“6since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,…8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” – 2 Thessalonians 1:6, 8-9 (ESV)
Wow, now that is a significant punishment for disobedience. I know that for me, when I weigh the consequences of my actions I am more likely to avoid those negative consequences in favor of those that are less destructive.
What I see here is that the way to avoid the destruction that comes from the wrath of God is to avoid that wrath by obeying Him and following the commands He has for me. There are The Ten Commandments and especially the greatest of those as identified by Jesus Himself:
“36Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?, 37And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:36-39 (ESV)
It is hard to obey at all times and that is why I am thankful to have the ability to repent and continuously beg for forgiveness. I do not know all of the sins that I commit each day, but I do know that I am a sinner and for that I need forgiveness. I will strive to obey and avoid destruction as identified in 2 Thessalonians, but the truth is I will continue to fail and NEED the salvation provided to me through Jesus Christ.
Where are you as pertains to your obedience to Christ? Are you aware of your failures and are you consciously disobeying Him? What if you were to avoid the active disobedience and followed the commandments of Christ, would you like to avoid destruction?
Trevor's Thoughts 