Deeper Reflection
SOME OF THE THESSALONIANS WERE “AFRAID” OF CHRIST’S Second Coming, “because to them it spelled judgment; how could they be confident that it would bring them salvation instead?”²⁷ Paul addresses this fear. We need not fear when we are awake, alert, self-controlled and well-armed based on who we are – “children of light, children of the day” (vv.4-8). And of particular importance with regards to the Thessalonians’ fear is “the hope of salvation” (v.8). And the first truth that Paul underscores in “the hope of salvation” is “God has not destined us to wrath” (v.9).What is the wrath of God? The wrath of God is “almost totally different from human anger. It does not mean that God loses His temper, flies into a rage, or is ever malicious, spiteful or vindictive”, but it is God “reacting in revulsion against sin. It is His deeply personal abhorrence of evil”²⁸. It is “His holy hostility to evil, His refusal to condone it or come to terms with it, His just judgment upon it.”²⁹But it is of great importance that we understand and appreciate the heart of this God of wrath. We see much of God’s wrath in the Old Testament, especially the Prophets – mainly because of Israel’s persistent covenant unfaithfulness to God that called for it. God’s “anger is but for a moment, His favour is for a lifetime” (Psa 30:5). God “does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love” and He “will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic 7:18-19). God’s grace is greater than even His fiercest anger.

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²⁷ John R. W. Stott, Thessalonians, 113 ²⁸ John R. W. Stott, Romans, 72 ²⁹ John R. W. Stott, Romans, 72