this morning, turn with me for
our Bible study to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, the ninth chapter. Hebrews nine. We'll begin reading in verse
19. of Hebrews 9. For when Moses
had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,
he took the blood of calves and of goats with water and scarlet
wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people,
saying, this is the blood of the testament which God hath
enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood
both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry, And
almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without
shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
ease, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself. not to appear in the presence
of God for us, nor yet that he should offer himself often as
a high priest enters into the holy places every year with blood
of others. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. And these last two verses are
what I want to concentrate on this morning. And as it is appointed
unto man once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that
look for him he shall appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. Now this word appointed is another
word for ordained or decreed, something that is fixed or officially
set, making it clear that every man and woman who have ever been
born will indeed one day die. Now for some it may be a day
or two after their birth and for others, well over 100 years
of age, but one thing is for certain, every man and woman
ever born will indeed die. Now Psalm 79 speaks to the death
of those redeemed by Christ. In verse 11, it says this, let
the sighing of the prisoner come before thee, according to the
greatness of thy power, preserve those that are appointed to die. And notice the wording in our
text here. It says, it is appointed unto man once to die. Now, if we were in Christ when
he died at Calvary, our appointed spiritual death has already taken
place. When Psalm 116.15 declares, precious
in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, it is certainly
referring to the time when we drop this robe of flesh and we
enter into glory, into the presence of God himself. But I believe
it also speaks of that day when all of God's saints, all of those
chosen in Christ, died with Christ at Calvary. Now being in Christ,
God's precious Son, makes the death of those saints precious
in the sight of the Father. We cannot comprehend the way
that our God thinks. The finite cannot. Comprehend
the infinite. But unlike those men and women
who stood that day when our Savior was crucified, seeing three men
dying, our God, God the Father, saw a number dying in Christ
that no man could number. And the wrath poured out that
day was not punishment for the sins of Christ. We know he had
no sin, but it was rather poured out upon Him because all of God's
elect were in Him, in Christ Jesus at that time. Those being
slain when He was slain, those that were in Him from the foundation
of the world. Paul explains this in Romans
6, starting in verse 6 where we read this, knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For
he that is dead is freed from sin." And Paul goes on, now,
if we be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with
him. Paul explains that how, through
the death of Christ, we also died. This is when every believer,
every chosen vessel of God's mercy, every elect child of God
died a spiritual death. A multitude died before they
were ever born, some 1,000 years, some 2,000 years before they
were ever born. But being in Christ, we died
when he died. Therefore, we shall not die again.
because it is appointed to man once to die, we're told. And
our death, the spiritual death that was due our sins, has already
taken place. If that's not something to rejoice
in, I don't know what is. And then Paul is explaining in
verse three of Romans 6 that baptism is a picture, a symbolic
picture of the death of Christ. As we are immersed below the
water, we picture Christ's death and burial. And as we come up
out of that water, we picture his resurrection, his rising
again. When he died, we died. When he
arose, we arose. Then Paul goes on in verse 5
of Romans 6 to say this, for if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, So shall we also be in the likeness
of his resurrection. And again, speaking of how baptism
pictures Christ's death and his rising again. Then in the next
verse, he tells us that the old man, that man of sin, that man
who must die because of sin, has already been punished. When
Christ died, that body of sin was destroyed. And he goes on
in verse 7 to declare the most glorious truth of all, for he
that is dead is freed from sin. The one-time appointment that
we had with death because of our sin has already occurred
when our Savior hung on Golgotha's tree. The full wrath of God,
the full eternal death that was required for our sins has taken
place. Now Paul is writing to living
saints when he says, now if we be dead with Christ, which indicates
the present tense, and this is not the best translation of this
text because we know that neither Christ nor we his saints are
dead, but we are indeed alive. We know this because when he
arose on the third day, we're told in Hebrews 7.25 that he
ever liveth, to make intercession for them, the them being his
elect, his chosen people. And being found in him when he
arose, we arose. And a better translation would
be this, now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall
also live with him. Now then in our text in Hebrews
9, it goes on to say this, So Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many. He was that eternal lamb that
Abraham told Isaac that God would provide for himself as a burnt
offering. And in Ephesians 5, it says,
Christ also hath loved us and given himself for us as an offering
and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savor. Romans 8.32 tells
us that God delivered him up for us all. And also in the book
of Romans, we read that he was delivered for our offenses, not
his, for ours. And unlike the blood of untold
number of beasts that were slain on Jewish altars, so mightily
effectual was the sacrifice of Christ that it was only required
to be done once. forever purge away our sins.
Now several times in chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews, it tells
us that Christ only needed to be offered once. So effectual
was his blood, it was only required to be offered once. But there
is a completely different fate that awaits those outside of
Christ. Death waits to claim them after which they will stand
on their own merits before a holy all-seeing God and will suffer
what is described in Revelation as the second death. Now there's
a warning in the book of Hebrews concerning the final end of men
and women who despise God's free and sovereign grace, despise
his preaching of the gospel, In Proverbs 15, 10, we read,
correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh away, and he that
hateth reproof shall die. This word reproof is another
word for rebuke or correction. It means criticism for a fault
or a reprimand, something that is said to show disapproval of
someone's bad behavior. Now, God uses the preaching of
the true gospel of Christ crucified to reprove men and women of their
sins. Several places in the New Testament
speak of the offense of the cross and of Christ being a stumbling
block and a rock of offense. It's offensive to natural men.
We don't like to be told that by nature we deserve God's wrath.
None of us, by nature, think we're all that bad. I remember
a story that Milton Howard told me. Many of you know Milton.
For a long time, he was preaching at a federal prison in Louisiana,
and he said it housed some of the worst of the worst. But he
said even some of those prisoners, he actually said, and he had
one guy tell him, you know, I know I'm not the best guy in the world,
But you know what, I only killed one guy, and that guy over there,
he killed three people. And Milton just thought to himself,
this is a murderer telling me that he's not all that bad compared
to another guy. And that's the way we are by
nature. We do not think that we're all that bad until God
gives us the ability to actually see that. Now the fate of those
spoken of here who hate God for proof, turn over with me to the
book of Proverbs. Next time someone tries to tell
you that God loves everybody, point them to this text. The book of Proverbs chapter
1. This describes the fate of those
who hate God's gospel and despise His reproof. Beginning in verse
23 of Proverbs chapter 1, Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I
will pour out my spirit upon you. I will make known my words
unto you. Because I have called and ye
refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded.
But ye have said it not all my counsel and would none of my
reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as a desolation,
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish cometh upon you, it doesn't say, don't worry, I love everybody.
This is God's reply. Then shall they call upon me,
but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of
my counsel and despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they
eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their
own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."
And then in the last part of our original text here in Hebrews
9, it describes what happens after the appointed time of death.
But after this, the judgment. Now 2 Corinthians 5.10 tells
us this, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ
that everyone may receive the things done in his body according
to that he hath done, whether they be good or bad. Now turn
over with me to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 20. There is an account here in Revelation
chapter 20 of this judgment, beginning in verse 12. We read
this, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there
was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another
book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. And the sea gave up the dead
which was in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead which
were in them. And they were judged, every man, according to their
works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. and
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. Verse 12 says, and I saw the
dead, both great and small, stand before God. And we know from
the book of John, chapter five, what Christ told his disciples.
that this God before whom these people stand in judgment is none
other than the Lord Jesus Christ, because he said, for the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. Then verse 12 mentions another
book called the Book of Life. Now this is the book that Christ
was referring to in Luke 10, when he sent out the 70 and they
returned And they were rejoicing and told him that even the spirits
were subject unto them through the name of Christ. But our Lord
told them this, notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the
spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your
names are written in heaven. They're written in a book called
the book of life. And why is it called that book
of life? because of what Christ told Martha before he raised
Lazarus from the dead. He said, whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. They shall never die the second
death because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Therefore,
their names are written in a book called the Book of Life. Now, there are two different
judgments taking place in these verses. One judgment described
here is the judgment of the dead, those who are not found alive
in Christ, but rather die in their own sins without hope.
They are they which will be cast into this lake of fire to suffer
what's called a second death. But verse 13 tells us that they're
judged every man according to his works. The lost are judged
according to their own works, which the Lord spoke of when
he said, in that day, he will tell them, depart from me, ye
workers of iniquity, describing the works of the lost. Even the
so-called good deeds of the lost are considered by our Lord to
be iniquity. But those whose names are written
in the book of life are also judged on their works, They are
the imputed works of Christ because we are alive in Him. Revelation 14, 13 gives us His
blessed hope and it says, and I heard a voice from heaven saying,
write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth,
yea, saith the Spirit, they shall rest from their labors and their
works do follow them. Now those works are the works
of Christ, imputed to our account. They are certainly not our works,
because the scriptures make it crystal clear that salvation
is not by works of righteousness, which we have done, and we are
saved through faith in that not of yourself. It is the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation does
not come by our works, but damnation certainly does. Now in the book
of Isaiah, chapter 22, there is an account of the gathering
of the enemies of Jerusalem and how the city tried to fortify
itself and prepare for battle. And beginning in verse 12, it
says this, and in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to
weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with
sackcloth. And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts,
saying, surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you
till you die, saith the Lord of hosts. Now here's a picture
of every man or woman who's ever lived. Man knows by nature that
there is a God. The atheist can tell you that
he doesn't believe in a God, he's not worried about dying.
But God has put a conscience in every man and woman knowing
that there is a God that he will one day answer to. But our Lord tells us that there must be a death before
our iniquities are purged. The scriptures tell us the soul
that sinneth, it shall die. But we just read in Romans 6,
The death that was required to purge away the iniquities of
God's chosen people has already taken place 2,000 years ago on
a hill called Golgotha, when our Lord Jesus Christ died and
we died in him. This was confirmed by our Savior
when he said, it is finished. The death that was required has
already taken place. The death to purge away our sins
is done. The appointed day of our death,
our spiritual death, is long since past. It is finished. But of course, there'll come
a day when this heart will beat its last contraction and our
lungs will exhale their last breath. and will leave this robe
of flesh and be translated into the kingdom of our God. Paul
wrote of this to the Corinthians when he said, Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. And it goes on to tell us that
death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Death hath no sting
for the believer, because there is no more sin for the believer.
that debt was paid for in full by the God-man. And further,
because we have no more sin, sin has no strength over us because
Christ is what? The end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. The debt has been paid and the
death has been paid. We have a clean slate because
Christ has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross, the demands of the law, which we could not
meet, those demands which were standing between us and the way
to eternal glory. Christ, by his death, took it
out of the way, like you would clear debris from a roadway in
order to allow free passage and free travel, so was Christ. cleared
our path into the presence of God Almighty, we are now able
to address this mighty sovereign God as Abba, Father. That death that is required has
already taken place. I ask that the Lord would bless
that to your heart.