Title: The Robber's Salvation (Luke 23:43)
There are three crosses in the Bible. One is the cross of Jesus, who was without sin and shed His blood for the sins of mankind, one was the cross of a saved thief, and the other was the cross of a robber who was destroyed and went to hell. got it Now, let's see how dramatic salvation is and is an event of faith, not works. At first, both thieves on the cross were united and insulted the Lord.
Matthew 27:41-44 "Likewise the chief priests mocked with the scribes and elders, saying, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel. Come down from the cross now, and we will believe." He trusts in God, and if God is pleased with him, he will save him now. I said, ‘I am the Son of God.
First, I
"Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, today I will be with you in paradise."
He speaks like a wedge. “I” Jesus’ words can be said to be “I” as the judge of salvation. There is nothing unfulfilled in the words of Jesus. Do you feel the authority to speak seriously on the cross? There is nothing unfulfilled in the words of Jesus. People do not want to put any authority on the words of Jesus. Who is Jesus? Aren't you the Creator who created the world and me? Aren't you the savior of sinners who took the punishment of the cross for the sins of mankind? But people are ungrateful and do not listen to Jesus. Rather, they pay attention to the wisdom of the foolish world, the naive preconceived notions of knowledge and science, and the myths created by people. Sinners must abandon the false knowledge that the world teaches and submit to the authority of Jesus, who is I, at any time in front of the clear truth that Jesus teaches, and listen to His voice.
Second, you
Jesus said to the two thieves on the left and right, not saying to you, but looking at the one who believed in Jesus and saying to you. This shows that salvation is a personal event. There is no collective salvation in salvation. For salvation, they are the same people who have committed sins. He did not hesitate to risk his life in order to gain wealth. The two of them were equally vicious criminals, and they were inseparable from each other to the point of cruel punishment. The shape of the cross is the same and the time of death is the same. Both of them are experiencing the same final failure. But Jesus is finally drawing a gold between the two of them. When Jesus spoke to only one person, an eternal chasm was created between the two. One robber meets Jesus at the moment of failure and uses it as an opportunity to lead to paradise, and one thief is cursed with punishment.
Everyone ! Do you know what the constant experience of being saved is? It is hearing the voice of the Lord calling each individual. You hear the voice of Jesus saying, at some point, a man who heard only the sounds of the world's means and methods and ran frantically for the vision of the world, says to you.
John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
It means that you will come to the field of your heart with the words of the Bible. Everyone ! Are you hearing the spiritual voice of Jesus calling you to Paradise? Believe that you are blessed.
Matthew 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes to see and your ears to hear."
The thief is facing the glorious sight of hearing the voice of Jesus like an intellectual. May this glory be yours.
Third, today
Luke 12:16-21 "And he spoke to them in parables, saying, "There was a rich man who, on a regular basis, produced abundantly, and he thought in his heart, "What shall I do, since I have no place to store the grain?" And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, and be merry." But God said, "You fool, seek your soul back tonight." “Then, whose will be the things that you have prepared?” So is he who lays up wealth for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Jesus never promised to save us tomorrow. Because tomorrow is not our day. If the Lord takes away my soul today, there will be no tomorrow. We have to live by achieving salvation today and today, and when given the opportunity of today, we need the wisdom of life to evangelize, devote ourselves to service, and glorify God.
Fourth, with you
The innocent Son of God speaks this tender voice of his promise to be with you to the heinous death row inmate who has committed robbery and murder and destroyed families in this world, leaving his entire family in sorrow and ruin. At the end of the resume of a thief who was purged of sin, there is a record that Christ the King was with him. How glorious is this? No matter how much we sinned, we nailed Jesus' hands and feet, and we became stragglers. Even if it is, our Lord who seeks me and waits for his return and always wants to be with me. Today, we cannot help but shed tears at the goodness of the Lord.
Our Lord, who was with Lazarus, who smelled of rot, was also with the leper who was dripping with pus, today we want to be with you, the chief of sinners. And he promised us that.
Matthew 28:20 "Teach them to obey all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."
Fifth, you will be in paradise.
Only Jesus is the only guarantee of paradise and salvation. And the paradise that Jesus guarantees is not the blessings of this world, but the blessings we will receive after we die. But modern people are not interested in the blessings of paradise. People are increasingly unwilling to believe in a world after death. Even in churches today, preaching about heaven and hell is disappearing. It seems that they are trying to give up the apocalypse or heaven and hell, thinking about the erroneousness of the heresies about the end. Heaven, Hell, and modern intellectuals hate primary colors. It's against their culture. So even though they claim to believe in God, they lose the hope of their hometown for paradise and enjoy the lax festivals of this world.
Look at Hebrews 11. Source of Blessings Abraham also longed for the kingdom of heaven, and he was just a stranger on this earth, a pilgrimage route. What is the truth?
Have you received assurance from the Lord that you will be in paradise? This time too, be strong to the saints who fight the good fight while fighting the devil under the earth as witnesses of salvation for the ancestors of faith who went to heaven first. will encourage A saved robber is a happy person. How lucky are you? He could never achieve paradise except for the merits of the blood of Jesus on the cross. He is the one who personally experienced the word of salvation without cost more than anyone else.
Modern people who want to gain salvation through works will be very envious of robbers, but in fact, robbers will be very envious of those of us who have already been saved on this earth. Because he didn't have time to live for the Lord who saved him. So, how envy those of us who live on this earth, praise and worship the Lord to our heart's content, and love and dedicate ourselves to the Lord?
Everyone ! He did not give the robber an opportunity to dedicate himself to God, but he did give us. The robber was not given an opportunity to worship God. gave us do you believe Then, how should we who live today use the golden opportunity the Lord has given us? The rest is up to you. Instead of wasting your thoughts, body, time, and possessions in the world, give it as a tool of evangelism for Jesus, who shed His blood on the cross to save me. And let's tell them the secret of salvation. Let's make every effort to do this, whether we live or die. Let's meet again in the New Jerusalem city forever.