Where Is God's Righteous Judgment (Audio)
Last Judgment (2nd Sun. of End Time), November 6, 2016
2 Thessalonians 1:4-10 … we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 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. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
Han, a resident of Chiangbai, China, was recently found brutally murdered. Those who knew him believe it that North Korean secret agents killed him. Why? Because Han was a Christian pastor, helping refugees flee from North Korea into China. The North Koreans wanted to “warn” Christians in China to stop assisting North Korean refugees.
On March 19th, an Ethiopian woman named Workitu was beaten so severely by her husband and her neighbor that she died a few days later. Why? Workitu was a Muslim, but had converted to Christ. Her husband had threatened to take her life if she didn’t return to Islam. Months before she reported the threats to the local authorities, but they did nothing at the time because she was a Christian. And now it’s too late.
If you go to web sites like opendoorsusa.org, you can read story after story of persecution against Christians around the world. Story after story of lost jobs and government bias, of beatings and even murders—all because someone is a follower of Christ. We have persecution stories here too. The bakeries and flower shops that have been shut down and their owners bankrupted merely because they refused to provide service to a same-sex wedding.
It happens even in our own lives, the trouble and affliction we go through for the sake of Christ. While it pales in comparison to the suffering of others, it still is real to us. The angry dirty looks, the unkind words, sometimes the loss of friends, and maybe even the loss of business or work. We see all this persecution and start to question why these things happen. We wonder, “Where is God? Why does He let all these things go on? Why doesn’t He put a stop to it?” Where is God’s righteous judgment?
1. It was already determined at the cross.
That very question was troubling the people of God in Thessalonica. In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul had told them about the coming of the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5). Christ would return as a thief in the night, Paul had said. And yet Christ hadn’t come yet.
And this was troubling for them because they were facing persecution from all sides. On one side you had the Jews who didn’t like the competition that the church was giving to the local synagogue. On the other side you had the pagan Greeks who didn’t like that some of their former compatriots no longer wanted to join them in their drunken orgies. Becoming a Christian meant you were going to struggle financially. You lost business and faced potential legal trouble from people suing you for things you never said or did. Add to that the fact that most of the believers there weren’t rich; the majority earned a living by performing manual labor. (That’s why Paul refused their money while he was there). The Christians in Thessalonica were really feeling the pinch! And yes, they persevered—they continued on in the faith, trusting in Jesus. Yet at the same time—they wondered when their Lord was coming back. They wondered how long it was going to take. They wondered where the Lord’s righteous judgment was.
Paul had an interesting answer for God’s people in Thessalonica. Where is God’s righteous judgment? God’s righteous judgment has already been decided! Listen to what says: “we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer” (v. 4-5). The way that they were persevering in their faith in the face of everything they were going through—Paul says this is evidence: evidence of God’s righteous judgment! A judgment that’s already taken place! A judgment that has already counted these people as worthy of the kingdom of God!
To the rest of the world it doesn’t make sense to put up with persecution. It seems like a lot of needless hassle. Why bother persevering in faith? “Why bother continuing to confess faith in Christ if it means that everybody’s going to hate me?” “Why bother continuing to worship if they’re going to keep burning my church down?” And yet we persevere! We keep on living! We keep on practicing our faith! That fact alone—perseverance under persecution—is evidence of how God has already judged us!
Our perseverance is evidence that God’s judgment was already determined. When? It happened two thousand years ago on a hill outside the city walls of Jerusalem. An innocent man was nailed to a cross, where He bled and suffered and died. Only that man wasn’t just a man. His name was Jesus. He was true God and true man in the same person. He wasn’t just innocent before men; He was innocent before God. And then He took that innocent life and offered it up on the cross! In the human body of His own Son, God the Father executed judgment for every sin.
See, God doesn’t judge us on the basis of our works. He judges us on the basis of His Son—His perfect life, His sinless death. He counts the life Jesus lived as though you and I lived it, perfectly fulfilling what God’s law requires of us. He counts the death Jesus died as though it were you and I dying, perfectly fulfilling His just demand that sin be paid for. Where is God’s righteous judgment? It was already determined at the cross! All are declared righteous freely by the grace of God in the redemption that came through Christ Jesus (Ro 3:29). So now, instead of works, there is only faith in God’s gift. There’s nothing left for sinners to do but to believe that this is true. And even this belief—this faith that clings to God’s promises—is the Holy Spirit’s gift to us through the gospel. Even now, God in His grace works to keep us in the true faith—even in the midst of persecution.
Where we’re going to be on the last day doesn’t dependent on us at all—but totally on the grace of our Lord! And just as the Lord in His grace already determined His judgment at the cross, in His grace He will also carry out that judgment. When it comes to all the injustice and persecution that goes on in the world and in our own lives, we don’t need to wonder “Where is God’s righteous judgment?” We know the answer.
2. It will be executed at the last day.
And that’s an important answer for us to remember! In case you didn’t know, there’s an election on Tuesday for President of the United States. And for the last eighteen months or so, it seems like politics has entirely dominated everything going on in our country. Everything is political—even whether you rooted for the Cubs or the Indians in the World Series! That’s because people look at politics as the way to solve all the world’s problems. And sometimes even Christians fall for it. We’re led to believe that the only the way the church will overcome persecution is by passing the right laws or putting the right politicians in office. And so we get to a point where we think that an event—like a presidential election—is going to save us. And that’s just flat wrong!
In the end, isn’t it God who’s going to save us? In the end, isn’t it God who is going to set things right? Isn’t it God—in His righteous judgment—who will finally repay our persecutors with trouble of their own? Isn’t it God—in His righteous judgment in Christ—who will finally grant us rest from all our troubles (vv. 6-7)?
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, Paul tells us that He will execute justice, “taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 8). Everyone who rejects Christ, who refuses to acknowledge God’s claim on their lives, who snubs the gift of God’s grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—these are the people doing the persecuting, by the way! They’ll find nothing but punishment in hell—taken away from God’s presence and removed from His glory forever. Words can’t describe how bad it’s going to be for them.
Yet you and I, we get to glorify God in person with our praises and marvel at His mighty power and even mightier grace! On that day we will get to enjoy all the wonders of heaven: eternal rest for our souls; reunion with those believers who have gone before us; and the peace and joy of seeing God face to face. Why? Not because we’re so good—but because we believed the Gospel. Because—by God’s grace—we trusted Him.
So keep trusting in the Lord’s righteous judgment. Trust the Lord’s righteous judgment as you keep living your faith day by day. Do it without fear, even in the threat of persecution! Trust the Lord’s righteous judgment when you go out and vote on Tuesday. Cast your ballot with the firm assurance that God’s justice will prevail—even if that means the person you voted for didn’t win! And if things in our country don’t go the way we hope and pray that they do, if things continue to get worse, if we ourselves actually suffer—really suffer—for our faith, persevere! Don’t give up! Don’t quit!
We live in a world of uncertainty. A world of danger, where people are suffering—suffering for the kingdom of God! Yet we can always take comfort in the truth that we know exactly where God’s righteous judgment is—even if we don’t know the exact day or hour. It’s the judgment by which He sets all things right at the last day—it’s the judgment that He renders on the basis of His Son, Jesus Christ. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Amen.