We need to ABCD before Jesus comes again, but our salvation is not yet complete. This devotional reading looks at how Jesus’ Second Coming culminates in our salvation.
Nuggets
- Our condition is to die because of our sin.
- We will be judged for sin.
- Christ and the salvation He brought the first time He came delivered us from our sin, but His Second Coming isn’t going to deal with our sin.
- Christ will bring deliverance and happiness to those who are waiting on Him.
I ran across these two verses in Hebrews when I was reading the sermons for the other devotions in this series. It talks about the Second Coming but not really about the nuts and bolts of the Second Coming.
But the writer of Hebrews makes a very good point in these verses that I didn’t want us to miss. Salvation comes in Jesus’ Second Coming.
It takes us a little bit to get to that point, but we need to set the groundwork for it.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the On the Day of the Lord theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the The Second Coming of Christ series
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Phil Weber
Appointed for Man to Die Once
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb. 9: 27-28 ESV)
Our condition is to die because of our sin.
We are all going to die once – unless Jesus comes to rapture His Church. True, we may take care of ourselves and think we “prolong our lives”; but in reality, our days are numbered by God. Nothing we do is going to change that.
Some think of death as a sentence, an extinction. That is understandable if they do not consider all souls are eternal.
But then there are those who go through life without thinking they are going to die one day. They are truly living in the moment.
We will die. There is a life after this.
Jesus came to save us from our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
The whole purpose of the Plan of Salvation was so that Jesus could sacrifice Himself for us. He came to be the substitute for us.
Those souls who have ABCDed will spend eternity in Heaven. Those who haven’t will spend eternity in hell.
We only gain this by dying.
After Comes the Judgment
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9: 27 ESV)
We will be judged for sin.
God created us, so He has authority over us. He has authority to judge us when we sin. Because of His attributes, He is in the best position to judge us.
Sin is against God. He is pure; sin is not, making us impure. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23 ESV).
Judgment is God’s vengeance. “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly” (Deut. 32: 35 ESV).
Still, God has assigned that duty to Jesus. James told us why. He wrote,
“God is to be Judge. But the Father has delegated this awful commission to the Son. It is part of His mediatorial reward, as God-Man, to judge the world. And how fit that He, who to redeem the world assumed human nature, should in that human nature judge the world! How congruous, that He who came to fulfil the covenant of grace, should be Judge of those who have been placed under it!”
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Jones said that judgment is good for the disciples but bad for worldview people. That is corroborated by Sauren.
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We will be judged on the gospel.
But then, aren’t we talking about the Day of the Lord here instead of the Second Coming?
Well, no. If we believe that the Second Coming will be when Jesus raptures the Church, that is a judgment. It is the separation of the sheep from the goats. That is a judgment in and of itself.
Glossary
But sometimes we forget that isn’t going to be the only judgment. All will be judged – but we don’t always remember that. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (II Cor. 5: 10 ESV).
We think being a disciple helps us escape judgment. It doesn’t.
Oh, we like the thought of the condemnation of the ungodly. We just want to make sure we skip the judgment part. We won’t.
I have to process what Liddon said. In Elaine-speak:
- Where we say that death is a consequence of sin, Liddon indicated it is a measure of sin.
- Death is an indication of the severity of sin, rather than a result of sin.
- Sin has infiltrated our very being, ultimately passing on our sinful nature to our children.
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That is logical. Sin, at its root, is disobedience to God. It is hard to think there could be anything worse than that.
That is why it hurts so much to remove sin from our lives. It is deeply imbedded into our very beings.
Sanctification is the process of cutting sin out of our lives.
Will Appear a Second Time but not to Deal with Sin
“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin ...” (Heb. 9: 28 ESV)
Christ and the salvation He brought the first time He came delivered us from our sin, but His Second Coming isn’t going to deal with our sin.
When we read that Christ offered Himself once as the sacrifice, we may think that He took care of sin once and for all. But we know doesn’t mean because we stop sinning.
Christ died once because we die once. Yes, He was giving us regeneration.
More than that, Jesus was giving us life – eternal life.
But our series is on Jesus’ Second Coming. What is going to happen when Jesus comes back?
Well, Jesus isn’t coming back to die again.
Collyer explained why Jesus is coming back. He wrote, “To bring with Him the glorified spirits of His people; to raise their bodies from the grave, and to transform them into the likeness of His own, to give a public manifestation of their adoption, to place them upon His throne; and so shall they ever be with the Lord.”
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But this time Jesus isn’t going to deal with sin. He is going to judge. At the Second Coming, He is going to judge whether we have genuinely ABCDed and navigated the Sanctification Road.
That is why it is important that we don’t wait for salvation.
Liddon said something else interesting. He said that God is letting sin progress naturally because it is the bacterium of death. If we think about it, that is why we must continue in sin after salvation. If we did not die, we would not be allowed in heaven, because sin is not allowed in Heaven.
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If we believe Liddon, sin has an important role in preparing us for eternity. It teaches us discipline and shows us the need for repentance. This strengthens our prayer lives. Moreover, it teaches us voluntary sacrifice.
Walker took it a whole different way. The first time Jesus appeared on earth, He had to take all of our sins upon Himself and take them to the cross.
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Jesus’ Second Coming won’t be dealing with that at all. He is going to be coming in glory.
Save Those Eagerly Waiting for Him
“... but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb. 9: 28 ESV)
Christ will bring salvation to those who are waiting on Him.
What salvation is Jesus bringing with Him? Aren’t we already saved when we ABCD?
Well, yes and no. Remember, there is a past, current, and future aspect to salvation.
We are regenerated upon conversion, so salvation occurred when we ABCDed. But we have to work out our salvation. We have to become more like Jesus. We have to be obedient to Him.
But remember we just talked about our continuing to sin. We are going to do that until we receive our eternal bodies. Then, and only then, we will truly be saved so that we sin no more.
True salvation – eternal life and happiness – will occur at Jesus’ Second Coming.
Disciples are told to watch and wait for Jesus’ Second Coming. We have to prepare ourselves for His return. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt. 25: 13 ESV).
We have to be looking for Christ, not looking for Him to fix everything that is wrong with this world.
Walker gave us a list of what the character of disciples looking for Jesus’ return should be.
- A genuine, unwavering belief that it will happen.
- A fervent hope that it will happen.
- An enduring wait through the trials of life.
- A consistent preparation for it.
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Paul told Timothy how we hope for Jesus’ Second Coming. “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (II Tim. 4: 8 ESV).
We have to love His appearing.
How do we prepare for Jesus’ return? “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8: 23 ESV).
Everyone will see that Jesus, in truth, is the Savior of the world. They will see that no one can be saved except through Him.
We’ve talked before that some who think they are sheep are going to find out that they are goats.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
We have to make sure our relationship with God is where God wants it to be.
Vaughan didn’t pull any punches describing those who look for Jesus’ Second Coming. He wrote,
“There are many who desire the [honor] and happiness which they believe the second advent will bring; but they have not the mind to obey Christ when He comes, for they do not obey Him now. They are proud, envious, self-willed, unloving, unmerciful, and unjust; their Christian creed enters only their heads, while the creed of the world possesses their hearts and rules their lives. To such the day of the Lord will be darkness and not light; it will disappoint their vain hope.”
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We want Jesus to find us regenerated and working out our salvation.
Making the Connections #1
Think about how sad it is going to be. Tom, Sally, and Elaine all attend the same church. Tom is the pastor, teaches Bible study, goes on mission trips, or serves on church committees. He is solid in his faith.
Tom gets raptured.
Sally is searching for God. She thinks she needs Him, but she just hasn’t made the commitment to ABCD.
Sally gets left behind.
Elaine is like Tom. She teaches Bible study, goes on mission trips, or serves on church committees. She looks like she is solid in his faith, but she hasn’t truly submitted her life to God. Hers is just an outward religion.
Elaine gets left behind.
Ooo, baby. What is the day after going to look like? How many of the Church will be left behind?
What kind of witness is that going to give? Are people going to say God is an exacting God, so that only a very few can get in? Or are they really going to admit they weren’t right with God?
Making the Connections #2
Vaughan made a statement that I hadn’t thought about before. Jesus’ Second Coming is going to be in the spirit-world. He wrote,
“The bodily form of Christ, which is a spiritual body, will be only a medium for connecting us more closely with His Spirit. He will flow into us in the measure of our capability of receiving Him; and He will thus put forth in all our hearts the direct power of His own life. Their faith will conjoin them more intimately with His thought; their love will unite them with His heart; and these will cause their characters to fall into perfect harmony with His.”
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In other words, our connecting with Jesus will be in proportion to our faith.
That makes sense that Jesus would come in the spirit-world. If this world is going to keep on spinning without His Church in it, Jesus is going to leave it as it is. He is just going to remove His Church.
To me, that says the non-believer will not see Jesus when He comes for us.
How is that going to look? That is for the UNR book – understanding not relevant.
We don’t have to know if we will just be gone, or if they will see disciples rising to the sky. We just have to strength our faith for His return.
Making the Connections #3
When we die, according to Hawes, we find out there really is a Heaven and really is a hell. We come to realize very quickly whether we will live out eternity in joy or in torment.
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That is why we say we have to prepare. We aren’t going to get a chance to make up our minds about serving God once faith has become sight. That isn’t faith.
How Do We Apply This?
- Set our sights on Heaven and not on the world.
- Be ready for death.
- Repent of our sins.
- Live daily looking for Jesus’ return.
- Be holy as God is.
- Work out our salvation.
- Don’t follow the worldview and bring judgment on ourselves.
- Be careful of those seeming to be religious but who are really hypocrites.
- Depend on God.
- Know God’s laws so we can discern right or wrong in situations.
- Understand we are either guilty or innocent.
- Grow as mature Christians so that we can be counted as perfect.
- Live lives of love, holiness, and godliness.
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What do you think?
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