CONDEMNATION
Wednesday, 20th July 2016
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 (NKJV)
Paul, 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 our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. 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,
4. 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,
5. 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;
6. since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
7. and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
8. 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.
9. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
10. 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.
11. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,
12. that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today’s passage, Paul writes words of encouragement to the Thessalonian Christians who were standing firm in their faith and growing strong in their love and unity, in the midst of persecution. He is proud of them for their patience and faith which have enabled them to grow and increasingly mature in difficult circumstances. This is a big challenge to us Christians today. In the current climate of the “bread-and-butter-gospel” preached today, a lot of professing Christians fall away when they are confronted with one form of hardship or the other. Paul also commends them for their increasing love for one another. This manifest love and their patience and faith in the midst of persecution shows that they truly belong to God and are worthy of His Kingdom. He assures them that God will vindicate their faith and fight for them against their persecutors (vs. 5-10; Rom. 12: 14-20).
Beloved, when this kind of situation arises in our lives, God is so pleased with us that He avenges our sufferings on those who persecute us and despise us. We do not need to raise a finger to fight our enemies since God is equal to the task. Our duty, however, is to continue faithful to Him, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in and through us.
Prayer: Lord, help us to show the glory of Christ in our fellowship.