I was having breakfast just a few weeks ago, and a friend was telling me that he is witnessing to one of his colleagues at work, wonderful thing, and he said, you know Colin, this guy lives like the devil, but he’s really good at heart. And I said, hey, wait a minute, how can he be good at heart if he lives like the devil? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and Colin, it sounds like we should be careful what we say when we come to breakfast with you. Well, this was breakfast with a good friend. I know this guy really well, so I was able to wind him up, as sometimes he’s done that with me. But you know, here’s the thing, we’ve got what we believe, and we say now we believe in a doctrine of sin, and that sin inhabits the human heart, and that we need to be redeemed, and that we’re dead before God. And then sometimes we can end up living and thinking as if that was not really true. It’s of huge importance that what we believe from the scripture actually shapes how we think about the realities of life. And sometimes it’s little lines like that that show, to put it this way, there’s a difference between what we say we believe and our actual view of the world, our worldview. And that’s where being immersed in scripture becomes really important, that we’re taking it in not just to a compartment of religious thinking, but to how we actually think about life in the world. Because the real problem with a person who lives like the devil is that he desperately needs his heart to be changed. He’s not good at heart, and that’s why we need a redeemer. As you say, that’s why we need to know scripture. So if you can, open your Bible and let’s have a look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 8 to 12, as we begin the message, the Lord Jesus Christ coming in glory. Here’s Colin. What lies behind the great struggles of your life? People are not the problem. Behind people who may create many problems in your life, remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, that is dark forces that are at work within this world. And in this chapter, we saw last week that these dark powers will reach their fullest and their most horrible expression in a person who is called here the man of lawlessness. John calls him the Antichrist, who will appear on the scene shortly before the day of the Lord. This man, we saw, will be a parody of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will exalt himself over all religion, verse 4, that is everything that is called God, everything that is worshipped, and he will, in that same verse, set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. We saw that setting himself up in God’s temple means that he puts himself in the place of God’s law. He puts himself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. He puts himself in the place of God. And we saw that this is what sin is made of. This is what sin actually looks like on the inside. This is the work of Satan at its core. You replace God’s law and Christ’s sacrifice in God himself. With your own being, he sets himself up in God’s temple. Now we saw, and this was the most important thing that we saw last week, that the power that one day will animate this man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, is, verse 7, already at work in the world. And we see this. We see this all around us when someone is living or saying, you know, it’s all about me. That’s putting yourself in the place of God. No one tells me what to do. That’s putting yourself in the place of God’s law. I’m a good person. That’s putting yourself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice, because if you’re so good, why would you need a sacrifice? The secret power, the mystery of sin, is already at work in us. And when we began to recognize it, I think we quickly saw, even as Christian believers, that this is in us. And so we ended last week by asking the question, how can I overcome, as a Christian believer, the mystery of sin in my own life? I find that stuff comes up from somewhere deep within me, from an abyss within me. I do not understand it, the mystery of sin. We ended here last week, that when you know how the Antichrist will be destroyed, then you will understand how the spirit that animates him, that is already at work in the world and is our great battle, can be overcome. And so we got as far as verse 8, where we’re told in these wonderful words, that the Lord Jesus will overthrow him that is the Antichrist by, notice these two phrases, the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. Since that is how Antichrist will be overthrown, we discern from that that the way that we overcome the secret power that will one day animate him, that’s already at work in the world, is the same way. It’s by the breath of Christ, it is by the splendor of Christ, it is, in other words, by receiving the life, the breath of Jesus, it is by seeing the glory of Jesus. This is how evil is overcome, this very important principle, so practical for us to grasp today. Now let’s take a moment then with this marvelous truth of verse 8, and let’s ponder it just for a moment together. Here is this man, the Antichrist, in whom evil reaches its diabolical worst. Here is a man who is yet to come on the scene of human history, he will be more powerful and more evil than Hitler or Stalin or Nero or any other person in history that you can think of today. And how will he be overthrown? Answer, verse 8, the Son of God will be revealed and he will blow a breath. And this greatest power of evil, completely overthrown. Doesn’t that strike you as marvelous and glorious and wonderful? Like a child blowing a candle, the breath of his mouth. One breath from him and all his enemies are overthrown. That’s the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. So we read in the Bible about a great last battle, Armageddon, you can read about it in the book of Revelation. But don’t when you read that imagine for one minute that this is some kind of titanic struggle in which Christ barely wins. No, listen, the wicked are like the chaff, that the wind blows away. And Isaiah says in these marvelous words from chapter 40, you may know them, God reduces the rulers of the world to nothing. And how does he do it, Isaiah says, he blows on them and they wither. Like a whirlwind, they are swept away. Now that is why God says to us in Psalm 37, do not therefore fret because of evil men. Are there evil people that you are seeing and you’re getting all worried and all anxious? Do not fret because of evil men, for they are like grass and they will soon wither. Like green plants, they will soon die away. So do you see how wonderful this is? What a glimpse of the sovereignty and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ we have here, that he overcomes the greatest power of evil in all human history, how? By the breath of his mouth, marvelous. And this is your Savior, he’s for you. And then notice the second thing, and he will destroy them by the splendor of his coming, the splendor of his coming. That makes me think about a man called Saul of Tarsus, do you remember his story? And here’s this man, he’s a mover, he’s a shaker, he’s going to change the world, he’s going to make his mark, he’s going to make things happen. He’s on the way to a place called Damascus and suddenly he’s stopped in his tracks and he’s down in the dust, why? The splendor of the risen Lord Jesus Christ appears to him and he can’t move, he can’t see, he can’t speak. Earlier this month there was a partial solar eclipse, the moon passing between the sun and the earth and it was visible from much of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. And I enjoyed an article in the London Times that began by saying in typical fashion that the weather forecast for the 3rd of January in Britain was cloudy and therefore there wasn’t much chance of seeing it there, I mean typical, that is absolutely typical I promise you. Nevertheless, the government had issued a warning, I love this, obviously concerned that in some small part of Great Britain there might actually be a glimpse of the sunlight during the day. And so I quote you from the Times, 3rd of January, while cloud is likely to obscure the partial solar eclipse this morning, doctors have warned that looking at it directly in clear spells, that’s as good as it’s going to get, clear spells, even for seconds may permanently damage your eyes. Just think about that, to look at this partial eclipse the doctors are saying, even for seconds, you look at it directly, it may permanently damage your eyes. Now I just put that down in the paper and I thought to myself, if that is what the splendor of the sun could do to me by looking at it in partial eclipse for a few seconds, what then is the brightness and splendor and glory of the Son of God who made it? He will destroy them by the splendor of his coming. Does that give you a sense of the sovereign power of your risen Lord Jesus Christ? Does that make you sense that it is wonderful that you are his and that he is for you? We’ll pause the message here, we’ve been looking at how the Antichrist will be overthrown and in a moment we’ll look at how sin appears in the eyes of an unbeliever. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message is part of a series in which we find out how to stay the course when we’re tired of the battle. And if you ever miss one of the messages in the series you can always go online, come to openthebible.org.uk, there you can download any of our previously broadcast messages. You can also find the messages as podcasts on your regular podcasting site. Back to the message now, here’s Colin. Now verses 10 that we’re coming to as our focus here now are really taking us deeper into this mystery of sin that Paul has been describing, the secret work of lawlessness that can only be overcome by Christ’s breath and by the splendor of his coming. Remember that this whole chapter is about wisdom for discerning the battle, it’s practical stuff for us to understand what we are up against in our own lives and in ministry and in mission in the world today. And last week we looked at this particularly in application to our own battles as Christian believers. Today I want to do something different. I want us to look at the mystery of sin in the life of an unbeliever. What does the secret power of sin look like in the life of your unbelieving son or daughter or husband or wife or neighbor or relative or friend or colleague who does not know Jesus Christ, doesn’t see anything of his splendor? Christ is not glorious to that person. Does he not yet know the life, the breath of Jesus Christ in their soul? And these verses, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 10 through 12, give us one of the most comprehensive and incisive analysis of what sin does in the life of an unbeliever in all of the New Testament. And it’s of huge importance for this reason, that what you believe about sin will in large measure shape your convictions about mission and evangelism. So this is of huge importance to all of us who are believers. It’s of huge importance with regards to the church. What we as a body of believers believe about sin will in large measure shape our strategy with regards to the whole sphere of mission and evangelism. Therefore it is very important that we have understood what the Bible has to say on this subject. How are we to engage in this work of evangelism? That is at the center of the work of Christian mission. Our answer to that will in large measure derive from our understanding of what the human problem actually is. I was having breakfast just a few weeks ago, and a friend was telling me that he is witnessing to one of his colleagues at work. Wonderful thing. I was sitting over breakfast in this casual conversation, and he said, you know, Colin, he said, this guy lives like the devil, but he’s really good at heart. And I said, hey, wait a minute. How can he be good at heart if he lives like the devil? Surely if he lives like the devil, there must be something wrong with his heart. And that’s what we’re on about. You see, we talk like this over breakfast, don’t we? People good at heart and all this kind of thing. What actually is, what does sin do in the life of an unbeliever? Someone you’re praying for, someone you’re witnessing to. What is the nature of the human condition? Remember Jesus said this, it is out of men’s hearts that evil thoughts come, and sexual immorality and greed and malice and envy and arrogance and folly, the list goes on and on. These things come from inside. It’s not environmental in its essence. It’s not from outside. Jesus says it is from inside. The heart of the problem is the problem of the human heart. So what we’re learning here is that sin is a secret power, and it works in the soul. And these verses give us a devastating analysis of the power and the effect of sin, this mystery, the secret power that we’ve been looking at in the life of an unbeliever. So it’s very important for us to understand this is a huge building block of your understanding of the Christian faith, and if you can get it clear today, then it will really help you and it will direct your thinking with regards to the most practical strategies of Christian ministry. So let me offer to you just very simply, I’m just going to be reading through this, but I’m calling it Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin, Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin. And if you have your Bible open, you’ll see all of them right there. We’ve looked at what sin is, you know, putting yourself in the place of God. Now we’re looking at what sin does, what it produces in the life of an unbeliever. Number one, first bitter fruit, deceived. He speaks here, verse 10, of every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. Now notice these two words then, Scripture says evil deceives, that’s its nature, it always does that. It is at the very heart of Satan’s work that he will find some way to make sin look attractive. It’s very important to understand this because candidly, some sin will disgust you. You will look at what other people do and you will say, that is so disgusting, I cannot imagine why anyone would ever do that. But what I’m telling you is that Satan will find a way to have some forms of sin that are attractive to you. And that’s where the deception comes in, it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Deceived. Second, perishing. He deceives those who are perishing. The bitter fruit’s just hanging from the tree, it’s just there in the Scripture, you see it right in front of you. It’s what God says to us about the unbelieving condition, perishing. Just the present tense. For those who are outside of Jesus Christ, there is an unraveling of life that is going on now. Not only in the judgment to come, now, perishing. There’s a taking down, there’s a reducing, there’s a becoming less, there is a theme that runs through the life of a person without Jesus Christ. It’s already begun. By nature, the sinner is perishing. Third, they perish, verse 10, because they refuse to love the truth. So there we are, we’re just reading through these verses, a refusal to love the truth. Now notice what he says, it’s very significant. Because these people had heard the gospel, the folks that he’s describing here. We’re not talking about people who’ve never heard, in this case we’re talking about people who have heard the truth, as all of us have heard the truth. But here are some people who have not believed the truth, but the thing that he really picks up is not simply that they didn’t believe it, but that they didn’t love it. Because that’s the thing that goes deeper, you see. That’s the religion. The heart governs the life more than the head. The greatest barriers to faith lie not in the doubts of the mind, but in the desires of the heart. Long ago I heard a story that I found very helpful on this point, about an atheist that went into an old church. And as is sometimes the case with very old churches, they had the creed on one wall, and they had the Ten Commandments on another wall. And the pastor was there, and the atheist came up, and he looked at the creed, and he said to the pastor, well, of course, this I cannot believe. And the pastor pointed into the other wall, and he said, are you sure that it’s not a case that these you will not obey? He pointed to the commandments. The root of unbelief, the root of it, lies not in the head, but in the heart, always. Because the life is governed more by the heart than it is by the head. Refusing to love the truth, you see, it’s a momentum of the heart that’s pulling in another way. And what way is it pulling? Well, if you look in verse 12, there’s where it goes. It doesn’t love the truth, why? Because it delights in wickedness. Verse 12, all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have delighted in wickedness, or found pleasure in wickedness. Now, do you see that, how these two things are put together? That delighting in wickedness is the explanation of not believing the truth. You may present your reasons for not believing, but what the Scripture is saying to you here is that behind all these reasons that you keep putting forward for not believing, there is a delighting that’s going in the wrong direction. When the heart loves wickedness, it is impossible for the mind to embrace the truth. So Jesus said to the Pharisees on one occasion, he said, now how can you believe? How can you believe? When what you’re doing is you’re seeking the praise of men, and you’re making no effort to seek the praise that comes from God, you see. Your heart is on popularity, and as long as your heart is on popularity, the desire of your heart is making it impossible for you to believe, because you know there’ll be a sacrifice and people will reject you if you follow Christ. That’s the real reason. That’s what’s actually going on at the core. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message, The Lord Jesus Christ Coming in Glory. It’s part of our larger series, Staying the Course When We’re Tired of the Battle. And don’t forget if you ever miss one of the messages in our series, you can always catch up or go back and listen again online. Go to openthebible.org.uk. You can also find us as a podcast. Go to your regular podcasting site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to receive regular updates. On our website, you’ll also find a number of other resources. In particular, why not look into Open the Bible Daily? That’s a series of short two to three minute reflections, a new one every day, written by Pastor Colin Smith and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish. You can also find Open the Bible Daily as a podcast on your regular podcast site. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners. And if that’s something you feel you’d like to do, this month, we’ve got a special offer for you. In return for setting up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of five pounds per month or more, we’d love to send you two copies of a book called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. And Colin, who is this book for? Well, it’s for anyone who wants to bear witness to Jesus and anyone who has questions about Jesus, which ought to just about cover everyone who’s listening to the program today, I’m sure. This is a marvellous book. More Than a Carpenter has a story behind it. And the story is that the author, Josh McDowell, actually set out to disprove Christianity. That was his aim. And what he found when he set out on that journey was that the evidence for Scripture and for the claims of Jesus Christ was so compelling that he himself was converted and became a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is a great book for helping anyone who wants to be clearer and more confident in their testimony to Jesus. And it’s a marvellous book to be able to give to anyone who is a sceptic or is asking honest questions about the Christian faith. And that’s why we want to send you two copies of this book, More Than a Carpenter, one for you and one to give away. That’s our gift to you if you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more. Full details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. You keep telling yourself, I can become a Christian later on. How do you know that? The truth is, you may not be able to. Find out why next time on Open the Bible.