Do I Long for Christ’s Coming?
2 Tim.2:7-8
Richard Tow 8/14/16
In 2 Tim. 4:7 Paul was approaching the end of his life. He has been imprisoned by Nero and knows that he will be executed.1 He writes in verse 7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”2
The Greek word translated “appearing” is epiphaneia.3 We get our English word epiphany from it. Do you love the coming, the future manifestation of the Lord of Glory? As I read Paul’s words in 2 Tim. 4:8, I asked myself that question. Frankly, it stirred some concern in my heart. I believe in the second coming of Christ. No question about that. I preach the second coming of Christ. But do I love His appearing? Is this something that captures my thoughts and affections?4 Do I yearn for the day of His appearing? The NIV says “longed for.” Am I longing for the Lord’s coming?
As I talk about the coming of the Lord this morning, I am including the rapture, the resurrection of the just, the wedding of the Lamb, and the return of Christ to set up His throne on the earth. I’m not limiting my comments to any one piece of all that. My purpose is to address the attitude of my own heart toward those events and hopefully stir your love for His coming.
Years ago the Church talked a lot more about the coming of the Lord than it does today. Today more time is spent on techniques for succeeding in this life. That’s not necessarily wrong; but are we neglecting something extremely important? There are over 2,000 references to Christ’s second coming in the Bible (1845 in the OT and 318 in the NT). For every prophecy on the first coming, there are eight on the second coming.5 Those verses are power-packed messages of hope and encouragement to the believer. Aren’t you glad the Bible tells us how this will all end? And the good news is, in the end, we win!
What kind of person loves His appearing?
1. A person CONFIDENT in his relationship with the Lord.
Notice the assurance Paul exhibits as he comes to the last days of his life. He is not hoping he will, in the end, be saved. He is not apprehensive about his death. He knows exactly where he stands. He refers to the Lord as “the righteous Judge” and fully expects to be crowned with His approval. Where does this confidence come from? First, it comes from His faith in what Christ has done for him—faith in the sacrifice of Calvary. Paul is not depending upon his own righteousness when he stands before the Judgement Seat of Christ. In Phil. 3:9 he specifically says that he wants to “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” There is no way we can have the confidence Paul shows in our text if we are trying to gain God’s favor by our own works. Our faith must solidly rest upon the cross. Our faith must be in the sacrifice Jesus made of Himself in our behalf.
In His first coming, Jesus came to put away sin. He has done that for us. Therefore, by faith we can stand righteous before God and rightly expect His blessings. But Paul’s faith was also lived out in practical, everyday obedience to the Lord. He allowed the grace of God to work change in his life. In Titus 2:11-14 he writes, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
The grace of God teaches us (1) how we’re to deal with the world (2) how we’re to live (3) what our orientation in life should be. First we’re taught to deny ungodliness (which is simply leaving God out) and worldly lusts (which included all the greed, immorality, and selfishness) of the world. Second, we are to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” We are not to be intoxicated with the things of this world. We are not to be drunk with wine wherein excess that leads to debauchery. Instead we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.6 We’re to be sober-minded, thinking straight. We are to live righteously in our relationships with other people. Love our neighbor as ourselves. Do justly and love mercy. We are to live godly. Stay in touch with the Lord. Include Him in everything we do. Abide in Christ and draw your strength from that relationship.
Central to our theme this morning, is the orientation of our life described in verse 13, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. G. Campbell Morgan was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London in the early 1900’s. He wrote, “To me the second coming is the perpetual light of the path which makes the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that, maybe before the morning breaks, the final morning may have dawned! I never begin my work without thinking that, perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own. This is now His word to all believing souls, ‘till He come.’”7 I certainly can’t say that about myself. At the very least, I should dwell more on the subject. Oh, to live in passionate anticipation of His coming! I’m not there yet; but I see the benefit of it. Notice how Paul integrates this orientation in thinking with a godly life. It is the backbone of the verse. He talks about denying worldly lusts and ungodliness. He talks about living soberly, righteously, and godly.
Then comes the kind of thinking that produces that kind of life: “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Then he completes the thought in verse 14 “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Godly living depends on godly thinking—thinking that has God at the center of everything. The Apostle John talked about the resurrection of the just. Then in 1 John 3:3 he added, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” It doesn’t say “should” purify himself (which is implied). But the hope itself has a purifying effect on our lives. If we are living in expectation of His coming, we are motivated to live pure. There is this connection between “looking for His appearing” and godly living and the kind of confidence Paul exhibits. Living in expectation of His coming inspires godliness; and godliness inspires a longing for His return; godliness inspires confidence before the Lord.8 People who love His appearing are confident in their relationship with the Lord. They rely on His sacrifice in their behalf. They understand the grace of God as the foundation of their righteousness and the empowerment for daily obedience. What kind of person loves His appearing?
2. A person FREE from the love of the world.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” We are in this world. We have to function in this present world. Jesus did not pray that we would be taken out of it; but that the Father would keep us from its evil.9 Our citizenship is in heaven.10 We consider ourselves strangers and pilgrims in this present world. We do not embrace the world’s values. We do not embrace the world’s goals. We live for the day we can hear our Lord say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The world will never understand us; and by God’s grace we will not become overly attached to anything this world had to offer.
One of the old songs we sang years ago goes like this, “This world is not my home; I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beacon me through heavens open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.”11 Do you feel at home in this world? I hope not. I hope there is something deep inside of you that knows you’re destined to better things--something that causes you to long for the really valuable things of God’s kingdom. There is a greater reality awaiting you and me. We are now preparing for it.
Listen to Peter’s take on all this. 2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” When you’re living for the world to come, you live different than if you only connect with the temporal. If you’re looking “for new heavens and a new earth” then you don’t get so caught up in the vanities of this life. Remember Lot’s wife. The angels literally dragged her out of harm’s way. Yet her heart was ultimately in Sodom. She just could not or would not turn loose of the things of this world. In contrast to her, Hebrews 11 describes people who lived and “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Have you come to that confession?
Do you see yourself as simply a pilgrim passing through this temporal world on your way to better things? Heb. 11:14 “For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you. And the Holy Spirit is at work preparing you for that place.12 What kind of person loves His appearing? Or as Phil. 3:20 “eagerly waits” for the Savior?
3. A person PREPARED for His coming.
We do not like people to come to our home when we’re unprepared for them. If the house is a mess, we don’t want them to see it that way. If we have not washed and combed our hair, we are not eagerly waiting for them. We may even be adverse to them coming. A little six-year-old girl was busy working in her bedroom. She was carefully putting things away in their place. The guest in the home said something about how nice and neat her room was with everything put in order. Her sweet, innocent reply was, “Yes, I am putting these things up, for Jesus might come today!”13 She was staying prepared for that possibility.
In our text, Paul was prepared for his departure into the life to come. He lived prepared for the coming of the Lord. He eagerly awaited the event because he was ready. He knew that the day of the Lord meant commendation, not condemnation.14 He knew that glory awaited him because he lived ready for the moment. John the Apostle wrote, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
John was talking to Christians when he said that (1 John 2:28). He then added: ”If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” It is the practice of righteousness in our daily lives that prepares us for His coming. And when we know we are ready, we long for His appearing Ten virgins were awaiting the call of the bridegroom in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25. All were looking for his coming. Five were diligent enough to stay prepared. Prepared people love His appearing. What kind of person loves His appearing?
4. A person FOCUSED on His coming.
Heb. 9:28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” KJV “looking for” Him. There is a sense of anticipation and expectation in those words. In the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper we are taught to look back on Jesus’ first coming “in remembrance” of what He has done for us. He came the first time to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sin. At the cross He dealt with the one thing that would keep us from a loving God forever—that thing is sin or disobedience. In His first coming He has reconciled us to God. He has given us right standing so that we can enjoy God’s presence forever.
At the communion table we remember what He has already done in His first coming. But we also look forward to His second coming. So we partake of the cup and wine in anticipation of that great day when we shall be with Him face to face. We do this “till He comes.” 1 Cor. 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” The early Christians would greet one another with the Aramaic word, Maranatha, which means “the Lord comes.” They lived in daily hope and expectation of His return. They used the greeting as a reminder to one another.15 Perhaps the hardships and persecution made them more aware of that day. Maybe the rejection from society as a whole directed more of their attention to the coming of the Lord. I don’t know. The many verses in Scripture on the subject tell us it was on their minds.
“What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promise Land What a day, glorious day that will be.”16 I want to be the kind of person who loves His appearing. I want to eagerly wait for His coming. I want the confidence I see in Paul as he talks about the crown of righteousness awaiting him. I want the freedom from the cares of this life and the love of the world that could rob me of that passion for His coming. I want to be prepared for that day. And I want to stay focused on Jesus. Did you ever sing the hymn, “O I Want to See Him”? The first verse says, “As I journey thro’ the land singing as I go, Pointing souls to Calvary to the crimson flow, Many arrows pierce my soul, from without within, But my Lord leads me on, thro’ Him I must win.” The chorus rings with passion for His Coming, “O I want to see Him, look upon His face. There to sing forever of His saving grace. On the streets of Glory, let me lift my voice, Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.”17 It’s not just about escapism from the challenges of this life. It’s about fulfillment and completion of the process. It’s about connecting with the One we love most. To love His appearing you must love Him. There is a direct relationship between our love for Christ and our love for His appearing.
The coming of the Lord: (1) Ushers us into full intimacy with Christ as His Bride. 1 Thess. 4:17-18 “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
The coming of the Lord: (2) Marks the end of our trials and struggles.
Rom. 8 tells us the whole world groans, awaiting the liberation that will come at the end. And even we as God’s children groan, “eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (verse 23). As long as we are in these mortal bodies there will be imperfections; there will be struggles and some hardships. But one day all that will be past. “When we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be.” When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”18 Well, God wants us to sing and shout the victory in the now, but it will come pretty easy when we see Jesus. Amen? An early mention of the resurrection and the coming of the Lord is found in Job 19:25-27.
There in the strain of all his sufferings; Job caught a revelation of something profound. “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”19 Yearning for our full redemption, we eagerly wait for His coming. The coming of the Lord: (3) Brings us into our reward. Paul said a crown of righteousness awaited him—and all those who love His appearing. “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ, One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase, so bravely run the race till we see Christ.”20
An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years; and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President's entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man. As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, "This is not right." "We have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one cares a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody is celebrating him.
When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President's arrival. No one noticed the missionary couple.
They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East Side. They were planning to spend the next day look for a way to make a living in the city. That night the man's spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly". His wife replied, "Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?"
A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?" "The Lord settled it with me", he said. "I told Him how hurt I was that no one met us when we returned home from the field. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said; "But you're not home yet."21
May the Lord fill your heart with an eager expectation of His coming!
Invitation
NOTES:
1 Imprisonment by Nero cannot be established with certainty; but this, his second imprisonment, was probably under Nero. James L. Beall, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, J. W. Hayford, ex. Editor, introduction to 2 Timothy (Thomas Nelson, 2002) p. 1709.
2 All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
3 NT:2015 Strong’s. Although epiphaneia in this text could refer to Christ’s first coming, Vincent shows it as a reference to the second coming is more consistent with other NT passages such as Phil. 3:20 and Heb. 9:28. 2 Tim 4:8 (from Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
4 Col. 3:1-2
5 Paul Lee Tan, “Repeated Promises of Coming,” Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publisher, 1985) p. 1239
6 Eph. 5:18
7 Walter B. Knight, Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations, 9th printing (Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Publishing, 1979) pp. 602-603.
8 1 John 2:28-29 “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
9 John 17:15
10 Phil 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
11 Carter Family Lyrics, retrieved 8/12/16 at http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-cant-feel-at-home-in-this-world-anymore-lyrics-carter-family.html.
12 John 14:2-3; Romans 8:29
13 Walter B. Knight, p. 607.
14 Romans 8:1
15 W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelations, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978) p. 117. It is difficult to know exactly how Paul is using the word in 1 Cor. 16:22 since it is simply a Greek transliteration the Aramaic word.
16 James Hill, “What a Day That Will Be,” Hymns of Glorious Praise (Gospel Publishing House, 1969) p. 252
17 R. H. Cornelius, “O I Want to See Him,” Hymns of Glorious Praise (Gospel Publishing House, 1969) pp. 155-156.
18 E. E. Hewitt, “When We All Get to Heaven,” Hymns of Glorious Praise, P. 150
19 Also see Rev. 21:2-6
20 E. K. Rusthoi, “When We See Christ,” Hymns of Glorious Praise (Gospel Publishing House, 1969) p. 313.
21 Adapted from author unknown, “43rd—Not Home Yet,” retrieved 8/12/16 from http://www.godswork.org/emailmessage43.htm.
