Second Sunday of End Time (Last Judgment) – November 8, 2009

Hebrews 9:²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ 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.

A teenage boy came to his father one day and said, “Good news dad! The bank gave me a loan, now I can go to college and become a lawyer.” “Very good, my son,” said his father. “I suppose you will study hard and get good grades.” “Yes,” said his son, “I will study hard, pass all my exams, and graduate and practice law.” “And then?” asked his father. “I’ll work hard and gain a good reputation. People will come to me, and I will have a successful business.” “And then?” his father asked again. “I’ll retire and enjoy my last years in doing many things I always wanted to do.” “And then?” “Well, a person can’t live forever. I guess I will have to die.” “And then?” The young man began to tremble, and finally managed to say, “I had forgotten that the Bible says, ‘man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.’”

When a person dies, will they face judgment? That is a question that has been asked by many people. And, it is a question answered with a “YES” throughout the Bible, including the words of our lesson this morning. While an unbeliever might try to ease their troubled conscience by answering that question with a lie, “No there is no judgment;” or while the agnostic who doesn’t know if there is a god might respond, “Maybe;” the believing child of God can say with joy and conviction, “Yes!” Why can we do that? Well let us turn to God’s Word before us this morning as it points out the reason in the “tenses” of our salvation. Jesus has appeared once to die for us. He appeared in the Father’s courtroom, bringing the only evidence needed. He will appear again to bring us the final rewards of his labor.

“Man is destined to die once.” How does that statement make you feel? How often do you think about it? Have you ever asked why that statement is true? After all, excluding Enoch and Elijah, 10 out of every 10 people die, and even with the advancement in medical science, the mortality rate remains 100%. To understand why this is, all we have to do is go back to the beginning when God said to Adam and Eve, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). You know how that played out. Adam and Eve, even though given the power, did not resist Satan’s temptation to eat the forbidden fruit and sinned. So when God came calling that evening they ran and hid from him in shame. Then, after cursing the devil, after giving the first gospel promise, and after speaking to Eve, God finally said to Adam, “Because you…ate…which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of…’By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17,19). Thus was produced the reason for one of the most common, if not the most common phrase in the Bible – “and he died.” As the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ² a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2).

So, are you going to die? The answer is yes. We will all die. And it’s important that we think about that. (Please note, thinking about it is different than morbidly dwelling on it) It’s important because then we are forced to face the reality of our own sin. Then we are forced to come to the conclusion – if I die, it means I’m a sinner. Then we are forced to realize, if Adam and Eve lost the perfect image in which they were created when they sinned, it must be true that all who sin fall short of the glory of God. Then we cannot side-step the other truth our lesson points out, “Man is destined to die once, and then face judgment.”

Death is not all. After death, man has to meet Christ as Judge as Jesus himself graphically pictures, ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (Matthew 25:31-33). Where will we be? On the left, standing with the unbelievers, represented by the goats, destined for hell and eternal doom? Or will we be on the right, standing with the believers, represented by the sheep, destined for heaven and eternal bliss? Well, we just admitted that we are sinners, a fact proven by the inescapable reality that we will die. And God says that sin cannot be in his presence. And if God dwells in heaven, and we are sinners, what verdict do we deserve? The only verdict we have earned is “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Doesn’t that compel us, then, to be terrified and despair at the thought of death and judgment?

To the one who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior that answer is yes. But for you and for me, who have been brought to know Jesus as our Savior, the answer is no. Listen, “But, now he has appeared once for all…to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Here we come to the first “tense” of our salvation. But what do I mean by “tense”? Well, just like the English language has a present, future and past tense, and each one carries with it certain significance, the Greek language has different tenses too. And the tense of the verb translated “has appeared” is what is called the perfect tense. The significance of this is that it signifies that the action has been completed with a special emphasis on the ongoing, continuous results. Do you get it? These words are telling you that Jesus appeared on earth in order to do away with your sin – and he completed it – and now this work he appeared to do and has completed, has continuous ongoing results for you.

Oh what joy! We humans are sinful creatures destined to die once and then face judgment, but the danger in this is turned aside by the fact that Christ has appeared once for all and was sacrificed to take away the sins of the world. That work has lasting results for you and me. What he did then on the cross won our forgiveness now! What he did then with the shedding of his blood pays the penalty of our sin now!

But that’s not all. We are also told, “Christ…entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.” Here we have the second “tense” of our salvation. The tense of this verb translated “now to appear” is what is called the aorist tense. The emphasis with this tense is on the action in and of itself. So in this case it speaks of the momentous occasion when Christ entered his Father’s courtroom with the one sacrifice that could atone for the sins of the world, himself. You see, as the Son of God, Jesus willingly came to earth to offer himself as the one-time sacrifice mankind needed as a payment for sin. So he walked the lonely, long, awful road to the cross and offered his holy, innocent life there. Having died, he was placed in the tomb, but only to rise again. On Easter Sunday he declared his victory by leaving the tomb empty and appeared before our Father in heaven to show himself to be the perfect and acceptable sacrifice for sin.

And who did he do this for – for us! He did it for you! Yes you! So now you have the assurance that Jesus brought before the Father the only evidence needed to secure your innocence. The case has been closed. The verdict has been pronounced. It is “Not Guilty.” The verdict is certain, based on the certainty of the verdict already made in God’s courtroom. The benefit of his sacrifice became our own the very moment the Holy Spirit brought us to faith. The blood of Jesus purifies us from all unrighteousness. Christ has done away with sin, canceling its guilt and cracking its grip. Christ does not need to renew his sacrifice, because it is complete. The verdict is in. No matter what may happen on earth, a believer can be confident because everything is settled in heaven. We have already had our day in court and been declared free of sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Now, knowing and believing in Jesus our Savior, death and judgment are no longer the terror they once were for the guilty conscience. It can truly be said that Christians are always ready to face death and judgment. In other words, we are always ready for the “and then?”

Now, we simply wait longingly for the day when “he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Here is the third “tense” of our salvation. You are probably able to identify the tense of the verb translated “will appear” in this sentence. Yes, it is future. Christ will come again. How comforting for us Christians. While we have and possess salvation right now, we are not experiences the full aspects of it. Instead, we struggle and fight here. We are faced with sickness and disease and pain. We deal with loss and heartache and sorrow. But the day will come when Jesus will appear again, when we will be brought into his heavenly kingdom to partake in all the glory and splendor he won for us with his labor. How we long for that day! It will be joyous because there will be no questioning, no presenting of evidence, no accusing before we are given our place. We will immediately receive that place of honor because our justification is finished! That is what Luke wanted his readers to see and wait in eager expectation for when he wrote, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:27:28).

But for now we wait: clinging to that gracious verdict of “Not Guilty.” Christ has won! The devil can no longer accuse us. Christ has won! We are freed from the burden of guilt that comes from sins of thoughts, word and deed. Christ has won! In the power of his Word we can face and conquer temptations. Christ has won! And we are winners! This assurance is ours even when everything might seem to be going against us. There is no better life on earth than the one that has that verdict as it center and its motivation for all that we do. And we patiently wait; we eagerly wait for the day the words of John come true, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Yes, man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. But those words don’t scare us anymore. Christ came to win heaven for us, and he succeeded on his mission. The “tenses” that the Holy Spirit chose for the words of our lesson tell us so. And God’s Word does not lie. Jesus has appeared once to die for us. He appeared in the Father’s courtroom, bringing the only evidence needed to secure our innocence. He will appear again to bring us the final rewards of his labor. Amen.