The Paradise criminal
The bible says that as soon as you invite Jesus into your heart, you become a new creature, that the old things are gone. Besides, you have experienced the truth of that statement because the you that is here now is vastly different from the you that you used to be. You are an improved version of the previous you.
Yet, from time to time, the devil brings up your past – lies, stealing, formication, murders, violence, backbiting and all those. His agenda is to keep you in sin by claiming that your sins were too bad for God to save you.
You may or may not know that the devil is a liar but you can have the assurance that there is no one that God cannot save, no sin that God cannot forgive. Consider the criminal, not just a sinner mind you, a criminal, who was saved and who landed in Paradise
Our text is taken from Luke 23:39-43. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
You simply have to admire the man. He had several marks of Paradise on him already. We consider only fiur of what made him Paradisable:
He Rebuked Evil
On one side of him was Jesus and on the other side of Jesus was the representative of satan, but he refused to listen to the devil. Instead, he scolded him because he knew that the other criminal was sold to sin.
He knew there should be no admixture between good and evil, as 2 Corinthians 6:15 makes clear: And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Secondly, he acknowledged his own sinfulness
He told the other criminal, saying in Luke 23:41, “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Unlike this man, we are guilty. In the court of law, you can choose to go to trial by pleading not guilty or you can plead guilty and avoid the rigors of a case. The one who pleads guilty usually receives a light sentence.
David was a man like that; in Psalm 51:3-4, he said For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
Third, the criminal recognized Jesus as King
He knew that Jesus was not only innocent, but that He was a king, going to His kingdom in Luke 23:42, Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Finally, the criminal asked for help,
Remember me, he said.
No wonder Jesus declared to him that before that day was out, this criminal would find himself in paradise. He already had the markings of paradise on him, although a criminal. He woke up a sinner, and by nightfall, he was a paradise citizen.
Jesus has the power, even to save a man like Saul of Tarsus. One day, he was breathing fire against Christ and His followers, the next, he had become a paradise citizen, even an apostle.
In the same way, you and I were like that criminal, lost in sin – until we met Jesus, some at the cross in very difficult situations, others, well, in some comfort.
Since we are not dying immediately like the criminal, we must be like Paul, pressing forward, forgetting the past Phil 3:13-14. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
You must be bold against the devil. Of course, to be bold, you need to be righteous. Don’t allow the devil to litigate your future with your past. You must not let him persuade you to return to sin; you must overcome
That criminal overcame the devil in his past with Jesus – the blood of the Lamb and ended us in Paradise. What about you? What about me? Where will we end up?
Do you have the marks of paradise on you? Are we paradisable or will Satan succeed in persuading you to return to sin?
Maranatha!
Yet, from time to time, the devil brings up your past – lies, stealing, formication, murders, violence, backbiting and all those. His agenda is to keep you in sin by claiming that your sins were too bad for God to save you.
You may or may not know that the devil is a liar but you can have the assurance that there is no one that God cannot save, no sin that God cannot forgive. Consider the criminal, not just a sinner mind you, a criminal, who was saved and who landed in Paradise
Our text is taken from Luke 23:39-43. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
You simply have to admire the man. He had several marks of Paradise on him already. We consider only fiur of what made him Paradisable:
He Rebuked Evil
On one side of him was Jesus and on the other side of Jesus was the representative of satan, but he refused to listen to the devil. Instead, he scolded him because he knew that the other criminal was sold to sin.
He knew there should be no admixture between good and evil, as 2 Corinthians 6:15 makes clear: And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Secondly, he acknowledged his own sinfulness
He told the other criminal, saying in Luke 23:41, “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Unlike this man, we are guilty. In the court of law, you can choose to go to trial by pleading not guilty or you can plead guilty and avoid the rigors of a case. The one who pleads guilty usually receives a light sentence.
David was a man like that; in Psalm 51:3-4, he said For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
Third, the criminal recognized Jesus as King
He knew that Jesus was not only innocent, but that He was a king, going to His kingdom in Luke 23:42, Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Finally, the criminal asked for help,
Remember me, he said.
No wonder Jesus declared to him that before that day was out, this criminal would find himself in paradise. He already had the markings of paradise on him, although a criminal. He woke up a sinner, and by nightfall, he was a paradise citizen.
Jesus has the power, even to save a man like Saul of Tarsus. One day, he was breathing fire against Christ and His followers, the next, he had become a paradise citizen, even an apostle.
In the same way, you and I were like that criminal, lost in sin – until we met Jesus, some at the cross in very difficult situations, others, well, in some comfort.
- Then, we decided to run away from, and rebuke evil
- We readily acknowledged our sinfulness
- We perceived and started to worship Jesus as King
- We continue to ask for forgiveness and help.
- At that point, we are on our way to paradise with Jesus
- But the devil, who only knows the past, holds the past before you,
- On the other hand, Jesus sees you in your future; even as Peter was still shaking before a servant girl, Jesus had already seen him becoming a pillar of the church.
Since we are not dying immediately like the criminal, we must be like Paul, pressing forward, forgetting the past Phil 3:13-14. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
You must be bold against the devil. Of course, to be bold, you need to be righteous. Don’t allow the devil to litigate your future with your past. You must not let him persuade you to return to sin; you must overcome
That criminal overcame the devil in his past with Jesus – the blood of the Lamb and ended us in Paradise. What about you? What about me? Where will we end up?
Do you have the marks of paradise on you? Are we paradisable or will Satan succeed in persuading you to return to sin?
Maranatha!
