INTRODUCTION:
Acts 17 tells us what Paul did when he got to Thessalonica. The Bible tells us that Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must have suffered and then be raised again and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. Notice what Paul's message was one that came from the Scriptures. And, today, we are to reason with others and share the message that we find from the Scriptures. We are to go to the Scriptures because the Bible is God's Word. II Timothy 3: 16 says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. The word inspiration literally means, God breathed. Because the Scripture came from the mouth of God, Jesus can tell us to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. I realize that God used men to record his words and bring the Scripture to us, but we need to remember what Peter said in II Peter 1: 21, "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." God spoke through these holy men, but it was GOD speaking. And, God, Who is perfect, has given us a perfect Word. Because the Bible is God's Word, we can share it with the full confidence that it has no mistakes and that it is trustworthy.
We also reason out of God's Word because of the promise God has given us about His Word. In Isaiah 55: 11, God says this, "My Word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereunto I sent it." God says here that He will bless His word. We don't have to manipulate an audience to get results. We don't have to be great orators to move people. All we have to do is faithfully share God's Word and He will bless with His life changing power and accomplish that which he pleases. What we need to do is to share His Word and do so expecting God to bless.
We are also to reason out of the Scriptures because the Scripture tells us about Jesus. Here, in this passage, we see Jesus revealed to us in three ways.
JESUS IS OUR DELIVERER
He has delivered us from the wrath to come
There is a wrath to come for those outside of Christ. God is a God of love but He is also a God of wrath and judgment. God's wrath is real. Knowing that God's wrath is real, Paul wrote, "knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." Knowing that God's wrath is real, the writer of the Hebrews wrote, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." God's wrath is real and it will be exhibited in two ways. First, God is going to pour out His wrath on the earth in the very near future. This out pouring of His wrath will be due to this world's rejection of Him and the commands He has given us in His Word. The Bible calls this outpouring of his wrath the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. During this time, God is going to allow Satan to rule this world through a one world government to show man the tragedy of a society without God. As a result of this Satanic rule, war, famine and disease will abound to the point that if Jesus does not come, no life will be saved. God will also judge this world by using plagues similar to the ones He used to judge Egypt during the time of the Exodus. This present evil world is headed down a path to face the wrath of God and a time of tribulation such as not be seen from the beginning of the world , to this time, no, nor ever shall be-- Matthew 24: 21.
God's eternal wrath will be exhibited in the Lake of Fire. One day, all lost humanity will stand before God at the Great White throne Judgment. There, they will be shown what Jesus did to save them and how they rejected his offer of salvation. Then, Jesus will say to them, "depart from Me, ye that work iniquity, for I never knew you." At that point, those who rejected Christ will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Satan, his angels, death and hell will also all be cast into the Lake of Fire. The Bible then calls this the second death. It will be God's eternal expression of His wrath concerning sin and rebellion.
But, notice the good news. Jesus came to deliver us from God's wrath. He did so by taking God's wrath for sin upon Himself. When Jesus died on the cross, He suffered on that cross what we would have suffered had we gone to hell. In Luke 16, we get a picture of one who died without Christ and then endured hell. The Bible says the rich man in hell suffered from torment as he burned without being consumed and then desired water he could never have. When Jesus died on the cross, he cried out, "I thirst." Jesus suffered from the fever, thirst and torment of hell for us as He paid for our sin. Hell is also a place of separation. It is a place of solitary confinement. It is also a place of separation from fellowship with God. On the cross, jesus cried our, "My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Jesus was separated from the Father as He suffered God's wrath for our sin. Hell is also a place of outer darkness. While Jesus hung on the cross, there was darkness on the face of the earth from noon until three in the afternoon. Jesus experienced the darkness of hell so we would never have to suffer the wrath of God. Hell is also a place of shame. The Bible says that Jesus despised the shame of the cross in order to pay for our sin. As Jesus suffered the wrath of God for us on the cross, the Bible says, God saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Jesus came to deliver us from the wrath of God.
We can be delivered from sin as we confess our sin. I John says, "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from our sin and deliver us from all unrighteousness." We are delivered from sin as we acknowledge Jesus' work on the cross as being sufficient to pay for that sin. We must trust in Jesus' work and Jesus' alone to pay for sin. As we trust in what He did for us at the cross to pay for our sin, we must then turn from that sin and turn to Him in faith. This is what the Thessalonians did. Jesus will either be our deliverer or our judge.
JESUS IS OUR LIVING SAVIOR
Whom He raised from the dead
Jesus didn't just die on the cross, but He rose again. That resurrection transformed a group of fearful disciples into an army of evangelists who turned the world upside down. Because these men knew Jesus had overcome death, they were not afraid to go our and face death themselves. This is why the early church constantly stressed the resurrection in their teaching and preaching.
Notice what the risen Christ is doing today. Jesus is at the Father's right hand acting as our High Priest. He ever lives to make intercession for us. s our high Priest, He is presenting us before the throne of grace faultless so we can make our requests known unto the Father. Jesus is also acting as our Advocate, our defense attorney, to defend us against Satan's accusations.
Jesus is also awaiting word from the Father to come back and receive us unto Himself.
JESUS IS OUR COMING KING
To wait for His Son from heaven
Jesus is coming again. Jesus' coming has been prophesied throughout the Bible. Enoch said, "Behold, He comes with ten thousand of his saints." Isaiah foretold of the millennial kingdom. Zachariah said, "They shall see Him whom they have pierced." Jesus Himself told those who tried Him, "you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Even the Lord's Supper carried the promise of Jesus' coming. Jesus said, "I will not drink it again until I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." When you look in the epistles, you see Paul, Peter, Jude and John all wrote of Jesus' return. Jesus is coming back as King of Kings to rule and reign and to be glorified as God.
To those of us who are saved, we await expectantly. We await a new and glorified body that He is going to give us when He comes. We await to be reunited with friends and family who have preceded us into heaven. We expectantly await our reward that Jesus is bring with Him. We are awaiting Jesus to deliver us from the wrath to come.
CONCLUSION:
As we think of the three fold picture of Jesus, we ought to love, worship and develop a grateful attitude toward Christ. What Jesus has done for us should also cause us to brag about Him. If you are lost, this picture should compel you to be saved.
MIKE HONZELL, PASTOR
COLLEGE AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH
LEVELLAND, TEXAS
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