2. If We Believe That Jesus Is Coming Again Soon,We Shall be Far More Interested In The World To Come Than In This World.

Jesus is coming soon - and in this devotion we shall notice that belief in the truth of the second coming of our Lord is urged in the New Testament as a present incentive to the holiness of life and whole-heartedness in service. If we believe that Christ is coming again, this belief must effect our behavior - look up the following and notice that the truth of our Lord's return is linked with the question of conduct and service: Luke 12:43; 1 Cor. 4:5; Philp. 4:10; Col. 3:2-5; 2 Tim. 4:1,2; Titus 2:11-13; James 5:7,8; 1Jn. 2:28; and 2 Pet.3:11. In 2 Peter 3, there are 5 characteristics of the Christian in whose life the truth of Christ's return is a practical hope.

Every Christian should be thoroughly familiar with the great missionary command that runs through both the Old and New testament - a command that clearly outlines God's plan for world evangelisation. Basing our story on Mark 16:15,it is important to notice that: (1.) these words were spoken by our Lord Himself and constitute the divine plan for getting out the gospel to every creature; (2.) this was His parting command to His followers; (3.) it related to the dispensation of grace in which we are living; and (4.) it is therefore just as binding upon us today as it was upon the first Christians! Indeed, generations of souls have lived and died without ever hearing the gospel because Christians have failed to take the gospel  to them. We need the vision of all the world and all creation and our responsibility to do something to bring the gospel to the millions of whom Christ died. Thus,our Lord's command to every creature is to engage in a program of world evangelism. We are not to civilize the world,primarily,or to confine ourselves to a program of education or social betterment - though all of these things will follow if we preach the gospel, the good news - look up Romans 1:16;1 Corinthians 15:1-3. -