ChosenRebel's Blog

Thursday is for Discipleship

Thesis: Spiritual formation that leaves out the second coming of Christ and its implications is non-Pauline and unhelpful for both the formation of Christians and the progression of mission.

When we share the gospel and do not impress upon new converts, very early on, that Jesus is coming again and that we ought to live every day within that joyful expectation for Christians and that fearful reality for those who have not believed, we warp their development in Christ and hinder the on going mission of the church.

How I became convinced of this: Reading the book of Acts 17-18 as the backdrop to preaching through 1 Thessalonians and coming to the conclusion that after spending less than a month at Thessalonica, Paul writes his first letter to the Christians there as follow up to their nascent faith. In every chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul refers to the second coming of Christ, not as new teaching, but as teaching he shared with them when he was with them, just 1-3 months before when he first announced the gospel to their ears.

There is power for personal growth and mission in impressing upon young believers that Christ is “coming again to judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1) . If you are dead when Jesus comes, you will be judged. If you are alive when Jesus comes, you will be judged. There is no escaping Jesus as judge.

Question:  How significant in your discipleship process is the teaching that Christ is coming again and that we ought to live today as if Christ might come today, everyday?