THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Father of grace and glory, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, the living Word, speak to us we pray, the Word of truth in Holy Scripture by the power of Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth; that, by Your grace and power, we may live upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us; in whose holy name we pray. Amen.

THE ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE:

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever! Amen.

THE SERMON

Well, it is Christmas Eve. Are you ready? No, I don’t mean for Christmas Day. I mean, are you ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He shall come again with glory and power to judge the living and the dead?

It may seem quite strange that this morning’s service should be focused on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Usually, on Christmas Eve, we have our hearts and minds focused on His birth in Bethlehem — the angels, the shepherds, and "the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay." Tonight, we shall turn our hearts toward Bethlehem in our traditional Christmas Eve services. But this morning we are observing the fourth Sunday in the season of Advent, and throughout this season we have been focusing on the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" If "Jesus is the reason for the season," then it is very important for us to know who He really is. And that question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" cannot be adequately, correctly answered apart from His "glorious appearing" in the future, His coming again with power and glory to judge the living and the dead. Are you ready?

The passage from Titus 2 connects His first coming — His birth in Bethlehem — and His second coming at the Last Judgment. Titus 2:11 says that "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." That refers to the first coming of Jesus Christ, His lowly birth and His humble life on earth. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared, in the world, to the world, to all men; that is to say, to all humankind, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, to people of all classes, all nations, of every tribe and tongue. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" [John 3:16]. This is the "Christmas grace" to which Titus 2:11 is referring when it says that the "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared... ."But then in verse 13, there is the great affirmation of "the blessed hope," the "glorious appearing of our great God and Savior," at His second, or Final Advent, at the Last Day, the Day of Judgment.

And so, we cannot really and truly and rightly celebrate His birth if we are not also eagerly awaiting His glorious appearing: for the baby born in Bethlehem grew up to live a sinless life, and to die a substitutionary, saving death on a cross for all who receive Him and honor Him as their Savior and Lord. And He, the Son of God, in human flesh, conquered death and rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven, where now He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and rules over the world. The world belongs to Him. World history is under His control. He is working out His redemptive purposes, throughout all the world, conquering His enemies by His grace and by His wrath; and He is shepherding His people, and saving His people, and working all things together for the good of His people, and accomplishing all things according to the counsel of His will. And when His purposes for this world are fulfilled, when every enemy has been made a footstool for His feet, that Day shall come when He shall come again with glory and power to Judge the living and the dead, to bring history to its grand consummation to the glory of God the Father. And so, you see, Christmas is about not only something that happened two-thousand years ago in history, but Christmas is also about what lies ahead of us in the future at the end of history, when the Baby born in Bethlehem comes again to judge the living and the dead.

But I want to pause right here to assure you that this sermon is not about and has nothing to do with predictions or speculations about when Christ will come again: of that day and hour, no one knows (Matthew 24:36). But it is precisely because no one knows the day and hour of Christ’s glorious appearing that Jesus Himself warns us to be ready. Jesus said, "Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matthew 25:13 NKJV). And so the Second Coming should not be approached in terms of fantasy or fiction, or speculation or prediction, but with care and seriousness about what the Scriptures clearly teach.

The New Testament is filled with the hope of and the eager longing for Christ’s "glorious appearing." It is safe to say that the New Testament is as much about Jesus’ Second Coming in glory and power as it is about His life, death, and resurrection. The pages of the New Testament pulsate with the blessed hope, and the cry of the New Testament is "Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!" [I Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 22:20]. And so, if there’s any question in your mind, be well-assured that the doctrine of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a Biblical doctrine, a thoroughly historic doctrine of true Christianity, affirmed clearly by the Church through all ages, and expressed in the historic creeds of worldwide Christianity such as the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the confessions of the Reformation. The contemporary Brief Statement of Faith of our Presbyterian Church (USA) affirms that, "...we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’" So, the Second Coming is no strange doctrine peculiar only to certain groups or denominations; it is "the blessed hope" of all who sincerely love the Lord Jesus.

So, then, although we do not know when the Lord Jesus will come again with power and glory to judge the living and the dead, we do know that it is a certainty clearly revealed in Scripture. After His resurrection from the dead, as He was ascending into heaven, angels appeared to the apostles and said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come again back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). First Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that "the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God ... ." The Scripture is very clear that His coming will be personal, visible, and audible — it will be public, not secret — and there will be no question as to the identity of the King and Judge. Jesus Christ will be revealed in the fullness of His glory and power. The last time the world saw Him, He was dying on a cross as a condemned and worthless criminal. But when He comes again, every eye shall see Him as King of kings and Lord of lords and Judge of all the earth.

And be assured of this: it does not matter whether Christ shall come in two years or in two-thousand years, for you shall see Him in His glorious appearing and you shall stand before His judgment throne. To say it another way: it is not necessary for Jesus to come again within our earthly lifetime in order for us to experience and to witness His glorious appearing. Whether He comes again in two years or two-thousand years, we will experience and witness His "glorious appearing." For, when He comes, says the Scripture, "the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, (those) who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (First Thessalonians 4:16-17). Now, the imagery in that verse, of being caught up in the clouds and meeting the Lord in the air, is based on what took place in the Greco-Roman world when a dignitary visited a city, or when an army returned victorious to a city. The citizens would go out to meet the victorious king, and accompany him back into the city as a way of welcoming and celebrating his arrival. So, the picture is that of Jesus Christ, the victorious King, descending from heaven, the trumpet of God sounding, the dead in Christ rising, and those who are still alive being caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord and then to accompany Him as He descends to the earth, bringing His heavenly kingdom.

But not only His believers will be raised from the dead, but also unbelievers — the unrighteous — will be raised to stand before His judgment throne. Jesus said, referring to Himself, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32). In the book of The Revelation, the apostle John tells us,

I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. ...And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. ... The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done (Revelation 20:11-13).

The baby born in Bethlehem is the Man whom God has appointed to judge the world in righteousness on the Last Day, (Acts 17:31), the One through whom God will judge the secrets of men (Romans 2:16), the One before whose eyes all things are uncovered and laid bare, before whose holy judgment seat we must all appear and to whom we must all give account (Hebrews 4:13; Second Corinthians 5:10), the One who will banish sin and evil from His New Creation, and who will cast the devil and his angels and the lost into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). History will be brought to its grand conclusion, and the perfect justice of God will be done and will be publicly revealed, the victory of God over evil will be complete, and the whole creation will be redeemed to be the dwelling place of God with His people, free from sin, sorrow, and death, for ever!

Yes, I know that it is hard for us to imagine or conceive what it will be like, what it will look like, how it will really take place, when the dead in Christ rise and those who are still alive are caught up in the air to meet the Lord. And it is hard for us to imagine what it will be like for every person who ever lived to stand before the judgment seat of Christ — including those whose bodies have completely decayed, or whose bodies were burned or torn apart by beasts, or dismembered by persecution or war. But let us not limit the infinite power of God by the finite limits of our minds. The resurrection of the dead on the last day will be no more difficult for our God than the Creation of the universe by the power of His Word. He who knit you together in your mother’s womb is able to raise you up out of the dust of the earth. And He will do so. He will come again with power and glory, and the dead will be raised — both the saved and the lost.

And so, you see, whether Jesus Christ comes again in two months, or two years, or two-thousand years, it is a day, it is The Day, which each one of us --- you and I --- will see. It is the Day appointed by God Himself. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory to judge the living and the dead is The Day that is more certain than in other day which may (or may not) lie in your future. You may not live through this day. You may not see Christmas Day 2000. But you will see the Day of His glorious appearing, and you will see Him when He comes in power and glory and you will stand before Him. And so that Day in the unknown future presses its reality upon us even now today in the present. And, so you see, in a sense, because of its certainty ... because of its certainty, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is more near to us than is tomorrow. Are you ready?

The certainty of the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory to judge the living and the dead should awaken unbelievers and hypocrites to their terrible peril. Second Thessalonians 1:7 and following declares that the Lord Jesus will be

...revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

Revelation 20:15 reveals the verdict of the Last Judgment on unbelievers saying, "If anyone’s name was not written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." And Jesus Himself, the Man who was the baby born in Bethlehem, meek and mild, warned those who neither love Him nor serve Him truly that He would say to them on the Day of Judgment, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).

And so, as the Scripture also says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ..." (Hebrews 3:8, 15; Psalm 95:8); "...now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation" (2^nd Corinthians 6:2). Flee from the wrath to come: "...believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved!" (Acts 16:31). And to believe on Him, or to believe in Him, means to place your life in His hands and under His Lordship. Those who truly believe in Him are those who know that they have been redeemed from their sins by His blood, rescued from Satan by His power, and raised up from death even now to live for His glory forever. And so Titus 2:11-15 teaches us that we who believe in Him are to

... say, "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

You see this passage makes clear that it is not those who merely say they believe who will rejoice when Christ comes, but only those whose lives bear the fruit of true and saving faith — not with perfect lives but with lives which show forth continual repentance of sin, continual turning away from the desires of the sinful nature, and continual turning toward Jesus Christ in faith and love, seeking to honor and obey Him; lives which show that we are not ashamed of the Savior, and not ashamed to suffer for His sake; lives which show forth the love of God and the love of neighbor for the sake of His glory. The certainty of His Second Coming should stir us who profess His name to greater works of love and faith, for we serve Him whose kingdom is everlasting, and our labor in the Lord is not in vain, and Jesus said that it will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing His will when He comes (Matthew 25:46).

And yes, for those who love the Lord Jesus, for those who trust in Him and live for His glory and long for His appearing, His appearing will indeed be glorious, and it will be glorious for us. For by His omnipotent power He will "transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21), and our mortal bodies will put on immortality and our perishable bodies will put on the imperishable (First Corinthians 15:53). We will enter into the fullness of redemption and salvation, even the redemption of our bodies as well as our souls. And He, the righteous Judge, in His grace, will award to us the "crown of righteousness" — not of our righteousness, but the crown of His righteousness. For though we must stand before Him in judgment, our sins will be covered by His blood, and we will wear the white robe of His holiness, having been washed in the blood of the Lamb. For He gave Himself for us, to redeem us and to purify us. For those who love the Lord Jesus, He will come as the Judge who has already suffered the judgment against our sins, and so our Judge will be our Savior and we will praise Him all the more for His grace and mercy when it is publicly revealed what He has done for us to save us, to redeem us and purify us!

And though we are unworthy servants, yet, in His grace and mercy, He will say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23 NKJV). We will hear Him say, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34 NKJV). Yes, even though we are unworthy servants, He will come for us and will bring His reward with Him. And we shall be changed, delivered from this body of death and decay; for when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (First John 3:2). And we will be with the Lord forever.

"Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again!"

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!