Preparation for the Coming of the Lord

Preparation for the Coming of the Lord

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 22, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"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." 1
John 2:28.

OUR first anxious desire is that our hearers would come to Christ. We
lay ourselves out to lift Him up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness and to bid men look to Him and live. There is no salvation
except by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "Look unto Me and be
you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none
else."

When men have looked to Jesus, our next anxiety is that they may be in
Christ, the City of Refuge. We long to speak of them as "men in Christ
Jesus." My beloved Hearers, you must be in living, loving, lasting
union with the Son of God, or else you are not in a state of salvation.
That which begins with coming to Christ, as the engrafted branch is
bound to the vine, continues in your growing into Him and receiving of
His life. You must be in Christ as the stone is in the building, as the
member is in the body.

When we have good hope that our hearers have come to Christ and are "in
Christ," a further anxiety springs up in our hearts that they may
"abide" in Christ. Our longing is that, despite temptations to go away
from Him, they may always remain at His feet. That, notwithstanding the
evil of their nature, they may never betray their Master but may
faithfully hold to Him. We would have them mindful of that precept–"As
you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him." Oh, that
they may be rooted in Him, and built up in Him–and may always be in
union with Him! Then shall we present them to our Lord in the day of
His appearing with exceedingly great joy.

To this third anxiety of the minister of Christ I would give my mind
this morning. John says, "Little children, abide in Him." How sweetly
those words must have flowed from the lips and the pen of such a
venerable saint! Methinks he is, in this, the echo of the Lord Jesus.
For in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus
said, "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide
in Me. If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what
you will and it shall be done unto you."

That word, "abide," was a very favorite one with the Lord Jesus and it
became equally dear to that disciple whom Jesus loved. In our
Authorized Version, the translators have interpreted it sometimes,
"remain," and sometimes, "continue." But it is not very wise of them to
have so changed the rendering. It is one of the virtues of the Revised
Version that it generally translates the same Greek word by the same
English word. This may not be absolutely requisite, for a little
variety may be tolerated. But it is eminently instructive, since it
allows us to see in our own mother tongue where the Holy Spirit used
the same word. And if the translation is correct in one case, we may
naturally conclude it will not be incorrect in another. "Abide," is one
of John's special words.

May the Lord help us to consider these blessed words! Better still, may
He write them on our hearts and may we fulfill their teaching! First,
notice to what he urges them–"abide in Him." Secondly, under what
character he addresses them–"little children." And thirdly, by what
motive he exhorts them–"that, when He shall appear, we may have
confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."

I. First, then, OBSERVE TO WHAT HE URGES THEM–"Abide in Him." By this
he meant one thing. But that thing is so comprehensive that we may
better understand it by viewing it from many sides.

He meant fidelity to the Truth taught by our Lord. We are sure he meant
this, because, a little previously, in the twenty-fourth verse, he had
said, "If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in
you, you also shall continue in the Son and in the Father." Beloved,
you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ unto the salvation of your
souls. You have trusted in Him as the Son of God, the appointed
Mediator and the effectual Sacrifice for your sin.

Your hope has come from a belief in Christ as God has borne witness to
Him. Abide in the Truth which you received from the beginning–for in
your earliest days it worked salvation in you. The foundation of your
faith is not a changeable doctrine–you rest on a sure word of
testimony. Truth is, in its very nature, fixed and unalterable. You
know more about it than you did. But the thing itself is still the same
and must be the same. Take care that you abide in it. You will find it
difficult to do so, for there is an element of changeableness about
yourself–this you must overcome by Divine Grace.

You will find many elements of seduction in the outside world. There
are men whose business it is to shake the faith of others, and thereby
gain a reputation for cleverness and depth of thought. Some seem to
think it an ambition worthy of a Christian to be always questioning,
or, as the Apostle puts it, to be "ever learning and never able to come
to the knowledge of the Truth." To throw doubt into minds which, by a
gracious certainty, have been made blessed, is their chosen lifework.
Therefore, you will be often led to try your foundation, and at times
you will tremble as you cling to it.

Hearken, then, to this Word from the mouth of the Holy Spirit–"Abide
in Him." Stay where you were as to the Truth which you believe. That
which has justified you, will sanctify you. That which has, in a
measure, sanctified you, will yet perfect you. Make no change as to the
eternal verities upon which you ground your hope. As a stone, you are
built on the foundation–abide there. As a branch, you have been
grafted into the stem–abide there. As a member, you are in the
body–abide there. It is all over with you if you do not. Abide in that
holy mold of doctrine into which you were at first delivered.

Let no man deceive you with vain words, though there are many abroad in
these days who "would deceive, if it were possible, the very elect."
Abide in Jesus, by letting His Words abide in you. Believe what you
have found to be the means of your quickening. Believe it with a
greater intensity and a greater practicality. "Cast not away your
confidence, which has great recompense of reward."

Next, John means "abide in Him" as to the uniformity of your trust.
When you first enjoyed a hope, you rested upon Christ alone. I think I
heard the first infant prattle of your faith when it said–

"I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, But Jesus Christ is my All in
All." At first you had no experience upon which you could rely, you had
no inward Divine Graces upon which you could depend–you rested wholly
upon Christ and His finished work. You rested in no degree upon the
works of the Law, nor upon your own feelings, nor upon your own
knowledge, nor upon your own resolves. Christ was all.

Do you not remember how you used to tell others that the Gospel precept
was, "Only believe"? You cried to them, "Trust in Jesus! Get out of
yourselves! Find all your wants provided for in Him." Now, Beloved, you
have experience– thank God for it. Now you have the Graces of the
Spirit–thank God for them. Now you know the things of God by the
teaching of the Holy Spirit–be grateful for that knowledge. But do not
now fly in the face of your Savior by putting your experience, or your
Graces, or your knowledge, where He, and He alone, must be.

Depend today as simply as you depended then. If you have some idea that
you are hastening towards perfection, take care that you do not indulge
a vain conceit of yourself. But even if it is true, still do not mix
your perfection with His perfection, nor your advance in Divine Grace
with the foundation which He has laid for you in His blood and
righteousness. "Abide in Him." He is that good ship into which you have
entered that He may bear you safely to the desired haven. Abide in the
vessel–neither venture to walk on the water, like Peter–nor think to
swim by your own strength. "Abide in Him," and you shall weather every
storm.

Only as you keep to your first simple confidence in the perfect work of
the Lord Jesus can you have peace and salvation. As it is written, "You
will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Because he
trusts in You."

Moreover, abide in the Lord Jesus Christ in making Him the constant
object of your life. As you live by Christ, so live for Christ. Ever
since you trusted in Christ as dying for you, you have felt that if He
died for you, then you died in Him–that from now on your life might be
consecrated to Him. You are not your own but you are Christ's and
Christ's only. The first object of your being is to honor and serve Him
who loved you and gave Himself for you. You have not followed after
wealth, or honor, or self-pleasing, but you have followed Jesus–take
heed that you "abide in Him" by continuing to serve Him.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world
passes away and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God
abides forever."

You may wisely continue where you are, for you have chosen the right
pursuit and you have entered upon the right road. That crown which
glitters in your eyes at the end of the race is worthy of all your
running. You could not have a nobler motive than the constraining love
of Christ. To live for Christ is the highest style of living–continue
in it more and more. If the Lord changes your circumstances, still live
for Christ. If you go up, take Christ up with you–if you go down,
Christ will go down with you. If you are in health, live for Christ
earnestly. If you are bound to a sick bed, live for Christ patiently.
Go about your business and sing for Jesus. Or if He bids you stay at
home and cough away your life, then cough for Jesus. But let everything
be for Him. For you, "Excelsior" means higher consecration, more
heavenly living.

Surely, we should also understand by, "Abide in Him," that we are to
persevere in our obedience to our Lord. The next verse is, "If you know
that He is righteous, you know that everyone that does righteousness is
born of Him." What your Lord bids you, continue to do. Call no man
Master, but in all things, submit your thoughts, your words, and your
acts to the rule of the Lord Jesus. Obey Him by whose obedience you are
justified. Be precise and prompt in your execution of His commands. If
others reckon you morbidly conscientious, heed not their opinion but,
"Abide in Him."

The rule of the Master is always binding on all His disciples and they
depart from Him in heart when they err from His rule. Reverence for the
precept is as much included in our homage of Christ as credence of the
doctrine. If you have been upright in your dealings, be upright. Be
accurate to the penny in every payment. If you have been loving and
generous, continue to be loving and generous. For your Lord's Law is
love. If you have closely imitated the Lord Jesus, go on to copy Him
still more minutely. Seek no new model–pray the Holy Spirit to work
you to the same thing. To you, as a soldier, your Captain's word is
Law–

"Yours not to reason why, Yours but to dare and die."

"Abide in Him." I know you might be rich by doing that un-Christly
act–scorn to win wealth in such a way. I know you may involve yourself
in persecution if you follow your Lord closely–accept such persecution
gladly and rejoice in it, for His name's sake. I know that a great many
would say that for charity's sake you had better make compromises and
keep in union with evil doctrine and worldly practice. But you know
better. Be it yours to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. For this is
what His beloved Apostle means when he says, "Abide in Him."

But I have not completed the full description yet. I fear I am not able
to do so, by reason of my shallow knowledge and forgetfulness. Continue
in spiritual union with your Lord. All the life you have is life
derived from Him–seek no other. You are not a Christian except as
Jesus is the Christ of God to you. You are not alive unto God, except
as you are one with the risen Lord. You are not saved, except as He is
your Savior. Nor righteous, except as He is your Righteousness. You
have not a single pulse of heavenly desire, nor a breath of Divine life
in you but what was first given you from Him and is daily given to you
by Him.

Abide in this vital union. Do not try to lead an independent life.
"Abide in Him," in complete dependence from day to day upon the life
which is treasured up in Him on your behalf. Let your life "abide in
Him" in the sense of being directed by Him. The head directs all the
members. The order which lifts my hand, or spreads my palm, or closes
my fist, or lowers my arm, comes from the brain, which is the
headquarters of the soul. Abide in your Lord by implicitly
acknowledging His headship. Let every regulation of your life come from
Him who is the Head, and let it be obeyed as naturally as the desires
of the mind coming from the brain are obeyed by every part of the body.

There is no war between the hand and the foot, for they abide in the
head and so are ruled without force and guided without violence. If the
leg were to set up an independent authority over itself, instead of
obeying the head, what a strange walking we should see! Have you ever
met with afflicted people in whom the nerves have lost vigor and the
muscles seem to jerk at random and throw out a leg or an arm without
reason? Such movements are painful to see and we know that such a man
is diseased. Do not desire to be without Law to Christ. Let that mind
be in you which was also in Christ Jesus–in that respect, "abide in
Him."

"Abide in Him" as the element of your life. Let Him encompass you as
the air surrounds you on all sides. As a fish, whether it is the
tiniest sprat or the largest whale, abides in the sea–so do you abide
in Christ. The fish does not seek the sky or the shore, it could not
live out of the element of water. And even so, I beseech you, do not
seek to live in the world and in its sins. As a Christian, you cannot
live there–Christ is your life. There is room enough for you in the
Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the infinite God. Go not out of Him for
anything. Seek not pleasure outside of Christ, nor treasure outside of
Christ. For such pleasure or treasure would be ruinous. Have neither
want, nor will, nor wish, beyond your Lord. Let Him draw a line around
you and abide within that circle.

"Abide in Him" in the sense of being at home in Him. What a world of
meaning I intend by those words, "being at home in Christ"! And yet
this is the sense of the words, "Abide in Him." I was speaking
yesterday to a friend who had bought a pleasant house, with a large
garden. And he said to me, "I now feel as if I have a home. I have
lived in London for years and I have changed from one house to another
with as little regret as a man feels in changing an omnibus. But I have
always longed for the home feeling which hung about my father's house
in the country.

"Why, there we loved the cozy rooms and the look-outs from the little
windows and the corner cupboards in the kitchen. As for the garden and
the field, they yielded us constant delight, for there was that bush in
the garden where the robin had built and the tree with the blackbird's
nest. We knew where the pike lay in the pool and where the tortoise had
buried itself for the winter and where the first primroses would be
found in the spring. There is a vast difference between a house and a
home."

That is what John means with regard to Christ–we are not merely to
call on Him but to abide in Him. Do not go to Jesus one day, and to the
world another day–do not be a lodger with Him, but abide in Him. My
friend spoke of changing from one omnibus to another, and I fear that
some change from Christ to the world when the day changes from Sunday
to Monday. But it should not be so. Say with Moses, "Lord, You have
been our dwelling place in all generations." Your Cross is the tree of
the family of love–within the thorn-hedge of Your suffering love our
whole estate is shut in. Your name is posted on our home. We are not to
You as tenants with a lease but we have a freehold in You. We can truly
say and sing–

"Here would I make a settled rest

While others go and come– No more a stranger or a guest, But like a
child at home."

Lord Jesus, I am at home nowhere but in You. In You I abide. Wherever
else I lodge, I have in due time to shift my quarters. Whatever else I
have, I lose it, or leave it. But You are the same and You change not.
What a comfort to have our Lord Himself to be our chosen dwelling place
in time and in eternity!

Now I think I have come nearer to the full sense of my text! "Abide in
Him," means hold fast to Him, live in Him, let all your noblest powers
be drawn forth in connection with Him. As a man at home is all there,
feel at ease in fellowship with Him. Say, "Return unto your rest, O my
Soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."

Why does the Apostle urge us to abide in Christ? Is there any
likelihood of our going away? Yes. For in this very chapter he mentions
apostates, who from disciples had degenerated into antichrists. He says
of them, "They went out from us but they were not of us. For if they
had been of us they would, no doubt, have continued with us." "Abide in
Him," then, and do not turn aside unto crooked ways, as many professors
have done. The Savior once said to His Apostles, "Will you, also, go
away?" And they answered Him with that other question, "Lord, to whom
shall we go?"

I hope your heart is so conscious that He has the words of eternal life
that you could not dream of going elsewhere. "But surely it is implied
in these warnings that SAINTS leave their Lord and perish?" I answer,
"No." Carefully observe the provision which is made against that
fatality–a provision to enable us to carry out the precept of the
text.

Will you open your Testaments and just look at the verse which
immediately precedes my text. What do you see? "You shall abide in Him.
And now, little children, abide in Him." There is a promise made to
those who are in Christ that they shall "abide in Him." But that
promise does not render the precept unnecessary. For the Lord deals
with us as with reasonable beings, not as with sticks and stones. And
He secures the fulfillment of His own promise that we shall abide in
Him, by impressing upon our hearts His sacred precept, whereby He bids
us "abide in Him."

The force He uses to effect His purpose is instruction, heart-winning
and persuading. We abide in Him, not by a physical Law, as a mass of
iron abides on the earth. But by a mental and spiritual Law, by which
the greatness of Divine

love and goodness holds us fast to the Lord Jesus. You have the
guarantee that you shall abide in Christ in the Covenant engagement, "I
will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."
What a blessed promise that is!

You are to take care that you abide in Christ as much as if all
depended upon yourself. And yet you can look to the promise of the
Covenant and see that the real reason for your abiding in Christ lies
in the operation of His unchanging love and Divine Grace. Moreover,
Brethren, if you are in Christ Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit given
you to enable you to abide in Him. Read the twenty-seventh verse–"But
the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you and you need
not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of
all things and is truth and is no lie, and even as it has taught you,
you shall abide in Him."

The Holy Spirit brings the Truth of God home to your heart with savor
and unction, endearing it to your inmost soul. The Truth of God has so
saturated you through the anointing, that you cannot give it up. Has
not your Lord said, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a
well of water springing up unto everlasting life"? Thus, you see that
what is commanded in one Scripture is promised and provided for in
another. To His people, God's commands are en-ablings. As He bids you
abide in Him, so by that very bidding He causes you to abide in Him to
His praise and glory.

II. Secondly, notice UNDER WHAT CHARACTER JOHN ADDRESSES THESE
BELIEVERS. He says, "And

now, little children." This indicates the Apostle's love to them. John
lived to a great age. The tradition is that they used to carry him into
the assembly, and when he could do nothing else, he would lift his
hand, and simply say, "Little children, love one another." Here, to
show his tender concern for those to whom he wrote, he called them,
"little children." He could not wish them a greater blessing out of the
depth of his heart's affection, than that they should faithfully abide
in Christ.

Next, by this he suggests their near and dear relation to their Father
in Heaven. You are the children of God. But as yet you are little ones,
therefore do not leave your Father's house, nor run away from your
elder Brother's love. Because you are little children, you are not of
traveling years, therefore stay at home and abide in your Lord. Does he
not hint at their feebleness? Even if you were grown and strong, you
would not be wise to gather all together and wander away into the far
country. But as you are so young, so dependent, so feeble, it is
essential that you abide in Him. Shall a babe forsake its mother? What
can you do apart from God? Is He not your life, your All?

Does not the Apostle also gently hint at their fickleness? You are very
changeable, like little babes. You are apt to be hot and cold in half
an hour. You are this and that and fifty other things, in the course of
one revolving moon. But, little children as you are, be faithful to one
point–abide in your Savior. Change not towards your Redeemer. Stretch
out your hands and clasp Him and cry–

"My Jesus, I love You, I know You are mine, For You all the follies of
sin I resign."

Surrender yourself to Him by an Everlasting Covenant never to be
cancelled. Be His forever and ever.

Did not this remind them of their daily dependence upon the Lord's
care, as little children depend on their parents? Why, Beloved, the
Lord has to nurse you. He feeds you with the unadulterated milk of the
Word. He comforts you as a mother does her child. He carries you in His
bosom, He bears you all your days. Your new life is as yet weak and
struggling–do not carry it into the cold atmosphere of distance from
Jesus. Little children, since you derive all from Jesus, abide in Him.
To go elsewhere will be to wander into a howling wilderness.

The world is empty–only Christ has fullness. Away from Jesus you will
be as a child deserted by its mother, left to pine and starve and die.
Or as a little lamb on the hillside without a shepherd, tracked by the
wolf, whose teeth will soon extract your heart's blood. Abide, O Child,
with your mother! Abide, O Lamb, with your shepherd! We may all come
under John's description at this time. The beloved John speaks unto us
as unto little children, for we are none of us much more. We are not
such wonderfully knowing people as certain of our neighbors–we are not
such learned scientists and acute critics as they are–neither have we
their marvelous moral consciousness, which is superior to inspiration
itself.

Therefore we are bound by our very feebleness to venture less than they
do. Let the men of the world choose what paths they will–we feel bound
to abide in Christ because we know no other place of safety. They may
push off into the sea of speculation. Our smaller boats must hug the
shore of certainty. To us, however, it is no small comfort that the
Lord has revealed to babes the things which are hidden from the wise
and prudent. Those who become as little children enter into the kingdom
of Heaven.

Cling to the Lord Jesus in your feebleness, in your fickleness, in your
nothingness. And abidingly take Him to be everything to you. "The
conies are but a feeble sort, yet they make their houses in the rocks."
Be you like they are. Abide in the rifts of the Rock of Ages and let
nothing tempt you to quit your stronghold. You are no lion, able to
fight your foes and deliver yourself by main strength. You are only a
little cony and you will be wise to hide rather than fight. "Little
children, abide in Him."

III. I now come to my last point, which is most important, for it finds
steam to drive the engine. Thirdly, we shall consider BY WHAT MOTIVE
JOHN EXHORTS US TO THIS PLEASANT AND NECESSARY DUTY OF ABIDING IN
CHRIST.

Kindly look at the text, for there is in it a little word to be
noticed. The Apostle exhorts us by a motive in which he takes his
share. Let me read it–"Now, little children, abide in Him. That, when
He shall appear, you may have confidence." No, no. Look at that little
word–it runs thus, "that WE may have confidence." The beloved John
needed to have confidence at the appearing of the Lord and confidence
fetched from the same source as that to which he directed his little
children. They must abide in Christ, that they might have
confidence–and the dearest of the Apostles must practice the same
abiding. How wisely and yet how sweetly he puts himself upon our level
in this matter!

Notice, further, that the motive is one drawn from Jesus. John does not
drive Believers with the lash of the Law–he draws them with the cords
of love. I never like to see God's children whipped with rods gathered
from the thorny sides of Sinai. We have not come to Mount Sinai but to
Mount Zion. When a man tries to pommel me to my duty by the Law, I kick
at the goad like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. And rightly so,
"For you are not under the Law but under grace." The motive which sways
a free-born heir of Heaven is fetched from Divine Grace and not from
Law. It is from Jesus, not from Moses. Christ is our example and our
motive, blessed be His name!

The motive is drawn from our Lord's expected advent. Notice how John
puts it. He uses two words for the same thing–"When He shall appear,"
and, "at His coming." The second advent may be viewed in two lights.
First, as the appearing of One who is here already but is hidden. And
next, as the coming of One who is absent. In the first sense, we know
that our Lord Jesus Christ abides in His Church–according to His
words, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Yet,
though spiritually present, He is unseen. Our Lord will, all of a
sudden, be "manifested," as the Revised Version has it. The spiritual
and secret Presence of Christ will become a visible and manifest
Presence in the day of His appearing.

The Apostle also uses the term, "at His coming," or, "His Presence."
This is the same thing from another point of view. In a certain evident
sense our Lord is absent–"He is not here, for He is risen." He has
gone His way unto the Father. In that respect He will come a second
time, "without a sin-offering, unto salvation." He who has gone from us
will so come in like manner as He was seen to go up into Heaven. There
is, then, a difference of aspect between the second advent when it is
described as, "His appearing," and "His coming." John pleads the
glorious manifestation of our Lord under both of these views as a
reason for abiding in Him.

As to our Lord's "appearing," he would have us abide in Christ, that we
may have confidence when He appears. Confidence at His appearing is the
high reward of constant abiding in Christ. The Apostle keeps most
prominent "the appearing" as an argument. A thousand things are to
happen at our Lord's appearing. But John does not mention one of them.
He does not hold it up as a thing to be desired that we may have
confidence amid the wreck of matter and the crash of worlds, when the
stars shall fall like autumn leaves, when the sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood.

He does not mention that the graves shall be opened and the dead shall
rise, or when the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat–the earth also, and the works
that are therein–shall be burned up. Those will be direful times, days
of terror and dismay. But it is not of these that he speaks
particularly. For he regards all these events as swallowed up in the
one great fact of the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ!

His desire is that we may have confidence if He appears all of a
sudden. What does he mean by having confidence when He shall appear?
Why, this–that if you abide in Him when you do not see Him, you will
be very bold should He suddenly reveal Himself. Before He appears, you
have dwelt in Him and He has dwelt in you. What fear could His
appearing cause you? Faith has so realized Him, that if suddenly He
were to appear to the senses, it would be no surprise to you.

And, assuredly, it would cause you joy, rather than dismay. You would
feel that you at last enjoyed what you had long expected, and saw
somewhat more closely a Friend with whom you had long been familiar. I
trust, Beloved, that some of us live in such a style that if, all of a
sudden, our Lord were to appear, it would cause no alarm to us. We have
believed Him to be present, though unseen, and it will not affect our
conduct when He steps from behind the curtain and stands in the open
light. O Lord Jesus, if You were now to stand in our midst, we should
remember that we had Your presence before, and lived in it, and now we
should only be the more assured of that which we before knew by faith.

We shall behold our Lord with confidence, freedom, assurance and
delight–feeling perfectly at home with Him. The Believer who abides in
his Lord would be but little startled by His sudden appearing. He is
serving his Lord now, and he would go on serving Him. He loves Him now,
and he would go on loving Him. And because he would have a clearer view
of Him, he would feel a more intense consecration to Him.

The word translated "confidence" means freedom of speech. If our Divine
Lord were to appear in a moment, we should not lose our tongue through
fear, but should welcome Him with glad acclaim. To desert our Lord
would rob us of that ease of mind which is betokened by free speech.
But to cleave to Him will secure us confidence. We now speak to Him in
secret, and He speaks again to us. We shall not cease to speak in tones
of reverent love when He appears. I have preached concerning my Lord,
while He is not seen, those Truths of God which I shall not blush to
admit before His face.

If my Lord and Master were, at this instant, to appear in His Glory in
this Tabernacle, I would dare, with confidence, to hand Him the volumes
of my sermons, in proof that I have not departed from His Truth, but
have heartily continued in Him. I ought to improve in many things but I
could not improve upon the Gospel which I have preached among you. I am
prepared to live by it, to die by it, or to meet my Lord upon it if He
should, this day, appear.

O my Hearers, if you are in Christ, see to it that you so abide in Him
that, should He suddenly appear, you would behold Him with confidence.
If we abide in Him, if he were to unveil His majestic face, we might be
overcome with rapture. But our confidence in Him would grow stronger,
our freedom with Him would be even more enlarged and our joy in Him
would be made perfect. Has He not prayed for us that we may be with
Him, and behold His Glory? And can we be afraid of the answer to His
loving prayer? If you abide in Christ, the manifestation of Christ will
be your manifestation and that will be a matter of delight–not of
fear.

Beloved, if you do not abide in Him, you will have no confidence. If I
were to compromise the Truth of God and then my Lord were to appear,
could I meet Him with confidence? If, to preserve my reputation, or be
thought liberal-minded, I played fast and loose with the Gospel, how
could I see my Lord's face with confidence? If any of you have failed
to serve your Master. If you have preferred gain to godliness, and
pleasure to holiness–if He were suddenly to shine forth in His
Glory–what confidence could you have in meeting Him?

A good man was asked, one day, "If the Lord were now to appear, how
would you feel?" He replied. "My Brother, I should not be afraid. But I
think I should be ashamed." He meant that he was not afraid of
condemnation but he blushed to think how little he had served his Lord.
In this case it was genuine humility. I pray you, get not only beyond
being afraid, but may the Lord make you so to abide in Him that you
would not even be ashamed at His appearing!

The other point is that you should "not be ashamed before Him at His
coming." That means that having regarded Him as being absent, you have
not so lived that, if He should suddenly be present in Person, you
would be ashamed of your past life. What must it be to be driven with
shame away from His Presence into everlasting contempt? The text may
have such a meaning. What have you been doing while He has been absent?

This is a question for a servant to answer at his employer's arrival.
You are left in his house to take care of it while he is in the far-off
country. And if you have been beating his servants and eating and
drinking with the drunken, you will be greatly ashamed when he returns.
His coming will be in itself a judgment. "Who may abide the day of His
coming? And who shall stand when He appears?" Blessed is that man who,
with all his faults, has been so sanctified by Divine Grace that he
will not be ashamed at his Lord's coming.

Who is that man? It is the man who has learned to abide in Christ. What
is the way to prepare for Christ's coming? By the study of the
prophecies? Yes, if you are sufficiently instructed to be able to
understand them. "To be prepared for the Lord's coming," some
enthusiasts might ask, "had I not better spend a month in retirement
and get out of this wicked world?" You may, if you like. And especially
you will do so if you are lazy. But the one Scriptural prescription for
preparing for His coming is this: "Abide in Him."

If you abide in the faith of Him, holding His Truth, following His
example, and making Him your dwelling place, your Lord may come at any
hour and you will welcome Him. The cloud, the Great White Throne, the
blast of trumpets, the angelic attendants of the last assize, the
trembling of creation, and the rolling up of the universe as a worn-out
vesture will have no alarms for you. For you will not be ashamed at His
coming.

The date of that coming is concealed. When He shall come, no man can
tell. Watch for Him and be always ready, that you may not be ashamed at
His advent. Should a Christian man go into worldly assemblies and
amusements? Would he not be ashamed should his Lord come and find him
among the enemies of the Cross? I dare not go where I should be ashamed
to be found should my Lord come all of a sudden. Should a Christian man
ever be in a passion? Suppose his Lord should then and there come?
Would he not be ashamed at His corning?

One here says of an offender, "I will never forgive her. She shall
never darken my doors again." Would you not be ashamed if the Lord
Jesus came and found you unforgiving? Oh, that we may abide in Him and
never be in such a state that His coming would be unwelcome to us!
Beloved, so live from day to day in duty and in devotion that your
Lord's coming would be timely. Go about your daily business and abide
in Him, and then His coming will be a glorious delight to you.

I called to see one of our friends and she was whitening the front
steps of the house. She apologized very much and said that she felt
ashamed of being caught in such a position. But I assured her that I
should like my Lord to come and find me, just as I found her, doing my
daily work with all my heart. We are never in better trim for seeing
our Master than when we are faithfully doing His work. There is no need
for a pious smartening up–he that abides in Christ always wears
garments of glory and beauty. He may go in with his Lord into the
wedding whenever the midnight cry is heard. Abide in Him and then none
can make you ashamed. Who shall lay anything to your charge?

He will come–behold, He is coming even now. Hear you not the sounding
of His chariot wheels? He may arrive before yon sun goes down. "In such
an hour as you think not, the Son of man comes." When the world is
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, He will bring
destruction upon the ungodly. Be you so engaged, day by day, that you
will not be taken at unawares. What will it be to be caught up together
with the saints in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air! What will
it be to see Him come in the glory of the Father and all His holy
angels with Him! What will it be to see Him reign upon the earth, with
His ancients gloriously!

Can you imagine the millennial splendor, the age of gold, the halcyon
days of peace? As for the judgment of the world, know you not that the
saints shall judge angels? They shall appear as assessors with Christ
and the Lord shall bruise Satan under their feet. Glory awaits us and
nothing but glory, if we abide in Christ. Therefore, keep your garments
unspotted, your loins girt, your lamps trimmed, and your lights
burning–and you, yourselves, as men and women that look for your
Lord–when He comes, you may have confidence and not shame.

May the Holy Spirit, without whom this cannot be, be freely given to us
this day, that we may abide in the Lord! And you who have never trusted
in Christ for salvation, may you come to Him and then "abide in Him"
from this good hour! To His name be glory! Amen.