JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q5. Belief in Christ's Return - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

The effect that Christ's return should have on me with regard to
His return and coming judgement is to find me in His service as if
He is coming tomorrow and to be found as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Underemphasis of the return of Christ and His judgement can result
in a christian becoming passive and uncommitted to his responsibilites as a fruitful branch in the service of Jesus Christ. Such a christian would have little or no oil in his lamp when the bridgroom comes suddenly.

A belief in Christ's return and coming judgment should have on my life is a sense of urgency. An underemphasis on Christ's return can have a lackadaisical attitude on a Christian's life. Sin today and ask for forgiveness tomorrow. One day there will be no tomorrow!!

Pastor Ralph, on Jul 27 2004, 11:03 PM, said:

Since Christ's return can come at any time we should "...make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." (2 Peter 3:14). As a kid, with a pile of chores to do, I used to time the completion of those chores with my belief in what time my dad was coming home from the golf course. If I judged right and my chores were done, I'd get rewarded. If I misjudged and my chores were not done I'd get punished. Often I'd get punished because the urge to have fun (which didn't involve chores in any way) often overroad my 'belief' system, i.e., I lost track of the time. If I'd had more wisdom I would have realized that doing my chores immediately and diligently would have removed the stress of my perpetual guessing game and assured me of 'reward' regardless of when Dad came home.

An underemphasis means that as Christians we buy into the false belief that we have time. Time to repent. Time to get our acts together. Time to get rid of the persistent sin in our lives. Time to proclaim his kingdom to those we love, etc. How many of us will be standing in front of Christ looking guilty and sheepish while we stammer, "but I meant to do those things, I just didn't realize what time it was..."

What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?


Believing that Christ will return and that we will be judged as to how we lived our lives should in plain language keep us on our toes. Since no one knows when this might happen we have to be ready to face God and be able to answer for our life and our sins. If we are not reminded of this, as Christians, we can become lax and not be ready when the time comes. We need to live our lives as if today might be our last day. We need to be at peace and in good standing with God at all times.

Pastor Ralph, on Jul 27 2004, 11:03 PM, said:

(2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life?
We should be looking forward to Christ’s coming and living our lives in his will . . . we have been sanctified for God’s use and should be living holy lives as we re-present Him.

What effect does an under emphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?
It can cause a person to lazy in his conduct as a Christian, thinking he has time to repent. But, when Christ comes it will surprise us, because no one knows the hour and thus, even though we have salvation we will be judged by how we are living and have lived our lives and awarded accordingly.

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life?

Every effort I put forth should be guided by my desire to please him if I were to know that he were coming with my next breath or if I were to know that he would never come and to know that I would never die.

What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

We seem spurred to complete task by either fear or anticipation of reward. I wish thatI could seek God and his pleasure in all that I do just as Jesus does.

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8
Believing in Christ's return should cause me to seek to please Him in my daily life and to be telling others of His saving Grace.

An underemphasis on Christ's return will cause a Christian to become lazy and careless in our Christian life. Other things will become more important to us.

A belief that Christ may return at any moment helps me to keep focused as I attempt to live the life that I have been called to live. We are told that it will be business as usual, untill suddenly, it's all over for the old world. 1 Cor 15:52 calls us to be "stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (KJV). This is a tall order, but one we must try to live up to.
By downplaying the likelihood that Jesus will be coming soon, we allow ourselves to procrastinate in getting right with the Father.

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

Christ second coming will be sudden and terrible for those who do not believe in Him. But if we are morally clean and spiritually alert, it will not come as a surprise.

Therefore, it is imperative for us to live holy and godly lives, lives that anticipate and look forward to Christ's return.

If we underemphasize Christ's return we may find ourselves being unprepared and have to give an account for our sins of commission and sins of omission. Also, we may just make it in by the skin of our teeth or we will be amongst the ranks of the lost. It is not God desire that anyone should be lost.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[ 3:16 Or his only begotten Son] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

It should have the urgency to complete the great commission as given Math 28"18-20. The more I contribute to global evangelisation, the quicker our Lord's return. It is working out our salvation. That effect should be felt in the christian believer. If we are not conscious of His imminent return, then it will be the story of the 10 virgins. Lazy and unprepared. There is absolute urgency in the christendom to complete our job. But the devil creates a false sense of no urgency and we are stuck in the quagmire of 'take it easy' attitude and never fulfil our responsibility. May we take it seriously and do our part in evangelising the world.

1. We should strive to live according to Gods standards
2. There lives are not reflecting Jesus.

We should live our life as if were coming today.If we fail to put believe his word than he will catch us with our work undone.
we should live every dat as if it was the last day.

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

It should have the effect of wanting to live holy and godly lives, lives that anticipate and look forward to Christ's coming and judgment.

Underemphasizing makes us complacent, feeling we've got plenty of time or that the judgment does not need to be taken seriously.

Christ will return , though no one knows the hour or day, for His family. We need to live holy and godly lives so we will be judged accordingly. We must not become attached to worldly things as we are not of this world. Our goal should be the hope of a new heaven and a new earth.
The Church should commit to missions throughout the whole world and to world evangelism.
We need to emphasis the return of Christ as if it could happen in the very next hour and it could. So come Lord Jesus!

To tell as many people as possible about Christ and save as many as possible so they don't spend eternity on the wrong side. We should also consider that our life can end at any time which also carries a sense of urgency to do as much as we can while we're still alive. We tend to put things on the backburner when we underemphasize them, we're not as fruitful as we would otherwise be.

Q5. (2 Peter 3:11-12, 14-16) What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life?

We should live in the knowledge that Christ will be coming again, living so as to please Him. We will stand before Him to be judged. The non-believer who does not follow Christ and obey Him will be sent where he/she chose to go by nonbelief--hell. The believer in Christ who follows Him will be judged as to the life he/she has lived--will there be any stars in their crown, as the old hymn puts it. Also, we need to have a passion for others, not wanting anyone to fall into hell!
When we do not believe we will have to face Jesus and be judged soon, then we feel we have plenty of time to change before He comes. But noone knows the day or hour of His return! We must live each day as though it is our last--making good use of the time He has given us to call others to consider Him and His call on their lives before it is too late.

The prophecies of Scripture play a significant role in the life of the believer. They reveal all that we can now know about the future and assure us the Lord will return to this earth to judge the wicked and to establish His kingdom. The Scriptures stimulate us to godliness, knowing how God will deal with sin and its effects. Prophecy should also motivate us to evangelize, knowing the time is short and that sinners will suffer the eternal wrath of God. Prophecy informs us that materialism is folly, for all the things of this world will be burned up. Only God’s Word and people will endure for eternity, and these must be our priorities. Prophecy enables us to deny ourselves and to endure persecution for the sake of the gospel, for these cannot compare to the glory which lies ahead.

Selective use of the Scripture will distort the Biblical teaching. In a way underemphasis of Christ’s return can be viewed as outright denial of God’s Word. We do this by setting certain Scripture aside, not by denying their truth, but by denying their application to us. Ignorance is not bliss, we will be held accountable for knowing and doing what God has commanded in His Word. We are individually responsible to discern error and to respond to it biblically. We need to be on guard against error so we will not be led astray.

Considering the evidence that we are in the last days - (it is even mooted that identity chips in the hand and forehead are imminent), the effect of belief in Christ's return/judgement should be to galvanise us into action, to be entirely holy, to give ourselves no excuse, and to evangelise whoever comes across our path.

Under-emphasis on Christ's return will cause complacency. This cannot be allowed

Pastor Ralph, on Jul 28 2004, 01:03 AM, said:

Christ's return has a great affect on my life. I can not wait to dwell in the Kingdom that has been promised.

The effect of not emphasizing on Christ's return is very tragic and all this is because of Satan. He does not want us to know that there's a better life and better place for us after this old life.