I Believe in Jesus… Coming Again
If you had to guess, how much would you think the New Testament talks about Jesus’ second coming? Would it surprise you to know that the second coming is alluded to about once in every thirteen verses in the New Testament, and once in every ten verses in the Epistles? With this evidence before us, can we overstate the importance of the truth that He will come again? Hardly! Christ’s return is so clearly stated in the Bible that it is an article of faith among Christians who take their Bibles seriously.[1]
There is significant disagreement among Christians as to the timing of Jesus’ return. We will not address those here for two reasons. First, those issues have been exhaustively addressed by those invested in the discussion. Second, the bottom line is that Jesus will return. He was very clear on that. So our responsibility is to be prepared when He comes.
But what does that mean for us today while we wait for Him? First, we need to be careful not to become what Michael Bird calls “end-time maniacs.”[2] Don’t be so focused on end-times, watching for signs, or trying to determine dates, etc., that we forget to live as Christ-followers in the present world.
We must remember that while the Bible exhorts us to prepare for Jesus to come again, it also reminds us that we should be just as focused on how we live today. We must learn to “say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:12).
We must “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And…run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
This life is all the time we have to hear and respond to the gospel. This life is also all the time we have to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ as their Savior. Once we die, or Jesus comes again, it will be far too late. Our eternity will be set.
“Be ready,” said the Savior to his disciples, “for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). How does one get and stay ready? By keeping short accounts with God and men; by taking life a day at a time, as Jesus told us to do (Matthew 6:24); and by heeding the advice of Bishop Ken’s hymn, “Live each day as if thy last.”[3]
[1] C. Donald Cole, All You Need to Believe (Foundations of the Faith) (Moody Publishers, Kindle Edition), p. 102.
[2] Michael F. Bird, What Christians Ought to Believe (Zondervan Academic, Kindle Edition), p. 171.
[3] J.I. Packer, Affirming the Apostles’ Creed (Crossway, Kindle Edition), p. 109.
