Dear
Doves,
I
was sitting back the other day and it really hit me just
how incredibly important the story of the Thief on the
Cross is to our salvation promise. Indeed, this may
be, perhaps, the greatest act of faith in all of the
Bible.
Before
I begin, let me start by saying that keeping the Sabbath
and getting baptized are not heavy yokes. However,
certain groups, such as the Seventh Day Adventists, make
the Sabbath a salvation issue and, thereby, a heavy
yoke. Also, I have heard certain Pentecostal
denominations say that if you can't speak in tongues,
you're not saved. Also, I have heard of others
saying that, if you are not baptized in water, you can't
go into Heaven. These are heavy yokes. Doing these things
out of love for Jesus is not a heavy yoke, it is obedience
as per James and we are blessed for this. However,
there are cults out there that would have us believe the
following:
“While
we accept that you were saved upon accepting Jesus, the
Bible (the teachings of Joseph Smith, etc.) indicates, now
that we’ve told you, that you have lost your salvation
until you (fill in the blanks)…”
Of
course, this is false ideology, with the fundamental
demonic-inspired belief that what Jesus did on the Cross
was simply insufficient to save us.
Now,
picture this:
Jesus was beaten beyond recognition and was dying on the
Cross. Even most of His disciples were questioning whether
He was the true Messiah, even though they had personally
seen His miracles and teachings. They had even been
pre-warned that He would be betrayed and crucified. He was
being mocked and spit on, His Precious Blood dripping to
the ground. Yet, despite all of this, and for all of
the many reasons to join in the mocking at this point, one
of the thieves made an amazing choice.
There
were two thieves hanging on the cross with Jesus.
One of the thieves even joined in the mocking. In
reality, both of the thieves could have. After all,
they were both in agony, their lungs gasping for air,
bones scraping against metal pegs as they tried to support
their weight. This was anything but the usual
setting one would expect for accepting Christ, especially
given the excruciating position Jesus was in at the time.
However,
and praise the Lord forever for His Amazing Grace,
instead, one of the thieves on the cross next to Jesus,
pleaded the following of Him, no doubt gasping each word
between painful breaths (Luke 23:42-43):
"Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Now,
did Jesus look at him with contempt, saying:
"Now
just hold on a second. Let’s see here. A few
questions. First, have you been baptized in
water? Oh, you don’t even understand what this
is. Were you sure to obey the Sabbaths?
No? Did you at least refrain from stealing on that
day? Are you able to speak in tongues?
No…hmm. Are you a (Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran,
etc.,
insert religious affiliation here)? Too bad,
that would have really helped your cause. Well,
while I would really like to remember you when I come into
My Kingdom, unfortunately for you, I simply can't.
My Hands are tied on this one."
No,
of course He didn’t! Instead, Jesus said some of the
most encouraging Words in all of the Bible, Words that
fights against all of the legalism so many would burden us
with (even if some have the best of intentions):
"Truly,
I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
And
on that day, perhaps one of the greatest acts of faith in
the Bible, performed, against all odds, by no less than a
common criminal, was rewarded with the most eternal of
rewards - SALVATION!
What
an amazing example of Grace that the Lord put in the Bible
for us! Praise Him forever for making it just so
incredibly easy to come to the Father by believing in His
Son!
So,
if you find yourself putting religious burdens on others,
STOP! If you find yourself having religious burdens
being placed on you – TAKE CONTROL! You don’t need
to share or bare that heavy yoke!
Of
course this doesn’t mean being disobedient to the
Lord. Indeed, far from it! We are commanded to
love the Lord our God with all of heart, mind and soul and
to do unto others as we would have done to
ourselves. It’s a heart issue and should be done
because you want to serve Him who is greater - Jesus
Christ, Son of God.
Luke
15:20:
“So he got up and went to his father. "But while he
was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
In
summary, the thief on the cross shows that no sin is
insurmountable and that all can be saved, right until our
last breath. It also illustrates that there is no
exclusive path. This removes a ton of places that
Satan can work on our imaginations. If anyone is
truly saved, yet still believes that the thief example is
God telling us we can sin all we want, then we have to
trust that God, through the Holy Spirit, tests and trials,
will put them back on the right path.
Also,
I must emphasize that I agree that baptism, Sabbaths, etc.
are important and should be obeyed, but let's not burden
new believers with the threat of their salvation being
taken away at worst or with imminent punishment if they
don't comply with our views of timing and methods.
Yes, let us make them aware of the importance of these
commandments and callings, but let us also allow Jesus to
guide them in their journey. Of course, continued
sin is a different issue and, as with all things, the
Bible should be used as a guide in handling this. I
just wanted to help clarify what is meant so people don't
think the thief on the cross is an excuse to sin.
Just
remember: While Grace through Faith means freedom;
it is religion that supplies the chains. I am sure
that even the Pharisees would now agree with this!
Here
are some of the comments I received on the above post on
the Barn Forum:
#1:
I Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for His incredible Love and
Mercy!!! There will be many, many "thieves on the
cross" during the times of Great Tribulation. Many
Saints will be Saved!!! This shows that Salvation is
a gift of God for the person with a truly repentant heart
who can accept that Jesus died for his/her sins and is not
connected to works! Yes, James says Faith without
works is dead, and this is true. But God always
holds out room for the Prodigal Son coming home!!
We, as fellow Christians and followers of Jesus should
rejoice when the Prodigal Sons come home!!! The
angels surely rejoice when even one single sinner
repents!!! Kill the Fattened calf, throw a banquet,
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ because HE is Mighty to
Save!!!
#2:
The
love of Calvary extents to us as Salvation while we were
still in rebellion. Eternity is spent understanding the
love of God, Thanking Him for that love, with revelation
after revelation on top of that. It's impossible to see
the entire universe and impossible to understand that Love
is God's prime motivation.
#3:
For any denomination or group to lay claim that they
are the only one, that they have the one formula that no
one else has, outside of them there is no salvation, is so
foolish. Many have a tiny number of members, while
one has a huge number, some of differences are so minute,
but yet they consider that everyone else has a ticket to
hell. It seems almost like some of the old laundry
commercials arguing which detergent can clean best.
Thank you, MathMan, for posting this. We don't need
a church as an intermediary, we can come directly to
Christ, he is our intermediary. This not to say
churches are bad, just that, when they condemn every other
church, they need to think about what they are doing.
#4:
Awesome!
It also reminds me of the vineyard owner who rewarded the
workers who worked for an hour the same pay as the ones
who worked all day; who in their pride thought they should
receive more. "Didn't we do this this and this in Your
name...depart from Me ye cursed...I never knew you...we
need to watch our pride...it comes before the fall.
#5:
By faith we receive Salvation. We don't have to lift a
finger, He did it all! We will be forever amazed at
the enormity of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, extending
forgiveness and eternal life to every person on the planet
who repents and believes. Praise be to God for His
unspeakable gift!!! Thanks, MathMan, for reminding
us of God's unending love, mercy and grace!
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Brothers
and sisters, are you ready to meet the Lord in the
sky? Repent and believe that grace is by faith alone
and can ONLY be attained through Jesus Christ. Get
ready and leave the temptations of this world behind and
ready yourself as a Bride.
Surely,
time is almost up.
YbiC,
MathMan