Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Welcome back to day two. We are looking at the seven sayings of Jesus Christ on the cross. Welcome back to day two. We are looking at the seven sayings of Jesus Christ on the cross. We will pick it up back in Luke, chapter 23, beginning in verse 39. The Bible says this and one of the criminals who were hanged railed at Jesus, saying are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom Verse 43. And Jesus said to him this is the second thing that Jesus is going to say on the cross. Truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. Let me give you a truth of the word of God. The book of Ephesians says that you and I are saved by grace, through faith, not by works of ourselves, so that none of us can boast. If anybody would ever believe that you have to do good things to be made right with God, then this is exhibit A, that you and I are saved by grace through faith.

Speaker 2: 1:31

There are two thieves on the cross next to Jesus, and the reality is, is every single one of us come to Jesus with one of these two attitudes? Some people walk into church every Sunday with the attitude of one of the criminals that says here's what I need you to do for me, if you are who you say you are. Well, the criminal on the other side understands that this is silly. He says to the thief on the other side who in the world do you think you are? We are on these crosses because we are criminals and we deserve to be punished. But somehow this criminal on the cross realizes that Jesus is who he says he is. And so he realizes that he is innocent and he says that this man in the middle cross has been unjustly punished.

Speaker 2: 2:16

And then what the thief on the cross does is he asked Jesus for a favor. He makes a prayer request. He simply says Jesus, would you please remember me when you come into your kingdom? He doesn't try to make a deal with him. He doesn't say Jesus, if you'll save me and get me off this cross, I promise from now on I'll do better, I'll try harder. I mean? What can this man do? He can't go to church. He can't go to Sunday school, he can't tithe. He doesn't say God, if I behave, will you make a deal with me and let me into your heaven? No, he is asking for a pure, unadulterated, grace-filled favor. Jesus, will you do something for me that I don't deserve? And here is the good news of this request Anybody that makes this request, this request for salvation, jesus will answer this prayer request 100% of the time. The Bible says that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Speaker 2: 3:17

If you've ever heard me preach, you've heard me talk about this. One of my favorite preachers is Alistair Begg. Alistair Begg has the best sermon on the thief on the cross and he talks about that moment when the thief stands before judgment in heaven. He gets to the gate. This isn't exactly how it happens that Alistair Begg is taking some hermeneutical license here to make a point and he gets there and imagine the man.

Speaker 2: 3:42

The angel that is trying to let this man in or out says to him what on earth are you doing here? By what means are you here? Can you explain to me substitutionary atonement? Can you explain to me the doctrine of election or justification. Can you explain to me the inerrancy and the infallibility of the word of God?

Speaker 2: 4:00

And this man who, just a breath before, was hanging on a cross asking Jesus for a Savior? As a Savior, he would say I can't explain any of those things. And that angel would say to this man well then, what on earth are you doing here? And this man's only reply would be the man on the middle cross said that I could come. It is not by works that we are saved. We are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ poured out on the middle cross. Said that I could come. It is not by works that we are saved. We are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ poured out on the cross, and we are saved by his invitation alone.

Speaker 2: 4:34

A friend of mine at our church, his name's Jack Johnson, and he said that the only paperwork that matters at the entrance of heaven is not your resume but is the invitation of Jesus for you to be there. So Christ has invited you to put your faith in him, and that's it by faith, not in your good works, but in the finished work of Christ. And have you come to that place where you have asked Jesus? Will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? Have you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, not because of the good things that you have done, but because of Christ's finished work on the cross? If not, you should do that right now.

Speaker 1: 5:16

Amen. Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.