‘Wouldn’t it be nice,’ I asked, ‘to be sure
that if you died you’d go straight to paradise?’
‘No one at all can be sure of going to
paradise,’ he answered, ‘Do you know anyone who’s sure?’
‘Yes, I know someone,’ I replied, ‘I am.’
‘How dare you say
that?!’ He shouted.
And then he left. Perhaps you would have said the same thing! Consider the
following story about a wicked man who went to paradise.
1. An evil man who went to paradise!
It was
From
The
thief was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of God and the guilt of his own sin.
He realised that the Person he was insulting (Jesus) was the pure and sinless
King. So he prayed to Jesus saying, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Here we see that this
thief had faith. Jesus Christ answered him and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise”
(Injil, Luke
TODAY : What speed!
WITH ME : What
company!
IN
Just
before Jesus died, He cried out, “It is finished!” (Injil, John 19:30) What was
finished? Jesus had finished taking the punishment that we deserve for our sin.
He suffered, body and soul, in place of all those who trust in Him. But now His
work was accomplished, finished. When Jesus died and went immediately to His Father’s
presence in paradise, He went in the company of that thief.
What wonderful good news this is! It means that all your sin can be forgiven.
It means that you can be with Christ in paradise the moment you die.
2. But how can I get
there?
Jesus is the way. He said, “I am the way and the truth
and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me” (Injil, John 14:6).
Think about that thief. Was he promised
paradise because of his good works? Did he have time to put right his past
life? Well, he would be dead by
Do you have to be a special person to go to paradise? NO!
Do you have to be in a special place? NO!
Do you have to say special words? NO!
Do you have to have special accomplishments? NO!
So who goes to heaven? Christ does! In His own right. Because
He is perfect. And everybody who is clinging to Him, trusting in what He
did for them on the cross, goes with Him. That is the only condition.
3. If people who trust in Jesus are
sure of going to heaven, why don’t they just live however they want?
Many people ask this question: ‘If someone knows they are going to paradise,
can they just do whatever they want, yet still be saved?’
We
find the answer in the Bible: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin
that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we (Christians) who died to sin
live any longer in it?” (Injil, Romans 6:1-2).
Jesus’
death and resurrection were the focus of God’s perfect plan to save sinners AND
SET THEM FREE FROM SLAVERY TO SIN. The Bible says that the moment a person
sincerely puts his trust in Jesus Christ and receives Him as Saviour and Lord,
three great things happen:
1. He is saved (or set free) from the penalty of sin: God forgives
all of that person’s sin. God is just and fair. He must punish all the wrong
things we do. But Jesus took the punishment that we deserve. The price has been
paid. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”
(Injil, Romans 8:1).
2. He is saved (or delivered) from the power of sin: God gives that
person a new heart. Then He comes to live in it through His Holy Spirit. The
person starts to look at life in a radically new way. He
now hates sin and loves what is true and right. “Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things
have become new” (2 Corinthians
3. He shall be saved
(or freed) from the presence of sin. One day
Jesus Christ will come back to judge the world. On that day, He will
punish those who rejected Him, but those who trusted in Him and followed His
commands will be rewarded. He will deliver them from the presence of sin.
So anyone who says ‘I am forgiven and can
do anything I like,’ cannot be a real Christian, since there is no evidence
that the Holy Spirit is working in his life.
4. You can be sure of going to paradise
Yes, you can be sure of going to paradise. Your eternal destiny is not
decided by your good or bad works. Entrance into paradise is a free gift from
God, received through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast” (Injil, Ephesians
2:8-9).
Will you be there?
My friend, God has
given us a way to be saved from slavery to sin and from His judgment; a way to
paradise. In paradise there is no sin, so there will be none of the sad and bad
things that make life on earth so tough. This is what Jesus says to everyone
who believes in Him: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). You can see
why no Christian is afraid of the Day of
Judgement! In fact Christians look forward to Jesus’ return. On that day He
will send to hell all those who refused His free offer of salvation, but He
will take His people home to paradise.
Jesus lived the
blameless life that you and I should have lived, and He succeeded where you and
I have failed. People mocked Him. They crucified Him. Yet all this fulfilled
God’s plan to rescue us from sin.
Will you confess your
guilt to God and give your heart and life to Jesus Christ? Once you do that
(like that thief), God promises to give you a new heart… and to reserve a place
for you in paradise!