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We will first read two sections of the Bible. Mark 15:27-32 tells about the Lord Jesus being crucified on the cross. "And with Him they [those who nailed the Lord Jesus] crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left....And those who were passing by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, Save Yourself and come down from the cross! Likewise also the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him with one another and said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with Him also reproached Him."
"And one of the criminals who were hanged there blasphemed Him, saying, Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us! But the other, answering, rebuked him and said, Do you not even fear God, since you are in the same judgment? And we justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we did, but this Man has done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And He said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:39-43).
These two sections of the Bible tell us the story of a robber who was saved shortly before his death. This is a strange story! A robber was saved! We think that the robber should be punished, that the death-defying prisoner should descend to the deepest part of hell to receive the gravest punishment, and that salvation should belong to the good people in the world. Can robbers be saved? Yes, robbers can be saved because in these verses a robber was saved. This robber was saved before his death! We often think that if a man does good all his life, he will gradually obtain salvation. We often think that salvation can be accomplished by our efforts through months and years of accumulated hard work. Is it possible that someone who committed robbery all his life, someone who had criminal offenses, was suddenly saved in the moment just before his death? Very much so. Someone who has done evil all his life, who has never done anything good, can be saved immediately upon believing in the Lord Jesus. Man can be saved in a brief moment, within the shortest time, when he believes in the Lord Jesus. What an amazing story! What a wonderful salvation!
The Lord Jesus said to the robber, "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Where the Lord would be, he would be also. He was saved, no more to perish. Now we would like to see what type of person this saved man was.
He was a robber. For someone to become a robber, his character must be completely bankrupt. No position for man can be lower than that of a robber. As a robber, he had fallen to the lowest state that a man can ever sink to. A robber is lawless, without any regard for the law in his eyes, lazy, unwilling to work to feed himself; greedy, coveting other people's possessions; cruel, usurping others' possessions and killing, causing havoc to human lives. How reckless and unrestrained is he! He steals other people's belongings and loots other people's possessions. From man's viewpoint, it is absolutely hopeless to save this type of person.
As a robber, he trespassed against the law and was captured by the Roman government. He went through the judicial procedure of the Roman court. Being condemned as a criminal of gross sin, he was given the most severe punishment — crucifixion. Compared with man's law, God's law is stricter and more refined. In many instances man's law does not or cannot condemn certain things as sin, but God's law shuts them all up in the realm of sin so that man can have nothing more to say. Man's law condemns the conduct of man. It cannot touch the intent of the heart. If a manifested conduct is condemned by man's law, how much more is it condemned before the stricter and more refined law of God? He was a robber. Under Roman law he was declared guilty and sentenced to death. Can such a person obtain God's grace? If he was condemned by men, who can only see outward conduct without seeing the heart, God, who searches man's inward parts and examines man's conduct, should condemn him much more. Does not the soul of such a man deserve to perish?
He was not only branded as a robber by man and sentenced to death by the Roman government, he even deserved unpardoned death in his own eyes. He told the other robber who was nailed with him, "And we justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we did" (Luke 23:41). At this juncture between life and death, he had forgotten how the government had condemned him and how the people had mocked him. As he recalled his lifelong behavior, he could not help but confess that he deserved his death sentence because his deeds befitted the punishment of the cross. At this moment the sorrow and pain of his conscience was far more unbearable than the pain he suffered in his flesh. Having been enlightened by God, he knew his own sin; therefore, he could confess it as sin. In man's view and according to man's decision, can a man convicted by his conscience have the hope of salvation? It seemed that he deserved more than perdition!
When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, according to the verses in Mark, there were three groups of people who mocked Him: (1) those who passed by, (2) the chief priest and the scribes, and (3) the thieves who were nailed next to him. On the cross, the two saw and heard many people mocking the Lord Jesus, so they also joined with the others to mock Him. This robber was a man with no backbone. He saw how other people wronged Christ and opposed Christ; and without even knowing the reason for it, he just turned with the tide. Seeing everyone mocking in this way, he also joined in with the crowd. He should not have had any deep hatred or enmity towards Christ. However, when he saw the majority of the people doing wrong to Christ, he also joined the crowd, following blindly to blaspheme Him. Those who do wrong to Christ ought to perish; many have thought this.
Yet, one robber was saved. A robber was saved! A criminal was saved! A thief was saved! One condemned to die was saved! One who wronged Christ was saved! One who committed sin to the uttermost so that even he could not deny his guilt was saved! Therefore, who cannot be saved? Who is not qualified to be saved? O sinners of the world, this is the gospel! This is grace! He who can be viewed as having no possibility of being saved, God, in His mighty grace, saves, giving him eternal life that he may enjoy the bliss of Paradise. You may be a great sinner; you may think that you do not deserve to be saved but rather should perish, but God has decided to grant you grace and give you salvation. Do not be mistaken by thinking that salvation is reserved only for deserving ones and that you are not deserving of it. According to fact, no one in the world deserves salvation. But no one in the world is unqualified for salvation according to God's mercy. If God does not bestow grace and He deals with us according to our sins, even the most noble sages in the world will perish. Who is not a sinner before God? But if He bestows grace, who will not be saved? If a robber can be saved, you too can be saved. If a man will humble himself and will wait on God's grace, God will give grace to him, because God gives grace to the humble.
The wonderful thing about the gospel is that God sent His Son to save sinners — not the righteous. "Faithful is the word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). This is contrary to the mind of the world. Nevertheless, this is a glorious fact. No matter how much you have sinned, Christ can save you. He saved the robber; He also saved the harlot. He saves sinners. He does not forsake you because of your sins, but rather, He came to save you because of your sins. No matter what kind of person you are, if only you are willing to come to Him, He is willing to save you. I remember a story. Once a man came to see Mr. Moody, and he said, "You don't have to persuade me to be a Christian or persuade me to believe in the Lord Jesus." Moody asked him, "Why is this?" He answered, "You don't know how hard my heart is!" Moody said with a smile, "Aha! So that's why. Don't worry; Christ did not say only the soft-hearted ones may come and that the hard-hearted ones need not come. Rather, He said that one can come whatever his heart is like. So it does not matter whether your heart is hard or soft, black or white. Every kind of heart can come." Indeed, Christ receives sinners; He comforts them and saves them. Since He was willing to save this robber, He is also willing to save you and me. In the eyes of the robber himself, he was a sinner. According to the world's classification, he was a sinner. According to the judgment of the Roman government, he was a sinner. Nevertheless, Christ saves sinners. What grace this is! What is this? This is salvation. This is Christ saving sinners in grace.
We do not know why this robber, who joined the other robber and with the same heart and same voice mocked the Lord Jesus in the beginning, suddenly changed and believed in Christ. I think it was mainly because the words of Christ's prayer in Luke 23:34 touched his heart. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Such mercy, such lovingkindness, such tenderness, and such bountiful grace moved the heart of the robber. It took away his prejudice, melted his evil heart, and caused him to realize that the One nailed beside him was indeed Christ, the Son of God. The cross of the Romans had hardened his heart to mock Christ, but the cross of the Lord Jesus caused him to repent and believe in the Savior. The law and punishment cannot save man; only grace and love can bring a sinner to tears and weeping to come before God in self-condemnation, asking for His grace and mercy.
In any case it was a definite fact that this robber believed in the Lord Jesus on the cross. His faith was shown in his words, in his attitude, and in his prayer. First, he expressed his faith because he rebuked the other robber. When the other robber mocked Christ and attacked Him with his words once again, he might have thought that his companion, who joined his mocking with the same heart and same voice the last time, would join him again after he got started. Little did he expect that before he had finished his reviling, the other one would immediately rebuke him. The robber rebuked him saying, "Do you not even fear God, since you are in the same judgment?" (Luke 23:40). The punishment which they all suffered was the crucifixion of the cross. What this robber meant was, "Even though you and I are nailed on the cross, do you still not fear God? You are on the cross, and your life is almost over. Do you still not fear God? In a few hours you are going to die. Do you still not fear God? Eternity is already set before you. Hell and heaven are both eternal. Do you still not fear God? Eternal life or eternal death, salvation or perdition — within these few short hours they will be determined. Do you still not fear God? At this juncture of life and death, everything depends on how you use this fading time. Do you still not fear God? Once these few short moments are past, once your breath departs from your body, eternal life or eternal perdition will be forever sealed, and nothing will change. Do you still not fear God? Since you have received such punishment from men, are you not afraid of punishment from God? If man's punishment is hard to bear, what about God's punishment? Do you still not fear God? If today's punishment is unbearable enough, what about eternity's? Do you still not fear God? If man's punishment and man's law end our life, should we not be afraid of the eternal death in the future? You have suffered the world's punishment. Do you still want to suffer God's punishment? Does not such grave punishment, such painful and severe punishment, make your heart fear hell? Eternal life or eternal death will be determined within the shortest time. I think this is the hour for you to fear God and His punishment. You have never feared anything in your entire life. Should you not fear God now?"
Gentlemen, time is passing by minute after minute, hour after hour, and day after day; in a wink of the eye, a month and a year passes by us. Oh! How short is our lifetime! Age will not wait for us! In a short time eternity will be before our eyes! Who can know how long they will live? Are our lives not like a breath of air, which soon disappears? Are our lives not like the wild flowers, which blossom in the morning and wither at dusk? Oh! How uncertain is life! Why are we still so infatuated with the world, sin, and lust? Is not the future of your spirit very important? Therefore, how can you, for the sake of a temporary moment in time, despise the eternal future? Ah! Life is fleeting and uncertain. Life and death can change place in us at any time. At any time our spirit can depart from our body. If you have never thought about the question of eternity, and have never paid attention to the question of the future, is it not time to fear God? If we do not pay attention to the question of our spirit now, we will never have another chance in the future. If you do not have salvation now, you will never have it in eternity. You must believe in the Lord Jesus quickly and receive His salvation while you still have your life. Death is already operating in our body! Sickness, pain, troubles, weakness, and worry are all the forerunners of death! The seed of death is within our body! We do not know when it will grow and bear fruit. Young people, you cannot be forever young. Old people, your hour is almost here. If you do not accept the Lord now, how much longer will you wait? Your destination will soon be determined; are you not afraid of God?
Perhaps God's punishing hand is upon you; you have suffered, lost your loved ones, or met with defeat, sickness, disability, or disasters. You are already suffering punishment. Will you not turn back? Will you still not fear God? All the sufferings that God has inflicted upon your flesh have come because of His love. You have gone too far away from Him! You do not believe in Him any longer! Aside from this material world and its lust and glory, you no longer realize that there is a God! You also do not want the Savior, the Lord Jesus, whom He has established! You have gone too far away from Him! He has no choice but to chastise you and to call you back. You have been punished. Do you still not fear God?
We have seen how this robber rebuked his companion, expressing his own faith. Now we want to also see that he not only expressed his faith by rebuking his companion, but in his confession he declared that he had believed in the Lord Jesus. Let us read verse 41. "And we justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we did." What do these words mean? "And we justly" means they deserved a brutal death for their punishment. The punishment that they received, the punishment of the cross, befitted what they had done. They were robbers. They had sinned, murdered, and committed arson. Moreover, there were sins in their hearts. Nothing of what they did, thought, or said was good. Being put to death in this way was most just and reasonable. The law did not mistreat them because before God, before man, and even before their own eyes, they were truly sinners!
The robber acknowledged that he deserved the punishment he had received. It was his own sins, his own conduct, that brought him this just penalty. He confessed that he was a sinner. He did not use any words to cover up his own sins. He also did not use any reasons to hide the guilt of his sin. He did not say, "I was a robber, but I did it according to my conscience. If I had not been a robber, my stomach would have gone hungry and my body would have gotten cold. I was forced to extort for lack of clothing and food. Life as a robber is a kind of business! Why can't this be?" Yet he did not talk in this way. He was moved by the Holy Spirit to confess that he was a sinner. He confessed this before his companion; he confessed this before the Lord Jesus; he also confessed this before those who were watching his execution. He did not forgive himself in any way; he confessed that he was a sinner. Normally it is very hard for robbers to confess their sins because their hearts are so perverse. "Swift are their feet to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways" (Rom. 3:15-16). But as soon as the Holy Spirit worked, this robber acted contrary to his normal behavior and confessed that he was a sinner. He wanted a Savior because he was a sinner. He wanted a Savior so he believed, asked for, and received one.
I am a gospel preacher. The first thing that I do is to lead people to know that they are sinners. This is a very hard thing to do. Some people answer me, saying, "I have not murdered anyone, and I have not committed any arson. What sin do I have?" And others would say, "Whatever I do, I do according to my conscience. What sin do I have?" Whenever I try to prove their sins to people, they always have many excuses. Even when people sometimes admit that they are sinners, they say, "Everyone in the world is a sinner, so what does it matter if I am just one of them?" They are willing to admit that everyone in the world is a sinner, but they will not admit in a simple way that they themselves are sinners. They do not realize that besides murder and arson there are many more sins! Pride in the heart, jealousy, unclean thoughts, lies of the mouth, sudden temper, all these are sins. Have you not committed these? Saying that you have no sin because you act according to your conscience is not altogether true, because I do not know what kind of conscience you have. If it has been darkened and deadened, it will not have a high standard to direct you. I remember once when I was going from Shanghai to Tientsin, I met someone from my hometown in the boat. His bed was opposite mine, so we soon began to talk. He was a dentist in Shanghai. He was a very good-looking young man. He did not know that I was a preacher. He told me of his experience in Shanghai. According to him, scores of young women had been seduced by him. He was very proud of himself when he said this. After he had finished speaking, I began to preach the gospel to him. I also had my story to tell. I told him how I had believed in the Lord Jesus and was saved. I said to him, "You are a sinner, and if you sin like that, you will perish in the future." He replied, "All my life I have done things according to my conscience." He would not accept my gospel. Gentlemen! Please listen to his reply. He ruined the chastity of scores of women, but he still said that he acted according to his conscience. Oh! What sort of conscience is this? Just think for yourselves. What sort of conscience is this? Is it reliable?
The first step the Holy Spirit does in a man's heart is to cause him to reprove his sins. This causes him to realize that he is a sinner and needs a Savior. It will lead him to trust in the Lord Jesus. If you will not allow the Holy Spirit to prove to you by the Scripture that you are a sinner, and if you resist God's evaluation concerning you and do not acknowledge that you are a sinner, it will be impossible for you to receive God's salvation. If you are not a sinner, why should you be saved? If you are not a sinner, why should the Lord Jesus die for you and save you? Confessing that you are a sinner is the prerequisite for being saved. I urge you to be humble and not be proud; do not be afraid of losing face; confess that you are a sinner! I often feel that the more a person is a sinner, the harder it is for him to confess that he is a sinner. He is too proud! If you tell him to confess his sins, he will lose face too much! For this reason he will not do it. The greater the sinner, the more he will say that he is good. He will even say that he is better than other people. This is because he is ignorant of himself. The more one knows himself, the more he will cry aloud, "There is nothing good in me, but only evil." The more one knows God's holiness, the more he will acknowledge that he is sinful and evil to the uttermost. I urge you at this time to be honest with yourself; let the Holy Spirit move in your heart to convict you of your own sins.
The robber not only rebuked the other robber and confessed that he himself was a sinner, but he also confessed that the Lord Jesus had no sin. Please read the last part of verse 41. "But this Man [meaning the Lord Jesus] has done nothing amiss." He seemed to be saying, "The three of us are being punished together. Two of us are robbers, and this manner of execution is indeed just; but this Man, Jesus Christ, did not commit sin. None of the things He did was bad; everything was proper and most holy. But He is being punished together with us sinners. What does this mean? Robbers should be nailed to the cross. But should this One who is not a robber also be nailed to the cross? We are condemned because of our evil conduct, but should this One, whose conduct is the best, be condemned also? We sinners deserve death. There is no argument about that. But this Man, the most holy and most perfect One, why does He deserve death? The guilty ones should die. This is reasonable. But what is the reason for this guiltless One to die? Sinners should perish. This is most justifiable. But what does it mean for the sinless One to suffer the pain of perdition? We robbers have nothing to say about our dying; but why does He, the Christ of God, have to go through the same fate as we?" This really is an amazing question! Truly, no one in the world could answer it! We must see what the Bible says. "For while we were yet weak, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6). "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (v. 8). "Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24). "For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous" (1 Pet. 3:18). These verses in the Bible tell us why Christ died. He died on behalf of sinners. He died in substitution for your sins and my sins. "Substitution!" "Substitution!" Please take note of this word. There is no other word more important than this. Without substitution, there would be no gospel. Without the substitution, there would be no salvation. Without the substitution, there would be no need for preaching. If Christ had not died in substitution for sinners, I would not believe in Christ, and I would also urge you not to believe in Him. If He had not died on our behalf, we would still have to bear our own sins, and we would still have to perish. What use would it be for us to believe in Him? But thanks and praise be to God! Although His Son has no sin, God gladly gave Him up for us sinners. On our behalf Christ bore all the punishment of our sins and died upon the cross so that whenever we believe in Him, we will have eternal life and not perish.
It is very meaningful to see this robber speaking about the Lord Jesus' guiltless punishment. He saw the Lord's death; he also acknowledged that the Lord is sinless. But why must a sinless person die? He implicitly acknowledged that Christ's death was on his behalf. He believed in the salvation of the cross. He believed in the Lord Jesus' substitutionary death. For this reason he was saved. My dear sinners, there is only one way to be saved: believe in the crucified Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe that He has died for you on the cross, you will immediately have eternal life. You have sinned; you should perish. Sin and the consequence of sin are two things that cannot be separated. Once you sin, there is a consequence of sin, a punishment: hell and perdition. If you have not sinned, there is nothing to say. If you are altogether righteous and holy, who can punish you? If you have sinned, the punishment of sin will surely fall upon you. Do you want to perish? If you want to perish, then I have nothing to say; but if you do not want to perish, then salvation is here. The sinless Lord Jesus Christ has died in your place upon the cross, bearing all the consequences that you should have received for your sin. Are you willing to believe in Him right now? "He who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47).
The robber not only believed the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus, but he also prayed out from his faith a most sincere prayer. He prayed, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Let us look at another verse from the Bible, Romans 10:13. "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He called on the Lord; therefore, he was saved. Let us look at the next verse, verse 14. "How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed?" After seeing this, we know that faith comes before calling. Without faith, there would be no prayer. Prayer issues from faith. Prayer is the ultimate expression of faith. Faith is the cause; prayer is the effect. We need to pay attention to one thing: although the robber rebuked his companion, he was not saved because of his rebuking. Although this robber confessed that he was a sinner, he was not saved because of such a confession. Although this robber prayed and asked the Lord Jesus to save him, his salvation was not due to his prayer. You must remember that repentance cannot save a sinner; confession cannot save a sinner; praying cannot save a sinner. A sinner is saved because of one thing only: believing in the Lord Jesus Christ's substitutionary death, that is, believing that the Lord Jesus has died for him on the cross. Before this robber prayed, he had the faith; he had accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior. His prayer was just a spontaneous calling that issued from his faith. One who believes in the Lord's substitutionary death spontaneously cries out to the Lord for salvation. His salvation is not due to calling but due to his believing. Dear sinners, do not trust in your works. Your works cannot save you. Even good works such as repentance, confession, and prayer will not save you. If you want to be saved, please accept with faith the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, believing that He has borne all of your sins' punishment on the cross. Once you believe, you are saved. Once you believe, you have eternal life. Will you believe?
The robber thought that being saved is something in the future; therefore, he begged Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom (Luke 23:42). This is the salvation of the Old Testament. He realized that he had nothing good to be proud of, nor any righteousness to brag about; he could not ask the Lord to save him according to his own merit. He said to the Lord, "Remember me." He meant that he considered himself unworthy and unqualified, seemingly with not much hope for salvation. If the Lord Jesus would remember him, there was no need of anything else. Just to remember him once would be good enough. He knew all those who were remembered by God would receive exceedingly great grace. So he begged in such a way. Although what he asked for was not perfect, the Lord Jesus Christ did listen to him. The Lord promised him something that he had not asked for, something beyond his expectation. Oh sinners, the Lord is very willing to treat you this way. Do you want Him to treat you this way? There is not much time left! Eternal life or eternal death will soon be decided! Are you willing to take advantage of this crucial five minutes to believe in this Savior who has died for you? At this moment are you willing to call on His name with a believing heart and ask Him to save you? Alas! How great are our sins! How deep is our agony! How long is the final judgment! How terrible it will be! How dangerous is our present position! What confusion! If you do not call on Him now, when will you do so? If you do not come before God with tears and sorrow now and seek His salvation now, how long are you going to wait? I hope that you will quickly turn and be awakened right now. Please take a few minutes in silence now, bow your head, and pray to God. Ask Him to save you for the sake of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through his rebuke, his confession of sin, his acknowledgment of the Lord, and his prayer, the robber expressed his faith. We may say that it was the most difficult time for him to believe in the Lord. According to historical records, during that day in Jerusalem there were more than a million people. All of them were crying out together, "Crucify Him!" "Crucify Him!" "Away with Him!" "Away with Him!" At that time almost all of the Lord's disciples were scattered. His enemies were many and His friends were few. And yet, on the hill of Golgotha, there was one nailed beside Him, who, despite the opinion of the multitude, singly opposed their view and confessed that this One who was crucified with him was the Savior! Even more, he believed in Him as his personal Savior! What kind of faith is this? This is a faith that is opposed to the whole world. The One whom the world crucified, he believed was the Savior. The One whom the world condemned, he acknowledged as the sinless One. Although the world criticizes Christ, he still believed in Him. Although the world persecutes Christ and tries to crucify Him, yet I believe. Although the world cries, "Away with Him!" "Away with Him!" "There should not be a religion like this in the world!", still I believe. Although the world opposed the Lord Jesus and His disciples with intense pressure, inflicting much suffering on them, I still believe. Dear friends, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, I beg you and I urge you today to believe in Him immediately. This is beneficial to you; it will give you eternal life if you are willing to believe in Him. The Holy Spirit and those who preach the gospel all desire that you will, like the robber, not fear the crowd and come forward to believe in the Lord Jesus. You should not be cowards, hiding yourselves, fearing to believe in Him just because the world opposes, persecutes, mocks, and despises Him. If it is proper to believe in Him and you are an intelligent person, you should not shrink back because of the opposition of others. Committing sin is a truly shameful thing; believing in the Savior is something most glorious. This robber did not lose his dignity because of the crowd. He was not a yes-man; he did not say what others were saying. He would not say, "Crucify Him!", just because the multitude said, "Crucify Him!" He had been that type of person before, but he awoke. Even though the Savior was crucified on the same kind of cross that he was nailed to, and even though they both went through the same experience, he believed in Him. If we consider Christ to be believable and the gospel of His cross to be credible, we should not blindly follow other people because of their criticisms. Do not think that you will lose your dignity when you trust in Christ. In fact, it takes dignity to believe in Christ.
The robber believed that Christ could save him. He was not like some people who regard Christ simply as a human example for people to imitate. He was not like others who regard Christ merely as a great teacher, teaching people and preaching doctrines of equality, love, freedom, and so forth. He was not like still others who regard Christ merely as a social worker, a reformer, coming to serve and reform the Jewish society. All these beliefs seem to be significant. In reality they are insignificant. They seem real yet they are empty. These beliefs could not help him. He was dying! Although the Lord Jesus was perhaps the best example, could just an example help him? He was fast approaching death! The most urgent problem in his heart was the problem of the salvation of his spirit. "Where will I go when I die?" Could Christ teach him anything as a great teacher at this moment? To those who were living, Christ's reforming of and service to society may have had some contribution; but to the low-class, sinful robber, a criminal whose breath was waning and whose death was imminent, what help could He render? The Lord Jesus whom he believed in was not the Lord Jesus cheered by the crowd, written about, and discussed in the papers. He was the Lord Jesus who could comfort his heart before death, forgive his sins, save his spirit and soul, and give him eternal life. This Lord Jesus can remember him and can save him.
Men and women, please be careful as to what you believe in. Remember that Christ came to be the redeeming Savior and not anything else. Whoever believes that He died on his behalf shall be saved.
Now let us see how the Lord Jesus answered the robber. Please read Luke 23:43. "And He said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Paradise is where those who believe in the Lord Jesus dwell after they have died. It is a very joyful place. In other words, Paradise is heaven (Rev. 2:7). Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ promised, "You are saved today; you already have eternal life; heaven is assured for you." Please remember that salvation is immediate; you do not have to wait until the future. The Bible said, "He who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47). Whenever you believe, you have eternal life. You do not have to wait until the future to find out. If you believe today, you will be saved today; you do not have to wait until you die and stand before God to find out. The word in John 5:24 says it most clearly. "Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life." Here it tells us that he who hears the gospel of the Lord and believes on the heavenly Father (1) has eternal life, (2) shall not come into judgment, and (3) has passed out of death into life. The Lord Jesus said that he who believes has eternal life. We have believed. Do we have eternal life? The Lord Jesus said that he who believes shall not come into judgment. We have believed. Will we be judged? The Lord Jesus said that he who believes has passed out of death into life. We have already believed. Have we passed out of death into life? The Lord will never lie. Whatever He says is true. His promise will never change; even now, it has not lost its effectiveness. We must not doubt God's Word and His promise. If we doubt, that sin will be great! Since the Lord Jesus promised, certainly it must be true. We who have believed in Him have eternal life now; we are not in condemnation now; we have passed out of death into life now. The question for us is whether or not we have believed in Him. If not, how perilous it is for us! If so, what have we to fear? God has already given us eternal life; God has already justified us. Who can condemn us? "He who believes into Him is not condemned" (John 3:18).
Therefore, we should know that having salvation and eternal life is not something that one finds out about in the future, nor is it something that one receives in the future. We can know now, and we can receive today. Are you one who has believed in the Lord Jesus? I often ask Christians, "Are you saved?" Let me also ask you this same question, "Are you saved?" There are many people who answer, "Mr. Nee, I dare not say so. But I do hope to be saved." And some people say, "I do not know now. I must wait until I die, and after God judges me, I will know." But please listen to what the Lord Jesus said to this robber, "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Today! Today! Not tomorrow. Salvation is a matter for today, not for the future. The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying to the robber, "You do not have to wait until I come again to remember you; today you will be saved." The Lord Jesus is still saying to every sinner who believes in Him, "You do not have to wait until I come again to judge, before you can have eternal life; you have been saved now." Therefore, do not doubt. If He has said that you have eternal life, do you not have eternal life? Once there was a doctor who went to see a young woman who was sick in bed. Her sickness was very grave, and she was at the brink of death. The doctor came from out of town and was not allowed to render any physical help to the patient at the local hospital. The doctor asked the young woman, "Do you have the peace within?" She said, "No." The doctor asked her, "Have you believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior?" She answered, "Yes, I have." "Then why do you still not have peace?" he asked. She responded, "I am afraid of perishing." The doctor then read a verse in the Bible to her. The verse was John 6:47. "He who believes has eternal life." The doctor asked her, "This verse says he who believes has what?" She said, "This verse said, he who believes has eternal life." "Do you believe?" She said, "I do." "Then do you have eternal life?" he asked. She said, "I do not feel it. I'm afraid I do not have it." The doctor said to her again, "What does this verse say about he who believes?" She answered, "He has eternal life." "Do you believe?" She said, "Yes." The doctor then said, "Now, what does this verse say that you have?" The woman replied, "I say that I do not have eternal life, but this verse says that I have eternal life." Please listen! "I say that I do not have eternal life, but the Bible says that I have eternal life." The doctor then asked her, "Are you more reliable? Or is the Bible more reliable?" She said, "Of course, the Bible is more reliable." "Very well," said the doctor, "Do you have eternal life now?" The woman then answered joyfully, "God says that I have it. I already have eternal life." I am afraid many people are like this young woman. They believe in the Lord Jesus, but they doubt the Word of God and His promise. They think that salvation cannot be so fast, and that one cannot have eternal life immediately after believing. If you ask, "Do you believe in the Lord?", they will answer, "Yes, we believe." But if you ask them, "Do you have eternal life?", they will not dare to say yes. How many people, after hearing this gospel, have said, "I thought I did not have eternal life, but the Bible says I have eternal life!" Please do not worry about what you think or feel. God's Word says that you are saved, and the Lord Jesus says that you have eternal life; what else is there to doubt? Now is the time for us to praise the Lord, not the time to doubt. Hallelujah! Thank and praise the Lord, for He has granted us grace so freely and has saved us.
Look at the robber. He believed on the word of the Lord Jesus. He did not doubt at all. He heard the Lord say to him, "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise," and he believed that he had already obtained the blessing of his soul. He did not say to the Lord, "Lord, am I to be saved just like that?" He did not come to beg the Lord again, saying, "Lord, please do not forget to save me today!" Neither did he ask the Lord, "What shall I do in order to be saved?" After he heard the Lord saying that he would be saved that same day, he simply believed. He just rested in the Lord's word and did not raise any more questions. The word of the Lord is the guarantee of our salvation. If He says we are saved, then we are saved. If He says we are lost, then we are lost. When the Lord Jesus said, "He who believes into Him is not condemned" (John 3:18), then he who believes into Him will surely not be condemned. The Lord Jesus also said, "He who does not believe has been condemned already" (John 3:18). Surely those who do not believe in Him, their sins have been judged already. Therefore, let me ask you some questions right now: "Do you have eternal life? Are you saved?" If you have believed in Him, you can boldly answer, "Thank God for His grace. I have eternal life!"
The robber was not saved because of his good behavior. He could not do good, nor had he ever done any good. His salvation was completely based upon the accomplishment of Christ's death on his behalf. Please notice this. The qualification of a sinner for salvation is wholly related to Christ; it has nothing to do with the self. The robber was qualified to enter into Paradise not through any merit of his own. On the contrary, he had no merit at all. He was saved solely through the merit of Christ. If he had remained in the world, he should have grown in his spiritual life. This would have been the natural result of the new life he had received. However, he did not remain in the world; he did not have any works. The redemption of Christ alone was sufficient for him to go to heaven. After a man believes in the Lord, he should, of course, progress to good works which spontaneously come with the new life. However, good works do not make a believer more qualified to be saved. If he does not remain long in the world, he will naturally have no works. He need only depend on the merit of Christ to go to heaven. After someone believes in the Lord, he may perform many good works; but these good works do not help him as far as salvation is concerned. These good deeds will not add any merit to him or make him more qualified for salvation. Whether a believer dies immediately after believing or whether he continues in the world for decades, his qualification for salvation depends entirely on the merit of Christ's shed blood which was for the redemption of sins. If he does not die, he should grow, because the life he received when he believed in the Lord must grow. Yet this growth will not help him become more qualified to receive eternal life. If he dies immediately, Christ's merit is sufficient to allow him to enter into Paradise.
At Golgotha there were three crosses. In the middle was the cross of the Savior. On one side, there was the cross of the robber who was saved; on the other side, there was the cross of the robber who perished. The lives of the robber who was saved and robber who perished were separated by the cross of the Savior! These three crosses represent all the crosses in the world. These three crosses solve all the problems of sins in the world. The cross in the middle bore sins without hiding them. The cross on one side hid sins without bearing them, while the cross on the other side bore and hid sins. The robber who was saved was a sinner. He had sin in his heart and he hid his sin. But the Lord Jesus died for him and bore his sins. Therefore, although he hid his sins, he did not have to bear them. The Lord Jesus Christ has no sin. His death bore the sinners' sins on their behalf. As such He did not hide the sins. He only bore the sins, the sins of others. He is the only person in the world who could do this. The robber who perished was a robber, so he too hid his sins in his heart. He did not believe that the Lord Jesus died for him; therefore, he did not receive the merit of the Lord Jesus' bearing of his sins. For this reason, he had to bear his own sins. Hence, he both hid his sins and bore his sins. These two robbers typify all the sinners of the world. The difference between salvation and perdition is to believe or not believe in the substitutionary death of the cross. In the case of the robber who was saved, he hid his sins. But he trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, he did not bear his sins. He had sins, but One died in his place. So he did not have to bear his own sins. The robber who perished was the same as the robber who was saved — both were sinners. However, he had to bear his sins himself and perish forever because he did not believe in the Lord Jesus' death for him. The cross of the Lord Jesus separates all the sinners in the world into two big categories: the perishing and the saved. Those who believe in the cross are saved. Those who do not believe in the cross perish. On which side do you belong?
The robber who was saved was not saved through his goodness; he was a robber and had no goodness. The robber who perished did not perish through his own evil, because his saved companion was also a robber just like him. It was not a case of the better one saved and the worse one lost. The conducts of the two were no different. Their only difference was faith. Therefore, you need to see clearly that salvation has nothing to do with being good or bad. These two were both robbers; however, one was saved and one perished. The occupation of these two was the same — both were robbers. They were very much one in heart — they robbed together as partners. They murdered together and committed arson together. They were like a left and right hand. They cooperated with each other and helped each other. Even their destiny was the same — they were both taken by the Roman government. They were judged together and sentenced together. They even received the same punishment — they were both crucified on a cross. On the cross they mocked Christ in unison (Mark 15:32). I suppose it would be difficult in this world to find another pair of people like these two who lived together, died together, and were together in so many things. In their lifetime they traveled on the same path and received the same end in their physical bodies. However, their conditions in eternity are completely different and completely opposite from each other. After their death there was the difference of heaven and hell between them! One entered into Paradise, being called a son of God, and received eternal blessing. One was thrown into Hades to live with the devil and received eternal sufferings. At what point did this difference commence? It began during their last five minutes. One believed the Lord Jesus, so he had eternal life. One did not believe the Lord Jesus, so he was condemned. Please listen! The difference between salvation and perdition is not determined by your poverty, riches, foolishness, wisdom, tallness, shortness, honorableness, lowliness, goodness, or evil. Salvation or perdition is determined by whether or not you believe in the Lord Jesus' substitutionary death.
Although in life the two robbers were very close, even inseparable, now they are separated forever! You and your wife may be very close to each other. If she has already believed in the Lord and if you do not believe, you will be forever separated! Do you have a saved mother? You may truly love her very much. However, if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus, I am afraid you will be forever separated from her! Do you have a deceased father who was saved? If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus, you will never see him again! Do you have a little child whom you love? He is so young and innocent that he cannot yet believe. As such, he cannot now bear his own responsibility. The merit of the Lord Jesus' substitutionary death has come upon him, and he is saved. For older ones, who can bear their own responsibilities, if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus, I am afraid that father and son, and mother and son will be separated and never be together again! Parents, please come quickly! Do you have relatives on the earth? If you want to be happily united forever, you must believe in the Lord Jesus. I am afraid that tonight, among those sitting here, many of you will be separated forever! Many loving couples will be separated forever! Many intimate friends will be separated forever! Many fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters will be separated forever! Alas! What a heartbreaking separation! What a sorrowful separation! There is no need to have such a separation! You must quickly believe in the Lord Jesus for your soul's sake. You must quickly believe in the Lord Jesus for your loved one's sake. You must quickly believe in the Lord Jesus for the sake of the dreadfulness of hell. You must quickly believe in the Lord Jesus for the sake of our heavenly Father's mercy and love and Christ's grace.
The matter of salvation should be decided before our breath expires. The robber was about to die. But he was not yet dead. He had the opportunity to be saved. Once he died, there would be no more opportunity. The Lord Jesus can save sinners. If He can save the robber, who can He not save? Therefore, do not fear that your sins are too great. You must believe in the Lord Jesus while you are still alive. You must confess Him as your Savior and Lord before the world. I urge you to make a decision right now. May the Holy Spirit help you make the right decision.
"Lord, right now I want to accept You as my Savior. Save me! Be merciful to a sinner like me so that I may not be condemned but may have eternal life."
