Lessons Learned From A Thief

September 24, 2006 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: Miscellaneous

Scripture: Luke 23:40–43

Transcript

Lessons Learned From A Thief

Luke 23:40-43
Sunday, September 24, 2006 (Baptisms at the Beach)
Pastor Randy Smith



Most would agree that it is a parent's job to teach their children. We know our kids ultimately belong to God. One day He will take them back. They come to us on loan for a short time and during that duration, divine expectations are placed on the parent, ones to which the parent is accountable. Yes, in an act of love, parents are responsible to teach their children, to introduce them by words and example to God, and to prepare them for life in the real world.

As seriously as I take that responsibility, I believe my children have taught me as I have taught them. Oh it might not be how to balance the checkbook or repair the automobile or eat a balanced diet, but they have taught me lessons that are potentially more valuable.

Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Mt. 19:14). Jesus made it clear that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those with childlike hearts. It is my kids that have taught me: unconditional love and absolute dependence and complete forgiveness and unwavering trust.

Additionally Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself" (Mt. 16:24). Again, another emphasis that describes a true child of God: selflessness. Children are not typically thought of as selfless people. Mine are no different. But since the addition of ours, they have unwittingly taught me just how selfish I am. A quiet night's rest, an uninterrupted football game, personal items misplaced, greater compromise during family activities, minimized free time - these and many other examples have shown me just how much I prioritize my time and my comfort and my desires and my possessions. There is much room for me to grow in self-denial.

Children are unlikely teachers. This morning as we look forward to the baptisms, I would like to share with you another unlikely instructor that has taught me eternally valuable lessons.

He was a criminal and his crimes so severe that he was sentenced to execution. But yet in his final moments of life, he has taught me lessons under the providence of God that have dramatically affected my theological thought. And I believe they will affect yours as well.

This criminal in particular catches our attention because he receives a great affirmation from our Lord. In verse 43 of Luke 23 Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." We are caught by surprise. A criminal going to heaven? Affirmation of his salvation directly off the lips of Christ - something we seldom see in Scripture.

So what did this man do or say that brought those blessed words we all long to hear more than anything else? What can we apply to our lives to receive the same eternal assurance? How can we know for certain we will spend eternity in heaven?

1. SALVATION - BAD PEOPLE INCLUDED

I'm calling the first point, "Salvation - Bad People Included."

As you know, Jesus was crucified in between two criminals. Although Jesus was innocent, on His right and left were two men who were being tortured to death for their crimes against the Roman Empire. Please understand that death by crucifixion was the most degrading and excruciating way to die. Cicero, a contemporary of this time wrote, "Let the very name of the cross be far away not only from the body of a Roman citizen, but even his thoughts, his ears, his eyes." It was said that a man crucified died a 1,000 deaths on that cross. This means that death was so gruesome it was reserved solely for the most heinous and offensive criminals. Needless to say, these two men could be compared to a modern day Jeffrey Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy or Charles Manson. Yet to our amazement we see Jesus turn to one of them and say, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Lk. 23:43). No hell, no purgatory, no soul sleep - but Paradise, a.k.a. Heaven!

Do you know what this tells us? Nobody is too bad to receive salvation from Christ. That is why we read the following words off the lips of Jesus: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28). And "The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (Jn. 6:37).

I was brought up with a belief that only certain moral people would be the ones to qualify for eternal life. If you ever committed the "big sins" in the past, regardless of your attitude toward them in the present, you permanently disqualified yourself and were left without hope. But such a belief, invented by man, is certainly not the teaching of Scripture. If it were, how do these people account for our criminal on the cross?

Moreover, how do these people account for the conversion of the one they call Saint Paul. Yes, how quickly we forget that Paul, before Jesus called him to Himself, was not only a blasphemer of Christ but also a murderer of Christians. In Paul's own words we read, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" (1 Tim. 1:15). And this former murderer was not only accepted by Christ, but he was also called by Christ to be arguably the greatest leader in church history.

We may not care to view it this way, but the Bible clearly declares that everybody has fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). We are all polluted. We all deserve hell. We all, with a fraction of sin separating us, are as foul as that dirty criminal on the cross in the eyes of a perfectly holy God.

William Cowper in 1711 conveyed this well in the popular hymn. "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day, and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away."

Jesus Christ went to the cross to save sinners. That is why Jesus said, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt. 9:13b). Only those who see their unworthiness, who see their life against the stark contrast of a holy God, will distrust their own works and trust God's for salvation.

We are all sinners and therefore salvation is open not to those who think they are righteous, but to those who recognize their sinfulness and call upon the Savior for help.

Therefore no one is beyond salvation. For the Lord takes delight, as He did in this criminal, to receive all who flee to Him for refuge. Isaiah 55:7 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

My friends, I personally testify to you this morning that God's grace exceeds our wickedness (Rom. 5:20). Have you learned this lesson?

2. SALVATION - BAPTISM NOT REQUIRED

A second lesson I have learned from this thief on the cross is that baptism is not required for salvation.

I am sure you have heard the stories:

An infant is dying and the priest is summoned for an emergency baptism. For the parents believe if that child is not baptized that the poor soul will spend eternity or a large portion of it separated from the benevolence of God.

But I ask, what about the parent who fails to call for the clergy or the clergy who makes a wrong turn and arrives too late? Is the child to be punished for the neglect of others? Is that how we really believe God operates?

Or adults who look back to their baptism as proof positive that they are in favor with God. They can sin, ignore the teachings of Scripture and live a life completely divorced from God, but God is obligated to take them to Himself when they depart from this life because their parents baptized them when they were six months old.

But I ask, do they really believe they will enjoy heaven when all they did was pursue hell on earth? Do they believe they are saved through the faith of another? Do they believe this is the magical way that God conducts His relationships?

There is not one verse in the Bible that teaches we are saved through our baptism. On the contrary we read that baptism does not save (1 Pet. 3:21). Reason being, the Bible is emphatic that we are not saved by our works but rather through the unmerited free gift of grace received by faith in our Lord Jesus. Listen to Ephesians 2. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

So, you may be wondering if baptism does not contribute to salvation, why do we (as we will be doing shortly) baptize people?

Baptism is commanded by God and intended to be an illustration. It is intended to display an outward picture of an inward reality. All six of our participants have already trusted Jesus Christ for their salvation. They simply come before us this morning in obedience to God to make public that profession of their faith and demonstrate the reality of what has already occurred in their hearts. So when we dunk them in the water we will illustrate how they have been washed free from their sins (Tit. 3:5) and how they were immersed into Christ's church (1 Cor. 12:13) and how they are identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord (Rom. 6:3-5). That is why we see only Christian believers being baptized in the Bible and always baptized by immersion to properly illustrate the inward reality.

Is baptism important? Absolutely! It is evidence that we are not publicly ashamed of Christ (Mk. 8:36) and willing to follow this command in obedience (My. 28:19) motivated out of an act of pure love for Him.

Was the thief any different?

In some ways, no. The onlookers jeered. The disciples fled. But that thief was not ashamed of Christ. He loved Jesus. He called upon Him in faith. "Remember me when you come into Your kingdom" (Lk. 23:43). Yet in other ways, he was different. He was never baptized. He was never given the opportunity in the dying moments of his life, but yet our Lord still said, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Lk. 23:43).

An unbaptized person going to heaven. Again I ask you, have you learned this lesson?

3. SALVATION - BELIEF IS NECESSARY

Although I have been touching on this topic throughout the message, a final lesson I learned from the criminal on the cross is that the message of salvation is clear and understandable.

Obviously, the criminal did not have the works to merit salvation (nobody does!), but what did he say that enabled him to receive that precious and priceless promise from Christ?

First we see back in our account in Luke 23 that he expressed a reverential fear for Christ. Verse 40 indicates that he rebuked the other criminal casting insults saying, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?" He knew that God was more than the "man upstairs" who either ignores or winks at sin. Unlike his partner in crime, he recognized God's holiness and His righteousness and His majesty.

Second, he admitted his own sinfulness and Christ's innocence. In verse 41 we hear him saying, "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." He knew he was a sinner. He knew what he deserved. Yet he also knew that Christ was guiltless (or without sin as the Scriptures teach - Heb. 4:15). He understood the gulf that separated himself and God and knew that Christ was his means to salvation - his bridge to get from one side to the other.

Third, he understood there was more to Christ's death than what simply met the eye. He understood there was a reason beyond the betrayal of Judas and the evil plots of the Jews and the injustice of the Romans that put Christ on the cross. He recognized Christ's kingship. In some embryonic way, he understood Christ's crucifixion not as a symbol of weakness, but rather a demonstration of love, power and obedience to God's will.

Finally, he pleaded with Jesus for mercy. In verse 42 he said, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" He bowed his heart to Christ. He acknowledged Christ's kingship. He brought no merit of his own. He cast Himself fully into the Savior's arms. It was not "remember my works," but rather "remember my faith."

As we see from this criminal, it is our faith in Jesus that leads us to receive the benefits of His death on our behalf. Faith connects us to His sacrifice on the cross when He received our sins upon Himself so that we can be declared forgiven in the eyes of a holy God. That is why that thief was correct. He recognized Jesus as his only hope for salvation. For our works will not merit God's favor, and no other religious figure died to put away sin. But Jesus died for a purpose, to bring sinners like that criminal, sinners like you and I to God. I like the way the Apostle Paul put it. "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly" (Gal. 2:21).

These two criminals crucified on either side of Jesus represent all of humanity. Most reject Christ (Mt. 7:13-14). Some receive Him as their only hope to remove their sin and find acceptance before a righteous God.

Do you believe you will spend eternity with God? God wants you to have an answer to that question (1 Jn. 5:11-12). Like the criminal, is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? Have you accepted Him through faith and repentance? Has His Spirit whispered in your heart saying, "(When you die) you shall be with (Christ) in Paradise" (Lk. 23:43)?


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