If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 (NRSV)
Jesus…when you come into your kingdom – Luke, 23:42 (NRSV)
There was a man. He lived a life of crime. As far as we know, he never went to church. He didn’t attend Sunday school, or tithe, or sing in the choir, or even go to the church dinners.
And yet, he’s in heaven. How do I know? Jesus said so.
There was a man. He committed a crime so heinous that he didn’t just go to prison. He was sentenced to capital punishment. He wasn’t wrongly convicted, either, because he admitted his guilt, saying, “We indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds.”
And yet, he’s in heaven. How do I know? Jesus said so, saying, “Truly, I tell you today – you will be with me in paradise.”
With seven words (the Biblical number of completion) the thief on the cross assured his destiny. In his mind, his time in hell would be a little more bearable just knowing that the Son of God was thinking about him. But with seven words, he was saved:
Jesus (The thief knew whom to call on!)
When (not “if,” but when” – that’s faith!)
You (not anyone else, but you, Jesus, are the Son of God)
Come into (not “are carried into” as a dead man, but entering as a living being)
Your kingdom (You, Jesus, are King and Lord of all!)
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
I’m so grateful that the account of the thief on the cross was included in the Bible. It lets me know that nothing I do will get me into heaven or keep me out of heaven. It’s what Jesus did.
So I serve, not in order to get saved, but because I am saved.
Thank you, Jesus.
-Marcia Bentley
