Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds Luke 23:32-43, detailing the conversion of the dying thief on the cross. He reviews the thief's native spiritual condition and then focuses on six evidences of his gracious transformation: open confession of new perspectives, unashamed confession of Christ, a disposition to pray, zeal for righteousness, concern for fellow sinners, and preoccupation with the spiritual and eternal. Martin applies these evidences as tests for the reality of one's own conversion, emphasizing that true faith inevitably produces these fruits, even under the most extreme circumstances, and that salvation is by grace alone.
Primary Texts
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Luke 23:32-43This passage narrates the crucifixion of Jesus and the conversion of the dying thief, serving as the central text for examining evidences of spiritual transformation.
Introduction and Review of the Dying Thief's Native Condition0:05
The Nature of a Real Transformation and Its Vigor5:53
Evidence 1: Open Confession of New Perspectives on Eternity9:30
Evidence 2: Unashamed Confession of Christ13:52
Evidence 3: Immediate Disposition to Pray21:19
Evidence 4: Immediate Concern and Zeal for Righteousness27:12
Evidence 5: Concern for Fellow Sinners37:33
Evidence 6: Preoccupation with the Spiritual and Eternal40:29
Conclusion: Self-Examination and the Gospel of Grace49:21
Key Quotes
“And I'm amazed, the more I meditate in this passage, to see the many solid, positive evidences that the transformation was both deep and real.”
“And whosoever shall deny, me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Granted, again, this will be in some degree conditioned by our opportunities, our circumstances, our temperament, many other things. But a confession-less Christian is not recognized in the Word of God.”
“For whosoever shall confess me before men him will I confess before my Father whosoever shall deny me shall be denied before my Father and perpetual silence in every circumstance is tantamount to denial.”
“but if you're a true Christian you can say Lord thou knowest though I do not pray as oft as I ought and as much as I should and as fervently as I should Lord I thank you that I know what it is to draw near with the spirit of adoption saying Abba Father and to pray my friend do you pray do you pray do you come to the true and living God revealed in Holy Scripture and in honesty before him in the presence of the one whose eyes are as a flame of fire do you spread your need do you in the words of the psalmist pour out your heart before him the mark of a gracious change in the human heart is not only the confession of these new perspectives made before others the confession of Christ before others but the disposition to pray”
“but if we're to be biblical we must assert with equal clarity that everyone who comes into vital relationship with Jesus Christ and His objective imputed righteousness is Himself subjectively in some degree desirous of seeing righteousness wrought in His own life”
“a heart renewed by grace yet devoid of concern for fellow sinners that will find channels to express its concern there is no such thing on the face of the earth a heart touched by grace is a heart touched with concern for fellow sinners to be truly lost and now truly found is to claim something that just doesn't exist”
“but all whom God is preparing for heaven he begins by putting heaven in their hearts”
“I tell you that's salvation all of grace that's why I love this passage because the two great problems with sinners are they think they've got to do something first in order to pave a way to Christ well this man hadn't done anything but lived such a wicked life that they put him on a cross for him he couldn't say hey Lord look at my virtues I've done this I've done that they put me nothing he would have found it I think relatively easy to say nothing in my hands I pray simply to thy cross I cling but then the second great enemy is to feel alright I'm not going to put anything between me and Christ to pave my way but just in case there's a little bit of defect in what Christ might be doing I sure want to do a few things a few threads anyway to weave into the garment just in case you know there may be a hole or two in the garment of Christ's righteousness so I've just got to do a few things and be a good boy and a good girl for at least a little while he had no time for that and yet the Lord said today you'll be with me in paradise he was perfectly prepared for entrance into the presence of God by the perfect righteousness of a perfect Savior”
Applications
All listeners
Examine your speech and lifestyle to see if they reveal a preoccupation with time or eternity.
Ask yourself if you confess Christ in your workplace or other contexts where He is not believed or is mocked, or if your lips remain sealed.
If there's no confession on your lips, you have no biblical grounds to say there's faith in your heart.
Ask yourself if you truly pray to the living God, with right objects and right concerns, as an instinctive disposition of new life.
Examine if you have a concern and zeal for righteousness, first in your own heart, then home, then business, and in all relationships, grieving when God's law is flaunted.
Ask yourself if your heart yearns for fellow sinners and if you seek opportunities to reach them, as a heart touched by grace will have concern for the lost.
If you've never been brought to a fundamental preoccupation with the spiritual and eternal, question your claim to God's renewing grace.
Do not excuse your lack of transformation by difficult background or circumstances; compare them to the man on the cross and consider if you are a stranger to renewing grace.
Own your guilt, acknowledge that your circumstances may be just deserts, and stop blaming God. Plead with Jesus for mercy and grace, remembering that salvation is all of grace.
If you see yourself devoid of the described fruits, take the posture of the thief: own your position, plead 'Jesus, remember me,' and call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.
A full transcript is available on the
tab. 62 paragraphs, roughly 54 minutes.
Machine transcription
Introduction and Review of the Dying Thief's Native Condition
Will you follow again this evening, please, as I read from the 23rd chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, Luke chapter 23.
I shall begin reading at the point in Luke's narrative where the Lord has been led from Pilate's judgment hall to the place of execution and that horrible death of the cross is about to be enacted in his own life. I begin reading at verse 32.
They cast lots, and the people stood beholding, and the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou art the king of the Jews, save thyself. And there was also a superscription over him. They said, This is the king of the Jews.
And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? Save thyself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him, said, Dost not thou even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds.
But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Since the great majority of you were present this morning, I shall not weary you or insult your adult intelligence by an extended review, but I will pause just long enough to get your minds, I trust, flowing in the direction of the thoughts that we began to develop from this passage this morning. I have suggested that for at least a few weeks, our attention will be directed to portions of the word of God in which the grand truths, which have been expounded for months from Ephesians 2, are wonderfully illustrated, where God gives us, as it were, some case histories of his own mighty work in quickening dead sinners and in making them new creatures in union with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And having examined the record of the Philippian jailer, I proposed this morning that we would spend a few times examining the record of the conversion of the dying malefactor, the dying thief. And I suggested this morning that, to collate the biblical materials, we would consider, first of all, the native spiritual condition of the dying thief, secondly, the gracious spiritual transformation of the dying thief,
and thirdly, the powerful lessons contained in the narrative of the transformation of this man. This morning we had time only to establish the native spiritual condition of the dying thief, and to begin establishing the gracious spiritual transformation of the dying thief. And with the passage before us, we saw that the character of this man, his native spiritual condition, was one characterized by defiant rebellion against the law of God, secondly, by a state of hardened impenitence before the face of God, and his condition, was that of a condemned criminal before the bar of God's justice. And in that condition, he is but a specimen man. Each of us is also indicted in those three areas of spiritual concern. By nature defiant rebels, Romans 8, 7, hardened impenitent sinners, John 3, 18, and condemned criminals before the bar of God, Romans 3, verses 19 and 20.
But then this passage focuses not so much upon that doleful condition that the man was in prior to the transformation of God's grace, but rather upon the mighty work that God did in making him fit for heaven. And that, of course, is the clue to our whole interpretation of the passage that our Lord clearly and unmistakably asserts that the man was prepared to die. He was prepared to die. He was prepared to die.
He was prepared to die. He was prepared to die. He would be with Christ in paradise that very day. Well, how then did this gracious transformation come to pass?
The Nature of a Real Transformation and Its Vigor
And I suggested this morning that in looking through the materials, we ought to consider how it came to pass, what evidences are there that it was a real transformation, and what means were used. Well, I suggested that in answer to the first question, what or how did it come to pass? It came to pass because of a spiritual, spiritual revelation to the heart of this man in two areas. A revelation of his true condition before God, and secondly, a revelation of and confidence in the Son of the living God.
So much for the brief review. Now we address ourselves to the final two questions under that main second heading. Having looked at his native spiritual condition, we're examining the gracious transformation of the diabolical, dying thief. Point A, how did it come to pass?
Two sub-points. By the revelation given of the Spirit of his true condition. Point number two under sub-heading A, it is that revelation of and confidence in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. Now tonight, B and C, under major heading number two, the gracious transformation of the dying thief.
What evidences do we have? That it was a real transformation. Even though this man does not live long enough to manifest the principles of his new life in any great degree, yet the vigor of these principles under the most difficult circumstances is witness to the reality of the change that occurred. In other words, it's far more proof of a man's ability to swim well far greater manifestation of native spiritual strength if he can stay afloat for ten minutes on the sea in a raging storm than if another man can keep himself afloat for ten hours in the calm of his backyard pool.
There's far more proof of innate, inherent, physical vigor and strength when a man keeps himself alive and afloat for ten minutes in a raging storm upon a hill. There's far more proof of innate, inherent, physical vigor and strength than the man who simply treads water for ten hours in his backyard pool. Well, there's a sense in which this passage demonstrates tremendous vigor of the principles of spiritual life. And though the man had only opportunity to exercise them and demonstrate them for a few short hours, we know on the basis of what our Lord says, because those principles were real and were wrought by the saving grace of God, had this man lived, they would have been manifested to a greater degree over a lengthy period of time. And I'm amazed, the more I meditate in this passage, to see the many solid, positive evidences that the transformation was both deep and real. He was created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works which God had before ordained that he should walk, and though he only walked in them for a few hours while hanging upon a cross, they are works that are a manifest and undeniable witness to the fact that he was made a new creature. Well, what are they?
Evidence 1: Open Confession of New Perspectives on Eternity
Well, let's look at them. The first is, he made an open confession of his new perspectives on the issues of eternity.
As surely as he was open in his declaration of his carnal, selfish, and unrighteousness, time-bound perspectives when he joined his fellow thief in taunting the Lord Jesus at the beginning of his crucifixion, for we saw this morning that the thieves, plural, also mocked him and taunted him, just as surely as he was open and unashamed to demonstrate before the Lord Jesus, his fellow criminal, the soldiers, the scribes, and anyone near the cross, he was unashamed to let it be known that he did not see beyond the end of his own nose as far as spiritual things were concerned. The moment the Spirit of God takes him into that realm of spiritual and eternal reality, he is just as open in confessing the effect of that new perspective upon his spirit. So we find him in verse 40. The other takes the initiative to rebuke him. And he says, Dost not thou even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly?
And when he comes to that place where he sees his need as a sinner standing on the brink of eternity, no longer concerned as his original taunts reflected, no longer concerned just with preserving his skin, save thyself in us, but now concerned with the salvation of his soul, he says, O Lord, these things were done audibly in the presence of witnesses, indicating that one of the first marks of his new life in Christ was this open confession of his new perspectives on the issues of eternity. He says in essence to his fellow thief dying there on the same hill with him, I have come now to see that my life has been devoid of the fear of God. This is why I have been guilty of crimes that have justly condemned me to death, but I now fear him. Dost not thou even fear God? Here's a man who a few moments after his newfound life in Christ becomes an aggressive,
bold, and zealous witness of the reality of the new perspectives with relationship to his soul and to eternity. As with the dying, so with everyone who is the object of the Lord's saving mercy. No matter how quiet a man or woman may be in temperament, every man, every woman, every boy, every girl who lives for nothing but time makes it evident by his speech and by his lifestyle that time is the beginning and middle and end of his perspective. I don't care how reserved he is.
I don't care how temperamentally withdrawn he is. You live with him, any degree of time, and it becomes evident that time is his world. Likewise, when the Spirit of God transforms a man in grace, consistent with his own native temperament, consistent with all of those other things, he will make it known by open concession that he's been brought into a totally new perspective with reference to the issues of eternity. And there will be confession of those lives that he has lived.
There's new perspectives. It may come in the form of rebuke, as Peter says in 1 Peter 4, and that's a classic commentary on this. Peter says they think it's strange that you run not with them to the same excessive riot. Those who joined you in your time-bound perspective say, let's do this and let's go here and let's discuss this.
And you say, I can no longer go there. I can no longer discuss this. I can no longer act this way. There's a whole new perspective on the issues, issues of life.
Evidence 2: Unashamed Confession of Christ
And there will be confession of this. And it's this thing that brings the reaction of a hostile world. Then in the second place, the second clear evidence of the reality and the depth of the transformation was his unashamed confession of his Spirit-given understanding of and confidence in Jesus Christ. He's not only unashamed to confess, I've entered a new world of spiritual perspective, the fear of God.
No longer saved by hide, I'm concerned about the salvation of my soul. But there is this second area of open confession, unashamed confession of his Spirit-given understanding of who Christ is. Notice in his rebuke, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? We indeed justly, we receive the due reward of our deeds.
Then he says in the hearing of scribes, he says in the hearing of Roman soldiers, he says in the hearing of anyone who happens to be paying attention, he hath done nothing out of place. The moment the Spirit of God convinced him of the perfect innocence of the Son of God, the moment the Spirit of God convinced him that this was no mere man, he's openly confessing. Remember, under the most adverse circumstances,
he wasn't joining a sweat of popularity poured out at the feet of Jesus. There was nobody standing around saying, he's Son of God, he's done nothing amiss, isn't he wonderful? And he was simply going along with the crowd. Here he is, I remind you, as we underscored this morning, in the agony, in the physical torture of crucifixion, with his ears still ringing, with the echo of his own voice having previously taunted the Son of God, the taunting of the scribes, the taunting of the soldiers.
And it's as though he says, I don't care what I've seen, I must speak. Think me a fool. But I behold in this one on the middle cross, the sinless one, the one who is worthy of my confidence in the grim reality, in the face of the grim reality of death and eternity and the coming of Messiah, I openly confess with my mouth what I've seen with my spiritual eyes.
Having beheld him as Son of God, King and Savior, he fears not to open his mouth and confess his allegiance to him. He ran the risk of being taunted also. For if this crowd heard him, and the Scripture, of course, does not record everything that is said, but I can well imagine it would be most natural in the spirit, the ugly spirit manifested by these bystanders to say, he's done nothing amiss, then explain his being on a cross. Do I hear you right?
Calling on him to remember you in a kingdom? Does he look like a king? He doesn't care. He's willing to run the risk of being thought a fool.
To recognize in the bleeding, dying form of the Son of God, God's own Son, God's Messiah, and the only Savior of the world. Call me a fool if you will, he says in essence, the Spirit of God has revealed to me who he is, and I shall confess it no matter what you think or no matter what you say. Is not this the teaching of the Word of God? That whenever and wherever a gracious change is wrought in the heart of a sinner, there will be an unashamed confession of that Spirit-given revelation of and confidence in Jesus Christ.
Did not our Lord himself say, Whosoever confesseth me before men, him will I confess before my Father, the which is in heaven. Here's a classic example of it. In just a few short hours, he would take him with him into the presence of the Father and confess this dying thief to be one of his own. And the evidence that he was truly his own was this confession.
Here, in the face of the possible opposition and further taunts and jeers, he identifies himself in this confession with the Son of God. And whosoever shall deny, me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Granted, again, this will be in some degree conditioned by our opportunities, our circumstances, our temperament, many other things. But a confession-less Christian is not recognized in the Word of God.
There is no such thing as a true Christian who does not confess his Lord. And the Bible so intimately ties together true faith in the heart and confession of the lips that you can't wrench them apart. Romans chapter 10 forever settles the question. If thou shalt confess with thine mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto salvation and with the mouth believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Not confession in order to be saved, but confession unto the salvation which is come by faith, that salvation which is brought imputed righteousness.
But God ties the two together. Are they tied together in you? Or do you just love to come to Trinity and hear good preaching?
That's not confessing Christ. What do you say in that office where nobody believes Jesus Christ is anything other than a religious figure? Can you stand to hear him spoken of in the Bible? Can you stand to hear him spoken of in the Bible?
Is such and have your lips forever sealed?
What does it mean to confess Christ? It means that in that place where men taunt and men mock in that university classroom and in that high school classroom and in that grade school classroom and on that ball field and in that office being judicious, being wise, not being boorish, not being stupid. I'm fully aware of all the qualifications but put them all there and the facts still remains if there's faith in your heart there's confession upon your lips. And if there's no confession upon your lips you have no biblical grounds to say there's faith in your heart.
For whosoever shall confess me before men him will I confess before my Father whosoever shall deny me shall be denied before my Father and perpetual silence in every circumstance is tantamount to denial.
I chose my words carefully perfectly and the perpetual silence in every circumstance is tantamount to denial.
Evidence 3: Immediate Disposition to Pray
So you see the vigor of the new life in all the agony of hanging upon a cross if anyone could be justified if anyone could be exempt from open confession of Christ certainly a man whose mind is being drawn aside from weighty issues by the sheer call of his nerve endings that are raw with pain and yet the new life within breaks through all of those natural barriers and he's found making an open confession not only of his new perspectives on life and eternity but on the new understanding he's received by the Spirit concerning Jesus Christ. Thirdly the reality and vigor of the transformation is seen in the immediate impartation of a disposition to pray a disposition to pray for what is verse 42 if you're not it is not a prayer and he said that is the dying thief Jesus and the better manuscript evidence is in favor or the manuscript evidence is in favor of the word being Jesus and there's no substantial difference except a lot of sermons have to go down the drain that are based on an over emphasis on the significance of him calling him Lord but be that as it may it is much more certain that what he said was not Lord remember me but Jesus
remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom what a simple prayer but what a profound prayer no sooner is new life imparted in the spirit of adoption given but what he's crying out in prayer notice the elements of the prayer it had a right object Jesus Jesus name above every name Jesus who is called to save his people from their sins he prays to no saints if there were such he prays to no priests if there were such and there were apparently some standing around the cross he prays to no temple he certainly does not Norman Vincent Peale style pray to himself say to himself now you're in bad shape but begin to think positive thoughts ouch ooh ooh ah ooh positive thoughts things are getting better every day that's not biblical religion it's nothing but a mind cult the man's a false prophet pure and simple he has a right object he doesn't talk to himself he doesn't talk to others Jesus Jesus nobody there giving him ten lessons on how to pray as a new Christian the Holy Ghost is the great teacher and when new life is imparted
that new life instinctively ascends to the direction from whence it came and that direction is to the right of God isn't that true of Saul of Tarsus when the Lord wants to convince Ananias that he's really done something real what does he pick out about all other things he says behold he prayeth Ananias says alright Lord that's enough for me if he's really praying that means he's come to know the true object of prayer he's come to know the only way to approach the true object through Jesus Christ Lord tell me nothing else I'm on my way he prayeth that's the work of grace that's the work of grace he had the right object and secondly his prayer reflects right concerns Lord or Jesus look upon me and pity me in my present pains no as we underscored this morning in another relationship there's not a word about his present pains Lord look upon me in my terrible straits I've left a wife and kids and have pity on them and somehow get me out of this mess no no Lord I had an unfortunate upbringing and you know that though I'm guilty and I deserve to be here I really no no none of that Lord remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom the concerns of his prayer are spiritual eternal essential concerns and this disposition to pray was commensurate with the beginnings of new life
and my friend as with the dying thief so with you if he begins truly to pray while hanging on a cross in the agony of that cruel terrible agonizing death then you too will pray if new life has been imparted you'll pray the disposition of the new life will instinctively move in the direction from which the life has come Godward you'll pray to the right object God revealed in Jesus Christ your prayers will be concerned primarily with right concerns is that true of you do you pray I'm not asking do you pray as much as you know you ought to do you pray every time you know you should few verses in the Bible convict me more than David's statement when thou said seek ye my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek how many times have I had to say Lord forgive me for quenching the spirit of adoption which was moving me as the spirit of intercession and the thought flashed my mind you ought to pray whether I was driving you ought to pray about this or that or whether there was opportunity for concerted secret prayer and there was the impulse to pray and I put it aside my heart convinced me every time I think of that verse I'm not talking about that which is the shameful confession of every true Christian
Evidence 4: Immediate Concern and Zeal for Righteousness
but if you're a true Christian you can say Lord thou knowest though I do not pray as oft as I ought and as much as I should and as fervently as I should Lord I thank you that I know what it is to draw near with the spirit of adoption saying Abba Father and to pray my friend do you pray do you pray do you come to the true and living God revealed in Holy Scripture and in honesty before him in the presence of the one whose eyes are as a flame of fire do you spread your need do you in the words of the psalmist pour out your heart before him the mark of a gracious change in the human heart is not only the confession of these new perspectives made before others the confession of Christ before others but the disposition to pray then the fourth indication of the reality and depth of his change is this he showed an immediate concern and zeal for righteousness look at verses 40 and 41 having desisted from his own mockery as the change begins in his own heart hearing the reviling literally the blaspheme the word railed on him in verse 39 is the word often translated in the New Testament blasphemy
from which we get our English word blasphemy and hearing this the other answering rebuked him and said do you not even fear God seeing you're in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds this man hath done nothing amiss what does this rebuke reveal well it reveals many things but one of the primary things is this it shows an immediate concern and zeal for righteousness this man has defied God and his law his life has been marked by lawlessness he has had no passion to see God's name or God's law honored but the moment this great change occurs he manifests a reflexive zeal for righteousness he said wait a minute it's not right to taunt this man this man is innocent it is unrighteous to condemn an innocent man and to taunt and to mock him his zeal for righteousness as it were leaks from his renewed heart transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the fact that he shows this concern in the way of rebuke shows the measure of his zeal he didn't forever hang there waiting for a tactful opportunity he said shut your mouth buster
don't you fear God he rebuked him zeal for the cause of righteousness he says in essence look you and I are dying up till now we've complained about society we've talked about our background being unfair and all these other excuses but man listen to me listen to me we are here on the basis of pure inflexible justice God must be honored in his name vindicated in our death what a zeal for righteousness when that zeal is at work relinquishes all claim to continue to live and consents gladly to death remember the apostle Paul said if I've done things worthy of death he said I have no reluctance to die that's the man consumed with zeal for righteousness and is not that the mark of a heart that has experienced what Ezekiel talks about I will take out the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh and write my laws upon their hearts a zeal for righteousness and my friend that's the mark one of the indispensable marks of a saving transformation wrought by the grace of God this concern and zeal for righteousness is an inevitable attendant of new life in Christ 1 John 3 verses 7 to 10 are the classic statement in the New Testament
on this very principle 1 John 3 verses 7 to 10 my little children let no man lead you astray he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous he that doeth sin is of the devil for the devil sinneth from the beginning now notice as you apply this to the dying thief to this end was the Son of God manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil whosoever is begotten of God does not make a practice of sin because his seed abideth in him and he cannot make a practice of sin because he's begotten of God in this and think of it now our Lord in the middle one thief on the one hand one on the other in this the children of God are manifest the children of the devil whoever doeth not righteousness is not of God and here he manifests that he's born of God by this immediate evidence of a zeal for righteousness what about you my friend do you have a concern and zeal for the establishment of righteousness first of all in your own heart do you have a concern then in your own home then in your place of business and opportunities in all of your interpersonal relationships do you have a concern a zeal for righteousness that God should be glorified by men honoring his holy law does it grieve you
when men flaunt the standards of holy scripture does it cause you at times without hardly even thinking finding a rebuke leaping from your lips you have no zeal for righteousness first in your own heart then in your own home then in your own circle of influence my friend you have no biblical grounds to claim you're a child of God the scripture says be not deceived be not deceived he that doeth righteousness is righteous 1 Corinthians 6 9 says don't be deceived know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God no one holds more strongly I trust than we do in this place to the truth preached this morning and again that God willing will reiterate next Lord's Day morning when we take the principles the abiding principles that form the powerful lessons of this passage I trust we take second place to no one in asserting that the grounds of our acceptance lie wholly outside of us in Christ and Christ alone but if we're to be biblical we must assert with equal clarity that everyone who comes into vital relationship with Jesus Christ and His objective imputed righteousness is Himself subjectively in some degree desirous of seeing righteousness wrought in His own life
and in His own circle of influence that's why the Lord could say you're the salt to the earth in an unrighteous society you're committed to righteousness you're the light of the world in an unrighteous world you're consumed with desire and passion for righteousness what about you are you in the strictest proper sense most proper sense are you a do-gooder every Christian is a do-gooder yes he is that's why Paul in the very book that demonstrates more clearly than any other book with the possible exception of Galatians I'm talking about the book of Romans the book that demonstrates more clearly than any other the truth that we're justified on the grounds of the work of Christ and not our own work it doesn't bother him at all to describe the righteous in chapter 2 in these very terms to them who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption to them eternal life but to them that are factious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness shall be wrath and indignation tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil I care not how much doctrine you have in your noggin but I care not good reform doctrine albeit the spirit of God has not touched your heart and given you a passion
for righteousness that starts in the chambers of your own thoughts and don't you talk about resting on the righteousness of Christ for acceptance before God don't you talk about an imputed righteousness the spirit who reveals Christ as he revealed him to the thief a Christ who's able to take this man with his lifetime of sin and in a moment prepare him for paradise the same spirit who reveals Christ is worthy of that kind of trust is the spirit who will transform the heart and implant a love for righteousness and even though you only have a couple of hours hanging on a cross to demonstrate it it'll break through created in Christ Jesus unto good works my friend you better face the question honestly do you have a zeal for righteousness you say but you haven't defined righteousness alright I'll take just a moment to do it it is conformity it is conformity to the revealed will of God that's it that's righteousness what is right and what is right is what is revealed as the will of God in the home in the shop
Evidence 5: Concern for Fellow Sinners
in the school there's the evidence well we must quickly move on we find a fifth evidence of the reality the depth of the transformation of grace and it's this he shows a concern for fellow sinners for in this rebuke recorded in verse 40 there is not only an expression of his zeal for righteousness there is also an effort to awaken the conscience of his fellow sinner that he too might face the grim realities of death and hell and judgment in the world to come notice how he expresses himself he rebuked him saying does not thou even fear God seeing thou are in the same condemnation he says man when you're there talking like these other people taunting the son of God echoing their language look they do it standing down there as free men and though they don't know what a day may bring forth they're not on a cross just hours from death he says man don't you fear God you can't afford the luxury of being a smart aleck some of these scribes think perhaps they can afford that luxury they may rightly assume they still have some time to live and to reflect and to amend their ways but man you're in the same condemnation
you're on a cross you're just a whisper from the grave and the judgment and eternity and hell man wake up now that may not have fit the classical lessons on how to witness with tact but I tell you when you're dying on a cross and you know the man next to you has got just a few more breaths you haven't got much time to worry about being too tactful you just let love gush out and cut its own channels and sometimes they'll be a little jagged but as long as love compassion cuts them God will honor them he showed a concern for his fellow sinner as with him so with you no sooner is any sinner rescued by the grace of God than that heart transformed by the power of grace will begin to have a yearning for fellow sinners now how the yearning will express itself again I say lest any be unduly or overly troubled listen it'll be consistent with many variables but a heart renewed by grace yet devoid of concern for fellow sinners that will find channels to express its concern there is no
Evidence 6: Preoccupation with the Spiritual and Eternal
such thing on the face of the earth a heart touched by grace is a heart touched with concern for fellow sinners to be truly lost and now truly found is to claim something that just doesn't exist and I fear I fear one of our great dangers in this assembly is that we begin to content ourselves that we really appreciate good straight preaching we appreciate preaching that goes after the conscience of the sinner but my friend what about you is your heart going out for sinners is your heart yearning for sinners are you seeking opportunities to reach them if not you better ask yourself if you've ever known the grace that was revealed to the dying thief and then the final positive evidence of the reality of the transformation and it sort of brings us around full circle to where we began and I don't know if this is the best way to word it but it's the best I've come up with up till now he manifested a preoccupation with the world of the spiritual and the eternal as we've hinted before if any man could ever be justified
in having his mind taken off from the world of the spiritual and the eternal it's a man in the agonies of crucifixion in which the temporal and the physical bring such pressure to bear upon the conscience and upon the mind and upon the whole man and we are so constituted that we just can't take our spirits out of our bodies and plunk them up there on the shelf somewhere and say now spirit think about heaven and eternity and body you go out here and do dishes and change diapers and dig in the lawn and cut the grass we're one entity and whatever has tremendous pressure upon the body has a way of capturing the mind and the spirit I say if any man would be justified in having the world of the material and the temple so pressing upon it that the world of the spiritual and the eternal seems terribly distant and unreal and the world it's this man some of you have really been sick and you know what I'm talking about so sick that all of the impulses to the mind are coming from the earthly and the physical from the pain from the discomfort and it was a struggle to think one lofty one spiritual one non-material thought you know what I'm talking about well you just turn that up in intensity ten times a hundred times
and you've got a man on a cross with his life blood being drained from him and yet what is his concern don't you fear God righteousness a spiritual and eternal commodity we indeed justly the honor of God the vindication of his law Jesus remember me in my coming kingdom his views are not yet clear enough as to the immediate condition of the soul upon death that trust in Christ but his mind is stretching not only beyond his present pain to what will lie the moment he dies but all the way out to the return of Messiah and he says when you come in your kingdom at the end of the age remember me I say here's a man who is preoccupied with the world of the spiritual and the eternal and is not this one of the first evidences of new life in Christ let me illustrate it this way here's a man who's just recently died and someone takes him to the midst of an almost garden of Eden like park exotic smells beautiful flowers all of this verdure beneath his feet or beneath his back he's stretched out beautiful birds flying overhead making all kinds
of wonderful sounds the smells permeate the air the sights dazzle the eyes couldn't prove it by him his nose smells no exotic smell his eyes see no beautiful sights his ears hear no beautiful sounds why he's dead and though that real beautiful physical world bristling with stimuli to the eyes and the ears and the nose he's dead he's out of touch with the whole thing but if by some power we could go and touch that corpse and bring it to life the moment it came to life what would happen that world in which he'd been laid out but to which he was utterly oblivious would suddenly what happen no change to it but to the world and to the world and to the world and to the world and to the world and to the world and to the world but he would come alive to it oh it smells listen to the sound of those birds look at those flowers look at those trees what's happened the moment he comes to life he's preoccupied with that world into which he has been begotten by this power of resurrection now that's true spiritually there's the world where the glory of Christ is the most beautiful sight the honor of God is the native air where the sounds are communion with the air where the sounds are with God and with his dear son and the witness of the Holy Spirit and all of those lush
beautiful commodities of the spiritual realm but what's true of all of us by nature we're dead we're out of touch with it we don't know it exists the moment God brings us to life what happens we get the smells we hear the sounds we see the sights there's preoccupation with that world even if we're hanging on a cross that's what happened to him hanging on a cross there's preoccupation with that world new world now granted if he'd lived long enough to come down from the cross and go on back he'd have to be a practical man cut his lawn dig around his shrubs spank his kids love his kids provide for his family oh yes he'd have to go back and fulfill those biblical norms that's righteousness you see so there's never any wrong kind of tension between the true other worldliness of the child of God and his real gut level earthiness why because he's regulated by the precepts which never make him indifferent to responsibilities here but he's also regulated by that new world into which he's come so that the light of heaven is always upon the most mundane of the earthly responsibilities Paul said it this way while we look not on the things that are seen but on the things that are not seen for the things that are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal
now he lived in the temple but he's not he says that's not where our gaze is our preoccupation is there Paul says it in Colossians 3 set your mind on the things that are above for he died and your new life is hid with Christ in God that's your new native habitat God the spirit the blood of the everlasting covenant communion with Father Son and Holy Ghost my friends that's the mark of his new life and as with the thief so with you and if you've never been brought to the place of a fundamental preoccupation with the world of the spiritual and the eternal what grounds do you have to claim you've been an object of God's renewing grace you're just an earthly with a little more knowledge or reshuffled theology or something else but all whom God is preparing for heaven he begins by putting heaven in their hearts now for these I suggest are the undeniable the positive evidences of the reality and the depth of the change that grace wrought in this man the open confession of his new perspectives the unashamed confession of his new understanding of Christ this disposition to pray this concern and zeal for righteousness
Conclusion: Self-Examination and the Gospel of Grace
this concern for fellow sinners this preoccupation with the world of the spiritual and the eternal I'd hoped we could get to what means did God use to affect us to affect the change but I see now that that's another whole sermon and this is what happens when you preach a series for the first time you never know quite how it's going to come out so we'll have to leave that for the next time God willing and I think we've had enough tonight to cause us to reflect and to ask ourselves the question do I have grounds to lay claim to the saving change that God was pleased to bring to pass in the life of the dying thief for remember if any man be in Christ he's a new creation the old has passed the new has come some of you have been excusing yourself saying well I have a difficult background you see and I've got difficult circumstances yeah yeah but how difficult are they match it up with a man hanging on a cross friend come on match it up but you see I have all kinds of physical problems and domestic yes I know I know but match it up match it up with a man on a cross your problems are nothing maybe the real problem is you're a stranger to the grace that he knows a total stranger to the power of renewing grace
you need to do exactly what he did own your guilt own that even perhaps your present set of circumstances are the just desert of your own defection and rebellion against almighty God and say we indeed justly stop blaming God and say Lord I deserve far more than this I ought to be in hell but oh God if you could show mercy to a man hanging on a cross as we shall see next week God willing who could bring absolutely nothing to the Savior to commend himself for salvation and had absolutely no time to do anything afterwards I tell you that's salvation all of grace that's why I love this passage because the two great problems with sinners are they think they've got to do something first in order to pave a way to Christ well this man hadn't done anything but lived such a wicked life that they put him on a cross for him he couldn't say hey Lord look at my virtues I've done this I've done that they put me nothing he would have found it I think relatively easy to say nothing in my hands I pray simply to thy cross I cling but then the second great enemy is to feel alright I'm not going to put anything between me and Christ to pave my way but just in case there's a little bit of defect in what Christ might be doing I sure want to do a few things a few threads anyway
to weave into the garment just in case you know there may be a hole or two in the garment of Christ's righteousness so I've just got to do a few things and be a good boy and a good girl for at least a little while he had no time for that and yet the Lord said today you'll be with me in paradise he was perfectly prepared for entrance into the presence of God by the perfect righteousness of a perfect Savior take a moment he believed and oh I plead with you tonight if you see yourself as devoid of those things that we've described from his experience my friend these are fruit not root and you need to take the posture that he did owning your position I'm here justly I am liable to exposed to the wrath and frown of almighty God I have nothing to commend to the Savior but I can plead Jesus in mercy in grace in saving power remember me remember me and the scripture says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved that's the gospel and I say if that doesn't make you want to go out and grab the nearest tree and preach at it then I wonder if you know the gospel oh blessed
be God for such a Savior and such a gospel let us pray
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Passages Expounded
Luke 23:32-43
This passage narrates the crucifixion of Jesus and the conversion of the dying thief, serving as the central text for examining evidences of spiritual transformation.
Texts Expounded
auto_stories
This is the primary passage from which the sermon's main points about the dying thief's conversion are drawn.