Once Only Once Enough!
Hebrews 9:24-26
In Hebrews 9:24-28 the Spirit of
God tells us of three great appearances of our Savior.
He appeared once in the world to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. This is our atonement (v. 26).
In verse 24 we are told that our
great Savior now appears in the presence of God for us as our
Advocate. This is our assurance (1 John 2:1-2).
In verse 28 the inspired writer
declares that the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear to them that look for him the
second time without sin unto salvation. That will be our
advancement. What an advancement it will be!
Now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Our great Redeemer, the Son of
God, came into this world in human flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. He came but once. He died but once. He made but one great sacrifice
for sin. But once was enough!
A Horribly Evil Thing
What a horribly evil thing sin
must be! It
is rebellion against God, treason against his throne, mans attempt to rape and
defile the holy Lord God, to drive the Almighty from his throne, to murder the
Eternal. Sin is the expression of fallen mans enmity against God, the display
of our natural heart hatred of God. Sin is that which makes us obnoxious to the
holy Lord God. Sin is the defilement of our race. Sin has brought us under the
curse of Gods holy law. Sin has put us under the sentence of death, eternal
death. Sin shuts the door of hope upon all the human race.
No
Easy Task
It is
not easy for sin to be put away. No carnal sacrifice can put away sin.
Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.
No work
of man can put away one sin. No amount of repentance can put away sin. Not even
our faith can put away sin.
Not all the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no languor know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Christ must save, and Christ alone!
Even God himself cannot, in his
pure, absolute character as God, put away sin.
If sin
is to be put away, it must be put away by the sin-atoning death and
substitutionary sacrifice of the incarnate God, the God-man Mediator, the Lord
Jesus Christ. But his sacrifice was enough. He died but once; but once was
enough! That is the meaning of these words. -- Now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Christ
Did It
Christs
sufferings and death for sin are of infinite value, merit, and efficacy.
Therefore, he suffered for sin only once. He appeared once, in the end of the
world to put away sin; and he has done it!
Our Lord Jesus Christ put away the
guilt of sin by his atoning sacrifice. He put away the punishment of it by his
sufferings and death as our Substitute. The incarnate Son of God put away the
penalty of the law by his satisfaction of divine justice. He put away the
consequences of sin by his obedience unto death. He puts away the dominion of
sin in his people by the power of his grace in the new birth. He puts away the
filth of sin by his sanctifying grace. And he shall put away the very being of
sin in resurrection glory.
This work of putting away sin was accomplished by him bearing our sin in his own body upon the cursed tree. He carried it and took it away. This is what was pictured in the Old Testament type of the scapegoat.
The Lord Jesus has removed sin from us as far as the east is from the west, by finishing and making an end of it. He disannulled and abolished it, in so far as the law and justice of God is concerned. When he paid our debt, he cancelled it in one day, by his one sacrifice. In one great day, the whole work was done (Zech. 3:9). Our sins, being forever, effectually put away by the sacrifice of Christ, shall never be found and can never be charged to us again (Jer. 50:20; Rom. 4:8).
My sin, (O the bliss of this glorious thought!)
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more. --
Praise the Lord! It is well with my soul!