WHEN GOD GIVES UP

2 Thess 2:11-12 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.

God, as described by the apostle Peter, who wrote, God is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9)? This is this the God that is full of compassion, that forgives iniquity, that turns His anger away, because He knows that men and women are but flesh (Psalm 78:38:39) - are but mere human beings that apt to sin! This the God that is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us (Eph. 2:4)!

How can our Creator, the God of Heaven and Earth, be so described in the scriptures quoted above, and in the lesson text be also described as a God that sends the people He created in His own image, a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie? To be deluded is to be mislead, beguiled, and deceived. A delusion is a strong, persistent belief in something that is false; something that cannot be substantiated. It is a false illusion; it is an erroneous misconception. From a religious standpoint, a delusion is a belief or an opinion that is misleading and contrary to the will of God.

However, there is a reason for everything God says and does. Paul says that for this cause there is a good, valid reason for God sending them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. "Them" are described in verses preceding the lesson text as that man of sin and as the son of perdition. "Them" are all men and women that oppose God's will, and by their rebellious actions, and their ungodly teachings, exalt themselves above the authority of God (See Vss. 3 & 4). These wicked men and women will be destroyed, and will receive their just reward, with the coming of Jesus Christ, on Judgment Day. However, until that day, they will be driven by their worldly, covetous lusts and continue to perform the work of Satan, with deceivable, and unrighteous power, ...signs, and lying wonders (See Vss. 8-10).

The fact that there was, and will continue to be, false prophets, preachers, and teachers in the world, should not come as a surprise to anyone that understands the word of God. Jesus, Himself, warned His followers to take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (Matt. 24:4-5). In his letter to Timothy, Paul told him, as well as us today, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Tim. 4:1-2).

The world is filled with men and women that refuse, for various reasons, to hear, believe, and obey the will of God. Jesus described a person, whose self-will denies the will of God, as having a heart (or mind that) is waxed gross - a mind that is foolish, and so corrupted by human wisdom, that it is not sensitive to the inspired teaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles. Jesus continues to describe such obstinate, disobedient individuals by saying that their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Matt. 13:15).

God is not the source of confusion and disbelief. He does not cause individuals to be deceived and believe lies. Such is the work of Satan. And the fact that men and women are free moral agents, they often chose to believe and follow teachers, that deny God by their actions and the message they teach. Paul described such people as being unthankful toward God, vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became as fools. They changed the truth of God into a lie. Having done so through the hardness of their hearts, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things, which are not convenient (See Rom. 1:21-32).

Having a reprobate mind, is to have a mind incapable of accepting God's will; a mind that is vicious in its nature, depraved, unprincipled, and given to doing those things, which are not convenient, that is, things that are shameful to mankind, and sinful in the sight of God. God gives up on men and women of the world when they refuse to believe the truths found in His holy word, and when they continually search for pleasure in unrighteousness. The carnal mind cannot please God (Rom. 8:7-8).This is when God gives up on mankind (See Vss. 24 & 26)