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To Obey, Or Not To Obey, That Is The Question
In 2 Thess. 1:7-8 The bible states when the Lord is revealed (comes again) He will be "…in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Have you obeyed the Gospel? If not, you are biding time until the wrath of God is unleashed on you. Is that what you want? The Gospel message that must be obeyed to escape the Lord’s fury, has been proclaimed since the first sermon was preached by Peter and the eleven as recorded in Acts 2. Their sermon indicted those who murdered Jesus. It revealed the spiritually destitute condition they were in. It is the same condition every man and woman is in who has not obeyed the Gospel. We might dismiss the thoughts of the Lord’s ferocity, but the fact remains that He made this promise, and will not relent. God, who cannot lie, has bound Himself by His own word and therefore will “take vengeance.”
Everyone who hears the Gospel responds one of two ways; they either obey it or reject it. Fortunately the hearts of 3000 people obeyed the Gospel message of that first sermon. An honest conscience drove them to ask the most important question a person can ever ask, “what must I do?” (Acts 2:37) When given the answer, they acted without delay. They clearly understood they really had no choice. The message contained the incontrovertible evidence that they were sinners, and that Jesus Christ is the only remedy, pricked their heart. Peter answered the question by stating, “repent and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins…” They obeyed this plain command of the Gospel.
When Jesus returns, He will not only take vengeance on those who never initiated a relationship with God by obeying the Gospel, but He will deal out the same retribution to those who no longer “continue” to obey the Gospel. The concept in the minds of many religionists, (and I’m afraid some Christians) is that once the relationship with God is initiated, it cannot be forfeited. Phrases like “shall not inherit the Kingdom of God”, “fall from grace”, “outer darkness”, “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, are used in the Bible to describe the inevitable vengeance of God that awaits the believer who refuses to continue obeying the Gospel. Are you continuing to obey the Gospel?
You may conquer many enemies in this life, you may never lose a battle while in this world. But my friend, if you’ve not obeyed the Gospel, or if you’re not obeying the Gospel, you are setting yourself up to fight a war that you have no hope of winning. Read 2 Thess. 1:6-10…….and think about it.
