Paul the
apostle told the Thessalonian church members because people “receive
not the love of the truth”, “God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie.” Although
the Lord Jesus desires that everyone have a relationship with the
Heavenly Father through Him, some will reject His offer, and in
chapter two and verse twelve of his second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul shared they will “all”
“be damned” so
doing so. We read:
That they
all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
The
verse begins, “That they all might be damned who believed not
the truth,...” Paul continued his thought concerning those who
“receive not the love of the truth” as he wrote, “That
they”, which refers to these rejecting ones, “all”
which means “” “might be damned” which means
“separated, put asunder, picked out, selected, chosen, pronounced
judgment upon and subject to censure and punishment” “who
believed not” or “did not think to be true, were not
persuaded of, did not put confidence in or trust” “the truth”
which is “that which is true in things appertaining to God and the
duties of man both morally and religiously and the truth as taught in
the Christian religion respecting God and the execution of his
purposes through Christ Jesus”. The result and consequence of “not
believing the truth” of God, will be damnation and separation
from Him.
The
verse goes on to say, “...but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Paul went on to add, “but” which is a disassociation
conjunction that means “nevertheless, notwithstanding, with
exception and restriction” “had pleasure” or “thought
it good, determined, decided and willingly preferred, were favorable
to and chose” “in unrighteousness” which means
“injustice and iniquity which includes deeds which violate laws and
morality which are wrongful and unjust”. Rather than believe “the
truth” of God, people will follow after and enjoy “unrighteous”
acts which violate the law of God.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we see the manifestation of those who
believe the “strong delusion” today. Many act as thought
there will be no judgment or accounting for the behavior they
display, but according to Paul, “damnation” lie ahead. The
very fact that God included this in His word should be a warning for
all who read. “Damnation” not have to be one's fate, and
the way to prevent being separated from the Lord Jesus is to “believe
the truth”. God loves everyone, and His desire is for
“everyone” to be saved. However, He will honor and respect a
person's rejection of Him, and those who refuse to “believe”
His truth will suffer the consequences. May all who read these words
take heed, and should anyone find themselves outside of a
relationship with Jesus Christ, let them turn to Him today, believe
His truth, and find that “damnation” shall never be in
their future.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians how they were “chosen
to salvation”, so read ahead,
and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment