T o one of the two thieves crucified together with Him, the Lord made this precious promise, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” [Luke 23:43]. We can safely conclude this man was justified. But on what basis was he justified? Quite obviously, it was “without (or apart from) the deeds of the law”. There was no way this dying man could save himself through good works and keeping the commandments. As Paul phrased it, “He was justified by faith”. Let us examine in detail, this man’s confession of faith in Luke 23:40-42. Firstly, he said to the other thief, “Dost not thou fear God?” That shows he feared God. Secondly, he admitted his own guilt - “And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds”. Thirdly, he openly recognized Christ’s innocence, saying, “But this man hath done nothing amiss”. And most importantly, he begged for forgiveness; “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” He was willing to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He believed that God would raise the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and that someday He would return to rule over His kingdom. Thus, he begged to be “remembered”, meaning of course that he wanted the Lord Jesus to do more than remember him mentally, but to forgive his sins and admit him into heaven. Like this thief, none of us deserves a place in God’s kingdom. We cannot boast of our good works to justify ourselves. We can only throw ourselves at God’s mercy.
LESSON
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
THOUGHT
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9
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