Alba 3-3-2024
REST OR FIRE
II Thessalonians 1:1-10
A father had three very active boys. One summer evening, they were playing cops and robbers in the back yard after dinner. One of the boys "shot" his father yelling, "Bang! You’re dead!"
He slumped to the ground. And when he didn’t get up right away, a neighbor ran over to see if he had been hurt in the fall. When the neighbor bent over, the overworked father opened one eye and said, "Shhh. Don’t give me away. It’s the only chance I’ve had to rest all day."
Have you been in a situation where, because of everything going on, if it were possible you would take any opportunity that you could to just rest a little? Sometimes that is not possible, so you have keep moving on, hoping that eventually you will be able to get some rest.
That was the the hope of the church in Thessalonica. And the apostle Paul wrote to tell them that God was preparing a rest for them. They were also told that a judgment of hell fire was waiting for those who were causing them trouble.
This life gives us a choice: Rest or Fire. When we trust in God we can look forward to rest. If we don't, it will be fire. The way I see it, there is really only one good choice!
The Thessalonian church needed encouragement, and the second letter that Paul writes to them begins with encouragement. It is believed to have been written no more than six months after his first letter to them. In the first ten verses of Second Thessalonians we receive the same encouragement that was given to the church there.
Let's read: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”
Rest or fire. That really is our choice. So it is good to know that:
1. God Will Give Rest
What qualifies us to receive that rest? In verse three, these people who are promised rest have two qualities that put them in line for this promise. It says that their, “faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.”
These were Christians. There are two ways it was evident in their lives. First it showed by their love for one another. It wasn't just saying words of love, it was an abounding love, a love that was increasing day by day. The greatest love ever given came from God who gave us His only begotten Son. And by faith in Him we have eternal life.
Again, these were Christians. It was also shown by their faith in Jesus. They had pledged their allegiance to Jesus Christ. He was their Lord. He was their Savior. Their lives, their way of living, had changed. In spite of opposition they knew that there was salvation in no else.
They were like the apostles when many were leaving Jesus and He asked them if they also wanted to go away. It was Peter who responded saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Are you also convinced that no one else has the words of eternal life? That Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah? That He is the Son of the Living God? It is that faith, when held against all opposition, that allows us to claim the promise of rest.
Verse four says that Paul boasts of this congregation to other churches for their "patience and faith in all (their) persecutions and tribulations that (they) endure.” Does your faith stay strong even when things are not going so well? What would other people have to say about your faith?
Its been said that a faith that hasn't been tested cannot be trusted. The faith of the Thessalonians was being tested and was not only firm, but was growing. Faith is like a muscle – it must be exercised to grow stronger.
God’s people are going to endure suffering before Jesus comes back. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 6:33). Our continued obedience through times of difficulty is a Christian witness that demonstrates God’s character to a broken and fallen world.
Troubles and persecution are often the things that God uses to strengthen our faith. Troubles and persecution strengthen our faith by driving us toward God so that we might depend on Him even more. It is when we praise God in and for our trials that our faith grows, love for others expands, and perseverance endures until the end.
If ever you suffer for being a Christian, accept it in the grace that He alone can give. God alone is your strength, your courage, your wisdom and your source of endurance. He knows if you are suffering. He knows how worn down you can get, how you despair when you think you can’t take any more.
So even though suffering may take its toll on you in this lifetime, there’s coming a day when you’ll experience an eternal rest free from all suffering for eternity!
But Hebrews 4:1-2 gives us a warning. It says, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them.”
That refers to the people Moses led out of Egypt who died before entering the promised land. And then it explains why that happened. The verse continues, “but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” They could not enter the promised land.
And our text here in II Thessalonians chapter one tells us that without faith in Jesus, we will not only be excluded from the promise of eternal rest, we will experience something much worse. God not only will give rest, also...
2. God Will Give Fire
Many try to avoid thinking that there could be anything like hell, a place of eternal torment. But here it is!
Our text in verses eight and nine speaks of “flaming fire” and “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord”. And it will come “on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There is just one way to heaven. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is no salvation in any other, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) We believe that! And if we believe that, we must also believe what the Bible tells us of the consequences of not putting faith in Jesus.
If you doubt there is a hell, just listen to the words of Jesus.
In Mark 9:43 Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.”
In Luke 16:23 where Jesus was telling the story of the rich man and Lazarus, He spoke of the death of the rich man saying, “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.” (KJV)
In Matthew 23:33 Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees saying, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
And Jesus did not mince any words when He said in Matthew 13:49-50, “The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (NIV)
Fire that will never be quenched, torments, condemnation, and weeping and gnashing of teeth are the words that Jesus uses to tell us – there is a hell.
Still some people struggle with the thought that God will punish people at all. They might say something like: “I can’t believe that a righteous and loving God would send people to hell.”
What they don’t realize is that it is a righteous thing for God to judge sin and to condemn sinners. A holy God cannot leave sin unjudged or unpunished. Those who can’t believe that God would do such a thing fail to understand the holiness of God and the awfulness of sin.
While it is true that God is love, it is also true that God is holy. God’s holiness demands that sin be dealt with. God’s love caused Him to offer His Son to satisfy the demands of holiness and justice.
God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place, and He pleads with us to enter into a covenant through His Son’s sacrifice. Why would He do all of that if, no matter how we live, we could all go to heaven? Why make Jesus suffer so if there were no real purpose to it?
God is love, but He is also a God of justice and judgment. If God were simply a God of love and was going to allow all people into heaven, then how foolish it would be to send Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. The saving part is to keep us from the fires of hell. Because the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)
In Matthew 25:41 Jesus says that hell, which He calls “the everlasting fire”, is “prepared for the devil and his angels”, not for people. But people who do not obey the gospel will end up there with the devil.
For this reason, out of love for God and love for others, we need to make people aware of the consequences of their choices. We must lift up Jesus to those around us so that He may draw them to Himself.
But to do so can result in Christians being persecuted. Such was the case in Thessalonica. We don't know everything they were going through, but it is obvious that it caused them to suffer (vs. 5). Even today we live in the midst of an evil and an unjust people. Much of the world's behavior especially to Christians is evil and unjust.
But verse seven says that those who are troubled will be given relief. I don’t know how many times you’ve been wronged, or how many ways you’ve been victimized. I don’t know how long you’ve waited for justice to be served. But I do know that God is not deaf to your cries. Genesis 18:25 asks, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4). His justice comes out of his inner being and is based on His holiness, His truthfulness, and His righteousness. His very nature demands that all the injustices and wrongs that people have inflicted upon others be judged and punished.
People need to be warned that God is going to rectify all the injustices of the world. Unless covered by the blood of Jesus, God's judgment is going to fall upon every person who has mistreated others.
All unjust behavior will bear the terrible judgment of God, all the • killing • mocking • cursing • gossiping • criticizing • defrauding • cheating • abusing • stealing • ridiculing • fighting • arguing • misusing • rejecting • ignoring • deceiving • and lying, God is going to rectify.
The day will come when He will set all things right. God must judge the world, for judgment is the righteous and just thing to do. Several years ago Johnny Carson had Billy Graham as a guest on The Tonight Show. At one point there was a lull in the conversation and Johnny said, “You know what, Billy? I bet if Jesus ever came back to earth, we’d do Him in again!”
Billy Graham leaned forward in his seat, and said, “In the Bible we read that Jesus predicted that He would return to earth again. But the first time He came in love. The next time, He’ll come in power. And no one will do Him in!”
The rest and relief that will be given to believers, and the destruction and fire that wait for those who do not know God and have not obeyed the gospel will happen “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels” (vs.7).
And we don’t have to worry if this will be done right because the executor of this judgment shall be Jesus Christ Himself. It will be Jesus Christ who is coming to give rest to the believer as well as judgment to the world.
Rest or fire. Its your choice!
CLOSE:
Back in the 1800’s R.A. Torrey was preaching on the second coming of Christ before a crowd of nearly 3000. As he finished his sermon, Dr. Torrey felt carried away by his subject and climaxed saying:
“It may be that before we arise in the morning… or that before we sleep tonight… or it may be that before we have finished our luncheon today … or, indeed it may be that before I finish this sermon - we shall hear the sound of the trump and the voice of the archangel announcing He is here!
At that moment there was a crash of thunder and a blinding flash of lightening from the sky outside filled the auditorium with white light.
Emotionally prepared for the second coming of Jesus, and apparently believing that Jesus had come, the audience panicked. The crowd, stumbled from their seats and rushed to the doors.
All except Dwight L. Moody’s sister who sat in front. She just threw back her head and laughed. A little later she told Mr. Torrey, “I thought the Lord had come.”
That was what everybody else had thought. But their response had been one of terror rather than joy.
What are you expecting? Rest or fire?
