The Lord Will Punish

"The LORD will punish all men for such sins...."
1 Thes. 4:6b

And we can look to King Saul as an example—1 Chr. 10:13 - 14.  "Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death...."

Or even to Moab—Jer. 48:42.   "Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord."

In Jer. 48, we see that Moab's sins are reflected in how Saul lived and in how all the ungodly live.  In fact, it is as though one could replace the name of Moab in that chapter with any modern Western nation's name.

• Jer 48:7; 49:4 — Trusting in riches and their stuff.  "Look at my money, my fertile lands, my gold, my 404K plan!"  But stuff doesn't last.
• Jer. 49:16 — They built high and lofty.  1 Sam. 15:12 says that Saul went to Carmel to build a monument for himself.  Most of what people do is to show off and get accolades and "Likes."
• Jer. 48:27 — They mock, harass, and persecute God's people.
• Jer. 48:29 - 30 — great pride and insolence!
• Jer. 48:35 — they have worship for and devotion to something that is not God.

And what was the result?  Loss.  Moab lost its nationhood.  Saul lost his life, ruined his family and caused the nation to suffer great loss.

We, however, know how to live so as to please the LORD because we have been instructed well  (1 Thes. 4:1).  Our leaders have taught us by the authority of the LORD Jesus Himself (1 Thes. 4:2).  We should rejoice and be thankful to God for the wonderful gift of a Godly Pastor and Godly leaders under him that teach us well.

Notice that the Thessalonians were doing as Paul taught them yet he urges them to keep it up and to do it more and more:

"...we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more."  1 Thes. 4:1
" And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more...." 1 Thes. 4:10

Thus we need to keep on with what we're doing correctly, as we've been taught, and to do it more and more.  We certainly haven't achieved perfection yet, nor do we love God and His people in the fullest way we can, yet.  Therefore, strive to do so more and more.

All of this is with these two things in mind:

1. The Lord will punish all men for such sins...  v. 6
2. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven.... v. 16

He is coming back and will deal with all sins, sinners and rebellion.  But, praise God!, He is coming back to reward those who are faithful and who are doing as they have been well instructed.  Therefore, let us continue to do so more and more!

Out of My Darkness

Dark the night that chilled my heart;
Deep the weltschmerz* of my life;
     Running blind—
     Running lost—
Helpless in deformities rife.

Cast upon a barren Mother,
I faced the glaring Blackness alone;
     Straining eyes—
     Blinded eyes—
Cold upon my face a lone fly droned.

 Sharp were the Tongues of Truth that spoke,
Prying on my nail-shut coffin:
     Awesome Truth—
     Awesome Light—
Stark lay I in my hordes of Sin.

Loving was the One who raised me up,
Breathing into my dust His Righteousness:
     Gracious Face—
     Loving Face—
Object am I of unbounded Love expressed.

Thanks be to God for His priceless Gift—
The redeeming Blood of His own Son:
     Thank you, Lord—
     Praise to Your Name—
Give Glory to God for all that He's done!




* Weltschmerz—"a term coined by the German author Jean Paul and denotes the kind of feeling experienced by someone who understands that physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind."  See link.