The Sunday of Last Judgment
November 17, 2024
Hebrews 9:24-28
Live Like You’ll Live Forever—
Live Free from the Fear of Judgment!
24For Christ did not enter a manmade sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so 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. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
What are you afraid of? Personally, I am afraid of spiders. Whether it’s a big spider or a small spider I am afraid of it. I am also afraid of the ocean. It is too big and too powerful for me. I know people who are afraid of snakes. I know people who are afraid of flying. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone who wasn’t afraid of something!
When I Googled the question, “What are people afraid of?” I found website after website after website that addressed that question. Many of the websites covered the same fears— such as the fear of spiders, the fear of snakes and the fear of dogs. One website included the “Top 10 Fears that Hold People Back in Life.” It listed things such as the fear of change, the fear of loneliness and the fear of getting hurt. One website talked about Social Anxiety Disorder— or S.A.D. A person who is struggling with S.A.D. has an acute fear of being judged. Everyday activities like talking to people terrify them because they fear that people are trying to find something to criticize about them.
While I admit that I did not check out all the websites that popped up when I Googled the question, “What are people afraid of?” the one fear that I did not see, the one fear that I expected to see was— the fear of death. The fear of death is very often intertwined with another fear, the fear of being judged— by God!
Our goal today is to see that as Christians we don’t need to fear death. Our goal today is to see that as Christians we don’t need to fear being judged by God. As we gather together to celebrate the Sunday of Last Judgment let’s see that knowing that we will live forever enables us to: Life Free From the Fear of Judgment!
For those of you who are not participating in our midweek Bible study on the letter to the Hebrews, this book was written to Jewish Christians (hence the name Hebrews) who were being pressured to renounce their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and go back to following the rules and the regulations, the ceremonies and the sacrifices that were essential parts of following Judaism as it’s found in the laws of Moses and in the traditions of the elders. As the writer to the Hebrews compares the Old Covenant to the New Covenant he consistently emphasizes how Jesus and His work of salvation (Pointing to the cross) is superior in every way.
Look at how the superiority of Jesus and His work is brought out in the opening verse of our text. We read, “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.” There are two truths that need to be highlighted here.
The first truth is one that I find fascinating. We cannot underestimate the importance of the “man-made sanctuary” where God’s people worshiped their Lord and to which God’s people brought their sacrifices and their offering to their Lord. What I find fascinating is that the Tabernacle and later the Temple was a “copy,” a “counterpart” to the “true” sanctuary— the heavenly sanctuary. As we picture God’s Old Testament children streaming into the “man-made sanctuary” we can envision God’s New Testament children streaming into the “true” sanctuary of heaven! As we picture God’s Old Testament children bringing their offerings and their sacrifices into the “man-made sanctuary” we can envision God’s New Testament children bringing their offerings and their sacrifices into the “true” sanctuary of heaven! That reality fascinates me!
The second truth, a truth that we dare not overlook, is found in the fact that Christ has entered heaven itself “now to appear for us in God’s presence.” A more literal translation here reveals to us that our Brother Jesus “entered heaven itself now to appear before the face of God on behalf of us”! These are some of the most beautiful Gospel words that we could ever possibly hear! Think about it, my friends. Our Brother Jesus now stands in the presence of our heavenly Father, our Brother Jesus “appeared” before the “face” of our heavenly Father— for us! On our behalf! For our sake! As John tells us, “We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense— Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
What makes these such beautiful Gospel words? Look at verses twenty-five and twenty-six of our text. We’re told, “Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
Year after year, century after century, generation after generation the High Priest of God’s Chosen People would enter the Most Holy Place in the Temple of the Lord and sprinkle the blood of an animal on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. This cover was called the Atonement Cover. This day was called the Day of Atonement. All of this was a very graphic reminder to God’s people that the that the only way to “atone” for their sins was through the shedding of innocent blood. (See Hebrews 9:22) The fact that this had to be repeated over and over and over again reminded God’s people that it was “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). All of this kept God’s people focused on the ultimate sacrifice that God Himself would make— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
All of those Old Testament sacrifices, the innocent blood of countless animals, was fulfilled when Jesus came into this world “to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Through His holy precious blood shed for us on the cross of Calvary’s hill Jesus has “nullified” our sin! Jesus has completely “removed” our sin! The picture that the Holy Spirit paints for us here is a very strong one. Every sin that every human being commits— including each and every one of our sins!— incurs a “debt”— to God. The more we sin— the greater our “debt.” There is nothing we can do to pay the “debt” that we owe to the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. So, just as God graciously “cancelled” the “debts” of His children on the Day of Atonement, Jesus graciously “canceled” our “debt” of sin. Jesus has “nullified” and “removed” our sin through His innocent suffering and death on the cross! (Pointing to the cross) Note very carefully that Jesus did not simply “overlook” our sins— He actually “removed” our sin. He took our sins upon Himself and carried them to the cross. Let that sink in, my friends. Your sins are gone! Your sins have been taken away! Your sins have been paid for— in full!
While the atoning work that Christ has accomplished for us assures us that our sins are forgiven, there are many forces— both inside of us and outside of us— that want us to question our forgiveness and doubt our standing before God. How often do you wonder if Christ’s work is for others, but not for someone like you? When you look in the mirror and see all the hideous thoughts that have gone through your mind, all of the hateful words that have come out of your mouth and all of the horrible things you have done— do you ever question if Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is actually “enough” to completely pay for all of your sins? How often does your old sinful nature— which is a hardened unbeliever and an avowed enemy of God— cause you to doubt that God could actually love someone like you? How often does the devil try to deceive you into thinking that the holy, just and perfect God cannot and should not freely forgive someone like you?
If ever/whenever those thoughts and those questions and those doubts keep you up at night, remember what you are told in verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight of our text. We read, “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.”
Whether it’s you or me or anyone else we are “destined” to die. When that happens, when our heart stops beating, when our lungs stop breathing, when our brains stop functioning our death will instantly lead to our “judgment.” We’ll come back to this “judgment” in just a moment. In sharp contrast to our death, what did Jesus’ death lead to? Jesus died once; Jesus was sacrificed once to “take away the sins of many people”— including all of your sins! This means that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was an “all-sufficient” sacrifice! This means that Jesus’ death was a “once-for-all” death! It never needs to be repeated. Jesus’ death, Jesus’ “sacrifice” was the singular payment for all of our iniquities and for all for all of our transgressions! This cross (Pointing to the cross) guarantees to us that all is complete! Nothing more needs to be done— ever! That is why our Lord proclaimed from the cross, “It is finished!”
Now let’s go back to what we were told in verse twenty-seven, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” One day we will be “judged” by God. God’s “judgment” will take place either at the moment of our death or when Jesus returns to this earth as the Judge of the living and the dead. God’s “judgment” will determine where we will spend eternity— either in heaven or in hell. While our old sinful nature is thoroughly terrified at being “judged” by God, the Christin part of us is anxiously looking forward to being “judged” by God! How/why can we eagerly look forward to being “judged” by God? Look at the closing words of our text. We’re told that Jesus “will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
The goal of Jesus’ first advent into this world was summarized beautifully when the angel told Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). That goal was reached when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, “It is finished! I have reached my goal!” (John 19:30). The result of that goal having been reached is that through faith in Jesus as our Savior we can life free from the fear of judgment! We know that purely by grace alone through faith alone we have already been “justified.” We have already been declared: Not Guilty! — by God Himself! With that “judgment” wrapped around us like a divine protective shield we know that when Jesus returns to this earth on Judgment Day He will give to us— absolutely free of charge!— the gift of eternal salvation! With that “judgment” wrapped around us like a divine protective shield we know that when Jesus returns to this earth on Judgment Day He will say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
This cross is your source of confidence when it comes to Judgment Day. This cross enables you to understand how and why Luke’s description of Judgment Day includes the words, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). This cross assures you that there is no doubt about the verdict that your Judge will pronounce on you. In Jesus your sins have been ”taken away”! In Jesus you have already been “Declared: Not Guilty!” In Jesus you can live a life free from the fear of judgment because you know that in Jesus Judgment Day will be a day of joy and peace and confidence. You know that in Jesus Judgment Day will be the beginning of your perfect, eternal and glorious life with your God in His Kingdom! That’s why in Jesus we can say:
To God be the glory!
Amen