Hebrews 9:26-28: .…now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (ERV)
2 Timothy 4:8 Now, a prize is waiting for me….Yes, he will give it to me and to everyone else who is eagerly looking forward to his coming. (ERV)
We live in an evil world that is being reserved for destruction by fire (2ndPeter 3:7). Jesus Christ came to save us from this evil world so that we should not perish with the world. (Galatians 1:4)
After paying the ultimate sacrifice for our sin, Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven. He promised to come back one day to take His faithful saints, those who wash themselves in His blood and keep themselves pure. An expectant waiting of the return of Christ is often referred to as our blessed hope. Christ Himself is the hope of every believer (Colossians 1:27) and His return is what we long for.
This Christian hope we speak about is a crucial aspect of biblical salvation. Where there is a deficient teaching of biblical hope, people believe a watered-down gospel that is focused only on this life. At salvation, we did not believe for the fun of it, we believed in Christ because there is a hope of salvation at His second coming. 1 Corinthians 15:19: And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. (NLT)
To be a true disciple of Christ is to deny ourselves from things the world enjoys and live for our Savior Jesus Christ. If there was no hope of Him coming back one day, living holy lives would be a pointless endeavor. This hope is what makes us pure. We keep ourselves pure because we are waiting for Him to come back for us one day. 1 John 3:2-3: Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. (NLT)
Without eagerly expecting the return of Christ, we become careless and live like the world. True biblical hope enables us to cast off every work of darkness and make ourselves ready for that glorious day. Romans 13:11-12: This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So, remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. (NLT)
PRAYER: Lord, give me the grace to always remember that you will come one day to take me to heaven. Help me to keep myself pure as I eagerly wait for that blessed day in Jesus name. Amen.