THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation, those who trouble you” (2 Thess. 1:6). I’m Timothy Sparks.
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of the Book of 2 Thessalonians. Today’s message is being
brought to you by loving, caring members and congregations of the
In the Book of 2 Thessalonians, Paul is once more going to deal with the Second Coming of Christ. We saw in 1 Thessalonians that some were wondering about what had happened to their loved ones who had died, and about what was going to happen to them when they died (or if the Lord returned before they died). Paul clears that up in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by telling them that when the Lord comes, Christians are going to be called up in the air with deceased loved ones, and we are going to “always be with the Lord.” In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul returns to this idea of the Second Coming. First, however, he says, “It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you” (2 Thess. 1:6). The Christians to whom Paul wrote were being “troubled” by someone. But Paul wanted them to know that they were not to enact vengeance themselves, because, as he pointed out in Romans 12:19, vengeance belongs to the Lord alone. God is going to take care of all the problems.
Timothy Sparks:
Paul says, “It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:6-9). When Jesus comes again, He is going to right all of the wrongs. He’s going to hand out trouble to those who caused trouble for the Christians. Paul says that God, “in flaming fire, will take vengeance.” No doubt Paul said this sorrowfully. Paul is not glad that people are going to be punished eternally. Paul is not happy that such people “will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” when Jesus comes in that day to be glorified among His saints, and to be admired among all those who believe. Those who do not know God, and those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, are going to be punished with everlasting destruction. This should tell us about the importance of obeying the Gospel.
Ben Bailey:
Those people who do not know God, who have not looked for God, and who have not prepared themselves to be ready by obeying the Gospel, are going to be lost. If you don’t know who God is, now is the time to find out. Tomorrow may be too late. If you are not sure about what the Bible teaches, and what God wants you to do, don’t wait until tomorrow to learn. Do it right now. You may not have another moment. God’s plan of salvation is clear and easy to understand. We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We must then repent by changing our thoughts and actions. We must confess Jesus as the Savior, and we must be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. But obeying the Gospel is not just a one-time act. We must continue to live out and obey the Gospel in our lifestyle. It is sad to say, but there are those who initially obeyed the Gospel, who became children of God, but who have fallen away. Of these people, Paul said, “You have fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4). So what is Paul teaching? He is teaching, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
If you don’t know Who God is, don’t wait until tomorrow. Obey the Gospel today. If you are already a Christian, but have fallen away, you need to repent and return to your first love. James wrote, “What is your life? It is even a vapor, which appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14). That “vapor” is like an early morning dew. It is here for a little while, but when the Sun comes out, it vanishes. We need to help people understand the importance and urgency in obeying the Gospel.
Timothy Sparks:
In His prayer in John 17:3, Jesus makes the request “that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.” To “know God” and to “know Jesus Christ” is to have a relationship with them based upon obedience to the Word of God. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). We learn from 2 Thessalonians 1 that those who do not know God are people who do not have a relationship with God. This would include, for example, people who are atheists. They say that God does not exist; thus, they do not believe in God. These people certainly would be included among those who “do not know God.” Also included would be those who live as though God does not exist. There are people who say, “Oh, I believe in God.” They may even claim to believe in the Scriptures. But they don’t live like they believe in God or the Scriptures. These are people who have not truly obeyed the Gospel. These are people who are not true Christians, and thus do not really know God. It will be a sad day for these types of people when Jesus returns, because there is going to be a Day of Judgment following the return of Christ. It will be a happy day for those who have lived in obedience to the Word and will of God. Those who know God, and who have obeyed the Gospel, are going to be welcomed into Heaven. They will receive the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mt. 25:21,23). So there’s a sad day coming, and there’s a glad day coming. We determine, based on what we do in the here and now, whether or not we’re going to face the Judgment Day with fear or with joy.
Ben Bailey:
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Paul tells these people that they need to be looking for that great day. They must be ready for it. But, he says, “[I] ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.” It’s evident that some were saying, “The Lord has already come!” Paul urges them not to believe such things, because the Lord had not already come. This type of situation still exists, even today. There are those who are saying that the Lord has already come. Some suggest that He came in A.D. 70. Others suggest that there was “an invisible return of the Lord” in the early 1800s. Still others suggest that Christ returned in 1940. There have always been people who have said that the Lord has already come. The Bible says that is not the case. Jesus is still yet to come. When the Lord comes, there won’t be any question about His arrival. No one still living will miss out on it. We will know for sure. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15, Paul said that Christ’s return would be accompanied by a shout, a trumpet, and the voice of the archangel. We will know for sure that the Lord has come. We learn from 2 Peter 3:9-12 that when Christ returns, the Earth and all that is in it will be burned with a fervent heat, and that everything physical will cease to exist. How do we know that the Lord hasn’t come yet? The very fact we are still here is proof positive that the Lord hasn’t returned yet!
Timothy Sparks:
Paul made it clear that Christ would not return until a
“falling away” had taken place first. As we look at history, we see that there was
a great apostasy from the truth. Thus, now there is nothing standing in the way
of an imminent return of Christ. Christ’s return is going to happen. In fact, there is nothing within Scripture
which would suggest that He cannot come in the next second. Keep that in mind
as we study this passage as Paul deals with the coming of “the lawless one” (2
Thess. 2:9). In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Paul describes him as the “son of
perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that
is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the
In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, Paul spoke of those who “did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Here, we learn about the importance of loving the truth. We must have a love of the truth if we hope to be saved. From these first two chapters of 2 Thessalonians, we learn about the importance of knowing God, and the importance of obeying the Gospel. Do you love the truth? Do you want to obey the truth?
Ben Bailey:
When some people read 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, they see God in a bad light. They think, “How could God send somebody “a strong delusion” or “a working of error?” As you think about this particular passage, there are only two options. You either love the truth, or you love…error. God does not force people to believe anything. And He certainly is not forcing people to believe error. We either love the truth and receive it, or we believe and receive error. God will not force people to do anything against their will. Believing in error is the only other option, if you don’t believe in the truth. If you don’t love the truth, then you believe error. So, God is not doing anything wrong or unethical. God created humans as free moral agents. We have the right to choose. God wants me to choose the right. He wants me to love the truth. But if I don’t love the truth, then I love error and live in wrong ways. This is a strong delusion, sent by the working of Satan. There are many people today who are teaching false doctrine. There are many people today who possess the characteristics of “the man of sin.” They are promoting self, not God. They may claim to do what they are doing for religious purposes, but they are not. We must go back to the Bible. Paul’s statements in 2 Thessalonians 2 teach us that must be good students of the Bible. Don’t believe anything (in a religious sense) if you can’t find it in the Bible. We always need to ask the question of Jeremiah 37:17, “Is there any word from the Lord?” What do the Scriptures say? Can we find it in the Bible? Remember 1 Thessalonians 5:21—“Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good.” We must “buy the truth, and sell it not” (Prov. 23:23). If we don’t, we might just end up believing “a strong delusion.” If we buy into error, we are going down the wrong path. It is our hope that you do love the truth, and that you want to do what God says. Paul’s comments in 2 Thessalonians 2 may seem harsh, but they are intended to help us get to Heaven.
Timothy Sparks:
Paul then tells the Christians at Thessalonica that God chose them for salvation. Did you know that God chose you for salvation as well? God votes for you, and Satan votes against you. But you are the one who casts the deciding ballet. Will you choose to serve the Lord, just as Joshua urged the Israelites to do when he said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15) God chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. But you have to believe the truth. Otherwise, you will “receive a working of error.” God is going to allow you to do whatever you want to do. If you don’t want to obey the truth, God is not going to force you to do so against your will. He will allow you to believe a lie, and to be condemned because you “had pleasure and righteousness.” However, God chooses us for salvation, as we learn from 2 Thessalonians 2:14. Paul says, “You are called by our Gospel.” Paul means that each and every person who becomes a Christian by obeying the Gospel of Christ, has been “called through the Gospel.” God calls us. He eagerly, earnestly pleads for us to be His obedient children. He wants us to obey the Gospel. He doesn’t want us to be lost.. God does not want anybody to be lost, but wants every “to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). He wants all people to be saved. He is “not willing that anybody should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). God is working for us. He is working to try to help us be saved. But God is not going to force us to be obedient against our will. When it’s all said and done, our stubborn will has to yield to God, and be receptive to the Gospel and His grace. Then, once we become Christians, we have to continue to “keep on keeping on,” living the faithful Christian life. If we are saved, yes, it will be by the grace of God, but it is through our faithfulness (Eph. 2:8-9).
Ben Bailey:
In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul is trying to offer some
incentives to help strengthen and encourage Christians along the way. In this
chapter, he deals with the Christian example and a Christian’s vocation. Suppose
you were a Christian, and you heard that the Lord “is coming back any day now.”
What might you do? For one thing, you might quit your job. You might sit around,
patiently waiting for Christ to come. That seems to be what some may have been
doing in Thessalonica. They had heard, and were confused by, various false
doctrines about Christ’s return. Somehow, they got the impression that Jesus
was coming “any day now.” As a result, they were just sitting around, refusing
to work, being lazy, and not doing what they should. Paul’s comments in 2
Thessalonians 3 are intended to correct that kind of ungodly lifestyle. If fact,
he says in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “We command you, brethren, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly
and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” This is a hard
commandment, and is something that is difficult to do. But it is something that
must be done on occasion in order to save people’s souls. In 1 Timothy 1:18-20,
Paul wrote of Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom he had “delivered to Satan.” Why? So
that they might be saved in the day of God’s wrath. We withdraw from people so
they might be saved. The matter discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 is a
classic example. There was a man in
Timothy Sparks:
Paul told the Christians in Thessalonica who refused to work because they felt that Christ’s return was imminent, “The Christian life is not about being idle and lazy. Rather, you are to work.” In fact, Paul even said, “If a man will not work, neither let him eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). Paul is telling them, “If you don’t work, then you don’t eat.” Paul goes on to say that if there is someone who refuses to take his message to heart, then those who are faithful, and who are continuing to do the work and will of God, are not to even keep company with such a person. But, he says, “Do not treat that person as an enemy, but encourage him as a brother” (vs. 15). So this is a message in which Paul is saying, “You can withdraw, and must withdraw, from people who are not doing the will of God.” God wants His people to have a very strong work ethic. He wants us to be people who are not lazy. Instead, God wants us to be the best of all workers, to set an example for others, and to first and foremost put Christ and His Kingdom above all else.
Ben Bailey:
The same message applies to us today. We must not give up, sit around lazily, and expect the Lord to give us a free hand-out. We need to work diligently while we are looking forward to the Second Coming of Jesus. If you are not a child of God, you can obey the Gospel by believing in Jesus as God’s son. Believe so much that you are willing to repent and turn from sin to God. Confess Jesus as your Savior, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. What is Paul’s main point of discussion in the Book of 2 Thessalonians?
2. When Paul wrote, “It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you” (2 Thess. 1:6), what did he mean?
3. What is the connection between 2 Thessalonians 1:6 and Deuteronomy 32:35?
4. Jesus prayed in John 17:3 that people would “know God.” How do we come to know God today?
5. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Paul urges the Christians to be looking forward to a great day. What is that “great day”?
6. According to 2 Peter 3:9-12, what will happen to the Earth and its contents at Christ’s Second Coming?
7. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, Paul predicted that something would happen before Christ return. What was that “something”?
8. In 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Paul wrote that “God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.” What did he mean by that statement?
9. Does 2 Thessalonians 2:11 indicate some type of “unethical” activity on the part of God? If not, why not?
10. Explain the connection between 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and Proverbs 23:23.
11. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua made an impassioned plea to the Israelites. What was that plea?
12. Explain the connection between 1 Thessalonians 2:11 and Joshua 24:15.
13. According to Paul’s discussion in 2 Thessalonians 3, some apparently had drawn the wrong conclusion about Christ’s Second Coming. What had they concluded?
14. Referring to the people mentioned in question #13 above, what did those people do once they came to their faulty conclusion?
15. Referring to the people mentioned in questions #13 and 14 above, what did Paul say should be done about them?
16. Why did Paul deliver Hymenaeus and Alexander “to Satan” (1 Timothy 1:18-20?
17. When the church withdraws its fellowship from a member that is sinning, what is the ultimate purpose behind that withdrawal of fellowship?
18. Does Paul’s comment in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 have any implications for us today?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST,