Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Mat. 24:42
1. Will He come?
As we are getting ready to celebrate the advent season, it is time to ponder about the second coming of Christ. When we think about the return of Jesus, many questions pop up. The first question is, ‘will He come?’ Most of you who are reading this may not have this question in mind, but there are skeptics who say that it has been two thousand years since Jesus promised his return and many generations have come and gone but Jesus doesn’t seem to be coming. The answer is found in the first coming of Jesus. The birth of Jesus Christ was foretold by God through many prophets of the Old Testament. Even though it took thousands of years after the first prophecy (Genesis 3), He did come as it was foretold fulfilling every single detail. Our God keeps his promise, which is evident all through the bible. He has promised that He would come again (John 14:3) and we can rest assured that He will indeed come!
2. When will He come?
The second question is, ‘when will He come back?’ This is not a new question and even the disciples had this question. The answer to this question is found in Matthew 24 and many other places in the scriptures. No one except the Father knows when Christ is coming back. He will come back when we least expect Him. There are many signs given in the scripture about His second coming and we can see many of them being fulfilled. Hence, His coming is near.
3. Are we ready for His coming?
The most important question is, are we ready for His coming? The Jews were eagerly waiting for Messiah, but when He came the first time, most of them were not ready. Similarly, in the parable of the ten virgins, all of them were eagerly waiting for the bridegroom, but only five of them were ready. Let us now examine the question, are we ready for His return. Many of us would say, “Of course, I am ready”. Beware! the Bible says many would be surprised to know that they are not ready to be a part of God’s kingdom.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Mat. 7:21-23
I hope none of us wants to be called an ‘evildoer’ or to be told ‘I never knew you’ (Mat. 7:23). However, it is clear that many will be deceived by the devil to believe that they are on God’s side, whereas in truth, they are not. The greatest weapon the devil uses to deceive people is our character of comparing ourselves with others and feeling we are better than them or we are as good as other Christians. But we must remember that small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it (Mat. 7:14). Thus, we can be sure that if we follow the majority we will be in hell. What do I mean by that? For the world (majority) many things that are actually wrong in God’s sight are not so wrong, and many of us would be doing such thing, not realizing that we are sinning. If we know something is a sin, we can repent and ask for God’s forgiveness. But, what about the sins, which we feel ok to do? We will neither repent nor ask for God’s forgiveness. Thereby, we run a great risk of going to hell! We will see a few of them.
(Note: The speaker may talk about other sins which are generally not considered as a sin in the community where he lives. Following are the three popular sins in India, which are considered ok to do even among Christian circles)
i. Lie: The best example of a sin which we don’t feel bad about is to lie. We don’t feel that we are hurting God when we say I am on my way, but actually, we are yet to start. We are fast to tell a lie to get us out of trouble (Example: I didn’t do this. I don’t know). We don’t feel bad when we file false income tax returns or hide some truths to get some benefits. But God hates liars (Prov. 6:16,17, The Lord detests lying lips,… Prov. 12:22) and the Bible clearly states that liars will go to hell.
…and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Rev. 21:8
ii. Television: David says that ‘I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.’ Psalms 101:3. But most of the programs on television are filled with things that break God’s commandment, which includes violence, alcohol consumption, casual dating, women in inappropriate dress and songs filled with sinful words. When we see such things without a feeling of regret we approve such acts; it is sin in God’s sight. Let us consider a romantic song, most often the man in the song sequence is married to some other woman and the woman in the song will marry some other man. So what are they doing but sin? And if we enjoy seeing such scene; are we not partaking that sin? Hence, be cautious in viewing the television. It can lead you to hell!
iii. Discrimination Based on Caste: (Note: Casteism is peculiar to Indian society. The speaker from other parts of the world may talk about other kinds of discrimination such as race, colour, educational qualification and social status) Casteism has its roots in Hinduism. There are two Sanskrit words ‘Varna’ and ‘Jati’. Varna means colour (colour difference between upper and lower caste), outward appearance, exterior, figure or shape, and Jati means birth. Hinduism divides people into four varnas. They believe that people from different varna originate from the different parts of Brahma (Brahmins - Head, Kshatriyas - Arm, Vaishyas - thighs and Shudras - feet). Those who have done grievous sins in their previous birth are born outside the varna and are considered to be untouchables (schedule caste and tribal people). Varnas are further classified to Jati (means birth) and the various Jati are later named based on their occupation. So if someone tells you Jati is formed based on occupation, don’t believe it. People are divided based on Varna (colour) and Jati (birth) and they were forced to do a particular job and later various Jatis got their name from their occupation.
We are allowed to practice casteism if we worship Brahma and believe in all the things which are said above. But the God whom we worship has asked us to put away the wrong practices of the gentiles and be renewed in His likeness (Eph. 4: 17-24). Our God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:34; Job 34:9). Jesus spent a long time to save one Samaritan woman (Samarians were considered outcasts by Jews). The Good Samaritan in the parable was an outcast Samarian. All this points to one thing, that for God all are equal. God wants us to imitate Him, i.e., I should treat everyone equally. Favoritism is a sin (James 2:1, I Tim. 5:21) and let us not commit this sin.
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. James 2: 9
Conclusion: Jesus will surely return to judge the world. Nobody knows when He will return. The important thing is that we must be ready to meet Him, i.e., we must be a doer of His words. Many would be surprised to know that they are not in the God’s kingdom. So, let us give up all our sins and live a life pleasing to God. But that is not possible with our own strength. Hence, we will depend on God’s strength to live a life free from sin and ask God’s forgiveness for our sins. When we repent and confess our sins, God will surely forgive us and we will be with Him forever.
