Understanding Salvation!

(Luke 23:43) “And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."”

A very common question amongst the unbeliever is this; ”so are you telling me that a man can be a terrible person all his life, a thief, murderer or worst and before death if He confesses Jesus as Lord he will go to heaven? And then someone who lays down his life for someone else, let’s say, they purposefully jumps in front of a bullet and lose their life for a stranger but they do not confess Jesus as Lord, won’t go to heaven?” That is exactly what will happen in principle. Obviously it is only God who sees into the hearts of every man, nothing is hidden from him, and all will soon be revealed! But the message of the gospel is a simple one and you will stand in one of two courts, but you must choose and if you remain undecided then you have already chosen and do not believe.

Let us simplify the gospel as it is a very simple message with pronounced magnitude. It differs from any other religion, how so? Religion is all about self-worth and our own ability to better ourselves, we earn the right to make it to heaven is the thinking.

We (mankind) were in such desperate trouble that no matter how much we tried and still try within ourselves with all the self-help seminars you may want to attend, the problem we have is that the “Knowledge of Good and Evil” and it was unlocked to man’s understanding prematurely. This took place in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, resulting with sin entering through one man, Adam. The curse was now alive and that curse was sin! It would not only affect Adam and Eve but all of mankind would be affected by its curse, which is separation from God. This is the reason we run from God in principle instead of to Him. We lie and cover up sin wherever possible; no one needs to teach a child to lie when he is caught out for doing something he shouldn’t of.

What then constitutes a sinner, someone who breaks God’s law? Let’s say a group of people attend some institution and the pass mark is 85%. Anything below that mark is a fail with no diploma. One student is so bad that he ends up with 3% and then another scores 84%. Where does that leave them? There is no degree of failure in that sense. They will both have to re-write in order to qualify. I think back on the world cup rugby where by all rights we should have beaten Australia, and yet we didn’t! The record reflects a defeat and so it will be recorded through time. The difference is that with sin no one qualifies, no matter how hard one may try, except the one exception, the Lord Jesus Christ! He lived as a man without ever transgressing one of God’s commandments. This then is what has qualified Him as an acceptable sacrifice. In other words He alone could pay the price for sin, He alone could unlock the door to heaven and until we understand that, we will be blind men leading the blind with many suppositions and opinions but all will fall into the ditch. A bottomless pit that will forever engulf those who reject this wonderful offer of salvation, hell will be their destination with no possibility of a re-write!     

“For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18)

No matter what you may have done in life, regardless of your own self-opinionated deduction on how good you may be, the truth be told in God’s eyes you are a sinner and in need of a Saviour. Repentance is the catalyst required to find grace and only then will one find forgiveness in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. No other religion or false god will be recognized by the only true God, Jehovah God the Father; this then is what you will have to consider and decide where you stand on this deliberation; “But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10:6-11)

I will leave you with an actual account of two dying men and how they were guilty of the same crime and yet one went to heaven whilst the other was doomed for all eternity to hell, why and what was the difference in their attitudes? They both deserved hell; in fact we all deserve it because of our sin, BUT GOD!

“There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."” (Luke 23:38-43)

(1.) Here was one of these malefactors that was hardened to the last. Near to the cross of Christ, he railed on him, as others did (Luk_23:39): he said, If thou be the Christ, as they say thou art, save thyself and us. Though he was now in pain and agony, and in the valley of the shadow of death, yet this did not humble his proud spirit, nor teach him to give good language, no, not to his fellow-sufferer. Though thou bray a fool in a mortar, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. No troubles will of themselves work a change in a wicked heart, but sometimes they irritate the corruption which one would think they should mortify. He challenges Christ to save both himself and them. Note, There are some that have the impudence to rail at Christ, and yet the confidence to expect to be saved by him; nay, and to conclude that, if he do not save them, he is not to be looked upon as the Saviour.

(2.) Here was the other of them that was softened at the last. It as said in Matthew and Mark that the thieves, even they that were crucified with him, reviled him, which some think is by a figure put for one of them, but others think that they both reviled him at first, till the heart of one of them was wonderfully changed, and with it his language on a sudden. This malefactor, when just ready to fall into the hands of Satan, was snatched as a brand out of the burning, and made a monument of divine mercy and grace, and Satan was left to roar as a lion disappointed of his prey. This gives no encouragement to any to put off their repentance to their death-bed, or to hope that then they shall find mercy; for, though it is certain that true repentance is never too late, it is as certain that late repentance is seldom true. None can be sure that they shall have time to repent at death, but every man may be sure that he cannot have the advantages that this penitent thief had, whose case was altogether extraordinary. He never had any offer of Christ, nor day of grace, before how: he was designed to be made a singular instance of the power of Christ's grace now at a time when he was crucified in weakness. Christ, having conquered Satan in the destruction of Judas and the preservation of Peter, erects this further trophy of his victory over him in the conversion of this malefactor, as a specimen of what he would do.” (Matthew Henry)

Signing off

Tyrone