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The Cornerstone
This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Conerstone." Acts 4:11
Pulbished to Support the Work of the West End Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia
Volume 7 * Number 44* November 4, 2007
“Today You Shall be with Me
In Paradise”
by Wilson Adams
No one in the Bible encourages me more than the thief on the cross. No one. If ever there was one undeserving of Heaven’s grace, it was this unnamed crook. A career criminal (last I checked the Romans didn’t crucify petty thieves), this man had been a scourge upon society. Mark calls him a “robber” (15:27) while Dr. Luke states simply that he was a “criminal” (23:33). Good riddance.
He, too, had mocked Jesus. We forget that. “And the robbers also who had been crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him” (Matt.27:44). It says “robbers” as in…plural.
Something happened. I don’t know what or when but at some point curiosity overtook contempt; compassion rose above cruelty. He studied Jesus. Perhaps he had heard the words, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Perhaps he could see into His eyes and, amazingly enough, he saw not anger but tears. Perhaps he began to wonder, “Why do they want Him dead?”
“THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS…” I don’t get it… A crucified king…He doesn’t look like much of a threat… After all, you only kill a king if he has a kingdom… “Are you not the Christ?” he hears spoken in derision. Wait a minute…Messiah…King…I wonder if He could be the One…
“Save yourself and us!” he hears coming from his crony on the far cross. Thus far the two crooks have been trading insults—each taking a turn. No more. What followed next were the strangest words heard that day—words of defense for the Son of God. “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Peter had denied Him, the disciples had fled from Him, and Pilate had washed his hands of Him. Through the ordeal of His arrest, trials, beatings, and finally the cross itself—no one had stepped forward to speak a single word on behalf of Jesus. Until now. After everyone had turned away, a criminal on a cross places himself between Jesus and His accusers and speaks to His defense.
Did anyone notice? I would like to think they did. But I know this for sure—Jesus noticed.
“Jesus,” he spoke, “remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” No excuses. No lies. No pre-packaged deathbed confession; just a desperate cry for compassion. The sinner (“We are getting what we deserve”) looks into the eyes of the Savior (“He has done nothing wrong”) and makes a sincere plea for help—“Lord, would you remember me?”
Sometimes we approach passages to prove points and make arguments and, in so doing, miss the impact of the scene. We do that here. The thief on the cross has long been used as an excuse for those seeking to circumvent baptism in God’s plan for salvation. If ever there was a weak argument, this is it. Hebrews 9:16-17 answers it well. Before Jesus died, He could bestow forgiveness on any terms He wished. After His death, forgiveness could only be bestowed according to the terms of His final Will and Testament. It’s a truth that is not hard to grasp.
This scene, however, is not about an argument to be answered. It is a testimony to the power of God’s grace.
No one encourages me more than this man. No one. And why? Because he didn’t deserve what Jesus gave him. Then again, neither do I. And neither do you. In truth, each of us deserves to go to heaven as much as this unnamed crucified crook. That’s the truth, isn’t it? We all have sinned and fallen short. We all deserve to be lost. We have no right to look down upon another as if we haven’t been there.
That, my friend, is God’s grace. It is a love—the depth of which I do not pretend to understand. That God would save him is incredible. That God would save me—more so.
Isaac Newton was right. It is amazing.
Worldliness Is Killing Us
By Jamey Hinds
To start on the road to recovery, we need to first know what it is that’s hindering our progress. Let’s begin by defining terms — us is us, not others outside our fellowship; worldliness is being “devoted to this world and its pursuits rather than to religion or spiritual affairs” (Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary).
This article is directed to those who blatantly do not care about this congregation’s spiritual health: who’d rather go fishing, or stay at home, or go to Wal-Mart, than fulfill their loving duty to their brethren.
“Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:24–26). God will be your judge as to why you consistently miss our worship services (see Romans 14:12; 2Corinthians 5:10).
Those who consistently miss worship services and Bible studies are being carefully watched by their children and grandchildren. They see us at home when we “let our hair out.” They listen to what we say — and so it should not come to us as a big surprise that when they physically mature without maturing spiritually that they will choose not to come to worship, or worse, choose not to become genuine Christians. I realize children’s misbehavior does not always mimic our own, but a lot of it is — the apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree.
We can do better if we want to. “If there is first a willing mind” (2Corinthians 8:12).
If we want this church to be more than what it is, then we’re going to have to repent and turn to God and prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15–16).
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