What About The Thief On The Cross?

"And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? Save thyself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:39-43).

For instance, he knew of Jesus’ innocence ("this man hath done nothing amiss").

He knew of Jesus’ power over His kingdom ("remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom"), and from this statement we would infer that he had some concept of Jesus’ resurrection, since his request concerned Jesus’ activities in His kingdom after both of them died.

Further, his faith was seen as he defended Jesus against the accusations of the other thief ("rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: But this man hath done nothing amiss").

Jesus’ behavior would have impacted the thief greatly as they began to crucify Him. Rather than curse and shout at His executioners as would have been common with most criminals, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Lk. 23:34). All of these statements and circumstances indicate that the thief knew more about Jesus than what some would like to believe. Rather than dismiss what Jesus said, as many do today relative to the necessity of baptism, the thief latched on to Jesus’ words and acted on them.

2. THE THIEF AND JESUS LIVED AND DIED UNDER THE OLD TESTAMENT; WE LIVE UNDER THE NEW. Jesus and the thief were "born under the law" (Gal. 4:4). At the time of Jesus’ conversation with the thief, He had not died, and His New Testament had not gone into force, and wouldn’t even be known until 50 days after His resurrection. Baptism in the name of Christ (as per Acts 2:38) is a part of the New Testament that went into effect beginning on Pentecost. The thief never heard these words—his body was moldering into the dust of the dead when Jesus commissioned His apostles to preach "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

Further, Jesus nowhere indicates He will change any terms of salvation in the New Covenant! Therefore, it is a mishandling of God's word to use instructions given in a former dispensation and apply them to this. We are "under law to Christ" (I Cor. 9:21), and Christ’s law, covenant, and testament did not become effective till after He died (read Hebrews 9:15-17). Therefore, the thief lived on the other side of the cross; we live on this side.

Our lack of fervency and reverence in worship is a matter of grave concern to all spiritually minded people. We have often caught ourselves singing, but not worshipping; bowing our heads, but not praying; sitting through a sermon, but not participating in a study of God's word. Such action is mockery, bringing condemnation on the "worshipper" rather than God's approval.

What is the solution to the problem? Some have sought for the solution in spontaneous singing and chain prayers. A group meets for a devotional period. No song numbers are announced: somebody (anybody) just starts a song, and everybody joins in. Instead of one person leading the prayer, all the men take part, each one adding his little bit until the last man in the circle gives the final "amen." In addition, lights may he turned down and all in the circle hold hands. The purpose behind this practice is to help people feel closer to God as they worship.

I am not questioning the scripturalness of this practice, but if someone thinks it holds the key to our problems of worship, I believe him to be absolutely wrong. Or if such practice lead participants to look disdainfully on "led" singing or "led" prayers, considering such to be an inferior way of worship, they become downright dangerous. Improvement in worship is not brought about by changing the order or externals of worship, but changing the hearts of men. It comes from stronger faith and greater love for the Lord.

When we come to love the Lord and appreciate His sacrifice as we ought, such words as, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, And wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean," will awaken an immediate response in our hearts, so that with genuine fervor we will sing, "How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be; How marvelous! How wonderful! Is my Savior's love for me." And whether the song is sung spontaneously or is announced and led by a song leader will become a matter of indifference.

When we develop a true consciousness of God— a consciousness of His greatness, His presence, His concern, His love, His awareness, His listening ear—and an appreciation of our own littleness and unworthiness, we will begin praying as we ought.

Spontaneous singing and chain prayers only provide temporary help in treating the symptom. But what we need is to get to the root of our problem, our own lack of faith and love for the Lord.