In the recent Word for the Week, I admonished us to prepare to keep the faith during the great tribulation preceding the rapture. I also reminded us that Christians who practice lawlessness will neither enter the kingdom of God nor go to heaven. This week, God wants to remind us that Jesus is coming only for those who are waiting – eagerly – for Him.
The Bible says, “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). This verse simply means that when Jesus returns, He will not judge or damn to eternal punishment those who will be eagerly waiting Him, but rather grant them eternal redemption. Since we all want to receive eternal redemption – to live forever with God – we must discover what it means to “eagerly wait for Him”.
In Titus 2:12-13, we are told that as we look for the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously and godly. That is what it means to eagerly wait for Jesus. We must not be dirtied by sin. We should be found clean, like a bride prepared for her husband on the wedding day.
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3). There it is again: those who are sincerely hoping (waiting) to see Jesus will purify themselves from sin; they will deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, living soberly, righteously and godly.
For many years, with the help of hyper-grace preachers, I twisted the Scripture which says: “Pursue . . . holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14) to suit the hyper-grace message. Seen in the light of other passages, that Scripture means exactly what it says: without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). That means that if we are to see and be taken into the kingdom of God to live with Him forever, our lives must be found pure.
Therefore, my sisters and brothers, let us eagerly wait for our Savior Jesus Christ by living godly lives. When faced with temptations, remember that “God . . . will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). However, in the event that you sin and God convicts you, instead of feeling condemned, confess your sin and receive forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
God bless you.