11. A Practical Message

11

A Practical Message

S ometimes when people discover what they think is a biblical truth, they promote it in a divisive way, as if it makes them better than others who have not discovered this insight. Some readers of Scofield’s reference notes may have done this when promoting pre-Tribulationalism in early twentieth-century prophecy conferences. We do not want readers of this book to do so with post-Tribulationalism. All other biblical principles––such as humility and love––still apply!

Nevertheless, the matter remains practical and important. It shows us that God does not have a complicated chart with a coming here and a coming there and verses that must be split down the middle as to which aspect of the Second Coming they refer to. Rather, Scripture announces one glorious future coming that is our hope, when the kingdom of this world becomes the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.

In their context, nearly all of these second-coming Scriptures bring out the same idea. Most of them do not emphasize, “You will be persecuted. Be ready to lay down your life for Christ.” They do not need to emphasize that point, since it has already been emphasized in many of the passages that invite us to be disciples of Jesus. Moreover, all early Christians outside Jerusalem, whether persecuted or not, recognized that they belonged to a minority group that was often misunderstood and maligned by outsiders. They already understood that following Jesus involves a cost.

Jesus’ Coming Invites Us to Live for Him

These passages about Jesus’ return are less about relief from tribulation in this world than about being ready to stand before the Lord. They emphasize living holy and godly lives, comforting and loving one another in the hardship of this age with the hope of His coming. God has provided for us many blessings in this age, including brothers and sisters in Christ, provision for our needs, often healing and so forth; but we may also need to die for Christ (see Mark 10:29–30). Yet the hope that makes us live godly lives is the hope of His appearing. And that—not a specifically pre-, mid- or post-Trib message—is what the Church most needs to hear.

This message is so central to a biblical understanding of Christ’s coming that it seems to be the main point of most passages about His return. Thus:

Titus 2:12–13 invites us to live in a way that is self-controlled, just and God-fearing, as we await the return of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior.
2 Peter 3:11–14 urges us to live as blameless, God-fearing people consecrated to Him, in light of the present order’s promised passing and the new world coming.
Matthew 24:45–51 warns us to humbly serve our fellow servants rather than to lord it over them, since we will all answer to the one Lord.
Bearing in mind the coming day, we should stay awake spiritually and walk in the light (see Romans 13:12).
Paul expects the Lord to confirm believers blameless to the end (see 1 Corinthians 1:8).
We should live in righteous ways with our bodies because God will raise our bodies and judge us for deeds done in our bodies (see 1 Corinthians 6:13–14; 2 Corinthians 5:10–11).
The day of Christ’s judgment will evaluate and expose whether we have built our deeds on Christ and so determine our reward (see 1 Corinthians 3:11–15; 4:5).
We should live for heavenly rather than earthly values because we await our Lord’s coming from heaven to transform our bodies (see Philippians 3:17–21).
In light of Christ’s public revelation and the promise that we will be revealed with Him in glory, we should put to death wrong earthly desires (see Colossians 3:4–5).
We will be rewarded at Jesus’ coming (see 1 Thessalonians 2:19).
We pray to have hearts that are blameless in holiness in God’s sight at Jesus’ coming with His consecrated ones (see 1 Thessalonians 3:13; the context in 4:3 includes sexual purity as part of blamelessness).
The purpose of the traditional Rapture passage (see 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17) is that we should comfort or encourage one another when believers die (see verse 13); we grieve, but not like those without hope (see verse 18).
On account of the coming Day of the Lord, we must endeavor to remain vigilant, self-controlled and ready in faith, love and salvific hope (see 1 Thessalonians 5:6–8).
Like Timothy, we should observe the Lord’s teaching blamelessly until Jesus’ public appearing (see 1 Timothy 6:14–15).
Paul charges Timothy to preach and teach faithfully in light of Christ’s public appearing, His Kingdom and His judgment of all (see 2 Timothy 4:1–2).
We should endure faithfully to the end, in view of Christ’s promised coming to save believers and destroy those who turn away (see Hebrews 10:35–39).
Many heroes of the faith have suffered for the sake of the promised reward (which includes the New Jerusalem; see Hebrews 11:16, 26); the ultimate example is Jesus, who likewise received reward after He endured suffering (see Hebrews 12:1–4).
We can emulate the commitment of those who have endured torture for their faith, persevering in view of their reward at the coming resurrection (see Hebrews 11:35).
Without holiness (i.e., being set apart for God), no one will see the Lord (see Hebrews 12:14; this implies the need for perseverance in the faith).
We should endure present sufferings because we know the Lord is coming soon (parousia ; see James 5:8).
We must not judge one another, since the true Judge is coming soon and will evaluate us all (see James 5:9 in light of verse 8).
We persevere through testing, bearing in mind our promised end-time salvation and the inheritance now reserved for us in heaven (see 1 Peter 1:4–9) for when Jesus is publicly revealed (see 1 Peter 1:13).
This world is passing, but whoever does God’s will remains forever (see 1 John 2:17).
We must remain in Him so that when He appears publicly at His coming (parousia ) we will not be ashamed before Him (see 1 John 2:28).
We must purify ourselves, because when Jesus publicly appears, we will see Him fully and so be transformed into His likeness; and whoever has this hope purifies himself or herself, just as He is pure (see 1 John 3:2–3).
We should remain alert as we anticipate Jesus’ coming (see Revelation 16:15).
Jesus’ coming brings His reward for our deeds (see Revelation 22:12).

As we can see, Scripture emphasizes over and over that our expectation of the Lord’s return should affect the way we live. We should not live like those who do not have the same hope (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13). The Lord knows that we need food and clothing (see Matthew 6:25, 32) and that we live in this world (see John 17:16–18; 1 Corinthians 5:10). But our interest cannot be in simply collecting things, being entertained, competing with our neighbors or making our work days survivable. We want to invest in what counts eternally so that in whatever spheres we live, we can spend our lives serving the Lord and others, celebrating our hope. This is not a doctrine to debate about so much as an expectation to live by.

Suffering Is a Wake-Up Call

Likewise, believing that Jesus’ followers will experience severe suffering raises an issue for all believers, whatever their end-time views. Following Jesus is more than offering a simple salvation prayer as a fire escape and going on our way. It is more than just going to church. It is more than believing God for the fulfillment of particular desires and even needs in our lives—though God cares about our needs and delights to bless us.

Jesus warned that if we want to be His disciples, we must be ready to give our lives for Him. Many people recognize that there is something higher in life than our own short, individ ual lives. Soldiers prepare to give their lives for their nation, if necessary. Many researchers devote their entire lives to finding cures for diseases. Many such acts of devotion are noble and praiseworthy pursuits.

But what could deserve our loyalty more than our Lord who sacrificed His own life to give us eternal life? And if we truly recognize that we have eternal life in Him, we will not hesitate to devote our lives for His honor—for something that will count forever . Whether we discover cures in His name, or care for the needy in His name, or work for justice or clean toilets or whatever we do, let us do it with eternity in mind (see Colossians 3:17).

Being disciples of Jesus means living for Him, not for ourselves. Such a devotion affects our career and other life-setting choices, our daily decisions and what we do with our money and our time. Those who live for Christ can die for Christ; those who are prepared to die for Christ can also live their lives with Christ in focus.

Too often we North American Christians live for ourselves. Too often we pray only for what God can do for us and our immediate families, even though Jesus taught us to pray first for the coming of God’s Kingdom (see Matthew 6:9–10, 31–33). Ours is not a completely new problem. The apostle Paul lamented that he had no one like Timothy, because others sought after their own interests rather than those of Christ (see Philippians 2:20–21; cf. Mark 8:33).

God does lavish His love on us, but we need to remember His love in hard times as well as happy ones. Like a caring parent, He prepares us for reality and matures us by letting us face some hardships, with His help. The best way for us to prepare for future tribulation is by being faithful in the smaller tests we face now.

We should live not for ourselves but instead for the One who died and rose on our behalf (see 2 Corinthians 5:15). Thus, like Paul, we can spend and be spent for others (see 2 Corinthians 12:15) rather than for ourselves alone. In some generations Christians understood that ideal, and they sacrificed for the Kingdom, sowing the Gospel in many parts of the world where it is now bearing abundant fruit. In more recent times, however, we Christians in North America have often been lulled into complacency, trusting the world’s value of seeking just personal interests. We have bought into a consumer Christianity that is far from the call of the cross.

How should we live in light of the Tribulation? The reality of any tribulation reminds us that the world is not just an amusement park. Reminders about being ready to suffer for Christ are valuable for complacent Western Christians who have plenty; Paul offered his converts such reminders (see Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:12).

But biblically, living in light of tribulation is less central than living in light of eternity (see, e.g., Romans 12:2; 13:11; 1 Corinthians 2:9–10; 2 Corinthians 5:15–17; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:18–19). The only thing that will count when Jesus comes back is what we have done for Him and His purposes in the world (1 Corinthians 3:11–15). We should make our life decisions and, insofar as possible, our daily decisions with a view to what they will look like a hundred, a thousand or a million trillion years from now—not considering so much what feels good now as what will count forever.

Are we like Christ’s followers in Revelation 12:11, living wholeheartedly for God, ready to lay down our lives for Him? If we are not, let’s pray to be like them.

Perseverance Is Necessary

Scripture makes it clear repeatedly that Jesus’ true followers must persevere to the end. Christians with various theological perspectives recognize this. Calvinists contend that those who do not persevere were never truly saved to begin with. Arminians contend that people can be truly converted yet fall away and be lost. Yet both agree that those who do not persevere to the end will not be saved.

What does it mean to persevere? In the context of salvation, it means that we continue to be followers of Jesus. It does not mean that we become sinless or perfect. It does mean that we continue to recognize Jesus as the true Lord and Savior. If we convert to an incompatible religion or renounce our faith to evade persecution, we turn away from Jesus. Jesus said that He will confess as His own before the Father whoever confesses Him before others, and deny those who deny Him (see Matthew 10:32–33; Luke 12:8–9; Revelation 3:5). There is forgiveness even for deniers who truly repent, such as Peter (see Mark 14:68–72; 16:7; Luke 24:34)––ultimately they persevere. But in any case, we cannot truly renounce Jesus and continue to follow Him while doing so. He is the only means of salvation.

Pointers for Overcoming and Enduring

Whether we call it the Great Tribulation or not and whether we will go through the Great Tribulation or not, we as believers need to be ready to face tribulation. Hardships will come on individuals and on societies, as they always have. The Bible does not envision any period, past or future, in which great faith can exempt God’s children from all hardship.

Because times of hardship will come your way, here are some pointers to bear in mind:

1. Be sure you are saved—that is, that you will get to spend forever with God. This gift of eternal life is for the asking because Jesus provided it for us by His death and resurrection. We cannot make ourselves good enough for Him on our own. The good news is that Jesus made the way for us to come to Him, at great cost to Himself. We can therefore confidently entrust our eternal destiny to God on the basis of what Jesus did for us. He promises to welcome all of us who entrust our eternal future to Him.

2. Be consistent. Act like you really believe that Christ has saved you from sin. Being saved means that you have changed sides: You have joined God’s side and belong to Him. Therefore you want to obey this true King and live for His purposes in the world—why in the end would anyone want to live for anything else? God’s plan is what really lasts forever—unlike the things that most of the world lives for.

3. Remember that you are God’s child. All of those who belong to Christ are God’s own children. When you sense God’s assurance that you are His child and that He loves you, you can know that He Himself is speaking to you (see Romans 5:5; 8:16). Stand by faith whatever the moment’s feelings.

4. Determine to stay loyal to God when you are tested. Following Jesus means being a disciple who will stay loyal to Him under pressure. True, Jesus’ first disciples did not reach that level of loyalty overnight. But that means that we should grow in loyalty by practicing it even now, even in the small things. Remember how Daniel and his friends showed loyalty to God by refusing the king’s food long before they were tested with the fiery furnace or lion’s den.

5. Pray for yourself and for others. This can include praying biblical psalms that pray for protection or deliverance from enemies. We do not need to wait till trouble comes to begin praying those psalms or other scriptural prayers for perseverance—not least of which is, “Lead us not into testing but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

6. Consider what it genuinely means to live in victory. We need to redefine victory and overcoming , taking into account the fact that no one can take from you what no longer belongs to you, including your life. Having embraced Jesus as Savior, you have given up ownership of your life in this age to receive life forever in the age to come (see Mark 8:35–38). The book of Revelation illustrates the nature of true victory. Here the saints overcome not through physical conquest but rather through martyrdom. From the world’s standpoint, we are being overcome (see Revelation 11:7; 13:7). We need to instead adopt God’s standpoint, which is that those who are faithful will overcome (see Revelation 2:11; 3:12; 12:11; 15:2; 21:7).

As faithful witnesses for Christ, we can trust Him to make our lives count for eternity. We should witness in life whenever we can, and by death when we need to. Our lives count as sacrifices before the Lord, as prayers that God hears and on account of which He will move history toward its future climax (see Revelation 6:9–11; 8:4–6; 15:1–8).

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