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In Romans 10 Paul lays out how salvation is open to all, Jew and Gentile. He writes:
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” – Romans 10:4-5
What he is saying is now it is not about works or how closely to a “T” you follow the law. But that it is through God’s gift of grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is really that simple, and yet a hard step for some of us.
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9
Christ is the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14), through faith in Him you will be saved. It is the only “works” that God requires for eternal salvation.
So we are all anxiously awaiting the Lord return for His Church. I know I am, but what are we to do with all this anxiousness and anxiety while we wait faithfully and patiently (besides cracking our knuckles, tapping our pencil, or clicking our pen cap, my wife hates that). The Lord was very specific and Peter gave some very interesting words about what we should be doing while we wait. And wait really isn’t the right word, we are supposed to be busy doing the Lord’s will.
In 2 Peter 3:12, Peter drops a subtle hint that we can impact the timing of God’s plan and that should be our goal.
2 Peter 3:11-12
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! (emphasis added)
We are not just to be looking for His return. That is important, but we are to be hastening the coming!
Can we really do that?
Yes, we know that God has a specific number of gentiles that must be brought to Christ before Christ’s return. We can certainly help by spreading the Gospel. Not only should we live it but we need to get aggressive about spreading God’s wonderful promise. Especially now as things are looking bleaker and bleaker, what better time for Good News!
Pastor JD and Ryan both have good discussions of this topic below, JD in this weeks Aloha prophecy update and Ryan from an article posted on RaptureReady.com.
Where are you Church? Are you reading this? Are you as ready as I to go home? If you are anything like me, you have been waiting a LONG time for Christ to return. We have been standing in the train terminal with our bags packed, peering down the tracks for the faintest glimmer of light, testing the ground for that particular tremor and waiting for the sound of that Glorious Call. We watch for Feasts. We watch for the planets and stars to be in the right positions and the right color. We watch for those things while we hold our breath: “Is this it? Is it going to be tonight? Maybe while I sleep tonight? Will I wake up to Glory…or just wake up?”.
And yet, here…we…are – still standing in the train station checking our watches. Is the train late? We don’t know. He gave us some indications of when to expect him and we see those indications all around us, but still no train Home.
Truth is, there is something lacking that we, and I include myself here, seem to be overlooking. The one thing He said would hasten His arrival. We are waiting on some passengers to arrive at the station. We cannot expect to go until there are enough of us to fill the train to capacity. So instead of looking at all the things that are swirling around us, things we can all see are pointing to His return. I make the following proposal.
I want to form an “army” of sorts. A kind of Army of God. Please hear me out – I can hear the rustlings in your mind thinking this smacks of the Crusades of the Middle Ages, but I don’t mean exactly that. I am tired of waiting. It is time we start DOING!
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If you’re not certain you’re saved, here is what you should do, right now:
Acknowledge that you have sinned against a holy God and ask for forgiveness (even if you don’t feel you deserve it) (Rom. 3:23). Genuinely feel the pain of your sin and be willing to turn from it (repent) (Acts 3:19).
Believe in your heart and mind that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross for you (John 3:1-18) in your place, and was raised back to life. There is no one else you can turn to (John 14:6): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Confess that you are trusting Jesus as your personal Savior. Since Jesus is alive, you can talk to him. This is called prayer. So talk to him right now, in your own words, accept his invitation to know him.
It’s simple faith through grace, the kind of faith a little child would have.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
Welcome brother or sister in Christ! This is just the start of the journey, we are called to live in this world but not be of this world. Begin studying God’s word (the Bible) daily to give you the strength and wisdom to live this calling out. There are many sites like this that can help you as well.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -- Ephesians 2:8-10
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