Destroyed or Delivered The Only Two Options - 1 Thess Lesson 31

Destroyed or Delivered – The Only Two Options

1 Thessalonians 5:3-8

 Open your Bibles with me this morning once again to 1 Thessalonians 5. We have come to the final chapter of this letter to the church at Thessalonica and we are learning some very important truth regarding the Day of the Lord. We explored the meaning of this term extensively last week as a foundation for our understanding of what Paul is writing. The day of the Lord is the day when Christ returns to the earth in judgment. It would be appropriate for us to begin this morning by reading verses 1-11.

 As we noted last week, Paul does not give the Thessalonians more information about the times and the epochs, or the “when” of Christ’s return or the circumstances regarding this event. Rather, Paul’s emphasis is on the same thing Jesus emphasized in His teaching on this event. Jesus did describe the signs and the things that would precede His glorious return. But the majority of the teaching of Jesus focuses on the preparedness of the followers of Christ. I showed you this last week from the teachings of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25. We know some of the things that will happen prior to the return of Christ. Most people want to know more about these things because the world has always been enamored with trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back. Rather than spending too much time and energy on trying to figure out when, we ought to be focusing on our own lives and our individual relationship with Jesus Christ in salvation so that we know for certain that we are ready whenever He comes back.

 This is the emphasis of our 11 verses here. Paul refuses to write anything else regarding the times and the epochs. Rather, he warns that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. This means that there will be those who are not ready. Those who are not ready experience the destruction that comes upon them suddenly. We did not go into the details of verse three last week, so we will pick up there today and work our way through verse 8. Let me give you the title and then the outline.

 The title of the message is “Destroyed or Delivered – The Only Two Options.” I gave the message this title because these are the only two outcomes offered in this passage, or anywhere else in the Bible. Every human being will experience either destruction or deliverance. That isn’t a popular message today, but we don’t worry about preaching what is popular. We have a duty to preach what is true. The world would be far better off if they would understand that the day of the Lord is coming. It is coming just like a thief in the night, and when it gets here destruction will come upon those who are not delivered from destruction. They will not escape.

 This is not a hateful message. It is a very loving and compassionate message. We would never watch a building burn knowing people were in that building without trying to alert them and help rescue them from certain death. The same certainty applies to our eternal destiny. We are either destined for destruction, or we are delivered. There are not other options.

 Let me give you the outline. We will be looking at 1) the destruction of those not ready for the day of the Lord, 2) the description of those who are ready for the day of the Lord, and if we have time, 3) the duty of those who are ready. It should be rather obvious that Paul is writing of a stark contrast in these verses. Paul describes darkness and light, night and day, sleeping verses being alert, of drunkenness or being sober. The starkness of this contrast is even noticed in the pronouns used. Paul speaks of “they” who will be saying ‘Peace and safety’ and “you,” who are brethren who are not in darkness. There are “those” who get drunk at night and “we” who are of the day. Paul’s use of these contrasts compels us to look at the distinctions between those who are destroyed, and those who are delivered. We are all on one side or the other of this contrast.

 Let’s begin with the destruction of those who are not ready for the Day of the Lord. There are several things said about this destruction. First, the day of the Lord, or the occasion for this destruction will come like a thief in the night. This is the most common way Jesus described His coming. Matthew 24:42-44 says, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

 The destruction that the day of the Lord brings will be unexpected. It will catch those who are not ready by surprise. Look at Mark’s gospel record of the words of Jesus. Read Mark 13:33-37. Read also Luke 12:35-40.

 But it isn’t just the timing that is unexpected. It will also be the circumstances. It will be the distractions. People will fail to see the signs. Verse 3 tells us, “While they are saying, ‘peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them…” It isn’t just the timing of the Lord’s return that will take them by surprise. It is the fact that they are convinced that everything is ok. They have a false sense of security. They have a complete lack of understanding of the reality of a destruction from which there is no escape. They are deceived regarding the threat of destruction.

 Jesus described this time in Luke 17:26-30. The people of Noah’s day were faced with the testimony of a man who was building an ark. You would think this might be a good reason to think about things. In Lot’s time the perverts who were trying to get to the angels of God were struck blind. Even this did not deter them from their evil intentions. Very soon the rain started to fall on the people around the ark. Fire and brimstone fell from heaven on the people of Sodom and Gamorrah. It was too late. They were all destroyed. There were none who escaped except those whom God had saved by His grace. Verse 30 says, “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”

 How can people be so blind? Is the deception really that strong? How can this be? Has it been like this at other times? In Jeremiah’s day, the weeping prophet was warning the people of the coming judgment of God. False prophets were telling the people what they wanted to hear. Read Jeremiah 14:13-16. Now look at 2 Peter 3:3-7.

 Just like in the days of Jeremiah, there are false prophets who deceive the people. There are false prophets who deceive people with a false gospel, convincing them that they are among the delivered when they are not. Those who are deceived regarding salvation will cry, “Peace and safety” but destruction will come upon them. This is why I spend so much time challenging people regarding the issue of genuine saving faith. Don’t trust in a decision you made or a prayer you prayed. Look at the evidence. Search for fruit. There are going to be many who say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord” and defend themselves on the basis of their religious activity. He is going to dismiss them and they will be destroyed.

 Paul goes on in verse 3 of our text to say that “destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child.” Luke 21:34-35 records these words of Jesus. “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” How does a trap close? It closes suddenly. As certainly as labor pains will come upon a woman who is pregnant, the destruction will come. It will come suddenly, like a trap that slams shut.

 Paul says at the end of verse 3, “and they will not escape.” In Matthew 23:33 Jesus warns the Pharisees with these scathing, sobering words, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” The writer of Hebrews, in chapter 12, verse 25 gives us this stern warning. “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.” In the context of Hebrews 12, Moses was the one who warned the people on earth. Now it is the Holy Spirit who warns man on earth of the destruction to come.

 One of the most sobering truths of Scripture is succinctly stated right here at the end of verse 3. “They will not escape.” God will punish all sin and every sinner. His holiness demands that all sin and every sinner be destroyed. The wages of sin is death. The justice of God demands that sin be punished. This is why destruction will come and no one will escape. This destruction does not mean annihilation. It means an eternal separation from God in a place called hell. Jesus described this as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of fire and brimstone, a place of darkness and doom. This is the message sinners need to hear. They will not escape. 

 There is the bad news. Those unprepared will be destroyed in the outpouring of the wrath of God on the day of the Lord. Now I want to direct your attention to the first word of verse 4. Here it is again, my favorite word in the Bible. “But.” I am so thankful for the fact that after such a disturbing and sobering reality depicted in verse 3 that there is a “but” at the beginning of verse 4. Not only is there a “but,” there is a different pronoun. Paul is no longer talking about “they” and “them” but “you” and not only this, he calls them “brethren.” And he says that these brethren “are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief.” With this we get to move on from the destruction of those not ready, to the description of those who are ready.

 You, brethren, are not in darkness. How did this happen? Listen to the words of Colossians 1:13-14. Turn back there and underline these words if they are not already underlined in your Bible. “For He (God) rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” You are not in darkness because you have been rescued from the domain of darkness. You have been transferred to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. You have been redeemed. You have been forgiven your sins. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 Peter “enlightens” us with these words from 1 Peter 2:9-10. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

 What this means is that you have been rescued from among those who are not ready for judgment, and you have been made ready by the amazing grace of God. You have been rescued from the destruction to come. You will not be overtaken like the thief in the night. When Paul was before King Agrippa in Acts 26, he described his calling and the purpose of his ministry. He said that he was rescuing sinners from among the Jews and the Gentiles, having been sent by God “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:18)

 Brethren, you are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief. How sweet the sound of those words if they are really true of you. If they are not true of you, you must cry out to God for mercy. You must see yourself as the tax collector as opposed to the Pharisee. You must cry out to God to be merciful to you the sinner. God is still rescuing sinners from the domain of darkness and transferring them into the kingdom of His beloved Son.

 Paul’s description continues in verse 5. “For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness.” Ephesians 5:8 says, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord.” The difference between light and darkness is obvious. In a spiritual sense, light reveals, whereas darkness is associated with ignorance. Because we have been rescued from darkness and transferred in to the kingdom of Light, we see the truth about Christ. We no longer live in ignorance of the great biblical truths about God and man, sin and salvation, and the coming judgment of God. The lights have been turned on within our hearts and minds and the truth is being revealed.

 Light warms. As the light of the gospel has shone into our hearts, we have experienced a spiritual transformation. Our hearts have been touched and transformed by the grace of God. Our hearts have been enlightened and our affections warmed toward the things of God. Those in darkness have hearts that are cold and indifferent toward God and His truth.

 As sons of light and sons of day, we experience the light that causes spiritual growth. Just like the sunlight causes the plant to reach upward toward the sky, God light and truth draws us upward toward heaven. The light of God’s truth illumines our path and guides our steps. We do not stumble in the darkness of unbelief. We follow Him who is the Light of the world, therefore we do not walk in darkness, according to John 8:12.

 The idea of being a son of light and a son of the day is significant. To be a son of someone is to be characterized by that from which we are born. Our children bear the image of us as their parents. To be a son of light and a son of day is to be characterized by things associated with the light and day. This is Paul’s point. Because we are children of light and children of the day, the distinguishing characteristic of our lives is light. We walk in the light. We are the light of the world. We are not to be covered, but to shine into the darkness as light.

 Paul describes us as brethren, who are not in darkness, who are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness. As we come to verse 6 we now come to the duty of those who have been delivered. We have seen the destruction of those not prepared. We have seen the description of those who are prepared. Now Paul begins to outline the duties of those who have been delivered. 

There is no such thing as a deliverance that does not involve duty. It is not the carrying out of our duties that produces our deliverance. Our salvation is not earned by doing good deeds. But a deliverance that genuinely saves us compels us to serve our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully. So now Paul begins discussing our duty. Verse 6 reads, “so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” “So then” points us to the results of our deliverance. Since we are not of the night or darkness, let us not do what those do who are sons of night and sons of darkness. Because we sons of light and sons of day, and not of night or of darkness, let us not get caught up in the deeds of darkness.

The deeds of darkness are characterized by sleep and drunkenness. We know this cannot be speaking of the physical activity of sleep because we cannot live without sleep. Sleep in the spiritual sense is associated with darkness. To be of the darkness is to be asleep to the things of God. It is to be unaware of the things happening in the world. It is to be unconcerned and unresponsive to the call of the gospel. This is the normal state of the unprepared, of the unbelieving world. They need a wake up call. Unfortunately, most of them are too willing to hit the snooze button and go right back to sleep. They will not respond to the alarm in repentance and faith.

But our duty is to not sleep as the others do. Turn to Romans 13:11-14. Paul is very clear regarding our duty as those who are awake. We are to be awake. This is synonymous with being alert. Those who asleep spiritually are those who are engulfed in intellectual darkness. To be alert is to be spiritually awakened to your need to respond to the truth of God’s word. To be alert is to be aware of the spiritual issues around us. It is to be sensitive to the opportunities we have to call those in darkness to come to the light.

As sleep is to spiritual ignorance and spiritual darkness, drunkenness is to moral depravity and moral darkness. The idea of drunkenness and getting drunk at night is that of giving ones self over to earthly pleasures and sinful pursuits. This does not just apply to overindulging alcoholic beverages. We can be inebriated with many different things the world has to offer and loose sight of the fact of God’s impending judgment. 

What does it mean to be alert and sober? The follower of Christ who is alert and sober is watchful. He or she is alerted when anything slips into view that is contrary to Scripture and a biblical world view. To be sober is to be free from the influence of intoxicants. It is to exercise self-control, living a serious, balanced, steady life focused on the right priorities. In short, to be alert and sober is to live with diligence in applying the Word of God to everything we do. The one who is alert and sober will be doing what we will learn in verses 21-22 of this chapter. We will be examining everything carefully, and holding fast to that which is good, and abstaining from every form of evil. If this is the duty to which we apply ourselves, we will have confidence in the day of judgment.

We have another duty. Look at verse 8. Since we are of the day, let us be sober. This we already understand. And, we are to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. You must put your armor on. Paul employs the image of a soldier who is ready for duty. The most comprehensive description of the Christian’s armor is found in Ephesians 6. In this list Paul limits his description to the three supreme virtues of faith, love and hope.

The duty of those prepared for the day of the Lord is to have put on the breastplate of faith and love. The soldier’s breastplate was designed to protect his vital organs. His helmet protected his head. These were the favorite targets of the opponent in battle. These were the areas most needing protection.

The breastplate in our text is the breastplate of faith and love. We know how vital faith is to our relationship to God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the gift of God. Without genuine saving faith, no one enters into a relationship with God.

But we are not only saved by faith, but we also walk by faith. As we walk by faith through this life we are walking straight toward the unfolding of God’s eternal plan and the fulfilling of His divine purposes. As we move toward the end of the age there is nothing more important than our faith. I may not have a lot of confidence in my understanding of eschatology. I’m not sure how someone can be 100% sure they have everything figured out regarding the coming of the Lord and the day of judgment. But one thing I do know. I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him until that day.

My friends, your faith is only effective as a breastplate if it is genuine saving faith. If it is genuine saving faith, it will have produced a transformation that manifests itself in the way you live, the way you think, the way you speak, and the way you walk in this world. Genuine saving faith will provide unwavering confidence in the person of God. He knows what He is doing and He hasn’t made His first mistake yet. Unwavering faith will provide us with the confidence that His power is sufficient to bring His work to completion within us. Faith will provide the foundation upon which we stand as we trust the promises of God and find His provision sufficient. Faith will protect us from the flaming missiles of the evil one. Faith is our protection in the face of all temptation.

The breastplate also consists of love. MacArthur says, “If faith forms the hard, protective outer surface of a Christian’s breastplate, then love is the soft inner lining.” The duty of those who are prepared for the day of the Lord is to love. We love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. If this does not characterize our love for God, we are not among those prepared for that day. Because we love Him and His beloved Son, we strive to walk in a manner worthy of Him. We love Him because He first loved us.

Not only do we love Him, we love one another. The standard of our love for one another is the love with which He has loved us. Jesus commands us to love one another as we have been loved by Him. It is our love that demonstrates to the world that we are the disciples of Jesus. Jesus said that by this all men will know you are My disciples, if you love one another.

We must also put on as a helmet the hope of salvation. The hope of your salvation is not a “hope so” kind of hope where you are just hoping that you make it. Biblical hope is the desire for something good and this desire is coupled with the confident expectation that what we desire will come to pass. The helmet protects our head. When it comes to the day of the Lord and the coming judgment of God, our head can be filled with fear, doubt, dread, anxiety, worry, and sorrow. God’s word is the answer to every one of those attacks. Our hope is based on the truth of God’s word. His word will not fail.

Our hope is based on the proclamation of the next verse that we will look at next time. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.” That is our hope in the face of the destruction of God’s wrath.

Let’s pray.