By: Dale Weckbacher
1 John 3:2
Beloved, we
are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared;
but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is.
(ESV)
Christians, have justification with God because of what
Jesus did on the cross (Galatians
2:8; Romans 10:9-10). This
justification means they now have the identity of a child of God that has been
adopted into the family of God (Ephesians
2:19; John 1:12; 1 John 3:1; 1 Peter 2:9-10). For those that have received justification
through accepting Jesus as their savior, a process of sanctification begins where
a believer grows, develops steadfastness, endurance, character, and hope (James
1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5). However,
without future glorification that includes eternity with Christ, what is the
purpose of enduring the sanctification process that produces hope for hope must
have something to hope in.
The purpose of glorification in the process of salvation is
giving a believer something glorious to look forward to while enduring the
struggles and challenges in a cursed secular world. Even though the challenges in this world
contribute to our sanctification and becoming whole, without the hope of future
glorification and eternity with Christ, what is the purpose of enduring the
pain and struggle of sanctification. The
thing a believer must do while going through the sanctification process is live
with a hopeful expectation of the return of Christ (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18). However, as
believers live with this hopeful expectation, they must,
1)
Not become obsessed with end-times eschatology (Matthew
24:36) – The study of eschatology or the end times can be intriguing,
especially when the world around us seems to be crumbling and Christians
anticipate the Lord’s return. However,
eschatology must not become an obsession in one’s life for no one, including
Jesus Himself, knows the time of the Second Coming (Matthew
24:36). Instead, the obsession of
Christians should be in establishing intimacy with God in their life finding
the strength and resolve to persist even though the world around seems to be
crumbling (John
17:25-26). While we wait for the
physical return of Jesus, we can and must enjoy His presence in spirit for that
is the strength that produces steadfastness, endurance, and character in the
life of a believer.
2)
Remember the mission of the Church (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20) – Proverbs
29:18 teaches that without a prophetic vision the people cast off
restraint. In the context of eschatology,
we can interpret this verse in one of two ways.
First, since we do not know the hour of the Lord’s return, having a
vision that the Lord could return at any time causes us to remain diligent in
our obedience to God so as not to be lacking at His return. Second, it explains why the Lord does not let
His children know the date and time of the return of Christ, knowing people
would throw off all restraint until just prior to the Lord’s return. God’s desire for the church is that it lives with
the hope of the return of Jesus and uses the fact Jesus could return at any
moment to create a sense of urgency in spreading the Gospel and making
disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).
3)
Love one another as believers so the world wants
what gives us hope (John
13:34-35) – Differing interpretations of what will occur in the Last Days
can create divisions in the church. These
divisions revolve around theological opinions over what will happen when Jesus
returns for His bride, the church. The
church must not allow differences over theological interpretations regarding
when Jesus returns for the church to escalate into hatred for one another, causing
the world to see no difference between the church and the secular world (John
13:34-35). Instead of arguing over what
will occur when Christ returns, the Church must unite and focus on bringing as
many people as possible with them when the Lord returns.
The fact is that Jesus is going to return for His bride, the
Church. However, believers must not be
like the disciples who looked up into the sky as Jesus ascended and instead be
diligent in fulfilling the mission of the Church (Acts
1:6-11). Jesus did not ascend to the
Father and send the Holy Spirit for the Church to argue and divide over interpretations
of end times eschatology but instead empowerment to be witnesses pointing
people to Christ so they too can share the glorious hope that comes with being
a believer in Christ. In alignment with
this mission, I want to invite anyone reading this who has not already done so
to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and share the glorious future of eternity
with Christ.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Congratulations and know that you now have justification
with God because your sins, no matter how bad they were, have forgiveness from
God. As John
3:16 reminds us, this means you have a glorious future of eternity with God
with John
3:17 reminding you that you no longer are under God’s condemnation but have
experienced His forgiveness (Romans
10:9-10). I now encourage you to
share the good news with someone by sharing this blog post on social media or
by email. May God bless all reading
this.
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