Proper 24: Epistle, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10                           

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Jesus has done a lot. Perhaps not the type of phrase we’re used to when we speak of our Lord, but it’s true nonetheless. And the “a lot” part is claimed with the highest gratitude and reverence. At the end of the first chapter of this epistle, the great apostle deals with the conversion of these saints whom Paul so dearly loves. He had received a report of how they “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1:10).

When we speak of deliverance in relation to Jesus, I think it would be safe to say that our minds probably go in one of two directions. Either deliverance from sin or deliverance from the expressed powers of the devil in possession. But Paul reminds us here of another of the delivering works of the Savior, and that is deliverance from coming wrath. To be a Christian is to be free of condemnation and wrath stemming from our posture as skilled sinners. “The law brings wrath,” says the Bible. And it can show up in many forms, sometimes temporal and sometimes in the final judgment of the ages. This is what Paul deals with here.

Christian, you have been delivered from the wrath to come. True conversion delivers us from so much, and you and I will never taste the wrath of God. We may be called to endure man’s worst, but God’s wrath will not touch His redeemed and precious children. The works of the Lord are many, powerful, and sweet on our behalf. They foster thanksgiving and great expectations. And for us our forward gaze looks beyond divine punishment to heavenly welcome. God be praised!