Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of 2 Thessalonians. Two weeks ago, we did a survey of 1 Thessalonians and looked at those five chapters in just a survey of the book. And then, this last week, our brother Brian Borgman was here and, for the pastor's conference, spent each of his sessions going through the book of 1 Thessalonians. So, it was a I cringed a little bit, but no, it was a good study and was very edifying and encouraging. And so now we're looking at 2 Thessalonians chapter one. Want to work through the chapter tonight and then, Lord willing, next time be looking at 2 Thessalonians chapter two and spending more time in that chapter. So let me read 2 Thessalonians. Chapter 1, this is a young church which we've heard. Paul spent three Sabbath days with them, and they were persecuted. And so Paul encourages them, as we'll see in this chapter, with the righteous judgment of God. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church of the Thessalonians and God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace unto 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 meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth, so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you is believed in that day. Wherefore also we 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 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. God, we thank you for the instruction that your word gives. You don't answer all of our questions, but you give us enough to know what you're doing. And we know from your word, you have promised that your son will return to this earth. You give us details even of what that return will look like in this passage. We pray that you would help us to understand it. Help us to apply it to our lives. Help us to go from this place with a renewed sense of the reality and the gravity of your righteous judgment. Help us not to make light of these things. Help us to rightly Embrace them and live them and warn this world of your wrath to come. Help us, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. The doctrine of eternal torment is likely the most difficult doctrine in Scripture to believe. It is also the most sober and weighty doctrine in Scripture. However, it does, I believe, much good is done to our souls to contemplate eternity. The primary responsibility of a pastor that supersedes other responsibilities is to watch for your souls. If it's a judgment day, You end up separated from Christ and told, Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. You will not care what other aspects of pastoral ministry that your shepherd did well. Similarly, if your financial advisor is a nice guy, but you come to retire and you realize he invested poorly and actually squandered your retirement, his magnetic personality will be of little consequence to you. Paul, in the New Testament, frequently repeated his warnings of coming judgment and stated that to say the same things to you, to me, is not grievous. but for you it is safe. John the Baptist warned his hearers to flee from the wrath to come. Each New Testament writer addresses this subject because the state of our souls carries eternal consequence. And so despite the difficulty of the doctrine of eternal torment, Paul did not hesitate to introduce this young Thessalonian church and give them specific details related to it. Why would he address this subject, the righteous judgment of God, to such a young church? What was his purpose in writing to them? What was he hoping to accomplish? Well, as we have mentioned, that this was a church being persecuted significantly. The doctrine of divine retribution helps those under persecution to understand that God will fully and finally measure out justice. He will do so in a way that leaves no question. From this we learn that it is appropriate and necessary to draw from this doctrine in times and in the face of persecution. In contrast, in times of freedom and prosperity, to dwell on the subject of divine retribution seems a little dark, a little dour. And so as we come to this subject, as we approach it in the relative freedom that we enjoy currently, this subject can seem unnecessary. However, it's also vitally necessary in times of prosperity to be reminded that this is not our final destination. That we are called to be pilgrims and sojourners. Who have a measure of detachment from this world? Because we believe that Christ is returning. And that all the elements are going to be the world will be destroyed. The elements will melt in fervent heat with fervent heat. So what manner of persons ought we to be? If you remember. The example of Lot very early in our Bible, in the book of Genesis, you remember that when the angels came to warn Lot of God's plan to destroy and to burn the city down and destroy it, Lot's response was less than urgent. I won't turn there, but Genesis 19, the angels instructed Lot to flee to the mountains." Actually, I think I will turn there, just briefly. If you remember, the angels instructed Lot and said, Lot, judgment is coming, flee to the mountains. It came to pass that when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, escape for thy life. Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain. lest thou be consumed. You remember Lot's response? And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold now, if thy servant has found grace in your sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die. There could be wild animals in the mountain. Is it really necessary that I go that far? Behold now, this city is near to flee unto. It's a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one? And my soul shall live. The angel says, okay, go to Zoar. And then in verse 25, when the judgment comes, And Abram got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. Now here it is, verse 30. And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar, And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. You understand the point of Lot when he was warned of judgment to come. He thought, oh, it's not that big a deal. Zoar's a little closer. And then when the judgment come, he thought, you know, a cave in the mountains sounded pretty good right now. The difficulty, like in the days of Noah, is that when God is about to do something truly unprecedented, we hear that word thrown around a lot, meaning something that has never happened before, like flooding the earth, that we have to accept that by faith of what God says. Our mind says, now wait a minute, God has never done that before. Peter warned in his epistle, that mockers will say in the last days, where is the promise of His coming? All things continue as they have from the beginning of the creation. We haven't seen Christ return before. What makes you so confident and sure that He's going to do that now? Well, because He said He would. This is a one-time deal. He's only going to return one time. And the Scripture tells us that He will come like a thief in the night. Jesus said, the Son of Man comes in an hour when you think not. He has been, as the parable He told, He's been on a long journey. But then He comes back. James says, He that shall come will come and will not tarry. And if Paul could issue this comfort and warning to the Thessalonians, how much more now? They didn't see His coming. It didn't reduce the value or the gravity or the reality. We're going to see that here in a little bit. of this coming. If you look back a page in 1 Thessalonians 5, in verses 1 to 4, he said, These are key verses, I think. For when they shall say, what will the conditions be prior to that? For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. So tonight I want to preach from this text and exhort you to consider the righteous judgment of God at the second coming of Christ. The righteous judgment of God at the second coming of Christ. This subject, this judgment, this doctrine, is something that once you consider it, and you reflect on it, and you really see it, It's one of those things that you can't unsee it. When you drive down the street and you reflect on this concept and this subject, and you realize of the coming judgment that is about to come upon this earth to all those who are outside of Christ, pretty soon as you go into Walmart and you're walking through and you just start doing some math, you just start thinking, How many of these people are going to be totally shocked, surprised, like a thief in the night? Devastated? I want to give you three things from this text. But as I said, once you see this, it's hard to unsee it. It's kind of like garlic and onion. It just has a way of, you put that in the potato salad, And you just know there's garlic in there. You just know there's onion in there. And not that we need to have a morbid, dour mindset, but it does need to be part of our perspective on this life. It does need to have a shaping influence on how we think. And so I want to give you three things from this text. Number one, we look at their persecution, which is the requisite for the righteous judgment of God. That's what makes it necessary, is their persecution, Paul says, makes it right. He says there in verse 5, it's a manifest token, it's an evidence of the righteous judgment of God. Secondly, I want to look at the punishment that he is going to bring in verses 5 to 10, which is the requirement of the judgment of God. And then lastly, in verses 11 and 12, the request, their prayer, and the request in face of the righteous judgment of God. So number one, In verses 3 and 4 we see their persecution. This is what demonstrates and makes divine retribution necessary because they were being persecuted for righteousness sake. It demonstrates that God's judgment is righteous by how they are behaving. The definition of persecution is the infliction of pain, punishment, or death upon others unjustly particularly for adhering to a religious creed or mode of worship. So they are inflicting pain and death and torture upon people for worshiping God. Why does the enemy do this? Because our enemy can't punish God. He pours out His fury on those that bear His image. If you think about the righteous judgment of God, of His vindication of His children, we can even consider how we would respond if we caught somebody doing that to our children. Last night I had to pick up Bethany from the train station. Late into the night, she's coming home from college for spring break. And I was in my truck, and it's late, it's after midnight. I can't be responsible for anything that happens after midnight. And I was sitting there, and I don't know why I had this thought. I was thinking about this subject, about how you would handle it if somebody was harming your children. And so my mind just began to wander. And I was thinking about the concept of kidnapping or somebody stealing one of your children. It's kind of a morbid thought. And I was imagining as she's getting off the train, because I've done this before and I kind of knew what it looks like, what would I do if somebody just grabbed her and put her in a vehicle? And I started having some very dark thoughts. I'm in my truck and I'm thinking, well, I would ram them right into that. They're persecuting God's children. And He's violently angry. Psalm 44 and verse 22 is a familiar psalm. And it says this. Yea, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise, cast us not off forever. Wherefore, hidest your face, and forgetst our affliction and our oppression. For our soul is bowed down to the dust, our belly cleaveth to the earth. Arise for our help and redeem us for your mercy's sake. And this is quoted in Romans chapter 8 and verse 36. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. This has been a common testimony throughout the history of the church. And yet, as you look in chapter 1 here, the Thessalonian response to persecution was supernatural. They were flourishing. An infant church, newly converted, being persecuted, and he says, we are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, because your faith is growing exceedingly. What an encouragement. He says, and your charity, Pastor Jeff preached on this this morning, it's abounding. Your charity for every one of you is abounding. And he says we are bound, we're obligated. It's necessary for us to thank God for you. Because, there's the reason, it wasn't just flattery, it's because he could see the grace of God in them. And he just says, I just praise God for you. It was an obligation. I mean, listen to that report card of this infant church. Faith growing exceedingly, charity abounding, your patience and persecution and tribulation steadfast. What Pastor Jeff preached this morning, that was true of this Thessalonian church. Their love for each other was abounding. I think we can learn from this. Our brother Brian even mentioned this this week about gratitude for people. I believe we need to be quick to see the grace of God in others and acknowledge it and say, that is just praise God for you. I'm often guilty of this. I think it, if that counts for anything. My wife says no, but I think it. I mean, there's times I walk around the church and I just see somebody doing something and just think, praise God for you. Brother Leonard, praise God for you. I was driving to prayer meeting the other night and I got to thinking about Brother Leonard and I just thought, praise God for that man. I see people cleaning and serving and I just think, praise God for that. Of all the things you could be out doing, just wanting to be a part of the Lord's house and the Lord's work, And we need to just be grateful. Praise God. My children could probably testify. Dad doesn't just go around praising God for them. But I probably should, a lot more than I do. You know, just even this week at the pastor's conference, seeing people serving joyfully. Praise God for you. What a joy. Those meals were par excellence. Come out there and dinner is right there. I don't even have to leave the building. It's right there. Praise God. And lunch. What a great time. Appreciate those of you who served there. How do we encourage people who are facing unjust suffering? Well, we can commend their patient endurance and being steadfast. Years ago, we were doing a push-up contest with the kids. We're a little competitive in our family. And one of them was running out of gas, and they're just straining, and they're about ready to quit. And my wife comes in as our resident cheerleader and just starts cheering them on. Come on, you can do it! You can do it! And man, they cranked out about 10 more push-ups. And I'll never forget it, they got up and said, you just woke up more strength. I was out of strength and you just woke up some more and I all of a sudden could do more. You understand, that ought to be how we approach the brethren, is just a desire to infuse some oxygen and infuse, wake up some more strength in them. I believe that's what Paul is doing here right out of the gate. Look at what he says in verse 4. So that we ourselves, we glory in the churches of God for you. I mean, when we go to the churches, we tell them about you and what you're doing and how you're enduring persecution and tribulation, but your patience and your faith is exemplary. When others are in the face of suffering, it can be very disorienting. Sometimes it feels like you're in a whirlpool. I remember a friend of mine, we were whitewater rafting, and he got dumped out, and he says, I'm swirling around in this water, and I can't find up. I don't even know what up is. And I'm just sitting there thinking, I don't think I'm getting out of this. I don't even know which direction to push. And we're all sitting there like, okay, this is fun, he's kind of a jokester, what's he doing? Okay, where is he at? Is he coming out? You know, and that panic sets in and then, like a bobber, he just comes, you know. And when people are enduring suffering and trial, it can be disorienting of, what is God doing in my life? And we want to be an encouragement, a help, a proper eternal view of suffering for righteousness' sake. The Scripture says it's a great privilege to be counted worthy to suffer for a great King. Do you remember the Apostles in Acts 5? They beat him and let him go, said, hey, just stop preaching in his name. They thought, oh yeah, whatever. We ought to obey God rather than men. And they went away from the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for his namesake. Jesus said this in Matthew 5, when you are persecuted, rejoice and be exceeding glad, because great is your reward in heaven. As I was reading this, I couldn't help but think that Paul certainly remembered that he used to be Saul, and that he was one who persecuted the church. Pastor Matt read this this morning in 1 Corinthians. Remember, he said, Paul, I am Paul, the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. I don't think that just left him quickly. What do you say to saints suffering difficulty, trial, and even persecution? Your faith is growing exceedingly. You realize that we can grow more in adversity, in five minutes of adversity, than a hundred hours of prosperity and ease. And just to be aware of it and to come alongside and say, you know, your faith is growing exceedingly. It's necessary to offer perspective from the outside. Because when you're in the midst of that, you don't feel it. You're just trying to survive. Not only is your faith growing, your charity and your love is abounding. And Paul glories in the church. We know in Romans 8.18 where he says, For I, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. We just need to be reminded of those things. But secondly, as we look in verse 5, we look at the punishment. The requirement of the righteous judgment of God, it requires a punishment. Their persecution is evidence that justifies the propriety of God's judgment. This evidence of their persecution demands a verdict. It demands a judgment. As we read, the saints of old in the Psalms asking, How long, Lord? How long? for the kingdom of God, for righteous punishment, because they persecute and trouble you. They're mistreating the children of God because they are the children of God. You know, one story, it's a familiar story, maybe you've heard it before, of in Oxford in 1950, or 50, not 1955, 1555, There's the story of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley who were being burned at the stake for their faith. And Mr. Hugh Latimer, the implication I think is that Mr. Ridley was starting to tremble in fear. Because they're getting ready to light the fire. And Mr. Latimer said, play the man, Mr. Ridley. Play the man. You can do it. And he's recorded as saying, we shall this day light such a candle. By God's grace in England, as I trust, shall never be put out. Play the man, Mr. Ridley. See, if we rightly comprehend the righteous judgment of God, we don't need to add a drop. We won't need to add anything to it. It will be righteous. Notice what he says there in verse 6. It is a righteous thing with God. to recompense the tribulation to them that trouble you. It's a righteous thing. He's not apologizing. He's warning. And there's nothing we need to add to it. This is why the scripture says in Romans 12, those familiar verse in verse 19, he says, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, I will repay. Sayeth the Lord. My wife is, we don't watch a lot of movies, but if she picks out a movie, I already know what the plot's gonna be. It's not a Hallmark movie. She likes vengeance. She wants somebody to be wronged, and she wants somebody to come in with sweeping vengeance. It's a little fearful to be married to such a woman. But listen to what the Scriptures say in the book of Nahum. Kind of an obscure text, but this is how he starts the book in verses 2 and 3. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and he will not at all acquit the wicked." Romans 2, a familiar text, says, "'But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath. and revelation, here's the phrase again, of the righteous judgment of God. Deuteronomy 32 and verse 35 is the text that Jonathan Edwards was the basis for his sermon, the popular sermon of sinners in the hands of an angry God. And it's just one verse that he was expounding In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 35 it says of the Lord, to me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due time. For the day of their calamity is at hand and the things that shall come upon them make haste. It is coming. But notice what he says in verse 7. And to you who are troubled. Rest with us. You don't need to avenge yourselves. Rest with us. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And as we read in Nahum. And he's furious. Rest with us. In Revelation 6 and verse 9, it says this, And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little while, for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Just rest. These scriptures are likely a quotation from Psalm 94. The whole psalm of Psalm 94 is about God's vengeance. And it starts out, it says, O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. Think about how long it's been since that was written. This prayer and this appeal and this plea for God to avenge his adversaries. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth. Render a reward to the proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall the wicked speak perverse things? Verse 8 describes this punishment. Look who shows up. when Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Jesus is violently angry. He's furious. And he's coming with his mighty angels to address those who obey not the gospel. So here's the reality is that it comes down to what have you done with the gospel? He uses unusual language here in verse 8. They obey not the gospel. See, this world doesn't view Jesus as relevant to their life. Why do I need that? But you understand that this King has good news. And the good news is, is that despite your rebellion against him and that he's violently angry, he has offered conditions of peace. He has extended good news and there is no neutrality. How many times did Jesus say this? You're either for me or against me. You're either gathering with me or you're scattering. There is no neutrality. There's a famous story in history of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was attacking Alexandria, Egypt. And his army, I don't know all the details, but was surrounded. There was ships that came in in support from the Mediterranean. And he was surrounded and told to surrender. And he asked the general if he would give him time to think about it. before I surrender." And the general said, OK. And they had him draw a line around him in a circle. And he says, well, just make your decision before you leave that circle. There's no neutrality. Are you surrendering or are you not? Are you obeying the gospel? who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come. He that believeth hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in his Son." They will be punished with everlasting destruction. Daniel said it this way, many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Banished, what does he say here in verse 9? From the presence of the Lord. Get him out of here. And from the glory of his power. See, at His return, Jesus will be the single polarizing figure. The only thing that will matter in that day is your relationship with Him. Consequently, that's the only thing that matters now, is your relationship to Him. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 10. In verse 32, whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. And your relationship to him supersedes every other relationship. And so he goes on to say, For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. That when it comes down to it, the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ supersedes the relationship with our family. and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. That is the significance of the righteous judgment of God. And then Paul closes when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you is believed in that day. Wherefore, we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling. and to fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you. And ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. What is a proper response to the righteous judgment of God? Pray that God would count you worthy of this calling. Matthew Henry said this, religion, if it is worth anything, is worth everything. So I ask you tonight, where do you stand in relation to the righteous judgment of God? There are only, I believe, two appropriate responses for yourself. to flee to the mercy seat where God atones for your sin by placing His righteous judgment for your sin upon His Son. There's an interesting story in the Old Testament, the book of Numbers, about the cities of refuge. And in the cities of refuge, they had to have three of them the west of Jordan, and three of them on the east of Jordan, so that they would be spread out. And as it lays it out and explains it, it says that if you, there was an accident and the axe head flies off and hits somebody and kills them, and you didn't mean it, but they're dead. That at that point, you need to flee to a city of refuge. Because if their family member sees that you just, in their mind, killed their brother, if they catch you before you get to the city of refuge and inside the wall and inside the gate, they can kill you with no punishment. And he's called the avenger of blood. And so when you were out and about working and something like this happens, and you realized, oh no, The avenger of blood is coming. I need to get to the refuge. And they had to go to this city and stay inside of the city walls, if you know the story, until when? The death of the high priest. And then once he died, you were released. You were free to go. So when you realized your guilt, there was only one response. Run! There were even laws that you needed to mark the way to that refuge, and you couldn't have any stumbling blocks in the way, and needed to be a clear path. And when you realize, what have I done? You have one response. Well, for our sin, and from what we've heard from this text, who is the avenger of blood? God. And what do you think is going to happen if you don't get to the refuge? before He gets to you. The second appropriate response is to warn those who have God as their enemy, who are abiding under His wrath, and to warn them to flee from the wrath to come. to walk worthy of this calling, our life needs to demonstrate that we believe this, so that it gives weight to our warning. Let me close with Lot. You remember our story, we looked at Lot. And you remember what happened when the angels came and warned Lot that judgment was coming. And Genesis 19 and verse 14 says this, And Lot went out and spake unto his son-in-laws, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get out of this place. The Lord will destroy this city. But if you know the story of Lot, he didn't have a very good testimony. And the Scripture says, but he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. I looked up that word mocked and that he was joking, that he was playing with them. And they didn't listen. That's the gravity of the righteous judgment of God. And we rest, and we wait, and we warn. Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Have you made it to the refuge of the Lord Jesus Christ? And clinging to Him is your only hope. Let's pray. God, it is sobering to reflect upon your righteous judgment. We confess openly, publicly, frequently that apart from your grace and your Son, we would be in the same position, fully deserving your righteous judgment. We glory in your atonement that you would pour out your wrath for my sin upon your own son. I pray for each in this room that they would understand that there is salvation in no other, that there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. Help us, we pray in Christ's name, amen.