Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Jesus’ Coming -1 and 2 Galatians 4:4-7 & 2 Peter 3:3-15

Alex Bainton 13th December, 2020

Last Tuesday, Cheryl and I watched a program on the ABC about different people’s past memorable experiences of Christmas, and it was very interesting to see what Christmas meant to them.

The general public is still aware, I think, that Christmas is connected with the Babe of Bethlehem; but I wonder how many know why Jesus came, and that he will come again?

His first and second coming is the subject of today’s Bible readings from Paul and Peter, so let’s think about them.

Why was Jesus born? Firstly, because God sent him. “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son…” Gal. 4:4

And so, his birth was no accident, but had been planned and prepared for by God. Indeed God had prepared for this for centuries by preparing a people, the Jewish nation, into which he would be born.

“But when the time had fully come God sent forth his Son…” In other words when the time was just right in God’s timing, Jesus was born. When God saw that the law had taught the Jews all it could; when God saw that they were ready for maturity, he “sent forth his Son.”

He came in the normal way, for he was “born of woman”; but in his case his conception was unique. His mother Mary had been told, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

But why did God send forth his Son? Paul says here for two main reasons:

to redeem and

to adopt.

Let’s hear again Paul’s words: “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

And so let’s think a bit about this.

Jesus who was born of woman, was also “born under the law”. In other words, he was born into a Jewish family into a Jewish nation, ands subject to the law of God. And so he was circumcised on the 8th day and presented in the Temple; and in his 12th year he was made a son of the law in the same temple and was expected to keep the law - and he did. On earth he lived the only life of sinless obedience to the law which has ever been lived. And he came to redeem those who were under the law.

Now to redeem was to set free by the payment of a price; a slave in those days could be freed by the payment of a price. And God’s Son was sent to free us from a religion of rules and regulations for a relationship with God in which we have the full status of grown-up sons and daughters who call him,

“Abba, Father - Dad!”

The price Jesus paid to redeem us was his own life laid down when he was crucified for our law-breaking. He “died for our sins”, since the penalty for disobedience to God’s law was death.

And so, if someone says to you, ‘I’m not really religious’, you might say ‘I’m not really into religion either, but I’m into a relationship with God through faith in his Son Jesus.’

Jesus came to free us from a religion of rules and regulations, from superstition and fear, for the freedom of a relationship with God as grown up sons and daughters who call him “Father”, who know his love, who love him, and who live by the Spirit.

That relationship is the primary one, the most important one, the one that really determines our life.

And so, perhaps we could ask ourselves: ‘How would I describe my relationship with God?’

Putting it simply and starkly,

‘is God primarily my Boss, or my Dad?’

‘Do I see myself primarily as his servant, or as his son or daughter?’

‘Have I come to church because of a rule, or because of a relationship with God?’

‘ Is worship a chore, or a celebration?’

The answers we give to these sort of questions may reveal whether or not we have really entered into the purposes for which Jesus came.

Reading on:

“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”

When the Spirit gets right into us, we find ourselves talking to God as our Father , as his beloved son or daughter.

And Paul says, “so through God” - that is, this is God’s doing,God’s grace -

“So through God you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son then an heir.”

You’ve got an inheritance! In fact, we are “joint-heirs with Christ.” Rom. 8:17

And so let’s keep our freedom! - the freedom of not having to earn or work for a relationship with God, for God in his grace has set us free by his Son.

Our salvation rests upon the finished work of Christ, on his sin-bearing, curse-bearing death, embraced by faith. We have put our trust in Jesus Christ and him crucified for our acceptance with God.

Let’s continue then to trust in Jesus who has brought us into the full status we enjoy as grown-up sons and daughters of God.

Now the Jesus who came the first time to redeem and adopt, will come a second time; and that’s the subject of our other reading for today from Peter. So to this we now turn.

We could summarise Peter’s teaching here in two words:

promise and practice.

The promise of Christ’s second coming, and the practice of this belief in our life.

Firstly the promise.

Let’s take his words to his disciples on his last night with them. “In my Father’s house are many rooms (dwelling places)….I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself…”

And in some of his parables Jesus spoke of his coming again. He said things like - “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him….” Matt 25:31

Now in this letter of Peter, we hear the following teaching. “First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4

In other words, there will be people who will ridicule the belief of Jesus’ second coming and say it will never happen but that the world will go on forever as it is.

Peter counteracts that outlook by reminding them that by God’s word there was once a flood that deluged the world in the past. God did step in then and act in judgement.

“By the same word,” Peter says, “the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2Peter 3:7

God stepped in, in the past; and He will step in again.

And so, let’s take Jesus at his word, and believe He will keep it by appearing a second time.

But if the coming of the Lord seems slow to us, there are two things that are helpful to know.

Firstly, time is different to God than to us. Peter tells us,

“But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness….” 2 Peter 3: 8,9

The time since Jesus was raised up till now is just like a long weekend to the Lord! But even to us, if we are having a really good time, time seems “to fly”!

Secondly, there is an important reason why God is delaying the second coming of Jesus - “the Lord is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

In other words, God is giving people time to turn to him and believe in his Son, to receive his salvation.

Jesus came the first time to redeem and adopt, and God wants people to

receive this salvation, to know the grace of our Lord Jesus.

It is his mercy that the hasn’t come back yet.

We have received his mercy, but he wants a bigger family, he wants others to

“reach repentance” and to know his mercy.

And then, Peter, quoting Jesus,says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.”

To whom will it come “like a thief”?

To those sleeping, not awake - not awake to God; those who are scoffers; those living without thought of God or Jesus or his coming. For such it will be a big surprise - like a burglar catching out a sleeping householder!

Now Peter goes on to tell us “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10

And so, this old world will one day go, “but according to his promise” says Peter, “we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13

God’s plan is to put everything right that is wrong with this world. And therefore the new world will only be inhabited by what is right in his sight. And that means people who are right in his sight.

And we have heard how God in his love, grace, and mercy, has sent his Son so that we can be right in his sight through faith in Jesus who died for us and was raised.

We have thought about the promise of his coming again, so let’s now think about the practice - the practice of this belief in our lives.

Peter here tells us three things that believing Christ’s second coming will mean for us:

we wait for it;

we hasten it;

and we prepare for it.

He says “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” 2Peter 3:11-12

“waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God”.

We know what it is to wait for things - we wait for, say a holiday, or the opening of a state lock-down(!) or for a medical report, or for a relative to come and visit.

To wait for the Lord’s coming is to expect it, to include it in our outlook, to have it as a perspective that brings us hope.

And this calls for patience, as James tells us in his letter: “Be patient, therefore brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7-8

So, we wait for the coming of the day of God. But Peter also says,

“hastening” it. How could we do that?

Jesus told his disciples “the gospel…is to be preached to all the nations and then the end will come.” Matt 24:14

And so, the church can “hasten” the coming of the day of God by going on making the gospel known.

John, in the Revelation, writes that he saw in his vision of the future: “a great multitude which no man could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…. and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb!” Rev 7:9-10

And believing in the Lord Jesus Christ’s coming again also means we prepare for it.

Let’s listen to how Peter puts it. In the prospect of his coming he says:

“what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness…”

2 Peter 3:11.

What’s a holy and godly life? In short, it’s a life lived with Jesus, a God-centred life, lived-in response to his love, grace and mercy to us in Jesus.

And Peter unpacks it a bit further when he says “Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

In other words, be keen to live a clean life and in harmony with others.

But what if I feel weak?

What if I stumble in my Christian walk?

Jesus is a perfect Friend! He is a patient kind and tender Saviour who picks us up again. He doesn’t wash is hands of us or write us off.

Brothers and sisters, as believers in Jesus we live between his first and second coming. And so we experience a certain tension between what we are and what we are going to be.

Our spirit is now alive, but our body is not saved; it is still a mortal body.

But one day he is going to save your body as well as your soul.

I don’t think there’s any other religion that offers you that; but our Christian faith does.

I read now about this from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Philippians 3:20,21

And so, one day you and I are going to have a new body, and it will be free from disease, free from tiredness, free from grey hairs!

It will be a new immortal body.

And says Paul, in Romans, “For in this hope we were saved.” Rom 8:24.

By “hope” is meant ‘confident expectation.’

When we came to the Lord Jesus and put our trust in him as our Saviour we were given the hope of one day being like Jesus, including having a glorious body.

“For in this hope we were saved.”

Paul goes on to add, “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Rom. 8:24,25

Let us pray

Gracious God, you have visited your people

and redeemed us in your Son:

as we prepare to celebrate his birth,

prepare our hearts for his coming again

and keep us steadfast in this hope,

that we may be ready for the coming of his kingdom;

for his sake, who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.