1 Peter 4:7

But the end of all things is at hand, therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. Above all things, have a fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Peter doesn't pause to explain the end of all things—he moves straight to the "therefore," and so should we.

The Bible Presumes an End of All Things

The end of all things is at hand. This is just what many Christians want to talk about, isn't it? There always seems to be someone with something to say about the end times. But you will find that here at Cross Connection Church we really only talk about this topic when we come to it in the Scriptures.

That said, the Bible teaches and assumes an end of all things. This is important, because not all faiths and worldviews hold that there is an end. The Scriptures not only speak of this end but purport to know its nature through what is called prophetic or apocalyptic literature. The end is not seen as a total mystery.

Now, there are many mysterious things about the end, both in the Scriptures and in our understanding. If you ever meet someone who claims to know and understand all things about the end times, they are either arrogant, deluded, or selling something—and there often is something to be sold on this topic. We know these things are mysterious because Jesus told us they would be. In Acts 1, just before He ascended, His disciples asked whether He would now restore the kingdom to Israel. He answered, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put under His care."

Five Things We Can Agree On

While we acknowledge mystery surrounding the future, there is much we can and should know. As we step into this topic, there are at least five things from the Scriptures that we, and many other Christian churches, can largely agree upon.

First, there is an end of all things as we currently know them. When you study the prophetic literature, you find that this end is not the end of everything. It is the end of things as we know them—which is the beginning of new things. That is heartening. Many people get tied up and freaked out about the end, but it is an ending of one thing and the beginning of another. The Bible describes a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness reigns and Christ dwells bodily with us, a place where there is no illness, no death, and every tear is wiped away. The end of all things is the end of all broken things, and we live in a broken world. We should champion the truth that a coming day will make all broken things right.

Second, God knows when the end will be and exactly how He will wrap things up. This is encouraging. Jesus said the times and seasons belong to the Father. God will not be taken by surprise—not by strange political happenings in the United States in the 21st century, not by anything. Though these things may surprise and frustrate us, they don't surprise Him. God is still on the throne, and that should give us great peace and hope.

Third, we are to live with an expectancy of the end—not dread. Too often I talk to believers who read books on the end times and are filled more with fear than hope, more with dread than faith. That is not how the Scriptures speak. Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself" (John 14). If you do not believe in Jesus, you should rightly be filled with dread. But if you have faith in Christ, you don't have to be troubled, because we have His sure promise. Paul described "the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior" (Titus 2), and in 1 Thessalonians 4–5 he bookended his teaching on the end with the words, "Comfort one another with these words."

Fourth, Jesus will one day return to the earth as He left it. All Bible-believing Christians have for 2,000 years believed in the bodily second coming. Just as He rose bodily and ascended bodily, He will return bodily. In Acts 1, His disciples watched Him taken up from the Mount of Olives, the clouds receiving Him from their sight. As they stood gazing, two men in white—probably angels—said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

Fifth, the "last days" is a banner over the entire period between Christ's ascension and His return. The author of Hebrews wrote, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1). Two thousand years ago he could say he was living in the last days. So can we in the 21st century, because this entire period from the ascension to the return is the last days. You may believe we're in the last of the last days—that's fine, but at least admit you don't entirely know. God has a plan, and we can trust it.

Where the Church Divides—and How We Should Hold It

Unfortunately, this is about the point where the church divides over what we call eschatology, the study of last things. From here, many subdivide into all kinds of views, looking at obscure apocalyptic passages in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Revelation. It is often confusing—I've been confused by it myself. I get your emails saying, "Pastor, I've been looking at Revelation 17 and I don't have a clue what it means." Join the club. We may speculate, but we need enough humility to admit our conclusions are speculation, even if they're good, educated, biblically built guesses.

Here is the truth to hold: what you are absolutely certain about in the end times may be wrong—other than the fact that Jesus will come back, which He promised. You may have a spirited discussion with a friend who also believes the Bible. You might be premillennial; they might be amillennial or postmillennial. You might be pretribulational; they might be mid- or post-tribulational. And if you're going, "What in the world is he talking about?"—God bless you, because in this discussion there is a sense where ignorance is bliss.

Most of this falls into the category of non-essential doctrine. Non-essential doesn't mean unimportant. Oil in your car is essential; the air conditioner is important but not essential. Essential doctrines are necessary for salvation: the deity of Christ, the incarnation, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the return of Jesus. The non-essentials are things like the millennial and tribulational views. You can dig into them—some people earn PhDs—but hold them with humility and grace, recognizing that other equally Christian, God-loving people hold different views.

This last week I had coffee with a good pastor friend in Poway. He knows I hold a premillennial view; he holds an amillennial view. That's perfectly fine. We've joked about it and challenged each other, but at the end of the day we pray together and enjoy each other. That's how it should be. We should not kill each other over these things—and if you study church history, that has happened. So though we hold a premillennial view here at Cross Connection, you won't find us spending tons of time on it, because we're committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is essential.

Observation, Interpretation, and Application

One of my concerns about eschatology is that Christians and pastors are often guilty of spending too much time observing and interpreting these things and not enough time applying them. If you take an Inductive Bible Study class, you learn that studying the Bible involves observation, interpretation, and application.

Think of the weather report. The weatherman observes a low-pressure system moving in—that's observation. He interprets that it means rain. The application: leave 45 minutes early tomorrow, because the freeway will be terrible. We can be seduced into spending hours and years observing and interpreting obscure apocalyptic passages veiled in metaphor and never moving to application.

But notice what Peter does in 1 Peter 4:7. "The end of all things is at hand, therefore"—underline that word. He does not spend six chapters explaining what he means. He assumes his readers fully agree: we're living in the last days, and the end will one day come. He jumps immediately into application: since the end is at hand, this is how you should live. If you believe Jesus died, rose, ascended, and will return, that should change the way you live. Too often we get stuck on the "end of all things is at hand" and never move to the "therefore."

The Second Coming Should Awaken Our Hearts to Prayer

"The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." Notice the descriptives Peter uses for prayer. The New Living Translation says, "be earnest and disciplined." The NIV says, "be alert and sober of mind." The ESV says, "be self-controlled and sober-minded." The HCSB says, "be serious and disciplined." Disciplined, serious, alert, earnest, sober, self-controlled—all describing prayer.

Let me ask the difficult question: Does that describe your prayer life? Honestly, when I examine mine, it's often more haphazard, casual, and unintentional. Here's the heavy challenge: my belief that the second coming is actually true can be measured by the seriousness of my prayer. I can say all day, "Jesus is coming," but if it doesn't influence how passionately and seriously I seek Him, do I really believe it?

The Second Coming Should Motivate Greater Love for Others

Verse 8: "Above all things have fervent love for one another." This could also be translated, "take great care to love others deeply and earnestly." Why? "For love will cover a multitude of sins." Peter is reaching back 3,000 years to Solomon, who wrote, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins" (Proverbs 10:12).

The word Peter uses is agape, the love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13: "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; it does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." Does that describe how you love people? Never irritated, never rude, never provoked, never projecting ill motive? If we believe Jesus could return soon, it should compel this kind of love.

This love covers a multitude of sins. We overlook the failings of those we love, especially our kids—sometimes to the point of being blind to them. Now you ask, "At what point do we hold people accountable? Do we just gloss over sin?" Covering a multitude of sins doesn't mean we don't hold people accountable to grow and become more Christ-like. It means we don't hold their failings against them. That's a minor difference but an important one. It's not refusing to challenge people; it's refusing to say, "Because you did that, I will never trust you again."

Proverbs 17:9 says, "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats the matter separates friends." Jesus said to forgive your brother not seven times but "seventy times seven." Now, some astute person has a ledger and is at 479, getting close to that 490th—that's not what Jesus meant. Look around the room: the person next to you is a sinner. When you get home, look in the mirror and say, "Sinner." I need people to lovingly cover a multitude of sins in my life, because I fail about fifty times before breakfast. How many of your sins has the love of Christ covered?

The Second Coming Should Encourage Sincere Hospitality

Verse 9: "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." This is one of the truly lost expressions of sacrificial, Christ-like love in our culture. We Americans are not known as hospitable people; we are individualistic and like to close ourselves off. Fifty years ago many pastors made home visits and went door to door. We don't see it as much now, because people have closed themselves off and we're skeptical of religious people at the door.

This is one of the values the Scriptures promote, and it's why we have connect groups. Unfortunately, only about a quarter of our church is involved in one. Connect groups aren't a home Bible study; they're a place for hospitality, fellowship, and prayer.

Notice we are to be hospitable without grumbling—without secret debate, without secret displeasure. It happens like this: you meet someone at church with your Sunday smile, and they say, "We should get together." You say, "Yeah, that's great," while in your heart you're thinking, "I don't want to get together with you." You set Friday at seven, then all week you're trying to get out of it: "They're going to eat my food and mess up my house." Then ding-dong—"Hi, welcome, so glad you're here!"—while inwardly hoping they don't stay long. Be hospitable without grumbling.

I'll go further: I am convinced you will not experience the abundant life Jesus came to give until you live in connection with others through genuine hospitality. Yes, it makes us vulnerable and takes us out of our comfort zone—but that's exactly what God wants, because we never grow in our comfort zone. If you'd like to join a connect group, come talk to us at the connection point after the service.

The Second Coming Demands Faithful Stewardship

Verse 10: "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Some of you say, "I don't have any gifts." Yes, you do. If you believe in Jesus, God has saved you and placed His Holy Spirit inside you, and the Spirit has given gifts to every believer.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." The gifts are many—word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation—and many others. Did you realize hospitality is a gift? Some of you have it and aren't using it. God has gifted you, and He expects you to use that gift for His kingdom and the building up of His body.

Here's the heavy reality: when Jesus returns, we will give an account—of our time, talents, and treasure. He spoke of this in the parable of the talents. A master gave one servant five talents, another two, and another one. The first multiplied his to ten, the second to four, and they received great blessing. But the one who hid his and didn't use it received judgment.

So if you have a gift and aren't using it, you're a bad steward of the grace of God—and you can and should fix that, because there will be a day of accounting. Yes, it may mean breaking out of your comfort zone—leaving your usual seat, skipping your usual donut, staying for another service, helping as an usher, greeter, in children's ministry, or on an outreach. The work doesn't stop when the end of all things comes here. Jesus said he who is faithful over little will be given greater authority and responsibility.

How do we minister? Verse 11: "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified." While Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, He is working in and through His church. We serve in His stead. If anyone speaks the word of God—as I'm doing now—they speak with the words of God. If anyone serves, God Himself reaches out through them. We don't do it by our own might but by His Spirit; our sufficiency comes from Him.

In Anticipation of the Second Coming, Live for the Glory of God

What is the end game of all this service? Peter says, "that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." If we really believe this life is just the pregame show to all God has prepared next, then we should live for that life and for His glory. Jesus said, "Store not up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and a thief may break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in eternity... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

For the person who believes the second coming is real, when turmoil comes in this world—when Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump are your only choices, when all turmoil comes—you will not be destroyed to the core, because your treasure is not here. And one day He's coming with the treasure.

So God help us to pray fervently, to love greatly, to reach out hospitably, to steward faithfully, and to live for Your glory. Amen.

Closing Prayer

God, would You help us? We all need Your help, because in our own strength we are feeble and weak to do the things You call us to do. So Lord, enable us by Your power this week to be faithful stewards, to be serious in prayer, to be loving and hospitable, to glorify You wherever You take us, that the world would see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven. Lord, work in us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, amen.