Apr
18
The way the thief by the side of Jesus on the cross got into paradise looked too easy. I’m assuming you know the story. There were these two criminals who were crucified along with Jesus. And when one of them asked Jesus to go with him to paradise he said yes. And just like that this criminal got to go to paradise. The fact that this fellow who must have lived most of his life in rebellion, self indulgence and in defrauding others should get such a free pass into paradise does not go down well with my sense of justice.
“And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” – Luke 23:43 NLT
And that’s all it took for this criminal to be justified. All he had to do was ask for mercy and it was freely given with no thought of all the ills he had done all of his life. How does he get into paradise so easily? Although the Bible does not give us details of his life but it’s easy to imagine how much evil a man condemned to death must have committed. I can imagine that there would be many families in the community who were grieving their loved ones killed or even raped by this man. Who knows how many lives were destroyed by this criminal or how many were left in financial wreckages because of his crimes. Yet all that was forgotten as Jesus said, “I assure you, today you will be with me in
paradise.”
Just imagine how you would feel if you were one of his victims and found out about this exchange on the cross – that this man who had hurt you so much and for whom you desired justice was going to get off scot-free? Grace is so shocking and unbelievable to human reasoning. Grace is scandalous! The criminal gets off scot-free! Yet grace is amazing! The criminal gets off scot-free!
And this is such good news for ‘criminals’ like you and me. Just like that criminal on the cross I too I am a criminal. The details of my crimes may defer from his (and my self-righteous mind may try to explain away my own sins as not being as bad as his) yet in all purpose and intent I’m just as guilty as that man was. And this is the same for you too, my friend. You and I have sinned against the Holy God. We have walked in rebellion, in self-indulgence and in defrauding others. Yet this is what God’s Word says;
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:7-8 NIV
This is the message of Easter. The Holy One died and rose for us – the criminals and through his death and resurrection secures a new beginning for us.. Christ Jesus died for our sins and rose up again for our justification. A great exchange happened on the cross for me and you!
“He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” – Romans 4:25 NIV
Alleluia! Grace is shocking! Grace is scandalous! Grace is amazing! The criminal gets off scot-free!
If we too will turn to the Savoir like our fellow criminal did on that day and ask Jesus to forgive us and have our lives, we too (all of us!) can experience this amazing grace. Glory to God! We are justified! Christ was raised from the death for our justification. There is therefore no longer any condemnation for us criminals.. Now his resurrection has secured for us power to live a new life.
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Romans 6:4 NIV
What more can I say? Grace is amazing and like my fellow criminal I will be forever grateful to the One who loved me and set me free. I will live for Him and serve Him with my all out of the overflow of my gratitude. Thank you Jesus!
Apr
8
“The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” – 2 Timothy 4:16-18 NLT
Last week we began to learn from the emotionally low apostle who was obviously lonely in prison at the tail end of his ministry and life, how to walk by faith when it’s ‘winter’. And one key thing that stood out for us was that, for Paul, faith was a choice based on his conviction that God is good and faithful; and a confidence that God would never leave him nor forsake him no matter what life brought.
Now the third lesson here is this, that it is instructive to see how Paul not only believed that God was with him, but was quick to see the hand of God in it all. He said –
‘But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear.’
He saw the hand of God in the way that he was enabled to preach the Good News when he was on the point of being judged. A lesser man may have thought that if God didn’t do a miracle and free him from prison then God was not there. But Paul’s heart beat was different. He so trusted God that his prayer must have been – “Lord, as I go out to this court to be judged, empower me to preach the Gospel so that all the lost will hear and be saved. Use me for your Kingdom and Glory’. This man so trusted that God was good and in control that he never lost his passion for the Kingdom of God and for the Glory of God. Wow! Bad times are never an excuse to lose a good heart; to lose the fire of God in us; to lose the hunger we have for souls and for his Kingdom to come.
It is when the devil deceives and convinces us that our troubles mean that God has forsaken us, that we begin to lose our faith in him and our faithfulness to him. What a challenge Paul brings us. He had a clear vision of God’s faithfulness, and of eternity, and the worth of the reward that awaited him. He knew that ‘God rewards those who earnestly seek him’. A clear vision of God’s faithfulness and of our eternal reward helps to put life’s present trials into proper perspective.
Some of you who are reading this now are going through a ‘winter’ season in your life. Be encouraged by Paul – don’t allow the cold of your winter, to chill out your faith in the faithfulness of God. Listen to Paul –
“The Lord will deliver (you) from every evil attack and will bring (you) safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen”
“The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” – 2 Timothy 4:16-18 NLT