Just as people are destined to die once, and after that face judgment. Hebrews 9:27
If in fact we will be alive after we die, we will face judgement and end up in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. The gravity of this reality cannot be stressed enough. Life here on earth is but a blip next to eternity. Forever is infinity, forever is without end, forever will be determined by choices made now.
Let’s consider the verse above.
1. Divine Appointment
We have an appointment with God that will occur after our death. That must mean we are alive and it also means we are accountable. The days that we live here on earth are determined by God. We could have that appointment today or many years from now but the reality is that all of us will die. No one is going to argue that death is not an absolute. The question is this, if death is but a door to an appointment with God, what do we think we will say at that time? Will we ask God to give us what we deserve because we have lived a good life? Most people plan on doing just that. But, that is a disastrous plan. Justice is what we deserve and if we ask for justice, we will not like the outcome. What we must consider is this: justice is what Christ accepted on our behalf so that we would not get what we deserve. Christ paid for our sins so that we would not get justice. What we need to ask from God at this divine appointment is mercy. We need to ask God to not give us what we deserve. We need to escape the judgment of God through Christ. God placed the punishment for our sin upon Christ so that we would not receive the punishment we deserve. Instead, we receive God’s forgiveness through the cross if we place our faith in Jesus.
2. Death and Resurrection
We will die once and then face eternity based on our decision to accept or reject Christ. Reincarnation is not true, It is appointed to die once and then face our future. We do not come back in some other way so that our lives are repeated somehow. We die once and then our opportunity to choose ends. We have the power of free will now to decide how we will face that judgment. If we accept Christ, we will be seen by God as forgiven and under the Blood. Revelation 12:11 says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
What is your testimony? Will you confess your trust in Christ or hope to trust yourself? Jesus said that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if that Seed dies, it produces many seeds. Christ died for you so that you would not be condemned to pay for your sins forever. God demonstrates His love for you in this that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We need a personal resurrection but that can only happen by believing in Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.
He died not due to any sin in Him but due to the sins in us.
He went into the grave and victoriously rose to live forever in heaven. The most important event in human history happened when Christ was put to death and then was raised to eternal life. We follow that same path if we place our faith in Him and trust Him to raise us up. Just as Jesus was in the tomb completely void of life and helpless, you will die someday and experience that same loss of control. Christ trusted the Holy Spirit to resurrect Him. We must do the same if we are true followers of Christ.
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; 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
R. C. Sproul gives an outstanding teaching on the Resurrection in the video below. Think about what Jesus went through. He went through a real death on our behalf so that we would receive the blessing of an eternity with Him in heaven.
