The Second Coming of Christ

What Christ Will Do at the Second Coming Message by Pastor Adeniyi. Scripture: Hebrews 9:27–28    Topic: End Times / Return of Christ Series: And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. So Christ Also Notice the structure of this sentence. "Inasmuch as it is appointed unto men . . . (28) So Christ also . . ." The comparison is made between something we do, die and later come into judgment, and something Christ does, die and later come to save from judgment. There is a parallel between our experience and Christ's. For every decisive experience that you have (like dying and facing God in judgment), the Son of God has a corresponding experience. Only Christ's experiences are not merely alongside ours and like them. His have an impact on ours. His death and our death are not parallel. His utterly transforms ours. Our arrival at the judgment and his arrival at the judgment are not parallel. His rescues us. In other words, the parallel between our life and Christ's life is designed to show how utterly dependent on him we are at every point of our lives, and how great he is. He is the strong saving one and we are the weak and desperate ones. So it's not accurate to say merely that we run the race and he runs the race . . . just as we will cross the river, so he will cross the river; just as we will face the dragon, he will face the dragon. No, it's not like that. It's like this. We have to cross the river, yes. And he did too. But he died crossing the river to build a bridge for us to cross the river. And we have to face the dragon at the end, yes. And he will face it too. Only he will save us from the fiery breath of the dragon and bring us into the joy of eternal life. So the point of these two verses is to get us to think of the big issues of our lives, like death and judgment, and then to help us see that Christ has gone before us in these experiences. And that his experience of them is so powerful that when we have to walk through death and judgment, those experiences will be radically different because of Christ. The point here is to magnify Christ, and by that magnificence to unleash confident and courageous Christians in the world for his glory. Christ purchased. This is what Christ bought in his death. In other words Christ died to bear our sin and to free us from condemnation, and the application of this is the asbestos shield he gives us in the "fury of fire which will consume the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27; see 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10). This is exactly what Paul said in Romans 5:9-10, Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. It's the past death of God's Son for us that guarantees his future salvation of us from the wrath of God at the judgment. Now finally, the utterly crucial personal question: who are the "many" in verse 28a? "Having been offered once to bear the sins of many . . ." And for whom is he bringing salvation at his second coming? The answer is given at the end of verse 28. He is coming for those "who eagerly await him." Faith That is Eager for Him to Come... If you ask right now, and you should, What must I do so that I may know that my sins are taken away by the blood of Christ, and that, when he comes, he will shield me from the wrath of God and bring me into eternal life . . . if you ask that right now, the answer is this: trust Christ in a way that makes you eager for him to come. He is coming to save those who are "eagerly waiting for him." So how do you get ready? How do you experience the forgiveness of God in Christ and prepare to meet him? By trusting him in a way that makes you eager for him to come. This eager expectation for Christ is simply a sign that we love him and believe in him authentically. There is a phony faith that wants only escape from hell, but has no desire for Christ. That does not save. And it does not produces an eager expectation for Christ to come. It would rather that Christ not come for as long as possible so that it can have as much of this world as possible. But the faith that really holds on to Christ as treasure and hope and joy is the faith that makes us long for Christ to come, and that is the faith that saves. So I urge you, turn from the world and from sin and to Christ. Take him not just as your fire insurance policy, but as your eagerly awaited bridegroom and friend and Lord.