November 19, 2019

BIBLE READING: I Thessalonians 4

6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

There has been much ado about the marvel superheroes “the avengers”. That franchise is everywhere. There are movies, toys, comic books, and a whole lot of money to be made. It is a group of fictional superheroes that supposedly worked together to try to carry out justice in a cruel, evil, cynical world. My generation had “Bugs Bunny”. The generation before me had “Mighty Mouse”. I hate to even think of what my grandchildren’s generation will have.

Well, God is the original and only “Avenger”. As best I can tell, this is the only time in the word of God that this word is used. Paul encourages this church to make sure that they treat all men with honesty. It is amazing how quickly we can blur the lines of what is honest and dishonest. We can justify dishonest actions in some very flexible ways. Paul encourages them not to allow this to happen because God is “the avenger of all such”. This word literally does mean “to carry out justice”. The only other time that this route Hebrew word is used the Bible uses the word “revenger”. (Romans 13:4) it means that God will carry out justice, and it may inflict that justice. God will make things right.

We must be careful how we treat people and always watch our dealings with people. When we cross people, we cross God. You do not want to mess with this “Avenger”.