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| Vol. 14 No. 10 October 2012 | Page 8 |
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| Vol. 14 No. 10 October 2012 | Page 8 |
Tim Childs
God is good (Mark 10:18). Because He is good, it naturally follows that He is found in all of history practicing what is good and right. No exception. Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world, and He did, in fact, “show us the Father” (John 14:8-9). The apostle Peter, a witness among many privileged to see such Light (John 1:9), declared in truth that He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). It is only natural that the Son of God would be caught up in the doing of good. After all, He is “the Son of His Father.” He was God in the flesh.
Being begotten of Him and born of His seed, it follows that we, too, will be found busy in the practice of what is good on a daily basis. By God’s design, we have been redeemed (Titus 2:14), raised up (Ephesians 2:6) to pass “from death unto life” (John 5:24) and positioned within the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:18) in order to practice the doing of good works (Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, the contrast is set by God for His children. We are to be “a pattern of good works” (Titus 2:7), unlike those who are yet children of darkness and remain “unfit for any good work” (Titus 1:16 ESV). “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 John 3:10).
Christians are taught not to be slothful and lazy (Hebrews 6:10-12), but rather to be diligent and “zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). When Jesus, our Savior, gave “himself for us,” He did so with this purpose in view. He has enabled and empowered us now to be “servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).
The Gospel preacher, Titus, was to remind his contemporary brethren “to be ready to every good work” (Titus 3:1). Being ready to every good work, we are equipped and prepared like a first-responder to immediately fill a need when the call comes. We cannot afford to be caught off-guard or flat-footed. Time matters. Because of our identity with the Father and His Son, it is only natural that you and I will be lights in the world and be demonstrating the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).
Shane Conley
There have been many predictions about when the Second Coming will be. Men seem to think they know. Mark 13:32 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” All who have predicted the Second Coming have been proven to be false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22).
When Jesus comes, He will come in several ways. (1) His coming will be visible (Revelation 1:7). All people will see him. (2) He will be heard (1 Thessalonians 4:16). It is said there will be a shout and the trump of God will sound. Even people in their graves will be awakened. That is noisy! (3) He will be coming on the clouds (Matthew 26:64). (4) He will be coming with His angels (Matthew 16:27). Jude 14 calls the angels His “holy ones.” (5) He will also come in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). The fire represents the glory of divinity and God’s ability to scrutinize and judge.
Jesus will be coming for many reasons. Three are very important. (1) He will be coming to raise the dead (John 5:22, 28-29). The dead in Christ shall rise first. What an awesome event that will be! (2) He is coming to judge all men (2 Corinthians 5:10). All men include Noah, Abraham, Rahab and Hitler. It means every single human being that lived or lives on this earth. (3) He will also be coming to bring an end (1 Corinthians 15:23-24). Second Peter 3:10 says that the earth and its elements will melt with fervent heat. There will be nothing remaining to sustain life! It will be the end.
There are different attitudes that people take toward the Second Coming. Some will deny it (2 Peter 3:3ff). There will be those who admit the Second Coming but fail to prepare (Matthew 25:1ff). Also, there will be those who admit it is coming and will prepare. Those people will be saved. Some will love the appearing (2 Timothy 4:8). Then, there will be those who hate the coming (Revelation 6:15-16).
The final day is coming. Those who are prepared will be saved, and those who are not prepared will be lost. We cannot say when that day is coming. Therefore, we must be prepared. One day our lives will end and our opportunity to prepare will be gone. We will be judged according to our preparation.