Are you ready?

In my former days as a military officer, I was part of a professional culture that greatly emphasized readiness. As a combat pilot, I was expected to live every day within a personal and professional posture that would enable a transition—in a timeline measured in hours—from sitting home watching college football to flying combat missions anywhere in the world.

We practiced every day for this dramatic eventuality at the personal and corporate levels. We had hard requirements to follow, like having a “hit-and-run” bag with all our personal and professional gear ready to grab at the initiation of a “recall” via phone or word of mouth. We were also expected to have prepared our families with “mobility decisions” in place, like having a will, a power of attorney, insurance, and “should I not return’ thinking and conversations complete.

We also had personal choices to make. Every training “sortie” we flew throughout the workweek was intended to be a rehearsal for the real thing. Every exercise, regardless of the scale from small to big, represented a chance to practice and prepare. So, we always had a choice regarding how hard we would strive to maximize the opportunities. We could choose how seriously we wanted to take the training.

The whole point of the readiness culture was to ensure that America’s combat warriors would win because losing was never an option. In war, victory is everything. Second place means profound disaster and loss. When we faced our enemy counterparts, would they or would we prevail?

As I consider where God has me now in life, I think we should be talking more about Christian readiness. We live in an ever-increasingly volatile world wherein we could go from sitting home watching college football to life, family, profession, and property being in mortal danger. Our own sin could bring calamity, of course, but disaster can also come within the context of our innocence, as at the hands of others who produce havoc in the broken, yet-to-be-fully-redeemed creation. So, as Christians, we need to think in terms of eternal readiness. Are we ready to see Jesus face to face?

I want to offer three essentials of Christian readiness for you today—saving faith, sound doctrine, and self-examination. Let’s look at those essentials one by one.

Saving Faith

The Bible explains the binary nature of the life God created us to live. A person is either saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone, or he is lost (Col 1:13–16; Rom 3:23; 4:25; 1 5:12; 6:23; Matt 25:46; John 3:16; 1 Pet 2:24; Acts 10:43; 1 Cor 15:1–6). A person’s soul is either right with God or is warring against Him. There is either peace or separation regarding the Creator-to-created relationship because we are either counted righteous by faith in God’s sight or due Holy wrath in our unbelief. Regenerate believers are graced with eternal life in fellowship with the Holy Trinity, while unbelievers are headed, like Satan and his demons, to never-ending punishment. Therefore, the first necessary condition of Christian readiness is Christian regeneration, which is determined and accomplished by God in His sovereignty and our response of saving faith.

You are not ready to see Jesus face to face unless you have saving faith! Therefore, repent and believe, “⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9-10.

Sound Doctrine

Scripture also talks much about the evil and tragedy of false teaching that rises up from within the church. Heresy is the term used to describe a doctrine contrary to Biblical truth. From its infancy, Christ’s church has needed to fight against a myriad of heresies emanating from the supernatural and human enemies of God. Church history shows the avenues of heretical assault have generally come from within three doctrinal categories: the person and work of Jesus Christ, the nature of the Gospel, and the validity and authority of Scripture.

Every believer is susceptible to lies pushed by God’s enemies, so diligence in pursuing sound doctrine is essential to Christian readiness. Because this is so, Titus 1:9 exhorts every believer: “⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Practically, following Titus 1:9 means committing to regular Bible exposition in a doctrinally sound church.

You are not ready to see Jesus face to face unless you are taking seriously the pursuit of sound doctrine! I am so grateful we have that at Anchorage Grace Church!

Self-Examination

God is omniscient, which means he knows your every thought, word, and deed. It is clear to me that too many Christians do not live as though this incredible capacity of God is true. People can hide their sins from other people, but no one can hide anything from God.

A Christian locked in habitual sin—pornography, deceit, some double life—must repent in the name of Christian readiness! Openness to healing and growth comes from honest self-examination. Moreover, if your self-examination brings the realization that you need help, the church is there for you! Consider these three verses that speak to honest self-examination before God:

Psalm 139:23: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;”

Job 13:23: “How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin.”

Psalm 26:2: “Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.”

You are not ready to see Jesus face to face unless you are honestly self-examining!

Final Thoughts

Too many people put off Christian readiness because they think they have time and protection from calamity—tomorrow will come, they say in their relative comfort. However, lest you procrastinate, consider these inspired passages regarding Christ’s return:

 “⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:43-44

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. ² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”          1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

Consider your salvation, your doctrine, and examine your heart.

Are you ready?