The following sermon is by John MacArthur, pastor, author, and Bible teacher with Grace

to You.

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And now unleashing God's truth one verse at a time.

Here's Grace to You, Bible teacher John MacArthur.

This morning we are going to return to the first chapter of Second Thessalonians.

And this is a very sobering passage, as you know from last week and we'll find out again this morning.

One which I suppose in some ways seems out of place in a very brief letter of only three short chapters to a church that was full of love and full of faith, full of hope, faithful enduring, spreading the Word of God.

The gospel, far and wide so that their reputation had gone into all the world.

And yet here in this little epistle are placed some of the most terrifying words that have ever been revealed from heaven.

There is much in these epistles about the love of God, the salvation that He provides.

But nowhere in any epistle is there the power and potency of warning of eternal judgment such as here.

Now Paul was a judgment preacher. That is not deniable.

He spoke often about judgment, he spoke often about sinners.

He said that sinners were storing up wrath against the day of wrath, back in Romans 2.

He said as people live in an ungodly way and reject God and reject the gospel, God is patient, God is tolerant, God displays mercy.

And sinners carry on their open rebellion against Him. But all of it is being written down in heaven so that God is keeping a record of the offenses against Him.

And they are accumulating to that day which will come that day of wrath.

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