Stand Firm for that Glorious End! (2 Thessalonians 1:5-12)
One parenting lesson that I learn from my own childhood is the importance of keeping our words before the kids. I always look forward to having access to my Playstation (a video game console) on weekends because my parents would keep it away from me on weekdays. Of course my parents did it for my good, so that I can focus on my studies, my homework, during the weekdays. And, my parents were teaching me about discipline.
Some weeks it was easy to push through the weekdays, because my parents have been keeping their word to let me play on weekends. But some weeks it was hard. Regardless, it was hard because I perceived my parents as unreliable.
In the Bible, we have many occasions where God’s people need to wait for a fulfillment of God’s promise. The wait often feels uncertain, or even outright embarrassing. We have Noah who waited for the rain; Moses who waited for the deliverance from Egypt; the Babylonian exiles who waited for their return.
Our motivation to stand firm amid the wait depends a lot on the reliability of the promise-giver.
Today, we will take a look at who God is and what He has promised us. My prayer is that it will revitalize our desire to stand firm amid persecutions as we wait for Christ to come again.
We started a sermon series from Second Thessalonians last week. The big idea of the whole book is: “Christ will surely come, therefore stand firm.”
If you were here last week, you’ll recall I spoke about persecutions. We don’t need to look for persecutions (that will be unnecessary), but if we live out our faith faithfully, they will surely come. We may not be persecuted as severely as the early church was, but as long as standing firm for the gospel causes us to be ridiculed, bullied, marginalized — do not doubt that persecutions have come upon us.
Christ will surely come to vindicate and glorify us, therefore we must now stand firm and pray amid present persecutions.
Our passage this morning is 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12. The theme of persecutions while waiting for Christ’s second coming continues here. The main point of our passage is: Christ will surely come to vindicate and glorify us, therefore we must now stand firm and pray amid present persecutions.
Stand firm now for future joy because God is righteous (2 Thess 1:5-10)
This portion opens with: “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God”. What is “this” referring to? What is evidence of the righteous judgment of God? I think it refers to 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, which we discussed last week. But is Paul referring to persecutions themselves? Or the church’s response of standing firm given the persecutions?
I think it is both. On the one hand, the presence of persecutions often suggests that we are following Christ. Because the Lord Jesus Himself taught us: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it (Mark 8:34-35).” For followers of Christ, there is a cross before the crown.
But on the other hand, our response to persecutions is what confirms if we are following Christ. We truly follow Christ if we respond to how our Lord responded to persecutions. He did not give up. He did not hit back. He did not hold grudges. Instead, he stands firm.
Evidence of the righteous judgment of God is that amid persecutions true Christians stand firm. True Christians grow in faith, true Christians increase in love for one another, true Christians endure. This is why by standing firm, Christians may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God. We must not understand the word “worthy” here as “deserving”. Rather, we must understand it as “befitting” . Christians are to stand firm because that befits our status as members of the kingdom of God.
This is why Paul boasts about the church in 2 Thessalonians 1:4. Standing firm amid persecutions assures Christians that we are really Christians.
This evidence of the righteous judgment of God also ought to give much encouragement and comfort to the church. Because God’s judgement is righteous, we can:
Be assured that God is not indifferent about His people’s suffering.
Be assured that no injustice escapes His all-knowing care for His people.
Be assured that no injustice will be left unsettled.
Stand firm.
When the church is facing persecutions, God does not stop being righteous. He may not settle the injustice here and now, but He is righteous to provide us with strength to stand firm till the end. While indeed it may be an awkward encouragement that our standing firm amid persecutions is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, the fact that the church is able to stand firm amid persecutions is evidence of God’s care for His people and God’s working in His people, strengthening us, sanctifying us. As long as we stand firm, it proves that our lives are befitting of God’s kingdom.
Let this exhortation from Paul in Philippians 1:27-29 comfort us: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,”
Let us now turn our attention to the next few verses.
God’s righteous judgment will finally be dispensed when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire (2 Thess 1:6). This is talking about that day when Christ comes again. The victorious Christ — who has defeated our sin and death in His death and resurrection — has promised that He shall come again.
When He comes again, beloved, what a glorious day that will be. Not only will our afflictions end, God will repay with affliction those who afflict us (2 Thess 1:6). God will grant relief to us who are afflicted (2 Thess 1:7).
But not only will bad things end, we will also experience good things. We will glorify and marvel at Christ (2 Thess 1:10). If we have been saying that Christ is good, Christ is better, so far we have been saying it in anticipation of the real thing. But when He comes again, we will actually enjoy Christ and His goodness in His fullness.
However, that glorious day will have unfortunate consequences to those who reject the Lord Jesus, … not just because they may have afflicted, persecuted, ridiculed, bullied, marginalized Christians for our faith, but more fundamentally, as 2 Thessalonians 1:8 calls them: they “do not know God” and “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”
Instead of a glorious day, that day will be horrendous for those who reject Jesus Christ. If they have afflicted Christians, God will repay with affliction (2 Thess 1:6). But even if they never afflicted any Christians, 2 Thessalonians 1:8 tells us that God will still inflict vengeance in flaming fire because they do not know God and disobey the gospel. In other words: they do not have a reconciled relationship with God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. If being afflicted by fellow human is already painful, imagine being afflicted by the One who makes all things.
As if those are not bad enough, in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, we see that those who reject the Lord Jesus will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction. Not just destruction that lasts for an hour, a month, or for a year, but non-stop, forever. Those who reject the Lord Jesus will not enjoy any blessing whatsoever because they will be banished from the Very One who can bless them (2 Thess 1:9-10).
Christians are precious to God and the consequences for rejecting the eternal God is certain, severe, and eternal.
By then, those who reject the Lord Jesus would have learned two things — firstly, that Christians are precious to God and secondly, the consequences for rejecting the eternal God is certain, severe, and eternal.
If there are those who still stubbornly reject Jesus Christ here with us today, I pray that you learn these things now, not then. It will be too late to learn of the consequences then. If God is allowing you to persecute us today, it is to give you the opportunity to repent. If God is allowing you to experience consequences in life, it is to call you to run from the eternal consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ.
If God is allowing you to hear this message today, it is to call you to turn to Him in Jesus Christ. We (Christians) can come to God’s presence, not because we are better than you. All of us are just as bad as you, if not worse.
But we can come to God’s presence because we have Jesus Christ who gave His life for sinners like you and I 2,000 years ago. The punishment that is rightly for us sinner, He has taken it upon Himself. The good news is that it is also offered to you. He is calling you to humble yourself to depend on Him to be God’s children trusting that He will provide all you need. So come to Him today. Come to Him who can give you blessings that are everlasting.
For fellow Christians, we are now in Christ because the Bible’s testimony about Christ has reached us one way or another, most likely through a faithful Christian in our life.
While we are to be thankful for the Christian who brought the gospel to us, I hope we never forget the certainty, the severity, and the perpetuity of the consequences for ourselves (had the gospel not reached us) and for those who still do not know God and disobey the gospel. That reality should make us even more zealous and urgent about sharing the gospel with the people around us.
Beloved, I hope this reminder makes us think: “I don’t want anyone to be in that horrendous eternal state.”
When the gospel reached us, we were not better than those who have yet to accept the gospel. We might even have rejected the gospel several times before we finally (miraculously) trusted the gospel. The ones who pursued us with the gospel did not give up on us. I hope we will never give up on sharing the gospel. Share the gospel with the young people in GBC, even if we are not their parents. Sometimes hearing the gospel from someone else can be especially refreshing. Also, do not just say that the gospel is good, show how it’s good with our testimonies, with how it has changed us now. And be patient.
Beloved, the loss for not sharing the gospel is great, and the gain for sharing the gospel is even greater. So, let us never tire of sharing the gospel.
I know some of us in GBC are facing real persecutions from your own family members because of your decision to follow Christ. Beloved, thank you for standing firm and in doing so, inspiring us to do likewise. The temptation to give up and be comfortable by being like the world around us is always strong. Beloved, don’t give up. Stand firm! Remember the consequences of disobeying the gospel. Remember the consequences of not being in a reconciled relationship with God. Remember that God is righteous and He shall judge righteously. This is why hell is real, severe, and permanent. So, do not lose hope. The reward is worth it. Christ is worth it.
Sometimes, the temptation is also to hit back at the people who persecute us. Beloved, remember that our fitness to God’s kingdom is proven by how we respond to our persecutions. Listen to this exhortation from 1 Peter 2:21: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” More than just following Christ as our example, Christ Himself has taught us not to avenge our enemies, and to go a step further — to love our enemies.
Paul reminds us of Christ’s teaching in Romans 12:19-21: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” We show ourselves to be fitting of Christ by living out Christ’s teaching.
There’s also the temptation to desire instant relief. By how? By political hope or hoping in a political leader we hope will alleviate injustice. Of course we have to steward our political sphere faithfully. And of course we can be thankful for a political leader who can restrain evil better than the rest.
But if our euphoria about a political leader has made us forget about the ultimate, eternal relief that only Christ alone can bring, perhaps it is time to step back and reconsider our priorities. God’s Word is clear: our ultimate hope must be in the revelation of the Lord Jesus with his mighty angels in flaming fire.
So beloved, while we ought to exercise our political stewardship to elect for leaders who exercise righteousness and restrain evil, do not ever substitute the eternal relief in Christ for an instant but fleeting relief in political power.
Some of us are suffering, not necessarily from persecutions, but from the brokenness of this world, like terminal illness. Beloved, stand firm in Christ. Do not lose hope. He who has loved us in the past by giving His own Son for us, will continue to love us now, and we will experience the goodness of that love when we meet Him face-to-face on that glorious day.
So beloved, stand firm until that day comes. As a community, how can we help one another as we go through different kinds of persecutions and suffering as we wait for that great day?
Firstly, we should make talking about Christ’s second coming as normal and expected. Because knowing end times rightly should provide so much hope for us who claim to follow Christ and should make us look forward to it. I came to appreciate it after spending time with some of you and learning how that day is so precious to you and gives you so much hope for today. I thank you for teaching that wonderful truth, not from a pulpit, not in a class, but just as simply as from sharing your life and hope in our day-to-day conversations.
Talking about Christ’s second coming is not about running away from our present reality, because talking about Christ’s second coming does not make Christ come any faster. Rather, reminding one another of Christ’s second coming gives us hope that we will be vindicated from our present suffering and gives us strength to go through our present suffering.
Secondly, we should consistently reflect upon and remind one another of God’s attributes, and in this case, God’s righteousness specifically. Amid injustice we may be suffering now, God’s righteousness is a balm to our soul. It reminds us that He is not ignoring us, knows and cares for us, going to make right all injustice, and that we can stand firm because His righteousness will eventually be revealed.
Standing firm now is worth it because while the wait is painful, through it many (including our loved ones) have the chance to hear the gospel, repent, and follow Christ.
So far, we have recognized that persecutions are painful, that standing firm amid persecutions is tough.
This leads us to our second point.
Pray for one another because God is powerful (2 Thess 1:11-12)
Paul’s solution is to pray for the church, not just once or twice, but always. What does Paul pray for? Two things.
First is that God may make the church worthy of His calling. We have discussed how we should understand the word “worthy”. The word “calling” here doesn’t mean our vocation, or our profession, as how we sometimes think of “calling”. If we read properly, it’s “his calling” (not “our calling”), which informs us that it is how He defines us (not how we define ourselves). Indeed, “calling” here means our status as God’s people, that we are a people who have been called out by God. God is the one who will make the church befitting of our status as His people.
Second is that God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith. The word “fulfill” really means to “fill until full”. God is the one who will fill our every resolve for good until it is full. God is the one who will fill our every work of faith until it is full. Paul prays because only God can complete what He has started.
How is Paul’s prayer going to be accomplished? The end of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 tells us that what Paul prays for will be accomplished “by His power”, by God’s power. If we hope to stand firm till the end, it’s only by God’s power that’s helping us. Paul prays because he knows if we rely on our own power, we will definitely fail. Only God’s power can sustain us.
And lastly, what’s the end goal of Paul’s prayer? 2 Thessalonians 1:12 tells us the goal is that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in us, the church. But it continues, “and you (the church) in him”, “and us in Christ”.
Beloved, as Christ is glorified, we will also be glorified in Him. This is of course talking about that glorious day when Christ comes again. As our lives now give glory to Christ while we wait for His return, in our sharing the gospel, in our making choices that pleases Him, in our standing firm, He will glorify us when He comes again.
On that glorious day, we will be given a new glorious physical body that knows no sin, no pain, no suffering, no sadness, no death, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So beloved, pray for one another while we wait for our Lord’s return.
Pray in your family. If you are a husband, take the lead in your family. I notice some of you have been catching up folks after the service to pray for them, keep up the good work!
Attend our monthly prayer meetings where we gather as a body to hear prayer requests and to pray for one another.
Friends, the wait is indeed hard, but we can pray.
The wait is hard, but we can pray. Always.
Pray always.
Church, today we’ve learned from this portion of 2 Thessalonians 1 that we may be persecuted for our faith now, we may be suffering now. But Paul is reminding us that while our suffering is real and painful, it will end.
And not just that it will end, if we respond to our suffering well, we shall enjoy Christ forevermore.
So, let us stand firm. Let us remind one another to stand firm. And let us pray for one another that we will all stand firm with God’s help.
Let’s pray.