Jesus is coming soon to settle up. What will He bring for you?
Read / Listen
Read Revelation 22:12-17
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 11
Q. [God won't permit sin to go unpunished...]
But isn’t God also merciful?
A. God is certainly merciful,
but he is also just.
His justice demands
that sin, committed against his supreme majesty,
be punished with the supreme penalty—
eternal punishment of body and soul.
Summary
Today's passage is from the closing passage of the Bible, and it's packed full of theology that ought to give you hope.
First of all, and most importantly, Jesus announces that He is coming soon! Yes, these words were recorded two millennia ago and we're still waiting, but remember God operates in the Divine Time Zone, which is entirely different than how we experience time in our world. So you ought to be ready at any moment.
Second, Jesus is returning with His settlement. Since as a believer you've been given the perfect righteousness of Jesus, you ought to look forward to this! Jesus expands on what your reward will be in v14: "you will have the right to the tree of life, and you may go through the gates" and into the Kingdom of God!
But a settlement cuts both ways. Those lacking the perfect righteousness God requires will get what they have coming as well, and it can be summed up in one word: exclusion. They will not be allowed in, and in fact their fate was sealed a few chapters earlier when they were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-15).
Dig Deeper
Certainly the average American has a very distorted view of God in which the Father is viewed as an grandfatherly type who forgives sins and simply wants to bestow blessings upon His children, which they deserve for all of the good deeds they have performed in their lifetimes.
So when they read that at the end, Jesus will return with His reward, they eagerly anticipate this, not understanding that a positive reward will be reserved only for those individuals possessing perfect righteousness, while all others will be paid back with the eternal wrath which their sins deserve.
It ought to be obvious to you that you don't have the perfect righteous God requires, and if you're not putting your full faith in Jesus Christ, this ought to trouble you greatly!
Don't be one of the myriads of people who shortchange themselves by just considering Jesus as their good buddy up in the sky whom they can call on when they get in a jamb.
Christ came so that you might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He did this by putting your sin upon Himself, and in exchange giving you His perfect righteousness, which you so desperately need.
And He's coming... Soon! Be ready for His settlement by making sure that in every aspect of life, you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Alpha & Omega, the First & the Last, the Beginning & the End (v13)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will submit every aspect of your life to Christ's Lordship, so that you can eagerly anticipate His settlement.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 4
