Once

Once
Words of Faith 3-3-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Hebrews 9
[23] It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ did not enter a man made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. [25] Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. [26] Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, [28] so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

There are some things that happen only once. I am not talking about occurrences that are just really rare, like hitting a hole-in-one or matching a set of winning numbers. Some things really happen only once and can't happen again. The death of Jesus for our sins happened only once. The moment of our human death will happen only once.

The death of Jesus happened only once, and it was necessary that this be so. Why? Prior to the death of Jesus, animal sacrifices were sufficient to cover and cleanse the "mere copies" of the heavenly things might, but the real deal heavenly things required more than that. The phrase "heavenly things" referred to the new priestly arrangements, which have heaven as their focal point. These activities involved dealing with people's sin and had to be inaugurated by a sacrifice adequate to "do away" with it. The death of Christ met this requirement just once.

In this powerful, heavenly imagery, Christ was appointed as High Priest of the New Covenant. His task was to represent sinful people in heaven itself, that is, in the presence of God. Because of this, His sacrifice had to be greater than that which allowed entrance into a mere man-made sanctuary, which was only a copy of the true one.

This sacrifice by Christ the High Priest had to be complete because Christ could not offer the repeated ritual sacrifices that the Levites had performed. To do so would have required Him to die many times since the Creation of the world. Instead, the heavenly ministry of Christ called for a thoroughly sufficient, one-time sacrifice.

For this reason, Christ appeared once for all at the "end of the ages" to do away with sin, which the priests in the old sacrificial system could not do. The phrase "end of the ages" means the conclusion of the Old Covenant era at the first coming of Christ. The Writer will also make reference to Christ's second coming.

Once we understand this, the jumble of end-time realities comes into focus. We now understand that humans are sinful creatures destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. We are not reincarnated or reassigned. We die once in human life and move to eternity, but this common reality is mitigated by the fact that Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.

It is important to hear the phrases "once" and "once for all," which stress the finality and singleness of Christ's sacrificial work in contrast with the repeated Levite ministrations. Christ is not re-sacrificed at every Eucharistic remembrance, nor is He perpetually suffering on the cross for the continued sins of His people.

This one-time sacrifice of Christ compares with the "once to die" condition of each person. As we who are waiting for Him look forward to His coming, we do so not as a fearful expectation of judgment, but with the anticipation of salvation. While the first coming of Christ was to bear sins away, His second will be not to bear sin but to come for those who are waiting for him and have held firmly till the end.

What does all this mean for us? Benjamin Franklin said that in this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. We will pay taxes many times, but we will only truly die once. But in the face of this stark prospect, God has provided our great High Priest, Jesus, who died once and for all for our sins.

Thank you, God, for Jesus our High Priest and for his thoroughly sufficient one-time sacrifice. Use that truth to cause me to walk in freedom today and every day until You come for me in the air or until You come for me when I die. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2026
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2026 Jeffrey D. Hoy.