Avenger (1558) (ekdikos from ek = from, out + díke = justice) literally refers to one outside of that which is lawful. One who carries out what is right. It refers to one who exacts a penalty from a person, an avenger, a punisher. The ekdikos is the one who exacts satisfaction for a wrong by punishing the wrongdoer or by inflicting punishment in retaliation for an injury or offense. In secular Greek ekdikos was used for the office of an official legal representative. The only other Biblical use of ekdikos is in Romans... for it (authority) is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. (see note Romans 13:4) In this section Paul shoots his rifle over their heads as if to say, brothers I'm not kidding, this is serious business. Marshall notes that... It is not popular with some people who argue that if God commands Christians to return good for evil and love to their enemies, he himself ought to follow the same principles. The difficulty is probably that in contemporary English the words `avenge' and 'vengeance' have taken on the sense of acting out of personal vindictiveness, whereas in the Bible the thought is rather that God takes the side of the victims of crime and wickedness and secures justice for them, and that he acts as the upholder of the moral order against those who think that they can break it with impunity. (I. Howard Marshall. 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The New Century Bible Commentary). Hiebert observes that in appealing to God as avenger Paul is bringing to mind the consequences which should stimulate a godly fear, whereas he might have appealed to the bitter physical, psychological, and social consequences of immorality. His emphasis rather is eschatological, the coming judgment day. A just God and a coming day of judgment are factors that cannot be left out of consideration when dealing with moral practices. The Lord is the Avenger as Paul wrote in Romans... Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. (see note Romans 12:19) The writer of Hebrews says... Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. (see note Hebrews 13:4) Jehovah says in Deuteronomy that taking vengeance is a prerogative that He retains for Himself declaring... 'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.' (Deuteronomy 32:35) Job asked... "If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me, What then could I do when God arises, And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? (Job 31:13,14) David understood that the Lord is the Avenger... I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. (Comment: David's sin of sexual immorality (adultery cp Lev 18:20, Deut 22:22, Pr 6:32, 1Cor 6:9, Hebrews 13:4-note) with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah reaped the vengeance of the Jehovah (cp Lev 20:10, 24:17). Meditate on the wages of sin in David's life in 2Samuel 12, especially the following passages... 'Why have you despised the word of the LORD (cp Nu 15:31) by doing evil in His sight (cp 1Sa 15:19)? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword (2Sa 11:15,17), have taken his wife to be your wife (2Sa 11:27), and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 'Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun. (see retribution wrought by Absalom 2Sa 16:21, 22)'" 13 Then David said to Nathan , "I have sinned against the LORD." (cp 1Sa 15:24, 2Sa 24:10, Ps 32:5, 51:4) And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has taken away your sin (Ps 32:1, 103:9, 12, Is 38:17, 43:25, Micah 7:18, 19, Zech 3:4); you shall not die. (2Samuel 12:9-13) Keathley notes that ... Sexual sin will not go unpunished. It has its immediate consequences in the personal discipline of God on the believer who transgresses and on a society which ignores the laws of God. The tremendous effect of this can be seen on the home and in the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases so prevalent in our world today. But there is also the future aspect of loss of rewards (see 2Cor 5:9-10) for those believers who ignore God’s truth. (1Thessalonians 4:1-12) John Piper spares no words in warning... that the consequences of lust are going to be worse than the consequences of nuclear war. All that nuclear war can do is kill the body. And Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him who after he has killed has power to cast into hell" (Luke 12:4, 5). In other word's God's vengeance is much more fearful than earthly annihilation. And according to 1 Thessalonians 4:6 God's vengeance is coming upon those who disregard the warning against lust. (He adds) So I have learned again and again from first hand experience that there are many professing Christians who have a view of salvation that disconnects it from real life, and that nullifies the warnings of the Bible and puts the sinning person who claims to be a Christian beyond the reach of Biblical threats. And this doctrine is comforting thousands on the way to hell. Jesus said, if you don't fight lust, you won't go to heaven. The stakes are much higher than whether the world is blown up by a thousand bombs. If you don't fight lust, your won't go to heaven (see 1 Peter 2:11-note, Colossians 3:6-note; Gal. 5:21-note; 1Cor. 6:10;Hebrews 12:14- note). Are we not then saved by faith—by believing in Jesus Christ? We are indeed! Those who persevere in Faith shall be saved (Matthew 24:13; 10:22; 1Cor. 15:3; Col. 1:23-note; 2Thess. 2:13). How do you lay hold on eternal life? Paul gives the answer in 1 Ti 6:12—"Fight the good fight of faith: lay hold on eternal life." That leads us to our main concern this morning—to show that the fight against lust is a battle against unbelief. And the fight for sexual purity is the fight of faith. The great error that I am trying to explode in these messages is the error that says, faith in God is one thing and the fight for holiness is another thing. Faith gets you to heaven and holiness gets you rewards. You get your justification by faith, and you get your sanctification by works. You start the Christian life in the power of the Spirit, you press on in the efforts of the flesh. This is the great evangelical error of our day. The battle for obedience is optional, they say, because only faith is necessary for salvation. Our response: the battle for obedience is absolutely necessary for salvation because it IS the fight of faith. The battle against lust is absolutely necessary for salvation because it is the battle against unbelief. Faith alone delivers from hell and the faith that delivers from hell delivers from lust. I hope you can see that this is a greater gospel than the other one. It's the gospel of God's victory over sin, not just his tolerance of sin. It is the gospel of Romans 6:14 (note) "Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Almighty grace! Sovereign grace! He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me. (Play O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (see Mt 5:8-note). This is God's demand and this is God's gift. It is all of grace. That's why the only fight we fight is the fight of faith—the fight to rest so fully in the grace of God—to be so satisfied with the glory of God—that temptation to sin loses its power over us. (1Thessalonians 4:1-8: Battling Unbelief of Lust) Though these offenses are not generally punished in criminal courts today, the Lord is the Avenger of all such ultimately dealing out just recompense for such sins (cf. see Col 3:4; 3:5; 3:6; 3:7 notes Col 3:4; 3:5; 3:6; 3:7; Hebrews 13:4-note). Regular term in the papyri for legal avenger. Modern men and women need to remember that God is the avenger for sexual wrongs both in this life and the next. God is no respecter of persons. He must deal with His children when they sin (Col 3:23; 24; 25 see notes Col 3:23; 24; 25). A church member criticized her pastor because he was preaching against sin in the lives of Christians. “After all,” she said, “sin in the life of a believer is different from sin in the lives of unsaved people.” “Yes,” replied the pastor, “it is worse.” How will God avenge sexual sin? It could be in an unfulfilling sexual life and marriage. It could be by bringing about a miserable marriage or even allowing a divorce. It could be in temporal chastening or discipline, through a sexually transmitted disease (STD). He could avenge by bringing about negative circumstances, an absence of blessing, a plethora of trials and trouble or even death. Sexual sin could and most likely will result in the loss of eternal rewards in some measure. This section of Scripture is a solemn warning indeed, given the torrid temptations in our sex sickened society and the prevalence of illicit sexual activity in the evangelical community! While it is true that the Christian is not under condemnation (note Romans 8:1), it is also true that he is not free from the harvest of sorrow that comes when we sow to the flesh as Paul made clear to the believers in Galatia writing... Do not be deceived (present imperative - stop being deceived), God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7,8) When King David committed adultery, he tried to cover his sin, but God chastened him severely. Read Psalm 32:1, 2ff and Psalm 51:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 to see what he lost during the time of chastening. When David confessed his sins, God forgave him; but God did not change the consequences. David reaped what he had sown, and it was a painful experience for him and his family. JUST AS WE ALSO TOLD YOU BEFORE AND SOLEMNLY WARNED YOU: kai proeipamen (1PAAI) humin kai diemarturametha (1PAMI): (Luke 12:5; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 4:17) Told you before (4277) (proepo from pró = before + épo = tell) in reference to past (as in this verse) it means to have said before or to have already declared. In reference to the future it means to say beforehand, foretell, predict. Paul had not just told them how to be saved but how to live once they were saved, which is the essence of the great commission, where Jesus declared... And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples (aorist imperative = Do this now! Don't delay!) of all the nations, baptizing (present tense) them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching (present tense) them to observe (tereo = present tense = to continually keeping their eye on His commandment so as to watch or guard oneself that he or she fulfill them) all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) That God would judge the sin of sexual immorality in believers was a truth that Paul had taught in his first visit to Thessalonica. Paul knowing that the temptation to sexual sin was so strong warned the Gentile believers in Ephesus of the judgment that would befall those who lived a lifestyle of lust and sexual immorality But do not let immorality (porneia) or any impurity (akatharsia) or greed (pleonexia) even be named (present imperative with a negative = stop an action already in progress) among you, as is proper among saints (hagios = holy ones! set apart ones!) and there must be no filthiness and silly talk (contrast Spirit filled or controlled speech - see Ephesians 5:20-note) , or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (parallel passages 1Cor 6:9, Gal 5:21. Cp 1Ti 1:9, Hebrews 12:14 [note]); Revelation 21:8 [note]). Let no one deceive you (present imperative with a negative = stop an action already in progress) with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (unbelievers = see Ephesians 2:2-note contrast believers 1 Peter 1:14 [note]). Therefore do not be partakers with them (see Eph 5:3; 5:4; 5:5; 5:6; 5:7notes Ephesians 5:3; 5:4; 5:5; 5:6; 5:7)