Believer or Unbeliever?

A Sermon on 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10

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Scripture

2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 ESV KJV

in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes …

Sermon Description

In this sermon on 2 Thessalonians 1:8–10 titled “Believer or Unbeliever?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes the coming judgement of Christ and the separation between believers and unbelievers. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that this separation of saved and unsaved is fundamental to Christianity since Christianity involves absolutes. The Christian is someone who hears the way of God and decides to follow it, but the unbeliever has done the opposite. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the unbeliever will try and apply his or her own logic and intellect to the Scriptures, when really he or she is in no position to debate them. But the believer has faith in the message of God. The believer does not try to correct the Scriptures, but rather reiterates what has already been written. A person cannot have both God and the world, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says. That is clear all across Scripture. A person must decide which choice to make. The day of judgment is coming and all will stand before the Lord. For the unbeliever, a life apart from God awaits, but for the Christian awaits eternal life with a just and loving God.

Sermon Breakdown

The sermon begins by establishing that there are only two types of people in the world - Christians and non-Christians. These two groups have fundamentally different beliefs and destinies.
Non-Christians do not know God and are not interested in knowing him. They live as if God does not exist and are only concerned with worldly matters. They do not recognize God's authority over their lives.
Christians know God and have a personal relationship with him. They recognize God as the creator and ruler of the universe. They live their lives in obedience to God and his word.
Non-Christians will face eternal punishment for rejecting God, while Christians will inherit God's kingdom and enjoy eternal life with him.
What differentiates Christians from non-Christians is their belief in and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel teaches that Jesus is the Son of God who died to save sinners.
When a person believes the gospel, they repent of their sins and commit their lives to following Jesus. This results in a transformed life that obeys God's commands.
The sermon concludes with a call for people to examine themselves to see if they have truly believed and obeyed the gospel. If not, they face eternal destruction. If so, they can look forward to eternal life in God's kingdom.

Sermons on Unbelief

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.