Hebrews 9:27-28 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (28) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
Is there a possibility that someone could go through this life with a hope in his heart of eternal life, but then be rejected when standing before a great white throne? There are those who have this dread of the possibility of God telling them their good works were not enough and they would then be consigned to an eternal burning hell. If there is no other passage of Scripture that dispels that fear, I pray these verses will take it away and replace it with the blessed assurance of the effectual work of Jesus Christ.It is a fact we will not enter heaven in this flesh. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed. The judgment that was against us because of sin carried the penalty of death. "It is appointed unto men once to die." For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Will we have to stand before God and give an account of every sin we have ever committed? If we have been changed, then we will not remember the sins we have committed on earth. Would that not rightly be so, since God has promised that He has forgotten our sins? They are cast behind His back never to be remembered again. Again, let us look to God's Word: "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." (Isaiah 38:17) "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25) If God does not remember them, why would He demand that we call them to remembrance upon arrival in His eternal presence?
Yes, it was appointed unto men once to die. Yes, after this appointment came the judgment. How was judgment declared upon us? "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." You see, now comes the importance of the legality of all that the writer has set previously in this book. If Jesus was not the Son of God, then we are dead in our sins. If Jesus is not our Great High Priest, we have no one to make the offering for our sins. If Jesus is not that perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, then any other offering would be deficient and not effective. But Jesus, the Son of God is our Great High Priest Who offered not the blood of animals, but His own righteous blood for our sins. He entered into the Holy of holies with His own blood. He made that offering unto God.
He came out alive. Through His offering unto the Father and by the Father's acceptance of that offering, you and I and every one that was given to the Son in that covenant of grace, have been JUSTIFIED! Yes, we are justified, not by our works, but by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. What will the judgment be like? Jesus, our Mediator, will stand between us and the Father and He will declare, "... Behold I and the children which God hath given me." (Hebrews 2:13) I assure you by the Word of God that every single individual who was included in that covenant of grace shall stand before God as just and holy, even as Jesus stands before the Father Just and Holy. The judgment against us was paid in full by the blood of Christ. That, my friends, is the anchor of our soul. (Hebrews chapter 6) Rest, find comfort and assurance, in Jesus. (Hebrews chapter 4)
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:1-2)