrasting meaning. iv. What helps us is that in almost every single major translation of this verse favors the adversarial “but” suggesting a contrasting point to that of the previous thought. v. Contextually we can see that quite well since before Paul was discussing the judgment of the perishing who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness, and what follows is clearly in contrast to the fate of the perishing. vi. This signals for us a distinct shift in Paul’s intention. vii. While he was being comforting to the Thessalonians before, it was comfort with teeth. viii. While telling them the Day of the Lord had not come, he was also warning of a coming apostasy and the man of lawlessness who will deceive the perishing. ix. Paul shifts his topic to turn to their destiny, their future, which stands in stark contrast to that of the perishing. x. It also, as we will see, shows a distinct contrast in the activity of God. God actively sends a deluding influence to the perishing. God has also been active toward the Thessalonians too, but in an incredibly gracious way. xi. So much so, that Paul is yet again, BOUND or obligated to give thanks to God always for them. xii. And he even calls them, beloved by the Lord by which he certainly means the Lord Jesus. xiii. Paul is obliged to give thanks to God for these folks whom he knows are loved by Jesus Himself. xiv. But why does Paul feel that he must thank God for them? b. [Slide 7] because God from the beginning chose you for salvation i. There is a textual problem here that leaves the modern translations divided. ii. This is expected because the manuscript evidence is divided about evenly over both time and textual family. iii. There are two options, 1. Because God as first fruits chose you for salvation 2. Or 3. Because God from the beginning chose you for salvation 4. The difference between “as first fruits” and “from the beginning” is 1 Greek letter. iv. I won’t go into too much detail but those who favor first fruits make a grammatical case and those who favor from the beginning make a contextual and theological case. v. I personally do not find the grammatical case compelling nor do they answer the theological and contextual issues with it. vi. If you want the full breakdown of one over the other, I’ll be able to provide that this Thursday at prayer group and bible study. vii. But for me, “from the beginning”, seems like the most likely to be what Paul originally wrote. viii. With the threat of a great apostasy looming on the horizon, Paul comforts the Thessalonians by reminding them that even though the perishing will believe a lie and be judged in the END… they were chosen for salvation from the BEGINNING. ix. The word chosen here is also quite interesting. Paul uses a middle form of the verb meaning that God is doing the choosing as an action to or for Himself. It would be entirely appropriate to translate this “God has chosen you for Himself from the beginning for salvation” x. This highlights God’s selection of a people for Himself as His own possession, whereas before we see His rejection of another people. xi. We should also note that this salvation is no doubt referring to their final salvation. Not simply their conversion, but eventually being caught up together with Christ. xii. So once again we note the time association. The perishing will be judged in the end. But they were chosen from the beginning to be saved in the end. xiii. But how? How does God go about getting them from His choosing them from the beginning to saving them in the end? c. [Slide 8] through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, i. Though Paul starts at the beginning with God choosing them, and jumps to the end with their salvation… now he moves backward from their salvation to outline exactly how God does this. ii. First, it is through sanctification by the Spirit. iii. There is a necessary component of salvation that evangelical pastors and churches avoid talking about. It isn’t popular and if you don’t explain it correctly it makes it sound like works-based salvation. iv. The bible makes it clear that only the righteous inherit the Kingdom of God. Only those who are holy will see God. Now we cannot go too far with this to suggest that somehow, we will be perfected in this life. That is an error other Christians make that the bible simply doesn’t teach. v. We also cannot pendulum swing the other way and suggest that we must add to our trust in Christ our own works in order to be saved. vi. But we must understand, as Paul does here, that a NECESSARY component of a faith that leads to our eventual and final salvation, is a setting apart, a holifying of those being saved by the Spirit of God. vii. All those who will be saved on that Day… will continue their whole lives in a process of becoming more and more holy by the power of the Spirit of God. Not as a prerequisite for being declared righteous, but as a result of it. viii. The Holy Spirit is given to those who are declared righteous by faith, and as a necessary result of the Spirit indwelling God’s people, they are made more holy. ix. But lest we think we can start that process on our own and simply try to be as good as possible, Paul goes another step back from our final salvation to speak of the belief of the truth. x. We receive the truth with faith. We depend on it. We surrender to it. True faith is rejection of everything else to grab hold of the gospel alone. xi. Notice how this is the opposite of the perishing. They did not receive the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness. xii. Those chosen from the beginning for salvation, become more and more holy by the Spirit’s power and have believed the truth. xiii. But how did they come to believe the truth? d. [Slide 9] 14 to which He called you by our gospel, i. God calls His people to this truth through the good news of Jesus Christ preached since the apostles’ ministry. ii. The Word of God, the gospel, Christ crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again, is the foundation of the truth we believe. iii. That call is how God gives repentance and faith to those to whom He has chosen for salvation from the beginning. iv. But what is the goal of this salvation? Why would God do all this for us? e. [Slide 10] for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. i. Paul mentioned this earlier in chapter 1. ii. The purpose of God calling us is to bring glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and also that we might be glorified in that same name. iii. God’s purpose in choosing the Thessalonians and all believers is so that they might obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus. iv. We… We are the reward of His suffering. f. [Slide 11] Summary of the Point: In contrast to the perishing who have not received the love of the truth and upon whom God will send a deluding influence to believe a lie unto their just judgment, God has actively chosen for Himself a people from before the world began for salvation. He will accomplish this by giving them His Spirit to make them more holy. And He will accomplish THIS by sending them truth through the gospel. And He will do all this in order that they might be honored with His Son. So that they might be a people accepted as part of His family by the righteousness of Jesus. In this the Thessalonians must take great comfort to know that if they are chosen by God, their fate has been determined since before the world began. So, what must those who are truly elect of God do according to this passage? Well first, they should give thanks to God for His choosing them. Transition: [Slide 12 (blank)] But unfortunately, many Christians stop here when they speak of their salvation or election. They conclude that since they are chosen by God and declared righteous by God, that they can kick back and wait for Him to save them. Paul absolutely obliterates that idea with verse 15. II.) Those whom God has chosen for Himself will obtain the glory of Christ, so we must hold fast to what we’ve been taught. (15) a. [Slide 13] 15 Therefore, brethren, i. A good tip that many have often repeated when you are reading or studying the Word of God, is that when you see the word “therefore” you need to stop and find out what it is there for. ii. One of the benefits of studying the bible verse by verse, is that when we come to the word therefore, we don’t need to struggle to understand what it is referencing. We simply need to think back to what we just studied. iii. God has chosen the Thessalonians to obtain the glory of Christ. iv. He has done this from the beginning to call them with the gospel so that they might believe the truth and grow in sanctification and be saved to that glory. v. So, since God has done it all… they just sit tight and wait? Right? vi. Uh… NO! b. [Slide 14] stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. i. Here we see that tension that is alive and well in the scriptures. ii. God’s absolute control of everything doesn’t negate human agency or responsibility. 1. Just because God is in complete control doesn’t mean we don’t pray. 2. Just because God chooses all those whom He will save, doesn’t mean we don’t repent and believe the gospel. 3. Just because God elects and predestines those who will be saved, doesn’t mean we don’t evangelize. 4. Just because God has revealed His will, doesn’t mean we don’t pray for it. iii. And so here… iv. Just because God has done all to save us, and won’t let His own be swept away by the apostasy and believe a lie... doesn’t mean we do nothing. v. God has given us responsibility and agency to stand fast and hold on. vi. To stand fast means to hold your ground. It means to maintain a position or remain upright. vii. To hold to means to seize or to arrest or to remain firmly committed to something. viii. But what does Paul mean by traditions? 1. In our context we have somewhat of a bad taste in our mouth when we speak of traditions. 2. Traditions, at least in our mind, are things that are man-made, that are culturally accepted as things we do, but should be discarded if they lose their meaning or purpose. 3. Is Paul telling them to stand their ground and remain committed to man-made traditions? This seems antithetical to things Paul has written before. 4. But the word tradition doesn’t necessarily carry that meaning. In fact, in Greek the word typically refers to something that has been passed down from God Himself. 5. So, we should interpret traditions here primarily to refer to what Paul taught them about God, Jesus, the gospel, the End Times, and righteous living. 6. In short, it is the Christian tradition that he and all the apostles preached. ix. And Paul alludes again to the various sources from which they have received this teaching. x. Before Paul suggested that they might have heard by prophesy, by a letter, or by preaching that the Day of the Lord had come. xi. Here he says that they should stand their ground and remain committed to everything they had already received from Paul and his companions. Whether it was something they said in their presence or wrote to them in a letter. xii. Because God has chosen them for glory… they must stand firm and hold fast to what they have believed. c. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: Paul comforts the Thessalonians further by reminding them that God has chosen them for Himself from the beginning to be saved. He has done this so they might obtain the honor and glory of Christ. He gave them the truth through the gospel. He has given His Spirit to make them progressively more holy. He will keep them from the lie because He has chosen them to receive the truth. Not only should they give thanks to God for this, but as Paul says here, as a response of God’s work, they must stand firm and hold fast in what they have been taught. Because it is the truth that God gave to them to save them. They must stand firm and hold fast because that is part of the sanctifying work of the Spirit on them. They cannot be passive agents. They must actively cling to what they have received. For that is part of God’s preservation of them to that glory. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 16] Though Paul certainly speaks to the Thessalonians, we know from the rest of the New Testament scriptures that all those who will obtain the glory of Christ are those whom God has chosen for Himself from the beginning. They are those whom the Holy Spirit is progressively making more holy. They are those who have believed the truth which was given to them in the call of the gospel. In this, God’s sovereign initiative in salvation is highlighted and set in contrast to His sovereign response in reprobation of those who are perishing. God acts in both, but in salvation He acts to bring truth to His people and in reprobation He acts as a response to the rejection of truth by those who are not His people. Paul gives two responses to this truth of God’s sovereign activity, that we must observe. He demonstrates thanksgiving, that God would save His people this way. And He commands perseverance. That BECAUSE God has chosen us from the beginning, we must hold fast to the truth we have received. God’s choosing us to receive the truth should prompt our adherence to that truth, since God gave it to us in the gospel so that we might obtain the glory of Christ. But what does this mean for us in our daily walk? What should we do as a result of all this? 1.) [Slide 17] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God has chosen for Himself from the beginning a people for salvation to obtain the glory of Christ. a. This is perhaps one of the most divisive and controversial teachings in the scriptures. b. Although most believers would readily admit that salvation is all of God and none of us, when they discover passages such as these, they cannot help but attempt to put all kinds of caveats and exceptions in to make room for man’s free will to have some say in who is saved. c. Entire systems are built to try to soften the contradiction of a belief that affirms that salvation is all of God but must be appropriated by man’s choice. d. All that is accomplished is damage to the clear teaching of the scripture. e. This doctrine of election or predestination is not in conflict with the command for and even the need for us to repent and believe the gospel. f. But in order to give man’s agency and responsibility their proper place, we must put them where Paul does here. g. As Paul says here, the belief of the person chosen is part of the means by which God carries out the intention of His choosing. h. Thus, God uses the agency and responsibility of man in His process of bringing those He has chosen to salvation to obtain the glory of Christ. i. In this, God remains absolutely sovereign over salvation while man is still responsible to respond. j. In the Old Testament we see a similar idea surrounding the selection of Israel as God’s portion from the nations. He says that they were chosen because He chose to choose them. k. We also see this develop later in the Old Testament to God talking about a remnant. There were many Israelites who were ungodly and worshipped other gods. But God continues to keep and preserve a remnant for Himself. l. Meaning of course that what Paul says later was true… Not all Israel was Israel. But the Remnant that God preserved… that was His true people. m. In short, the idea that God selects and preserves His own people, is a universal biblical truth. It was not invented in the classical Geek era but was instead part of God’s redemptive process since the beginning. n. And interestingly enough… whenever this doctrine is brought up in the New Testament it is brought up, not to start a debate… but to give God’s people comfort. Not pride… but comfort. To know that God called and chose them. o. Therefore, we must confess it to be doctrinally true that God chose for Himself from the beginning, a people for salvation to obtain the glory of Christ. p. God chose, even before the fall of man into sin, a people whom He would rescue from their sin and preserve them to be given honor and reign with His Son in a new Kingdom. q. He has selected a family. A bride for His Son, selected from among the harlots and purified through marriage to the King. Children whom He has adopted out of another family with an abusive father named Satan. r. And God wants us to KNOW, to be assured that He did call us and chose us for His family. s. It is not humility or some added measure of piety to say that you are not sure whether you are chosen or elect of God. t. Peter commands in 2 Peter 1, that people who profess Christ should make their calling and election sure. u. But how do we know if we have been chosen by God? How do we make our calling and election sure? 2.) [Slide 18] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that all who have been chosen will receive the truth of the gospel and grow in holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. a. The truth is that we don’t have some physical and sure sign to know who is in God’s family and who isn’t. b. But He has told us how someone He has chosen is saved to obtain the glory of Christ. c. They believe the truth of the gospel, and they take pleasure in growing in holiness by the power of the Spirit. d. So long as a person believes and continues to believe the truth of the gospel and continues to grow in holiness by the Spirit’s power, then they have assurance that they are chosen by God to obtain glory in Christ. e. This is true not just for assuring ourselves that we are elect of God, but also to give us assurance of the election of others who have professed Christ. f. A person who keeps turning from sin, agreeing with God that it is detestable and a person who loves, obeys, worships, and serves God, Father, Son, and Spirit– that is a person who can rest assured that they are His. g. A person who continues to see growth in their life as they become more and more like Jesus and continue to follow His teachings and commands. That is a person who is assured that they have been chosen before the foundation of the world. h. Because God does this, because God is active in literally every part of bringing His choice to its intention, and because every chosen one follows this path, we can rest assured that every person who is chosen of God will believe the truth and grow in holiness. i. So, what must we do with these two truths? 3.) [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must give thanks to God for His sovereign choice in salvation. a. The Jews of the first century had completely misunderstood the nature of God’s choosing Israel as His portion. They assumed that since they were children of Abraham, by his blood alone, that they would be accepted by God. b. But they crucified their own Messiah. They hunted down Christians and put them to death. Why? Because the Christian message was that their bloodline to Abraham was not enough to save them from their sin. That God would NOT accept them simply on this basis. They must believe the truth of the gospel and submit to the Lordship of Jesus as their King and Messiah. c. Sadly, some Christians gain a similar arrogance at being chosen of God. They see themselves as superior to unbelievers and wicked people. They are pious and arrogant. d. While God certainly wants us to gain assurance of our calling and election, pride in that calling is well beyond what He means by assurance. e. Now… if we believe that we choose God, and it is our choosing God that saves us – we should be proud. We should be vaulting ourselves over and above the wicked. After all – We chose God. We saw the truth. They were too evil to see it. But we saw it… f. But my friends… if God chose us… then it is absolutely illogical to boast. g. Some say, “well maybe He chose us because He saw we would choose Him? Maybe He saw something special in us.” h. Well, we don’t actually have to guess at the reason that God chose His elect. i. Paul, in another letter, relays exactly why God chose us. It is not an answer that satisfies our curiosity but it is an answer. j. God says, I chose you according to the counsel of my will. k. Well, what does that mean? l. I consulted what I willed and chose based on that. Well, what does that mean? m. I chose you because I chose you. That is what it means. n. He didn’t choose us because we’d choose Him. He didn’t choose us because we were special. He didn’t choose us because we were strong. He didn’t choose us because we had great potential. o. He chose us… because He chose us. p. There is only one response that should come from God’s people when they are assured that God has chosen them… q. Humble praise. r. We should cry out WHY ME! I am NOTHING! Praise You God for choosing me! Me! Of all people?! s. That should be our response. We must, we are obligated to both be assured of our calling and election, but also to humbly give thanks to God for choosing us… t. And if that wasn’t comforting enough let me bring a little more… 4.) [Slide 20] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” All who have been chosen by God for salvation will obtain the glory of Christ and will not fall away. a. The flow of this passage and the context leads to an inescapable conclusion that is made even more plain in other passages of scripture. b. Unlike the perishing who God sends a deluding influence upon as a response to their rejection of the truth and their pleasure in wickedness – God’s chosen will not be deceived. c. All those whom God has chosen for salvation will obtain the glory of Christ. They won’t fall away. Why? d. Because God is IN every single aspect of their preservation. God won’t fail… indeed God cannot fail. e. Who is going to slap God’s hand away and tell Him no? f. God will preserve those whom He has chosen. They will not fall away. They will not abandon their faith. g. But three things come into this that bring us to our final exhortation. i. Remember first that those who are chosen are not revealed. They must seek assurance of their own calling and election. ii. Secondly, their assurance is bound up in their ongoing belief in the truth and growth in holiness by the power of the Spirit. iii. And finally, we must remember that Paul has told the Thessalonians. They must not let themselves be deceived. h. So even though we know that it is impossible for those truly chosen by God to fall away… that can’t lead to passivity or arrogance. i. Instead… 5.) [Slide 21] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must stand firm and hold fast to what we have received from Christ through the apostles. a. This is how God’s chosen people will obtain the glory of Christ. b. This is part of the means God uses to preserve His chosen people from falling away and believing lies. c. He gives us His word. He gives us warnings and commands. d. Just like Paul gave to the Thessalonians. He gives them also to us. e. We must stand firm in what we have been taught. We must cling to the Scriptures and the faithful transmission of Christ’s words to His church through the apostles and their inspired books. f. We must not put the scriptures secondary and doubt what they have taught about anything – especially what they have taught about God, the gospel, and the sinfulness of humanity. g. We must hold fast to the truth and the godly lifestyles that the scriptures teach. We must not seek ways to reinterpret the text in order to allow for us to break God’s clear laws. h. We must pursue holiness – not lustful passions. We must pursue Christ not money. We must keep our eyes fixed on following Jesus and serving and obeying all that He has said. i. That is, in part, how God preserves His chosen people. He has given them a faith… that they cannot walk away from. A faith that continues to work. A faith they love holding on to. j. So, hold fast and stand firm. k. It is a command that those who are truly elect of God desire and will have the power of the Holy Spirit to obey. 6.) [Slide 22] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” All who have been chosen continue to turn from sin and believe the truth of the gospel while growing in holiness. a. With all this talk about being chosen of God, you might think that since it isn’t up to you, you might as well just sit and wait for the end and let God sort it out. b. My friend… God is calling you to respond… today. c. His story is written but you, are merely a character in the story. You don’t know how it ends. You don’t know your destiny. d. But you do know something about those whose destiny it is to obtain the glory of Christ. e. What do you know about them? f. They believe the truth of the gospel. That Christ died to save sinners and that He rose and has been given a name above all names and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that He will come again one day to judge all men. g. You also know that they believe this so much… that they are continually becoming more and more devoted to God and serving Him and obeying Him and loving Him. h. You also know how those who will believe a lie and be judged live. They don’t believe the gospel and they take pleasure in sinful lifestyles. i. What will YOU do with Jesus Christ? j. Will you trust Him or not? k. Will you serve Him or not? l. Will you follow Him or not? m. Your choice today won’t CHANGE your destiny… n. But if you choose to turn from sin and follow Christ today, and continue to choose this for the rest of your days… it will CONFIRM your destiny. o. As a preacher of the gospel, as a minister of God’s Word, as an instrument playing God’s Message – I command you to turn from your sin and believe on and submit to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. [Slide 23] Let me close with a prayer by the reformer Lancelot Andrews O Lord, my Lord, I give you thanks for my being, for my life. Thank you for nurturing, protecting, and guiding me. Thank you for teaching me, for freedom, and for faith. For your gifts of grace, for my redemption and regeneration. For calling me and recalling me—yes, for recalling me again and again. For your patience and longsuffering to me, many times, many years, up to this day. For success you've granted me, and all the good things you've done for me. For things present, for your promise, and for hope of the enjoyment of good things to come. For my family and teachers, and for those who have blessed me. (I will never forget them.) For brothers and sisters in faith, thoughtful listeners, true friends, faithful co-workers. For all who have helped me by what they have written and preached, for conversations, prayers, examples, rebukes, injuries. ... For all these, and all others which I know, which I know not, for things open and hidden, for that which I've remembered and forgotten, or done when I wished-and even when I did not wish, I bless you, Lord. And I will bless. I give thanks to you, Lord. And I will give thanks, all the days of my life. Who am I that you should look on someone like me? How could I ever pay you back, Lord, for all the benefits you have given me? What thanks could I ever give you for sparing me, and bearing with me? Holy, holy, holy! You are worthy, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive glory and honor and power. For you have made all things. And for your pleasure they are-and were-created. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: May you be blessed whose strength is in the Lord You who have set your hearts in pilgrimage, Who go from strength to strength, Til you appear before God in the heavenly Zion. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 3 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 FCF: We often struggle fearing the deception that is to come. Prop: Because all who did not receive the love of the truth will be deceived, we must let no one deceive us. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read yet again the text starting in verse 3 and going to verse 12. Today I’ll be reading from the Legacy Standard Bible but you can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. You’ll notice on the screen that this is part 3 of this sermon. If you have not heard parts 1 and 2, I would encourage you to catch up on the teaching Paul has given regarding the man of lawlessness. The previous two sermons are foundational in understanding what is going on here and how we are to think about the end times. However, the sermon today, although relying on some of the conclusions we’ve made in the last two sermons, is by far the most standalone of the three. The message today is terrifying. It is gut wrenching. Because it speaks of a time when God is truly done with giving mercy to people who have rejected Him. And although God has done similar things in the past – it has never happened like this and only once on this scale. It is also terrifying because it remains in a context which emphasizes that many of the people who are being discussed here who have rejected God, are those who at one point believed in Him. But as terrifying as this message is – there is hope and comfort in holding fast to saving faith. Let’s read once more. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Gracious, Merciful, and Holy Father, You have endured the wickedness of men for thousands of years. You are longsuffering, extending mercy to all and allowing men to profane Your name and reject Your Son while You continue to bless them and give them common grace. But one day You will remove Your Restrainer and allow the man of lawlessness to come forth. One day Your mercies will end. One day Your common grace to wicked men will cease. And one day You will judge the world. I pray that even now You would be merciful and gracious to those in this room. Speak now words of comfort to Your people through this text…but Gracious God, send Your Spirit to open the eyes of the blind here and speak words of terror to those who are perishing. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] ”It is the creed of every sound evangelical church that those who do go back to perdition were persons who never really believed in Jesus.” A.A. Bonar “None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven because they fall from the greatest height.” William Gurnall [Slide 3] “To forsake Christ for the world is to leave a treasure for a trifle…eternity for a moment, reality for a shadow, all things for nothing.” William Jenkyn “To see a ship sink in the harbor of profession is more grievous than if it had perished in the open sea of profaneness.” William Secker [Slide 4] “The essence of apostasy is changing sides from that of the crucified to that of the crucifier.” John Stott “Scripture does not need to be denied for apostasy to begin: all that is needed is that scripture takes second place in our calculations.” Iain H. Murray Let these words prepare your heart for the preaching of God’s Word today. I.) The Man of Lawlessness will be powered by Satan to deceive all the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (9-10) a. [Slide 5] 9 - whose coming is in accord with the working of Satan, i. The LSB has put hash marks into the previous verse to set it off from what follows in verse 9. ii. This is incredibly helpful because for we western English readers, this would be quite jarring, since we would assume the “coming” he is talking about now is still the coming of Christ. iii. What we don’t see that would make this even more jarring, is that in the Greek the word for “coming” is… parousia. Advent. iv. However, Christ will not come in accord with the working of Satan. v. Paul is going back now to the topic of the man of lawlessness. And Paul intentionally points to the mockery of Satan here by using the same word he has used repeatedly to refer to the return of Christ. Only this time he refers to the coming of the man of lawlessness. vi. That the man of lawlessness comes in accord with the working of Satan, clarifies and affirms that the man of lawlessness is indeed a man. vii. Much like Judas Iscariot was a man who was possessed by Satan Himself, so also this man of lawlessness is a man that will come in accord with the working of Satan. viii. This is probably an idiomatic way to say that this man too will be possessed by Satan. ix. Now just like the scriptures always see Judas as culpable for his own actions… he was not a victim… so also this man of lawlessness is not a victim either. x. This man will do and say things that are so egregious and so infamous that he could not be a mere man. xi. And this man will go along with it, willingly obeying his father the devil. xii. Again, this points to the mockery of Satan. xiii. Jesus did and said things that indicated that He was no mere man too, all in willing obedience to His heavenly Father. But this Anti-Christ figure will have an advent that is similar but will do the opposite. xiv. But that isn’t the end to the similarities. b. [Slide 6] with all power and signs and false wonders, i. Part of the working of Satan happening for this man is that he is coming with all Satan’s power and influence. ii. He will be able to perform signs and wonders, all of which will be false. iii. How do we determine if a sign or wonder is false? iv. Scripture gives two criteria 1. [Slide 7] In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Yahweh clearly says that if a prophesy does not come to pass, then they know that what the prophet said was not from Him and that prophet has spoken presumptuously and should be put to death. 2. [Slide 8-9] Let’s go to Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and read this together. Because what if the signs and wonders do come true? What if they are effective? a. Notice what God says… b. If a prophet performs signs and wonders that come to pass but they advocate worshipping other gods, they should not listen to that prophet. Why? c. Because Yahweh sent (take note of that. Yahweh sent) that prophet to the people to test their love for Yahweh. d. Then God reinforms them of the command. They should walk after Yahweh, fear Him, obey His commands, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. e. But the prophet should be put to death for His attempt to mislead God’s people. v. [Slide 11] The wonders and signs the man of lawlessness commits won’t be false because they won’t be powerful, effective, or come to pass. They will be false because they will be used to encourage people to worship him instead of Yahweh. Or to worship him as Yahweh or Jesus Himself. vi. We know how our Lord Jesus is coming next. He is coming on the clouds. He will gather us to Himself. That is how we will see Him next. In the air. vii. EVERY ESCHATALOGICAL FRAMEWORK AGREES! viii. Remember that my friends. Remember God’s people. We will see Him next in the AIR. ix. No matter what signs or wonders a man does on earth… He isn’t Christ if we don’t meet Him in the air. He isn’t Christ if we must go to Him. The Real Jesus will bring us to Himself. We will be CAUGHT UP. c. [Slide 12] 10 - and with all the deception of unrighteousness i. Another key factor that is hinted at in Deuteronomy 13 was that a person bringing signs and wonders that advocates for the breaking or distorting of God’s laws – cannot be sent from God. ii. Jesus Himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. How can the real Jesus appear and lead people to conclude that living unrighteous lifestyles is… fine? iii. That disobeying the law of God… is fine? iv. Did Jesus do this at His first advent? v. He fulfilled the law, but He never rejected it or broke it. Nor did He ever advocate His followers do so. vi. As loving as He was to sinners and as much as He healed people what did He say? “Go and sin no more!” vii. He said, “Your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.” viii. He said, “You must be holy as my heavenly Father is holy.” ix. When Jesus walks this earth again… x. HE WILL NOT TREAT SIN WITH KID GLOVES. xi. In Isaiah 11, where Paul pulled the reference to Christ consuming the man of lawlessness with His breath, in that same context it says that in that day “they will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain. “ xii. The man of lawlessness though, will be a man who advocates a reversal of God’s laws. Perhaps emphasizing love and peace over righteousness and blamelessness. xiii. Indeed, his only law is that all must worship… him. xiv. But what Paul says next is absolutely essential for a proper understanding of this time. d. [Slide 13] for those who perish, i. Notice that the power, the lies, the signs, these are all aimed at a specific group. ii. The perishing. iii. The bible gives us warnings and we must absolutely heed them. But just because the warnings exist doesn’t mean that there is a chance that God’s promises won’t be fulfilled. iv. God has promised that He will seal all His people until the day of redemption. v. Just because the bible gives warnings of falling away and believing a lie doesn’t somehow make God’s promises null and void. vi. Instead, we must look for a way to make both truths of scripture stand with all their strength without contradiction. vii. And the church has, for thousands of years, understood that it is by hearing the word of God that we receive faith. Not just faith to believe on Christ but faith to believe all that God has said. viii. God’s word is effective to produce change in the hearts of God’s people. His Word will not return void or empty. ix. Warning passages accomplish their purpose to cause true believers to be alert and vigilant. x. This is the means God uses to prevent them from falling away and succumbing to a lie so powerful that if it were possible the elect would be deceived. xi. Paul makes it clear, that the man of lawlessness will be able to deceive ONLY those who are perishing. Why? xii. Because true believers, believers that have genuine faith, will heed these warnings, continue to reject sin and pursue Righteousness, and continue to believe God. xiii. Paul writes this as a comfort to a church whom he is convinced is counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, whom he is convinced received the gospel in power. He is not uncertain about their identity as children of God. Therefore, this comment is designed to give them comfort. The perishing are the ones who will be deceived. xiv. So, they must not let themselves be deceived. xv. But why are they perishing? e. [Slide 14] because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. i. The wording here is actually quite important. 1. The expression we might expect is that these people who are perishing would be those who did not believe the gospel. Or perhaps that they did not believe the truth. Or that they did not receive the truth. 2. But that isn’t what saves a person and eliminates their possibility of being deceived by this Satanic Superman. 3. Christ Himself said that in the last day there would be many who said to Him, “Have we not prophesied in your name, and performed miracles and cast out demons in your name, but I will say to them depart from me lawbreakers, I never knew you.” 4. Paul says that people who did not receive THE LOVE of the truth are those who are perishing. 5. Only those who cherish the truth will be saved. 6. What does it mean to cherish the truth? We’ll get to that, because a little later Paul is going to give us the opposite of this. Just hang tight for now. ii. So, the deception of the man of lawlessness will reach all the perishing because they didn’t receive the love of the truth. What does that mean? iii. Right now, the gospel call goes out to all men. All men are given at least natural revelation that there is a Creator God who must be worshipped and obeyed. And all men are called to repent and believe the gospel. iv. But one day that general call will stop. v. At some point – when this man of lawlessness steps on the scene, the general call of the gospel to all men will no longer be available. vi. That isn’t to say no more will come to saving faith in Christ at this time… vii. God may still effectually call people to Himself. viii. But those who are perishing, those whom God has not elected, will believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. f. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: Paul has presented who the man of lawlessness is and the blasphemies he will commit. He has discussed when he will come and how he will end. Now, Paul reveals how he will deceive and who will believe him. The perishing, whether they have professed Christ or not, all those who have not received the love of the truth will believe the power, signs, and wonders of the man of lawlessness, and will be deceived into unrighteousness. God’s general call to all men to repent and believe the gospel will ultimately go extinct as all the perishing are given over to the lies of this man. If we are truly elect of God, and we have received the love of the truth, we will not succumb to these lies. But how do we know we are elect and have received the love of the truth? We do not let ourselves be deceived. We hold fast to what we have been taught. We trust God no matter what our senses say. [Slide 16 (blank)] Transition: Perhaps you wrestled with that statement regarding the gospel call. Perhaps you were uncomfortable thinking that there will be a time when God is going to stop calling all men to believe the gospel and will only call those who are elect. Well, if you struggled with that. Buckle up. It is about to get very uncomfortable. Paul will now reveal how it will be so that all the perishing believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. II.) In order to judge them, God will actively reprobate the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (11-12) a. [Slide 17] 11 - And for this reason, God sends upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, i. For this reason – meaning because the perishing have not received the love of the truth. ii. God is not forcing them to not receive the love of the truth – but as a response to them not receiving it… God will act. iii. Why do I say that the general call of the gospel will cease? iv. Because God will send a different message. He has already sent the gospel call to all men. v. But He has not sent out another message to all men yet. vi. All the lies and deceit and questioning of God’s truth today is all generated by the lies of demons and by evil men. vii. But one day they will not be the only voices spreading misinformation. viii. One day, God Himself will send an influence that deceives the perishing. ix. Ok. Stop right there. We all know that God cannot sin. Specifically, we know that God cannot lie. So how can we interpret this differently so God isn’t lying. x. Well does this text actually say that God will lie? xi. It doesn’t. xii. It says that God will send a deluding influence. The Greek word for “influence” here suggests it is strong and inescapable. xiii. Notice that it does not say “allow” either. The Greek word here, translated “send” cannot mean that God simply is “allowing or permitting” this influence to occur. The Greek word means to cause to go somewhere. xiv. God will cause a deluding influence to go to the perishing. xv. God isn’t lying, He is sending someone or something to lie to the perishing. xvi. Why? xvii. So that they will believe what is false. xviii. The general call of the gospel ceases because God sends something to make sure they believe something else. xix. Why would God do this? b. [Slide 18] 12 - in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. i. God wants to make sure that every single person who is perishing, is justly judged. 1. This phrase here is the explanation of what it means to NOT receive the love of the truth. It means to not believe the truth but to take pleasure in unrighteousness. 2. These are not, however, two items. They are one. 3. The New Testament often defines genuine belief as belief unto obedience. To have saving faith is to love righteousness. So, if we see someone taking pleasure in unrighteousness, they cannot believe the truth, no matter what they say they believe. ii. But attentive bible students might wonder why God needs to send a deluding influence at all. iii. If God did nothing, wouldn’t they still be judged? iv. [Slide 19] The answer is yes. 1. The doctrine of election is a doctrine of God’s intervention. a. In order for anyone to be saved, God must intervene. b. No matter what kind of Christian you are, you must believe that God saves us and must intervene to do this. c. Otherwise, you are a Pelagian and a heretic. d. God’s elect are those whom God has chosen, according to the counsel of His will and based on nothing of us, to intervene for and rescue from our sin. e. The others that God has not elected will not inherit salvation, but not because God has intervened to keep them from salvation. Rather they will not inherit salvation because God has chosen to NOT intervene for them. f. God judges them according to THEIR deeds which are evil. 2. In short, all men are deserving of judgment and wrath because of their sin. God intervenes for some by electing them to salvation. v. So, what is different here? vi. God is no longer passive. He intervenes… but in order to assure that the perishing are judged for their rejection of the gospel and their unrighteousness. vii. This is what we would call the doctrine of reprobation. God closes and seals the door actively rather than passively. The outcome is the same, but God’s activity in the matter is markedly different and it signals an end to God’s mercy and common grace toward the perishing. viii. And the really interesting thing is, although we’ve only seen God do this on this scale once in the global flood, it was not accompanied by God sending a lie. But we do have smaller cases of this happening. 1. [Slide 20] In I Kings 22, King Ahab had long heard the prophesies of Micaiah. God’s prophet. Yet Ahab continued to refuse the counsel of the Lord. He continued to ignore and dismiss what God said. a. God determined that Ahab’s time… was up. That it was time for him to be judged. b. To ensure that Ahab would earn His judgement to the fullest, God met in a heavenly council. He and angelic beings took council and God determined the course of action. c. He determined that a spirit must go and deceive Ahab. In that setting a spirit stepped forward and volunteered to be a lying spirit to the prophets of other gods and encourage them to tell King Ahab that he should attack a city because he would be victorious. A lie. d. Of course, God’s prophet told Ahab that he would fail and even relayed the story of this heavenly council. e. But Ahab continued to choose to believe these false prophesies rather than believe God’s prophet. f. Would Ahab had suddenly changed his mind and listened to Micaiah had God not done this? No. He wouldn’t have. g. But that is not what the story is about. h. It isn’t about Ahab’s rejection of God… it is about God’s rejection of Ahab. i. And that is what makes the story so harrowing. j. Ahab rejecting God, is just par for the course. k. But God rejecting a King of Israel to the point that He sends a lying spirit to convince Him to continue to DISOBEY Him? That is what is terrifying. 2. [Slide 21] In 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 we see the same thing. a. We see God being fed up with Israel’s disobedience under David’s rule. b. The text of Samuel says that God incited David to take a census, and 1 Chronicles says that Satan enticed David to take a census. c. So, which is it? d. The devil is God’s devil remember? e. God used Satan to accomplish His will. Which was to incite David to disobey so that God could judge Israel. f. Would they have earned His judgment without His intervention? g. YES!!! h. Again, this says more about God than about man. i. God’s mercy does come to an end. At some point, God says, enough. ix. [Slide 22] And that is what is terrifying here friends. x. Wicked people loving their sin and rejecting God’s truth? That has happened since Cain killed Abel. That isn’t new or scary. xi. God sending a delusion to make sure ALL THE PERISHING reject Him? That is God rejecting, forever, those who are not His people. And that my friends… has never happened before. xii. There will be a day when God says… “I’m done with wicked mankind.” xiii. And it will coincide with a day when another says… “I’m God, I accept you as you are, come and worship me.” xiv. And everyone who hasn’t received the love of the truth… will believe and worship that Satan empowered man. c. [Slide 23] Summary of the Point: For their comfort, Paul shows the Thessalonians that one day those who are persecuting them will be given over to the worship of the man of lawlessness. One day they will be judged. Paul’s thought isn’t quite complete. He will continue through the rest of the chapter to encourage them with positive news for them. But it is important that they know the end of the wicked. In order to judge them, God will give over those who did not receive the love of the truth to a reprobate mind so that He may judge them. They will believe and worship the beast and succumb to the pleasure of unrighteousness. So, what are the Thessalonians to do? Keep believing what they were taught. Hold fast and stand firm in the truth and do not let themselves be deceived. Why? Because with this man of lawlessness will come a great apostasy too. They must hear the warning of this passage and not let themselves be deceived, for only those who are truly elect will do so. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and directs our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 24] In his correction of the lie that the Thessalonians have allowed themselves to believe, Paul has reminded them of all that he had taught them concerning the man of lawlessness. And in these concluding thoughts about him, Paul reveals his influence and who will be deceived by him. There is no doubt that Paul does this to draw a contrast between the Thessalonians and those who will be deceived. He will make that even more apparent with next week’s text. But the fact remains, that when the man of lawlessness steps on the scene, he will be empowered by Satan to convince all those who did not receive the love of the truth, that he should be worshipped as Yahweh. God is not passive in this, but rather than intervening to prevent this, God’s mercy has reached an end, and God will send along with him a deluding influence to convince all the perishing to believe his lies. God will give them over to reprobation so that He may judge them for their love of unrighteousness. Paul’s opening application to the Thessalonians remains the application. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived. First must come the apostasy and the man of lawlessness and the deception of the perishing. Then and only then will the Day of the Lord come and the Lord return to gather His people to Himself. Don’t believe anything but what we have already taught you. Otherwise, they too will succumb to the lies of this man and the deluding influence of God. But what does this mean for us? How can we be sure that we don’t let ourselves be deceived? 1.) [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the perishing are those who do not receive the love of the truth. a. Notice once again Paul’s wording here. b. They do not receive the love of the truth. c. But wait a second, doesn’t the bible simply talk about belief, faith being the way God unites us to Christ? d. It does. e. Isn’t this a contradiction? f. Not at all. g. Just as we use the same word to talk about different aspects of the same thing, words like the cup which could mean 8 fluid ounces or just a drinking receptacle, so also the bible uses words differently depending on context. All doesn’t always mean all. Call doesn’t always mean the same thing. And as John the apostle demonstrates in his gospel, believe doesn’t always mean the same thing. h. Here Paul is defining the kind of faith that saves. The kind of faith that unites us to Christ. It is not a faith that merely receives the facts. It is not a faith that merely respects the authority of the name of Jesus. i. The kind of faith that is saving… is a faith that receives the truth… and loves it. j. If salvation is a gift, we’ve all received gifts that we love. We have also all received gifts that we… do not love. k. We are warned in the gospels, that of the four soils of our hearts, three of them receive the gospel message. But only one produces fruit and is, therefore, useful to the farmer. l. The test of true and genuine saving faith is not in whether or not you believe in God or in Jesus… it is whether or not you love and cherish the truth of the gospel in your daily life. Is it precious to you to reflect on how you were once a sinner, doomed to hell, and Christ died to set you free? It is precious to you that Christ gave you His righteousness so that you could be declared righteous before God’s judgment? Is it precious to you that the Lord sends His Spirit to all who are His and He enables us to live in obedience to Christ in an ever-growing way? Is it precious to you that Christ has united you to an assembly of people locally and universally who hold you accountable and encourage you? Is it precious to you to look hopefully toward Christ’s coming as you live holy lives in preparation for His Kingdom? m. This is why when Paul later characterizes those who will be deceived, he says both that they did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. n. In order to be saved by faith – it has to be a God-given kind of faith. What kind is that? One that propels you to seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness… first. o. Only those who love the truth… will deny the lie. 2.) [Slide 26] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness will deceive the perishing. a. Everyone else. b. No matter what you say you believe. No matter how much time you’ve spent coming to church, reading your bible, or praying. c. Everyone who does not love the truth and take pleasure in righteousness. Everyone who does not seek God’s Kingdom first and His righteousness. d. Everyone else… will worship the man of lawlessness as God and submit to His rule over their lives. e. Fearing that they will lose their jobs, their possessions, their land, their homes, their wealth, they will take his mark and worship him as God. f. And mark my words… a good percentage of them will be those who have claimed to believe on Jesus. Many of them will have said the sinner’s prayer. Many of them will have gone to church and come from a Christian family. 3.) [Slide 27] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that in the last days God will give over the perishing to a deluding influence. a. See it doesn’t all come down to this man of lawlessness’ cunning or his power. b. Paul doesn’t give him all that credit. And Paul doesn’t want to mislead the Thessalonian church. c. This man of lawlessness will be a Satanic Super Man… but if God wished to oppose Him, this man would not deceive even one. d. The fact of the matter is that when this man steps on the scene, when the restrainer is removed, God will actively send an influence, probably Satan himself, to deceive every single person who has not received the love of the truth. e. He will do this not because they have not already earned their judgment. But because He is done with evil mankind. He is ready to remake the world. His Kingdom is coming in full. f. Why will this man be so successful? The short answer? Because God wants him to be. g. But… 4.) [Slide 28] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that the elect will succumb to the deluding influence. a. In spite of the strength of the lie, based on this text, based on what Paul will say next, and based on the other promises in scripture – we must not conclude that God will allow any of His elect to be deceived by this deluding influence. b. Jesus said that in those days, IF POSSIBLE, the elect might be deceived. Jesus’ wording leaves no room for misinterpretation. It isn’t possible. c. The question then that must be asked, is how does God preserve us? 5.) [Slide 29] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The Perseverance of the saints is primarily about God preserving us. a. The statement, “Once saved always saved.” Is technically true but oftentimes it communicates something that the bible flatly rejects. Even in this text. b. Just because you have professed Christ doesn’t mean that you are saved. And just because you are saved, doesn’t mean that you don’t need to persevere. c. This doctrine must be primarily about God. d. God gives to all His elect a faith that endures. So much so that if we see our faith fail, it is not because we have lost it or because we did not persevere. It is because we were not given saving faith. We were a soil that received the message of the gospel but it did not produce fruit. e. The apostle John says of people who walked away from the faith, “that left us because they were not of us.” Not, “they left us because they are no longer of us.” f. God is the primary agent in preserving His people and enabling them to persevere… g. But… that doesn’t mean we are passive. 6.) [Slide 30] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. We are not passive in our own perseverance. b. Instead, God’s true children will take warning passages such as these and, with fear and trembling, they will cling all the tighter to the gospel of Christ and the pursuit of holiness and righteousness, without which none will see God. c. God’s true children will see the coming of this man of lawlessness, his empowering by the Devil, and God’s active role here, and they will run back to what the scriptures teach and reject the lies even when all their senses tell them it is truth. And even when it will cost them everything. d. We must hold fast and stand firm in what we believe. e. So when we combine the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints with our role in persevering we realize that though we are certainly not passive in persevering… we are also… Praise the Lord… NOT ALONE. 7.) [Slide 31] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that Jesus accepts us as we are. Believing this is a symptom of not receiving the love of the truth. a. There is a teaching alive and well today that insists that Jesus accepts us as we are. b. Now what could be meant by that teaching is that there is no prerequisite to repenting of sin and trusting Christ. c. Meaning you don’t have to be perfect in order to believe on Jesus. You don’t have to have stopped sinning in order to become a Christ follower. You don’t have to join a church, get a tattoo, be circumcised or any other prerequisite. d. If that is what is meant – then this is true. e. However, oftentimes this message ends up being – Jesus accepts you no matter what lifestyle you choose to keep living. Jesus will never ask you to be someone you aren’t. Jesus just wants to love you for who you are. f. This… is a lie. g. Jesus died because of who you were. Jesus died because you fall short. You miss the mark. You are not good enough. That is why Jesus died. To pay for your shortcomings and to make you like Him. To change you. He died to make you a NEW CREATURE. Old has died… and new is taking its place. h. Jesus says in order to be His disciple you must crucify yourself… daily… and follow Him. i. He told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and follow Him. j. Christ’s message is clear. k. Turn from your sin, follow Him and sin… no… more. l. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves his sin and Jesus too. m. There is no such thing as a Christian who dislikes God’s law. n. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves this world. o. They simply… do not exist. p. They may call themselves Christians… but in the last day… they will be deceived, take the mark and worship the Anti-Christ, so that God may justly judge them. q. Jesus is so not satisfied with who you are, that He submitted to death to change you to be like Him. r. If you disagree – its time to really listen hard… 8.) [Slide 32] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” In the last days, many that profess Christ today will take the mark of the beast and worship him as God. a. The tension in the scripture is clear. b. Although God by grace alone unites His people to Christ’s sacrifice through giving them faith in His Son, the kind of faith that God ALWAYS gives, is a faith that changes the person to whom it is given. c. When God gives faith, it is like when someone gets hit by a bus. d. Their life is going to be different from that day forward. It will change… because it must. e. The soil of the heart is prepared by the Lord to receive His truth and produce fruit. f. All other soils may look like they have received the truth… but things choke or scorch them to death. g. There will be many in that day who have prayed a prayer and accepted a cheap grace that forgives sin and asks nothing of them. A grace that has less to do with you being a citizen of God’s royal family and more to do with keeping you from going to hell. h. But the same grace that keeps you from hell, makes you into a citizen of His family and conforms you to His standard. It’s a package deal. You don’t get one without the other. i. So how do you avoid being yet another dupe? How do you avoid standing at the judgment seat of Christ wondering why the books containing your works did not prove you were His? j. You must be born again. You must have your heart prepared by God to receive the love of the truth. k. How do you know God has done that for you? l. Well – is He stirring you now? Do you feel the Spirit of God pulling on you now? That is a pretty good sign that your heart is ready to receive the love of the truth. m. So, turn from sin. Turn from your pleasure in unrighteousness. Turn from worshipping and pursuing things on earth. Money, relationships, careers, possessions, lusts, passions… n. Turn from your desires, your pursuits, your will o. Lose your identity so that you can be absorbed into Christ’s. p. Trust Him and love Him and what He has done for you. Love Him so much that He becomes your first priority. q. Submit to His rule over your life as your one and only King. r. Trust Him and love Him enough to leave all other things you trust and love behind. s. Then… and only then… will you start to see the Lord change you into His own possession. t. If that is you today… don’t wait to tell someone. u. Don’t walk out the door and think -I’ll just tell them later. I’ll just call them later. No. v. If you need to follow Christ. If you are done following you. Tell someone you know is a Christian here. We would like to rejoice with you and help you in the next steps. [Slide 33 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Augustine of Hippo In a vast wilderness full of snares and dangers, look! At your enabling I have cut off many of them, thrusting them out of my heart. And yet so many of these things buzz on all sides about my daily life. Do I dare say that nothing of this sort catches my attention, or causes even the slightest interest? True, I do not spend time in the worst kinds of entertainment, I do not dabble in astrology or the occult. I detest all those sacrilegious mysteries. And I owe you my humble and singlehearted service, O Lord my God. Yet the enemy, with tricks and suggestions, looks for a way in. So I beg you, by our King, even if I am far away from consenting to the enemy, may it ever be farther and farther away. You enable me, and will enable me, to follow you willingly, doing what you want me to do. We ask this for ourselves in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: Now may He who raises the poor from the dust, The needy from the ash heap; And makes them sit with nobles And inherit a seat of honor. Bear you through troubled days, To you who trust in God's unchanging love. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 2 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 FCF: We often struggle fearing the uncertainty of the end times. Prop: Because God will cause the man of lawlessness to be revealed and to be destroyed, we must not let anyone deceive us. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll begin reading in verse 3 and read through verse 12 again. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last week we spoke at length about the coming of the man of lawlessness both who he is and what he is going to do. We approached this topic from each eschatological framework within Christendom by trying to understand each framework itself and how they view end times prophesy. The oldest beliefs concerning the end times conclude that things will get much worse for Christians prior to the Lord Jesus returning. It seems that the Thessalonians assumed this as well as they saw their persecution level rise steeply. But Paul corrects them by telling them that the Day of the Lord has not come. He then goes on to describing the man of lawlessness and apostasy that must precede Christ’s coming. This event and the man is so blasphemous that no human has ever been so bold as to claim to be over all other gods, sit in God’s temple, and claim to be Yahweh Himself. But this man of lawlessness will. That is why it cannot be the Day of the Lord yet. Today, Paul will continue his discussion of the man of lawlessness and the sequence of end times events leading up to the return of Christ. Let’s get back to his discussion. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Sovereign King of Kings, we come to You today as Your humble people whom you have called out of darkness with a divinely given faith. We hold fast to Christ’s work with a rope that was made by Your hands. Such a rope will endure all the lies of the evil one. But this does not mean we can be complacent or passive. We must actively cling to the rope of faith in Christ. Our anchor holds through the fiercest storms. And our faith, if it is saving, will hold to Him. So, Lord, help us to cling to what you have revealed. That we might trust fully in your sovereign hand to uphold us and to bring about these terrible things in their due time. That we might trust Your promise that a New Kingdom comes and that we might hold fast to Christ until it does. We pray this in His name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “If the Lord will not suffer it, neither men nor devils can do it.” C.H. Spurgeon “God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition but by means of them.” A.W. Pink [Slide 3] “Satan can do nothing without the command of God to whose dominion he is subject.” John Calvin The devil’s way of extinguishing goodness is God’s way of advancing it.” George Barlow [Slide 4] “The hands of the wicked cannot stir one moment before God allows them to begin and cannot stir one moment after God commands them to stop.” “The wickedest enemies of God are only axes and saws and hammers in His hands and are ignorantly His instruments for doing His work in the world.” J.C. Ryle [Slide 5] “The whole history of the world is discovered to be but a contest between the wisdom of God and the cunning of Satan and fallen men. The outcome of the contest is not in doubt.” “God’s plan will continue on God’s schedule.” A.W. Tozer “To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.” J. I. Packer Let these words sharpen your mind to understand the text this morning. I.) God will determine when the man of lawlessness is revealed, we must not let anyone deceive us. (6-8a) a. [Slide 6] 6 - And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. i. After Paul calls to their attention that he has taught all this to them before, he once again uses the phrase “you know.” ii. We saw this phrase come up repeatedly in 1 Thessalonians. But this is the first time Paul banks on their previous knowledge to make his point in this letter. iii. What do they know? iv. They know what restrains the man of lawlessness now. v. Well, Paul, it is all well and good that they know what restrains this man – but WE DON’T! vi. This gives us one of the most perplexing questions regarding end times prophesy that we have. vii. Who or what is restraining the Man of Lawlessness? viii. Who or what is keeping the Man of Lawlessness from committing his blasphemies and leading this global apostasy? ix. [Slide 7] The uncertainty is centered on four concepts. 1. First, that Paul refers to this restrainer as an impersonal force here in verse 6 and then later as a personal being in verse 7. Yet it does not appear that he is referring to two things. So how can something be both impersonal (neuter gendered participle) and then personal (masculine gendered participle)? 2. Second, the restrainer could be seen either positively or negatively. Is it a good thing or bad thing that the man of lawlessness is held back? Even as a Christian that is hard to answer. Especially since the Lord’s return happens after he comes. 3. Third, what does it mean that the restrainer is taken out of the way? Is this by force? Is it violent? 4. Finally, that Paul does not name the restrainer raises the question, why? Why would Paul not name it? a. That question is actually easy to answer. Because the Thessalonians already knew who or what he was talking about. b. But the follow up question is much harder. c. Since this letter is breathed out by God, why is God being unclear? Why didn’t God move Paul to write the name of the restrainer, or at least spell it out more clearly? i. Is it held in mystery intentionally to prevent someone or something from stopping, avoiding, or hindering the work of the restrainer? ii. Would Paul or the Thessalonians be harmed or in danger if the restrainer was named? iii. Is God keeping Paul from inadvertent praise or worship of the restrainer? iv. Has God included enough hints within the text to deduce the restrainer’s identity already? x. [Slide 8] Because of these aspects of uncertainty, there have been several options put forward which arrange themselves into 4 general categories. 1. Humans a. The Roman Empire and the Emperor – As agents preventing the rise of lawlessness. i. This answers why Paul would not have named it but it raises other issues. ii. Is Paul placing the coming of the Man of lawlessness necessarily AFTER the fall of Rome? Did Paul expect Rome to fall soon? If he did, this is the only place in all his writings that he assumes so. b. Human government – i. In that things haven’t quite been aligned for such a man to step onto the scene, and humans generally standing for moral goodness by punishing the wicked and helping the innocent is what is preventing this from occurring. ii. This is a more general version of the first one, which sheds the problem of Rome falling but inherits the same problems in that it is much less likely that all human government topples? c. The Jewish State – The fall of apostate Judaism. Although one wonders how and why this is preventing the man of lawlessness from coming. This would be a postmil position in reference to seeing the events described here having nothing to do with the end times and everything to do with AD 70. 2. [Slide 9] Christians a. The preaching of the gospel and Paul the apostle– God’s Kingdom is still advancing. i. It is difficult to understand how Paul might see himself or the work of the gospel as being the thing preventing the coming of the man of lawlessness. ii. This is linked to both the Amil and Postmil position although Postmil still sees this as not talking about end times at all. b. The church – Being salt and light. i. The Mid-Tribulational Premillennial camp believes this. ii. Once the rapture happens half way through the tribulation, this makes way for the Man of Lawlessness to utter his blasphemies and there is none to rebuke him. iii. But why would Paul not mention it? Why keep this mystery from the church? And even though the church is salt and light – it is hard to see or imagine how we are preventing such a powerful man from coming just by existing. c. Generally speaking, I tend to see every human answer, believer or unbeliever, as severely underestimating the power of his man and his apostasy. So what about some non-human categories. 3. [Slide 10] Angels a. The Angel from heaven with the key to the Abyss and a great chain - The binding of Satan – i. During the Millennial reign an unnamed angel who comes down and does not fall down from heaven, has the key to the abyss and binds Satan for 1000 years. ii. Later Satan is released for a time and leads an army to battle against Christ’s people. iii. Amillennialism would say that the restrainer then is this angel and that Satan is currently bound which is why the man of lawlessness has not come yet. iv. This answers the secrecy with the need to hide truth from the forces of darkness. However, taking this view forces us to take Revelation 19 and 20’s description of these events not as a chronological record of events but as the order in which John saw the visions. b. Demonic infighting i. Another view espouses that the forces of darkness are not united and as long as this is so, the man of lawlessness will not come. ii. Paul keeps this hidden to keep them from being united. iii. However, the New Testament in no way suggests or hints at the forces of darkness being disunited. iv. If anything, it seems that Satan has rallied them and leads them. The New Testament says it is the Devil and his angels. This seems to speak of unity not disunity. c. Angelic Warfare i. When the man of lawlessness is mentioned in Daniel, in close proximity we have this report that Michael the archangel is battling against other fallen angelic creatures and holding them at bay. ii. One interpretation then is that this is talking about angelic entities fighting demonic entities and holding things the way they are until they are removed. iii. Secrecy then is to prevent Paul or the Thessalonians from worshipping these entities or praying to them instead of to God. iv. One wonders how simply suggesting angelic warfare would tempt them to worship angels though? Certainly, other parts of scripture mention this. And Paul has touted the growth and endurance of their faith. d. Michael the Arch Angel – i. This is a more specific interpretation of the last one. ii. And bears the same evidence. iii. Again we might wonder what the real danger would be that they would worship these entities by simply stating that they restrain the man of lawlessness from coming. iv. Other passages in the New Testament name Michael and Gabriel. 4. [Slide 11] God Himself a. The providence of God – i. Which summarizes everything we’ve just said so far. ii. In the end, God’s providence is His working in normal and creaturely agency as well as intervening in supernatural ways to bring about His will. iii. Of course we might wonder why Paul doesn’t simply say it. iv. Perhaps the Lord led him to include enough clues in the text itself for us to determine that this is so. b. The Holy Spirit - i. By this it is meant that the Holy Spirit does powerfully and intentionally intercede to prevent this man from stepping onto the scene. ii. The word Spirit in Greek is neuter gendered and when the adjective “holy” is used to describe the third person of the Godhead, it too is neuter in gender. iii. But when the Scriptures substitute a pronoun for the Holy Spirit, they do not use “it” but “He.” Thus, this could explain why Paul uses a neuter and then a masculine participle to describe the restrainer. iv. But why not call out the work of the Spirit here? v. Although quite uncertain, Paul has not spoken much about the Spirit of God in either 1 or 2 Thessalonians. 1. Not speaking of this text, commentators have remarked on the absence of the third person of the Godhead suggesting that perhaps there was some connection between the Spirit’s Work and the accusation of the Jews in Thessalonica that Paul was an insurrectionist. 2. So perhaps Paul keeps his references to the Spirit to a minimum and certainly never in a context suggesting that He is actively opposing some human power from rising, in order to spare the Thessalonians more grief from local Jews should this teaching fall into the wrong hands. xi. Some of you may recognize that I do not normally include so much detail when we discuss uncertain things in the scripture. xii. [Slide 12] Here is my protocol when dealing with interpretational discrepancies in a sermon. 1. If I am reasonably convinced of a specific interpretation, I won’t usually even bring up other options. I will present it as the only interpretation. I usually do this when I thought the passage said something and most if not all the commentators I consulted say the same or similar things. 2. If I am somewhat convinced of a specific interpretation, I will usually give other options but present my interpretation as the best without a deep analysis of the others. 3. If I am convinced but without any assurance, I’ll give all the options and state pros and cons to both before arriving on my conclusion. 4. If I remain uncertain… I am going to give you every option and their problems and probably not pick a conclusion. xiii. Can you guess which one we are on today? 😊 xiv. If a gun was put to my head and I had to decide just one, I’d say the Holy Spirit. And I’ll explain why in a moment. xv. But I do so cautiously and find more comfort in agreeing with Augustine of Hippo who said about this passage “I frankly confess I do not know what he means.” b. [Slide 13] 7 - For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; i. Paul continues to look to the future but without neglecting the present. ii. With this statement Paul recognizes and validates small fulfillments of what he has already said. iii. There is nothing new under the sun. iv. All the things Paul has said will be, have been done in smaller or lesser degrees since the dawn of time. v. This mystery of lawlessness is the current opposition and blasphemy pointed at the God of the universe. vi. In other words, Paul says that all the pieces are there. They are all in play. vii. It is the same story and it’s already been played out in several times throughout the history of the world. viii. And in that sense, there is nothing that needs to be done before it happens again … except that this time it will be the last cycle. Why? Because something will be different this time. c. [Slide 14] only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. i. Two concepts we must address here. ii. First, is whether or not the work of the restrainer is good. 1. Generally speaking, Paul seems to indicate that the work of the restrainer is good because it is difficult to see how the apostasy could be a good thing. 2. But since the apostasy must precede Christ’s return, perhaps we could see it as a bad thing that he is being restrained. iii. Second, and part of that discussion is what we are to make of the phrase “taken out of the way” 1. To be taken suggests by force with violence, which would suggest that the restrainer is evil and opposed to God. 2. However, many scholars point out that taken out of the way does not necessarily carry that force. Because of some recent discoveries in Koine Greek grammar we might translate this as “until he comes out of the middle” iv. As a word picture, we might employ the Scriptural story of the Angel of Yahweh barring the way for Balaam to go and curse God’s people. Eventually the Angel of Yahweh let Balaam go but restricted what he was able to say. And later Balaam, although unable to curse the Israelites, did things to destroy them. v. I find remarkable symmetry in this passage with the relationship to the restrainer and the man of lawlessness. vi. This is why I SLIGHTLY favor the view that this is the Holy Spirit as the restrainer. And God doesn’t have Paul mention it so that the man of lawlessness is blind, just as Balaam was initially, both to what is preventing him and to what eventually allows him to proceed. vii. We know that God works this way because He did this with the crucifixion of Christ. Paul says that had the forces of darkness known what they were doing, they would have never crucified the Lord of Glory. viii. God has Paul not elaborate in order to hide this plan from the man of lawlessness himself. d. [Slide 15] 8 - And then that lawless one will be revealed i. We get the impression that as soon as the restrainer stops preventing this from happening, that it will happen quickly and without intermission. ii. The word revealed is interesting on two counts. 1. First, it is the same word from which we get our word “apocalypse”, which is what the last book of our bible is called. 2. Second, this is the third time that this word is used to speak of the man of lawlessness’ coming and in every case the voice is passive. Meaning that the action of revealing is being done to him not by him. 3. This establishes a theme in all of what Paul is discussing here. The theme is, that God is at work to bring all these things about in His timing and according to His will. Nothing will happen without His consent and without His decree. e. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: Although it is certainly debated what or who the restrainer of the man of lawlessness actually is, no matter what option you pick, God’s providential, sovereign hand is certainly the right answer always. God has decreed the end from the beginning. God being all knowing and all-powerful means there could never be any real doubt. Whatever has happened or has been prophesied to happen, is all what God has willed to happen since before the foundation of the world. This is why New Testament writers, and even Paul in this text, speak of things in the future using present tense verbs. This, of course, does not eliminate other agents moving to accomplish God’s decrees and plans, but ultimately all things go according to His will. That being said, whatever is restraining the man of lawlessness, we know that behind it is God, waiting for the fullness of time to bring all things about in His timing. Therefore, we must not let anyone deceive us. The order is quite certain. The man of lawlessness and the apostasy will come after the restrainer comes out of the middle. Then, and only then, will the Day of the Lord come and Christ return. Don’t believe anything different. Transition: [Slide 17(blank)] But what will happen when the restrainer is gone? Can the man of lawlessness be stopped? Paul interrupts himself again… II.) God will destroy the man of lawlessness when Jesus returns, we must not let anyone deceive us. (8b) a. [Slide 18] —whom the Lord Jesus WILL SLAY WITH THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH i. The last time Paul interrupted himself was to express frustration or confusion for why the Thessalonians could have begun believing that the Day of the Lord had already come since he clearly taught them all this about the man of lawlessness. ii. This time, he interrupts to bring comfort and peace. iii. As much as he has said about the man of lawlessness, and as harrowing as it sounds that the restrainer would step aside to permit him to be revealed, Paul desires his audience to understand that The Lord Jesus Himself will slay this man of lawlessness with the breath of His mouth. iv. This seems to be a loose quote or allusion to Isaiah 11:4 when Isaiah prophesies that the shoot of Jesse will destroy the wicked with the breath of His mouth. v. Well, when will Christ slay him with His breath? b. [Slide 19] and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming— i. This second statement is parallel to the first but indicates to us the timing of the slaying and his being brought to an end. ii. The Day of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus returns, when He gathers His people together, that is when this will all come about. iii. Regardless of eschatological position, this remains true in some sense or another. iv. It is only the details that are debated. v. Christ’s coming will put an end to the works of the man of lawlessness. Forever. vi. Whether this happens before the millennium or after – in one way or another Christ’s coming will destroy the blasphemies of the man of lawlessness. vii. And eventually, if not at the same time, the works of Satan and all who do not believe the gospel will also be judged and cast into the second death which is the lake of fire. c. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: Although there may be uncertainty about the coming of the man of lawlessness, there is no uncertainty about the end of the man of lawlessness. The Lord Jesus will consume him by His breath and cast him in the lake of fire. His plans will end. His agenda will topple. And his kingdom will fall. Although he and the apostasy he brings must precede the coming of the Lord Jesus and the gathering together of His saints – his end will be quick and final. So, we must not be deceived. Though he must be revealed, he will then be destroyed. Of this we can be certain. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and shapes our lifestyles? Basics Concepts of Faith and Practice: [Slide 21] Paul points the Thessalonians, once again, back to what they know. They know that there is a restrainer who is keeping this man of lawlessness from being revealed. They know that there is already the spirit of lawlessness everywhere now. That this mystery, this hidden agenda is behind the scenes working in the world as it is… but that it will not develop into this apostasy until the restrainer comes out of the middle. Once this occurs, the man of lawlessness will come. And while this is a terrible necessity, the man of lawlessness will be destroyed by the breath of the Lord Jesus when He comes again. These truths we must confess and we must not let ourselves be deceived to think anything different. But what impact does this have on us today? 1.) [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness is being restrained by the sovereign will of God. a. Whatever the restrainer is, there is no question that ultimately it is by the sovereign will of God alone that the man of lawlessness is restrained. b. And it is only by the sovereign will of God that he will be revealed. c. As powerful as the forces of darkness are, they are still under the direct sovereign control of the God of the Universe. d. There is nothing Satan can do to change the Day of the Lord. e. He cannot hasten it forward and he cannot push it backward. f. Satan certainly desires to mock God. And although he cannot be incarnate himself, he longs to mimic and mock the second person of the Godhead and possess for himself an incarnate satan man. A satanic superman as some scholars have said. g. But the restrainer holds him back. And God is ultimately the One who knows and determines the day of judgment. h. So as much as we may fear the apostasy and the man of lawlessness’ opposition to God’s people. As much as we may be anxious about the coming persecution against God’s people… i. God is always in control. j. As Martin Luther said, “Even the devil is God’s devil.” God created him and God ultimately controls his activity. k. We can rest assured that nothing will come unless the Lord allows it to come. l. And not only that… 2.) [Slide 23] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The man of lawlessness will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus when He returns. a. Not only will the man of lawlessness not come until God allows him to, but he will also be taken out by the breath of the Lord Jesus when He returns. b. Just like all of us, as Hannah prayed, his beginning is of God and His end is of God. The Lord sets him up to knock him down. c. This does not mean that believers won’t suffer from his work. Nor does it mean that every person who claims Christ will be spared the lawless influence that precedes him. d. But it does give us comfort to know that God will not enter a fight with this man as if they are on equal footing. His days have already been determined. His hour, his time, is set. e. His end is sure. f. Therefore, we do not need to be anxious or afraid. Nothing he can do will affect the Lord Jesus’ return and His coming kingdom. Nothing. 3.) [Slide 24] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. The man of lawlessness is currently being restrained but the mystery of lawlessness is in the world today. b. This again speaks to the immanency of the events concerning the Day of the Lord. c. Whatever your eschatological framework is – you cannot believe something that requires several events to happen before it can take place. d. The way Paul words this – it could literally happen at any moment. As soon as the restrainer comes out from the middle of it – the apostasy will flood the world and the man of lawlessness will step on the scene, seat himself in the temple of God, claiming to be Yahweh Himself and the god of all gods. e. So we should not believe anyone who teaches something different. f. And for most eschatological frameworks, that isn’t a problem. g. But another thing we cannot let ourselves be deceived on is that God is somehow out of control of when this man will be revealed. h. Even if you take a view that the restrainer is human government, or the church, or the preaching of the gospel, we cannot allow ourselves to think for one moment that God waits to see what will happen. i. There is no rogue molecule in His creation. All creatures, from the loftiest angels, to the single celled organisms and everything in between are completely subject to His decree and His plan. j. The man of lawlessness will come when the Lord wills him to come. And he will be destroyed when the Lord wills him to be destroyed. k. We should not ascribe to any teaching to the contrary. l. We must remember what this text teaches us about the sequence and specifics of the events preceding the Day of the Lord. And we must trust and cling to what we have been given. 4.) [Slide 25] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” The mystery of lawlessness is at work even today. a. If you are here today and you are not a believer in Christ or you have made a profession of faith in Christ, but you do not see obedience to Christ and growing in your faith as your top priority… then I have some difficult news for you to hear today. b. You might think that you will see the signs and will not believe the deception of the man of lawlessness. c. You might think that you won’t be fooled and you’ll know him when you see him. d. But my friends – Paul reveals to the Thessalonians that the mystery of lawlessness is already active. e. The work of lawlessness is ongoing. f. The lies the man of lawlessness will tell, are already being laced to every society, in every culture, around the world. g. The forces of darkness are at work, even now, preparing you to believe him. Through world leaders, cultural battles, worldviews, values, and commonly held beliefs and practices, they are grooming you to be little disciples of the Man of Sin. h. In all likelihood there are already things you believe, already things you do, already things you value and cherish that will be in accordance with the Man of lawlessness. i. So that when he arrives, you will have one foot already in the door. j. I cannot stress this enough. The only thing that will prevent anyone from being deceived by the man of lawlessness, will be God saving you by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. k. If you are not a believer or you have little to no evidence that you are… if you are not putting Christ’s Kingdom first… if you are not loving God first… if you are not loving others as yourself. My friends… l. You will be deceived. m. The time for you to believe on Christ and put Him as your highest priority is now. Lest you fall away. n. Let the word of Christ chase away the lies that are even now preparing you to be deceived unto death. o. Trust Christ and serve Him only. Put Him above all else. And you will see through the lies of this man when he comes. p. Let an Elder know if you desire to trust Christ and follow Him with your life today. [Slide 26 (End)] Let me close with a word of prayer by the puritan Philip Doddridge. How melancholy does the face of our earth appear when we reflect on the reign of Satan on it, on the influence of the dragon and the beast and the false prophet. O Lord, cut short their power. Send down the angel that has the key to the bottomless pit to bind this destroyer. And when he is loosed for a season, moderate his rage and support your saints under the terror of every assault until you appear to close this perplexing scene by the wise and glorious catastrophe of all things. Then it will be seen that the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus were not lost, and that it was wise to refuse the mark of the beast-though they could neither buy nor sell, nor enjoy their liberty, nor their lives, without submitting to it. Come quickly Jesus, we pray this in Your name… Amen. Benediction: Now may you be satisfied to fill a little space if God be glorified, And not hurry to and fro seeking for some great thing to do, But seek from God daily strength while keeping at His side, Till you can say with the apostle of old, I have learned to be content In whatever circumstance l am in. Until we meet again tonight, grace and peace to you.

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 1 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 FCF: We often struggle falling prey to speculation and uncertainty regarding the end times. Prop: Because the Day of the Lord must be preceded by the apostasy and the man of lawlessness, we must not let anyone deceive us. Scripture Intro: CSB [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we will read from the Christian Standard Bible starting in verse 3 and going through verse 12. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last week, Paul definitively addressed the concern the Thessalonians had about the Day of the Lord. That it had come and that somehow they had missed it. Paul answers them directly… it has not come. Today, he will outline a particular event that must precede the Day of the Lord and the return of Christ and the gathering together of His people. And that event seems to be something significant enough and obvious enough that he is somewhat shocked that they have believed this lie, since he has already taught them all of this. He warns them… don’t let yourself be deceived. Because of the nature of this information and the fact that there is such wide uncertainty concerning it, I will be forced to break down this context into probably three or perhaps even four sermons from here until verse 12. But let’s start with reading the entire context before we get into it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: God of our salvation, we confess that since our salvation is all of You, that there is neither nothing we can do to get it from You, nor is there anything we can do to void it if You have given it to us. Nevertheless, we confess that this does not make us passive agents in our preservation. You have told us repeatedly to hold fast to what we have received from Christ and His apostles. You have warned us repeatedly in Your Word to trust what You have said over and above what our own senses declare to us. You will preserve us, but the way You do that is by the faith You have put in us. A saving kind. A kind that endures. And so, Lord, we enter this passage to respond in faith and trust Your promise over and above what we observe. Keep us in Your loving care and preserve us to the end. We pray this in Jesus’ name – Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “Satan doesn’t care what we worship, as long as we don’t worship God.” D.L. Moody “Satan is not fighting churches; he is joining them. He does more harm by sowing tares than by pulling up wheat. He accomplishes more by imitation than by outright opposition.” Vance Havner “There is something very comforting in the thought that the devil is an adversary. I would sooner have him for an adversary than a friend.” C.H. Spurgeon These words prepare us for the exposition of the Word of God today. Let us begin. I.) A great rebellion led by a lawless man doomed to be destroyed by Jesus will occur before the Day of the Lord, so we must not let anyone deceive us. (3) a. [Slide 3] 3 - Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. i. Paul puts his finger directly on the root of the problem facing the Thessalonians. ii. They are letting people lead them away from what they have learned about the Day of the Lord. iii. Their discernment is vacillating, they have been overcome by sudden fear, and they are believing lies. iv. From verse 3 until verse 12, Paul’s basic application is simply this: Do not let anyone deceive you. v. No matter what others say or how they say it, the Thessalonian church must be firmly rooted in truth and convinced of what they have been taught. vi. But Paul is not going to leave it there. He is going to instruct, or re-instruct them on the sequence of events concerning the Day of the Lord. b. [Slide 4] For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first i. Paul gatekeeps the coming of the Day of the Lord behind one event. ii. The event is what he describes as “the apostasy”. 1. The Greek word here means “rebellion” which is most often what we might use to translate this if it were in a political sense. A rebel or a traitor. 2. But given the context of this passage, it seems better to see this in a religious sense. 3. There may be overlap as political and religious upheaval will most likely go hand in hand. But when we use the word rebellion here, I think we do generally lose the religious sense. 4. An apostate is someone who publicly denies a previously held religious belief and distances themselves from the community that holds to it. This could, although not necessarily, include persecution against their previously held beliefs. iii. So, to what is Paul referring? 1. Interestingly enough many of the references to this teaching are written after Paul writes this. a. [Slide 5] 2 Tim 3:1 – 5 - “But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these.” b. [Slide 6] 2 Peter 3:3-4 – “knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?” c. [Slide 7] Jude 18-19 - “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit. “ d. [Slide 8] 1 Tim 4:1 – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been seared in their own conscience” 2. This suggests that this is something Paul was shown directly by God’s Spirit. 3. [Slide 9] And so, Paul is relaying that in the end there will be a time when people will say they are following the real Jesus, turning from what they see as a corruption of Jesus’ teachings, emphasizing the freedom of their flesh to pursue anything they wish, and mocking any who would suggest that Jesus is concerned about living a holy life. They will claim to be godly but have no power to overcome their own sinfulness. They will divide, they will be worldly, and they won’t have the Spirit of God. 4. Friends… if what I just described to you doesn’t sound familiar… then you are living under a rock. 5. I have just described a cancer that is currently growing in western Christianity. iv. Does that mean that the great apostasy has happened? v. I would… cautiously say… no. 1. Down through the history of the church age there have been several events that seemed to be a great apostasy. a. When the Jews rejected their own Messiah and killed Him. b. When Gnosticism overtook the church and led many astray in the 2nd century. c. When Rome adopted Christianity as the official religion and paganism creeped into it and joined to make the Roman Catholic church. 2. And it is possible that what we see happening today would be fitting this prophesy but as Paul will say in a few verses, this spirit of lawlessness is already at work in the world. It makes sense that we would see aspects of this pop up – like birth pangs. 3. But the way this is spoken about, it seems like we might see a much more staggering and global case of people abandoning biblical Christianity and flocking to other forms of Christianity or paganism. 4. Although we see apostasy on the rise in our culture, and have seen periods of it through the ages, still we see great movements of the Spirit and people are coming to faith in Christ. 5. What Paul speaks of seems to be a great winnowing of Christians that will necessarily result in biblical Christianity being heavily persecuted, on a global scale, and seemingly the church will be overcome by it. vi. Although I don’t think this has happened yet – where the United States goes, the world is sure to follow. Should the disdain of biblical Christianity continue to grow in the west, I can see it quickly developing into a worldwide event… especially when the other component of this event happens… c. [Slide 10] and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. i. The identity of the man of lawlessness is, as you might imagine, a hotly debated topic in Christendom. ii. Although there is actually more agreement than you might think, especially between two of the three major eschatological frameworks. iii. Although I am loathe to do it, it is necessary for me to briefly introduce these three major frameworks, so that you are not completely in the dark as to what I am talking about as we go forward. And in order to understand the makeup of these frameworks, you must understand some different approaches to prophesy about the end times. iv. [Slide 11] Last week I already introduced you to one of these… preterits. 1. Preterists believe that some or all of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have been fulfilled, especially at AD 70 when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. 2. Historicists believe that some of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have been fulfilled after AD 70. 3. Futurists believe that all or most of the events mentioned in the scriptures regarding the last days have not yet been fulfilled. v. Depending on how much of each of these you mix together in your recipe, determines what dish of eschatological framework you make. vi. [Slide 12] The names of the three major frameworks are premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. 1. [Slide 13] Premillennialism, at least one branch of it, is the oldest eschatological position. a. Well known church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Papius, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and many lesser-known individuals clearly wrote about and believed in a premillennial return of Christ. b. Premillennialism adds a heavy dose of a futurist understanding of end-times prophesy. Premillennialism would recognize and appreciate smaller fulfillments, but advocate that these always leave some portion unfulfilled in literal ways. Meaning that they cannot be the complete or final fulfillment. c. At its core premillennialism teaches that the gathering of the saints and a return of Christ will precede a literal 1000-year earthly reign of Christ with His people from Jerusalem. d. After which would be the final judgment and eternal state. e. Even Augustine of Hippo believed this for a time, but eventually became an influential opponent of it. f. Premillennialism today is divided into three broad categories based on when the church would meet Christ in the air prior to the 1000-year reign. i. The historic position is that after the tribulation, Christ would descend, collect His people, and come with them to the earth. This is what all the church fathers I have already mentioned taught. ii. There is also a newer position, represented by one later church father’s sermon composed between the 4th and 6th centuries. 1. His name was Ephraem and his sermon said, “all the saints would be gathered together before the tribulation, and taken to the Lord, so they do not see any of the confusion which overwhelms the world.” 2. This would be the bedrock upon which the pretribulational view would be built. 3. A view that says that before the tribulation period, the Lord would come and gather His people and take them to be with Him in heaven during the remainder of the tribulation. iii. Finally, there is a much newer position that attests that at some point in the middle of the tribulation the church would be caught up to be with Christ and wait with Him until the end of the tribulation. 2. [Slide 14] Amillennialism is also incredibly old. Many church fathers held this view. a. Because this view takes many forms, we do see it mix together all three views of end-times prophesy. There is a dash of futurist, a hint of historicist, and a splash of preterist in this view. b. The view says that the tribulation and the millennium are figurative expressions to summarize the events of the last days. c. The tribulation is not seen then as a literal 7-year period, nor is the tribulation an event that is in the future. d. Amillennialism would see the events of the tribulation as describing events that led up to and including the destruction of the temple in AD 70. e. The 1000-year reign of Christ is a metaphorical age of the church, which begins after the destruction of the temple. f. Within this reign of Christ, Satan is bound so the church can share the gospel, but that doesn’t mean that there is no opposition. g. At the end of the church age, Christ will return, gather His people, judge the earth, and usher in the eternal state. h. There is a lot of variety within Amillennialism, but this is the general framework behind it. 3. [Slide 15] Finally, there is Postmillennialism. Postmillennialism is, by far, the most modern of the three major frameworks of the end times. It’s earliest known writings occurring in the late 1600s. a. Postmillennialism is very similar to Amillennialism, but with a heavier dose of a preterist view of end times prophesy. b. Like Amillennialism, Postmillennialism teaches that the events of the tribulation occurred prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. c. After this, a period of time, mentioned as 1000 years but really an undefined amount of time, will occur in which the church will progressively influence the world into a time of peace and prosperity. d. After this the Lord Jesus will return physically and judge the world and the eternal state will begin. e. Although often caricatured as merely supporting liberal social programs to institute progress, or to militantly take the world over, evangelical postmillennialism understands the transformation of the world happening by the preaching of the gospel alone. vii. Having now a basic understanding of each view, we can rightly give the options for how each view sees this “man of lawlessness.” viii. [Slide 16] Postmillennialism understands this entire passage quite differently than the other two eschatological frameworks. 1. Postmillennialism suggests that Paul is not talking about the second coming of Christ at all, nor is it talking about a Christian apostasy but rather a Jewish rebellion. 2. The rebellion then would occur with the events that lead up to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 and the man of lawlessness is none other than Emperor Nero his death occurring just prior to the destruction of the temple. ix. [Slide 17] Amillennialism understands this passage very broadly. 1. Although they do not believe in a literal tribulation or millennium, they do see this man of lawlessness as a movement, an institution, or an individual that telescopically occurs several times throughout the church age. 2. Although Paul’s description here would be thought to refer to the events in AD 70, Amillennialism is broad enough to suggest that there could be several small fulfillments of this prophesy before a definitive manifestation of it occurs before Christ returns. 3. This isn’t a baseless claim because most of the Jews of the 1st century would have concluded that the prophesies about the man of lawlessness were fulfilled when Antiochus IV Epiphanes defiled the temple and set up images of Zeus within it in 167 BC. Yes, over 150 years before Christ this happened. The last name “Epiphanes” means God-manifest. 4. Caligula, who claimed to be a god, tried to have an image of himself put up in the temple in AD 40, which was just 12 years prior to Paul writing this letter. He was stalled and then assassinated before he could see it done. 5. And Roman General Pompey entered the holy of holies in AD 63, just 11 years after Paul wrote this. 6. All that to say – what we have already observed – prophesies like these seem to have multiple fulfillments leading to an ultimate fulfillment. x. [Slide 18] Premillennialism would view the man of lawlessness as the little horn, the beast from the sea, the fourth king that rises up over the other three. The Antichrist. In premillennialism this is a future king or ruler who will establish a global regime, empowered by and submitted to Satan, seeking to destroy the saints of Christ. 1. Although we will not turn to them, there is remarkable harmony between 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and several other passages which refer to a similar person doing similar things. If you would like to look these up later and read for yourself, the references are on the screen. a. Dan 7:24-27 b. Dan 8:21-26 c. Dan 11:36-45 d. Dan 12 e. Revelation 13:1-10 2. [Slide 19] Furthermore, that a great apostasy would be tied to this person’s rise to power and that he is given the same title as Judas, this seems to indicate a future, celibate, Christian insider, who betrays biblical Christendom and begins to seek to destroy it. a. The CSB translates this “the man doomed to destruction”, which is the same name that Christ gave to Judas Iscariot. This suggests not only that his regime will ultimately fall to Christ’s Kingdom, but also that as a consequence of the apostacy, an apostate will emerge with great power. The man of lawlessness will be a former Christ professor. b. Daniel 11 indicates that this future king will not only not regard the gods of his ancestors but that he will also not regard the desire of women, more than likely this means he will be celibate. c. This could mean that he is celibate because he is focused on power alone and hasn’t given his strength to women (Prov 31:3). Or perhaps he is celibate because he is asexual or even a homosexual. xi. I am of the opinion that, although the other frameworks include godly brothers, the premillennial position fits what Paul says… like a glove. d. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: Verses 3-12 are heavy on teaching and light on application. That is a blessing to us because as much uncertainty as there is regarding the specifics of the teaching, there are some things that are quite certain. Paul assures the Thessalonian church that the Day of the Lord will not come until the time of great apostasy comes led by a lawless man who is doomed to be destroyed by Christ at His coming. Therefore, they must not let themselves be deceived to think that the Day of the Lord will come before these things. They must compare what they hear to what they have been taught. [Slide 21(blank)] Transition: Paul has identified the event that will occur before the Day of the Lord. He states that the apostasy and the man of lawlessness will come first. We have done our best to identify this person with consideration to broader Christendom. But what will this man of lawlessness do? II.) The lawless man will commit blasphemies that no created being ever has, so we must not let anyone deceive us. (4-5) a. [Slide 22] 4 - He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, i. One of the primary atrocities that the man of lawlessness will commit will be his blasphemies against Yahweh and His Son. ii. In many of the contexts I put on the screen with the Premillennial position, this blasphemy is spoken of quite plainly. iii. And here Paul gives us a surprisingly rich description. iv. Paul isn’t trying to be vague. He is trying to be crystal clear. v. First, we should recognize that this man of lawlessness does something that LITERALLY no Roman Emperor ever did. 1. We know that the Emperor cult was alive and well during the first century. We know that Caesar worship was going on in many cities that Paul visited. 2. We know that several titles in the New Testament, given to Christ, were actually mottos of Caesar worship which the apostolic authors used to correct pagan emperor worship. 3. Things like, Lord, Savior, Son of God, Image of God, God manifest, Lord and Savior. No King but Christ. 4. It was a deliberate rhetorical strategy of first century Christian preachers to simultaneously denounce Caesar worship and exalt the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ. vi. But as often as we have noticed that Roman Emperors elevated themselves to deity… vii. NOT ONE Roman Emperor EVER put himself above every god or temple or object of worship. Not one. viii. Emperor worship was always viewed alongside the worship of many pagan gods. And temples to other gods were not torn down or replaced by temples to the Emperor. ix. Not only that, but down through the ages, although common to elevate a king to some level of deity, no king ever had the gall to suggest that he was over all gods. x. This gives postmillennialism a very difficult problem to deal with. Nero never claimed to be over every other god or object of worship. xi. Amillennialism too has a similar problem although it is not as problematic since some brands of amillennialism would say there is still a future man of lawlessness. xii. What is certain though, is that Paul’s prediction here is, in no way, fulfilled prior to AD 70. Not if his words mean anything. xiii. Of course, a premillennial framework, which is primarily futurist allows for Paul’s words to be true in their fullest sense. xiv. But this is not the extent of the man of lawlessness’ blasphemy. Afterall, being over all so-called gods, demons or otherwise, and being over objects of worship – is no great blasphemy. xv. The real blasphemy comes next… b. [Slide 23so that he sits in God’s temple, i. Every single eschatological framework has been written about after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple. ii. Paul writes before the destruction of the temple by 18 years. iii. On the surface, it seems like Paul would most assuredly be referring to the literal temple and that the man of lawlessness would go into the temple and sit upon the mercy seat in the holy of holies. iv. What’s the problem then? v. The temple doesn’t exist and hasn’t for the last 1,956 years. vi. Postmillennialism and Amillennialism suggest that The Roman General Titus did this when Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed. 1. Jewish historian Josephus gave account that the Romans entered the temple and set up images of the Roman Eagles on its ruins and worshipped there. 2. However, other accounts indicate that the temple was destroyed before the Romans entered in and that there is no actual evidence, aside from Josephus’ words, to suggest that they set up images to worship on the temple ruins. 3. And no historian suggests that anyone went in and sat down in the temple. vii. [Slide 24] Amillennialism also suggests that this may be interpreted figuratively, although there are three ways it could be seen – hence the difficulty of a figurative fulfillment. 1. The Authority of God a. Taking his seat in God’s temple could be metonymy which substitutes something for something that is associated with it. b. “Taking his seat in the temple of God” may simply be an expression to say that he took the place of God – perhaps even that he takes a religious position of authority that God alone would have. c. Some historicists point to the highly problematic position the Pope of the Roman Catholic church created in the 1200s called the Vicar or deputy of Christ, who can forgive sins. Such a place seems to take the authority that belongs to God alone. 2. God’s Throne in Heaven a. Taking his seat in God’s temple could also be seen as God’s heavenly throne. b. Many scholars say that this cannot be for a man could not ascend to God’s throne. c. However, if we understand a heavenly throne to imply space – we could actually see someone coming from space (or at least saying they did) and claiming to be the Lord of the Stars. d. I don’t want to go down too big a rabbit trail here – but this is a possibility that seems to be even more possible given recent declassifications. 3. The Universal Church a. Many times, throughout the New Testament, the church is called the dwelling place or the temple of God. b. Perhaps the man of lawlessness would be a Christian apostate who rises from within Christendom. c. Furthermore, Paul never uses the expression “Temple of God” to refer to the temple building in Jerusalem. What he does call the temple of God are believers who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in their hearts. d. We’ll talk more on this in just a second but let’s get to the Premillennial position on this… viii. [Slide 25] Premillennialism traditionally has seen this as fulfilled literally with the building of a third temple. 1. This is plausible, although this puts the immanency of Christ’s return, to which the New Testament resolutely espouses, at odds with premillennialism. 2. How can Christ’s return occur at any time, when an entire temple needs to be built before someone can go and sit down in it? 3. As someone who leans heavily toward premillennialism, this is a huge problem and the answers that are traditionally given are fairly unsatisfactory. a. Some have suggested that the Day of the Lord and when Christ gathers His people should be seen as two separate events. b. Thus, the temple being rebuilt and the man of lawlessness taking his seat, is a prerequisite for The Day of the Lord and not the gathering of His people. c. However, the weakness of this view is that Paul seems to see both of these events as the same. In verses 1-2 of this chapter, it seems like they are the same event. 4. This is why the Amillennial view of a figurative interpretation is actually quite intriguing. Especially the third one. 5. Maybe we aren’t looking for the man of lawlessness to actually sit in the temple of God. Maybe the man of lawlessness will take his seat among Christians. 6. [Slide 26] At first this sounds bonkers, but Revelation 13:6-7 says that the beast “opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” 7. Here John refers to the name of God and His tabernacle as those who dwell in heaven. And he is going to make war with the saints and overcome them, meaning he will kill them. And send them where? Heaven. 8. So perhaps we can be premillennial and not have a 3rd temple after all. ix. But even taking his seat among God’s people or even in the temple itself is not the most egregious act of blasphemy. x. What is the worst thing he does? c. [Slide 27] proclaiming that he himself is God. i. Again, postmillennialism has no answer for such a prophetic word. ii. No Roman Emperor has ever claimed to be Yahweh. iii. [Slide 28] Pope Innocent III declared that “No king can reign rightly unless he devoutly serve Christ’s vicar,” to which he was referring to himself. Although this comes very close to claiming to be God, it is not the same. iv. [Slide 29] No person in the history of the world has ever claimed to be God Himself… save one. The God-Man, Jesus Christ. v. This is why many rightly point out the mockery of Satan. vi. [Slide 30] Satan takes what God does and mimics and defiles it. 1. Just as God is three persons in one God, Satan is the Father power behind the man of lawlessness, his son, and the second beast from the land also called the false prophet, aids the man of lawlessness by giving false signs and wonders. The unholy trinity. 2. Just as Jesus was a Jew and rose up within Judaism, claimed to fulfill the law, and claimed to be God Himself, so the man of lawlessness will rise up within an apostate Christendom, exalt himself above every other so-called god and claim to be God. vii. Both the Amillennial and premillennial framework make way for this… but I think the premillennial position gives a clearer understanding here. viii. As close as some emperors and popes have come, none have ever truly fulfilled Paul’s words to the letter. ix. This is all certainly a lot to take in. x. Nevertheless, Paul speaks of this quite succinctly. In only a couple verses he has talked about several extended passages in Daniel and throughout the yet-to-be-written New Testament. xi. How can he write so briefly on such a huge topic? d. [Slide 31] 5 - Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? i. Paul can speak briefly about all of this – because he remembers teaching them all of this in much greater detail. ii. Paul now, as an aside, interrupts his teaching of the man of lawlessness to express, what I see as a bit of frustration or confusion regarding all that he has just said. iii. He says – “don’t you remember?” iv. It has only been a few months, at most a year since Paul and his companions were with them in Thessalonica. v. They should remember…. vi. Paul is shocked that they are vacillating on this issue when it was so recent that he taught them these things. vii. But this drives us back to the original exhortation which Paul began in verse 3. viii. They have “let themselves” be deceived. ix. In this he also teaches them the cure to not allowing themselves to be deceived. x. It is, quite simply, to remember what they have been taught. xi. Compare what they are hearing, what is causing them fear, and what they are being tempted to believe to what they have already been taught. xii. Anything that contradicts – must be cast aside. e. [Slide 32] Summary of the Point: Again, shoving aside all the uncertain things, we can arrive at certain truths. The lawless man will commit acts of blasphemy so egregious that they have never been or been allowed to be before. He will elevate himself above all other gods and objects of worship. He will take his seat in God’s temple and claim to be God. Because these things are so terrible, we should be looking for nothing less before the coming of the Day of the Lord. Let no one deceive us on this. Hold fast to what we’ve been taught. Conclusion: So CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles. [Slide 33] Basics of Faith and Practice: Even though there is a great deal of uncertainty here, some things Paul says are certain. The Day of the Lord must be preceded by the apostasy and the man of lawlessness. Until these things occur, the Lord will not return. And in order to be an orthodox Christian, you must see some or all of what has been predicted in this text, as still yet to come. So, we must not let anyone deceive us. So, what things do we need to take away from this text this morning? 1.) [Slide 34] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that before the Day of the Lord, first there must be the apostasy and the man of lawlessness. a. Aside from Postmillennialism, all Christians in the church age have believed that there will be some ultimate and definitive manifestation of the apostasy and the man of lawlessness before Christ returns. b. The two oldest positions concluded that things will get worse for the church before Christ returns. c. If you are Postmillennial, although I still see you as a brother –I find a lot of difficulty arriving at such a position. d. Providentially, we have seen a huge rise in Reformed or Reforming churches adopting Postmillennialism as their eschatological framework. But with an honest look at this passage – my friends – I just don’t see it. e. We must conclude from this text, even after the events of AD 70, that there is still yet to come a great apostasy and a lawless and blasphemous man who will lead it. 2.) [Slide 35] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness will commit acts of blasphemy that go beyond what any created being has committed in the history of the world. a. Even if Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 describe Satan, even he never committed such blasphemies against Yahweh. b. At most Satan said he would be “like” the most High. c. But to elevate himself above every other created being, to sit down in the temple of Yahweh and claim to be Yahweh Himself… such acts have never been committed, by any of God’s creatures. None have dared to do such things. d. The only man to have done something like this – is Jesus. Of course, then it isn’t blasphemy, because it is true. e. Next week we will observe that something or someone is holding this man of lawlessness back. It is keeping him from leading this rebellion and committing these blasphemous acts. f. This all fits together to indicate to me – that as believers we will know when such a man is upon us. It won’t be hidden and it won’t be a surprise. There may be elements of it that will be tempting to believe… but we won’t be fooled. And Paul gives us some fairly big clues. g. Look for a blasphemous man to claim to be God or even Jesus. h. Look for him to be claiming to be a Christian. Look for him to not regard the desire of women. Look for him to try to snuff out biblical Christianity. Look for him to desire power above all else. 3.) [Slide 36] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We should deny that the man of lawlessness has already come. a. I use the word should and not must – because of the uncertainty in this. I don’t want to be too strong. b. But from my view, Paul doesn’t give this sign to the Thessalonians supposing that it will be hard to see. c. In fact, he kinda words it like it will be easy to see. He is shocked they are thinking the Day of the Lord had come, when so clearly this apostasy and man of lawlessness had NOT come. d. This isn’t negating what Jesus said about the false prophets giving prophesies and exhibiting signs that are so strong that if it were possible, it would deceive the elect. e. Jesus’ point there is that it will be such a tumultuous time spiritually, that all Christians in name only will not stand a chance. They will be deceived. Only the elect will be preserved, not because they are special, but because they will hold fast to their divinely given faith – even though their eyes and ears tell them something completely different. f. Paul is saying to look for these signs. They must precede the Lord’s return. g. Therefore… 4.) [Slide 37] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. Christian, hold fast to your faith no matter what. b. And don’t go running to see someone who has claimed to be Christ. No matter how convincing He is… We won’t need to be called to go meet Him… He will bring us to Himself. c. Keep trusting in Christ alone. d. Keep growing in faith and love for one another. e. Keep gathering together with other believers who will help you see through the lies. f. And don’t be looking for new or creative approaches to Christianity. Seek beliefs and practices that are firmly rooted in what the church has been doing since the beginning. g. Novelty and innovation in the church’s doctrine and practice is the spirit of lawlessness. It is the beginning of this man’s work. h. Do not let yourself be deceived Hold fast to what you were taught. 5.) [Slide 38] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The man of lawlessness is also the man doomed to destruction. a. Though we may despise him, though we may hate him, though we may be tempted to love him, though we may be tempted to follow him… he is doomed for destruction. b. No doubt he will be convincing and powerful. He will persuade many. Another will come and give many signs and wonders proving him to be what he claims to be. c. Many people, friends and family members who we know and who have claimed to be Christians, will be deceived and will fall away. d. Many of us… will be hunted and killed by this man because we hold fast to biblical Christianity and refuse to worship Him as God. e. But remember… He will be slain by the breath of the Lord. His kingdom will topple. And he will be cast alive into the lake of fire along with the False Prophet. f. As much destruction as he may cause – also remember that God has sealed His true people by His Spirit. g. If possible, you would be deceived. But it is not possible. Not for those who continue to believe. Not for those that God has promised to glorify since He has counted them worthy of His call. h. God will preserve you… so keep believing. Keep hoping. Keep trusting. Even if all your senses tell you to stop. Keep hoping in Christ alone. 6.) [Slide 39] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” As long as you remain a quasi-Christian or an unbeliever, you will be deceived. a. Jesus’ comments in Matthew 24 and Paul’s words here make it abundantly clear. b. In the last days, the line between the visible and the invisible church will grow crisp and black. c. Now such a divide between the organization and the people who truly are Christians is very blurry. But in that day, the line between them will be quite plain. d. The visible church will be apostate. You will still be able to call yourself a Christian. You will still be able to worship Jesus. But you will have to confess that this one… this man… is Him. It will appear that He has come and set up His Kingdom. e. And the invisible church, the real church, will be the ones considered rebels. Deniers. f. They will say, “How can you deny that the Jesus you believed in all your life is not the one who is walking among us today? He has brought peace and love to the world! How can this not be the Jesus of the bible? He has healed our wounds!” g. Everything will be flipped on its head. h. My friends, if you are not a genuine Christian, you will be deceived by this man’s coming. And what’s worse, you will turn against true believers. You will seek our death. i. But its not too late. Not yet. j. You can repent of your sin and put your trust in the REAL Jesus today. You can leave all your sin and pride behind, all your idols, and serve Christ forever. It won’t be easy… and you may die for Him… But you will be gathered together with Him on that day when He defeats this man of lawlessness. k. Won’t you repent and believe on Jesus? Won’t you bow the knee to Him today? [Slide 40 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Danish Reformer Niels Hemmingsen O Heavenly Father, I pray to you for your dear Son's sake, Jesus Christ, our only Savior's sake, that you would reign over us all with your word and your Holy Spirit. Do not let your enemy's hand have power over us, to steer us away from you. Give the rest of us the will and ability to refute the devil's deeds, adultery, and sexual sin. Make holy all those servants of God's word with your Spirit, so they might learn and seek your holy will. Help us all that we may live here in the world according to your will—in the fear of God, in honesty, and in pure living-that we may find on the final day of judgment that we are your chosen, in everlasting joy and salvation through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. To you, the only good and merciful God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all worship, honor, and praise forever, amen. Benediction: Go, dwell on his love by sweetest song, And crown His head with multitudes of praises. Till all kings bow down to him and all nations serve Him. Until we meet again, Grace and peace to you.

Title: The Day of the Lord… Not Yet Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 FCF: We often struggle waiting for the events of the last days and trusting in what we’ve been taught. Prop: Because the Day of the Lord will bring comfort to God’s people, we must hold fast and stand firm in what we have received. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard bible starting in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2 serve to close out a section talking about God’s justice and the great hope we have when Christ is revealed from heaven. It also allows Paul to move to addressing another concern the Thessalonians have about the end times. There is no question that this is one of the primary reasons that Paul writes this letter. Of course, it is quite interesting to modern readers because what Paul talks about concerns the study of the End Times or Eschatology. But it might be easy for us to focus on the discussion of eschatology and miss the truths that are far more applicable to us today. I will do my best to guide us to these truths. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Awesome, Holy and Terrible God, You incite fear in the hearts of Your enemies. You are untamable. You cannot be muzzled. You cannot be resisted. You cannot be thwarted. You are just and will have justice. You are sinless and will have a sinless and perfect world one day. For Your people, these words are not fearful words. For we desire what You desire. You have changed our hearts to want what You want. A world ruled by You and governed by Your law where sin doesn’t exist and we can worship You in Your presence. But for the wicked, for those who hold only a loose affiliation to Christianity, those who think themselves Christians but love the world and all its distractions, for these – such an eternity sounds terrible and boring. Help us today to see the Comfort and the Terror of the Day when you make all things right. May Your Spirit convict us, guide us, and conform us to You. Be with us and teach us today from Your word, we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms it is far off, nor is it he who says it is near. It is he who, whether it be far or near, awaits it with sincere faith, steadfast hope, and fervent love.” Augustine of Hippo “In the first advent God veiled His divinity to prove the faithful; in the second advent He will manifest His glory to reward their faith.” John Chrysostom [Slide 3] “As Christians we should not be exit-ists, looking for our going, but advent-ists, looking for His coming.” William Freel “The primitive church thought a great deal more about the coming of Christ than about death, and thought a great deal more about His coming than about heaven.” Alexander MacLaren “Many people will be surprised when Jesus comes again – but nobody will be mistaken.” John Blanchard Let these words concerning the Lord’s return prepare our minds for the exposition of this text. I.) The Day of the Lord will bring comfort to God’s people, so we must hold fast and stand firm. (1-2a) a. [Slide 4] 1 - Now we ask you, brothers, i. The word, “now” here suggests that what follows is really a result of all that Paul has said. ii. So, what has he said? iii. He has expressed his thankfulness to God for them because they are growing in faith and love and remaining steadfast against persecution. iv. He has reminded them that their growing faith and endurance amid persecution is evidence that God has counted them worthy of His Kingdom, and that God will eventually punish those harming them while rewarding them with glory when Christ returns v. He has even assured them that the justice of God is perfect and that it is His prayer that God will keep His promises to them and deliver them safely through to that day when they are all gathered together with Jesus. vi. As a result of this, Paul has a request. vii. It is not a command. But the primary reason this is so, is because of the relationship between Paul and the Thessalonians. viii. Because they are obedient, submissive, and desiring to grow in their faith and love – Paul doesn’t need to bark orders to them. His kind requests are readily heard and joyfully observed. ix. So, what is his request concerning? b. [Slide 5] with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, i. Paul has been addressing the Thessalonians’ concerns regarding the timing of the Day of the Lord, really since the beginning of the book. ii. He has talked about what will be when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven – and it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that what they are going through is not the Day of the Lord at all. iii. But Paul won’t leave them uncertain any longer. He will bring clarity directly to their concern. iv. Is the persecution they are experiencing now a sign that The Day of the Lord has come? This is their concern. v. Paul will address it head on. c. [Slide 6] 2 - that you not be quickly shaken in your mind. i. We should note that this is the third question or concern they have expressed regarding the Day of the Lord. ii. The first, was whether or not those who had died in Christ had missed the revelation of the kingdom. Paul answered them comfortingly that those who had died in Christ would not miss the revelation of Christ nor the Kingdom He brings. iii. The second, was concerning the timing of the Day of the Lord. Specifically, its suddenness. Paul answered them again, comfortingly, informing them that although it would come unexpectedly to unbelievers, it should not take them unawares. But even if it does – it will not prevent them from joining Him in the air and living with Him in His Kingdom. iv. This third concern they face has yet to be truly unveiled although we have discussed it quite freely since it helps to make sense of much of what Paul says and why. v. But before we get to the specifics of their concern – we ought to dwell on the concern itself. vi. Since this is the third separate issue related to the Day of the Lord – Paul desires them to stop being so unstable on this issue. vii. In less than a year Paul has now had to deal with three different concerns regarding the Day of the Lord. viii. Furthermore, they went from concerned about the suddenness of its coming to thinking it had already come. ix. This really paints the picture of the words Paul uses here “quickly shaken” x. Shaken has the idea of tremors and vacillating back and forth. xi. They are quite unstable on this issue, quickly vacillating between concerns and opinions. xii. You can hardly blame them. The idea of a future eternal judgment beyond death was not common in the paganism they left. If anything, paganism saw things in cycles, so that even if there was some kind of judgment it only led to renewal. xiii. So, the idea of a future judgment with such stark contrasts of eternal destinies for the righteous and the wicked, really raises the stakes. xiv. Paul adds the prepositional phrase “in your mind” to sharpen the discussion of their vacillation. xv. By mind, Paul means – their understanding or discernment. It is their seat of reason. xvi. They are not being thoughtful, discerning, or reasonable about this issue. xvii. They are allowing the high stakes of this issue to overwhelm them and cloud their judgment. xviii. Paul’s request is for them to stop allowing their discernment to be quickly moved. To take time to think and reason and consider what they have been taught before being overwhelmed with concern. xix. But what is the root of their instability? What else is Paul requesting them to stop doing? d. [Slide 7] or be alarmed i. Not only has Paul requested them not to continue to quickly shift their discernment on the teaching of the Day of the Lord, but he also requests that they not be alarmed. ii. To be alarmed is to be afraid – but not a growing nagging fear. Rather a startling fear. iii. Something they are caught by surprise and startled by. iv. This seems to be the cause of the quick changes in the discernment of the Thessalonians. v. They continue to be on unstable and shaky ground with the teaching regarding the Day of the Lord, because they are easily startled and alarmed. vi. Paul wants them to arrive at comfort and stability regarding the teaching of the Day of the Lord. vii. He wants them to hold fast to what he has taught them and stand firm and courageous against sudden fears. e. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: When Paul mentions that his next topic is concerning the Day of the Lord’s return and His gathering together of… US… he leaves no room for uncertainty. He expresses to the Thessalonians that for the believer there is no fear concerning the Day of the Lord. In fact, the Day of the Lord is consistently taught by Paul in these two letters as an aspect of COMFORT to God’s people. It will be the day when they experience true peace and meet with their Savior and never be separated from Him. So, Paul requests that they keep themselves from doing two things. Do not be quickly shaken in your mind or be alarmed. If we were to put these commands positively it would be, hold fast and stand firm. Be courageous and discerning. Transition: [Slide 9(blank)] But Paul isn’t done addressing their vacillating discernment or their fear. He needs to assure them that no matter what caused them to fear – or what they have heard – they must believe what Paul has already taught them. II.) The Day of the Lord will bring comfort to God’s people, so we must measure all teachings of the Day of the Lord by what we have already received. (2b) a. [Slide 10] whether by a spirit or a word or a letter as if from us, i. It becomes clear there is some sort of false teaching causing them to be suddenly startled and thus quickly vacillate in their discernment regarding the teaching they have received about the Day of the Lord. ii. Paul isn’t sure what the source of this false teaching is but offers three different examples of places they might have received it. iii. A spirit. 1. Although I originally had a different idea of what this meant, every single commentator I consulted, unanimously interpreted this as people coming to them with a spirit of prophesy. This is one of those cases where I don’t feel confident about my interpretation… certainly not confident enough to disagree with EVERYONE else. 2. So how did they arrive at this conclusion? 3. In 1 Thessalonians Paul cautioned them to not quench the Spirit and to not despise prophesies. But he also said to test everything taught and hold fast to what is good and abstain from everything evil. 4. What is clear is that they have obeyed the first part of Paul’s previous exhortation and failed at the second part. 5. Probably people came to them who have said, “I have a word from the Lord” and demonstrated some level of charismatic gift to bring the new revelation to them. 6. Paul warns them to not be suddenly fearful but to exercise discernment, even if someone comes in signs and with a message, supposedly from God, that contradicts what they have already received. They must not quench the Spirit or despise prophesies… but they must also test everything. 7. Whatever is not of God, must be avoided. iv. A word or message would be the preaching of some teacher or prophet going about either intentionally or unintentionally sowing fear. 1. Paul no doubt was aware of traveling preachers going about, and perhaps some of them not adequately trained to understand the exact nature of the end times. 2. Perhaps they were false teachers or prophets peddling a new message concerning the end. 3. Perhaps they were not posing as Christians at all, but were simply pagans attempting to take the Christian teaching and adapt it to paganism. This wouldn’t be the first time or the last that such a thing happened. 4. Paul warns them not to be startled and discard discernment just because someone comes preaching a message about the coming judgment from an angle that is new and foreboding. 5. Instead, they should rightly divide truth by the truth they have already received. v. A letter as if it is from us. In this Paul relays, perhaps, more than we might expect. 1. First, he gives us a third medium by which people can communicate startling news that may disrupt their discernment regarding the Day of the Lord. 2. The written word. 3. But over and above that, Paul adds, as if it is from us. Meaning what? 4. Paul either knows of or suspects that there are letters being circulated at this time pretending to be from himself, Silas, and/or Timothy. Letters that call into question some of the teachings they had already given to the Thessalonians regarding the Day of the Lord. 5. Paul warns them not to be alarmed by these letters nor to blindly believe them, but to use their discernment and hold fast to what they had already received. 6. In Galatians Paul said that even if he himself came with a different gospel – that he should be accursed and they should not listen. Paul doesn’t quite go to that extreme here – but he does make plain that it doesn’t matter who supposedly teaches these false teachings about the Day of the Lord. 7. If it contradicts what they had already been taught – then it must be avoided. vi. Well, we have hinted at it long enough… what is the nature of these false prophesies, these new messages and interpretations, or these letters, about the Day of the Lord, that has caused them to abandon discernment due to startling fear? b. [Slide 11] to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. i. Well, we didn’t keep that secret very well – but such is the nature of studying a book of the bible rather than simply reading it. ii. Still, we see that the main reason that the Thessalonians keep vacillating, and abandoning reason, and becoming fearful – is because someone or perhaps many sources are telling them that the Day of the Lord has already come. iii. But Paul says that the Day of the Lord hasn’t come yet – no matter what anyone told you. iv. But after arriving at this, we are left with the question, why? v. Why would the Thessalonians think that the Day of the Lord had come? What could have been taught to them to convince them that the Day of the Lord had arrived? vi. [Slide 12] I see two possibilities for what might have happened and both of them are found within the context of 2 Thessalonians. 1. Perhaps the persecution they are experiencing reminds them of what they were taught about the Day of the Lord including a time of difficulty and tribulation. a. When we discussed the Day of the Lord while studying Paul’s previous letter, we observed that the Day of the Lord includes 4 categories of events. i. A terrible tribulation. Mankind will be afflicted including cosmic signs, wonders in heaven, terrible bloodshed, natural disasters, all spoken of as if they were world ending or crippling. ii. The revelation of Christ and the gathering together of His people with Him. Which may also include some kind of earthly kingdom ruled from Jerusalem. iii. A day of judgment which is the culmination of God’s Justice where all sin will be paid and all sinners, both angelic and human, will be removed from the earth and cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second death. iv. Finally, there is a remaking of the universe. There will be a new heaven and earth. A new Jerusalem will descend, and we will enter into an eternal state. This could be a second earthly kingdom or the same one we already mentioned. b. Interestingly enough, Paul covers both the revelation of Christ and the eternal judgement of the wicked in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Seeming to indicate that these events occur at the same time. c. Which might suggest that the Thessalonians understood the other two events to occur before and after these. d. Perhaps they assumed that the persecution they were experiencing was the terrible tribulation. e. And so, a false teaching that may have arisen is to take what they had been taught about the cosmic signs and reinterpret them as metaphors to refer to less cataclysmic events. f. This would cause them to think that they were in the midst of the Day of the Lord and that the persecution they were experiencing was part of the terrible tribulation that preceded Christ’s return. 2. Another option is for us to look ahead in this context and see that Paul had already taught them about the man of lawlessness and the coming apostasy. So, perhaps they have been convinced that their present condition fit that description and they were already seeing the apostasy and the man of lawlessness. vii. In either case we are left with the same question… what about these teachings would lead them to sudden fear? Why might they be afraid of the Day of the Lord when they were clearly taught in both letters that the Day of the Lord is a day of victory for God’s people and should give us comfort and peace? viii. [Slide 13] For myself it only makes sense in one way. That they assumed that the events of the Day of the Lord would happen in quick succession. They assumed that once the tribulation or apostacy and man of lawlessness stepped on the scene, that Christ would return and gather them together. ix. Why would that be fear inducing to hear people say – The Day of the Lord is here? x. Because they haven’t been gathered together to be with Christ. xi. So that leaves them with a few questions and all of them have terrible answers. xii. Did we not make the cut? xiii. Is this the best it gets? xiv. Has God’s justice somehow been served already? xv. If we break down Paul’s statements in chapter 1 and 2 into its most basic message, it is, essentially, that the Day of the Lord is a sequence of events that occur over a period of time. Paul does not say how long until it begins or how long it would take to get through it. But He does indicate that there is a sequence that must be followed. We’ll get to more of that later. xvi. I mention it now only to prove why they were suddenly fearful. xvii. They thought they missed it. And that this was their life from now on. Or worse… that they were to be judged with those who afflicted them because they were NOT counted worthy of God’s call after all. xviii. This is why Paul spends so much time expounding God’s perfect justice. This is why Paul prays that God continue to count them worthy of His calling and continue to give them power to walk worthy of their calling. xix. He wants them to understand that this will all happen over a course of time. And that that time has not yet begun. But when it does… it will be good for them and for all God’s people. c. [Slide 14] Summary of the Point: Paul did it in the last letter and he will continue to do so in this one. He will continue to point back to what he and his companions have taught them already. He taught them that the Day of the Lord is a great comfort to God’s true people. And if they hear another teaching that causes them to fear or their discernment to be shaken, because it tells them the Day of the Lord has already come – even if that teaching came from someone who was a prophet, a preacher, or even posing as Paul himself – they should not believe it. They should measure every message they hear by what they have already received. And if what is new doesn’t match up – they should avoid it. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and shapes our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 15] In his first letter and so far in his second, Paul has always spoken of the Day of the Lord as a comfort to those who believe on Jesus. The scriptures as a whole speak of the Day of the Lord as a Terrible day, but a Great day for those who are God’s children. Since this is true, a true believer should not be shaken or startled by any teaching regarding the Day of the Lord. No matter the source of the teaching, we should use discernment and compare it to what we have already received regarding the nature of the Day of the Lord and avoid any teaching that does not fit. But how does this apply to us today? Are there any that say the Day of the Lord has already come? 1.) [Slide 16] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that the Day of the Lord has come. a. If you have spent any time conversing with me, you know that there are some teachings that I am very passionate about. Even some debated teachings that I have taken a strong stand upon and unless the Spirit of God moves me – I do not intend to budge. b. You also know that eschatology… is not one of those. c. I am VERY VERY VERY uncommitted to any eschatological system. I tend to see the merits in most of them and am ready to admit when a passage favors one view over the others. d. But there is one vein of eschatological teaching upon which I can and will be quite strong. It is eschatological teachings that we must… REJECT! e. There are indeed some folks who have concluded that everything predicted in the bible has come about. f. They are called preterists. From the Latin word praeter, meaning past or gone beyond. g. Preterism is divided broadly into two groups. Partial preterists and full preterists. h. Partial preterists would see some predictions in the scriptures as fulfilled. i. Some would conclude that the Roman Catholic church is the apostasy spoken of in 2 Thess chapter 2 and that the Pope is the Man of Lawlessness. j. Therefore, they would conclude that the next thing we are waiting for is for Christ to be revealed from heaven. k. The key here is that they still say that Christ’s revelation from heaven is still in the future. l. This then is the distinguishing mark between a partial and a full preterist. m. A partial preterist… in my estimation… could still very well be a solid brother and close Christian friend. n. But not so for the full preterist. o. A full preterist would say Christ has… in some way… already returned. They would say that this has already occurred in the events of AD 70 and that we are currently living in the New Heaven and the New Earth today. p. My friends, you cannot be a full preterist and be an orthodox Christian. Why? q. Because the earliest creeds confess that Christ will come (future tense) to judge the living and the dead. r. Full preterism is… a heresy. And must be denied. s. The Day of the Lord – has not come. At least not the whole of it. And on this I will firmly stand. And you must too. t. Another end-times conclusion I believe we must draw from this text, is that there is a necessary sequence of events to the Day of the Lord. 2.) [Slide 17] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the Day of the Lord will not happen all at once but must follow a sequence of events. a. It is not an event that any believer could conceivably have missed. b. Now I think we can go overboard here when we get out our timelines and mark days and months and years to every event. c. I’ve pointed it out several times now, that every single timeline of these is wrong because there are 7 thunders in Revelation that we know nothing about because God told John to seal up the scroll and not write down what the 7 thunders said. d. Again, pointing out safely what all acceptable positions of the end times do, is that the Day of the Lord is a period of time that covers several kinds of events. They happen in sequence. Now where we are in that sequence, how long they last, and how long until the next one, is all up for debate. e. But we should not be looking for all of it to happen at once. f. Another thing I can say with confidence about the Day of the Lord… 3.) [Slide 18] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The Day of the Lord is only spoken of in the scriptures as a comfort to believers. a. Any teaching that causes a genuine believer to fear the coming of the Day of the Lord should be rejected without distinction. b. And any Christian who allows mortal fears to overwhelm their heavenly comfort with regard to the Day of the Lord – should be rebuked. c. Some teachings of the end times tell us that we will avoid the Great Tribulation because the Lord Jesus will rapture us out beforehand. d. Possibly. But my friends – you should expect to experience everything the church has continued to experience in the church age as a normal amount of trouble and suffering. Even if you believe we will be raptured before the cataclysmic events of the tribulation- do not think for a moment that you won’t be abused, beaten, burned, flayed, raped, pillaged, and murdered for your faith. Because that has happened to Christians for the last 2000 years and guess what – it is happening today in other parts of the world. e. Nevertheless, the Day of the Lord should bring comfort to us. f. Friends, even if God permits us to go through the whole tribulation. Even if the tribulation lasts 7000 years instead of just 7. The Day of the Lord… is still a comfort to God’s people. Why? g. Because the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven, and we will all be gathered together to Him and we will never be apart from Him again! h. That single teaching… makes the Day of the Lord a great comfort to His people. i. It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus. j. So, since it is a comfort to us… 4.) [Slide 19] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must not fear the Day of the Lord. a. What is there to fear? b. What if the stars fall on me? c. What if the plague takes me? d. What if I am a victim of the wars and rumors of wars? e. What if the demons from the abyss sting me with their tails? f. What if all this happens to you… but you still see Jesus in the air face to face? g. What can be taken from you that the Lord has not promised to restore? h. Some may be truly concerned about the man of lawlessness and the strong delusion… i. Do not fear either my friends. We’ll get to that in due time and I will show you conclusively that Paul actually goes out of his way to assure genuine believers that such a delusion will not come upon them and that they will be preserved through the lies of the man of lawlessness. j. But Paul’s words in this text are sufficient. k. There is no reason to be startled or alarmed about anything regarding the Day of the Lord if you are a true believer. l. Well, how do we not allow teachings about the Day of the Lord to cause us to fear? 5.) [Slide 20] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must filter everything we are taught about the Day of the Lord through what the Scriptures have revealed to us. a. Friends, many pastors like to speak long about all of this. They really want to make many things certain that I don’t think we have any business making certain. b. But there are a few things about the Day of the Lord that are certain. c. The reason I say they are certain is because no matter what eschatological view you hold to – they all agree on these things. i. There will be a time of tribulation and trouble. ii. Christ will return and take His bride to Himself. iii. There will be an eternal kingdom set up with God living among His people with a New Heaven and a New Earth. iv. And all will be judged, the living and the dead, and Christ will separate the sheep from the goats. v. These things are certain. d. And any teaching that contradicts these – is false. e. Do not listen to those who claim to know when the Lord will return. Do not listen to those who have calculated when things will be. f. Do not believe those who say that all will go to heaven eventually or exist in that New Kingdom with God and His Son’s bride in peace. g. Do not believe the scientists that say this world will burn up in a billion years by colliding into the sun. h. Rather than spending a bunch of time and energy speculating on what is unclear – we should hold fast and stand firm in what is clear. i. And there is one more thing that is abundantly clear that we need to talk about this morning… 6.) [Slide 21] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” The Day of the Lord is only spoken of in the scriptures as a terrifying day of judgment to the unbeliever. a. As much as I have taken great pains to convince everyone who is a believer here today that the Day of the Lord is only a comfort to us, I must now take great pains to convince you, if you are not a believer, a Christian in name only, or a Christian who is living in unrepentant sin, that the Day of the Lord is not a comfort to you… at all. b. In fact, the Day of the Lord is a horrifying, cataclysmic, sudden, and terrible day of judgment and death. c. All the enemies of God, all who have not truly believed on His Son, all who have not bowed the knee and submitted to His Lordship, will suffer the eternal wrath of God both in body and in soul forever. d. Not only will the tribulation be a time of great pain and anguish, but it will culminate in the utter defeat of Satan and his children, and finally end in the eternal death of him and his children as they are separated from the merciful and saving presence of a holy God. e. [Slide 22] There are several lies many prominent people have probably told you, that must be exposed. i. Only God can judge me. 1. Indeed. And He will. And only those found in His Son will inherit His Kingdom 2. All others will be separated from His presence to spend eternity in anguish in His wrath. ii. I’m not as bad as other people. 1. All men are wicked. All men are unrighteous. All men miss the mark of perfection which God has set for all who would enter into His Kingdom. 2. Whether you are as bad as Hitler or only told a single lie in your entire life – if you depend on your good deeds to save you – you will be damned. Indeed, as Jesus said, you are damned already. 3. Revelation 19 tells us that the books which record your deeds will be opened. And they will be examined on the day of judgment. But here is the thing. Everyone who is judged by the books containing their deeds – will be cast into the lake of fire. 4. The only people spared from that fate are judged by a different book. A book that doesn’t record their works… only their name. A name chosen and written before the foundations of the earth were created. A name who has believed on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and served Him with their lives. 5. Not being as bad as others won’t matter. You must be as perfect as Christ. iii. I’ll see the signs and remember what you said and I’ll submit to Christ then. 1. My friends, Paul in 1 Thessalonians, told them that the Day of the Lord would come like a thief in the night. And it would be sudden and take people unawares. 2. Jesus said that people would be going about their normal lives, continuing to make plans for marriage and acting like tomorrow would come just like today did… when all things would come to an end. 3. And Paul is about to say in this book that those who are unbelievers will 100% believe and follow the man of lawlessness and God will send a delusion upon them to make sure they do not believe. 4. The truth is, that when the Day of the Lord begins… you will never know it… and by the time you do… it will be too late. f. [Slide 23] The fact of the matter is, that no man or woman is assured another day on this earth. Insurance agents make millions of dollars every year by relaying this one powerful truth. Life is uncertain and the days we have on this earth are not in our hands. g. So, I implore you… I beg you… will you not turn from your sin? Reject your claim on your life and submit your plans, your destiny, your lifestyles, your beliefs to Christ as Savior and Lord. Confess He is Lord and believe He is Savior. Serve Him for the rest of your days. h. And then you will know the comfort of the Day of the Lord. i. If you need to do this today, don’t leave without talking to myself, another Elder, or someone you know is a Christian. [Slide 24 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Augustine of Hippo Lord God, as we turn to you in purity of heart, we give you our highest and most abundant thanks, as best we are able to in our frailty. Our whole mind prays for your unmatched goodness, that by your power you would drive out the enemy from our thoughts and deeds. Father Almighty, enlarge our faith, direct our minds, and help us to focus our thoughts on your kingdom. And in the end, bring us safe to your place of endless blessings, through your Son Jesus Christ, Amen. Benediction: May the Lord your God, our help in ages past, And our hope for years to come, Be your guard while troubles last, And lead you to His eternal throne. Until we meet again, grace and peace to you.

Title: God’s Call To Glory Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 FCF: We often struggle comprehending the scope and sequence of God’s Redemption of His people. Prop: Because God calls and oversees our redemption to glory, we must be counted and walk worthy of the call of God. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read from the English Standard Version starting in verse 5 and going through verse 12. Last week, Paul began addressing some of the concerns of the Thessalonians regarding the Day of the Lord and the persecution they were enduring. Paul assured them that God’s justice is perfect. That He is reordering their lives and will reward all men according to what they have earned, either punishment for wickedness or reward for Christ’s righteousness. As terrible as His punishment is for those who disobey the gospel, for those who obey, His reward is even more wonderful. We finished last week with the reward of meeting Christ in the air and His people glorifying Him and marveling at His splendor. But Paul wants to close out this section of his letter both by elaborating on the nature of the redemptive path God has put them on and also praying that God would see them to the end reward that he has just described. Stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Gracious God who gives abundantly to us so that we may be Your people, we humbly ask that You would send Your Spirit among us today to teach us from Your Word. Help us to see the depth and richness of Your grace today. Help us to understand just how miserable of a state we were in prior to Your grace interrupting our travels to hell. And perhaps, You would call others this morning with the interrupting power of Your grace to cease their pursuit of their own destruction and obey the gospel by believing on Your Son, Jesus. Meet with us, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “Perfection demands perfection; that is why salvation must be by grace and why works are not sufficient.” Donald Grey Barnhouse. “We can never be blessed until we learn that we can bring nothing to Christ but our need.” Vance Havner [Slide 3] “Whatever contribution men make to their salvation they make by the grace of God. And that makes salvation the work of grace a hundred percent.” R.B. Kuiper “A man is not a Christian unless he can say with Paul, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones [Slide 4] “The grace of God does not find men fit for salvation but makes them so.” Augustine of Hippo “The sinner, apart from grace, is unable to be willing and unwilling to be able.” W.E. Best “Grace is not a reward for faith; faith is the result of grace.” John Blanchard [Slide 5] “Grace is omnipotence acting redemptively.” Geoff Thomas “Grace is power. It does not instruct, it energizes, and what dead men need is energizing, such energizing as raises the dead.” B.B. Warfield “Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected.” Jonathan Edwards And on and on they go. I could have included many more. But that is enough for now. Let these words about God’s grace prepare you to see it in the text today. I.) All who meet the Lord in the air are counted and walk worthy of the call of God, so we must be counted and walk worthy of the call of God. (11) a. [Slide 6] 11 - To this end we always pray for you, i. Paul begins these closing thoughts on God’s righteous judgment pointing back to the rest and reward given to those who obeyed the gospel by believing what the apostles spoke to them concerning Jesus. ii. What is that rest and what is that reward? It is the glorifying of Christ and marveling at His splendor. iii. Paul reveals that it is “to this end” or more literally, “in this” that they continue to pray for them. iv. This gives this entire passage a distinct eschatological perspective of all that it has to say. Now that may be obvious now, but if we forget this it may make our interpretation of the text more difficult as we go forward. v. Paul and his companions are always praying for them that they would make it to that day when Christ returns and they can glorify Him in His presence. vi. Paul is not suggesting, necessarily, that this is uncertain. vii. Some Christians wrongly conclude that if God has promised something to us that to pray for it is either a waste of time or even showing distrust in His promises. viii. However, we are commanded to pray in the will of God. Paul shows us what that looks like. ix. Paul is confident, based on their growth in faith and love and endurance amid affliction and persecution, that God will count the Thessalonians worthy of His Kingdom. x. But just because Paul is certain of that, and just because God has promised to do that for those who believe, doesn’t mean there is no need to pray for it to come about. xi. Quite the opposite actually. xii. To suggest that praying for something somehow implies that it is uncertain is simply unfounded. xiii. Imagine if we applied this to the Lord’s prayer. xiv. Is it uncertain as to whether God’s kingdom will come? Yet we are told to pray for it to come by Jesus Himself. xv. Paul praying for the Thessalonians to reach that glorious gathering in the air with Christ, is not suggesting, at all, that they might not make it. It is praying that God’s promises come true. xvi. But what is necessary if they are to make it to that glorious day when we meet Christ in the air? xvii. What is the content of their continued prayers for the Thessalonians? b. [Slide 7] that our God may make you worthy of his calling, i. There are two translational concepts here that we should briefly address. ii. Many scholars debate the Greek word the ESV translates here “make worthy.” This is a very old debate. It is at the heart of the divide between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine. 1. As a reminder Official Roman Catholic Dogma believes that God actually makes you righteous at baptism. That original sin is washed away in those waters of baptism and the remainder of your life is the process of trying to keep yourself in that state of grace. Something you can only do in the confines of the Roman Catholic Church. 2. Through rigorous study, the Reformers demonstrated that the most common way to translate this word is “counted worthy.” 3. This word in the New Testament is consistently used to express someone or something being counted as worthy which is not actually worthy of the honor being given to them. It is in fact a legal declaration rather than something you are made into or have earned. 4. In fact, this is the same root word that Paul used in verse 5 where the Thessalonians are counted worthy of God’s Kingdom. Since the context was speaking of God’s righteous Justice, a legal verdict makes much more sense than some kind of God-infused act. 5. But since this context has an eschatological emphasis, the meaning could, conceivably be “make worthy.” 6. We know that Jesus will present us faultless before the throne of God. He will make us worthy and righteous. 7. But even if that is true, two things are absolutely certain. 8. The idea of God making us worthy prior to Christ’s return, whether that be that we reach a state of perfection and never sin again, or that we reach a state of perfection and have to strive to keep ourselves there – both of these are not only not supported in this text, but they are repudiated. 9. Being truly worthy of God’s Kingdom is definitely something God must do, but per Paul, that occurs at the coming of Christ. 10. However, in my opinion, counted worthy is the better translation here. And I will explain that in a moment. iii. The second translational concept here is concerning the same word but from a different angle. 1. The mood of the verb “count worthy” is in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish or hope, and sometimes has conditions. 2. As understanding grows on the Greek language, particularly the Greek trade-language that was used in the writing of the New Testament, more has been understood about the subjunctive mood to understand that it is actually very RARELY used in the New Testament to express something that is possible if the right conditions are met. 3. Instead, the subjunctive mood is almost exclusively used to express something that is either probable or intended. 4. Why does this matter? 5. Well, if we read this and Paul prays that our God “might” count them worthy of their calling… our mind automatically imports the possibility that God might not do that. We start wondering what the conditions are that God might have to not count someone worthy of the calling HE CALLED THEM WITH. 6. But here, Paul uses the subjunctive mood because He is praying that God’s calling producing the verdict of worthy for these Thessalonian believers. Prayers are hopes or wishes. 7. But as we’ve already said, prayers are not necessarily a hope that implies it may not happen. 8. In fact, there is a HUGE correlation here between God calling someone and counting them worthy of that calling. And the key to unlock that is another letter that Paul will write from Corinth, possibly at the same time that he is writing to the Thessalonians. 9. In Romans 8:29-30, Paul says that whom the Lord calls He also justifies. Justify is to be “counted righteous” or “declared righteous” in a legal sense and would be synonymous with being counted worthy of God’s Kingdom. Paul puts a necessary and unbreakable connection between the ones whom God calls and those whom He declares righteous. 10. There is no uncertainty here. If God called them, He will count them worthy of that call. And Paul is praying for that end. iv. With both those translational issues out of the way we better understand what Paul is praying. v. Paul wants them to make it to that day when we glorify Christ in the air. vi. So, he is praying that what is necessary for that to be the case is found in the Thessalonians. vii. First, that they be counted worthy of the saving call of God. viii. But our justification is not the end. Just because we are justified does not mean we are ready for the day we stand before Christ face to face to give Him glory. c. [Slide 8] and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, i. Paul also prays that God would fulfill or complete or provide every resolve. ii. The ESV translates this word well. It means something hoped for or desired or something resolved to do or have. iii. Paul’s prayer is that God completes in them every resolve. What resolve? iv. The resolve has two sides. 1. First, for good. a. Good here is of the moral quality. b. It is to be good. To be righteous. To be holy. c. It is to please God. d. It is to care for one another. e. It is to love God and others. f. Paul’s prayer is that God completes the resolve for them to be morally upright. 2. Second, a working out of their faith. a. So beyond moral uprightness, that they would do what pleases God out of a belief in Him and the gospel. b. The resolve to work out their faith in acts of obedience to God. v. And notice that all of this is done by or with God’s power. God is doing the completing of these resolves by supplying everything necessary. vi. In this we see another close correlation between another letter that Paul will write several years later. vii. In Philippians 2, Paul commands the Philippians to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” viii. The word in Philippians 2 for “good pleasure” is… resolve. ix. Here Paul prays that God completes the resolve for them to be morally upright and work out their salvation, and in Phillippians he assures them that God provides the desire and the power to accomplish His resolve. x. Paul’s prayer is for them to make it to that meeting in the air to glorify Christ. xi. Therefore, he prays for the necessary process for them to get there. xii. They must not only have been counted worthy of the calling of God, but they must also walk worthy of that calling. xiii. A divinely given faith that is effective to save, is a faith that must also be worked out with divine assistance. d. [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: Paul is praying, as any loving pastor should, that the church in Thessalonica makes it to that day when all believers will be gathered together to glorify Jesus in the air. And if they will make it to that day, they must follow the necessary process to get there. All who will meet the Lord in the air on that day will be counted worthy of God’s effectual call. They will also walk worthy of that call by living morally upright lives, working out their faith as God completes this in them by His power. So, what is the application for us? Well, we must be counted and walk worthy of the effectual call of God. That application requires a good deal more explanation, but let’s save that for later. Transition: [Slide 10 (blank)] So, after this necessary process is complete in them, what will be the result? II.) All who are counted and walk worthy of the call of God will glorify Christ and be glorified, so we must be counted and walk worthy of the call of God. (12) a. [Slide 11] 12 - so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, i. Paul, probably alludes to Isaiah 66 as he mentions the name of the Lord being glorified. ii. In our time and in this time to a much greater degree, a person’s name meant much. In paganism and witchcraft, there is power in knowing and using names of demons. In the Old Testament, oftentimes it is considered a great shame on a person who is never named. In the New Testament we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. iii. A name represents the fame and reputation and the authority of the person who bears it. iv. It would also be good for us to understand what being glorified means as we move through this verse. v. To glorify is to be positively acknowledged, recognized, or esteemed for one’s own character, nature, or attributes. vi. To be glorified is to be honored and appreciated for who you are. vii. Therefore, the purpose of the Thessalonians being counted and walking worthy of God’s call is so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be given the proper honor, praise, recognition, and esteem it deserves… how? viii. Paul says - in you. In the Thessalonians. When? ix. When they are all delivered safely to Christ’s glorious presence having been counted worthy of God’s call and having walked worthy of God’s call, by their existence as a people conformed to Christ, and by their actions, as a people who marvel at His splendor, they will give glory to Jesus. x. The question arises, of course. Don’t we bring glory to God NOW by the way we live? xi. Certainly! Paul isn’t debating that point, nor is what he says here somehow in conflict with that. xii. Remember this passage is eschatological. Paul has his eyes fixed on that meeting with Christ in the air when He is revealed from heaven. xiii. Why? xiv. Because that is where the Thessalonians’ concerns are. xv. They are concerned that the Day of the Lord has come and they are actually living their best life now… under great persecution. xvi. But that isn’t the end of this redemption plan of God… b. [Slide 12] and you in him, i. One aspect that we must understand is that salvation is NOT just about getting out of hell. ii. It is NOT just about avoiding eternal death. iii. Being counted worthy and walking worthy of this name means not only that we bring glory to His name… but that the one who bears His name is also… glorified. iv. We are called children of God. A kingdom of priests. We are called the bride of Christ. v. This is all imagery and language to suggest that we become, in a very real way, part of God’s family. We become sons of God. vi. We, in this entire redemptive story arch, go from created Image bearers to part of His royal court. vii. We inherit glory from one who has stamped His name on us. A name above every other name. viii. That same name… has been given to us in a similar way to a surname being given to an adopted child or a bride. ix. We inherit all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that comes with the name we were given. x. How can this be? How did this happen? How did we go from wretches to sharing in His glory? c. [Slide 13] 12 - according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. i. It is all grace my friends. ii. Once again, I implore you to step away from the correct but often misunderstood definition of grace as God’s unmerited favor. iii. A better definition might be the acronym grace… God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. iv. But even that is a bit narrow. v. So here is the best definition of grace that I can give you. vi. It is God’s power which he grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to be, receive, or do something which they are unable to be, get, or do on their own. vii. And indeed, we could not be worthy of God’s call on our own. We could walk worthy of that call on our own. viii. And we certainly were not able to take His name or be in His family by the strength of our own efforts or will. ix. Who among us chose their name? You may have had an opportunity to change your name. But none here chose their name. x. Our salvation, from beginning to end, is all a work of God’s grace. d. [Slide 14] Summary of the Point: And so, Paul reveals that after the necessary process of being counted worthy and walking worthy of God’s effectual call, not only will the Thessalonians glorify the name of Jesus but they will also be glorified by bearing His name. Paul summarizes that all of this saving work from beginning to end is the work of God and His grace. Therefore, we must be counted worthy and walk worthy of the effectual call of God. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles? Basic Concepts of Faith and Practice: [Slide 15] Paul’s prayer starts at the end, where those rewarded for obeying the gospel are glorifying Christ. So, his prayer is that they would walk the only path that leads to them glorifying Christ in the air at His return. He prays that God counts them worthy and that they walk worthy of God’s effectual call on their lives. So that they can glorify Christ and in His name be glorified themselves. Of course, all of this is according to the grace of God and Jesus Christ. Since this is the only path that delivers believers to His side, and since all true believers will meet Him in the air, this is the path all true believers must walk. So, we too must be counted worthy and walk worthy of the effectual call of God. But what does all this mean, and how do we do it? 1.) [Slide 16] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that all of salvation is by the grace of God. a. Understanding God’s grace is perhaps one of the greatest personal lessons the Lord has taught me since being your pastor. b. Ten years ago, I understood God’s grace to be, mostly, kindness. c. But I now realize how cheap my understanding of grace really was. d. I heartily affirmed the definition, unmerited favor… but truthfully didn’t comprehend exactly what that meant. e. And even understanding the words can lead us right back to… kindness. God is kind to us and we don’t deserve it. f. But as I studied, I realized that this is really a drop in the bucket of what God’s grace really is. g. Others have said, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. A fine definition. But, alas, it could simply mean… kindness. God gives His riches through Christ’s sacrifice to us because He is kind to us. h. But all these definitions fall short of a biblically consistent view of the word… grace. i. Let me define it with a word picture. j. Imagine you are sailing in an motorless sailboat on the Mediterranean Sea. While heading for your destination, the wind suddenly stops. No matter how many sails you unfurl and in which direction, there is no wind to catch. You are stranded. In this position, you are completely subject to the wind. Nothing you do can actually affect your progress toward your destination. Suddenly, a strong wind kicks up and pushes you, not to the destination you wanted to go, but to another. When you land you find out that the destination you desired was overrun by bandits and everyone there was killed. k. This is a great illustration of God’s grace. e. God’s grace is His power which He grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to be, receive, or do something which they are unable and unwilling to be, get, or do on their own. l. Since we are sinners from birth, children of wrath, and sons of our father the devil, we are not righteous and we do not even seek God. The destination we wish to go is toward a city destined for destruction. m. God’s grace fills our sails and propels us toward a destination of His own choosing. We don’t seek Him, He seeks us. n. Now, there are certainly aspects of human agency. We are commanded to repent. We are commanded to believe on Christ and what He has accomplished. We are commanded to walk worthy of the calling we’ve been given. o. But we must recognize that no matter what we are commanded to do, without God’s power which He gives when and to whom He chooses, we can never obey any of those commands. We cannot even obey the command of the gospel to believe on Christ, without God’s grace first enabling us to do so. p. That is what Paul means when he says that salvation is by grace, through faith, not of ourselves, but a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. q. Grace comes first, like a wind, unseen and not in our control. Then once we are moved by grace, we can believe in Christ, and we are saved. r. In this way, as Paul makes clear in this passage, all glory goes to God for our salvation. For even our belief would not be possible if He did not enable us to believe. s. And since salvation is by grace, it produces a predictable trajectory of every single believer’s salvation, which leaves no room for interruption or uncertainty. 2.) [Slide 17] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the events of salvation are an identical unbroken chain beginning with God’s foreknowledge and ending with our glorification. a. This passage, as I have already said, has a lot of similarities to both Romans 8:29-30 and Philippians 2:12-13. Since Paul wrote all three of these texts and one around the same time as he wrote 2 Thessalonians, I took the liberty of cobbling together the sequence of salvation according to Paul. b. [Slide 18] On the screen behind me, Romans 8 is in blue, 2 Thessalonians 1 is in red, and Philippians 2 is in purple. The italicized words in black are merely words I have filled in to help connect the contexts together. c. This is the redemptive story of every single person who God has elected for salvation. And not only does every single believer follow this sequence, there is no interruption or break. Meaning if the sequence is truly started by God, it will not end until it is completed. d. Let’s look… e. Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined... and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (counted worthy of His call and His Kingdom) and those whom He justified, He also… conformed to the image of His Son by completing in power their resolve for good and every work of faith to work out their own salvation in fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in [them} both to will and to work for His good pleasure and those whom He conformed to the image of His Son, The name of the Lord Jesus will be glorified in [them] and He also (will glorify) glorified [them] in Him so that all His salvation from beginning to end is according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. f. From God’s foreknowledge or His foreordination, to His glorifying us in Christ, and everything in between, it is one unbroken chain. g. Those whom God foreordained will be glorified. h. Since this is true… what must we do? 3.) [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must pray that God completes our salvation. a. Just because He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it, does not mean we don’t need to pray for our own and one another’s salvation. b. Oftentimes when we talk about praying for others to be saved, we mean for them to be justified. c. Certainly, from what we just saw, this is not a bad thing. For if they are justified, they will be glorified. d. But Paul provides a pattern for us. He is reasonably sure that the Thessalonian church is elect of God because He saw the gospel come upon them in the power of the Holy Spirit. He has seen them grow. He has seen them mature. e. And yet, both his letters to them are FILLED with prayers for them to be saved… ultimately. f. We are often tempted to stop praying for someone when they profess Christ. Because, try as we might, we still think of salvation as a one-time, check box experience. g. My friends… Our salvation is ongoing. We are still being saved. We are still being reordered. We are still being redeemed. h. God has more for us in this great salvation. i. So let us continue to pray for one another. That we would continue to be saved, and that God would save us fully and completely one day. j. Pray through the member directory. Pray through the prayer list. Pray that God would keep saving everyone on that list who has made a profession. k. Just because we believe that God will preserve all those whom He has elected to salvation… doesn’t mean we stop praying when we see one event of that salvation occur. l. Indeed, our salvation isn’t done… In many ways – especially for us – it has only just begun. 4.) [Slide 20] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must walk worthy of God’s effectual call. a. Since God has us on this new path, a path we are guaranteed to walk if we are truly called by Him… b. Then we must walk the path! c. The certainty of our salvation does not produce passivity… it produces action! d. And the greatest part is… God supplies our desire and our ability to be what He wants us to be! e. He doesn’t leave the tending of or progression in our salvation to our passions or power. He supplies that to us! f. So with an assured outcome of success – RISE UP CHRISTIAN and walk worthy of the name of Jesus Christ. g. It is a name above every name… and He has given it … TO YOU! h. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings… and He has given YOU His name. i. So get off the bench! It is time to live uprightly. It is time to obey His commands. It is time to make disciples. It is time to serve each other. It is time to share the gospel. It is time to grow in the knowledge of Christ. j. GET IN THE GAME! There is no fear of failure. k. In fact… 5.) [Slide 21] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” When God calls us, He is faithful to complete us, and glorify us. a. Is there a greater comfort available? b. We often talk about salvation in reference to sin. And we should. That is a message that often gets neglected in many churches today. c. We are saved from sin’s power, penalty, and eventually its very presence. d. And I still believe that one of the greatest parts of heaven is never dealing with temptation again. e. But listen… f. God’s plan for your salvation is not so narrow. g. He will honor you. Not because you deserve it. Not because you’ve earned it. But because CHRIST has earned it and given you HIS NAME! h. We will reign with Christ. i. We will be part of a council where we contribute to the rule of His eternal kingdom. j. We will judge angels. k. We will be in the royal court. Dukes, duchesses, princes and princesses. l. My friends. We went from children of wrath… to royalty. How? The King left heaven and sought for Himself a bride. He purchased Her with His precious blood. And He will come back for Her and take Her to His Kingdom. m. Is there a greater comfort available my friends? n. If there is… I don’t think my heart could take it. For this comfort… leaves me… speechless. 6.) [Slide 22] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” You can’t do anything to save yourself or force God to save you. You must be called. a. This is a difficult message for you to hear. b. Why? c. Because even though it is something you should do… ultimately, you can’t do it. d. God must do it. e. The application… is humility. f. In order to be called of God, you must be counted worthy of the call… by God. g. Again, counted worthy is not something you earn or something you inherently have. Counted worthy is a legal verdict implying that you are not actually what you have been counted to be. h. And indeed, the first step of obeying the gospel… the first step in any person who is being called of God, is to recognize your wickedness and unworthiness. i. As a negative example, the rich young ruler came to Jesus wanting to know how to enter the Kingdom of heaven. He called Jesus a good teacher, to which Jusus asked, why do you call me good, there is none good but God. An interesting statement designed to get the young man thinking about whether or not he understood what goodness really was. Of course this goes right over his head, so Jesus answers his original question. Jesus told him that he must keep the law. Jesus even gives examples of some of the laws that it is impossible to break secretly, like not murdering, committing adultery, lying, or loving others as he loves himself. Really this is the last 6 commands of the 10 emphasizing human relationships to one another. It is true, in the sense that a person must perfectly keep the whole law to be worthy of God’s Kingdom. But, again, this was a gambit, a riddle designed to get the young man to consider how sinful he really was; to humble him. But again, it goes right over his head, because he assures Jesus that he had kept all of these laws from his youth. So, Jesus applies the first half of the 10 commandments and tells the young man to sell all that he has and follow Him. Thus, showing that he loves God with all of himself. Of course, the young man goes away sorrowful because he realizes that he does not love God more than he loves his money. ii. Interestingly, some scholars think that this rich young man was actually Saul of Tarsus. The author of this book we are studying now. i. What the rich young man needed, and what Paul received on the road to Damascus, was the sudden and abrupt understanding of how far from God they actually were. j. And that is the real application here. k. My friend… there is NOTHING you can do to force God to save you from His own wrath. He is just to send you to eternal death away from His mercy and His saving power. l. There isn’t a prayer you can pray, a list of facts you can believe, or a lifestyle you can live that will force God to call you to be His child. m. You must be counted worthy of His call. That is the position you are in. Utterly… and completely… helpless. n. And the interesting thing about that… is that those who arrive at this conclusion. When you are truly convinced that there is nothing you can do… that is usually the first evidence… that God is calling you. o. Why? p. Because natural man never concludes that he is helpless. Natural man always assumes he is able to do something. How do I know that? q. Out of every single movie where mankind faces an insurmountable enemy that cannot be beaten, how many movies do you know where mankind goes extinct and that is the end of the story? r. Every single religion in the world and even some strands of Christianity teach that you can earn by works what God is offering. If you just do X,Y, and Z then you will get what God offers. s. Christianity teaches that the thing you must do… is be perfect. And since you can’t do that… there is nothing you can do to get salvation from God. t. No… He has to do it all. u. Perhaps, today, you are realizing this for the first time. You, unlike the rich young ruler, have recognized how helpless you are to get salvation from God. v. This friends, is evidence that God may be calling you. How does He link you to the verdict of “worthy”? When He enables you to obey the gospel, abandon your sin, and believe on Jesus Christ as your Savior and your King. w. Won’t you step out and obey the gospel today? Won’t you fall on His mercy and hope in His grace? Won’t you believe on Christ? x. If that is you today – don’t leave without talking to an Elder or someone you know to be a Christian. [Slide 23 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Phillip Doddridge. Ever-blessed fountain of natural and spiritual life! I thank you that I live, and that I may live a faith-filled life. I bless you that you breathe into me your own living breath. Though I was once dead in my sins, now I have become a living soul, in a sense that is unique to your own children. But I do not just want to live. I want to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). So I beg you to form my mind in the image of faith. Do not let me misunderstand grace, measuring my growth in grace by a natural yardstick. Let me experience your love even more, with unreserved resignation to your wise and holy will, and a greater care for others. Strengthen my soul as you help me grow in patience, in humility and zeal, and in a heavenly attitude. Give me a concern to be accepted by you (2 Corinthians 5:9). Whether I live or die, let everything I do be for your glory. You know I hunger and thirst after righteousness. Make me whatever you want me to be. Draw your image on my soul. By the gentle influences of your Spirit, trace every feature which your eye, o Heavenly Father, may enjoy, and which you may see as your own image. I know I am not yet where I should be. I am far from being already perfect. But after the great example of the apostle, I forget what lies behind, and strain forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). Feed my soul by your word and by your Spirit. …As a newborn babe, I desire the sincere milk of the word, that by it I may grow 1 Peter 2:2). And may my progress be obvious to all (1 Timothy 4:15) until I finally reach maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). And after having enjoyed the pleasure of those that flourish in your courts below, I will come to live in the paradise above! I ask and hope this through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ-to whom be glory, both now and forever. Amen. Benediction: And now hear from the God Who dwells in the heavenly Zion: Blessed is the one Who He chooses to dwell in His courts, For He will satisfy your house with goodness and by awesome deeds, Answer all who trust in Him with a hearty Amen! Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

Title: God’s Perfect Justice Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 FCF: We often struggle believing that God’s justice is perfect when we suffer for His name. Prop: Because God’s justice will punish the guilty and reward the righteous, we must trust in His perfect justice. Scripture Intro: ESV [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the English Standard Version starting in verse 5. You can follow along in the pew bible or whatever version you prefer. After greeting them and thanking the Lord for their growth and endurance in suffering, Paul wants to attack a couple topics all at once. First, he wants to comfort them in the midst of their persecution and second, he wants to clear up some teaching on the Day of the Lord. For the next two chapters, this will be his objective. This passage is riddled with interpretational difficulties, which could keep us from seeing it’s comforting and impactful application. But this gives me a chance to teach a lesson alongside the message of this text. When we come to passages that are difficult to interpret, there are two dangers that we could run into. First, is the danger of ignorance. When you only read 1 study bible or only have one commentary, or only rely on what you think the passage says – then you’ll never even know the interpretational options that have been posited down through the church age. The danger here is that the interpretation that you arrived at may be poorly attested for several reasons, or as you engage with others on the passage you might be overcome with pride and dismiss any other option than what you’ve seen. The second danger is the danger of getting bogged down in the details. We might even get discouraged when we see that there is really no clear-cut way to understand the passage. But it has been my experience that even passages that have no settled interpretation down through the church age – ultimately the basic meaning of the text… what bible interpreters call the telos… remains the same. For the purposes of this sermon, I intend to present a focused interpretation driving to the telos of the passage so we can apply it to our lives today. That is my goal. I will mention options of interpretation and briefly defend why I am interpreting the text in a specific way. But I do not intend to provide the full argument of each view. Now if you are one of those people who just has to know the details, I’ve done my homework. I’ve spent hours researching this and most of what I found is not going to make it into this sermon. But I promise, if you ask or come to prayer group and bible study Thursday – We’ll talk about it. That being said, we have… A LOT to get to. So please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Perfectly Just God, You are perfect in all your ways. We do not have any trouble appreciating Your delay in justice when it is applied to our account. For had You not been merciful to us while we were yet sinners, we would have been cast from Your presence long ago. Yet when we see Your mercy applied to those who hate us, those who harm us, those who abuse us, those who slander us, or even those who spit on your laws and abuse others, we often are tempted to doubt that Your justice is perfect. Forgive us this treachery Lord. May we believe that Your justice is perfect. May we hope and trust in it. And if there are those who are not Your children here today, may You give them a new heart to fear Your justice and repent and believe on Your Son. Meet with us today Lord, and assure us of Your perfect justice. We pray this In Jesus’ name, amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “Without justice, what are kingdoms but great banditries?” Augustine of Hippo “Justice always makes mercy dumb when sin has made the sinner deaf.” Thomas Brooks “The bible insists that God is entirely just, and that therefore ultimately justice will be done and will be seen to be done.” D.A. Carson “Belief in a just God is not optional.” Jay Poppinga “Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.” Thomas Jefferson Let these thoughts prepare you for the exposition of the text this morning. I.) God will repay those who harm us and give us rest when Christ is revealed, so we must trust His righteous justice. (5-7) a. [Slide 4] 5 - This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, i. Right off the bat we have an interpretational issue. ii. Paul begins this sentence with the word “evidence.” The words, “this is” have been added by the ESV primarily to help it feel more natural in English. iii. So, what is the evidence of the righteous judgement of God? iv. Well, before we address that, we should probably try to understand what God’s righteous judgment is, since figuring that out will help us determine what could be the evidence for it. v. Even a cursory reading of this text forces us to see God’s righteous judgment as His holy and right application of justice, both in meting out judgment to the wicked and in rewarding the righteous. vi. But perhaps even more correctly, we might say that Paul is talking about God’s delayed but assured righting and reordering of the world to the way it should be. vii. So now that we understand what God’s righteous judgment is… let’s look at the options for what the evidence of it could be… viii. There are two different interpretations. 1. The biggest category is that the evidence is something that the apostle has already said. This actually divides into four different views, really debating on how far we go backward. 2. The second option is that Paul is not referring to something that has been said but is about to present the evidence of God’s reordering of the world to the way it should be. 3. In my opinion, the only real option that actually gives evidence that God is reordering the world to be as it should is that the Thessalonians, former pagans and idol worshippers, are growing abundantly and enduring suffering. This proves that God is in the process of reordering the world. ix. But what will be the end of that process for the Thessalonians? They might be wondering this because they are currently enduring a lot of persecution for their faith. What is God’s plan for justice for them? b. [Slide 5] that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, i. God’s reordering of the world to reward the righteous and to punish the wicked has the outcome of the Thessalonians being counted worthy of the Kingdom of God. ii. God has begun a process which He will complete. He has not forgotten them just because He is delaying justice upon those who are afflicting them. iii. God doesn’t begin people on the road to Christlikeness whom He does not intend to finish. He will perfect them and transfer them into His Kingdom. A Kingdom… c. [Slide 6] for which you are also suffering— i. They are enduring suffering primarily because they have declared their loyalty to Christ and His Kingdom. ii. Paul recognizes this and wants to assure the Thessalonians that God’s justice is not doubtful because they are suffering. iii. The Day of the Lord has not already happened, and those opposing them won’t get away with it. iv. No, they haven’t yet gotten their reward for following Him. v. But their growth and endurance is the evidence they should look to that God who began a good work in them, will complete it. vi. Jesus Himself said that those who endure suffering for His sake are blessed indeed. vii. And Paul assures the Thessalonians that they are indeed blessed. So blessed, that they will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which they suffer. d. [Slide 7] 6 - since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, i. Paul begins this next verse with the word “Since.” ii. This poses a challenge for us because it is the beginning of an “if…then” statement but Paul never actually gives us the “then.” iii. I would encourage us to think that the then has already been stated. iv. Paul’s “then” is the fact that God is in the process of reordering the world with the assured outcome that the Thessalonians will be counted worthy of the kingdom they are suffering for, which is evidenced by their growth and endurance in faith and love. So, what must be true for all this to be the case? v. Paul points to the Old Testament teaching of retribution. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. vi. Now we’ve seen, even in Paul’s last letter, that it is inappropriate for the church to have this philosophy. We must return good for evil. We must forgive. We must love our enemy. We must turn the other cheek. vii. But God… God is a different story. viii. God is the ultimate keeper of the teaching of retribution. He will take what has been taken. He will give what has been given. He will punish and reward exactly what has been earned. No more and no less. And He alone is in a position to do this perfectly. ix. Since God sees justice this way – His justice is perfect, and He won’t ignore the fact that they suffer for His Kingdom. x. But what else is true that assures the outcome of verse 5? e. [Slide 8] 7 - 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 i. In the law of retribution God also rewards what has been earned. ii. The reward for the Thessalonians is that they are counted worthy of the Kingdom. Which is the outcome of God setting things right as evidenced by their lives being transformed. iii. And Paul actually lumps himself and Silas and Timothy in this too. They too will get relief. They will be given rest by God. iv. But we see the timetable for this, clearly spelled out. v. When? When will God finally afflict those who are afflicting His people and give rest to the afflicted? When? vi. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. vii. When Jesus returns, that will be when the world is finally put to order. That will be when all things will be set right. viii. This then, is clear indication that the Day of the Lord… has not happened yet. Which is Paul’s thrust all the way through chapters 1 and 2. ix. The reason they are still experiencing this affliction and persecution… is not because the Day of the Lord has come… instead it is because the Day of the Lord has not yet come. f. [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: Paul’s point here is really to provide encouragement and assurances to the Thessalonian church. He wants them to understand that their suffering is not something that slipped by the Lord, it isn’t something the Lord can do nothing about, and it isn’t something the Lord is ambivalent toward. God’s justice is right, holy, multifaceted, and executed in His perfect timing. He will repay those who harm His people and He will give His people rest when Christ is revealed. Why? Because His justice is right and good. Indeed, God has already begun His reordering of the world and the evidence is in our hearts growing to be more like Him and enduring through suffering for His name. So, we must trust His perfect justice. Its extent and its timing. He is good and He is just. Transition: [Slide 10 (blank)] Paul begins with the Thessalonians personally as a church, but he wishes to zoom out and show the greater principle of the Lord’s Justice and reordering the whole world. II.) God will punish the wicked and reward the righteous when Christ is revealed, so we must trust His righteous justice. (8-10) a. [Slide 11] 8 - 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. i. Here we see our second and third interpretational issue in the first three words of verse 8. ii. Since there are Old Testament prophesies concerning the Day of the Lord which suggest that the vengeance of Yahweh comes in flaming fire, I see the fire as part of His vengeance. This actually solves both the interpretational issues in one fell swoop. iii. So, what is Paul saying? iv. Paul now is addressing all of humanity under the law of retribution. All the wicked and all the righteous will be judged at the coming of Christ. v. First, Paul focuses on the wicked. Jesus will come with a flaming fire to repay and punish a certain group of people. vi. Some commentators see two groups of people here, but really there is just one. vii. Over the next three verses Paul will have a triad of couplets which are designed in parallelism to explain who or what is happening. viii. The group whom the Lord will inflict vengeance on and repay for their wickedness is those who do not know God and those who have not obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. ix. Jesus said that there is no way to the Father but through Him. He also said that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father. Jesus’ words are very clear and we noticed this in Acts as well. The chokepoint for knowing Yahweh… is through believing on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. x. But what do we do with this phrase, obey the gospel? Isn’t the gospel by grace, through faith, in Christ and not of works? If we are obeying the gospel, doesn’t that mean we are earning it somehow? xi. [Slide 12] Paul addresses this in Romans 10:16. xii. Paul, speaking of the hope for salvation for the Jews, says this… “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord who has believed what he has heard from us?” So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” xiii. So, we see here very clearly that to not obey the gospel is to not believe the word of Christ as communicated from Christ to His apostles. xiv. And the gospel does demand belief or unbelief from every single man, woman, and child. You cannot hear the gospel and leave undecided. Why? Because even faith is a gift of God. The gospel is either embraced or it is rejected. There is no third option. xv. All who do not believe the gospel and submit to Christ as their Savior and their Lord, do not know God, and all will fall to the flaming fire of Christ’s vengeance. xvi. But what will be the outcome of the flaming fire punishment? Is this just speaking of physical death? b. [Slide 13] 9 - They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, i. This verse is incredibly important to a proper understanding of the fate of the unbeliever. IT IS HUGE! ii. To help us I’ve broken the verse in to two parts so we can get everything out of it we need to. iii. There is a movement growing in Christendom, affecting even those in our circles of theology. iv. It is the belief in annihilationism. This belief is that the punishment that God gives to unbelievers is designed to burn away their sin debt to the extent that when it is finally paid, they would be consumed and cease to exist. v. They cite God’s love and mercy and show how many passages that refer to this judgment reference fires burning for eternity but not necessarily those who are in those fires being consumed eternally. vi. This verse is an absolute wrecking ball to that belief. vii. Let’s break this down word by word. 1. They – This is the subject of the sentence. Those who do not know God because they have not obeyed the gospel. 2. Will suffer – This is a future active indicative verb, there is no suggestion of conditionality here, meaning it isn’t uncertain or possible only when certain conditions are met. To suffer means to pay, to experience, to atone for or to endure. 3. destruction – This is not the next word in the English sentence but this is the direct object. This is what they will suffer or endure. Destruction here means ruin, corruption, or death. I do grant that ruin, corruption, and death, at least as we know it, all end. A think cannot be in the process of ruining forever. Eventually it comes to ruin. I grant this… but let’s keep going. 4. The punishment – This is an adverbial accusative. Meaning it modifies the verb to suffer while also applying to the direct object. What are they suffering? A certain kind of destruction. What kind? Punishment means: Penalty, or the consequences of their actions. A corruption, ruin, or death that is just or right. It is fitting. They suffer what they have earned. 5. Eternal – This is an adjective, meaning it modifies a noun. Eternal modifies the direct object, destruction in this sentence. Eternal means without end, perpetual, everlasting, or for an age. 6. Proponents of the annihilationist view suggest that the meaning “for an age” should be taken here and this supports their view. However, nothing in scripture indicates to us that the next age ever ends. In fact, the scripture seems to tell us that the next age is forever. Which doesn’t actually help prove their case. 7. So, the ruin they suffer, the death they experience, the corruption they endure… is everlasting or perpetual or for the entire duration of the next age which is unending. 8. Meaning what? 9. Those who do not obey the gospel and know God, will endure everlasting death as the righteous consequence of their unbelief. Even though we see death as an end… the adjective “everlasting” means by definition that it does not end. 10. Therefore, they will not be annihilated. 11. When we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun… they will have been there 10,000 years no closer to paying for what they’ve done. 12. And remember how Paul said that God considers the teaching of retribution to be just… if indeed God requires eternal death from those who are unbelievers, that means that sin in general, especially the sin of rejecting Christ, is a sin that cannot ever be paid by humans. Even if they were given an eternal age to do so. 13. This should sharpen our understanding of God’s perspective of sin. viii. But now Paul adds another phrase that is just as important for us to dissect. And it is still in verse 9. ix. I told ya – HUGE VERSE. c. [Slide 14] away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, i. First, observe that this is another couplet. The presence of the Lord and the glory of His might are parallel in their structure. The glory of His might is necessarily part of and an expression of His presence. ii. But again, we see another interpretational difficulty. iii. What is meant by “away from.” iv. There are three basic options but in a sense all of these say essentially the same thing. v. In my opinion what makes the most sense given the rest of the context of the New Testament, is that eternal death and being separated eternally from the presence of God are in essence the same thing. vi. However, arriving at this conclusion poses a small dilemma for us. vii. We often confess that God is omnipresent. What does that mean? viii. Well, the prefix omni means all and the suffix, present, means at a particular place. When we combine those thoughts, we get the idea that God is everywhere. And this also includes that God is not only every place but every place at every time. God is everywhere and everywhen. ix. God’s presence then is not able to be limited by any created limitation. Time, Space, Matter- were all created by God and cannot limit His presence. x. This is all well and good – but what do we make of this verse? xi. If unbelievers suffer the penalty of eternal destruction which is being “away” from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, where and when in creation is God not present? xii. Does this mean that God is not truly omnipresent? xiii. No. It doesn’t. There are two clues in this verse that help us here. xiv. First, and less obvious, is the parallel phrase “and from the glory of His strength,” 1. Paul’s inclusion of this phrase requires us to think of God in parts and pieces. He is a unified God and is One, but the unbeliever is specifically away from an aspect of God’s character. Specifically, His glorious strength. 2. Meaning what? 3. He won’t rescue them. God will never choose to use His strength to save them. 4. Well, how could He if He isn’t present with them? 5. Exactly… xv. [Slide 15] But the best clue is actually the word translated here “presence.” xvi. But this word is not merely being in the same place. Instead, this word is, being in front of or face-presence. 1. Consider this, if you walk in the break room at your job and 1 person is facing the coffee machine getting coffee and another person is staring at some posters on the wall, and another is playing on their phone – would you conclude as you walked in that these co-workers were enjoying each other’s company? 2. No. Of course not. Its possible they hate each other and are trying hard to ignore each other. 3. If you walked in and they were all sitting around a circle table looking at each other… before you even knew if they were talking to each other, you’d assume some level of closeness or comradery. xvii. Paul is not saying that the unbeliever will be cast away from the spatial presence of God. For God is everywhere. As David says, if I make my bed in hell, you are there. xviii. Instead, Paul is saying that the KIND of God’s presence is radically different than the presence He gives to His elect. More on that in a moment. xix. His presence to them is also now, tragically, different than the kind of presence He had for them on earth. xx. God sends rain upon the just and the unjust. He causes the sun to shine on the wicked and the righteous. God’s presence in the lives of the unbeliever in this life is one of relative closeness. Paul told the Athenians at the Areopagus that the Lord is not far off. xxi. But after the Lord Jesus returns, part of the flaming fire, part of the eternal destruction, is being cast away from the benevolent and powerful presence of God. xxii. In other words, God is still present. But He limits His presence there. It is not a merciful presence. It is not a saving presence. It is, instead, only a presence of justice and wrath. xxiii. So, we’ve seen the fate of the wicked. What about the fate of the righteous? What is their rest? d. [Slide 16] 10 - 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. i. This is the third couplet Paul introduces in as many verses. Therefore, we should not assume that the saints and the believers are two different groups but just like those who disobey the gospel are the same as those who do not know God, and just as the glory of God’s might is an expression of His presence, so also saying “all who have believed” is another way of describing Christ’s holy ones. ii. Notice too here that eternal death is to be cast away from the face-presence of God and His saving power… while eternal life is… what? What is the “rest” of the believer? iii. John 17:3 says that eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. iv. Can you know Christ and God better than when you see Him face to face? So, what is eternal life? v. It is Christ. It is seeing Christ face to face. vi. Indeed, the glory of Christ is on display in the very presence of His saints. They glorify Him. All those who believed on Him will marvel at Him on that day. vii. And in that glory and marveling, they will know eternal life. They will know eternal rest in His presence. And as Paul said in the previous letter, they will never be apart from Him ever again. viii. Then notice that Paul returns to the Thessalonians. He’s been speaking in broad terms since verse 8. But He brings it all the way back to them… ix. Paul actually interrupts his thought to tell them “and that is you! You believed! You will join us there too!” When? x. On that day. On the day of the Lord when Jesus is revealed from heaven. e. [Slide 17] Summary of the Point: So, Paul’s second point is an expansion of His first point. God will punish the wicked and reward the righteous when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven. And if this is true, then God’s judgments are indeed just and he will count the Thessalonians worthy of that kingdom because they are showing the evidence that He is already reordering their lives by their growth in faith and love and endurance through suffering for His kingdom. So, what must we do? We must trust that the justice of the Lord is right. We must comfort, hope, and even fear that He will give to every man what they have earned on that great and terrible Day of the Lord. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC that refines our beliefs and guides how we live? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 18] Paul expresses his pastoral care for the Thessalonian church who though growing leaps and bounds in their faith, are experiencing increased persecution because of it. In his desire to comfort them and address their concerns about the Day of the Lord, he explains to them that their growth is evidence that God is reordering the world and will count them worthy of His kingdom. Afterall, if God considers the law of retribution to be right, he will repay those who afflict them and give them rest. In fact, God considers the law of retribution right to such a degree, that He will judge all men and rightly reward them for what they have done whether punishment for wickedness or reward for righteousness. He will do this at the Day of the Lord and the revelation of Christ from heaven. In that sense then, Paul challenges the Thessalonians to trust in the perfect justice of God. Not just in who He gives what, but also in His timing of that justice. We too must trust in the perfect justice of God. But what does it mean to trust in His justice? What does this passage mean for us? 1.) [Slide 19] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the justice of God is perfect. a. As I mentioned in the opening prayer, we usually have no complaints about God’s justice when it is delayed in mercy for us. b. Isn’t that interesting? c. When I am the sinner who has wronged another… when I am the wretch who has fallen into sin again and must repent and turn back to the Lord… d. I have no complaints about the mercy of God to delay justice for me. e. When we were first converted to Christ, we had no complaints about the delayed merciful justice of God so that He could lavish grace upon us to call us to Himself through faith in Christ. f. Typically, the only time we have complaints about the justice of God, is when we are the ones being abused and harmed by others. When we are being afflicted or persecuted – that is when we wonder if God is ever going to do something. g. In this regard, we are like little children. Trust me I know. h. I know what it is like to be the one who is the judge and who is responsible to dole out justice and attempt to set things in order the way they should be. i. But I also have two little sinners in my home who are constantly complaining about how I implement justice. j. Of course, my justice is NOT perfect. So, maybe they have something to complain about. k. But God’s justice… l. Oh friends. m. His Justice is perfect. Not only in its timing but also in its extent. God will not punish the righteous to the same extent as the wicked. n. And don’t forget that on the other side of mercy is wrath. God mercifully permitting others to afflict us or persecute us is also storing up wrath for themselves on the day of judgement. o. Though God defers justice, He never cancels it. Though God transfers justice, He never skips it. p. Even our sins were not canceled or skipped. Our sins were paid for. The suffering of eternal death… was paid for at the cross by Christ. Christ could pay the eternal death for His people because He was God. And God only accepted His payment because He was human. q. God is always Just. And His Justice is always perfect. 2.) [Slide 20] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm our growth in faith, love and endurance through suffering are evidences of God’s reordering of the world. a. God’s justice is also a long game. b. If we take the idea of Justice and keep ourselves from defining it too narrowly as only punishment, we can see that God’s justice is actually the reordering and righting of a world gone topsy turvey. c. In that sense, when the Lord grows us in His grace to deepen our faith and knowledge of Christ and expand our love for one another, and produce steadfastness and endurance through trials, afflictions, and persecutions… d. When God does this in us and we see genuine spiritual growth in our lives – this is the evidence that God is truly and perfectly just. e. Why? f. Because He is reordering… you. g. How are we described prior to conversion? h. We are described as dead in sin, lost, lame and blind. i. But now we are not only alive but growing, we have been found, we are walking in a new life, and we have seen the light. j. God brings order to our chaos. k. God’s justice is really nothing more than this. l. God will have His creation ordered, one way or another. m. One way or another all people will kneel before Christ and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. n. But my friend, if He is not doing this in your life today… If he is not reordering you… today… o. If God is, for now, showing you mercy and allowing you to sin and to reject Him… 3.) [Slide 21] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God’s delay in justice implies His approval. a. Be warned friends. b. Be warned straying Christian. Be warned Christian in name only. Be warned unbeliever. c. God’s permittance of your sin… is not approval. It is mercy. d. Mercy is when you do not get what you have earned. e. What have we earned by sinning against a holy God? f. What is sin? g. Sin is any lack of conformity to or breaking of the law of God. Sin is also idolatry which is rejecting or ignoring God in the world He created and instead worshipping something He created. h. How should sin be dealt with? i. If I created a pot for holding water and it no longer held water… If I designed an app to calculate tips and it always calculated it wrong… If I wrote a book about fixing toilets that was completely false and outdated – what should I do with the things I created? j. Since they aren’t good for anything … They are only good for garbage. k. The rightful reaction God should have toward us in sin is to immediately and eternally punish us with death. l. God’s mercy is allowing people to sin and even endure in sin without immediately casting them into the lake of fire. m. He withholds that justice – not because He approves of what we are doing, but because He is merciful. n. Don’t be fooled that what you can get away with is somehow ok with God. o. We have a culture built on the delusion that God permits things BECAUSE He is loving and accepting. This is a lie. God permits things in mercy, and also in wrath. p. God did not destroy the Amorites until what… until their sins earned their destruction. q. Sometimes God, mercifully, allows us to sin, so that we EARN our destruction. r. That is why I say mercy and wrath are a two-sided coin. They go hand in hand. s. Sometimes, especially for God’s people, mercy is NOT letting us get away with something sinful. t. The point is… God’s delay in Justice isn’t always what it seems. We don’t know the mind of God. u. So, what should we do? 4.) [Slide 22] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” As believers, we must trust every aspect of God’s perfect justice. a. God has given us explicit promises and commands that we should trust and follow – regardless of what is happening around us or in us. b. We are commanded to walk worthy of the calling we’ve been given. c. My friends… God’s justice is always perfect. So, we should trust that HE WILL SORT IT OUT. d. Let’s not worry about who is getting away with something or who is hiding something. e. This is a general caution to all those conspiracy theorists out there. f. Listen, I don’t really care if you believe in conspiracies. I don’t really care if you think that there is a secret world government steeped in devil worship and paganism. Because you know what – you might be right! g. But don’t spend a lot of time worrying, fretting, or mobilizing to fight against it. Why? h. God’s justice is perfect. How are YOU going to improve on it? Exactly? i. What DOES God require of you? Live righteously, humbly, and be merciful. Grow in faith, in love for one another, and endure trials and hardships with dependance on Christ. j. And then couple this holy living with gospel witness. Make disciples. k. This job description of the church as a whole is able to be applied both in a society built on the bible and a society that worships Satan and everything in between. l. God is reordering YOU. He is executing His justice on YOU. And that is all the evidence you need to trust that He will reorder the whole world when the Lord Jesus returns. m. Be what God has called you to be and trust that God will sort out who gets what… at the end of the age. n. But remember genuine Christ follower… 5.) [Slide 23] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will reward His people with eternal life, seeing Christ face to face and knowing Him. a. Eternal life is knowing God and His Son. b. In many ways that begins today. For today you can know God and His Son through the gospel and His revealed Word. c. But in another way, real and true knowledge of God and His Christ happens especially, and fully when we see Him face to face. d. John says that when we see Him, we will be like Him. e. Paul says when we see Him He will be glorified in us as we marvel at His splendor. And we will always be with Him from that day forward. f. Oh Christian… one day, you will know justice. All will be right. And because of what Christ has done, you will be rewarded with His glorious and wonderful presence. g. That is what that New Kingdom is all about. God living among His people… forever. h. What a comfort. Just a few more weary days… i. But what if you are a Christian in name only? What if you are an unbeliever? It is just a few more empty days… until what? 6.) [Slide 24] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” God will punish unbelievers with eternal death away from His merciful and saving presence. a. Friends, I don’t want you to suffer eternal punishment. Why? b. Not because God is a big meanie who will dole it out. Not because God is unjust to require eternal punishment for sin. Not because God sacrifices Love in order to punish. c. God is merciful, just, and love and will still punish unbelievers with eternal death. And His doing so is still merciful, loving, and just. d. Why don’t I want you to suffer eternal punishment? e. Because that was my fate too. f. I was on my way to destruction too. With each sin, I ran hastily and greedily to the fires of hell, tripping over God’s mercy and correction, until finally His grace stopped me in my tracks and showed me His love for me. g. God will punish unbelievers with eternal death. h. Every human being’s life has been filled, whether they recognize it or not, with the mercy and saving power of God all around them. God gives common grace to all men and allows them to live in His creation – even if they reject or ignore Him. i. But one day He will remove that merciful and saving presence and will only surround the wicked with His Just and wrathful presence. j. My friends, let today be the day of your salvation. If your heart is stirred to fear and shame… If you are afraid of the just punishment of God and ashamed of your sin against Him… If you recognize all that Christ did for you by taking your punishment and providing your righteousness… then I implore you to cry out to Him in faith. k. Confess that He is Lord, believe He is the risen Savior, appeal to Him in trust and dependance… And you will know the justice of God as He begins to reorder your life to fit His Kingdom. l. It is not too late. m. Talk to an Elder after the service, even before I am finished. Talk to an Elder if you need to obey the gospel. [Slide 25 (end)] Let me close in a prayer by the reformer Myles Coverdale. An English reformer who helped William Tyndale translate the bible into English and actually produced the first printed and complete English translation of the bible called, The Coverdale Bible. O merciful God, preserve our hearts from pride, conceit, and shameful covetousness. Give us grace to abide in your holy work assignment, and to be thankful for your grace. As we keep in mind how easy it is to fall, help us to walk in your fear before you. For if we stand, we must be careful not to fall, and not look down on those who as yet do not stand. Help us to continue in your grace, for we have nothing that we did not receive from you. And if, in weakness, we do fall, put your hand under us, Lord. Do not let us despair in sin, but cause us with repentance and sorrow for our offense to turn back to you. Keep us from despair and from betraying your dearly beloved Son. You send him to us through your gospel. And without him we have no safeguard, but only eternal death and damnation. Keep us from that, good Lord! For your mercies' sake. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: May He Who is your light, your strength, your song and cornerstone, Prepare you for the fiercest drought and storm; Quiet your fears and cease your strivings; That you may know the heights of His love And the depths of His peace. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

Title: Delightful Duty Text: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4 FCF: We often struggle in submitting to the Lord’s work to grow and preserve us. Prop: Because it is a delightful duty to praise God for an enduring and maturing church, we must be a church who endures in spiritual maturity. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the Legacy Standard bible in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible turning to the page listed on the screen behind me, or you can follow along in whatever version you prefer. Today we officially begin our exegesis of the second letter to the Thessalonian church from Paul and his companions. If you missed last week, we did look at the introductory material for the book providing the key themes and basic outline. I’ll remind you that there is a fuller outline of the book available on the entry way table. I do reserve the right to make changes to that outline at anytime as I go through the book in a more detailed study. So, some things might get moved around a little or not work out the way I thought they should have - but for the most part this outline will provide a good birds eye view of where we are headed. With that being said, let’s just get right into the book. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Most Gracious Father, we thank You abundantly for Your steadfast love and faithfulness to Your people. Not only do you save us from sin and death, and rescue us from Your holy and righteous wrath, but You do also sanctify us and conform us to the likeness of Your dear Son whom You gave as a substitute. We bid You to send Your Spirit among us today and meet with us to teach us from Your Word. We ask that You would give us the graces we need to live this life enduring in spiritual maturity so that we can be a beacon to a dark world. Teach us we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “Moving in the right circles is not the same as making progress.” John Blanchard “Many spiritual experiences are possible which do not in and of themselves produce maturity. Rather, it is our response to experiences which will determine our progress in maturity.” Sinclair Furgeson “Some people’s religion reminds me of a rocking horse, which has motion without progress.” Rowland Hill [Slide 3] “Progress is a tide. If we stand still, we will surely be drowned.” Harold Mayfield “Just as the sinner’s despair of any help from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in the believer’s growth in grace.” A.W. Pink “All our progress and perseverance are from God.” John Calvin Let these words prepare your mind for the exposition of the Word of God. I.) It is a delightful duty to praise God for an enduring and maturing church, so we must be a church who grows in faith and love. (1-3) a. [Slide 4] 1 - Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 - Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. i. Paul’s introduction here is almost identical to his introduction to the first letter. ii. He lists himself and his two companions as the authors of the book. Although we know Paul is the primary author with Silas and Timothy providing input. iii. Then he clearly marks out who he is writing to. iv. He writes to the church of the Thessalonians. v. He says that their church is “in” God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. vi. Paul once again reminds this largely gentile church that they have inherited a covenant relationship with the God of Israel whereby they are safely “IN” Him. vii. Furthermore, there is one word variation between this greeting and the one from 1 Thessalonians. Paul began with God The Father and here it is God OUR Father. viii. Once again, this shows us that gentile Christians are in the same relationship to Yahweh as Jewish Christians. Jews were known as the children of Israel and were often described as God’s children in the Old Testament. ix. For Paul to refer to the entire church as God’s children is to break down the hard black line between Israel and the church. The fact of the matter is that Redeemed Israel and the church have much more in common then they don’t. We could say that they are virtually synonymous. Not identical, not without distinction. But broadly they are the same. x. And once again Paul gives his standard greeting, especially to churches experiencing hardship or persecution. xi. He prays for or hopes for grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus. xii. Once again, grace is God’s power which He grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to receive or do something which they are unable to get or do for themselves. xiii. And peace can mean peace with men but more than likely carries the Jewish idea of completion and being set to order. That all things would be made right for them. xiv. God alone is the author of these things and He gives these in His timing and according to the counsel of His will alone. xv. With his general greeting done, Paul moves right to the topic at hand. b. [Slide 5] 3 - We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is only fitting, i. Once again, we are struck with the generally positive tone of this letter. ii. Some of you were around when we studied Galatians, which was Paul’s first letter he ever wrote. iii. If we compared Paul’s tone from this book with Galatians, we would see a fairly stark contrast. iv. It isn’t difficult to see why. The Galatian church was in the midst of succumbing to heretical teaching that put the requirement of circumcision and becoming a Jew as a prerequisite for any gentile to become a follower of Christ. v. But the Thessalonian church is in no such position. vi. Moving on with this verse… vii. Sometimes when we use the word “ought” we subtly imply that we are not currently doing something. viii. “I ought to exercise more” means, “I am not exercising as much as I should.” ix. However, this is actually a slang usage of the word “ought.” x. “Ought” is actually a great word when you understand that it means obligation or duty. xi. So, Paul is actually saying “We are obligated to give thanks” or “It is our duty to give thanks” xii. Paul is not confessing to the Thessalonian church that he and his companions don’t give thanks to God for them always like they should. xiii. Instead, Paul is saying the opposite of that. xiv. He is saying that they are duty bound, obligated, and feel it necessary to always give thanks to God for them. xv. And he is saying that it is fitting for them to be duty bound to give thanks to God for them. xvi. Well, why? c. [Slide 6] because your faith is growing abundantly, i. So, the positive tone of the letter is really tied to their meteoric growth as a church. ii. Though they are less than a year old in their faith, it is growing rapidly. iii. It would be important for us to understand what Paul means by faith here. Because he will use the word twice in this context and each time is different. iv. Faith here takes on the meaning of believing and obeying the teachings from Christ as communicated to them by the evangelists. It is not merely confessing the right things, it is actually growing in the knowledge of Christ to the extent that they are conformed to Him. v. Therefore, the evangelists have the delightful duty to praise the Lord and be thankful to Him for their growing faith. vi. We noticed this in 1 Thessalonians and we should again notice it here. vii. First, we recognize that there is a cooperative nature to our sanctification. viii. We are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are told to spur each other to good works. We are commanded to walk worthy of the name we’ve been called to. ix. There is no doubt that there is some level of Christian responsibility associated with our growth in our faith. x. But Paul again minimizes that human side of the equation. He wants to thank God always for the rapidly growing faith of the Thessalonians. xi. In fact, if we look at the language here, we see that he is not thanking God for their effort to grow their faith, He is thanking God for their faith growing rapidly. xii. This is the lesson we take away… xiii. Even our growth in spiritual maturity is ultimately because it is God who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. God provides the desire and the power to obey Him. xiv. This is why Augustine said, “Give what you command and command what you will.” By this he means that because God gives us the ability to obey Him, He can then command us anything He wishes. xv. But for what else is Paul duty bound to praise the Lord? d. [Slide 7] and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases all the more, i. Again, Paul is not thanking God for their efforts to love each other. He is thanking God for the results of their love for each other increasing all the more. ii. In his first letter to them, if you remember, Paul actually prayed for these things to happen and expressed his hope and desire that God would grow these in them. And after hearing that his prayer was answered and God did indeed grow them in faith and cause their love to abound more and more, he has the delightful duty to thank God for this. iii. John says we love because He first loved us. Scholars debate whether John means 1. We love God because He first loved us 2. We love others because God first loved us 3. Or, both. iv. I tend to see it through the systematic lens of all of the scriptures and conclude that it must be both. Clearly, we cannot love God unless He loves us first and opens our eyes to the truth. And clearly, we cannot rightly love other believers if we do not follow the first command to love God with all we are. v. It is therefore, very much, a house of cards. In order to love other believers properly, we must love God with everything we are. And in order to love God, He must have loved us first. vi. Therefore, what Paul says here is crystal clear. vii. The only reason that their love is increasing toward one another, is because God is giving them grace and growing them in their faith and love. viii. Of course there is a human side. We can resist and even quench the Spirit. Paul warned about that in the previous letter. ix. But when we say what Augustine said, we recognize that so long as God is giving us the desire and power to do what He has commanded, then He can command anything from us. x. The Thessalonians had learned this quickly. And for that, Paul has the delightful duty to unceasingly thank the Lord. e. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Paul then is expressing his thanks to God for the abounding grace of God to grow these Thessalonians in their faith and love. As we saw from the first letter, they were already growing in faith and love. So, they are enduring now in that growth and that makes it his delightful duty to thank God for them. Above physical health, financial solvency, honor, or general maturity, there is nothing that requires a spiritual leader to praise God more than when an individual believer or a church as a whole is graced by God to endure and grow in spiritual maturity. Negatively, there is nothing more disheartening to a spiritual leader than when an individual believer, or the church as a whole, resists or quenches the leading of the Lord. With this in mind, we must follow the example of the Thessalonian church and be a church who grows in faith and in love for one another. It must be something that continues here, in every single person. No one should think they have arrived and have no need to grow because they are saved from hell. Instead, all who are saved from hell are given a desire to live for heaven. We must continue to deepen our knowledge of Christ and to grow in conformity to Him and in our love for those who are His bride with us. [Slide 9 (blank)] Transition: What is the result of the growth of the Thessalonian church’s faith and love? What is the impact that God’s grace to them has had on the universal church? II.) It is a delightful duty to praise God for an enduring and maturing church, so we must be a church possessing enduring faith amid persecution and affliction. (4) a. [Slide 10] 4 - so that we ourselves boast about you among the churches of God i. The words “so that” communicate a result of the previous thought. ii. Paul and his companions are obligated to give thanks to God because of the rapidly growing faith and the increasing brotherly love of the Thessalonian church. iii. The result of the evangelists’ thanksgiving for their growth is that the evangelists are continually pointing to the Thessalonians as an example of what God can do. iv. Paul is not boasting in his effective teaching and leadership, he is not boasting in the Thessalonians’ submission or obedience, he is boasting in Christ and the supernatural change that God can work in His people. v. This isn’t a boast of comparison; this is a boast of praise. vi. So, he isn’t going around Corinth saying, “Why can’t you all be more like the church Thessalonica?” vii. Instead, he is going around saying, “Look at what God is doing with His people in Thessalonica!” b. [Slide 11] for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. i. The word the LSB translates “for” here doesn’t imply a causal relationship. ii. We might be tempted to see Paul boasting about them because of their perseverance. iii. However, other translations render this as “about” or “concerning” which communicates a content-related connection. iv. Paul is boasting not because of their perseverance but about their perseverance. v. Again, this is emphasizing the result and not necessarily the effort or action. 1. The Puritan Theologian and commentator John Gill said this about this verse: 2. [Slide 12] “the apostle elsewhere advises not to glory in men, but only in the Lord; nor was this his practice contrary to his advice, for he did not boast of these persons with respect to their carnal things; he did not glory in their flesh, nor in their riches, nor wisdom, nor strength, nor any external gift; he gloried indeed of their graces, and of the exercise and increase of them: but of these not as of themselves, or as owing to him, and his fellow ministers, but as instances of the grace of God, and for which he gives thanks to Him” vi. The fact that the Thessalonians are persevering, they are remaining strong, they are enduring. vii. That is why he is boasting. But not for that alone. viii. Here we have the second usage of the word faith. And here the word does not mean the teachings of Christ and their obedience. Rather here it means trust. ix. They trust in the promises of Christ and therefore they endure. In fact, there is a necessary relationship between endurance and faith. Many commentators have noted this down through the ages even back to the Reformation. x. Endurance is produced by faith and faith increases in strength as it endures. xi. The Thessalonians’ faith is holding fast and THAT is the content of the boast. xii. And what makes it all the more praise worthy, is that they are enduring persecutions and afflictions. xiii. It is one thing to hold fast to faith and endure when life is difficult. It is quite another to hold fast and endure in your faith when you are actively being treated poorly or harmed because of it. xiv. Entire letters in the New Testament are written to people who are considering abandoning their faith because it is causing these kinds of reactions. xv. Paul is seeing their faith grow in spite of the violent reactions of those around them. xvi. Hence the reason he boasts. c. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: Paul’s next point provides a natural transition into the first topic he wishes to address with the fledgling church. Persecution. But before he gets to that, he wishes to let them know that their perseverance and their faith in the midst of the afflictions and persecutions they are facing, has provided all the content Paul and the evangelists need to boast in the Lord and what He is doing in them. This then is a repackaging of what he has already said. Enduring spiritual growth is something for which spiritual leaders MUST be thankful to God. And they even express that thanksgiving in a public way. Like toward other churches. Therefore, we must also be a church who possesses enduring faith amid persecution and affliction. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 14] Paul greets the Thessalonian church and goes right to commending and praising the Lord for all that has been done in their assembly. The evangelists are thankful to God and are publicly praising God for the Thessalonian church’s endurance in spiritual maturing even amid persecution and affliction. Spiritual leaders are obligated to praise God for an enduring and maturing church. It is a wonderful duty. Nothing could delight them more than an enduring and maturing church. So how do we become an enduring and maturing church for which God can be praised? We must be a church who grows in our faith and in our love for one another and we must be a church that endures and is faithful amid persecution and affliction. When we submit to God doing these things in us, we become salt and light on the earth and all men must glorify our Father in heaven. But what are some tangible ways that we can apply this to our lives today? How can we start putting this in to practice today? 1.) [Slide 15] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God alone is to be praised and glorified for our growth. a. If we are to confess orthodox Christian faith, we must believe that salvation is of the Lord alone. b. This is the doctrine of monergism. Monergism comes from the combination of two words, mono meaning “one” and ergon meaning “work.” When combined the word means literally, “The work of one.” c. However, even within Christendom, the battle rages on to keep this doctrine pure and free from human contribution. d. Many strands of Christendom would heartily confess that salvation is of God alone but paradoxically attempt to include man’s effort in the equation somehow. i. God alone saves us but we must do good works to keep ourselves saved. ii. God alone saves us but we don’t need Him to help us get that salvation. iii. God alone saves us but we must do something to get it from Him. e. These are a few examples of certain flavors within Christianity that meddle with this doctrine. f. It is important to emphasize that even if we believe in the doctrine of monergism that does not require us to assume that mankind has no agency or responsibility. We’ll talk about this in a second. g. But someone who truly believes that salvation is all of God understands that human agency and responsibility must happen AFTER God has already done the work to predestine, foreknow, elect, call, draw, and regenerate a person from being dead in sin to being able now to believe on Christ. h. [Slide 16] John 1:12-13 says “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.” i. [Slide 17] Let me give you the Chris paraphrase of this. To everyone who has received Christ as their Savior and Lord, before they received Him, He gave them the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name, indeed God Himself, by His will alone, birthed them into His family so they could believe on His name and receive Him as Savior and Lord. j. Human agency and responsibility to believe on Christ is only possible after God does something in each of us individually. k. But this doesn’t stop at Justification or conversion. In fact, as we go forward into sanctification, we see something similar happening. l. In Philippians 2, Paul commands the Philippian church to work out their salvation. This is a mining term meaning to take a pick axe and work out from the rubble the precious jewels found within. m. But then Paul says to do this with fear and trembling. With awe and humility. Why? n. Because the one who works IN YOU to will and do His good pleasure is God. o. In other words, even in sanctification, God is already working in you to provide your desire to obey His commands… AND… He is working in you to give you the strength to do His commands. p. Therefore, we must conclude that even in our growth in Christlikeness and love… we cannot glory in our own efforts. Why? q. Because God gave us the desire and the power to do it. All we really did… was not say no. What then is left to brag about? r. [Slide 18] If you are getting any glory for your justification or your sanctification… then your theology is wrong. s. God alone is to be praised for what we are and what we are becoming. t. But… we have another guardrail to raise up here to make sure we don’t go too far. 2.) [Slide 19] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that we cooperate with God in our enduring spiritual maturity. a. Christian agency and responsibility still exist even in this framework. b. Even when we understand that the desire and power for us to obey God comes from God Himself, that doesn’t mean we passively do nothing. c. If I need to swing a pick axe and have the desire to swing it and the power to swing it but never swing it… does the work get done? d. Of course not. e. This is the image we have in the scriptures. We have a responsibility to do all the Lord has commanded us. But we know full well that we would never desire to do what He commanded, nor would we ever possess the power to do what He has commanded if He did not provide it to us. f. This is why we set out to obey Him in awe and humility. The task is too great and we are not disposed to it. Yet He has changed us and He is with us giving us grace to do what He has commanded. g. With that in mind then… what is the “work out our salvation” application this morning? 3.) [Slide 20] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must grow in faith and love toward one another. a. It is required of all God’s children to grow in faith and love. b. Some of those that fell on the Roman Catholic side of the Reformation expressed great concern over the idea that God had declared someone to be righteous rather than made them righteous. c. Their concern was that if it was not our responsibility to keep ourselves in a state of righteousness, but it was in fact true that God legally judges us to be righteous in spite of us still being sinners, that this would lead to Christians liberally sinning. d. The fact that the early church dealt with this corruption of license as written by Jude and Paul actually serves to prove the Reformers to be correct. e. If the apostles truly taught that we had to keep ourselves righteous then it is hard to imagine a group rising up within that teaching that suggested that they can live any way they wish. f. It makes much more sense to understand that God has declared us righteous based on Christ’s work alone, and then commands us to live in obedience. g. Indeed, with the gift and sealing of the Holy Spirit upon us, God has provided all that we need to do just that. h. But some today see their confession of Christ as a destination and not the start of a journey. They believe that once they have confessed Christ, they have arrived where they need to and don’t really need to grow or that growth is mostly optional as they wait for Christ to return. i. However, the whole of the New Testament resolutely stands against this idea. j. The apostles are insisting, in literally every letter, that the churches they write to continue to grow in their knowledge of Christ and their devotion and obedience to God and love for one another. k. So how do we do this? How do we grow in faith and love? l. God grows His children through what we call the ordinary means of grace. m. He has given us His Word which contains for us the Words of life. He has given us access to His throne room and bid us come boldly in prayer to Him. He has given us the church a place of mutual discipleship and accountability. n. Read your bible, pray every day and You’ll grow, grow, grow. I think I’d adjust the words a bit to say… o. Study your bible, pray without ceasing, and don’t forsake the gathering of God’s people… and you’ll grow, grow, grow… p. Ok so all those words won’t fit in the song… but that is how we grow. Both in faith and in love. q. If any of those items are lacking, our growth in faith and love for others could be stunted or we might actually see decline. 4.) [Slide 21] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must possess enduring faith amid persecution or affliction. a. Another action we should take as a result of the example of the Thessalonian church, is to make sure that our faith in the promises of God are grounded and solid enough to endure affliction and persecution. b. We are warned in the parable of the soils, that one such soil that looks like it is good to produce a crop, is actually rocky and shallow soil. We wouldn’t know it at first, but as the heat comes and scorches the plant, it can’t go deep in the soil to find water. And so, it burns up. c. Jesus explains the meaning that these folks are people who received the gospel message with readiness but when persecution arises, they don’t have the roots to hold fast and endure it. d. We must be sure our soil is soft and that our roots can go deep. e. We have entire branches of Christendom teaching that you can just make a 1 time decision to pray a prayer and that will forever insure your spot in heaven. Or they teach that if you join God’s team or give enough money God will give to you earthly prosperity. f. But the New Testament assures us of the opposite. That we will suffer. In fact, in Paul’s previous letter to the Thessalonians he said, that it is the destiny of believers to suffer for the name of Christ. g. My friends, if you are going to be a friend of the real Jesus then you better get used to the world hating you. Because it will. It will hate you so much that it may even what you dead. It may want you dead in such a way that it believes it is righteous to kill you to save the world from your Jesus. h. And it will take more than a 1-time decision and a prayer you repeated, for you hold fast to this Jesus. i. Are you ready to endure such hatred? Are you ready to endure such affliction? j. We can be preparing now. We can practice on minor difficulties and inconveniences. We can practice trusting the Lord when we are sick, or when we lose our jobs, or when we suffer loss of property or relationships. k. This will help to train us for the greater afflictions and persecutions that are yet to come. 5.) [Slide 22] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” Elders, we are duty bound to recognize, and publicly praise the Lord for those who are enduring in spiritual maturity. a. Men, we have the delightful duty to recognize and publicly praise the Lord for those who are growing and enduring. b. And so, I want to break off everything right now and apply this immediately. c. We know that many of you are growing and the Lord is teaching you and making you more like Him. d. We, just this week at our Elder meeting, without me hinting at this application, prayed thanking the Lord for the growth we’ve seen among you. But let us do it publicly and give God glory for what He is doing. e. Can I have the Elders stand and pray in praise to the Lord for what He is doing to grow us here at CBC? 6.) [Slide 23] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God gives grace for help in time of need. a. Perhaps you were thinking as we prayed that we certainly weren’t thanking God for you. Because you could stand to grow a lot more. b. Perhaps you have been stalled out for a while and your fire has gotten cold. c. Perhaps you’ve been phoning in your Christian walk for a bit and you wish you could get excited about it again – but it just isn’t happening. d. Let these words be a comfort to you. e. God gives grace for help in time of need. f. God commands you to approach His throne boldly to seek mercy and find grace for help. g. If you are truly His child, He desires to supply you with all you need to do as He pleases. h. It is time for you to boldly and diligently seek Him. It is time for you to cast yourself once again at His feet and beg for His aid. i. He stands ready for you friend. j. But perhaps you have tried this. Perhaps you have begged and pleaded for God to stir you up for months… maybe even years. k. Maybe… you are asking for the wrong thing. 7.) [Slide 24] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Look what God makes in those who are truly His children! If you are not growing… if you are not enduring… you are not His child. a. It is plain and simple folks. The ones whom the Lord loves, He chastens. b. The ones He has given His Spirit to, will be conformed to Christ. c. It is possible to be dry for a season. It is possible to be overcome with sin. It is possible to be lethargic and sick for a time. d. But if the Lord isn’t chasing you down, disciplining you, and restoring you to growth in grace… e. If your faith has grown ice cold and Jesus has taken a back seat to money, fame, power, or just daily life… f. My friends – at some point you have to start wondering… g. Maybe I’m not sick. Maybe I’m still dead. h. Look what God makes His children to be in the church of Thessalonica. Look what God does. i. My friends, if He is not doing it in your life… Maybe you aren’t His child. j. What if that is true? k. Repent of your apathy and idolatry. And confess Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. Submit to His commands and put Him as your one and only King. l. Then you will see growth. You will know of grace first hand. m. Come see an Elder today if you desire this for yourself. [Slide 25 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Paulinus Pellaeus, a man born with much wealth and family, only to see it all taken away from him and never returned in this life. His prayers are marked by their thanksgiving to God in spite of all that was taken from him in this world. If I am truly wise, I should now rejoice in the place that you, O Christ, have approved for me. After all, you are preparing far better things now than I had before. Before, I thought your approval meant prosperity. Before, my home was abundant in luxury. Before, I flourished in status amidst throngs of crowds and clients. I now regret that I once loved all those things that were doomed to perish. But with old age I finally recognize (to my profit) that by the loss of earthly and failing riches I might learn to seek rather those things which will endure forever. It is indeed late, O God. But nothing is ever too late with you. You will always show compassion. And you know how to help those who do not know how to help themselves-because you anticipate our prayers even before we ask, and you provide good things for us beyond what we seek. You also refuse many selfish, misguided prayers, though you are ready to grant even better things to those wise enough to prefer your gifts to their own wishes. For how much better did you know me and my character-better than I did myself. You saw when I stepped out on a task that was beyond my strength. You gave me something better, by blocking my plans. By your mighty hand and foreseeing power, you directed all things. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: May He Who rides a white horse, Who is called Faithful and True. Whose Eyes are like a blazing fire, and upon his head are many crowns. Who is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and Whose name is the Word of God. Keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus with the peace of God that transcends all understanding. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.