Tuesday, December 30, 2014

God's Grace Changes Everything

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 – God’s Grace Changes Everything

The Thessalonian Christians were suffering. They were being persecuted for their faith by the people who lived around them. Why? Because they no longer believed like their neighbors which meant that they no longer lived like their neighbors which meant that their neighbors felt the conviction that comes when lost people find themselves in the presence of true believers. You have probably experienced that before. People that you sense are uncomfortable around you or even become hostile toward you for no apparent reason. Paul describes this as an aroma in 2 Corinthians 2:16. To other believers, our presence is like the aroma of life; but to lost people, we are the aroma of death. That explains why there is such hostility towards Christians. Sometimes lost people don’t even know why they are uncomfortable around us or sometimes even angry at us. Our spirits and their spirits clash.

So Paul reminded these brothers and sisters of what happened in Judea. The Jews ultimately crucified Jesus – just like they had done the prophets. Again, this is evidence of hostility that takes place when God-followers stand for truth. Lost people hold to their sinful beliefs and even carry them to the extremes. But Paul hits the nail on the head. These people do not please God, and they “fill up the measure of their sins.” That is the picture used by multiple prophets to describe God’s judgment. It is like those who are outside of that love relationship with God have a bowl that is constantly being filled with our sins. Eventually, that bowl fills up, and when it begins to overflow, God pours out His wrath. This is the reason that the Canaanites were judged so harshly in the Old Testament. It’s why Israel was defeated by the Assyrians and Judah by the Babylonians. And it is why people spend an eternity in hell. The good news is that one drop of Jesus’ blood poured into that bowl makes it all evaporate into nothingness. God’s grace changes everything!

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