Whenever we discuss the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, people react in several different ways. Some people become scared. Some people start to hoard food and supplies. Some people sell everything and sit down and wait. If we truly believe that the Lord could return at any moment, then one of the most important reactions we should have is to step up and intensify our efforts to share the Gospel of salvation through Christ alone to the lost people around us. Our passion for sharing the Good News with others should be motivated by two factors. Those two factors are the love of God and God’s punishment of unrepentant sinners.
Remember, we are all sinners. But, in spite of that, God loves us. This fact is even evident in Revelation, the book devoted to God’s punishment of sin. We find, in Revelation 5, God sitting on His heavenly throne holding a book closed and held tightly shut with seven seals. Since no one else is found worthy to open the book, Jesus steps forward and takes it. One of the elders near the Apostle John tells him, “The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the Book.” (Rev. 5:5) When Jesus takes the book, all the “Elders and Living Creatures” fall at Jesus’ feet and utter forth one of the spectacular songs of the ages. They sing, “Worthy art Thou to take the book and break its seals. For Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the Earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)
There you have it. That is the Gospel of Christ in a nutshell! We often attempt to make salvation so complicated, but here is Christ’s redemptive work on the cross gloriously and simply summarized. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar. You don’t have to be a member of a “mega-church”. You don’t have to be a priest or pastor in a denomination big or small. You don’t even have to be a great orator. All you have to do is remember this: With His blood shed on the cross of Calvary’s hill, Jesus Christ purchased freedom from sin for all those who will receive Him as Savior and Lord of their lives, and made them sons and daughters of God!
It is that simple. Paul tells us in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God Himself took the initiative. God risked our rejection of Him in order to restore our relationship and our fellowship with Him. God reached out to us in His great love, to offer us eternal life before we even cared a lick about Him or the salvation He offers. That fact alone should motivate us beyond belief to share His love with others, simply out of gratitude for what He has done for us. God still loves others who do not know Him, just as He loved us before we came to know Him.
Not only should the love of God for sinners motivate us to do everything possible to bring the Gospel to them, but knowing what the future has in store for unrepentant sinners should also highly motivate us to share the Good News with them. In Revelation 9:18-20, John talks about a future time when one third of mankind is killed by fire, smoke, and brimstone! Yet, he continues and tells us, “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands!”
John later tells us that at the “White Throne Judgment”, anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is thrown into the Lake of Fire! (Rev. 20:15) Whether you believe that to be a physical place, a spiritual place, or something else, I believe that to be a minor detail and will not argue or debate the point. Because the real point is this: no matter what the Lake of Fire actually is, it is not a place I want to go to or experience and I don’t believe you would like it either. For we are told that it is a place of intense punishment for sin and complete separation from God and all others for all eternity.
So, while we are waiting for our Lord to return, each and every Christian is to be occupied with sharing the Gospel of salvation through Christ alone with as many people as possible, so that they too may have the opportunity to make the decision, to accept Christ, or sadly, to reject Him for themselves. We need to tell everyone that they too need to be rescued from eternal damnation and can become citizens of God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom. We need to tell them that the Lord can come back at any moment to call us all to stand before Him.
My opinion, and it is okay if you disagree with me, is that time is relatively short before the return of Christ. I believe this because one of the signs that Christ’s return is close is that Satan’s activities will become bolder and more frequent. Jesus describes Satan as “a liar and a murderer.” Jesus actually calls Satan “the Father of lies.” (John 8:44) So, as we look closely at Satan’s activities in the end times, we can expect to, and do, see him engaged in murder and deceit.
Throughout scripture, and especially in the Book of Revelation, God unmasks Satan’s lies and tells us what to look out for. God says we need to be on the lookout for:
So, in order to stand against his attacks, we must remember that Satan is a master of deception. As long as we live in this world on Earth, Satan can, and will, try to take us down. The Good News is that, through Christ, we have the power to resist Satan and his temptations. But it is a growth process and we must learn about our enemy and discover how to overcome him. We can get discouraged at times, but we can eliminate those times if we will remember just a few points as we continue in our battle with Satan:
On the cross, Jesus shouted in a voice of victory, “Tetelestai!” “It is done!” “The debt has been paid!” Jesus completed our salvation by paying our sin-debt to God the Father. He has provided everything we need to live victorious lives, and according to scripture, we are already “seated in the heavenly places in Christ!” (Ephesians 1:3) James tells us, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you!” (James 4:7)
Therefore, we must humble ourselves before God, for we are no match for Satan on our own. But with God on our side, who can defeat us? The Lord has given us the armor and the weapon, His Word, to defeat the enemy. All we need do is rely on Christ to do what He says He will do. Trust in what He has already done. Have faith that His promises are true. In a word, “Believe!”
Do you believe? If so, go out and tell somebody. No, go out and tell everybody! Amen.