Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Hebrews 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of all people; And He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
LOOKING FORWARD TO JUDGMENT DAY
The opening words before us today might well send a chill through us. No second chance after death. No return to earth in some other life in order to better your situation. You live. You die. You're judged. You have this one life to get right with God. Do it right--or else.
We could draw these conclusions from the words of Hebrews 9:27, and we wouldn't be wrong. But they are not the whole story. The writer God inspired to pen these words is not putting these facts regarding our human situation before us in order to frighten us, but to encourage us. He's not urging us to a life of frantic efforts to get on God's good side. Rather, just as we will die once and then appear on Judgment Day, even so Jesus died once to take our sins away. He will next appear on the Last Day--the Day of Judgment. He will come to take all who trust in Him to live with Him forever.
These words demonstrate how completely faith casts out fear. When we consider the record of our lives--the things that we have done, and left undone--the thought of God judging us strikes terror in the heart. Yet we look forward to Judgment Day with glad anticipation. It is the day the Lord who laid down his life for us returns to gather us into the Father's house. The record that stands against us? In blood red letters Jesus has written across the ledgers of Heaven, "PAID IN FULL." And he will be the judge on the Last Day! He will say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).
