“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42, 43).

As Jesus hung on the cross, dying for the sin of the world, two criminals hung on either side of Him. Condemned for their crimes, they too would die that day. But one of them ultimately recognized who Jesus was. It was that criminal who called Him “Lord”. The Greek word for Lord Is “Kyrios” which is a title given to God, the Messiah. And with his own mouth, one of these thieves professed that Jesus is God.

In the above verse the word for kingdom comes from the Greek word “basileia” It is primarily   an abstract noun, denoting sovereignty, royal power, dominion, and it is used especially of the Kingdom of God and of Christ. The thief addressed Jesus by using the word “basileia” which pointed to Jesus’ right or authority to rule over a kingdom. It refers to the royal power of Jesus  as the triumphant Messiah.

So this thief through one little statement spoken from the most terrible place possible hanging on his cross—was given permission by God Himself to enter paradise that very day with the King of Kings. Most Bible scholars agree that, for the most part, criminals who earned the “privilege” of dying that horrible death, by crucifixion, were suspended there for days before finally dying.

Jesus told the believing thief that that very day that he would be with the Lord in paradise. How could Jesus have known that He and this thief would die that very day? Jesus is fully God, and  as such He knows all things.

He knew He would die that very day because He arranged all the events associated with His crucifixion. He also knew that one of the men hanging next to Him would believe and be saved that day, and that this man would also die in a matter of hours.

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Some believe that Jesus was speaking figuratively; not actually meaning the thief would be with Him that very day but that he would be joining Jesus in Heaven at some point in time. Those who believe in soul sleep interpret the “to day” that Jesus spoke of as being in this period of time, the Christian era.

The Greek rendering of the phrase “to day” means just that. The Greek word is “sēmeron”, and it means this very day, or what has happened today. The Greek word for “I say” is legō, which in this instance is rendered as a command. Clearly Jesus pronounced a command that the thief would be with Him that very day in Paradise.

We know from the Scriptures that Jesus, before His resurrection, went to where the believers of the past were waiting and “… led captivity captive…” Ephesians 4:8.  He removed everyone who was in Paradise, and took them to heaven. This puts the kibosh on soul sleep; there are other verses that also point to the whole idea of soul sleep as being unbiblical. Such as, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23, but I digress.

As Jesus hung on that cross He was mocked and reviled by the crowd gathered at the cross, as well as the two criminals who were being crucified with Him.

“The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” (Matthew 27:44)

But something changed the mind of one of those thieves, and in his heart he became a believer. It’s amazing just how quickly that change took place.

“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou 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.” Luke 23:40-41.

That thief knew he and his companion deserved the punishment they were receiving.

Interestingly, one criminal confessed with his mouth and believed in his heart that Jesus was Lord, which is exactly what Paul tells us in the book of Romans how one is saved.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

The man’s partial statement “Lord, remember me” was a profession of faith and it was the catalyst that moved him from being condemned to being saved. Yet it still remains that this saved sinner was being punished for the crime he committed against society.

Two men, found equally guilty by the ruler in that land, were separated that day by the cross of Christ, separated by the One who was found guiltless yet condemned by that very same Roman ruler. Today they remain eternally separated by a simple faith which leads to the cross and a lack of faith that moves people to reject their Messiah.

Clearly we can see this once lost and condemned man becoming transformed before our very eyes by going through a change of heart and a transformation of his mind right there on that cross. This same change can happen to anyone today. We see many who have hardened their hearts against God and His Christ these days and we think to ourselves:

How can these lost people who seem to be so far removed from God ever come to an understanding of who God is? How can they ever come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? Wouldn’t we be wasting our time trying to confront them with the truth of the gospel?

Have you ever heard that old adage, “There but for the grace of God go I?” It’s only hopeless when that lost person dies in unbelief.

Two men, nailed to their own personal cross both suffering in pain and agony right along with Jesus. In this moment in time their eternity was in the balance since both would soon expire and be transported to the destination of their choice. There they were hanging and dying right next to the very Creator of the universe.

Yet only one would recognize Jesus and confess before the world just who Jesus is. If these two criminals were Jews then they had just been put to death without being able to atone for  their sin against God through the usual means, the Jewish Law of sacrifice. That opportunity  was  lost forever. One saw the hope we all have in Christ and the other remained in his blindness.

Two very similar criminals made completely opposite choices, those two men had completely different mind sets. Both men had the same opportunity to avoid hell that day. One ultimately made the correct choice. That’s a fact that should provide ample reason for believers today to pause and reconsider their drive to spread the gospel.

Those two men were hanging awaiting deaths door to slam shut, one became a believer before it was too late. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, need to spread the Gospel message to the lost as much as possible before it’s too late.

Everyone alive today is sitting at death’s door. Our lives could be snuffed out in a simple heart beat. Since a man can’t see the future he can’t see his last moment on earth before it appears. There comes a point in time when all the good intentions for spreading the Gospel fall short if the believer lacks commitment.

Most people today believe they have plenty of time to make a decision for Christ, never really coming to the understanding that delaying that decision for Christ automatically condemns them to Hell. If they die in that lost state of mind they are condemned for eternity. The message of the cross is powerful and can and will bear much fruit if it is spread by Jesus’ followers as He commanded.

Remember Jesus’ words in the parable of the sower? The last ground mentioned by Jesus was good ground.

“But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:8)

We all like to think that we are the good ground spoken of by Jesus in this parable, but are we living up to what Jesus meant by bearing much fruit even thirtyfold?

I know, by some of the emails I’ve received in the past that there are believers out there who refuse to witness to the lost, erroneously assuming there’s nothing further to be accomplished.

Their attitude in many cases is that the hearts of the rest of humanity are left hard and cold, and are completely unreachable for Christ. Obviously there are some who wrongly believe the Holy Spirit has been removed from planet earth. After all it’s the Holy Spirit who convicts a person and leads them to Jesus. If God’s Holy Spirit is not here to do His job what can believers expect to accomplish?

In the beginning of this amazing, wonderful movement called Christianity, God placed on mankind an awesome responsibility, and that was to spread the gospel to all creatures.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

That responsibility hasn’t changed in the last two thousand years. We must continue to, as Paul says, fight the good fight; we must remain active in our Father’s business, and be fully aware that the forces of evil will continue to buffet us at every turn.

Preaching the gospel of Christ may seem difficult at times, even useless. The message of the cross, in many cases seems to be falling on deaf ears. Remember my brethren we are only seed planters and after planting we move on. We aren’t told in the scriptures to hang around watching that seed grow. We may not witness the fruit produced by that seed. But God promises it will produce fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

My brethren, another of Satan’s deceptions is to convince the Church to become complacent even apathetic. Along with all the other lies and deceptions infiltrating our churches today, one    of the most far reaching is that the Holy Spirit has been removed. The Bible, the inerrant Word  of God, contains the very scriptures that Jesus quoted while here on earth, and they are non-negotiable.

Nothing changes in God’s word. People change, yes, and become more “enlightened” in areas of worldly knowledge and through this kind of knowledge they are inclined to move away from any belief in God and His word. We don’t need to re-create or re-design the gospel of Christ. It’s worked for almost two thousand years now and it will continue to be a beacon of light until Jesus returns. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to avoid the lost and discontinue witnessing.

Jesus, being fully God, died on that cross, a most excruciating form of torture, and He did so to take away the sin of the entire world. He followed His Father’s instructions to the letter. Shouldn’t we, who are called by His name, continue following His commandments to the letter?

At any rate it’s a command from God, not, as many would like to believe, a request.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

 

“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created” (Ezekiel 28:12b-15a).

Doesn’t he sound awesome? Can you imagine being clothed in such splendor? Not only was this guy beautifully clothed but he was the “anointed cherub that covereth.” Of course you know who he is. He’s Lucifer, also known as Satan, Beelzebub, and the Devil, among other names. With so much going for him, what could possibly have gone? Pride. Yes that crafty old serpent was beautiful “.till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:15b. Pride puffed him up so that he wanted to be worshipped. This caused him to rebel against God and he is to blame for all
of the ills in this world.

Lucifer held the rank of “the cherub that covers” and was the most powerful of all the cherubim. Get it out of your mind that a cherub is a chubby cheeked little angel with cute wings and a halo who floats on a cloud and plays a harp. A cherub is a powerful creature. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, two cherubim were placed there to guard the way of the tree of life. What happened to Lucifer that he caused such trouble? He fell into the trap of pride and he began to have delusions of grandeur.

“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness” (Ezekiel 28:17a).

We are in the end times and Satan can see his time is drawing to an end. His lies and deception are becoming bolder and many people are being deceived.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1Timothy 4:1).

Satan uses various lies to suck people into his diabolical schemes, and false religion is just one of those lies. We tend to think only of witchcraft as satanic but New Age, Emerging Church, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Islam, Hindu, yoga, and Eastern mysticism are just a few of the satanic false religions that are deceiving many people. Any religion or belief that does not fully conform to God’s word is satanic in origin.

Even some who consider themselves Christians embrace false religions and are working to bring all faiths together. The problem with that is the Christian faith has nothing in common with Islam, Mormonism, or any other false religion. Christianity embraces truths such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, the once for all sacrifice of God’s own blood on the cross of Calvary to take away the sin of the world. Other religions deny these facts. Christianity is unique and cannot be paired with any religion.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness and unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

As Christians we know that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God lives within us and no other belief system has that assurance.
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18).

Separate yourself from cults. We live in this world and have to be around those who believe the lies of Satan, but we are not to be yoked to them.

False religions and false doctrines are of Satan. How can so many people be deceived? Just like Eve, they have believed the lie of Satan instead of the truth of God. Trying to merge Christianity with another belief system will mean compromise and giving up the basic truth of God’s Word. Any religion that refuses to accept Jesus Christ as God Almighty is false and of Satan.

Once you agree with Satan that Jesus Christ is not God, you have just denied Him. You have granted Lucifer to what he wants to be worshipped as God.

Satan’s lies should be obvious to all who are professing Christians, but we are living in the end times and we see many who claim to be born again being led astray. In the Garden of Eden the serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say.” and caused her to doubt God’s word. Once the doubt was there he continued his lies. “You shall not surely die.”

He kept lying and eventually Eve believed him. Satan uses the same lies today. He hasn’t come up with anything new because doubting God’s word leads to compromise. Once Truth has been compromised Satan is able to convince the deceived that God’s word is allegory or myths. He convinces those who are perishing to look at God’s truth (the Bible) as pure foolishness. Those who are in cults are blinded so they won’t see the truth.

For example Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was allegedly visited by an angel named Moroni. This “angel” gave Smith a “new gospel” a new revelation. Take a look at what the apostle Paul says in the letter to the Galatians.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
Smith was deceived, and today there are millions of Mormons who have bought into this lie. They believe they are Christians but they don’t believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God nor do they believe Jesus Christ is God Almighty. They think that Jesus is a created being, the spirit brother of Lucifer. Lucifer is lifting himself up in pride by trying to convince the gullible that he is equal to Jesus. Let’s be very clear on this point. Jesus Christ is the Creator and Lucifer is a created being. They are not brothers.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are in the same boat headed to the lake of fire. And religious organization that doesn’t take the Bible as God breathed is deceived. Jehovah’s Witnesses have re-written God’s word to spread Satan’s lies rather than God’s truth. They have compromised the deity of Christ by suggesting that he is really Michael the Archangel. They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, but is “a” god.

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 1:9-11).
They will knock on your door and try to convince you of their lies. Don’t listen to them. Send them away.

Islam is a religion of peace, or so they say. Have you seen the news lately? This group of maniacs are directed by their satanic god to kill all Jews and Christians. Their satanic god tells them it is honorable to die killing as many non-Muslims as possible while they shout their praise to their satanic god. Jesus Christ does not require us to shed our blood for Him. He shed His
blood for us.

The followers of the false religion of Islam are all deceived and condemned unless they get out of that satanically based religion before it’s too late. Yet, there are some purported Christians who are trying to yoke the Christian faith with this cult. We have nothing in common with them
and we must not compromise our faith by accepting anything they have to offer. Are you willing to be beheaded because you stand firm on Christ’s ? One day you may have to decide.

There are other false religions that can be addressed such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Scientology, and New Age among others. These false religions have all swallowed Satan’s lies, hook, line, and sinker. Even Christian denominations are allowing false doctrine to trickle in. Contemplative prayer and Emerging Church ideas are beginning to infiltrate leadership of many once solid Christian denominations.

Does your congregation have “Christian yoga” groups? Is there a push to embrace “all paths lead to heaven” and yoke all religions together? Are there statues of “saints” in the sanctuary that you are expected to honor?

“What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?” (Habakkuk 2:18).

If any religion modifies God’s Word it is promoting Satan’s lies, even if it claims to be Christian. Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. Those who follow false teachings are his children.

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

These words, spoken by Jesus, are crystal clear. If you’re reading this commentary and are a member of a false religion this is your wakeup call. You have a choice. Jesus Christ, our Creator, is God Almighty. He is your only choice for eternal salvation. We are admonished individually to repent and ask Jesus Christ into our lives. It’s not a corporate decision and no one can make it for you.

“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I Am [he], ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).

Our belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord is not complete if we refuse to believe that He is God Almighty. Cults deny His deity. Don’t yoke yourself to a belief system that leads to eternal damnation.

How do we fight the lies of the enemy? The Bible is God’s Word so study it to learn God’s truth. Don’t compromise. Flee from all evil and don’t give Satan a chance to confuse you with his lies. Know the truth and you won’t be deceived by false doctrine.

“Take every thought captive and stand firm in our Lord Jesus Christ. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Don’t be deceived by satanic teachings. Christianity and cults have no common ground.

God bless you all,

Ron & Nathele Graham