August 2, 2025 - 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 - "A Delusion of Damnation"

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

While delusion is the effect of a darkened, sinful, condemned heart, God in His sovereignty does seal, in that blindness, those that HE has given over to their reprobate mind, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;" (Romans 1:28). There is no greater damnation than those who profess themselves to be wise in things of God, and yet are fools, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools," (Romans 1:22). What then are the evidences of being yet in darkness and blindness?

1.  A profession based on outward form rather than Christ only, v. 9:  It doesn’t matter whether it is a profession based on walking an isle, raising the hand, bowing the head, or even miraculous healing. These are all empirical [concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience] and NOT faith.  Faith does NOT walk by sight, but by the revelation of Christ Jesus in the heart, by God’s Holy Word, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1 Peter 1:24, 25).

2. A profession deceived by unrighteousness- v. 10: The only righteousness that God the Father has ever approved and accepted is that which the LORD Jesus Christ, His Son, came, earned and established, and upon completion of His work at the cross, God the Father, once for all, imputed to the spiritual account of every one of His elect, at one time, one place, and One Offering, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:24).  In those who are perishing, although religious professors, they find comfort in external, man-made ordinances because they cannot perceive the Person and Work of Christ in ALL His glory as THE RIGHTEOUSNESS of God. However, the truth is that no matter how they perceive themselves, God declares them unrighteous still, except that the LORD Jesus has paid their debt and will yet draw them. If not, they continue under the delusion of being righteous when God the Father declares them unrighteous. These are those who do not and will never receive the love of the Truth (Christ) that they might be saved by His accomplished work of salvation alone.  Nothing and no one can shake them from their false delusion of a supposed ‘free-will,’ or any other work of their own that they believe contributes to their salvation, in cooperation with the work of the LORD Jesus.

One of the greatest delusions today is among those who say that salvation is by grace, on the ground of, or based on the death of the LORD Jesus, and yet refuse to believe that the work of justification was completed when Christ died on the cross. They say that although Christ died to save the elect, they are not justified until God gives them faith to believe. That means that the death of Christ did not actually put away their sin, because they are said to continue under the condemnation of their sin until they believe. This makes faith the savior, and not the finished work of Christ alone, of which Faith is the evidence of having already been justified at the cross, and not the instrument of justification.

3. A Profession founded on delusion and not the revelation of the Spirit in the heart, v. 11,12: It is God who sends them strong delusion, not only that they should believe a lie, but that they might be eternally damned in that lie.  How solemn a judgement this is!  People deceived in their false profession, thinking themselves to be the LORD’S, and boasting of being His in their testimonies, without ever having seen their lost estate or been drawn by His Spirit of Grace to the LORD Jesus Christ alone.  The only thing worse than dying in ignorance is dying in rebellion, having loved their darkness, rather than THE LIGHT, because their deeds (even their supposed good deeds) were evil, ""And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).  

How dangerous then is the delusion of the spirit of antichrist in them and the damnation of those who perish because of a willful rejection of the truth! They "received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Yet, how blessed are they whom God in His sovereign grace has plucked from the same ruin, causing them to believe the Truth and delight in Christ and His finished work on the cross alone as ALL of God's salvation!

May every heart humbled by the Spirit of Grace rejoice—not in self, nor merit, nor personal insight—but in the eternal love and purpose of God, Who chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world and saved them in time at the cross. If we are one of these blessed elected, redeemed, justified, and effectually called-out sinners, then we can have no safer Refuge than the LORD Jesus Christ alone. It's not in our faith, but in Him Who is the Truth, and Who by His Spirit draws His people to believe on Him and freely receive the eternal blessings of HIs work completed and accomplished already for us when He died, rose again, and ascended on High (Romans 8:34).