The Power of God's Word Confirmed

We'll turn in your Bibles, if you would, please, to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2.

Our text this morning will be verses 14 through 16, but I will read, just as a reminder from last week, verse 13, and to gain the context.

In the three verses that we'll preach from this morning, verses 14 through 16, the Apostle Paul commends the

Church of the Thessalonians for their perseverance under persecution. And that turns out to have been the evidence that the

Word of God was, in fact, at work in them. It was when, see, it's when we are willing to suffer for the faith that we prove that God's Word came to us, or comes to us, with power in and of itself, as the

Holy Spirit works in you to keep you, to keep us, to have kept the

Thessalonians believing the gospel. See, the Word of God has the power to convert men's souls, and it has the power to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ, and it has the power to strengthen us to endure the trials that the world puts on us as we suffer for the sake of the gospel.

So the Thessalonians' willingness to suffer for the gospel was proof positive that the

Word of God was at work in them. One comment, just before I call you to stand as we read

God's Word, I do need to make a little correction from last week when I preach from verse 13 about how the

Word of God was preparing them for persecution to come. Well, that was an error on my part.

It was evidence of persecution endured. And so with that, please stand for the reading of God's Word, 1

Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 13 through 16. And we also thank

God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the

Word of men, but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the

Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displeased

God, and opposed all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved.

So as always to fill up the measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them at last.

And God bless the reading. And now the preaching of His Word. Please be seated. You know, there comes a time in most of our lives, or for many of us, there came a time in our lives when our words get put to the test.

When the things that we say we believe, the things that we say we stand for, the things we say we will do when push comes to shove as we like to say, well it happens.

And our commitments to these things that we have proclaimed get tested.

Some circumstance comes along that relates directly to what we've said, or maybe even just thought we were fully committed to.

For example, the soldier's courage when the bullets start flying, the accountant's integrity when he can cover his own tracks, the doctor when his

Hippocratic oath stands next to a viable but as yet unborn child, the husband when that woman passes by and the next seems to want to follow of its own accord.

We have these circumstances that most of us have come across, and if you're younger than some of us you will come across, where your words get put to the test.

Do you really believe what you said you believe? Are you really committed to this way of life, to this way of thinking, to this moral scheme?

There comes that crisis out of which we emerge strengthened in our commitments or dismayed at how easily they slipped away.

Has that happened to you? Have you had those opportunities where you could stand for what you said, you could stand for what is right as you thought you might, and perhaps

God willing you did, or perhaps you fell away?

You know, in Israel's history the Reubenites wanted their allotment of the promised land to be on the east side of the

Jordan, on the opposite side from where the rest of Israel was going, and they promised that if they were granted that, that they would fight on the other side of the

Jordan with all the rest of Israel until the land was subdued for them, then they would go back to the land that they wanted on the east side of the

Jordan. And all that just to say Moses warned them in that time, they made these commitments, they said this is what we'll do, and Moses said something, and this relates to us today, but if you will not do so, behold you have sinned against the

Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. You see God in His providence arranges circumstances that put our words to the test.

The Reubenites' word was put to the test when they had to come across with the rest of Israel and fight until the land was subdued before they went back and got their own land, and if they did not do so, your sin will find you out.

Circumstances will come along, and your commitment will be proven for what it really is.

Now most of us probably have a pretty uneven history in this regard. Times of moral courage where the price of dereliction was as nothing compared to maintaining integrity, and times when courage failed and you cave to pressure or some temptation.

We find in these verses 14 through 16 of 1 Thessalonians 2, where Paul gives them the evidence that he saw that proved to him that the

Word of God really was at work in them. The end of verse 13, the Word of God which is at work in you, and in the very next verse, verse 14, when he says for, f -o -r, he cites the reason for why he could say what he did at the end of verse 13.

The Word of God is the only power you see that's going to bring us victory in persecution.

The Word of God is the only thing we have that's going to see us through that. The Word of God is the only thing that will see you through those smaller crises, if you will, the sort of things

I mentioned at the beginning. The power of the Word of God at work in you as proved by the way the persecutions to the church and the various circumstances and temptations that we have in our daily life are encountered and engaged.

Do you have this power working in you? Are you able to withstand the pressures and stay true to Christ?

The power of the Word of God does this. It is an active and living and powerful word that comes from a

God who is the same. The power of the

Word of God is the only power that can bring the victory. Anything else just produces stubborn results. But this is not the

Christian way. This is not what Paul commends the Thessalonians for or would leave for us. He would have us to submit to, to have working in us that power of the

Word of God. And here are the proofs of it, and I want us to look through verses 14 through 16 and see why

Paul could say the power of God is working in you. He saw it. In verse 14 we're going to see how their imitation of good examples proved that the power of God was working in them.

In verse 15 and then the first part of verse 16 we'll see how rejection of the bad examples proved that God's Word was at work in them.

And then for the rest of verse 16 we're going to see how apprehending and believing the warnings proves the same thing, that God's Word is at work in them.

And all these things work together. Following the good is proof of God's Word working into you.

Rejecting the bad is proof that God's Word is working in you. And apprehending and believing the warnings is proof of the same.

Verse 14, imitation of good examples proving God's Word was at work in them and proof that God's Word is at work in you.

For you brothers became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

Now remember I said it earlier, I'll say it one more time, that word for means that that's how we know that Paul is citing evidence for what he just said.

The Word of God which is at work in you as proven by we could say that they became imitators.

So how do we know this? How do we know the Word of God? Because they imitated a positive example of perseverance set by the

Judaic churches. Now the Thessalonians had a habit of imitation.

In chapter 1 verse 6 at the very beginning of this series in Thessalonians, You know it wasn't just that they got the

Word of God and they had time to think it over and to mull it over and to work out its intricacies and say okay well it says this so when this happens let's behave this way or that way.

You see the receipt of the Word of God itself was in the midst of afflictions.

Now Paul doesn't say exactly what those afflictions were but we could speculate just a little bit and it seems to me that maybe they were gathering around Paul and being attracted to this gospel he was preaching and in the meantime they're being sneered at, they're being derided, they were beginning to be persecuted if you will.

They received the Word in affliction as it was being given to them. This is something

Paul says even earlier where he says that the Word of God was preached by them with power with the

Holy Spirit that was from his viewpoint he saw it and perhaps because I say perhaps perhaps because the afflictions began against the

Thessalonians even while it was being proclaimed to them. The Thessalonians withstood that and it wasn't as if they had that time as I said to prepare themselves.

It came immediately. Now Jesus warns of this very thing doesn't he?

He warns us in this world we will have tribulations. He warns us that you will suffer for your faith.

He said in John that in this world you will have trouble, you will have trials, you will have tribulations but rejoice

I have overcome the world. He adds to that but he does warn us that even the receipt of the

Gospel of God you don't even get a chance to catch your breath if you will comes with suffering, comes with persecution, comes with this antagonism against it.

The Thessalonians had no honeymoon period. Like I said they didn't have a chance to think it over, to work it out, to prepare themselves.

It happened all at once. It was like a flood. It came with suffering.

It came with suffering. In chapter 3 verse 3 Paul writes that he sent Timothy to them that no one be moved by these afflictions, the afflictions with which they received the word and lived in the word.

In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 4 and 5 he says therefore we are we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are suffering.

Now we can take a brief excursus here for just a moment. The Thessalonians seem to have received from Paul a warmth and a friendship that was unusual at least to say the least for Paul.

And if we wonder why that might be, why there's warmth and this friendship with them, this attachment to them so flows from Paul to them.

I wonder if it's because more than any other churches these Thessalonians shared the experience of persecutions with Paul.

They had this common experience together of knowing what it's like to have immediate violence against yourself for the faith of Jesus Christ.

So how was it that the Thessalonians, what was the cause of the Thessalonians being able to endure these persecutions and stay true to the faith and for ourselves to stay true as we walk along the way in all the things that come at us?

Well there's two causes that we can see right here in the text. First the powers of power of God's word at work and believers and this is primary to what

Paul is saying here. So it's primary in this message is the power of God's word at work. I spoke about this at some length last week and I don't want to repeat too much of that except to remind you that God's word is powerful.

It's such a simple statement that's so profound. God's word is powerful. Reading the word of God, memorizing the word of God is all good.

But remember as you read it is not just words. It's the power of God.

It's a living and active word that as you ingest it if you will it's a word that transforms you more and more.

It strengthens you. It empowers you. It makes you more and more able to do

God's will. God's word attended by His Holy Spirit. It does more than just influence. It converts.

It can change your soul. The word of God which is able to build you up. That's Acts chapter 20 verse 32. The word of God which is able to save you as I've said.

James chapter 1 verse 21. The word of God which accomplishes that for which is sent.

Isaiah chapter 55 verse 11. The word of God that will discern the thoughts and intents of your heart.

That's Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. This word of God, more than just words, more than just something to memorize and regurgitate.

It's a word of God that can actually accomplish in you. God's will.

In the Thessalonians it accomplished God's will that they would persevere and stay true to Christ in the midst of much afflictions.

And this is what Paul credits the Thessalonians perseverance to. To their grand endurance.

No. To how wonderfully they came together and made a covenant among themselves that they're going to respond this the way that way.

That would be good but what is the cause of any of that? The word of God working in them.

So that's first. And second is the desire to follow the example of other churches was proof that they were indeed recipients of the word of God and that power in them.

The desire to follow good examples. The desire to imitate those who are following Christ and staying true to him.

I mean if you were looking for someone to follow as a lifestyle example, who would you look for?

Would you look for somebody who is successful? Somebody well adjusted? Someone who fits in well with other people?

The Thessalonians follow the example of people who had given themselves up to be outcasts. To be hated.

To be persecuted. You became imitators of the churches in Judea. What were the churches in Judea?

Outcasts. Despised. Persecuted. And they looked at that and said well that's what we want to be like.

Now who would do that? Who would look at some poor bedraggled person and say there's my model.

We see those people at the intersections. You know they're at the left turn lane and they've got that little sign.

They see different things on. They've got the cup for the money and you wonder is the light going to turn or am I going to get my wallet out before the light turns and all those kinds of things.

Well how many of us look at that person. I want to be like that. Well they're made in the image of God and we're not going to take an excursus about that.

My point is who would look at a church that is surrounded by hatred, that is poverty stricken, that is losing their jobs because their employers hate the gospel and say that's what

I want to imitate. Well that's exactly what was happening to the Thessalonians. They were imitators of the church in Judea.

It was exactly the situation that I explained. How could they do that?

How must we pick our godly examples? Well they did it by the power of God, by the word of God that was working in them that made them want to be like Christ no matter the cost.

We all need examples. Paul says follow me as I follow Christ.

Could Paul have imitated Apollos? Could Paul have tried to be more eloquent and speak better the way

Apollos could? Sure, but insofar as Apollos follows Christ and insofar as it was to make the gospel clearer and more plain in his speaking, would it have been wrong to be an encourager like Barnabas?

I'm speaking to those two who Paul knew so well. Well no, but the goal has to be to follow

Christ and this is the word of God working in someone that looks for that Christ -like, that godly example to follow.

Who do you look for to imitate? Well let it be that one no matter their social status, no matter their job, race, color, sex, whatever it is, that one who follows

Christ and sets that scheme before you no matter what, and here in this immediate context that one whose faith has been tested, that one who's been as we say up against it and came out pure for the lesson.

You say I want to be like that no matter the cost. This proof of the word of God working.

Do you have that word working in you? Do you know this word? Do you see the examples of godly men?

You go back to Moses, you can speak of Elijah, you can look at Paul, you can look at Apollos even.

So many we have, primarily and most importantly of course the Lord Jesus Christ.

We all need examples. We all need someone to follow. So we have the scripture before us and that's why we have each other.

It is my belief that someone who looks around says well yeah we're to be imitating others as they imitate

Christ. I should find that godly example. We're all here together to encourage, to exhort, to build up. Yes but there's nobody here

I can follow really. Well that's just arrogance. If you think that way I tell you plainly it's just pride and arrogance.

God has given you the whole fellowship here and amongst this group there are those you can look to and say

I want to be like them not because of their job, money, the kind of spouse they're married to, or anything like that, but because they follow

Christ. For the Thessalonians as they followed Christ, as they endured the persecution was proof that the word of God was working in them and for you to look for and follow that godly

Christ -like example no matter the cost is proof of the same. So the

Thessalonians they sort of looked around and they said okay yeah who are we going to follow?

We're going to follow those trouble -infested people from Judea. Let's be like them because their faith stood firm as a testament to Jesus Christ the very word of God.

Well Paul goes on he says you suffered the same thing from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews.

There's this correlation you see that their countrymen and these are

Thessalonians so these are pagans these are idolaters as the Thessalonians themselves had been that they turned away from those gods the gods that they turned away from that their fellow countrymen still worship those are the ones they did the same thing to them as the

Judaic churches received from their neighbors who were Jews of course you suffered the same thing from your own countrymen as they did from the

Jews. Now it's very likely that none of the Thessalonians had ever met a member of the

Jerusalem church. Now if they had it might have gone something like this as they talked to them let's say they're sitting at a

Starbucks or wherever two thousand years ago they would sit for some fellowship having a cup of coffee and the guy from the

Judaic church speaking of the persecutions they might have said something like you know that was tough that was really hard to get through the

Jews had this guy that they sent out against us I mean he imprisoned us he watched us be executed and he approved of it he even went to foreign lands and dragged us back here to be punished for believing in Jesus man that guy was rough you'd say well who is he

I'm going to watch out for this guy and the answer be careful his name was

Saul he's like the Pharisee of all Pharisees the meanest guy you ever met and he's tough his name was

Saul now he goes by Paul and he claims to be a Christian you got to watch out for this guy you see where I'm going with that suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the

Jews how did Paul know that if they hadn't been there the Thessalonians hadn't been to Jerusalem they hadn't seen all that well

Paul knew what the Jerusalem churches withstood and could compare it to what the Thessalonians were withstanding because Paul was the one who brought it to them in Judea he's the one who taught them who to imitate and why he was the leader of the persecution that wasn't like the traitor who reveals his former nation's secrets there is no secret it's the power of God at work and believers that makes persecution bearable

Paul knew this from his own experience he watched the young church grow in the face of his best efforts to stop it when he was

Saul and Paul was able to tell them from his own experience as a persecutor what the

Jerusalem church had gone through and was going through he knew the experiences were the same from his own experience on both ends he brought persecution to the

Judaic church and he experienced persecution from that same from from the

Jews there in Jerusalem the

Thessalonians countrymen learned from the Jews of Thessalonica in a way I'm thinking of those pagans those ones who were persecuting the

Thessalonian church really they're one and the same with the Jews of Thessalonica Acts chapter 17 verse 5 says that the

Jews of that city of Thessalonica were jealous and some wicked men of the rabble and gathered some wicked men the rabble and they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar now just so we can sort that out the

Jews of Thessalonica were jealous because the Thessalonians were coming to the gospel the

Jews there start started a riot they gathered up some wicked men they gathered up Thessalonian pagans as it were and formed this mob and attacked the

Thessalonian church you can read all that in Acts chapter 17 you know your faith today like their faith then is being attacked and really for the same reason being attacked because it shakes up the whole world the accusation is these men are turning the world upside down they're upsetting the order of things they're claiming this god and putting a god and a king above caesar and all these other accusations we read about in the scripture but your faith like theirs is attacked and for the same reason because it shakes things up what's under attack today

I'm not going to give you long quotes I did just a very quick research on this but today the

Christian ethic of parental responsibility is under attack you read the United Nations statements on the rights of children rights of children what children have rights of some sort but not like they put them there the

Christian idea that parents are responsible for their children and children must obey their parents and follow in their ways is definitely under attack your faith is under attack the

United Nations has statements defining the rights of children over and against parents wishes there are those who would make corporal punishment

I'm talking spanking I'm not talking beating spankings would make it a crime there are those who consider teaching a child about sin to be child abuse now there's no laws against that in this country but brethren

I'll just say quickly that ideas have consequences and these things get floated up and if they don't get shot down right away is something ridiculous they have a way of solidifying as they become more and more accepted and next thing you know you have senators writing laws you have judges making determinations and this is really where it starts abortion is women's health and to object to that is to be a hater religious organizations religious organizations and churches are coerced by the state to hire people whose lives are opposed to that organization's beliefs and we could go on and on and on with this your faith like the

Thessalonian faith was under attack have you felt this have you felt this personally from your friends from co -workers from employers it's coming from everywhere are you ready for that onslaught were you ready when your pen could make an entry that would pocket you some money and hide your tracks were you ready when that woman who is not your wife and I mean this whether you have a wife or not a woman not your wife spun your head and you saw her looking back were you ready for that were you ready when the door is closed and the key pads just begging for a click the point

I'm making here we talk about the big stuff we talk about a church in Thessalonica under persecution enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ trying to destroy a church they're ready for it and so I'm asking you are you ready and I go to these seemingly small things you say hold on pastor hold on a second first you talk about big things like persecution churches being destroyed and then you move to this piddly diddly little small potato stuff

I'm ready to fight the beast to the Ephesus isn't that enough let me give you an excerpt from one of Jesus's parables the parables of the three men who were given talents when the master left ten towns ten towns five towns two and one

I'm sorry four men in the middle of it he says this is

Jesus speaking this is parable and he also had the two talents came forward saying master you delivered to me two talents here

I have made two talents more his master said doing well done good and faithful servant you have been faithful over a little

I'll set you over much are you ready for the persecutions that are sure to come against the church are you ready to fight the beasts at Ephesus are you ready to be surrounded by your former friends and derided and to lose your job to lose homes all sorts of things don't assume you're ready for that quote -unquote big stuff the hard stuff the hero's challenge until you've gotten through some of the more mundane smaller things you don't move on to calculus until you've mastered algebra the word of God's working in you is the same powerful word that makes you faithful in little over the two talents as it makes you over much makes you faithful when that the eyes are forward no matter who's going by the other way because the heart is right the heart is right not just stubborn resolve that I'm not going to look a heart that wants to honor

Christ and stay true to commitments but don't assume that you're ready for the big stuff until you're faithful in this small the

Thessalonians it seems like the big stuff hit them right away so it's a bit of a an exception most of us have to start small and work our way up the word of God working in you is the same powerful word that can make you faithful in little and in much it's not the power that it's not that the power of the word grows

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever our confidence in it grows our transformation grows as we see

God faithful as we see God's word carrying us through whatever comes so how did

Paul know what was his evidence that the Thessalonians had the word of God working in them it was their imitation of the good example no matter the cost they followed the way of that church in Jerusalem the

Judaic church that stood firm under severe persecutions how severe just read about Paul before he became

Paul and what he brought upon them is proof of the word of God working in them is the proof working in you have you submitted to this word do the daily temptations of life overcome you or do you by the power of God in that word working in you overcome them that's really the question we need to ask ourselves before God for Paul is proof of the word proof of their conversion that they stayed true and they followed the good example of the

Judaic church and withstanding the persecution and in a like in a like manner rejection of the bad example is proof of that same word of God working in them he says you receive the same same thing from your own countrymen that they received from the

Jews now verse 15 to the first part of verse 16 who told both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out and displeased

God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved now here is the most intense condemnation in all

Paul's writings of the Jews and he sounds like a raving anti -semite doesn't he let's just say right up front that he's not anti -semitic he is not that nor is he telling us to be his heart for his own people including these killers is found in Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 4 he says

I'm speaking the truth in Christ I'm not lying my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers my kinsmen according to the flesh now it's very intense language that we have in first Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 15 we need to admit that but Paul no more condemned every

Jew without distinction than you or I would every American if we said something like America is guilty of murder for the wanton slaughter of the unborn if I said that you would agree with that but what

I mean by that that you are guilty of it that you did it of course not of course not nor does

Paul mean that when he speaks of the Jews and sounds like he's speaking of all Jews no matter what no it couldn't be if I said that this has become a godless nation led by demonic influence and we've trashed any semblance of biblical marriage by the laws have been passed you would agree with that but of course

I wouldn't mean you particularly the nation as a whole you and I would no more mean each and every person without discrimination or distinction than Paul did so why is this here this very intensive language as you speak about the word of God working in the

Thessalonians I'm speaking about the word of God working in you why do we have such intensive language here it's really kind of hard to figure out the scholar named

Denny who's quoted by Heibert just to give proper attribution he says it is the vehement commendation by a man in thorough sympathy with the mind and spirit of God of the principles which the

Jews as a nation had acted in every period of their history the vehement condemnation the idea is that Paul's just so exasperated what am

I to do with this people well I don't want to go into a long excursus about Paul not being anti -semitic

I think it's pretty clear he's not but we mustn't be ashamed that the biblical evidence does focus on Jewish obstinance against the gospel as being surprising exasperating

Romans chapter 3 he says then what advantage has the Jew or what is the value of circumcision much in every way to begin with the

Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God and he goes on to list even more and then in Romans 6 he repeats much of the same theme if they had all this why are they so violent against the gospel as a whole

Paul of course was converted Jew Jesus rightly said salvation is of the

Jews he being born to a Jewish family he being born a Jew I myself converted from Judaism so not every

Jew but on the whole I could see Paul being exasperated if you had all this advantage you had the oracles you had the prophets well

Jesus himself held the nation at large as responsible the nation at large not every person but he said therefore

I send you prophets and wise men and scribes some of whom you will kill and crucify and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous

Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berekiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar truly

I say to you all these things will come upon this generation so we have very hard language language we must not be ashamed of this is proof to Paul though in the

Thessalonian context of these things coming upon them and the word of God working in them and the proof was that they're able to resist even such intent of attacks as these so let's go back quickly through Paul's indictment there they killed the

Lord Jesus and the prophets well the Romans did the injustice but who demanded it the

Jews it was Pilate who stepped aside from Roman justice but it was the

Jews who said crucify him and let his blood be on our heads and our children's heads not everyone but as a whole they killed the

Lord Jesus and the prophets they drove us out now my friend Brian Borgman said something really interesting in a message that he preached on this same thing that if you drew a map of Paul's missionary journeys which are pretty easy to find right overlay it with a map of the

Jews following Paul from town to town he said it'd be almost exactly the same you just overlay the two you wouldn't be able to see any difference they followed him wherever Paul went he found

Jews in their synagogue and when they heard the gospel they started gnashing their teeth against the gospel and it wasn't enough that they rejected the gospel they had to follow him to make sure others rejected the gospel and displeased

God which I think flows pretty naturally from what I just said now we have to think about this for a moment does

God find only Jewish opponents to the gospel displeasing 2nd

Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 8 and 9 Paul writes about flaming fire in fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know

God and those excuse me not Jews only those meaning everyone on those who do not obey the gospel of our

Lord Jesus they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction you see opposition to the gospel disbelief displeases

God no matter who it is do you know the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ have you heard the words that we've been speaking about faith and repentance faith in Jesus Christ and repentance towards God to recognize yourself admitting yourself a sinner and fleeing to the cross of Christ where your sins were paid for by him who knew no sin if you reject that it doesn't matter to God if you're

Jewish or Atheist or Buddhist or what it displeases

God more to the point if you stand in others ways of receiving this gospel that displeases

God they displease God and they oppose all mankind that's a very interesting phrase oppose all mankind no

I just don't want the gospel for me no you're opposing all mankind no I'm just trying to keep away from my children no you're opposing all mankind listen

I just can't buy this thing about this eternal son of God who's

God and then he comes and becomes a man and he doesn't do any sin then he dies and you know we get all these cynical explanations of it and descriptions of it you're opposing all mankind if God so loved the world they sent his only son to save the world then to oppose the gospel by which the world could be saved is to oppose men for whom it's intended you're opposing all mankind it's not just a personal choice well this is your personal determination

I shouldn't use the word choice gentile believers in Thessalonica were equal to the

Jewish believers in Judah just as the Jewish opponents in Judea were equal to the gentile opponents in Thessalonica and the ones who are resisting and opposing the gospel and chasing

Paul from town to town and you yourself when you stop the declared to anyone in opposition to all mankind because you're in opposition to God's will

Paul's language seems to be a warning of the determination of Jesus' enemies that they have to wipe out the church and so let us take warning as we look to ourselves and need that power of God working in us in order to resist such an intensive attack against us it's not just a debate that one wins and the other loses it's displeasing to God and opposition to all mankind and it's determined and it's powerful and the word of God at work in them was the only way they endured and the word of God at work in you is the only way you can endure so Paul knew that that word was working in them because they followed the positive example no matter the cost they rejected the negative examples and finally verse 16 the second part of that to the end we need to apprehend the warnings and as we apprehend and believe the warnings that were given that's also proof of God's word at work in you so as always to fill up the measure of their sins but wrath has come upon them at last wrath and salvation come in equal measures in the gospel we're going to draw to a close very soon here but I want you to think about this if you've come here or if you're listening to this message and you know not the

Lord Jesus Christ wrath has come upon them at last what does that mean that they got wiped out right then and there well of course not could it mean the soon coming destruction of the temple in 70

AD just a few decades after this that's very possible there's another way to look at this too you see the gospel comes to you in equal measures of the salvation of God by faith in Christ for by grace you've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of your own doing so no one shall boast before God that's the good part right and you hear that you say okay so God by faith in the son

Jesus Christ will save my soul it's equally wrath and condemnation because when you hear this message of salvation and you reject it in opposition to all mankind and in displeasure to God to reject that message is to give the basis for God's wrath against you that you rejected the cross of Jesus Christ you said this one either didn't live didn't die for me wasn't

God whatever basis on which you reject it the message I'm telling you of Jesus Christ and salvation in him is salvation to you if you will believe this gospel it is eternal life it is salvation and if you reject it that same message is wrath and condemnation because the wrath of God was poured out for you upon Jesus Christ and if not upon him then upon yourself the gospel message is equally salvation and wrath so always fill up the measure of their sins like a cup with things being poured into it and often we have in the scripture the idea of you drinking the cup of God's wrath experiencing in one person they're filling up the measure of their sins by their opposition to the gospel and wrath has come upon them because they heard the gospel are you ready for the challenges that lay ahead you're ready for the small things in your personal life the big things that may come upon the church only by the power of God only by that word of God working in you can you be ready the evidence of it is in choosing the good example and following that primarily first of all

Jesus Christ but he gives us each other he gives us the examples that we can follow in each other rejecting the bad and believing and taking seriously the warnings that we have in scripture you know when they have those crises those circumstances that force us to reveal how committed we really are many of us have fallen many of us have stumbled many of us have let that head whip around and gotten a neck strain from it many of us have made that entry that will never be caught you can be forgiven these things that word of God at work in you there's also a word of God if you're in Christ that forgives for we confess our sins his faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness the gospel does forgive but first you must come to Jesus Christ and know and believe this gospel and by it be saved amen lord god we thank you for bringing us together we thank you again for the day of worship that we've had and that you father might continue to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ and that we father might by this gospel be able to by the word of God at work in us follow your ways withstand the pressures of the world around us and give you all the honor that you might be shown to be more praiseworthy and father that you'll be pleased to receive this glory for we ask it in Jesus name