Introduction
Are you living with the end in mind, or are you trying to avoid thinking about death, judgment, and eternity? The central teaching of Hebrews 9:27–28 is that death and judgment are certain for every person, but salvation is certain for all who trust in Jesus Christ, whose once-for-all sacrifice truly removes sin.
Memorial Day helps us feel something we often try to forget: at the center of this holiday is a grave. Not a barbecue. Not the kickoff to summer. A memorial stone, remembering those who died for a greater cause. And in God’s providence, that theme of remembrance fits Hebrews 9, a passage often read at memorial services, because it calls us not only to remember the dead but to remember our own destiny: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). In uncertain times, politically, culturally, personally, God gives us anchors. Here are three certainties I want you to build your life on.
Main Points
Are you living with the end in mind, or are you trying to avoid thinking about death, judgment, and eternity? The central teaching of Hebrews 9:27–28 is that death and judgment are certain for every person, but salvation is certain for all who trust in Jesus Christ, whose once-for-all sacrifice truly removes sin.
Memorial Day helps us feel something we often try to forget: at the center of this holiday is a grave. Not a barbecue. Not the kickoff to summer. A memorial stone, remembering those who died for a greater cause. And in God’s providence, that theme of remembrance fits Hebrews 9, a passage often read at memorial services, because it calls us not only to remember the dead but to remember our own destiny: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
In uncertain times, politically, culturally, personally, God gives us anchors. Here are three certainties I want you to build your life on.
Death Is an Unavoidable Appointment
Hebrews does not treat death as a maybe. It calls it an appointment: “appointed for man to die once” (Hebrews 9:27). That appointment does not discriminate, young or old, healthy or sick, rich or poor, religious or irreligious.
We can try to delay death with wisdom and health. We can try to deny death by keeping it out of sight. We can distract ourselves with youth, success, entertainment, or even cosmetic attempts to hide the reminder of aging. But we cannot defeat it. As the saying goes, you can delay death and deny death, but you can’t defeat death.
Scripture calls our lifespan a vapor: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). And because life is short, God calls us to live wisely now: “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Wisdom is not living in fear; wisdom is living in reality, making choices today in light of eternity.
And we should remember: death was not God’s original design for humanity. Death is not merely a scientific problem of decay; it’s a theological problem rooted in sin. “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin… because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). When I remember death rightly, I’m also forced to face the deeper problem beneath it: sin.
Judgment Follows Death With Certainty
The verse doesn’t stop at death: “after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). That means every person will stand before a moral Judge. Our culture often tries to escape this certainty, by imagining multiple lives, reincarnation, karma, or by denying a personal God altogether. But deep down, we all know judgment belongs to reality.
Here’s how I see it: we demand justice constantly. When someone wrongs us, something rises up inside and says, “That’s not okay. That must be made right.” If you’ve ever watched children argue, you’ve seen it in raw form, kids become attorneys, and parents become judges. That desire for justice is a clue: God has written moral awareness into the human heart.
Even the teachings of Jesus include judgment plainly. He said a day is coming when all who are in the graves will rise: “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28–29). If we remove judgment, we gut the meaning of the cross. Why would we need atonement if there were no real guilt and no holy Judge?
So I want you to ask the question that Hebrews forces on us: What will my plea be? When you stand before God, on what basis will you claim you are safe?
Two common pleas fail, both are deeply popular:
- Earthly success: “Look what I built. Look what I achieved.” But Jesus warns, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Mark 8:36). God does not need our riches or resume, His streets are gold.
- Good works and religious effort: “Look what I did, even in Your name.” Yet Jesus warns that many will appeal to spiritual activity and still hear, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23). And Scripture is blunt about our moral record: “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6).
You and I cannot delay judgment, deny judgment, or defeat judgment. We need a better plea than “I tried.”
Christ’s Once-for-All Sacrifice Secures Salvation
This is where Hebrews turns from terror to hope: “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many… will appear a second time… for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). The good news is not that judgment disappears. The good news is that Jesus provides a true, just, sufficient answer to judgment.
Hebrews ties Christ’s work to the Old Covenant system: “not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood” (Hebrews 9:18). Moses sprinkled blood on the book and on the people; the tabernacle and vessels were connected to purification. And Hebrews summarizes the logic: “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22).
Why does God require this? Because God does not “forgive” by pretending sin didn’t happen. If a judge simply shrugs at real evil, that isn’t mercy, it’s injustice. In every courtroom (even the “courtroom” of a family), love requires that real wrong be addressed. If no penalty is paid, the victim is forced to absorb all the pain with no justice. And we know, instinctively, that a world with no true justice would be a moral nightmare.
So God remains just, and He also saves sinners, by placing the penalty where it can be truly paid. Either I bear my own guilt in judgment, or Jesus bears my guilt at the cross. That is why Christ was offered once, not repeatedly, not as an ongoing attempt, but as a finished, sufficient sacrifice.
And this produces a distinct kind of Christian posture: not hiding from God, not waiting in dread, but “eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28). We don’t eagerly wait because we’re confident in ourselves; we eagerly wait because our salvation is anchored in Him.
Live as Those Eagerly Waiting
If death is certain, and judgment is certain, and salvation in Christ is certain, then I want you to live differently starting now.
- Number your days: stop procrastinating repentance, reconciliation, obedience, and worship (Psalm 90:12).
- Drop false pleas: success and good deeds cannot cleanse guilt or satisfy justice (Mark 8:36; Isaiah 64:6).
- Run to the sufficient Savior: make your plea Christ alone, His blood, His sacrifice, His righteousness (Hebrews 9:28).
- Wait eagerly: not in fear of condemnation, but in confident hope that the Judge is also your Redeemer (John 5:28–29; Hebrews 9:28).
This is how we face Memorial Day, and every day, honestly: remembering death, preparing for judgment, and clinging to Christ.
Conclusion
Memorial Day reminds us that graves are real. Hebrews 9 reminds us that our own grave is coming too: “appointed… to die once.” And it reminds us that death is not the end: “after that comes judgment.” But God does not leave us trapped between fear and inevitability, He gives us a sure salvation: “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many… he will appear… for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27–28).
So I’m calling you, gently and directly: don’t build your peace on denial. Don’t build your hope on success. Don’t build your confidence on good works. Build your life on Jesus, crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. Then you can face death with sobriety, judgment with humility, and the future with eager hope.
Father, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Thank You that You do not ignore sin or pretend evil is small, but that You are perfectly just. And thank You that in love You provided a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, who was offered once to bear the sins of many. Help me turn from false confidence in my success or my works and rest my whole plea on Christ alone. Make me someone who waits eagerly for His return, living faithfully in the uncertainty of this world with certainty in Your promises. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Memorial Day reminds us that graves are real. Hebrews 9 reminds us that our own grave is coming too: “appointed… to die once.” And it reminds us that death is not the end: “after that comes judgment.” But God does not leave us trapped between fear and inevitability, He gives us a sure salvation: “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many… he will appear… for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27–28).
So I’m calling you, gently and directly: don’t build your peace on denial. Don’t build your hope on success. Don’t build your confidence on good works. Build your life on Jesus, crucified for sinners, risen, and coming again. Then you can face death with sobriety, judgment with humility, and the future with eager hope.
Closing Prayer
Father, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Thank You that You do not ignore sin or pretend evil is small, but that You are perfectly just. And thank You that in love You provided a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, who was offered once to bear the sins of many. Help me turn from false confidence in my success or my works and rest my whole plea on Christ alone. Make me someone who waits eagerly for His return, living faithfully in the uncertainty of this world with certainty in Your promises. In Jesus’ name, amen.