LOOKING WITH ANTICIPATION. Titus 2:13 Paul emphasized two key points in the overview of the doctrine of redemption: living daily for the Lord and waiting for His return. Living in an ungodly world can be manageable when we choose to live for God despite everything happening around us. As we live daily for Him, using the gifts He has given us to do His will, we can choose joy and hope that motivate us to advance His work and kingdom. While we await His return, we live with anticipation of seeing Him—His personal presence, the redemption of our sinful bodies to be like His glorious body, and the restoration of all things He has promised.
His arrival to take the church home to heaven begins a series of events that will culminate in the renewal of all things to be as He intends. After the judgment seat of Christ, the marriage supper of the Lamb will follow. The Lord Jesus Christ will come, end the tribulation, and sit on David’s throne. He will rule for 1000 years with justice, and there will be peace on earth. Events afterward will usher in the time when there will ultimately be a new heavens and a new earth “wherein dwells righteousness,” and God will be “all in all.”
God’s grace has brought salvation and taught us about the past and the present, but it also guides us about the future, when our "great God and Savior Jesus Christ" will come to earth and reign righteously in power and glory. The "blessed hope" is not just a speculative wish we hold but a real certainty that will happen in God's perfect timing. There will come a time when there is "peace on earth, good will toward men." That is a fact, an encouragement, and a motivation for godly conduct on our part. We look forward to the time when grace rules and our Lord Jesus Christ reigns. We will be saved from the presence of sin when our Lord appears and restores all that has been polluted by sin. Because of this, we teach, encourage, and correct others when needed.