The Dying Thief's Prayer - Luke 23:42

Luke 23:42
And he [the penitent thief] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

This penitent thief’s prayer is the last recorded prayer under the Old Covenant and the first recorded prayer of the New Covenant.  It is altogether fitting that it should be the model of faith and grace.  This prayer contains the elements of true repentance and salvation (adapted from Dr. John MacArthur’s Study Bible note). 

·         He believed the soul lives on after death

·         He believed Christ had the right to rule over a Kingdom of the souls of men

·         He believed Christ would soon enter that Kingdom despite His impending death

·         His request to be remembered was a plea for mercy

·         He understood that he (the thief) had no hope apart from divine grace

·         He understood that dispensing grace lay in Jesus’ power

·         His prayer demonstrates true faith on the part of the dying thief

·         Jesus rewarded that request, and that thief has been in the paradise of God ever since

In this one verse and its context is the complete picture of salvation!  It could not be more simple or profound.  There is no better expression of faith, and faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to the Kingdom.

Fresh Insight to an Old Problem

 

Last night, I finished reading James Barry Babb’s book, Post Cards From Another Gospel.  This was for me a profoundly insightful and at the same time unsettling book.  When I read books and articles that point out the divergence between the biblical gospel message and the contemporary message of the church, my first reaction is to see problems in areas of the church in general while ignoring the problems that might be my own.  This is the familiar mote and beam problem from Luke 6:41-42.

As a result, however, of Babb’s book, I have been forced to look at my own life and message in the stark light of historical biblical truth.  Among the many things that I found important to me, two in particular stand out.

1.      Moralistic Therapeutic Deism – Though I deny it’s tenets on every level, this “de facto-theology” has begun to influence my life and what I teach.  Deism is a heresy, but in practical, everyday ways I have begun to live as if Jesus Christ may not be involved in the details of my life.  I tend to become so focused on myself and so much in control of what I do and its results that I excuse God to go elsewhere and help those in real need of divine influence.

In this, I know I am not alone!  Heaven help us!

2.      Grace of Repentance – Knowing that grace is the enablement and motivation of a sovereign God given to us to accomplish His work, I seldom connect that grace with my own personal need to repent.  That problem may come from my own tendency to see sin, especially my own sin, as less important and less “sinful” that it really is.

What I discovered is, however, that the application and teaching of repentance is vital for both genuine salvation and effective spiritual growth in grace.

Those of us who seek to call ourselves by the name of Christ must daily devote ourselves to personal repentance or we will find that unconfessed sin creeps in and strangles the power of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in our churches.

Remember, the parable of Jesus about the mote and the plank in the eye was spoken to His disciples.

Coram deo