If you’ve noticed the phrases on our church sign this week, both sides speak of our Lord’s coming. The south side says, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord,” while the north side says, “Christ the King is coming soon.” Coupled with tonight’s epistle text, they all remind us that Jesus is coming, though we know not the day nor the hour. But is this coming something that we can look forward to in hope, or is it something that stirs up fear and anxiety in our hearts?
There’s another coming that people talk about this time of year - the coming of Santa Claus. When you talk about his coming to children, they get all excited, because they know it means presents for them. And yet, if anybody’s coming should be feared, it’s the coming of Santa Claus, as he gives or withholds presents based on how good or bad you’ve been. You know how the song goes: “He knows when you are sleeping; he knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake.” Santa Claus is the ultimate god of reason. He is the product of the kind of sinful thinking that believes that God rewards us on the basis of our behavior, punishing those who are bad, while showing His favor towards those who are good. And this is the way in which many people (even many Christians) anticipate Christ’s coming: If they’ve been good, Christ’s coming will be a joyful event for them, because they’ll get to go to heaven. If they’ve been bad, however, Christ’s coming will be a fearful event for them, because it will mean that they’ll be going to hell.
For example, some people look at tonight’s epistle text where St. Paul talks about increasing and abounding in love, and they conclude that the more they love, the more assured they can be of their salvation, the more they can be sure that Christ’s coming will be a joy for them. Just as you can avoid lumps of coal in your stockings on Christmas Day if you’re good, so you can avoid the coals of hell, if you’ve tried your best to love as God commands you.
But notice how this puts the burden of your salvation upon you. You must increase and abound in love for one another and for all, so that you might establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Some people aren’t bothered by this, because they believe that they’re good people already. Like the rich young man, who came up to Jesus one time asking Him what he must do to inherit eternal life, they believe that they have already kept the commands of God, and therefore, deserve to be rewarded. Others, however, know that they have not kept God’s commandments and despair of ever getting into heaven. For them, Christ’s coming will only be a day of terror.
But neither outlook is where God wants you to be, because both of these views teach us to look inward to ourselves for the assurance of our salvation. They both teach us to be “good for goodness’ sake” - or else! Both threaten with the Law, offering salvation only to those who keep it perfectly. But God is no Santa Claus. He doesn’t put the burden of your salvation upon you, but upon His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, He does command you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, but He knows full well that you can’t, and His commandments are meant to bring you to this realization. They are given primarily to reveal your sin and your inability to keep His commandments, not so that you might try to use them to earn your salvation. They are given to show you that you certainly deserve the coals of hells, but then they point you to your Savior, Jesus Christ and the Gospel. With the Gospel God the Father proclaims to you that Jesus has kept all of the commandments for you. He has earned your salvation with His perfect obedience and by suffering the coals of hell Himself in your place on the cross, so that through faith in Him, you might not have to suffer them yourself. Yes, you’ve been bad and deserve God’s wrath. But God has given you eternal life, in spite of the fact that you haven’t been good. And now you can look forward to Christ’s coming with joy, because He will not be coming as your Judge, but as your Savior.
When you look to Jesus and what He’s done for you, then your fears and anxieties about His coming vanish. You no longer have to depend on yourself, but on Christ, who’s work for you is finished and complete. Your salvation is all God’s work and none of yours. Paul helps us understand this, when he writes that the Lord, not you, will make you increase and abound in love, and that He, not you, will establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. He writes the same thing at the end of this letter, saying, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.” In both references God is doing the verbs, not you. Not only that, but He also assures you that He will finish what He started. He doesn’t do things partially or fractionally. The whole you - body, soul, and spirit - will be sanctified completely and kept blameless until Christ’s coming. And then the promise is given: He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.
All this is given to strengthen your faith in God, who keeps His promises to you in Christ, so that you might not fear His coming. In his epistle to the Philippians Paul writes, “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The good work He began in you was bringing you to faith in Jesus when He baptized you in His Name and proclaimed the Gospel to you. That good work goes on today as He continues to work through the same to keep you in this faith and to grant you the forgiveness of your sins on a daily basis. In addition to this, He feeds you regularly on the body and blood of Christ in His holy Supper, where every time you partake of this holy meal you proclaim Christ’s death until He comes again. Through these means God sanctifies you, makes you holy, conforms you to the image of His Son, and causes you to increase and abound in love towards others as you live under His love for you - a work that He will continue until He sends His Son for you on the Last Day.