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Sermon preached on Matthew 24:1-14 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/11/2024 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
At our annual Church Open House service, I like to preach on something that will help summarize our work and mission as a church. This year, I’ve been reflecting on that along with some of the interesting challenges we are facing in the world today. As I thought and prayed about what to preach on, this prophecy from Jesus kept coming to my mind. Here, Jesus predicted what the future would be like. He spoke of some things to expect in both the world and in the church. How true these words are today. I will use this prophecy as a starting point for spending time thinking about both the world and the church as we know them today. Then I’ll turn to think about what yet lies in the future for both. What Jesus has to say to us about these things is of eternal significance for each one of us. Let us all pay close attention to this prophecy, to its interpretation, and to its application.
First, we see him describe the political turmoil that would be present. In verses 6-7, he says there would be wars and rumors of wars, with nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. While during Jesus’ first coming, the Roman world had a relative measure of peace, there would indeed come many such wars. The Jewish War that found their temple destroyed was one of many wars ever since. This continues today. We certainly hear a lot about the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Hamas war. We hear of other conflicts in the world, too. Despite all the world’s efforts for peace through things like the United Nations, yet countries and peoples still war against each other. The loss of life and destruction is lamentable. The collateral damage that kills women and children is especially heartbreaking. How desperately our world needs peace among humanity.
Second, Jesus describes the earthly turmoil that would be present in various natural disasters and other environmental problems. He specifically mentions earthquakes and famine in verse 7. I understand these as examples of the sort of thing Jesus has in mind. Surely, in line with this list, would be hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, lightning, fires, volcanic eruptions, and so much more. We live on a planet that is full of physical trouble. Indeed, the Bible says it has been that way ever since man’s fall into sin in the beginning. God cursed the world to show the beginning of his judgment on a rebellious mankind. These things remind us that man needs to be saved from God’s judgment before the end comes.
After Jesus speaks of such political and natural turmoil, he says this is just the beginning of the birth pains, verse 6. When we see this happening, we shouldn’t think this is the end, but only the beginning of the end. Verse 12 goes on to predict then what else the future holds. He says that lawlessness will be increased and that the love of many will grow cold. So, Jesus prophesied that not only would political and earthly turmoil continue, but that human morality would hit an all-time low.
Are we there yet? Surely, we are at least at the beginning of it. In our day, we have seen a clear increase in lawlessness and a clear decrease in love. In terms of lawlessness, we’ve seen the world redefine many things the Bible says is sinful as either morally neutral or even commended. Sexual immorality is increasingly accepted as normal. Abortion is redefined from murder to a right. People take pride in various things the Bible calls sin and demand others to celebrate with them. I’m only scratching the surface, but all this is literal lawlessness. If you get rid of God’s laws so that sin is no longer acknowledge as sinful, then that is lawlessness. We live in a world that increasingly rejects God’s laws in some perverted claim of progress and liberty. Likewise, as for love growing cold, think of how many times you hear the world today speaking loudly against hate. Ironically, too often some do that in the most hateful ways. Yet, when the world spends so much time speaking against hate, it only proves that in these latter days, even the world thinks that love has grown cold.
As we step back and acknowledge these various problems today in the world, let us appreciate this from the standpoint of modernity. The world’s modern mindset has believed that human progress can solve all our problems. Yet, several centuries into modernity, we still have wars and rumors of wars. We still have earthquakes and famines. It’s not like the world hasn’t tried to solve these problems. They’ve been trying to stop war. They’ve been trying to solve world hunger. And when the world today talks of climate change it is often in the context of some natural disaster that they are powerless to stop. So, while the modern world thinks so highly of the ability for human progress, we still suffer from age old problems. Meanwhile, it seems human morality has only been on the decline.
This is our world as we know it today, at least from a certain vantage point. Let us now turn in our second point today to consider the church of Jesus Christ as we know it today. In other words, what can we recognize about the church today based on Jesus’ prophetic words in this passage? Let me begin by defining the church. Jesus has a visible church on this earth. It is made up of people from all over the world, along with their children, who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. These Christians are organized into local congregations where they worship and serve together, with church leaders shepherding and discipling them in the name of Christ. So then, Jesus tells us one of those things that Christians in the church are supposed to be doing in verse 14. They are supposed to be proclaiming the gospel of Jesus and his coming kingdom. More on that in our third point.
But for now, look at the things Jesus tells us about what the church will experience here and now. In sum, he says the church will face threats and opposition from both inside the church and from outside of it. From inside, he predicts there will be both false Christs and false prophets, verses 5 and 11. This is why we as a church emphasize protecting sound doctrine because Jesus warned us to be on guard against false teaching. This is why creeds and confessions have been written to try to safeguard the church from turning astray from the truth.
As for threats outside the church, in verse 9, Jesus foretells hatred and persecution coming for Christians. This prophecy also has come to pass. Early on, both Jews and Romans persecuted the church. Down through the centuries persecution continued in varying ways. Christians have been verbally assailed, ostracized, jailed, and even put to death. Christians today still face such things. Sadly, some in the world who speak loudly for tolerance often can be very hateful of Christians. This persecution has caused many to fall away from the faith, as Jesus foretold in verse 10. He said that some have then even betrayed other Christians and hated on them. Yet, Jesus tells us right here to expect all this.
Now it is true, that even though Christians have faced opposition from both inside and outside of the church, we have nonetheless grown since Jesus gave this prediction. The gospel has spread and made disciples throughout the world. Yet, we still yet face the opposition that Jesus speaks of here. So, we here at Trinity, we are seeking to be a congregation that is faithful that what Jesus called us to do, even facing such threats. Our discipleship programs help us to teach and prepare us for facing these things. We seek to support and keep each other accountable in living for Christ. We pray together for help from our Lord. The church is a spiritual refuge amidst the troubles of this world.
So far today, we’ve considered how Jesus’ prophecy here speaks true to how both the world and church are today. Let us now in our third point think ahead to what yet lies in the future for both the world and the church. Jesus promises here that one day he will come to usher in his kingdom, bringing an end to this present age.
Now what is implied here and spelled out more clearly elsewhere is that when Jesus comes with his kingdom, he will come to do two things simultaneously. He will bring judgment on this world and simultaneously save his followers and bring them into his coming kingdom. As for judgment, the message is somewhat simple. At the beginning, humanity chose to disobey God, to rebel against him, and fell into what the Bible calls sin. Every time we don’t keep God’s law, that is sin. God as the good and righteous judge, has promised to bring a just judgment upon all such sin. Jesus will come back to judge the world, and for all who are guilty of sin, he will cast the into the eternal lake of fire, a place of everlasting punishment. Of course, the problem is that everyone on their own record is guilty of sin. But that is why this passage speaks of Jesus coming to save his followers. Christians are also sinners who deserve God’s judgment. But that is why Jesus died on the cross. As the eternal Son of God, Jesus came into this world, lived a perfect sinless life, and allowed himself to be put to death on the cross. He gave his life as an offering for the sins of all his people, for all who ultimately confess their sins and turn in faith to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus’ followers are not saved by their works, but by grace through faith.
Let me put all this another way. We’ve said today that this world has major problems. Ultimately, the problems all come back to the fact that the world has rebelled against God. Jesus is coming again to judge this world, remove all sin and curse, and remake it without those problems. The church of Christ are those who hear this message of the coming kingdom and have received Christ’s offer of salvation. Christians will be saved from this coming judgment and graciously given a spot in this new world that is coming at Christ’s return.
So, think of what that final future will hold for the church. In that new world, when Christ’s kingdom comes, there will be no more persecution of Christians. Rather, the church alone will inherit that world, the rest having been removed in judgment and damnation. Then, there will be no more false teachers or false Christs. We will be able to learn from the true Christ himself! There will be no more wars, as there will be just one kingdom, a kingdom of everlasting peace. There will be no more natural disasters, no earthquakes, no famines, or any other such thing. There certainly will not be any lawlessness, for the Bible speaks of that future as a kingdom where righteousness dwells. And indeed, there will be no more hate, only love. Love for God and for neighbor. Indeed, there won’t even be anything left to hate, since God will have purged all evil from that new creation.
Let me again opine that the world has its efforts to solve its problems. It speaks of peace and love and global harmony, looking to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in society. On the surface those are all good terms if informed by God’s law. But the unbelieving world holds a vision of these ideas in the context of a growing lawlessness, where diversity, equity, and inclusion are often twisted into godless perversions. I recently saw people advocating for world peace while singing about rejecting religion and biblical teachings, and celebrating sexual immorality, among other things. There is this vision promoted today of peace clothed in immorality and founded on atheism. Such a vision is under the just condemnation of an All-Holy God who deserves our worship and respect.
The point is that this world will not be able to achieve any real utopia apart from God and his righteousness. But indeed, we who turn to Christ ahead of his coming kingdom, will find that his new world will be everything we could ever want. That new world will have a glorious diversity, filled with worshippers from every tongue, tribe, and nation. That new world will have a true equity, where righteousness and justice will ever reign under the good law of God. That new world will have the most amazing inclusion, whereby God will have brought undeserving people from all the world into one united kingdom of peace. There, we will dwell forever with our God, in a world with no more pain, sorrow, hunger, disease, want, or suffering of any kind.
And so, in contrast to a worldly vision for peace, Jesus declares a better vision, a perfect vision. Likewise, in this season of elections, where politicians give their speeches of what our land might be like if you vote for them, Jesus again declares a better vision for the future. And he doesn’t need your vote. His declared vision will come to pass, in God’s perfect timing. We don’t know the day or the hour, so he tells us to be ready right now, this very day!
Let me conclude our message today by going back to how Jesus says the church is to be proclaiming the gospel of his kingdom throughout all the world. While we yet await him, we are doing this again today. Today, on behalf of Christ, I proclaim to you that Jesus is coming again to usher in his eternal kingdom. That will either be a day of judgment for you or a day of salvation. I urge you to be reconciled to God today in advance of Christ’s coming. Repent of your sins and turn in faith to Jesus. Receive the forgiveness of sins that he offers in his name. Begin to profess him as Lord and Savior.
If you are ready to do that, I urge you to speak with me or one of our elders after the service and ask how you can take the next step to become baptized in Christ’s name and become an official member in Christ’s church. If you are not ready to do that, but have more questions, I also invite you to come and talk with me or one of the elders for more information. Or just turn and ask any of our members and they will be glad to tell you more about Jesus.
Let me offer this additional application. When Jesus gave this prophecy, he was speaking to people who already professed to follow him. But his application then is in verse 13. “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Jesus warned that there will be people who want to lead Christians astray. And he warned there will be people who want to persecute Christians into giving up their faith. But the church is a God-given provision of a refuge from the world. Jesus has called us to be in but not of the world. We need the ministry of Christ’s church to help us. That ministry includes discipleship in God’s Word. It includes shepherding in God’s ways. It includes Christian fellowship and accountability. It includes the worship and communion of the saints with God. We know the church will face opposition, yet it is still the place where God calls us to find nurture as a follower of Jesus. This is what we aim to be at Trinity and invite you to take part in this ministry.
Amen.
Copyright © 2024 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
