Dudley Ross Spears
Even though there are probably less than a dozen verses that directly pertain to the thief who died by the side of Christ, he receives much more honor and imitation than any of the Lord’s apostles. Concerning conversion, people will reject the example of obedience left by Saul of Tarsus and run to the thief on the cross, because they think that he did not have to submit to water baptism to be saved or have his sins washed away. Saul was instructed to: “arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
Brother J. D. Tant once remarked:
Some good people think they believe the Bible, and will sing: “Where he leads me I will follow all the way.” They will start with Jesus in Capernaum, his home, and will follow him sixty-miles down the Jordan river, singing as they go, “Where he leads me I will follow all the way,” until they get to the Jordan, and when they see Jesus going down into the water with John the Baptist, they will forsake Jesus and run back up the bank after the thief. Then they sing: “The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day, and there may I, though vile as he wash all my sins away” (Gospel X-Ray).
The thief was seeking whatever salvation and comfort Christ could provide him when he begged Jesus to remember him. This is quite common among all of us. As people come to the very edge of death’s door, the desire to obtain the saving grace of God is foremost in their mind. We think it not unreasonable to say that this was true of the dying thief. This does not doubt his sincerity or faith. Indeed, what faith it was that led him to confess the Christ and the kingdom under conditions that had caused even the Lord’s disciples to flee, with the exception of John. Contrast this courage and faith with that that refused to confess Christ for fear of men (John 12:42-43). None could say that this man would refuse obedience to the command of Christ. Therefore the kind of faith that refuses to recognize the necessity of obedience to Christ, in order to salvation, is not saving faith—it is not faith that justifies (Rom. 5:1; Jas. 2:24).
The only written laws that God has ever used to govern His people are the law of Moses and the law of Christ. Christ did not reveal His law during His personal life here on earth, for He lived under the law of Moses (Matt. 5:17-18), and instructed His disciples to observe it (Matt. 23:1-3). The thief also lived in the time when the Mosaic law was in force. The law of Christ could not have been in force or effective in our Lord’s lifetime. While a man lives, his law (will or testament) is not of force. It can only come of force after the death of the one that made the will (Heb. 9:15-17). Thus, the thief died prior to the enforcement and execution of the law of Christ. He died before it was revealed, because Jesus later commanded His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for power from on high. Christ said that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in my name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Thus, the beginning of the law that remits sins and to which we must conform had not been revealed or executed at the time the thief died.
Every accountable being today is living during the reign of Christ, and if desirous of the saving Grace of God, must submit to the authority of Christ and observe His commandments in order to obtain mercy. When Peter announced the terms of pardon revealed in the law of Christ, he said that those who “know assuredly” must “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:36-38). Who can afford to dismiss this decree of Heaven and think that “faith only” will save us if the thief was saved without obedience to the Gospel?
Dear reader, whom will you follow today? Will you follow the thief, who lived and died before the command of water baptism for the remission of sins was given? Or will you follow the pattern of those who “gladly received the word and were baptized” (Acts 2:41)? It is the most important question that you will ever encounter if you have never been baptized into Christ. Will you not obey the Lord today?
