3/2/2013
Luke 23:43 - Promises of Paradise are Promises of Acceptance
"And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43
Jesus’ comment to the thief on the Cross that he would be with Him in paradise is actually a promise of God’s acceptance! Because heaven is where God lives, going there means God has accepted you.
However, people are people. They feel they must say some certain prayer or litany, go to Purgatory, recite the “Our Father” a number of times, experience soul sleep, show mercy to others – SOMETHING! Is it really easy enough to simply turn away from our old ways and then put our entire trust in the Savior? Is believing on Jesus really all that needs to be done? Listen to the scriptures: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13.
No matter what we do, it would never be good enough. In fact, God is so completely sinless that all sin must be punished. We can not be pardoned either by our own merit or by combining our merit with something else. There needed to be one Man who would be perfect in our place, and then receive the punishment our sin justly deserves. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He!
Call upon Jesus and He will answer. Be accepted by God; know that Heaven IS your home. Realize, this is a decision you must make. If we have not accepted Christ as our personal Savior, the Bible tells us we are children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). But God is rich in mercy as demonstrated at the cross (Ephesians 2:4). Accept Him and He will accept you.
What would you like to do next?
No matter what we do, it would never be good enough. In fact, God is so completely sinless that all sin must be punished. We can not be pardoned either by our own merit or by combining our merit with something else. There needed to be one Man who would be perfect in our place, and then receive the punishment our sin justly deserves. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He!
Call upon Jesus and He will answer. Be accepted by God; know that Heaven IS your home. Realize, this is a decision you must make. If we have not accepted Christ as our personal Savior, the Bible tells us we are children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). But God is rich in mercy as demonstrated at the cross (Ephesians 2:4). Accept Him and He will accept you.
What would you like to do next?