The Second Coming and Salvation
For the introduction to this series click here
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Here we have a glimpse into the preaching of the apostle. This is also a picture of their conversion.
Acts 17 gives us a summary of Paul’s brief ministry among them:
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
Amen! We see his message – Jesus (who died and rose again) is Christ – and their response – and some of them believed. In 1 Thessalonians 1 we see just what it meant to believe that Jesus is Christ:
ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
There are three distinct yet related matters here.
ye turned to God from idols – believing in Jesus means to turn to God, to turn away from your idols. Obviously, Paul preached that their idols were no gods, that there was only one, living, and true God, and that they needed to turn from, give up the worship of, their idols, and turn to God. This involved repentance, changing the way they thought about God – there are not many, only one; and the ones they were worshiping were not him; and they must give up their former gods. Paul’s invitation was not simply, “If you want eternal life, raise your hand. I see that hand.” No. It was more like, “Jupiter and Diana and Venus and Mars are not gods. Jesus is the Son of God, he was crucified and raised from the dead. Believe in him; turn to the true and living God and turn away from these who are not gods.”
to serve the living and true God – believing in Jesus meant they were to turning to God to serve him. We have made serving God a specialty, that is, something a select few do – pastors serve God; when you work in the church you are serving God. The implication being, there are two classes of Christians, mere believers and those who serve God. But Paul describes the whole of the Christian life as to serve God. If you are a believer in Jesus you are a servant of God. This is what it means to believe in Jesus: previously, you did what you wanted, now, you believe in Jesus, you have decided to follow Jesus, you do what he wants you to do.
And to wait for his Son from heaven – Paul’s gospel evidently included the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and the second coming of Jesus. And he must have warned them of the wrath to come as well. To believe in Jesus means you believe he came and ministered among us, he died, he rose, and he’s coming again. The gospel proclaims another kingdom, and by believing in Jesus we abandon this world and hope for the one to come.
What does this tell us about the second coming?
to wait for his Son from heaven - wait means, ‘to wait for, expect, wait expectantly; basically, expectancy concerning a future event. And what are we waiting for? Jesus, who was raised from the dead. Preaching the second coming is as fundamental to the gospel as the resurrection. “The hope of the second coming of Christ was real and powerful with Paul as it should be with us. He alludes to this hope at the close of each chapter in this Epistle.” (A.T. Robertson)
his Son from heaven - this doesn’t tell us much about the manner of his coming, except that it will be from heaven. He died, was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and from thence he will return. Literally. Personally. Visibly. Come, Lord Jesus!
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come – “It is the historic, crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus Christ, God's Son, who delivers from the coming wrath. He is our Saviour, true to his name Jesus. He is our Rescuer. It is eschatological language, this coming wrath of God for sin. It was Paul's allusion to the day of judgment with Jesus as Judge whom God had raised from the dead that made the Athenians mock and leave him. But Paul did not change his belief or his preaching because of the conduct of the Athenians. He is certain that God's wrath in due time will punish sin. Surely this is a needed lesson for our day. It was coming then and it is coming now.” (A.T. Robertson)
The gospel declares that he who was crucified was raised from the dead, and he who was raised from the dead is coming back. We believe it. This is our hope: Jesus is coming again! And we are waiting. The gospel is incomplete without the second coming. A few years ago I heard a plaintive song by Tim Hughes, which begins, “There must be more than this...” Yes, Mr. Hughes, there is - the King is coming! and we are waiting for him!
Now comes the test - Am I waiting for him? Am I expecting him? Am I waiting with anticipation? This is my hope. This is my politics. Maranatha!
One final note. I find it kind of cool that Paul’s preaching, as described here, so closely fits the Apostolic Faith revealed in the Apostle’s Creed:
“I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who... Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead...”
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment