By Robert Olsen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
What About the Future?
Matthew 24:36–51
Be Reminded (36–41)
Every few years it seems there is someone who predicts the date of Christ’s return and yet they are always wrong. Should we be surprised at this? No. The Bible is clear that no one knows the date of Christ’s return except for the Father Himself.
The key for Christians is not to focus on the date of Christ’s return but to be prepared for when He does return.
If we knew the exact date of Christ’s return we may become tempted to be lazy in our pursuit of sanctification.
We may decide to live a life of selfishness and then get prepared when Christ was set to return.
I have heard many young people say they are not willing to follow Jesus yet, but they will get serious about “religion” later. They want to live a life of selfish indulgence, putting themselves and their wishes above those of God and they expect they will live long enough to change later in life, after they get married and have kids.
There are two problems with this attitude. First if you are not willing to follow Jesus now, what makes you think you will follow Him later in life? Second you may not live long enough to make a decision later.
Be Alert (42–44)
Not knowing the day and hour of Christ’s return helps us to focus on the important thing — striving to live a godly life through the help of the Holy Spirit and telling other people about Christ. The key is being prepared for Christ’s return, not knowing the time of it.
Many people throughout history have focused on Jesus’ day of return and foolishly made preparations for it by getting rid of their property and belongings. Since Christ did not return, they were left having to go back and trying to acquire their things.
Furthermore people banking on the return of Christ at a specific time often are disillusioned when they realize they were led astray.
Instead we need to focus on Christ and the gospel with the confidence that He will return rather than waiting for the return and becoming idle.
Be Faithful (45–47)
What should Christians do in preparation for the Lord’s return? Christians need to follow the great commandment — “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).
Since God loves people, we show love to God when we love people. Christians cannot be picky about whom they love — we are to love all types of people from every ethnic background and every nation.
Be Warned (48–51)
The consequences for rejecting Christ are disastrous — an eternal separation from God.
God loves us and sent His only Son to die for us but God also is a God of justice. Anyone who dies apart from Christ still has to answer for his sin. Without the perfect sacrifice of Christ which atones for our sins, one is left with his own works of righteousness, which amount to no more than filthy rags.
The Book of Romans makes it clear that the wages of sin is death but God offers a remedy for sin in Christ.
This demonstrates the importance for Christians to tell others about Jesus, but also it shows the need for people to accept Christ as their Savior so they do not face eternal separation from God.
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