Grosey's Messages

 

Call To Worship Revelation 7:9-17

Law and Grace reading   Isaiah 53

Luke 23:14-49             Salvation By Grace Through Faith in Christ Alone

Benediction  Revelation 5:9-14

 

 "Infamous" last words:

1. "I'll hold it and you light the fuse."

2.  A redneck's last words were, "Hey, ya'll watch this."

3. "Bob, you have any grenades left? Throw me one..."

4. "The toast is stuck. Hand me that knife, will you?"

5. "Did you hear thunder? Oh well, hurry up and putt."

6. "There aren't that many Indians, General Custer."

I think Christians are the only people who can laugh about death and dying, because, for us, death is no longer scary. My favorite description of the Proverbs 31 women says, "She can laugh at the days to come" (Proverbs 31:25). The reason death is no longer scary for us is because Jesus Christ conquered death and the grave!

But look with me at a moment at this dying thief.

When he saw the Saviour surrounded by the Roman soldiers–saw the executioners bring forth the hammers and the nails and lay Him down upon His back and drive the nails into His hands and feet–this crucified criminal was startled and astonished as he heard Him say, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Who could say that?  He certainly wouldn't have.

He, himself, had probably spoken to his executioners with a curse, but he heard this Man breathe a prayer to the great Father! And, as a Jew, as he probably was, he understood what was meant by such a prayer. But it did astound him to hear Jesus pray for his murderers. He had never heard nor even dreamed someone would say that, and he had probably seen quite a few executed at the cross.

How could Jesus have said those words? Only someone more than a man could say that!  A loving, forgiving, God-like prayer proved Him to be the Messiah! Who else had ever prayed that way? Certainly not David and the kings of Israel.  The psalms have their fair share of Kings praying down the wrath of God upon their enemies! Elijah wouldn't have prayed like that, rather would he have called fire from Heaven on the centurion and his company.  It must have deeply impressed him and made him feel that his Fellow-Sufferer was something beyond the normal.

And when the Cross was lifted up, that thief hanging on his own cross looked around and I suppose he could see that inscription written in three languages–"Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

And he certainly heard the people muttering it.  There was a dispute … surely it should read, this man called himself the King of the Jews,  but Pilate didn't want it changed.  Maybe he was rubbing the noses of the Pharisees in it.

The King of the Jews… that strange Person, all patience and all majesty, that strange prayer and now this singular inscription, surely he knew the Old Testament,  and he muat have asked himself, "Is this He? Is this truly the King of the Jews? This is He who worked miracles, raised the dead and said that He was the Son of God–is it all true and is He really our Messiah?"

Then he would remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah, "He was despised and rejected of men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely, He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." "Why," he would say to himself, "I never understood that passage in the Prophet Isaiah before, but it must point to Him! The chastisement of our peace is upon Him. Can this be He who cried in the Psalms–'they pierced My hands and My feet'"?

And then those interesting words from the Pharisees. 

He saved others, Himself He cannot save! 

Perhaps this dying thief read the Gospel out of the lips of Christ's enemies. They said–"He saved others." "Ah!" he thought, "did He save others? Why could He not save me?" What a grand bit of Gospel that was for the dying thief–"He saved others!" I think I could swim to Heaven on that plank–"He saved others" and, if He saved others, He can surely save me!

 

 

 

1. SALVATION IS BY GRACE ALONE

GOOD DEEDS WON'T GET YOU INTO PARADISE (and bad deeds can't keep you out!)

In verse 41 the criminal to the left made this observation, "We are being punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve." This is a statement about human justice. If you do the crime, then you've got to do the time. But don't ever confuse human justice with the grace of God.

Outside many courthouses around the world, you can see a statue of Lady Justice. This figure comes from Justitia, the Roman goddess of Justice. She can be seen holding a sword and a set of scales, and she is often blindfolded. This is where we get the phrase "justice is blind." Lady Justice symbolizes the concept that justice should be meted out objectively without regard to the position, rank, or power of the person being brought before the bar of judgment. Sadly, most people think God is like Lady Justice. They imagine there is a set of scales in heaven. They think every good deed they perform in placed on one side of the scale, and every sin they commit is placed on the other side. Then they believe after they die, God is going to weigh their deeds. If the good deeds outweigh the sins, they get into heaven. But if the sins outweigh the good deeds, then they go to that other place they don't even like to mention except as a term of profanity

What's wrong with this picture? It denies the grace of God. Let's consider the man on the cross beside Jesus again. He was guilty. The preponderance of evidence was against him. But just before He died, he received a promise of paradise from Jesus. He had never done anything to deserve paradise. Do you remember my definition of grace from last week? Grace is something I need but I don't deserve. The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...not by works so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This criminal was saved from eternal separation from God in the same way you and I are saved—by grace through faith, not by works!

If God treated us like Lady Justice, imagine what this criminal's scales measured. There is no record he ever clothed the naked, or fed the hungry. He probably stole clothes and food! There is no record he ever helped a little lady across the street; he would have more likely mugged her. There is no record he was ever baptized. On the scale of good deeds and bad deeds, can you guess which way his scale leaned?

What's the lesson for us? Salvation is by grace. You may think you've done too many bad things in your life to be allowed into God's paradise. But God's grace is greater than ALL our sin. His grace is enough! Abraham was a liar, but he's in heaven now. Moses was a murderer, and he's in heaven now. Elijah was suicidal, and he's in heaven. David was an adulterer and a murder, and he's in heaven. Paul had Christians arrested and killed, yet he'll be in heaven. The promise of Jesus to this guilty criminal should convince all of us that we're not saved by good deeds, nor are we hopelessly lost because of bad deeds. Salvation is by grace, through faith.

2. SALVATION IS IN CHRIST ALONE

 THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE A RESERVATION IN PARADISE IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS

Salvation is by grace–that's God's part. My part is to exercise faith, and even that is a gift from God. Did you notice the criminal's prayer of faith? Using just nine simple words, he prayed, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Salvation is by grace.

Salvation is by faith.   The faith that saves is directed at Jesus.

We often direct our faith at us.  Did I read enough? Did I pray enough? Did I go to church enough? Will my church save me?          You need to direct your faith to Jesus.

Some direct their faith at Mary.  Mary redirected people's faith to Jesus!   John 2.

3. SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE

You must Believe that Jesus can save you

Matthew tells us at first both criminals were insulting Jesus. But something happened that caused one man to believe in Jesus. I believe when he saw how Jesus was dying and heard what He was saying, he changed his mind about Jesus. He heard Jesus say, "Father forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing." He heard Jesus speak words of compassion to His mother. That's what repentance really is: Changing your mind about yourself and changing your mind about God. The criminal came to the place where he said, "This man has done nothing wrong."

Have you come to the place where you believe Jesus is the perfect Son of God?

This man not only made a profession of faith, he prayed a prayer of faith. He said, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." Let's examine that statement. First, the criminal had to believe Jesus had a future in which He could remember him. Next, he believed Jesus would have a kingdom. Remember, at the moment when the criminal prayed that prayer, Jesus didn't look very much like a king. He had been beaten, battered, and bloodied. By human standards, there was no basis to believe Jesus would even survive the cross, much less lead a kingdom! So, the criminal was confessing for all to hear that he believed Jesus would be the Lord, the King, of a future kingdom. In order to make your reservation in heaven, you must make the same confession. The Bible says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Have you done that?

4. SALVATION IS FOUNDED ON THE PROMISES OF GOD ALONE  SCRIPTURE ALONE.

THE PROMISE OF JESUS CONFIRMS YOUR RESERVATION IN PARADISE

 "Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'"

Salvation is by grace alone  Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone.

Salvation is directed to us by the Word of God alone.

Jesus promised the thief, "You will be WITH ME in paradise." The best part of heaven isn't what is there: flowering trees, streets of gold, or gates of pearl. The most wonderful thing about heaven is we will be with Jesus. Anywhere with Jesus would be paradise! He promised the criminal, "TODAY you will be with me in paradise." He wasn't talking about some future event, Jesus was talking about today. After a Christian dies, there is no waiting period. We get to be with Jesus immediately. This verse completely destroys any basis for the heresy of purgatory. Our Roman Catholic friends teach in their official catechism that if a person dies who isn't perfectly purified, they go to an intermediate place for purging, or cleansing. I'm glad we don't believe in purgatory! We believe in paradise! And not delayed paradise, but immediate paradise! 2 Corinthians 5:6 says when a Christian dies, we are absent from the body and present with the Lord. In Philippians 1:23, Paul was wrote about dying and said that to die was to "depart and be WITH CHRIST."

Notice the first part of verse 43. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth." The actual words Jesus used were, "Amen, Amen." The KJV translates them, "verily, verily." Jesus was saying, "I absolutely, promise, guarantee, with no uncertainty that you will be with me in paradise." Your assurance of salvation is based squarely on the promises of God's Word.

Hindus believe salvation is finally attained through transmigration of the soul, or reincarnation. But what if you keep being reincarnated in the wrong direction? Or what if planet earth gets destroyed by a meteorite during the middle of your transmigration? Too bad, there you'd be: A soul without a body floating in the universe. It's really a karma lottery—no guarantee there.

The Buddhist believes if you do everything right, think right, talk right, act right, then you can attain karma. But you are actually judged more by your motives than your actions. So what if you die before you purify your motives? There are no make-up courses in hell.

Muslims are in the same little boat of insecurity. Nobody is ever certain they are good enough to please the great and mighty Allah. You can only try harder. Mohammed himself wrote, "Save yourselves from hellfire, as I cannot save you from Allah's punishment...Nor do I know what will be done with me or you..." (Sura 46:9).

Then I see Jesus hanging on a cross. He looks at a man who has lived an awful life and is dying an awful death. This man is nailed to a cross. He can't move. He can only speak. And in response to a simple, sincere nine word prayer Jesus says, "I promise! I guarantee! I assure you! Amen! Amen! Today you will be with me in paradise." We're the ONLY ones who can sing, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!"

So what should you do?

1. Like the dying thief, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Turn to Christ your longing eyes, 

View His bloody Sacrifice! 

See in Him your sins forgiven, 

Pardon, holiness and Heaven! 

Glorify the King of Kings, 

Take the peace the Gospel brings."

 

2. Like this dying thief confess the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

He confessed Christ. Did he not acknowledge Him to his fellow thief? It was as open a confession as he could make it. Did he not acknowledge Christ before all that were gathered around the Cross who were within hearing? It was as public a confession as he could possibly cause it to be!

 

3. This dying thief defended the Lord Jesus Christ.

This man came out, then and there, and made as open an avowal of his faith in Christ as was possible. The next thing he did was to rebuke his fellow sinner. He spoke to him in answer to the ribaldry with which he had assailed our Lord.

Let the Gospel alone and it will save!  Announce it like the dying thief did.  It is enough!  It is the power of God to salvation.

 

4. This dying thief made a full confession of his guilt.

He said to him who was hanged with him, "Do you not fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we, indeed, justly." Not many words, but what a world of meaning was in them–"we, indeed, justly." "You and I are dying for our crimes," he said, "and we deserve to die." When a man is willing to confess that he deserves the wrath of God–that he deserves the suffering which his sin has brought upon him–there is evidence of sincerity in him.

 

5. This Dying thief directs his prayer to Jesus. 

He prays and his prayer is directed to Jesus. "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." True faith is always praying faith. "Behold, he prays," is one of the most sure tests of the new birth. Oh, Friends, may we abound in prayer, for thus we shall prove that our faith in Jesus Christ is what it ought to be! This converted robber opened his mouth wide in prayer. He prayed with great confidence as to the coming Kingdom and he sought that Kingdom first, even to the exclusion of all else.

 

"The moment a sinner believes,   And trusts in his crucified God, 

His pardon at once he receives,      Redemption in full through His blood."

"Today shall you be with Me in Paradise." He has no sooner believed than Christ gives him the seal of his believing in the full assurance that he shall be with Him forever in His Glory.

 

The dying thief rejoiced to see       That fountain in his day, 

And there have I, though vile as he,      Washed all my sins away."