Watching for the Lord’s return is not a peripheral concern—it is central to the apostolic witness. But what does it truly mean to be “ready” for His appearing? The answer is not found in frantic self-examination or in deciphering prophetic puzzles, but in a single, decisive command from the Apostle John:
“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)
Here is the dividing line: At Christ’s coming, believers will be found in one of two conditions. Some will be spiritually asleep, dulled and intoxicated by the world, and will shrink back in shame. Others—those who abide in Christ—will stand before Him with confidence and joy. This is not a secondary matter. To be unprepared, to be found in shame, is not a minor embarrassment; it is a tragic forfeiture of the very assurance and inheritance Christ purchased for us.
Abiding: The Only Ground for Confidence
The call is not to muster readiness through human effort or religious performance. The command is to abide—to remain, to rest, to stay rooted in Christ Himself. This is the only ground for confidence at His coming. To abide in Him is to trust in the sufficiency of His finished work, to live out of our union with Him, and to reject the lie that our standing before God is ever secured by our own striving.
If you are not abiding, if you are spiritually asleep or intoxicated with the world, you will not be ready. The result is shame at His appearing—a shame that exposes the bankruptcy of self-reliance and the folly of neglecting the covenantal promise. But if you are abiding, you will not be caught off guard. You will not be found lacking. You will meet Him with boldness, not shrinking back, because your confidence is anchored in Him.
The Promises That Secure Our Readiness
The New Testament does not leave us with warnings alone. It is saturated with promises that flow directly from God’s covenant faithfulness and power:
A Crown for Those Who Love His Appearing:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)God’s Power to Keep and Present Us Faultless:
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” (Jude 1:24)Salvation Without Sin for Those Who Eagerly Await Him:
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)The Resurrection and Eternal Union:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18)
These are not mere aspirations—they are guarantees rooted in God’s own ability and intent. Readiness is not a human achievement; it is the result of God’s power to keep us, to present us faultless, to crown us with righteousness, and to unite us with Christ forever. To suggest otherwise is to undermine the very foundation of justification and sonship.
The Constructive Role of Soul Searching
When we encounter the prophetic scriptures, they have a sobering effect. They expose the ways we have become intoxicated with the world, the seasons we have lived for ourselves, the opportunities we have squandered. This soul searching is not to be despised. It is a tool in God’s hand, meant to drive us to repentance and renewed faith—not in our resolve, but in His promise.
If your conscience is pricked, do not retreat into despair or double down on self-effort. Let it bring you back to the only place of safety: abiding in Christ. The Lord who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ. He alone is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before His glory with exceeding joy.
What Is Lost If We Abandon This Truth
If you accept the error that readiness is ultimately your work, you forfeit the very confidence and joy that Christ intends for you. You trade the crown of righteousness for the uncertainty of self-examination. You undermine the promise that God Himself will keep you and present you faultless. You collapse the doctrine of justification into a treadmill of anxiety, and you rob the gospel of its power to comfort and assure.
This is not a negotiable point. To shift the ground of readiness from Christ’s finished work to your own performance is to gut the covenant, to make sonship conditional, and to leave yourself exposed to shame at His coming.
The Only Sure Foundation
Let the warnings of scripture do their work, but do not stop there. Let them drive you to abide in Christ, to trust in His sufficiency, to love His appearing, and to rest in the power of God who keeps you. When He comes, you will not stand on your own record. You will stand in His righteousness, ready to enter His presence with exceeding joy. This is the confidence of the one who abides—and it is yours by promise, not by performance.
