According to the Scriptures

Guest (Male): Getting ready for the return of Christ. That's next here on According to the Scriptures. One day Jesus will return and today we're learning how to be ready for that. First and foremost, we do that through faith in Jesus and that is the emphasis of Pastor Damian Kyle's message here today in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Now today on According to the Scriptures, we're going to hear about the righteous judgment of God that comes upon those who refuse to believe in the Lord. But while hell and judgment are very real, so too is salvation.

Damian Kyle: Fourth, he speaks to us in verse 8 of this judgment that it will extend all those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So if a person's reading this and they say, well this has nothing to do with me because I'm not actively persecuting or tormenting Christians. Well, he broadens the net here that this judgment's going to extend to those who don't know God and to those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so those who actively uh persecute Christians again will not be judged supremely based upon that persecution, but because their persecution of the Christians reveals them to be a part of one of these two uh groups.

The first one described is those who do not know God. This does not refer to an unintentional uh ignorance related to uh God, but a the person who refuses to acknowledge the existence of God uh in the light of such overwhelming evidence for his uh existence uh in the face of the witness, for example, of creation and design to a creator and a designer behind it. And that behind this creation and this design that we see all day, every day, every single day uh and night of our lives that the one who has created this and designed it is even greater than his creation and greater than his design.

So it's a folly to worship the creation or the design who did that and to make him the object of my worship. So from the perspective of heaven, it's an astonishing thing that a person would live their lives without giving any thought to the origin of the creation and design of everything all around them. To not give consideration to the four seasons, the marveling over the orderly orbits of the planets above that food comes out of the ground. What kind of a miracle is that of creation to say nothing of the incredible witness to a creator that our human bodies are, the coordination of our human body between the eye and then to the brain and then to the nervous system and on and on.

And the psalmist wrote of this, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day under day it utter speech, night under night it reveals knowledge. There's no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. And so presently, all day, all night, the creation around us fairly shouts, there is a God, there is a God, there is a God behind all of this. Stop and think about it. Because wherever you see creation and design in life, whether it's in the proverbial watch or automobile or floral arrangement, you acknowledge that there's a creator and a designer behind it.

And that the creator and the designer is greater than the creation and the design. And to recognize this to be true of everything around us, but then to refuse to apply it to creation's witness of the existence of God because I would rather ignore him or because I have no interest in his plan uh for my life but as opposed to my own is to make myself guilty before God for my willful ignorance. And we certainly can't blame God. Then there's the guilt of the refusal to acknowledge the existence of God in the face of the witness of conscience to uh the uh existence of God.

So our consciences, there's not only this outside of us witness to the existence of God, but God has put the very proof of his existence inside of every single one of us. And our consciences are an innate, God-given knowledge of right and wrong. And it's coupled with the intuitive sense that I should always do what is right and never do what is wrong. But the interesting thing about our conscience that operates within us all day, every day is that the standard of our conscience is higher than our actual practice. And it communicates to us that our conscience cannot have its origin in ourselves, but that it has its origin in someone who is greater than uh than us.

And that is God himself. And it reveals to us and as the conscience speaks in our lives in this great gap that exists between what I know to be right and how to live and the life that I actually live. That great gap that exists in every single one of our lives is communicating all day, every day that we've been created by someone who's greater than us and that we have fallen from that something uh we were once uh greater and we have fallen from that uh greater uh thing just as the Bible uh teaches.

It was a witness of conscience, interestingly enough, that played a very instrumental role in uh the uh conversion of the famous uh atheist CS Lewis for him becoming a Christian. And it was this witness of conscience that removed him uh from verse 8 of our text as a result. And he wrote of this. He said, my argument against God was that the universe seems so cruel and unjust. But how would I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?

And it was his conscience that made him recognize and turn toward uh God, that intuitive sense of right and wrong that God is placed within us. When he describes those who do not obey uh the second category of person, those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that refers to those who live their entire life refusing to accept God's gift of salvation and the forgiveness of sins by trusting in Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness uh of our sins and then die in that unbelieving uh condition. And doing so in the face of the witness of the prophetic Scriptures to the gospel and to Jesus as the promised savior of mankind.

And that rejection is uh the soul sin for which there is no forgiveness. And if I reject the soul means of my forgiveness before God, then how can I expect to receive his forgiveness? Again, to quote CS Lewis on this subject, he wrote, in the long run, the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of hell is itself a question. What are you asking God to do? To wipe out their past sins and at all costs to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help. But he has done so already on Calvary.

To forgive them, they will not be forgiven. And so what CS Lewis is saying is that, no, God's perfect provision for salvation is found in Jesus and to reject it for some other salvation of my own making is to reject any hope of salvation at all. We already have God's salvation before us. And the fact of the matter is, as much as people uh dislike and nobody I think enjoys it immensely, uh the a discussion or talking about hell, the fact of the matter is is that Gehenna or hell is a moral imperative. It is a moral necessity in creation.

Again, to quote Lewis, he said to our modern ears, belief in hell feels harsh, even mean. However, not only do the Scriptures give abundant witness to the existence of hell, the very concept of justice that at some point, in some way, everyone gets what they deserve requires the existence of hell. Then here it is. Hell is necessary to make the world work and for values to have any meaning. And he's exactly correct on this. In other words, God must be consistent in his expression of how he values Jesus's sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins at Calvary.

If he views that sacrifice of his son so highly that he rewards faith in it with the unspeakable blessings of heaven, then the consequences of rejecting that same sacrifice cannot be a slap on the wrist. If he is to be consistent in expressing the value of Jesus's death upon the cross, then to reject it has to be just as consequential in the other direction. And so it is. Additionally, if there's no hell, if there is no real or ultimate consequence for our sins, then it makes the need for salvation meaningless, absolutely meaningless. And so we would say as Christians to people, you need to be saved.

And then they would respond to be saved from what? To which we would then be forced to say, well, I don't know. You just need to be saved. To which they might then say, well, once you get that all figured out, then you come back and talk with me. You see, without there being something to be saved from, then all talk of salvation becomes meaningless to the unsaved. And evangelism inevitably becomes an immediate casualty of a denial of hell as it's taught in the Scriptures. Because not only will the unsaved fail to see their need to be saved, but for us as Christians, we won't recognize a need for them to be saved.

He goes on and he says in verse 9 that this judgment will be an everlasting judgment, is going to be eternal. And then further he declares in verse 9 that this judgment will result in being eternally separated from the favorable presence of God and from the glory of God's power. And to me, the most consequential thing of all about Gehenna and the greatest horror of it will not be the physical torment of it, but that it will be a place that will be entirely think of it entirely devoid of all of God's blessings and the glorious loving expressions of his power.

So very often today people want all of God blessings, but they don't want him. And presently uh they have that luxury, so to speak. But one day that luxury will be removed. And one day the rejection of God will be coupled with the loss of all of his blessings and benefits. Think about it. Gehenna will know nothing of the fruit of God's spirit. Nothing of love or joy or peace or long suffering or kindness or goodness or faithfulness or gentleness or self-control. It will know nothing of the beauty or the fragrance of a flower. There will be nothing that resembles a sunrise and a sunset, much less the glory of heaven.

There will be no songs there which is a catastrophic loss for a person like me. There'll be no singing there as we know it. The only song of Gehenna will be the wailing and gnashing of teeth. There'll be no Bibles, there'll be no hymnals, there'll be no holiness, none of the virtues that we owe to God will be there. There'll be no wisdom, no gratitude, no humility, no forgiveness, no compassion, no bravery, no valor, no servant hood. And it will be to never hear laughter ever again. And there will be no counteracting power of God against evil there.

And then I'll leave it to you to enlarge the list if you desire to. And that list can be greatly enlarged. And as Christians, we take absolutely no joy at all in this judgment in Gehenna anymore than God does. The Bible teaches from one end to the other that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 32. God said, for I have no pleasure in the death of the one who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore, turn, repent, and live. Ezekiel 33 say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, oh house of Israel? And then when Jesus made his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem and was met with indifference and unbelief, a crowd exactly like the one that Paul is addressing here. Did he shake his fist at them? Now he wept over the city and the people of the city. He wept over the fact that they did not know this their day, the very day that Daniel the prophet had told them the Messiah would come. And he wept over the terrible price they would pay in 70 AD at the destruction of the city at the hands of the Romans.

Peter writes famously that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And that will be an interesting thing if anybody finds themselves before the white throne judgment of Christ and to realize that if I find myself in that place, if I were to do that, to realize that Jesus God's desire was and is that every single person would be saved. And it's not only his desire, but he has made provision for that to happen in our uh lives. He has done everything but put us in a headlock and force us to receive his savior and the forgiveness of his sins.

And he will not force us into his uh his kingdom. Each person has to choose for themselves. And then in verse 10, this judgment will one day vindicate the truth of God's word about our need to be saved. It will vindicate his truth that salvation is found only in his son and it will vindicate the faith of every single Christian, every single person who's put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, including those who like in the church of Thessalonica must stand firm in their faith in the face of persecution and rejection and tribulation in a Christ rejecting world.

And so then Paul closes in verses 11 and 12 and I'll leave it uh unpacked except to encapsulated in this way. And basically his prayer is that this instruction of his concerning the glory of heaven and the horror of Gehenna would be influential in God's hands and keeping them faithful to the Christian life. Whatever the oppositions are, whatever the persecutions are, whatever the suffering uh may be in this life that we face simply for being Christians. And may it accomplish the same and each of our lives as Christians here this morning. That the glory of heaven and the horror of hell would be influential in God's hands and keeping us faithful to the Christian life.

Whatever the oppositions we face, whatever the suffering, whatever the rejection, whatever the tribulation we face in this life for simply being Christians.

Guest (Male): Pastor Damian Kyle here on According to the Scriptures. We'll be right back with more. We've been covering 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 on today's message about the righteous judgment of God. For resource requests, we'll like today's message on CD. Call us, won't you? 209 545 5530. That's 209 545 5530. Pastor Damian Kyle's studies can also be heard online on our website according to the Scriptures.com as well as Oneplace.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a church app where you can listen to Damian. Search for Calvary Chapel Modesto in the app store or Google Play.

If you'd like to be a partner with us through a financial gift, you can do that as well through our website according to the Scriptures.com. And thank you very much. Let me also give you our mailing address. That would be According to the Scriptures 4300 American Avenue, Modesto, California. The zip code is 95356. Now once again, let's finish up our message, shall we? Here's Pastor Damian.

Damian Kyle: One final quote from CS Lewis in this regard. He said famously, there are only two kinds of people in the end. If life really does become simple. He says there are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, thy will be done. And those who say to God in the end, those to whom God says in the end, thy will be done. And all that are in hell uh choose it. He's making the point that God's will and purpose for our lives is to be saved and to be born again.

And the only reason we would ever end up in that eternal judgment is because we have exalted our will above his. And there's a responsibility for that. We alone are responsible for where we spend eternity. But let's not leave there. Let's listen and heed Jesus's call to you if you're unsaved yet this morning, this morning. For God so loved the world, that's you, that he gave his only begotten son, that's Jesus, that whosoever, that's you again, would believe or trust in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. That's the invitation. And then the verse immediately after Jesus said, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.

Why? Because it's already condemned. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Gehenna is real. Coming judgment is real. But the salvation is real as well. And if you've never trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, willing to repent of those sins and now enter into the life that he has for you, never done that to have the confidence that one day the your eternal portion will be heaven rather than judgment. They're going to be men and women up in front immediately after the service, the pastors as well.

And they'd love to answer your questions and to pray with you to make the single most important decision you will ever make in your life and to make it in the right direction. Come forward this morning and be saved.

Guest (Male): Well, next time on According to the Scriptures, we'll dig in to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 which contains comfort regarding the rapture of the church. This program is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Modesto.