It is Impossible

I want to focus our attention this afternoon on a simple but quite profound promise God makes to us in His word: “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Luke 18:27. And I want to link this promise of the Almighty God with the fears many Christians live with at various times in their lives – fears that roil, that agitate, that disturb their joy in the Lord.

 

What are the names of some of those fears? Well, how about the fear that they can never measure up to God's standards, that they’ll never become what God wants them to become. Ot they will never be as intimate with God as they’d like; Or the fear that they aren’t really rescued from eternal separation from God; Or the fear that they can’t be fruitful for His kingdom; Or that they’ll never be free from the grasp of sin which seems too powerful to overcome.

 

That’s a LOT of fear so many Christians fall prey to.

 

But of each of these fears, God tells the Christian throughout His word – there is no need to give ANY of those fears a place in our hearts. Why not? Because, for starters, it’s not who WE are or what WE do that gets us to ‘measure up’ to God's expectations, or rescues us from eternal separation from Himself, or that makes us fruitful for the Kingdom.

 

It’s all about who HE is – and what HE does that lifts us up to His standard.

 

I’ll say it again for emphasis – it is not a matter of who we are or what we do. It is all a matter of who HE is and what HE does for us – and in us.

This is a critical point for me and for you to receive into our souls. As St Paul tells us: “For all the promises of God in [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20a)

 

Listen – if YOU are in Christ because of your repentance and faith in Christ’s substitutionary atonement for your sins, if you’ve been baptized according to His commandment, and are striving to a holy lifestyle with His help and by obedience to His scriptures – then be assured by God's sacred and inviolable word: You ARE in Christ, and all the promises of God to for a holy walk are counted by God as “Yes, and Amen.”

 

Which brings us to today’s message, the theme of which addresses some of the fears that often trouble our spirits. And the fundamental question from which all of those fears spring is this: “Is it possible to fail in any part of our walk with Christ, if we do not WANT to fail?”

 

I know that’s a rather broad question, and I will try to unpack the answers to those fears today and next week. But for now, let me answer that question with one quick statement –

 

No. It is NOT possible for ANY Christian to fail in any part of their walk with Christ if they don’t want to fail. Why? Because it is the supernatural God who holds our hand. It is the supernatural Creator of worlds and galaxies who holds us in His arms and guides us in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake – not for our sakes.

 

Listen to these few texts that remind us of God's utter sovereignty, power, and rule over not only Creation itself, but also over our individual lives and circumstances.

 

Jeremiah cries out: “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

 

And this conversation between Jesus and His disciples: (Matthew 19:24-26) “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 

If we had time, we could turn to scores of other examples of God's sovereignty and omnipotence over nature and over our specific circumstances. For example, you might remember how Sarah laughed when the Lord told her she and Abraham would soon have their own child (Genesis 18:14); She laughed, but nine months later she was cradling her son. Or the time Gabriel told the Virgin Mary of her impending pregnancy by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:37). At the time, Mary did not understand how such a thing could happen, but we know it did.

 

God is a God of unmeasurable power. Nothing is impossible for Him. And such texts as I just read ought to offer great encouragement to us when we begin to wonder if it’s impossible to have the kind of life that God created us to have. Is it really impossible to fail in a relationship with Christ? Is it really impossible to be trapped so tightly in sin that we can never be extricated from it? Is it really impossible to ever measure up to God's standards?

 

Well, as I just said, ‘No, it’s NOT possible for the Christian who WANTS to succeed in his or her walk with Christ to walk with Him. How can I say such a thing?  Because God's word says it. THAT’S why His word is a refuge for us. A hiding place. A sure cleft in the Rock where He covers us there with His hand. Listen to St John say it: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18)

 

So, let’s look at some fears with which many Christians struggle. These are not in any particular order, and you might notice some of the fears and the answers to those fears overlap. But that should not surprise us because life itself is complicated with overlapping fears and challenges.

 

First: it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to fail in his or her relationship with Christ if that person doesn’t WANT to fail. It’s absurd to think God in unable to keep us in His hands if we want to stay in His hands. It is unthinkable that God should turn us away because of our inability to – let’s say, walk a holy lifestyle.

 

Our walk with Jesus is not about OUR strength of character. It’s about God's strength of character. And it is His character, bound up in mercy and patience toward the sinner, that holds us on that narrow road that leads to glory. Listen to the Psalmist tell us of our God's patience and compassion for the penitent sinner:

 

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”  (Psalm 103:8-14)

 

I hope you picked up on that last verse: “He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.”

 

THAT’S why God gave us His Son – to place on the Savior the punishment OUR sins deserve. That means WE don’t have to let guilt destroy our joy in the Lord or our confidence in our relationship with the Father who not only FORGIVES our confessed sins but actually wipes them from the ledger. He treats every confessed sin as if they never occurred.

 

Think that thought through with me. Whatever you’ve done in your past, whatever evil you’ve committed and for which you’ve repented – God views them all as if you never committed them.

 

So please, please – don’t let guilt over confessed sins pull you from God's nail-pierced hands. Satan will lie to us with words such as, “You’ve sinned one time too often. Don’t fool yourself any longer to think a holy God will forgive you this time.”

 

No one should permit those lies to take root in their minds. Run to the refuge of God's promises, such as, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (See 1 John 1:9)

 

It’s helpful to remember the conversation the Lord had with the apostle Peter, who asked, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)

 

In other words, the Lord tells us to forgive others an infinite number of times when they ask forgiveness. And do we think the Lord requires of us something that He Himself is unwilling to do?

 

Yes, it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to FAIL in his or her relationship with Christ if the person does not want to fail. For good reason, Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi: “He who began a good work in you WILL COMPLETE it until the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

 

Yet, for many Christians, their difficulty with that promise is that so many of them have experienced failed relationships in their past. So they extrapolate those bad experiences to their relationship with God. Indeed, there may be in this sanctuary today those who’ve experienced a failed marriage or marriages. Perhaps some have failed relationships with their children, or with their parents, or friends.  And for years, those failures have held them captive and convinced them that even their relationship with God is at risk.

 

But when our horizontal relationships between people fail, they fail because of sin. But God has no sin. And that is why our relationship with Him is absolutely nothing like human relationships. NOTHING like it. When we offend God by our sins and we repent, He always and IMMEDIATELY forgives those sins – to the point – as I said a few moments ago – to the point of counting those sins as if they were never committed.

 

How glorious is that? How freeing is that? When we come to Him in repentance, He immediately reconciles us to Himself. Immediately. Even before the last syllable of repentance has crossed our lips.

 

But Satan doesn’t want us to know that. And if he can’t trick the penitent into thinking God won’t reconcile with them, then the devil uses another tact – one which he’s used for centuries to dupe hundreds of millions of Christians into believing that although they might be forgiven, God is still going to settle the score after death in a place called purgatory – an unbiblical invention by some clergy in the past and which persists to this very moment.

 

Let me reiterate the point once more – anyone who WANTS a successful relationship with the Creator cannot fail to have a successful relationship with Him because the sovereign, omnipotent God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will not permit such a relationship to fail in the life of a person who wants to walk closely with the Savior.

 

Well, I am out of time for today, so we will stop here. We’ll move on through the list next week of common fears Christians have, but for now, let me close with this reminder from St Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome:

 

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  . . . But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

 

And all God's people say: Amen.

His Goodness and Mercy Pursue us

 After our two-week pause for Holy Week, we now continue where we left off in our series through the 23^rd Psalm. Today’s text comes from the last verse of the psalm, but here is the entire psalm for context:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

 

And now, verse six: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

I want to begin today’s message by first reminding us that this verse helps illustrate why it is so dangerous to take Scripture out of context. If we do that – take God's word out of context – one could draw a terribly incorrect conclusion that God‘s mercy and goodness follow EVERYONE – regardless of their beliefs and lifestyles – and that they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

I suppose there are many people today in and out of the church who believe ‘God is love,’ and therefore He will never condemn anyone to an eternal hell. Most churches that promote that devilish heresy are usually associated with the acceptance and promotion of sinful sexuality and perversion.

But if we take this entire psalm in context – beginning with the first verse, which reads, “The Lord is our shepherd’ – then we must conclude that it is only those for whom God is their Lord that verse six, as well as the entire psalm – applies.

 

As we’ve seen through this series on Psalm 23, it is the Lord Jesus who is our shepherd. He told His disciples: “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep (John 10:14-15).

 

In that same context of chapter 10 of John’s gospel, the Lord also told the disciples that His sheep hear His voice. So, unless Jesus the Christ is our Lord, and we OBEY His voice, we cannot say He is our shepherd, and we cannot have any expectation that His goodness and mercy will follow us to our hospice bed or beyond. We can have no expectation to dwell in His house forever.

 

This really is a critically important point, which is why I plead with you to make sure you are truly His sheep. Do you routinely confess your sins to God? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins because of what Jesus did for you on the cross? Are you baptized? Are you following Him by obeying His commandments?

 

Our answer to these questions have eternal consequences for each of us in this sanctuary. God repeatedly warns humanity with texts such as this in Hebrews 9:27 – “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”

 

So, let’s return now to that last verse in Psalm 23. The Greek word translated ‘follow’ is better translated by the word ‘pursue.’  In other words, the Christian can understand the verse to read: “Surely, goodness and mercy shall PURSUE me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

We should pause here for some contemplative thought. The shepherd pursues us even in the valley of the shadow of deep darkness. When we stumble into sin, He pursues us. If we become trapped in sin, He pursues us. In despair, He pursues us. In our loneliness, He pursues us. When we are broken, He pursues us.

 

Listen to the Scripture tell it to us again: (Psalm 94:17-19) If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”

 

 

The Shepherd doesn’t follow or pursue us like an inquisitor waiting to catch us doing something wrong. No, not at all. The Shepherd chases after us, to catch up with us, to lovingly and patiently whisper in our ear (Isaiah 30:21) “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”

 

Some of you may be familiar with the Poem, “Hound of Heaven.” Listen to a portion of it: “I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him . . . Up vistaed hopes I sped . . . Down Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears, from those strong Feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, and unperturbèd pace, deliberate speed, majestic instancy, they beat—and a Voice beat – more instant than the Feet.”

 

It was about this poem that Fr. John Francis Xavier (d. 1920) wrote: "As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. . . Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit."

 

So yes, God pursues us. Why? Well, why does a parent chase after his child who just dashed into traffic? God chases after us, God pursues us, because He loves us. He wants to protect us. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that.

 

But – and this is also important to understand – contrary to what some false teachers and false pastors might tell their congregations, for those who persist in their rebellion against God and His laws, there DOES come a point in their rebellion that God no longer pursues them. And THAT is a dreadful place to be.

 

Yes – please hear this: THAT is a dreadful place to be when God stops pursing us. It is then that He then lets us go our own way along that wide road that leads to destruction and eternal damnation.

 

Listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us in this text to the Christians at Rome:

Romans chapter 1:18-28 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness . . . Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.  . . . For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another . . . And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind . . . .”

 

And this frightening text in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 which speaks of the antichrist’s appearance, “Whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness.”

 

Listen, please. We need to hear this: (Galatians 6:7-8) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

 

God expects holiness from us. Nothing less. And when we fall short of holiness, He requires our repentance – which means to turn from our sins.

 

Yes, we stumble. And fall. A lot. And that is why, in His incomprehensible goodness and mercy, God gave us His Son as a sacrificial atonement, to be our substitute, to receive on Himself the Father’s wrath against us for our sins so that He might reconcile the sinner to Himself.

 

St Paul assures the Christian: “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in [Christ]  and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20a)

 

But being reconciled with God first requires the sinner to recognize his or her sins, to confess them to God and repent. No surprise, then, that the Lord Jesus told us: (Matthew 7:13-14) “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.”

 

God requires of us a holy lifestyle. It is totally insufficient for salvation to simply attend church services and give to the poor and perform good works without living a holy lifestyle in accord with His commandments.  God warns us: “Pursue . . . . sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

 

Again: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

 

A holy lifestyle is not God’s suggestion. It is not His recommendation. He doesn’t say please. He simply says, “Do it.”

If that sounds harsh, I don’t know how else to say it and still say it truthfully. I know you expect me to tell you the truth as best as I know it. And oh, by the way, God also requires YOU to tell others the truth about God's word as best as you know it. Our primary role in this life is NOT to please others. Our primary and overarching purpose in life is to please our Creator. As Solomon wrote: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

But let’s return for a few more minutes to this text in which God tells us His goodness and mercy shall pursue us all the days of our lives.

 

The older I get, the more I realize how LIMITED my remaining time on earth is becoming. When I first met Christ in 1972, I was in my early 20s. In those days I measured my expected lifespan in decades. But now, I measure it only in years. And, oh! How I want so much to be able to say on my last day – as the apostle Paul said: (2 Timothy 4:7) “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

 

I am certain you also want for yourself the same thing, because you know, even if it is only intuitively, you know that life is aimless and fruitless without Christ.

 

It was CT Studd who wisely said: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

 

Christian: Unless the Shepherd pursues us, catches up with us, and we LISTEN when He whispers, “This is the way, walk in it” – then we will come to His Throne empty handed, with nothing to give Him in return for the many gifts He’s given to us.

 

Oh – think on that for a while. Unless we follow His voice, we will come to His Throne empty handed, with nothing to give Him in return for the many gifts He’s given to us.

 

(John 15:5) “I am the vine, you are the branches,” the Lord told His disciples. “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 

 

Which now brings us to that last clause of this last verse in this psalm: Surely, goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life . . .  and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

In one of the earlier messages in this series, I said commentators are divided as to when David wrote this 23^rd psalm. Many believe he did so in his later years because the psalm seems to be more reflective of his past than anticipatory of his future. It could be he wrote the psalm as he remembered when King Saul and his army hunted him. Or he could have been thinking of the time his son, Absalom, tried to kill him and take his throne.

 

But when David wrote this last verse, perhaps he was remembering God's superabundant mercy toward him after his shameless and arrogant adultery with Bathsheba and the abhorrent murder of her husband, Uriah.

 

And yet, David confidently wrote that he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. How could he write that with confidence? Because he believed God's word through Nathan the prophet, who told the king God had heard his confession, taken note of his repentance, and had forgiven the king. (see the story in 2 Samual 12)

 

David could confidently write that last verse for the SAME REASON you and I can confidently recite it, believe it, and cling to it. As I’ve already said, it is because of God's mercy that He sent Jesus to the cross to receive on Himself the Father’s wrath for our sins. All of our sins.

So, what is the application of this point? What is the relevance of this piece of history dating back to King David? Well, it is this:

 

What sins have you committed in your life – including the worst you’ve ever done? Are you grieved because of them? Have you repented of them? Are you living your life today in such a way as to demonstrate your repentance and disgust with your past sins?

 

If so, then you can be as confident as David was, that God’s goodness and mercy will chase after you – to guide you, protect you, keep you – despite your history of sin. And you WILL dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And to all that we say, Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift.

 

Amen.

Just as He Said

My text for this afternoon comes from the last chapter of Matthew’s gospel. By this point in the narrative, the Romans had crucified Jesus, and a soldier stabbed through His heart just to make sure He was dead. Joseph and some other disciples took His corpse from the cross and laid it in a tomb cut out from a hillside. And, because it was the Sabbath, they all left the gravesite to observe the commandment of God. We now pick up the story in verse one of chapter 28:

 

“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” (Matthew 28:1-6a)

 

In retrospect, it might seem a little surprising that NO ONE expected this. NONE of His disciples expected the resurrection of their Lord – even though Jesus had often told them that He would die and then return to life. For example, here is Matthew 16:21 – “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

 

And also, in John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

 

In fact, Jesus’ promise of His resurrection was so widely known that after the crucifixion, the Jewish clergy approached Pilate and said, 'Sir, we remember, while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise." Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, "He has risen from the dead." So the last deception will be worse than the first' (Matthew 27:62-64).

 

From our perspective in the 21^st century, we know what His disciples didn’t know at the time – that Sunday morning was coming. And so, we ought to be able to sympathize with the disciples who were in despair and in fear for their lives after Jesus’ arrest, murder, and burial.

 

They just didn’t know what was about to happen – just as WE so often in life, especially when things seem their darkest – neither do we know our Sunday is coming.

 

I love the message spoken by the angel at the tomb: “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”

 

The women didn’t believe it. But the gospel writers tell us the men weren’t any better. Indeed, they ALL were certain it was over. Their hopes for a new messianic age were hopelessly crushed. We don’t have time to go there today, but you can read the 24^th chapter of Luke’s gospel and pay attention to the conversation between the two men on the road to Emmaus when they met the ‘stranger.’

 

As I prepared this message, I then thought about the angels who met the women. God's angels never wonder, or doubt, or question any of their Lord’s promises or anything else that comes out of God's mouth. They simply accept it as true because God said it. And for them, that settles it.

 

And so, they were – and I am speculating here since the Biblical record says nothing of their tone of voice – I think the angels were incredulous at the surprise of the women and also of the apostles when on that first day of the week, they were frightened and confused that they couldn’t find the body of Jesus.

 

To paraphrase their remark: “Uhhh . . why are you so upset? Jesus is not here. He’s risen, just as He said. How is it that you didn’t believe Him?”

 

Christian! We need to get that. The angel told them, “He is risen – just as He said.”

 

I love that message because if Jesus did what He said He was going to do – rise from death – then that in and of itself alone should compel all of us who believe the message of the resurrection – that alone should encourage us to have the absolute conviction that EVERYTHING ELSE Jesus said is also true.

 

I mean, think this through logically: If He overcame the impossible – who ever heard of anyone physically rising from the dead on His own power after three days in the grave? So, if He overcame the impossible, and therefore the impossible is true, then how shall we doubt anything else He said?

 

And all that begs the question – what ELSE did Jesus say? What else did the King of glory say that we must hide in our hearts – because He said it and therefore it is true?

 

Well, we don’t have more than a few minutes on this Resurrection Sunday to look in depth at them all, but let’s highlight only a few

Number one. Jesus said to the penitent thief on the cross next to Him, “This day you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) After the criminal acknowledged to Jesus his sin, the Savior promised that before the sun set on that Friday, he would join Jesus in paradise.

Why is it important to know what Jesus said to the thief? I can think quickly of at least two reasons. First, since Jesus completely and totally forgave the thief of his sins, then there is no reason for you or me to think Jesus will not completely and totally forgive OUR sins when we bring them to Christ in repentance.

 

Furthermore, in the Lord’s response to the penitent thief, He did not even hint at what some call ‘soul sleep.’ That erroneous theory posits that when the body dies, the soul remains with the corpse until the general resurrection. But that is NOT what Jesus said to the thief. He told the thief “THIS DAY, you will be with me in Paradise.”

 

Nor is that idea of soul sleep found in any of the New Testament letters. They all tell the reader that when any Christian closes his or her eyes in death, they immediately open them in the presence of their Savior Jesus. That’s why the apostle Paul told the Christians at Philippi: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” (Philippians 1:21-24)

 

It’s also why Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “We are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6–8)

So, Christian – and my remarks here are directed ONLY at the true Christian – when you die you will immediately open your eyes to see your risen Savior. You will be with him in paradise. Jesus promised it to us, just as He promised it to those in our Ashwood family who have already gone on to be with their Lord and ours.

 

But to the non-Christian – regardless of your religious affiliation – when you die you will immediately enter an eternal agony away from God's presence. I’ll address that point shortly, and that is why I plead with you, even now, to repent of your sins. Turn to Messiah Jesus. He alone can take your sins and exchange them for His righteousness.  

 

Number two – What else did Jesus say? Well, He said not all people are children of God. THAT is an important point and often overlooked or even dismissed in many churches. 

 

Yes, in a generic sense all of us are His creation; But scripture is very clear that not all people are God's children, but ONLY those who are adopted into God's family through their faith in Jesus as God incarnate, who died as a sacrifice for their sins.

 

The Jewish teachers and theologians thought THEY were children of God. But Jesus told them they were dead wrong. “If God were your Father,” Jesus said, “you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God . . . ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil . . . [and ]He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” (see the entire context in John 8:42-47)

 

False teachers and pastors tell their congregations that all men and women are children of God. But that is a lie from hell itself. As the Scripture says: “He [Jesus] came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13

 

And now let’s again take a moment for personal application: Are YOU a true child of God?  How do you know you are? If you believe Jesus died as your atoning substitutionary sacrifice for your sins, that He rose from the dead, if you’ve been baptized, live in ongoing repentance of sins, and strive to obey Him day by day – then you can be certain you ARE a true child of God.

 

Number three: What did Jesus say about the eternal destiny of all true children of God? Well, descriptions of heaven defy description because we’ve never experienced anything like heaven. Thus, we have no clear reference points. How can a person born blind understand the colors red or yellow or green or blue? How can a person born deaf ever know the auditory magnificence of a Mozart symphony? As the Scriptures tell us: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

 

So, I will not focus our attention on the physical description of heaven. Instead, I draw our attention to Revelation 21: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

 

And Isaiah 25:9 – “And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

 

Christian, did you get that? No more pain, or loss, or separation, or tears, or loneliness, or sadness, or illness. Oh! I do not care about streets of gold and gates of pearl if I can live forever without any sorrow or loss or loneliness. I don’t care what heaven looks like if I can see our Father’s face – maybe even sit in His lap like a little child, and feel His arms around me – like my children when they were small sat in my lap and I wrapped my arms around them.

Number four: What did Jesus say about hell? No honest seeker of truth can read the New Testament and come away without a healthy fear of that eternal destiny in which all who are NOT God's children will find themselves for ever and ever. I know I’ve already addressed this terrible destiny, and I do so again because of its importance to all of us.

 

Many of you remember the story Jesus told of the Rich Man and Lazarus. You’ll find it in Luke 16. When both men died, Lazarus went to Father Abraham’s bosom, while the Rich Man went to hades, or hell. It was there, in utter and unending torment, that he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them to change their lives so they would not end up in that terrible place. “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But [the Rich Man] said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But [Abraham] said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” (see Luke 16)

 

False teachers and pastors tell you that a loving God would never send anyone to eternal torment. But Jesus said hell is real. The Lake of Fire is real. And all who continue to reject God's offer of reconciliation with Himself, who live a lifestyle of disobedience to Christ will, unquestionably, spend eternity in torment. No one in hell should be surprised that they’re there – because it will be just as Jesus said.

 

Finally for today’s message, number five: What did Jesus say about His forgiveness of our sins? Plenty. And He said it so often as to make an unshakable point about His forgiveness.

Essentially, it is this: When we confess to Him our sins – no matter how egregious and horrible and awful and wicked those sins – when we honestly and humbly confess our sins to Him – He forgives all of them. Not a shadow of sin remains. He has cast even our worst sins as far from Him as east is from west.

 

Here are only a few of the assurances He said about forgiveness: (Matthew 26:27) “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

 

Luke records for us: and [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47

 

Furthermore, the Lord, by His Holy Spirit through the apostle John promises us: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9)

Why is it so hard for so many people to take Jesus at His word when He said, “Your sins are forgiven”?

The angel seemed to me to be incredulous that those at the empty tomb were shocked that Jesus was not there. “He is risen,” he told them. “Just as He said.”

 

Are angels of God equally incredulous with us when we don’t believe what Jesus said – about Himself, about the identify of God's children, about heaven, about hell, about forgiveness of our sins, and about how the Christian immediately enters Christ’s presence at death?

 

Oh, may the Holy Spirit help us, day by day, to trust the Lord with all our heart, and NOT lean on our own understanding. In all our ways to look to Him, and He WILL guide our paths. (See Proverbs 3:5)

 

He said He would.