“executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our witness to you was believed. ” (2Th. 1:8 LSB) https://accordance.bible/link/read/LSB#2Th._1:8
O that Christians would believe this gospel that they claimed saved them from their sins. What are we saved from? The coming judgement where God executes His vengeance upon all those who disobey Jesus. They will enter eternal destruction, separated from God and His people forever. How many people do we know that are not living for Jesus? Are we living for Jesus? We are if we are praying for the people we know who are not living for Jesus and building our influence in their lives so that we move them to obeying Jesus as Savior and Lord. We believe because we received the witness of another person. We must be that witness to the persons in our lives who do not know Jesus. When will we love them enough to seek earnestly their salvation through constant prayers to God and consistent sharing of their need for a Savior through our testimony? While God loves everyone this love is expressed in everyone having the opportunity to receive Jesus as Savior. Loving everyone does not mean eliminating the consequences of our choices. Those who humble themselves before God, repent of their wicked ways, commit to doing what pleases God, will live forever with God forgiven of their sins. Those who fail to recognize Jesus as Lord by their confession of faith and life of obedience will be forever condemned by this same Jesus Who gave them the chance to be pardoned but they refused. The messengers of God’s love, His opportunity for pardon, His promise of eternal life with Him and His warning of eternal suffering for refusing Him, is those who have already embraced this message. All of us who claim to be Christians are His witnesses to all those in our life who do not yet claim Jesus as Savior. Are we witnessing? Are we working passionately to keep those we know from the eternal fires of hell?
