Christ And The Criminal (part 2) - [Luke 23]

Bethlehem Bible Church iconBethlehem Bible Church

0 views

0 comments

Becoming Better Theologians (part 33)

00:01
Lots of people these days have said Christianity that is full of doctrine will drive people out of the churches.
00:09
Too much doctrine, dull dogma, you'll drive people out. Am I loud enough by the way?
00:15
I want to be louder. My lamp doesn't work so I need volume to make up for it.
00:24
It's a venial sin, somebody unplug my lamp. Go out of town for one week and come back to this chaos around here.
00:34
If you want to get people in, water things down.
00:42
Talk about therapeutic issues, moralistic issues. Come on, give me practical things, relevant things.
00:49
Give me how -to. Don't give me any of that dull doctrine, boring doctrine.
00:57
You know the interesting thing is when you look at Christianity and her claims, it's all about doctrine, but it's not boring at all.
01:08
The drama of redemption, and as Dorothy Sayers said, you can accuse
01:13
Jesus of lots of things, but nobody could ever accuse Him of being boring. The drama is what's so wonderful.
01:21
The doctrine about who Christ is, what He's done. The timeline stretching back into eternity past and the plan of God.
01:30
It's exciting. The doctrine of who Jesus is and how He condescends, sacrifices
01:37
Himself for others. Is there anything more exciting? Turn your
01:43
Bibles to Luke chapter 23 and we're going to try to finish up today a little excursus on Jesus Christ and the thief, commonly called the thief on the cross.
01:53
Two weeks ago we started this, we're in 1 Corinthians 9, but I wanted to just focus upon Christ because in my mind, in my study,
02:01
I've just been looking at Jesus on the cross and watching Him and being in admiration of Him.
02:07
I'm thinking to myself, all glory, laud, and honor to the eternal King. The other day
02:13
I walked into Walmart and I had a spiritual experience. I did.
02:20
I hate to admit it, even the West Boylston Walmart of all places I walked in, and I'd been thinking about this passage and I'd been thinking about who
02:28
I used to be and the sins that I lived in and the person that I was and what
02:34
I deserved when I died. And then how God interrupted me, to quote Pastor Dave, how
02:40
God stopped me, how God granted me repentance, how God made me alive, how God caused me to be born again for no reason except His good pleasure and how
02:49
I was just different. And when I walked into Walmart, I began to look at the people. And here's what
02:54
I thought. I thought, I know something that none of these people know. I've been let in on a divine secret.
03:03
God has disclosed Himself to me. God has revealed Himself, the word revelation means, to uncover.
03:09
There's been a secret, a truth, and God has just opened my mind through the Spirit's working through His word.
03:15
And now I know about the world, about life, death, salvation, suffering, comfort, hope, eternal life.
03:24
I know everything and everybody else is walking around zombie -like over in the bait and tackle section.
03:31
I mean, they're just walking around. I thought, I know these things. And I think to myself, I just want to tell somebody about who
03:39
God is, who Christ is. I know these things and they don't. Not because I'm better, probably because I'm worse.
03:47
But I know these things because God has disclosed them to my mind through His Holy Spirit illumined word.
03:56
And I just thought, the joy, the peace. I wasn't thinking, oh, all that stuff
04:03
I know about God is boring, dull, down with dogma, up with experience.
04:08
It was that the dogma, the doctrine, who I was in Christ and who
04:13
Jesus was, it gave me the feelings of love and joy and peace and experiencing
04:19
God. Can you imagine? I'm going to write a new book about that. Experiencing God at Walmart. Finally I can write a book that somebody would buy.
04:34
And so as we look at this passage today, the thief isn't the focus, the other criminal isn't the focus, the scorners aren't the focus.
04:46
This is a great passage because it keeps your mind where it should be. The spotlight is singular.
04:52
And it's right on Christ Jesus, the Savior, and you'll say to yourself, He's a great Savior. That's my
04:58
Savior. That's my King. He did for the criminal what He did for me.
05:04
And I think you'll have joy today. And if you're not a Christian, today's a good day for you. You'll see the immediacy, the importance of looking away from yourself and looking to the cross to live.
05:18
This is the passage that J .C. Ryle said, whenever the gospel of Christ is preached, these verses will always be honored, loved, and had in remembrance.
05:30
Why? Because they're all about the Lord. This is Christianity. It's not how to.
05:36
It's who God is and what He has done. Let's pick it up in chapter 23, verse 32.
05:41
Just a quick review, just so we're all up to speed on the passage.
05:46
And then we'll give some lessons learned from the thief on the cross. So we'll do some exposition and then some reflections derived from the truth that you could see on the thief on the cross.
05:58
Luke 23, 32, two others who were criminals, thieves and robbers is what they were, were led away to be put to death with Him.
06:07
And when they came to a place that is called the Skull, it looked like a skull. There wasn't a lot of skulls around.
06:14
Calvary is the name of it in Latin. There, they crucified Him and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left, for disgracing, for humiliating the so -called king.
06:34
And Jesus said, Father, forgive them. I'm sure He was gasping for this breath to speak, for they know not what they do.
06:42
And what did they do? They piled on all the more ignoble actions, and they cast lots to divide
06:51
His garments. He's not even dead yet, gambling for His clothes.
06:56
And the people stood by watching. People stood by watching, but the ruler scoffed at Him saying,
07:02
He saved others, let Him save Himself. You just hear it almost like recess at a public school.
07:07
He saved others, let Him save Himself. You just see the head wagging. He saved others,
07:15
He raised them from the dead, He healed them, He gave them food, now save yourself, if He is the
07:23
Christ of God, His chosen one. Kind of a bad place to be if you're going to be the chosen one of God.
07:30
I'd hate to be the unchosen one of God. Taunting Jesus to save Himself.
07:38
Little did they know what Luke has already said in chapter 2, to you is born this day in the city of David, a
07:51
Savior who is Christ the Lord. Soldiers also mocked
07:56
Him, verse 36, coming up and offering Him sour wine. This is a negative thing to do, to try to keep
08:02
Him alive longer. There's not any kindness here. And saying, if you are the King of the
08:07
Jews, save yourself. You can't fulfill this, is the taunt. You say you're the
08:13
King, but you can't save yourself. There was also an inscription over Him, this is the
08:19
King of the Jews. Epigraphe, writing upon. This is the writing upon, name, crime.
08:28
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.
08:35
Mark 15 says, the other criminal had also mocked Him. It's stereo mocking.
08:41
One side over here mocking, the other side over here. But something's going to happen to this one criminal, we'll see in a moment. Save yourself and us.
08:51
Get us down, we're not talking about eternal salvation, forgiveness of sins. We want to be down from this cross.
08:58
And isn't it interesting, one commentator said, everything is reversed. In terms of what should be really happening to the
09:06
Creator, the Savior, the King of the universe, everything's reversed. It should be everybody else on the cross and Jesus down off the cross, but everything's weird, everything's off.
09:17
Things don't seem, from a human perspective, proper. Now it's interesting,
09:25
I don't know if you've thought about it. Four times in five verses, saved.
09:33
Chapter 23, verse 35, saved. Saved, verse 37. Saved, verse 39.
09:39
Saved, or save. Everything's about Jesus saving activity, and they're mocking that.
09:46
Heather rebuked Him, verse 40, 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.
09:55
But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
10:04
And Jesus said to him, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
10:12
Let me give you a little review on some of the lessons we learned last time, and then we'll get to some of the new lessons. Number one, first lesson, first reflection from what we've learned in this passage about our
10:22
Lord. No particular order. Lesson one, salvation changes the sinner immediately.
10:29
Salvation changes the sinner immediately. So if people say they're saved, and there's no change in their life, no change in their attitudes, no change in their direction, no change in their affections, no change at all.
10:40
If there's no change in your life, there's been no change in your position. This man is changed.
10:48
That thief showed all kinds of repentance and faith and love for the Lord, standing up for him.
10:55
He was a different person. Can you imagine, think about somebody in your own life who says, you know what,
11:00
I'm a Christian, but they act like, think like, and from your perspective, there's no difference between them and a pagan.
11:09
Do you mean to tell me that the God of the universe, omnipotent God of the universe who creates with the word,
11:15
Son, and there's the Son, can invade a person and there's no change at all?
11:24
No wonder Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my
11:30
Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?
11:43
And then will I declare to them, I never knew you.
11:48
Oh, he knows about them, all right, but not in an intimate, personal way. This whole idea that you can take
11:55
Jesus as Savior without making him Lord is erroneous. First of all, you don't make
12:00
Jesus Lord as I was taught at Master's Seminary. What, Steve? Jesus is Lord.
12:06
If God the Father made him Savior and Lord, you can't just say, you know what, I need a little hell insurance.
12:14
Second lesson, Christ has both the power and willingness to save sinners, so rejoice in God's saving work.
12:24
Look at what he said in verse 43, truly I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise. He has both the power and the willingness to save.
12:32
Steve's going to be preaching through and is preaching through the gospel of John, and you're going to see over and over and over in that great gospel according to John, Jesus has the power to save and he has the will to save.
12:45
He's able to save and he is willing to save. That's amazing thinking about what we really deserve and what we've earned and what we should get.
12:53
What did the thief deserve, earn, get, merit? And we, like the thief, have earned hell, yet God, to use the expression, outdoes himself and saves.
13:04
Grandma Evie would probably say it this way, that's just like Jesus to save a sinner like that.
13:10
That's just like Jesus to save somebody like me, a strong deliverer to save sinners.
13:18
That's good news. Greater love has no one than this, than one laid down his life for his friends.
13:26
Keep your finger at Luke 23 and flip over to Isaiah 55 just for a second. I almost said
13:31
Isaiah. Flip over there. I think once in Nebraska, I did a conference for pastors last weekend in the middle of Nebraska and I think
13:39
I did say Isaiah. You would have been very happy that it's affecting me. It's taken me 14 years to learn some of these words.
13:47
I did tell them the one story, I said, when I first got to New England, coming from Los Angeles and Nebraska, and somebody did a scripture reading and they got up and said,
13:55
I am the Alpha and Omega. I said, I knew
14:00
I was in a different place, that I'm a missionary. Now, thinking about God, if you were
14:09
God, would you be a willing savior? Of course, if you're God, you have the power to save. But what kind of Greek God saves?
14:17
What kind of Molech God saves? What kind of Baal God saves at his own expense? No one saves like God at his own expense.
14:25
And for Isaiah the prophet, he thought about that. Now, lots of times we go straight to these verses.
14:32
Go to verse 8, Isaiah 55 verse 8. You probably know this verse. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the
14:42
Lord. And there's a huge gap by the way God thinks and by the way we think. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts.
14:56
So here's my question, what is he talking about there? What is the context?
15:01
For my ways are higher than your ways. For my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. We just pull out verse 8 like it's kind of out on its own.
15:10
What's the immediate context? Well, what's the first word in verse 8? That should help us. For, so it makes us go back up a little bit.
15:17
You want to know how God is such a God who doesn't think like we do? Because he's a God who saves. Look at this, verse 6.
15:27
Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way.
15:34
And the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, Yahweh, that he may have compassion on him.
15:42
Don't miss this. Connect this to verse 8. And to our
15:48
God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isn't that good about God?
15:55
If you were God, I don't think you would abundantly pardon if they did something to your son. Yet God is willing and able.
16:02
And God is a mind -blowing God to Isaiah, because he's a God who abundantly pardons.
16:09
Isn't that good? Just stop and think about your own sins for just a minute. Just have a little rewind back to as long as you can think.
16:17
And the different sins that you committed. Sins of omission, sins of commission, sins of thoughts, words, deeds, sins of actions, sins of attitudes, sins of all kinds of things.
16:27
And you just think, you know what kind of pardon I need? I need a final pardon, but I need abundant pardon.
16:35
What's the song? Grace that is greater than all our what? Sins. So when you think about God not having thoughts like us, tie it to redemption.
16:50
Let's go back to Luke chapter 23, lesson 3. Embrace the sovereignty of God in salvation.
16:57
Don't run from it. Embrace the sovereignty of God in salvation. At the end of the day, two thieves, one redeemed, one not.
17:07
What's the explanation for the one being redeemed and the other not? Is the explanation found inside one of the thieves?
17:14
This thief submitted his heart. This thief bowed the prayer. This thief did something.
17:23
The other thief, oh, he was worse. There's nothing in the text to tell us that one thief is worse than another.
17:28
The only reason why one is in heaven and the other isn't is because of the gracious, distinguishing, sovereign grace of God.
17:37
He's a God who abundantly pardons, but he does it based on his own good pleasure and his own free will.
17:44
This is a classic example. Both earned damnation, yet one was graced with a gift.
17:53
You say, you know what? I don't like that. Let me ask you a little something, short of some of the people that are from the east here.
17:59
Do you like it that you're able to, if you're single, able to pick your spouse?
18:06
If you're married, did you like it that you were able to pick your spouse? Do you like to be able to pick the job you work at?
18:15
Do you like to be able to pick your friends? Pick your church? Do you like to be able to pick those things?
18:21
Of course, this is a free country. And the reason why you like to pick and choose is because you're a reflection of God.
18:30
You're an image bearer. God picks and chooses. You pick and choose. When I was a kid, it was the sandbox.
18:36
We used to play in the sandbox. Now, they probably have
18:41
Xbox sandbox. It's an X sandbox. Actually have
18:47
Etch -a -Sketch's frames that you can put around your iPad now, so it makes you think you're playing with an
18:53
X, whatever it's called. You like to choose because you're an image bearer.
19:06
And so, what you love in yourself, why do you hate in God? God chooses all the time.
19:11
God says, I choose Israel, I don't choose anyone else. None of them deserve to be chosen. Deuteronomy says,
19:17
He chose Israel because He loved them and He wanted to. God chooses some angels, He doesn't choose the other angels.
19:24
Only the Levitical priests can be priests, nobody else. Only these 12 can be apostles, nobody else.
19:32
So, why are we blown away when we think of individual salvation? When it's part and parcel of the sovereign grace of God, picking and choosing.
19:41
At the essence of God, He picks and chooses. And for Paul, he didn't say, oh, this is that dividing doctrine.
19:49
I don't want to teach it to new Christians. This isn't going to work. Ephesians chapter 1, what does Paul say? I'm going to praise
19:55
God for God's election of me in eternity past, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we might be holy and blameless.
20:04
In love, He predestined us. Predestination is not loving. Well, then you need to read the Bible. Predestination happens because God looks down the course of time.
20:13
Well, then you need to read Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4. Paul couldn't get over election and he tells it to the church right away.
20:22
He doesn't say, you know what, that's a secondary doctrine. The Spirit of God has made it a primary doctrine and the sooner you embrace it, the better off you'll be.
20:30
The better off you'll have a charismatic experience in Walmart. And when
20:38
I mean charismatic, I mean the root word grace. I felt the grace as it were.
20:43
I sensed it. There's nothing tangible because it wasn't really feeling or sensing. I was replaying it over in my mind.
20:50
The doctrine of unconditional election. God chose me and He should have damned me. Except He's a
20:55
God who abundantly pardons. True or false? Without election, no one would be saved.
21:04
True. Because people are depraved spiritually and unable to save themselves.
21:10
And unless God chooses you, you're not getting in heaven. So why would we hate it? True or false? Election harms no one.
21:22
True. The people that aren't elect, they get exactly what they want. And they don't want
21:27
Jesus. They don't love Jesus. They don't honor Him. They don't give Him exaltation. No unelect person ever says, you're giving me something that I didn't want.
21:40
True or false? Man is in no position to judge God for what he does. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 20.
21:49
Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?
21:58
Is there injustice with God regarding choosing Jacob over Esau? May it never be.
22:05
Election, on the other hand, produces awe and worship. God chose that other thief and how did
22:10
He respond? Worship, honor, thankfulness.
22:18
Listen to 2 Thessalonians. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
22:23
Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. And as I said last time, if you are not a
22:33
Christian and you're saying, am I elect or am I not? Why don't you settle it right now? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
22:40
And that will be a response to your election. Number four, salvation is by faith alone. So believe.
22:47
Look at verse 42. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus, remember my baptism.
22:55
Jesus, remember that I was catechized. Jesus, remember my works. What works did the thief have?
23:03
So far, nothing. What merit? What could he bring to God?
23:10
He can't even get baptized. This reminds me of Luke 18.
23:17
Lord, have mercy upon me, the sinner. Nowhere to go but to God. That's what faith alone is.
23:23
Burdened with sin, empty -handedly going to Christ Jesus, believing His word.
23:30
Number five, when you die, you are with Christ, so rejoice. When you die, you are with Christ, so rejoice.
23:38
Notice verse 43. Today you shall be with me in paradise. Now how happy do you think the thief would have been with,
23:46
Today you'll be with me in purgatory. Today you'll be with me in soul sleep.
23:53
No. Psalm 116 is insightful. Precious in the sight of the
23:59
Lord is the death of His godly ones. The Hebrew there is carefully watched over by God is the death of one of His saints.
24:08
God's carefully looking over, watching as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters for creation.
24:14
It's like the Spirit of God hovering over the death of His godly ones. And here it's absent from the body, present with the
24:21
Lord. For me to live is Christ and to die is what? Gain. I thought about that when
24:27
I was watching my mother die. I thought, you know what? If I didn't believe what the scriptures teach,
24:33
Death would be horrible, awful, wicked and final. There'd be no gain to death.
24:41
But you think, you know what? Mom didn't want to leave. She didn't want to die. But the second she closed her eyes and that last breath of death went out,
24:52
Gain. Gain over the three kids that were there singing hymns. Gain over the family.
25:01
Gain over money. Gain over power. It's all gain. Can you imagine the thief on the cross?
25:08
Naked, ashamed, dying for sins that he committed. And then all of a sudden, dead. And then it's gain. Take a look at that word paradise, if you would, verse 43.
25:19
Now it comes from a Persian root word. But it basically means garden. It means park.
25:27
And over time, the Greeks thought of paradise, park, gardens as some places wonderful.
25:32
Some place pleasurable. Some place full of bliss. You ever been in the
25:38
Middle East? Hot, sand, desert. And you go to a little oasis and you can feel the temperature just drop.
25:45
Gardens, it would be the same way. Fountains, flowers, shrubs.
25:52
This word in Greek in Luke 23, when used in the Greek Old Testament, is where we get the word garden of Eden.
26:03
The Romans had Elysium. Here we have paradise. It's a pleasure ground.
26:09
It's a park. Remember when you were a kid, at least we used to do this before the Xboxes, and people got carpal thumble when they got their thumbs all...
26:18
I can't even go through an airport anymore. These people are just walking zigzaggedly. You think they're drunk.
26:23
And they're drunk on blackberries is what they're drunk on. Man. Of course, if I do it, it's okay.
26:29
But everybody else, I don't like. And sometimes, maybe even now, you'd say, you know what, we're going to go to the park today.
26:39
Fun and play. And when you're older, maybe it's a pretty park with flowers and sensation and smells.
26:45
And you just think, do you know what? The park in Victoria, Canada. Think, oh, that's wonderful.
26:52
So it was an idea. It was a concept. So our minds could get ourselves wrapped around the idea of what would heaven be like?
27:00
How could you describe heaven? You can't describe it. But if you take a picture of one of the greatest things back in those days of pleasure and just beauty, a park.
27:10
So he says here, this is a paradise. Now, some people say, well, you know what? The text says, today, you will be with me in paradise.
27:19
Today. And do you know, when it comes to today, didn't the creed say, and he descended into hell?
27:27
Doesn't Colossians 2 says, he made victory and triumph over some of the demons. Doesn't 1
27:32
Peter 3 say that his body's on the cross, but his spirit descends and proclaims victory to those who are in Tartarus?
27:40
Yes. But Jesus isn't trying to talk linear time here. Look, if you would, with me to Luke 4 .21.
27:48
We're going to look at two passages super quickly. But I think this will help you because you can waste a lot of time trying to figure out if today
27:54
Jesus says he's going to be in paradise, but he didn't ascend to heaven until Sunday. Where did he go? What's paradise? What's happening?
28:01
Well, the point is this. The criminal says, someday
28:07
I want to be there with you in your kingdom. And Jesus is talking about an immediacy of salvation.
28:13
That's the thing. And Luke uses this all the time. Luke 4 .21. I'll show you two cases that Luke uses the word today to stress immediacy of salvation.
28:23
Luke 4 .21. And he began to say to them, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
28:32
Now flip ahead to Luke 19 .9. You'll see this theme in Luke today.
28:40
Immediacy of salvation. Focusing upon, you want to be saved later, you're going to be saved now.
28:51
He's not using today as some chronological within this next two minutes. This will happen. Certainly he will be in heaven one day.
28:59
Certainly he's going to be with Jesus and you can call that paradise if you want. But here it seems like it's a place, paradise.
29:07
Luke 19 .9. And Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham.
29:16
For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Someday save me in your kingdom.
29:26
Here's the point and the only point. It's not going to be the remote future. It's going to be now you're saved.
29:36
Bliss now. So you don't have to say to yourself well where did his spirit go and all that because the second you say his body is there and his spirit is going someplace else you start wrapping your mind around the omnipresent spirit.
29:49
What's happening? He's not thinking a linear today you'll be with me and now Jesus quick goes up to heaven to drop the guy back off.
29:57
Come back down here then go back down to hell. Proclaim that we won. Once you start thinking that way you're missing it.
30:04
Chapter 4. Today. Chapter 19. Today. Luke 23. Today. You want it later.
30:10
I'm telling you you're saved. That's the big point. Paul uses the same word.
30:21
I was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which a man is not permitted to speak.
30:27
2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 4. Can you imagine that's the same word for paradise in Luke 23.
30:34
Caught up to heaven to paradise and I can say things that only kids in Nebraska writing the book
30:39
Heaven is for Real are allowed to talk about. That's the biggest farce. If you need to know that heaven is real based on some 3 year old kid in Nebraska.
30:49
I was right close to that town and as someone said a better title for that book Heaven is for Real needs to be
30:54
Kids Say the Darnest Things. That's a better title. Because when you describe heaven wrongly
31:00
A. It's not heaven. B. When Paul went there he couldn't talk about it and now you're charging $15 a person to come into the gym in Nebraska to hear about it.
31:14
W .B. Henson was going to die and he was thinking about heaven before he died.
31:21
Here's what he said I remember a year ago when the doctor told me you have an illness from which you won't recover.
31:28
I walked out to where I live 5 miles from Portland, Oregon and looked across at that mountain that I love.
31:34
I looked at that river in which I rejoice. I looked at the stately trees that are always
31:39
God's own poetry to my soul. Then in the evening I looked upon the great sky where God was lighting
31:45
His lamps and I said I may not see you many more times but mountain
31:52
I shall be alive when you're gone. And river I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea.
31:58
And stars I shall be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great down pulling of the material universe.
32:07
Today you will be with me in paradise. Lesson number 6
32:14
Lesson number 6 As long as you're alive it's never too late to repent and believe.
32:21
As long as you're alive it's never too late to repent and believe. No matter how bad you've been no matter the sins you've committed here
32:32
God saves this person at death's door at the maw of hell. One of the dregs of humanity one of the worst riffraff.
32:44
These are the kind of people we want to lock up and never see again. Spurgeon said this
32:54
Why is there only one deathbed repentance in the Bible? Spurgeon said Why only one deathbed repentance?
33:00
Number one so you'd have hope. Aren't you glad when you go into the ICU and preach the gospel you think to yourself the power of the gospel attended by the spirit of God is powerful enough to save this person on death's door.
33:11
Aren't you glad for that? But there's only one for another reason Spurgeon said so that's that you don't live your whole life presumptuously saying right before I die
33:19
I'll accept the Lord. A, that's presumption and B, that makes you say to yourself power of salvation is within my own power.
33:27
You can't save yourself you can't wait to the end you can't earn salvation you can't merit it Salvation isn't in your own power
33:35
Listen to what Dodridge said Most ungrateful and foolish is the conduct of those who take encouragement from the penitent thief to put off repentance to a dying moment.
33:47
He says it's ungrateful and it's foolish. Most ungrateful in perverting the grace of their
33:54
Redeemer into an occasion of reviewing their provocations against him and most foolish to imagine that what our
34:02
Lord did so in a single circumstance is to be drawn into an ordinary precedent.
34:13
When I was a kid I said to myself before I die then I'll make it right with Jesus. If the elevator is going to go down at least
34:19
I have eight seconds before I hit. Presuming on God if that's any kind of the attitude that you have maybe some of the kids here maybe we have some of the younger kids here this whole
34:30
Christianity thing I know it's good I know it's right I know there's a hell I know that there's eternal damnation but I want to do my own thing now may
34:37
I try to disavow you of that foolish and ungrateful notion today is the day to honor the
34:45
Lord by believing in his Son. Lesson 7 God grants assurance of salvation so enjoy your assurance
34:54
God grants assurance of salvation he granted the thief salvation and he could know it
35:05
John Risinger writes about salvation and assurance here's the issue if you struggle with your assurance
35:14
I guarantee you it goes back to a faulty doctrine of salvation it goes back to a faulty doctrine of salvation now we live in a very
35:25
Roman Catholic area here of course and Catholics do not believe you can know for certain unless you're the
35:34
Virgin Mary or possibly Paul those are two exceptions that you can know for sure you can hope
35:41
Trent will say but you can't know for sure matter of fact listen to Trent still effectual now it's not been rescinded if anyone says that he will for certain of an absolute and infallible certainty have that great gift of perseverance unto the end unless he has learned this by special revelation
36:07
Paul let him be accursed can you know for sure you're going to heaven the answer is yes you can now there's a false assurance that professors have and some
36:27
Christians are going to go to heaven even though they don't feel like they are but you can have assurance assurance isn't necessary for salvation but you can have a real assurance how much different is biblical
36:41
Christianity than Roman Catholicism that calls real assurance I kid you not the sin of presumption
36:48
Gregory the Great 600s he said it was dangerous he said this the greater our sins the more we must do to make up for them whether we have done enough to atone for them we cannot know until after death we can never be sure of success 7th century
37:09
Gregory the Great says you know what it's not desirable and it's kind of dangerous then comes the 1500s and Trent says it's a moral sin to know you say you know you're going it's a moral sin and of course it makes sense because works righteousness religions never know how much works they righteously need to do to get to heaven if it's do do do instead of done done done of course it's built into the system show me a
37:34
Pelagian semi Pelagian Roman Catholic Christian fundamentalist these days thinking that somehow it's
37:41
God and them are them alone for salvation then assurance will be distorted I hope so I'm going to heaven but you can't know so this is in a
37:55
Roman Catholic prayer book sample prayer I desire by thy grace to make satisfaction for my sins by worthy fruits of penance and I will accept from thy hands whatever pains crosses are sufferings
38:10
I shall meet with during the remainder of my life are at my death as just punishments for my inquiries begging that they may be united to the sufferings and death of my
38:21
Redeemer and sanctified by his passion in which is all my hope for mercy grace and salvation you know
38:31
I prefer a different hymn my sin all the bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the
38:44
Lord praise the Lord oh my soul you can know for certain you can be positive that you're going to heaven lot different than this kind of prayer for sick
38:57
Roman Catholic beg that God would accept all by pains and uneasiness and union with the sufferings of your
39:03
Savior Jesus Christ let our fast we beseech the oh Lord be acceptable to thee that by atoning for our sins they may both make us worthy of thy grace and bring us to everlasting effects of thy promise worthy of grace friends
39:19
Protestants and Catholics alike we are not worthy of grace show me someone who's got the wrong doctrine of salvation and of course they have the wrong doctrine of assurance turn if you would to second
39:32
Timothy chapter one let's take a look at Paul now again the
39:37
Catholic community would say this is Paul and Paul only Paul can know but he was writing to Timothy for a reason and I just want you to see how certain
39:45
Paul was and if you read first John chapter five and John chapter twenty you can know for sure that you're going to heaven because it's about you and your prayer life your evangelism your works then you can't know but it's what
40:00
God has done in your place on your behalf as a substitute fully assuaging the wrath of God fully living a life according to the law that we could never live then
40:10
God can hold nothing against us because it's been punished and now God sees you even with better righteousness than Adam with Christ righteousness second
40:19
Timothy chapter one verse eight therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord nor of me as prisoner but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God who saved us and called us to a holy calling because of our works but because of our of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifest through the appearing of our
40:43
Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel for which
40:51
I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher which is why I suffer as I do now look for the word no and persuaded or maybe it's convinced in your translation but I am not ashamed for I know whom
41:07
I have believed and I am convinced persuaded that he is able to guard until that day which has been entrusted to me for I know whom not some kind of detached things knowledge about Jesus facts
41:25
I know the person and when you know the person of Christ you can definitely have assurance
41:30
I was reading to this week and I never knew this but it happened a long time ago even if you're a saint in the
41:39
Roman Catholic Church you're not secure Saint Christopher you ever see
41:44
Saint Christopher in people's cars they had not technically demoted him from being a saint but when they discovered that lots of his life was legend in 1969 the
41:56
Catholic Church reviewed the saints on the calendar and they demoted him and dropped him from the calendar feast day
42:03
I thought you it's not technically that he was a saint and he's now an eight but close
42:10
I thought you can't even be a saint and be sure and in 1969
42:18
I read about how comedians made fun of the church taking people off the list and they sang a song called when the saints come tumbling down I kid you not suppression is what it's called how much differently listen to this from the gospel according to John now
42:38
Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
42:45
Messiah the son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name listen to 1st
42:53
John 5 he who has the son has life he does not have the son does not have life these things
43:00
I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God in order that you may what know that you have eternal life and we know verse 20 that the son of God has come and has given us understanding in order that we might know him who is true and we are in him who is true in his son
43:18
Jesus Christ this is the true God and eternal life do you know you're saved now sometimes when you are saved but you struggle with assurance it's related back to sin in your life because when you act in rebellion to God then those fruits of salvation ie assurance dwindle so here's what you do here's the solution when
43:44
I was struggling with assurance many many years ago I said to myself I know I'm a Christian I used to feel like a
43:50
Christian I don't have that feeling anymore I want that feeling back ever go round trip and fly you think okay
43:59
I got my ticket for the way back when you go one way sometimes I fly to California and I don't know how to book my ticket back till I get there and I kind of have a little angst here
44:07
I'm thinking I know I'm saved but I don't feel like it I want to feel like I'm saved I want assurance
44:12
I can have assurance I'm not looking for insurance against going to hell I want assurance that I might know that I might be persuaded of and convinced what do
44:21
I do the wrong advice is to try to chase assurance I want it
44:26
I need it I've got to have it because Spurgeon would say assurance is like a dove that you're trying to catch you can't catch it so what you do is you focus on the person and work of Christ and then that assurance dove
44:40
Spurgeon said will come and just sit right on your shoulder when you focus on Christ and his work and his accomplishment his atonement his high priestly work his intercession his sacrifice then you say you know what belief is
44:55
I take God at his word I'm taking it as at his word and I remember S. Lewis Johnson he said I thought
45:00
I was going to say but I one day said to myself when I struggled with assurance I got down at the foot of my bed and I kneeled and I said this
45:07
Lord I think I'm a Christian but if I'm not you say in the Bible look to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord and Lord if I never have done that before with my whole heart and soul
45:17
I'm doing it now Lord I come to you by faith alone would be a good place to start focusing on Christ here's the thief he sees
45:28
Jesus he's believing in who Jesus is and what he's done and his words and you say well you know what maybe didn't feel like he's going to heaven he still was going to heaven but the text says we can know that we know and be persuaded well had one more but we're not going to do that what about you today what about you when you have a spirit a spiritual experience and walk into a
46:05
Walmart or go home or come into the church who's the object of that experience
46:11
I'm not against experience I'm not against experiencing God but I'm against experiencing
46:20
God minus doctrine and minus Jesus Christ at the center and this passage with the thief on the cross the spotlight is on Jesus alone dying for all those who would repent and believe raised from the dead shortly and I ask you the question have you repented have you believed you must so don't be ungrateful or foolish to say later today chapter four today chapter 19 today chapter 23 for the
46:51
Luke and today is the day that you must believe let's pray father we rejoice today that although we were curved in upon ourselves with sin shame and guilt the
47:10
Savior came the Rescuer the Deliverer the King the
47:17
Son of God came clothing himself with humanity so he might be our substitute and representative bursting forth out of the grave no tomb could hold
47:29
Jesus Christ as he had victory over sin and death and father for us as Christians now not one drop of wrath is left for us today in heaven in an imaginary place called purgatory because Jesus drank the cup thank you for that and father by your
47:55
Spirit's power would you help us to be grateful people during Thanksgiving you help us to experience you and your love by focusing upon Christ Jesus we're thankful that you've given us eyes to see a world gone crazy
48:11
Thanksgiving meaning nothing who's to thank ourselves yet you love to see instead of being ungrateful now we want to be grateful instead of being foolish thank you for making us wise pray for Bethlehem Bible Church in the middle of the new land a new building and people and activities and issues father help us like the writer of Hebrews to fix our eyes upon Christ Jesus the one
48:39
Christ Jesus the Son of God who fixed his eyes upon the cross and he did that with joy thank you for the
48:47
Scriptures thank you for the opportunity to meet that thief in heaven after a million years of praising the
48:52
Son to think here is a good trophy of your sovereign grace at the last minute bind these truths to our hearts and minds in Jesus name