BIBLE BULLETS - 13

Romans 10:9, 13

Jesus was crucified between two convicted felons. These two had been tried for their crimes and justly convicted. They deserved death! Jesus, we know, was sinless, but falsely convicted in Pilate’s kangaroo court!

One of the criminals, hanging a dozen or so feet away from Jesus, rejected the Savior, and even “yelled insults at him”(Luke 23:39). The other criminal, an equal distance on the opposite side of Jesus, pleaded with the dying Son of God, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

Both men, the one on the right and the one on the left, were guilty. They had done nothing good! What they had done was appallingly bad.

So, when the one asked to be remembered, Jesus might have said, “No! You’ve done nothing deserving of mercy! You didn’t obey the religious rules! You didn’t join the church… or get baptized… or read your Bible… You didn’t do anything good! You didn’t earn My consideration!”

Listen to the Master’s response. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Man is sinful, and sin separates us from God, now and for eternity! “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23) … and … “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news…

“God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”

(Romans 5:8) … and … “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV).

Here’s more good news … Memorize and meditate on this … “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9, 13).

The dying thief called out to the Lord, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He recognized Jesus as King and trusted that death couldn’t keep Him in the grave! In faith, the repentant man asked for undeserved grace. To this, Jesus promised, “See you soon! Immediately after you take your final breath, I’ll welcome you into paradise!”

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).