by David Brenneman
It's a very poignant reminder to everyone to do as the Scriptures say and be sure of your salvation IS in Jesus Christ alone.
Allistair Begg had a sermon once on the thief on the cross. He must have wondered a lot as to why he was let into Paradise. He never heard of the doctrine of Scripture. Never been baptized. Never been to a church service. Nothing.
His way was paid by Jesus Christ alone. It was on that basis he was allowed to enter "Because He...because He said I could come".
Countless trillions of people are waking up stunned in Hell as well as Heaven because of that statement. Either because He didn't say they could come to Heaven or because He said they could come to Heaven.
If a person is truly saved, that is that Jesus Christ alone is the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives...then yes, Jesus will say "Come home!" to these.
The countless trillions of others both the stunned and the arrogantly willfully disobedient wake up in torment astonished. Some crying out to God to give them a second chance. Some cursing at Him because they don't agreed with His judgment against them.
A shirt I have seen says that "Heaven has strict immigration standards and Hell has open borders. Tells you a lot about the anticipated traffic numbers.".
There's much truth to that.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14.
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6.
And then...
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:24-27.
"And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. [30] And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.” Luke 13:22-30.
You see, my Dear Reader, you didn't just read my opinion. You read the exact Word of Jesus Christ Himself. He is telling you to be sure of your salvation. He is telling you to come to Christ to be saved...and He promises to save you.
How do you know? Read...
"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.
Once you do come to Christ for salvation, no you don't need baptism to complete it. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward decision. Showing all your coming to Christ for salvation, that He alone is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life.
"Because I..." it sort of haunts me remembering someone I know explaining how good a person they say they are. That they'd read the Bible. But there was no evidence that salvation came to them from Jesus.
"Because I..." is how all will start off on the wrong foot when they stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives.
It's always to be "Because He...because He was born of a virgin by the will of God. Because He lived a sinless life. Because He suffered, bled and died on the cross. Because He arose from the dead 3 days later conquering sin, death and the grave.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:16-21.
"Because He..."
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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