He's with Me — E.A. Johnston

Heavenly Father, in the strong name of your dear son Jesus, we come before you today with ready ears and sensitive hearts with the purpose of bringing you glory in the salvation of souls. I pray great God that your word will be like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces as your Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin to someone within the sound of my voice and that they just won't hear the shaky voice of this poor preacher, but by your grace, they will hear your voice as it alone can raise a dead soul to life, as it attends your word with power, authority, and majesty.

Amen. My message today, friends, is entitled, He's With Me, and I pray it's a message you'll never forget. My text can be found in Luke's Gospel. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in chapter 23, beginning in verse 32.

The Two Criminals at Calvary

In this remarkable passage, we have a wonderful picture of salvation in Christ Jesus, and it stirs my heart every time I ponder the great truths of this message, and I pray it stirs your heart as well.

We will begin reading in verse 32. And there were also two other malfactors led with him to be put to death, and when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malfactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left, then said, Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Sinful Mankind at the Foot of the Cross

And they parted as raiment and cast lots. Let me pause here, friends, to say this is a vivid picture of sinful mankind, deaf to the truths of the Bible, bound in the cords of iniquity and sin, and blinded by the God of this world, Satan.

Here are these Roman soldiers who represent mankind, and right in front of them is a bloodstained Christ who can save from sin, and what are these base men doing? They are shooting craps at the foot of the cross, and that is what the world is doing today, as sinful men and women crawl over each other's backs on a mad dash to hell.

Rejection and Repentance Beside Jesus

Well, let's continue with our text. And the people stood beholding, and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, he saved others, let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying, if thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, this is the king of the Jews. And one of the male factors, which were hanged, railed in him saying, if thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

But the other answering rebuked him saying, does thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss.

And he said unto Jesus, oh Lord, remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. I will stop there, I'm reminded of the old hymn, there's room at the cross for you.

Here are two male factors, one turns away from Christ and rejects him, the other turns to Christ and receives him, the words of that old hymn state, there's room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there's still room for one.

Yes, there's room at the cross for you. Then it goes on to declare the sufficiency of Christ's blood. The blood flows from Calvary to cleanse every stain. And it's true friend, let me ask you friend, which of the two thieves are you?

The Sinfulness of Man and the Need for a Savior

You are indeed a thief if you sin because sin robs God of his glory. Notice the distinction between these two male factors. One saw that he was a guilty sinner and he felt his need of a savior from sin.

The other rested in his own self-sufficiency and only mocked God. If you dear sinner friend are outside the saving blood of Christ, what are you gonna do? Eternity is forever, either in a bliss-filled heaven or in the miseries of a burning hell.

Your very rejection of Christ Jesus is your condemnation and the sentencing of the law will be carried out against you. If you die in your sins, you'll be brought down to be put in chains in a region of darkness and smoke, which is a devil's hell.

Here are two men. One sees no guilt in himself and is blinded to his need of a savior from sin. The other is a broken-hearted sinner at the end of his rope and at the end of himself. And he cries out, Lord.

He feels his need of a savior from sin. Oh, what about you friend? Have you ever been awakened to your lost condition? Have you ever come to the foot of the cross seeking a bloodstained savior from sin?

A Story of Heaven and the Thief from the Cross

I'm reminded of a story and I will close this message with this related incident. There was a salesman traveling through the city of St. Louis on a Sunday and he made time to park his car at a downtown church to attend Sunday worship.

Once inside, this man realized he was the only white person in a all-black church. He took a seat on the back row and his eyes fell upon the old pastor up on the platform who was preaching a sermon on the subject of heaven.

And this is what that pastor said. Some folks call heaven paradise. Others call it Abraham's bosom, but I see heaven this way. Here is Jesus after his earthly ministry, his crucifixion and his resurrection.

And he's now ascended back to glory and he's greeted by the angel Gabriel at the pearly gates. And old Gabriel says, hello, Jesus. Sure is good to see you, Jesus. Oh, welcome home, Jesus. We sure missed you up here, Jesus.

But wait, who's that with you? Is that that thief from the cross? Oh, no, sir. We can't have no thieves up here. But Jesus answers and says, never you mind, Gabriel. Never you mind. Then Jesus reaches over, throws his arm around the thief and declares to Gabriel, never you mind, Gabriel.

Christ's Righteousness as the Believer's Only Hope

He's with me. I like that story, don't you, friends? The great truth is that a poor old sinner like E .A. Johnston is saved when Christ's life is laid down and applied to me. I know I'm a sinner and I need a substitute for sin.

My only hope is to stand in the merits of another. The Lord Jesus Christ. For when God the Father looks at me, he will hear his beloved son declare, he's with me. That's my only hope. He's with me. Hallelujah.

The Urgent Call to Repentance

Now let me ask you a question. How is it with you, friend? Do you know the friend of sinners? Have you ever been lost? Have you ever been awakened to your lost condition and felt your need of a savior from sin?

I've got good news for you. There's room at the cross for you. There's room at the cross for heartbroken sinners seeking forgiveness for sin. Hear me now. When you die and your soul goes out into eternity, back to the God who gave it, and as the Father looks at you, you will hear three words Jesus will say of you.

He's with me. She's with me. The other alternative is a grim one. If you die outside the blood of Christ, you will hear the devil say of you, he's with me. I beg of you, dear sinner friend, repent before it's too late.