Down To What

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭8‬-‭13‬ ‭NASB

By the Lord’s amazing grace poured over us Holy Spirit teaches the living, written word of God, the Bible. Once we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it becomes our choice to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, Because the Gospel is that simple. Salvation freely offered, freely given. 

GodJesus Christ Holy Spirit Jesus was and is God in the flesh. He is fully God and man. He who lived a sinless life, sinless, perfect, and spotless, the sacrifice for all the sin of the world. He was crucified between two others, died and He rose from the grave with all power and authority in His Hands. 

Therefore anyone who believes and receives Jesus Christ is saved. Holy Spirit teaches this. 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NASB Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

It is heart wrenching to know Jesus was suffering in a way that we cannot really begin to grasp or even partially understand, so too was this criminal. He was never to come down from that cross alive, and yet he saw, or sensed something in Jesus that moved him in such a way that it became the road to his salvation.  

If ever there was a soul hovering on the brink of Hell it was probably this criminal, a virtual nobody hanging beside the Son of God. In a heartbeat, he voiced what his spirit had detected; that Jesus was indeed the Son of God! Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom'" 

What Jesus did next was a dumbfounding example of understanding, acceptance, love, and compassion all wrapped up in one conclusive act. It is the epitome of the life of Jesus, and He loves each of us the same way! 

Without hesitation Jesus responds to our plea for mercy: “truly today you will be with Me”. 

It is never too late to repent and ask the Lord to receive us. He gives us the choice! Jesus cleansed this man from his sins, received him graciously, and justified him unconditionally. He conferred upon a sinner the gift of eternal life.

We can be saved, even at the very hour of our death, and yet this is not the reality for all. It comes down to a matter of faith in Christ.