The quote in the title of this post is taken from Acts 16:30. The question was asked by a jailer addressing Silas and the Apostle Paul, whom he had thrown into prison less than a day earlier and fastened in stocks. One of the central messages of the New Testament is an urgent plea: that we recognize our need to be saved. This post concerns the grave seriousness of our sins. Every sin we commit creates a terrible debt that must be paid, and that awareness should drive us to repentance.
In 2 Thessalonians chapter one, the Apostle Paul describes something that should strike fear in the heart of every human being. It paints what may be, to some, a shocking picture of our Lord Jesus Christ taking vengeance and dispensing eternal punishment.
“For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 NAS)
How could our merciful and kind Lord dispense both retribution and eternal punishment? A few weeks ago, much of the world celebrated Holy Week, remembering Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his being hailed as the Messiah, his betrayal, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. That suffering, death, and resurrection, taken together with the message Paul presents in 2 Thessalonians chapter one, reveals the mercy, the justice, and the power of God. Jesus died so that every human being could be saved from the awful justice described in the passage above. Jesus paid our debt of sin so that everyone who believes in him can be saved.
Verse six affirms that those who had afflicted the Thessalonian church will be punished. We all agree that wrongdoing should be punished, yet we tend to appoint ourselves as the judges who decide punishment for others while excusing ourselves. God, however, is the judge, and he is the one who metes out punishment. The passage goes on to say that this punishment will extend beyond those who harmed the church at Thessalonica to include anyone who does not know God and has not obeyed the gospel of Christ.
Hell is not a place where the devil rules. God is sovereign over hell. It was designed as a place of eternal punishment for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). God is grieved by the sins of humanity, but Jesus died so that no human being would have to face condemnation. Yet many, without realizing where the path leads, will follow the crowd in that direction. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (NAS)
My hope is that you, and I, and everyone we know will escape eternal destruction and experience the joys of heaven. Scripture tells us what we must do to be saved, and the next two posts in this series will explore exactly that. Part 2 is titled “Transition from Death to Life” and Part 3 is titled “Transformation.”
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