September 18, 2010

"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 many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28

Later today I will be sitting at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA with 66,238 of my closest friends. We will have several things in common. All of us love the Hokies and all of us have a date with death. (Some of us live and die with the Hokies, but that is a different story) And after we each did we will each face a judgment before God.

You might be saying, "Wow! Thanks for that depressing thought!"

I am simply echoing the truth recorded here in this portion of the Scriptures written by the author of Hebrews. When you back away from these couple of verses and look at the bigger picture of what is being said, it is actually good news - no, great news!

The purpose of Hebrews is to explain the advantages of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant, the Law was central and you atoned for violations of the Law through the shedding of the blood of the sacrifices in the Temple by the priests. But the New Covenant was established by the grace of God through the shedding of Christ's blood on the cross. So, he is essentially asking this question, "Would you rather depend on the continual offering of sacrifices or would you rather just depend on the 'once and for all' sacrifice of Christ, God's Son?"

Good answer!

Trusting the sacrifice of Christ is not only a better way to live, it is a better way to die! Since everyone of us is going to die, would you rather die hoping that you have offered the right sacrifice or would you rather die KNOWING that Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for your salvation!?

Good answer!

After death come the judgment. Let me ask you again - would you rather face the judgment trusting in the blood of goats and bulls OR would you rather face the judgment knowing that Christ was offered for your sins and that He took your judgment for you?

Good answer!

So, let me summarize. What sounds like a blunt and cold statement of depressing news, at further examination is GREAT news! Knowing that you will die and that there is a judgment means you need to do something to prepare. And the something you should do is trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord because He died and He was judged for you! His death provided the means for you to be forgiven of your sins and freed from the penalty of judgment!

When he delivers this news he is saying, "God died and God was judged (in the person of Christ) so that you can face death and the judgment without fear or dread!

Will you? Have you put your faith in Christ and trusted Him for your salvation?