2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

"May God fulfill every good purpose of yours and complete all that you have been doing by faith."

Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica reveals that he is writing a Gentile Christian community, because he commends them for having turned "from idols to serve a living and true God." (1 Th. 1:9) These two letters to the Thessalonians are concerned primarily with maintaining faith in the face of persecution, as they wait for the coming Day of the Lord and the raising of the dead. Therefore, Paul begins his second letter with a descriptive warning of the "righteous judgment" that God will unleash, "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." (v. 8) The punishment of those who are unworthy, Paul says, will be eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord.

This is Paul's threat to motivate the Christians in Thessalonica to be faithful. Then he prays that God will make them all worthy of their calling to be witnesses to the gospel and that God will complete what they, in faith, have begun. Is this "the word of the Lord?" Or, are these simply the words of Paul. Most likely there has been some backsliding in the church at Thessalonica. Will God consign to eternal damnation those whose faith is weak?

For centuries this has been Christian doctrine, but the Vatican recently clarified that hell was a "state of being apart from God" rather than a place where the dead are tormented. And many Protestant churches preach that the love of God embraces even those who fail to respond.

Grace and peace...Bob