And he said to Jesus, "Be reminded of me, Lord, whenever Thou mayest be coining in Thy kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Verily, to you I am saying today, with Me shall you be in paradise."
Lukes Account 43: 42-43, Concordant New Testament
Those two men crucified with Jesus were there for a reason. Two thieves, obviously tried and convicted by whatever courts were used at that time. Their crime was before them and their punishment was deemed just in accordance with what they had done. Knowing his fate, one of the two sought mercy from the One hanging on the cross next to him. The perfect opportunity for Jesus to condemn this man for his sin? As we see all through the New Testament, Jesus took this opportunity not for condemnation, but for redemption. Jesus took this opportunity to assure this man of his salvation. "Verily, to you I am saying today, with Me shall you be in paradise"{Lukes Account 43:43}. I was thinking of this this week after a discussion with a fellow gym rat friend who has been lamenting his bad decisions in life. His words troubled me, "How could God love someone like me?" I remember asking these words myself a time or two. Growing up in the mainstream church, I was taught that not only was salvation a free gift, but that it was possible for it to be taken away as well. For how could a holy God be associated with evil and disobedience? Can God indeed love the bad man? Obviously, the answer is yes. But the enemy will continue to throw his attacks our way to convince us that we are beyond the forgiving hands of the Father. The past is often a difficult thing to forget. The apostle Paul spoke of his own checkered past in his letter to young Timothy. That Jesus came into the world to save sinners, "Foremost of whom am I" {Paul to Timothy (1) 1:15}. Even though Paul was well aware of all which he had done in the past, he was also aware that, through Christ, he had been justified. That he was no longer worthy of condemnation {Paul to the Romans 8:1}. My friend had needed to be reminded of this truth the same way I had been. That Jesus has not come to condemn the world, but that ALL the world through Him will be saved {Johns Account 3:16-17}. This idea of universal salvation is often a hard pill for many believers to swallow. The church will teach of the hard defined areas of good and evil. That the good will be rewarded and the wicked punished in the fires of hell. But is this Gods ultimate desire for us? If you're a follower of the church you might just believe that nonsense. I'm sure that thief being crucified on the cross believed his fate was sealed as well. But Jesus had other ideas.
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I
Paul to Timothy (1) 1: 15, Concordant New Testament
I believe that Christians have been fed a lie from the church for thousands of years. The lie that sin is ever present in the lives of Gods children. This is the same lie my friend is convinced of. That he is a bad man, undeserving of the Lords love and salvation. I get it, I've been there myself. My prayers were often directed to the forgiveness of sin from day to day. Sadly, far too many believers continue with this practice today. They've been brainwashed into believing the lie spoken by those in the church. One of the scriptures which caused me to question the teachings of the church was spoken by Paul in Romans. That Jesus has died to sin, "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 10:6}. That is, when Christ died on that cross for the forgiveness of sin, He died for ALL sin past, present and future. Knowing this, what need have we to continually seek the Lords forgiveness for that which has already been forgiven? Indeed, Paul speaks to our being "Dead, indeed, to sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:11}. That sin which we have been falsely led to believe was ever before us is no more. But I believe that knowing this truth is but a part of the issue. The other part is having that revelation of who we truly are in the Fathers eyes. That we are not separated by sin, but live our lives through Him {Johns Account 14:20}. When we have the realization that our life is in God, there is no room for feelings of condemnation. Let me be clear, we can read and understand the words spoken by Paul, but the truth of our life in the Father is a revelation coming from Him. This is the same revelation given to Paul on that road to Damascus in his "Come to Jesus" moment {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}. Paul recalled his past as being, in his words, the foremost of sinners. Yet he also understood the truth of Christ Jesus that he no longer lived that life. His life, and ours, are now in God.
~Scott~
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