What Side of the Cross Are You On?

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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Welcome back to Coffee with a Calvinist.

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My name is Keith Foskey and I am a Calvinist.

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Today I'm coming to you from the baptistry at Sovereign Grace Family Church because I wanted to focus on the subject of the cross and more specifically the question of which side of the cross are you on.

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This is a question I've asked several times over the years and various messages because when you come to the 23rd chapter of Luke, and that's what we're going to be today, you find an interesting statement made by Luke, the gospel writer, that's not found in the other Gospels.

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All of the Gospels refer to the men who were hung beside Jesus.

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We know Jesus was hung between two thieves and Jesus was in the center.

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But Luke's Gospel gives us an extra bit of narrative and I want to read it to you now and if you have your Bibles it's beginning at verse 32.

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So we're Luke 23, 32.

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Two others who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him.

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When they came to the place that is called the skull, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on his right, one on his left.

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Then of course it says, Jesus said, Father forgive them, they know not what they do.

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They cast lots to divide his garments.

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The people stood by watching him, but the rulers scoffed at him saying, He saved others, let him save himself.

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If he is the Christ of God, his chosen one.

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The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, If you were the king of the Jews, save yourself.

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There was also an inscription over him, This is the king of the Jews.

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But now in verse 39 is where we see the the unique account given in the Gospel of Luke.

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One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.

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But the other rebuked him, 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.

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But this man has done nothing wrong.

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And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

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And he said to him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

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When I ask what side of the cross you're on, this is the narrative that I'm referring to.

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Because in this narrative, we have two men.

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And of course, these two men are two real men.

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But in a sense, they sort of, in an analogous way represent all men.

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Because all men began in the same condition, the condition that these men were in.

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Both of these men began the day as criminals.

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They both began the day as justly deserving punishment.

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And both of them are now receiving the just desserts of a life of crime.

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And they're being hung on a cross to die.

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But at a certain point, and we don't know when, but at a certain point, one of them realizes who Jesus is.

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We could say that in that moment, he was given the gift of regeneration.

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His dark heart was made alive, his dead heart rather was made alive, his his stony heart was taken out and a heart of flesh was put in and, and he recognized who Jesus was in that moment.

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This is an amazing event.

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It's an event though, that happens in the life of every believer.

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We all start out, again, as sinners, justly deserving the wrath of God.

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We all start out as criminals, in one sense.

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The Bible says that sin is breaking God's law.

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And we are all sinners.

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All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

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We are all lawbreakers.

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Sin is lawlessness, the Bible tells us.

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And so we're like those criminals.

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We deserve death.

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The wages of sin is death.

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But there are those who God is gracious to and opens their heart to believe the gospel.

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And at that moment, Jesus goes from being something and someone that we mock to someone that we love.

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You see in another gospel record, it tells us that at the beginning of the day, both of these men were mocking Jesus.

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At the beginning of this day, both of these men started out in the same condition.

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But then there was a change.

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And the change was one of them went from seeing Jesus as a person to be mocked, to seeing Jesus as a person, the only person who could save him.

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And he says, he says something very interesting because he doesn't say forgive me.

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He did.

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He just says, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

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You know, we often wonder about how someone ought to pray when they come to salvation.

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You know, there's the sinner's prayer that people have talked about for years where they they have a specific set of things that they say.

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But in reality, the calling out to Jesus, the belief in him, the repentance of sin.

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Sometimes it can be as simple as Lord, remember me.

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Because that's what is that's what's encapsulated in this short statement.

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We know that because of Jesus's response to him.

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Today, you will be with me in paradise.

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What a wonderful promise.

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What a wonderful peace that must have overcome his heart, knowing that he was about to die in this world, but now having a word of assurance for the next.

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What side of the cross are you on? That's why I wanted to do this video from in here.

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I wanted the cross to be prominent in this video, because I wanted the question to come to you, which side of the cross are you on today? Are you on the side of the cross that maybe mocks Jesus, maybe looks at him with contempt, maybe looks at him with suspicion, maybe looks at him without faith.

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Are you on the side of the cross that hates what he stands for, has no desire to follow him, and certainly would never consider being his disciple.

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That's the side of the cross that most people are on.

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Most people are on the side of the cross where there is no faith, and there is no hope, because on this side of the cross, Christ is not a savior, but a judge.

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However, for those who are on the other side of the cross, who have looked to Jesus as a wonderful, merciful savior, blessed redeemer, and friend, this side of the cross sees Jesus much differently.

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He's beautiful.

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He's amazing.

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He's salvific.

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He is the Lord.

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What side of the cross are you on today? There is no more important question that you could ask yourself.

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I want to thank you for tuning in today to Coffee with a Calvinist.

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I hope this has been an encouraging devotion to get your day started.

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Please don't forget that we have these every morning, every weekday morning at 630 a.m., and please subscribe, like, share, and do all the things I ask you to do every day, because they are helpful in us reaching a wider audience.

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Again, thank you for watching Coffee with a Calvinist.

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My name is Keith Foskey, and I've been your Calvinist.

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May God bless you.