So 1 John chapter 2, and please
go with me to verse 28. And now, little children, abide
in him. that when he shall appear we
may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous,
ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. Amen. May God bless to us this
short reading. The theme of our thoughts this
morning is that we reflect upon the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But I want to just preface those
thoughts by reminding us that we do right and we do well to
frequently be dwelling much upon the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is his sacrifice that is our
richness in this world. It is his suffering that is our
deliverance from our sin. His blood is our redemption. And we must resolve never to
understate or undervalue what God has imbued with the highest
worth upon the face of this earth. the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ ought
often to be thought of, reflected upon, considered, and learned
from. The death of our Saviour, the
blood of God's Son, is all our righteousness. Without it, we
are helpless, we are hopeless, and we are condemned to eternal
misery. But with it, we are blessed. We are full of hope and we are
privileged to possess the promises of eternal salvation and peace
with God. And this is where I am going
today with my thoughts. It is by this atonement that
we have been reconciled to God. It is by this shed blood that
we are accepted in the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ, God's
beloved Son. It is by that atonement that
we are assured of everlasting life and eternal glory. So this
is the foundation, this is the ground upon which we stand. the
death, the shed blood and the atoning work of the Lord Jesus
Christ on behalf of his church and his people. We stand upon
that ground and yet we stand and we look forward. We stand upon that ground and
we anticipate all of those good gifts and promises, all of those
mercies and wondrous truths that the psalmist spoke of, all of
those great and glorious things that the Apostle Paul took and
carried with him in his ministry journeys to the men and women
of his days and which gospel churches and gospel ministers
declare faithfully to the men and women of all our ages. These great truths of redemption
by the blood of Jesus Christ come to us with special privileges
and promises and John would have us remember these privileges
and promises as we meet together and as we reflect together upon
his writing and this little epistle. We are assured that we are accepted
because of Christ's blood. We are assured that we have everlasting
life because of Christ's blood. We are assured that we have eternal
glory because of Christ's blood. And John would have us consider
today, and if God the Holy Spirit will kindly guide us today, we
shall consider all of these blessings or some of these blessings that
the Lord Jesus Christ has won for us by the shedding of his
blood. And here surely is one of the
principal ones, that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for
us. when he shall appear, writes
John to his audience, to his general congregation, to his
readership. And I've got three points and
a short application that I want to make in the context of John's
writing to us in these verses. The first one is this. He writes,
when he shall appear, there's an assumption in John's words. It's not an if he shall appear,
it is when he shall appear. And this has been a delight of
the church in every age. From those earliest apostolic
days, we have had this promise granted to us that the Lord Jesus
Christ is coming back. The Lord Jesus Christ shall appear
again. He shall come in his glory and
it's not a case of if, but when he comes. It is a rich and precious
and glorious promise that every generation of the church has
looked forward to. And multitudes have lived and
died holding this promise of the soon appearance of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And we live today as the latest
generation in this unfolding purpose of God's Grace to his
people to receive that promise of Christ's soon return. He shall
appear. We have this sure and certain
word from the lips of the Saviour himself. I will come again. The Lord Jesus Christ who died,
the Lord Jesus Christ who was buried and rose again, who ascended
into glory, declares, I will come again. And John says, when
he shall appear. So he encourages us to look forward
to the soon appearing of Christ. You know, John describes himself
as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And I feel that that sentiment
was mutual. John loved his friend, Jesus. And Jesus loved his friend, John. John loved his Lord. And how
John's heart must have ached when Jesus told his disciples
that he was going to be leaving them, that he was going to be
killed, and that they would be left alone in this world. John chapter 13 and verse 33.
We're told there, this is John, of course, who is recounting
this, so it's John's gospel, and it is John himself who tells
us this in his gospel, using that little phrase again, little
children, this time from the words of the Lord. He says, little
children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek
me, and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot come. So now I say to you, John, that
young man at the time, probably the youngest of Jesus' disciples
at the time, he loved his friend Jesus. Jesus loved him and now
Jesus was saying to him, I'm going away and you can't come
with me. So in John chapter 14, verses
1 to 3, we're told that Jesus, realising the heart that was
in his disciple's heart, John no less, let not your heart be
troubled, he says. You believe in God, believe also
in me. I go to prepare a place for you.
I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I
am, there you may be also. And as John watched the history
of the Lord Jesus Christ's death and resurrection unfold, when
John saw Jesus arrested by those religious leaders, tried and
convicted by a corrupt judge, tortured and crucified by Roman
soldiers, As John stood by the cross of Jesus with Mary, Jesus'
mother, and was eyewitness to Jesus' suffering there on the
cross, as John was there at Gethsemane and at Calvary, we see that John
was at first hand a witness to all that Jesus suffered and endured. we learn something else also
from John's Gospel and his account of Jesus' suffering. And it is
this, that John was the first disciple at the tomb on that
resurrection morning. That John was present on the
Mount of Olives when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into glory. that John was present there when
the angels declared, this same Jesus, as you have seen go into
heaven, will come again, will return again. As you have seen
him go, so you will see him come again. And for more than 50 years,
John had kept that saying in his heart, never losing sight
of the fact that Jesus declared, I am coming back. I will come
again. And it thrilled John. It thrilled
him. This one whom Jesus loved, this
one who loved Jesus. It thrilled him to know that
the one that he had lost that day, not on the cross, not in
the burial tomb, but in ascending into heaven was going to come
again. John believed Jesus was coming
back and he would have us believe it too and eagerly anticipate
it also. He uses this little phrase, when
he shall appear twice actually, he uses it twice in this short
book of his first epistle. He says it here at the end of
chapter two and he says it in chapter three, verse two. So
it's to the front of his thinking and we'll come to that passage
another day. We'll remember too that John
wrote the Revelation, the book of Revelation, it's the Revelation
of Jesus Christ, but the Revelation of John as is often said. But he wrote in Revelation at
the very start and at the very end of the imminent coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in chapter 1 verse 7,
Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him,
and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. And then in chapter 22 verse
20, He writes, he which testifieth these things saith, surely I
come quickly. Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus. So here's my first point and
it's simple. John tells us that Jesus is coming back and that
he shall appear. And here's what he tells us about
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that when the
Lord Jesus Christ comes, we shall have confidence and have no shame. In Christ and in his returning,
we will be confident and have no shame. You know, I've said
many times as we've been working our way through these first couple
of chapters of this little epistle, that John's direction is to comfort,
encourage and assure the Lord's people. And he is telling us
here that we will have confidence, boldness. assurance if you like,
and that we will have no shame when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. We often speak about being in
Christ, that little phrase in Christ, it has a spiritual meaning,
it has a theological meaning. The Apostle Paul uses it scores
of times, in Christ. Let me give you a couple of examples
just to show the point. In Romans 8, verse 1, we read,
So when John is speaking to us here, and when he is saying, abide
in him, that when he shall appear we
shall have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his
coming. He is recognising that there
is a union that we have in Christ. that the other apostles also
speak about. Being in Christ, abiding in Christ
is what John has in view here and there is no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 15
and 22, just to give another example, For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. That is not saying
that everyone is going to be made alive in Christ, but it
is saying that everyone who is in Christ shall be made alive. In Christ there is no condemnation.
In Christ there is life and liberty. There is redemption. Ephesians 2, verse 10 says, for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. And again, we
can see this doctrinal point being made, the spiritual application
of being in Christ Jesus. We are created in Christ Jesus,
says the apostle to the Ephesians, unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. we serve God in
Christ. So being in Christ is a divine
appointment, whereby at God's choice, certain sinners are viewed
by the Father as united in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
and under the protection of the Lord Jesus Christ, benefiting
from his merits, sharing in his accomplishments. This is our
union with Christ. This is what it means to be in
Christ. There is no condemnation. we
are united to him, we shall have life by him and in him and we
walk and serve him as we are united to him. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 2
Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and he describes that
union that we have with Christ in these terms. He says, unto
the church of God which is at Corinth, listen, to them that
are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, sanctified,
set apart, united to him, and brought into an experience of
grace and a relationship with him. This is our union in Christ.
This is our covenant union by which all the blessings and benefits
which the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished as the one who died
upon the cross for his people flow to his people, flow to his
body as he is the head so we are the body and we are in Christ
and recipients in Christ of all the blessings of God. And John
is writing to us and mentioning these things to confirm and to
reassure and to stir up the joy that we have as Christ's little
children, knowing that we are possessors of all the blessings
in Christ, which flow to his church and people, and that this
one is coming back for us. He is coming for us who believe
and trust in Him, who abide in Him. This is the confidence that
we have. It is a trust. It is a boldness. It is an assurance. It is a solid
footing and ground for hope that the Lord's people can have and
lay hold upon Based upon the promises of God to us and the
word of Christ, I will come again. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns,
he will do so as judge. Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter
4 verse 1, The Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing. I will come again. And John says,
when he shall appear, he shall appear as the judge of the living
and the dead. But John is telling us something
amazing here. He is telling us that when we
stand before Christ at his returning, as he comes to judge the living
and the dead, we shall stand before him with confidence, with
a holy boldness, because our faith will have been vindicated. All that we have trusted for
the promises of Christ will be shown to be self-evidently true. All that we have ever stood for,
all that we have ever believed in will be shown to be self-evidently
true. And there will be on that day
those unbelievers Matthew calls it the division of the sheep
from the goats. Sinners, self-righteous, rebels,
opposers of God, and they will cower in fear of judgment and
hell. But we shall not be ashamed. No sin shall shame us on that
day. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
in all of his holiness, in all of his glory, in all of his role
and capacity as judge will not be ashamed of us on that day. God knows we are often very ashamed
of ourselves, but on that day when he comes, When he comes
as judge, when he wraps up this world, when he ushers us into
that eternal judgment throne, when he comes in the clouds and
we stand before him on that day, all our sins will be evidently
gone and forgotten. More. Amazingly, the Word of
God tells us that a search will be made A search will be made
in heaven and upon earth for those sins and they will not
be found. That is the ground of our confidence. That is the ground of our hope.
That is the ground of our assurance that there is no sin because
our precious Saviour has taken it all away. Jeremiah chapter
50 verse 20 says, In those days and in that time, saith the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall
be none, and the sins of Judah and they shall not be found.
for I will pardon them whom I reserve. That sanctified people, that
people that are in Christ, that people that have been called,
elected, set apart in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be bold,
they will be in that day confident because all their sins will be
manifestly and evidently no more. I, even I, am he that blotteth
out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember
thy sins. Here's my third point, and we're
moving through quickly. We are righteous in Christ. Being in Christ means that we
are righteous, and that's what this last verse tells us here
today. Christ is coming. And when he
comes, we will be confident and we will not be ashamed. Why?
Because we are righteous in him. This 29th verse. or this verse that is before
us here. Verse 29, if you know that he
is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born
of him. It's kind of like a Swiss army
knife of a verse, a multi-tool, if you like, because it is multifunctional. What he's saying here, and let
me point out, is that that little word that begins the verse, if,
it's not a conditional if. It's not saying, if ye know,
as if you might or you might not. The meaning of that word
is seeing that ye know. Seeing that ye know he is righteous. ye know that every one that doeth
righteousness is born of him. And John is telling us here,
because you know that Christ is righteous, now that's what
believers know. Do you remember we were talking
about this last week? We were talking about what is
and who is antichrist. John told us, and again we referred
to it last week, in John chapter 20 verse 31, but these are written
that he might believe that Jesus, that is Jesus of Nazareth, is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing he might have
life through his name. That's what it is to know. That's
what it is, seeing. ye know that he is righteous,
seeing you know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, is the
Son of God, then you also know that everyone that doeth righteousness
is born of him. Now believers know that righteousness
is not possible by doing right things. God's law has taught
us that. We're not standing on works righteousness. We know what true righteousness
is. We know that the Bible says clearly
that there is none righteous, no not one. True righteousness
is divine righteousness, God's righteousness. It is the righteousness
that is Christ's alone. And it's that righteousness,
divine righteousness, that comes to needy sinners, that comes
to those who in themselves are totally depraved, fallen creatures,
but they are justified and made righteous by God. We call that,
based on Paul's writing to the Romans, righteousness by imputation. It is the free gift of divine
righteousness because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done,
his accomplishments on the cross. And that is why the Lord Jesus
Christ is called in Jeremiah, the Lord our righteousness, because
we get our righteousness from him, because of him, through
him, in him. And that's why being in Christ
is so important. and why benefiting from his accomplishments
is the justifying of our souls. We are righteous in Christ. So this verse shows that righteous
faith, justifying faith, is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And all those
that are born from above, or born of him, born again, as Jesus
said to Nicodemus, we've said it before, we're not righteous
because we believe, we believe because we have been born again,
we have been made righteous in Christ, because we've been elected,
because we've been justified, because we've been sanctified,
because we've been pardoned by God. This is our possession in
Christ. The faith that has been granted
to us to believe is the faith that appropriates these blessings
which God has bestowed upon his church, his people, his elect
in Christ. and faith, believing in the Lord
Jesus Christ. This new birth that comes to
us by which we believe in the work of Christ, believe who Christ
is and what he has done. That faith discovers, learns,
and lays hold upon the things that Christ has accomplished
for us. Your faith can be great or it can be little. but it's
existence evidences that the Holy Spirit has brought us into
that new birth, whereby we acknowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus
of Nazareth, Jesus who is the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God,
is righteous, and in Him we possess that righteousness that is His. And this brings us to our application. And it brings us right back to
the start of today's little passage. John says, little children, abide
in him. We repeat ourselves from last
week. What John is telling us is stay put. Stay put, that's
all. Stay put, abide in him. You are Christ's little children. You have spiritual union with
Christ and connection to Christ. Christ has become our everlasting
Father and thus Jesus himself says in John chapter 15 verse
4, abide in me and I in you. Don't you just love John's faithfulness
in his gospel message. It's almost as if he writes his
gospel and then he goes back to it and he looks at all the
words and phrases that the Lord Jesus Christ uses and he reuses
them and he restates them and he brings them again to our attention. Jesus said, abide in me and I
in you. And so John says to us, little
children, abide in him. So often he simply takes Christ's
words and applies them to his readers. And it's a blessed consideration
that when John says, abide in him, or when Jesus says, abide in
me, continue ye in my love. It's not an instruction that
is being given to us, but an enabling. This is an enabling. Jesus is speaking with power
about his church abiding in him. He grants us an enabling. He provides us with a desire. He causes us to be willing in
the day of his power. and by virtue of our union together
with him and his union with us, he enables us to abide in him. He is the head and we are the
body and he keeps us together as one complete man. He directs
the thing to be done and he enables us to do it. As we conclude today
and think about these verses, may we be enabled by the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ and encouraged by the words of John,
his servant, to abide in him. And may God protect, preserve,
and enable us to abide in Christ. Psalm 102, verse 16 says, the
Lord shall appear in his glory. Isaiah 66, verse five says, the
Lord shall appear to your joy. May the Lord bless us as we anticipate
his soon appearance and remember that when he shall appear, we
shall be without fear, without shame, without regret, for we
shall be righteous in him and we will glorify his name for
all eternity in that great place of glory that he has prepared
for us. Amen.