What Side Are You On? (SLIDE)

Joke

Joke:

An atheist complained to a Christian friend, “You Christians have special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Jews celebrate their national holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur. But we atheists have no recognized national holidays, It’s unfair discrimination.”

His friend replied, “Why don’t you celebrate April first?”

Open

My example

In past services I have explained my Salvation experience. The movie about the end times that our church was showing ended and I ran to the front in tears and immediately asked Jesus to be my Savior. What I didn’t tell you is that about a month later my parents drug me, I mean allowed me to go to a Imperials concert with them and I said the sinners prayer again. Over the next 6 months or so I said the sinners prayer at least 5 or six times.

Why would I do something like that?

Even though I had grown up in the church, surrounded by men and women who taught me about the Bible daily including Salvation, I didn’t truly understand what Salvation was.

I did everything I was supposed to. I said the prayer. I was different. I meant every word with every part of my being. Still.....

How could God have said yes? There were plenty of reasons not to.

For one thing I was scared when I said the prayer the first time.

Also, I still did things that I did before. Even though I felt different, was I?

It took me a while but finally after talking with the pastor I knew I made the decision correctly and I was a Christian now.

It makes you wonder though doesn’t it. Do we really understand Salvation? So others really understand Salvation? And if we don’t, if we aren’t sure, how are we supposed to share it correctly with others?

Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder, Jesus gives us the answer.

Jesus Example

Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 23.

Luke 23:32–34 ESV

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Today we are going back to the Easter holiday. Christ in the way only He can gives us the perfect example of Salvation in the way only He can while hanging on the Cross.

A couple of facts to get us ready and to help us understand better.

#1 - Crucifixion even though a common practice by Romans was not used on everyone. Crucifixion was often used for either bad people (the thieves in our story) or as a statement killing meant to make an example of someone.

#2 - When Luke says 2 others, who were criminals it can be translated 2 other criminals. Even though Jesus was innocent he was looked at as a criminal just as bad as the thieves on the cross.

#3 The thieves were most likely very bad men. Most likely not just thieves but murderers, and who knows what else. For them to be in this spot as criminals means they were most likely terrible criminals. It would have been humiliating for Jesus to be Crucified as one of these men. Yet he showed forgiveness. To all.

Up to the point of His death. (and obviously after) Jesus led by example. Him telling us how Salvation works is no different than any other teaching He gave us . He prepared us with his words, and then He showed it to us by example. The cross is ALL about Jesus. While hanging there in agony Jesus tells all who will accept His gift of Salvation, I am doing this for you , and this is the map of how it works.

So I guess we need to ask ourselves, what is the tool that Jesus uses to teach humanity how to attain Salvation. The answer, 2 Thieves condemned to die.

Our first thief.....

Thief #1 - The Unbeliever (SLIDE)

Luke 23:35–39 (ESV)

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

The main focus of this sermon are the 2 thieves, however here in this portion of scripture we see 3 types of people, all who refuse to accept the Salvation that Jesus is offering.

The first group of people are the Rulers. “THE RULERS SCOFFED HIM” These are the people that are more interested in power than what is right. These are the people that think they are right no matter what they see staring them directly in the face. Common sense is not a factor to these people. Although convincing someone like this that they need Salvation is not impossible, the idea of power and being right far outweighs Salvation for most. Jesus was fulfilling the scripture that these rulers taught every day. You would think that they would see who Jesus was and embrace Him. Instead they ignored his message and killed him. For power.

The second group we see are the soldiers. To me these soldiers represent the followers. The people that really have no reason to support either side so they are going to go with whatever group seems to be winning the war. They are going to listen to pastors that tell them what they want to hear instead of listening to pastors that are telling them what they need to hear. The good thing about people like this is that they will see whatever benefits them most. This is where we as Christians need to share the Salvation message correctly so that they see that Salvation is more important than anything one might watch on the internet. If Pilate would have set Jesus free the soldiers wouldn’t have cared. They saw the mob, and they joined the mob.

The third person in this portion of scripture is the real question mark of this story. The third person that is referenced here is the first thief. The thief was a bad guy, a REALLY bad guy. All that we know about this man we know from this story. He was a bad guy and he deserved to die a death that many of us struggle to even comprehend! How do we know this information, the other thief confirms our theory about the type of person this thief was..”Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.” He did the crime and was paying the just price with his life unlike the man he chose to mock.

The reason I call this man a question mark is simple. I cannot understand him. This thief is hanging on his cross literally dying. There is no hope. There is no appeal. There is nothing left for him except whatever eternity he has chosen for himself, yet instead of silence, instead of crying, instead of trying to right any wrong he could with the little time he had left, he chose to spew hate at a man that had done nothing to him. Hate was the thing that kept this man from seeing the salvation that was hanging right in front of him.

Do you ever wonder what is it that keeps people like this from accepting Salvation? God doesn’t ask the impossible of us. Cut off your right hand in honor of ME! Our lives will be hard just like anyones. So why? Why not accept this gift. Some say I don’t want to give up my power. To others it is to restricting. Some just choose not to believe. I happen to think that We Christians do something that many feel they cannot do because they cannot understand why anyone would do it. Look with me at these verses.

1 Timothy 1:12 (ESV) (SLIDE)

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service.

Colossians 3:23 (ESV) (SLIDE)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

John 12:26 (ESV) (SLIDE)

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

What do all these verses have in common, service to God. When we accept Jesus Christ and His salvation we CHOOSE to serve Him and Him alone for All Eternity. The people that decide they don’t want or don’t need Salvation want to serve themselves. The idea of serving a God even if it will make there lives on this earth and all eternity better goes against their mentality.

When you pick Salvation you choose it. God doesn’t force it on you. You decide to make the choice. Likewise, when you decide you don’t need Salvation you choose that decision as well. This thief made his choice. We may not understand it it just like we don’t understand other people that choose hate over God.

The second thief was different. I like to think of the second thief in this story as an unsung hero of the Bible. I like to call him...

Thief #2 - The Receiver (SLIDE)

Luke 23:40–43 (ESV)

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The reason we celebrate Easter is because Jesus Christ died on the cross taking our sins upon himself and in doing so gave us the opportunity to accept His gift of Salvation. I think however we glaze over the fact that while hanging on the Cross preparing the way for us to be able to have Salvation he gave us the roadmap of how to get salvation. I didn’t think I was saved because I didn’t understand. Make no mistake whether I understood it or not, that first night in December 1990 I had my name entered into the Lambs Book of Life in permanent marker. I just didn’t understand why or how it got there.

What the second thief show us is the map that will lead us and help us lead others to what Salvation looks like so there is no confusion. There are things you need to do in your own life to get you to the point that you can accept Salvation.

Admit to yourself you are a sinner. (SLIDE)

The first thing that you have to do is admit to yourself that you are a sinner. How can you possibly be honest with Jesus if you can’t be honest with yourself. We are all sinners. The second thief was no different than the first. He was hours away from death just like the first. He had no good works to fall back on. He had not been baptized (that we know). He had never heard John 3:16 because it hadn’t been written, yet as he sat there listening to the thief and the crowd mocking Jesus he listened to his heart and he knew that something was wrong. He knew that he was wrong. There was nothing he could do but talk, yet in those words he was able to say he said so much. I am paraphrasing. “I am a sinner. I deserve to be here. I deserve death. I am not worthy. This man is innocent and is not like me!” We all fall short. One of the most known verses of the Bible is

Romans 3:23 (ESV) (SLIDE)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

It seems to me that this is a pretty concrete statement wouldn’t you agree. No one is good enough. When we can get to the point in our lives that we can look in the mirror and say that when this verse says the word ALL, that that ALL means me. That is when we are ready for the second step, that is when our heart is ready to talk to the Savior. When we finally go to the Savior we have to complete the second step.

We have admit to the savior we are a sinner. (SLIDE)

The thief had to know in his heart who he was before opening his mouth. When he looked at the other thief an said they were guilty he knew it. Jesus knew exactly who this man was before the man was put on the cross next to him. Jesus knows who each and every one of us are and what we have done. By going to Jesus and admitting who we are and what we have done it gets our heart to the place that we need to be. It is telling Jesus that we know that we by ourselves are not enough. It is taking us to the place where our soul is broken and raw and ready to accept the gift that Jesus so desperately wants us to have. Before we ask for that gift however we need to complete the final step. We need to...

Ask for forgiveness. (SLIDE)

Not I’m Sorry, but forgive me. When you ask for forgiveness you are admitting that you wronged the other person. By going to Jesus and asking him to forgive you, you are completing the process by saying my whole life I have wronged you. I have done things that you hate. I have fallen so short I have barely left the starting line. I am not worthy of you and your gift and I need your forgiveness. Please forgive me, and He does, EVERY TIME.

Earlier I said that people struggle with Salvation because they don’t want to serve someone. Even if serving God makes life better. What they don’t understand is we make the choice to serve God, because before we were saved we had no choice, we were a SLAVE to our sin. It owned us. When that thief on the cross looked at Jesus, he had no idea what he was asking for. He knew that he was bad. He knew that he deserved it. He needed that forgiveness. And he asked the dying man next to him who was different and special to simply remember him, and he was give a gift that meant more than he could ever imagine. The convicted man sentenced to die was given.....

Freedom (SLIDE)

Imagine what it must have been like for that thief. Dying on the cross after living what we can only assume was a rather miserable life. Looking at a man hanging next to him and asking the man to remember him. The next thing he sees is glory. Then that same man who just died next to you walks up and embraces you and says I remembered. Welcome home.

Last week Pastor Mark preached a sermon on Psalms 8. He told us that back in the garden of Eden man fell short. Way short. We had one rule and one rule only to follow and we couldn’t even do that. When we get together sometimes Pastor Mark gives me the what if’s. Such as do you wonder what would have happened if they didn’t eat the fruit. Is it possible that we could all be sitting in the garden with Adam and Eve right now? Makes you think. Regardless, man fell sort of his purpose. When he fell short it made it impossible to fulfill the purpose that God created us for, so God fixed it. He sent His one and only son to earth to fulfill OUR destiny. Not only did Jesus fulfill that destiny he did it by hanging on a tree surrounded by the worst people humanity could offer at the time. Then He redeemed one of those people first. Jesus Showed us that

Doing good will not save you.

A Good Attitude Will Not Save You

Perfect Church Attendance Will Not Save You

Memorizing The Entire Bible Will Not Save You.

Jesus Will Save You. Only Jesus.

But How Will I know if I am saved?

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV) (SLIDE)

because, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Your heart must believe it, and your mouth must confess it and you cannot help but be changed! And if you give your life to Christ and accept His Salvation you WILL be changed!

Close

(SLIDE) Charles Dickens wrote the story the Christmas Carol to help people explore the true meaning of Christmas. Ebeneezer Scrooge goes to sleep a miserable man who hates life and because of the spirits wakes up a changed man. Not just from the outside but mainly in his soul! Look what it says in the end of the book.

“Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

Even though this book is about Christmas, it also shows what our lives look like after we accept Salvation. We go to sleep a slave to sin with nothing more to look forward to than an eternity in hell and wake up a changed person. we may be mocked, it may be hard at times. But our lives will never be the same.

Do you every get tired of hearing people preach about Salvation? “Again, really? I am already saved so preach on something that affects me now.” Ever thought that, maybe your thinking that now. According to a 2021 survey at that time there were an estimated 380,000 churches. Lets be optimistic and say that 1/4 of those churches are theologically sound and teach salvation the correct way. If that is the case there is a possible 4,940,000 sermons a year that share this message in some way. Maybe it is the whole message, maybe it’s an invitation at the end. Regardless the gift is offered. It is offered almost 5,000,000 times a year and look at the world that we live in right now. Look at all the people that need Jesus and His Salvation and tell me that this message doesn’t affect us. If someone asked you walking down the street tomorrow what Salvation was and how do they get it what would you say. This is a message that we cannot hear enough. It is the cornerstone of everything we believe in.

When you truly from the bottom of your heart accept Salvation, you don’t choose to change you just do it! The only difference between us and Scrooge is where he didn’t see the Spirit’s again ours constantly walks with us and talks with us. Because we are His! So whether you are a thief dying for your choices or a Theological Bible based pastor, Salvation is there and is for everyone if you choose to make the right choice.

Lets Pray!

Benediction

A pastor once said, “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you." He loves us, lets share that love with everyone else.