Paradise Opened

I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.   Luke 23:43

On the cross, Jesus found himself in the company of two men who had pursued a life of crime, but the long arm of the law finally caught up with them. One of them joined the crowd in heaping abuse on Jesus: “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” (Luke 23:39). But then something happened in the soul of the other one.

Perhaps for the first time in his life, he thought about his position. Earth was receding, and eternity was looming large—right on the horizon. He hadn’t planned on this, nor had he prepared for it. As these thoughts ran through his mind, he heard the voice of his friend cursing, and he said to him, “Don’t you fear God?” (Luke 23:40).

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (23:43). This is extraordinary—a man who was destined for hell, right on the brink of eternal destruction, was given full access to eternal life with Jesus Christ.

Think about what happened to this man. He completely missed out on the Christian life! He had no battles with temptation and no struggles with prayer. He was not baptized, and he never became a member of a church. But the fact that he entered paradise shows with great clarity where our salvation lies. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

This is the Good News: that your acceptance with God does not depend on your performance in the Christian life. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8). If our works were involved in any way in our gaining entrance to heaven, assurance would be impossible. We could never know if we had done enough.

Salvation depends not on your works for Christ but on Christ’s work for you. When the judgment poured out on Christ was finally exhausted, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Christ’s sacrificial work is finished, so you can rest your life, death, and eternity on him with complete confidence.

For further reading, see Ephesians 2