Chuck Larsen

There are many self-improvement programs in the world today. You can increase the power of your mind and improve your memory. You can exercise and improve the shape of your body. You can learn public speaking and learn how to win friends and influence people. You can learn how to invest your resources to improve your bottom line. There are many, many programs to help us improve ourselves. I’m all for improving myself! Lord knows I need an awful lot of improvement in many areas of my life. But when it comes right down to it, it’s how I see myself that really matters most. In order to become a better person, I need to see a better person. This is the message that Jesus brought to Zacchaeus.

Jesus noticed him. Of all the people in the crowds where Jesus walked, he noticed him. I can’t point out often enough the truth that this teaches me. Of all the people in the world, over 7 billion, no matter how small I am, God notices me! God notices you! But he also knows me and you. Just as Jesus called Zacchaeus by name, so too does Jesus call us by name! No matter how anonymous we feel in this world, we are intimately known and loved by God. Further, no matter what we’ve done in life, God wants us. I love to present the good news to people about God’s love expressed to them on the cross of Calvary. I love to tell people that through faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives all their sins. Sometimes, someone will say to me, “Well, that’s easy for you to say. You don’t know what I’ve done.” I like to remind them that although that’s true, God knows it all. And He wants you anyway. There are no skeletons in anyone’s closet as far as God is concerned.

When this truth sank into Zacchaeus’ mind and heart, the bible tells us that he received Jesus into his life “joyfully,” and then he exclaimed, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” I’ve heard sermons from this passage on the necessity of giving to the poor and returning things that we’ve stolen. To me, that totally misses the point. It’s the joyful reception of God’s love and acceptance that made Zacchaeus want to be a better person. God’s love taught Zacchaeus how much he mattered to God and that love and acceptance are what changed him and made him want to become all that God saw in him. Exercise “profits little,” Paul said. But that phrase means that it does profit some. The word little means “for a short time.” But life changes as a result of understanding how much I mean to God on and on. We must see ourselves through the eyes of God’s love. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:8 about the importance of love above everything else. It is one of the three things that will never end. Faith and Hope are the other two, but Paul concludes with the fact that Love is the greatest. I believe it’s because the other two are based on love. If love ends, so too do the other two. But Paul says, “But love will last forever…” 1 Corinthians 13:8

There are some interesting principles that we can learn about “salvation” that come from the conversation between the two thieves on the crosses beside Jesus. One of them screams at Jesus to prove who he is by saving himself and them, too. I sometimes think I do a similar thing. I insist on God doing something for me or proving himself to me by giving me something that I want in the here and now or showing me some kind of sign. The other thief accepted his fate and expressed his faith in who Jesus was before dying. Before he died, he said some things to the unbelieving thief. The first thing he said in the conversation recorded in Luke 40:43 is, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?”

I’m hard-pressed to understand how a dying felon can still have no fear of God. Yet many, many, many people enter eternity without the fear of God. With this frame of mind, the last thought he had was of what he was leaving behind. His whole being, purpose, and significance are in the here and now. He can’t think beyond his own wants and needs. Furthermore, he just doesn’t want to. Save me from this world’s troubles! Save me from this world’s pains! This life and this world are all I have, and I can’t bear to let them go. He’s like the drunk being thrown out of the bar by the bouncer. He grabs ahold of everything on the way and begs to be allowed to stay and have another drink. Many people get drunk on the pleasures, possessions, and powers offered in this world and can focus only on those things. But the wise old owl faces the truth of his mortality and realizes what the wisest old owl in the world once said. At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who had experimented with absolutely everything this world had to offer, concluded, “When all has been heard, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Yes, the fear of God, especially in view of our mortality and accountability, is an essential ingredient for salvation. Without it, we’re left only with the present, disappointing, unsatisfying, callous world with all its devious pleasures and possessions. But with the fear of God in our hearts, we can come to grips with the reality of our mortality and face God with confidence, expecting not the fleeting joys of this life but the everlasting pleasures in a place called “paradise” in the next life. I’m going with that! The author of the book of Hebrews, 9:27, tells us, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment.”

One commentator wrote, “There is no repentance without the fear of God. We must recognize that, more than anything else, sin is an offense against the holiness of God. A confession that acknowledges sin without fearing God is a false confession that falls short of true repentance.” The question that the good thief asked the bad thief on the cross was, “Don’t you fear God, even when you’re dying?” Of course, there was no fear of God there, just a lust and passion to hold on to this life. But the good thief adds a powerful second statement in his dialogue. He says in Luke 40:43, “we deserve to die for our sins.” It’s the sincere repentance like that of the prodigal son who runs away from his father but then returns and falls at his father’s feet and says, “father, I have sinned.”

I’m stunned that there has been so much uproar against public figures who make bold proclamations of their faith. I’ve heard that such a proclamation is a death knell for those in Hollywood. Christian faith, they argue, should be kept to yourself.  In the society we live in, it’s perfectly acceptable for homosexuals in society to have “gay pride parades” where they flaunt many disgusting and disgraceful manners and lifestyle convictions. They are celebrated by the world and even given Golden Globe Awards for situation comedies that promote it. Further, the moral convictions of the media have allowed full exposure to such an extent we actually have to block content to protect our children. Many secular concepts are given legitimate press and even positive reviews for their public presentations. But if a Christian quarterback kneels on the sidelines and bows his head in prayer, there is outrage! Focus on the family can air a very tasteful, beautifully produced, 30-second commercial during a professional football game, and the reaction, measured by the comments on YouTube and facebook, demands that the media censor all religious content.

I believe the reason for this is that biblical Christianity is a worldview that calls us to face the reality of our mortality and accountability to a God who made us for a purpose. It calls everyone! It involves, first of all, recognition of my sinfulness, and that’s not a popular thing in this world. Throughout the centuries, Christians have been vilified, pulverized, and crucified. I hope you notice that the saving faith of the thief on the cross began with the confession, “We deserve to die for our sins.” Death comes to all men and women! But as I mentioned, it’s the thing we’d rather not deal with. We would rather run from it and focus on the here and now and demand whatever gods may be to suit our needs and meet our desires in this life, like the first thief on the cross who demanded that Christ prove himself in the here and now by exempting him and his co-thief from the consequences of the sin he is unwilling to admit. John the Baptist brought a simple message to the world. It was, “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

One of the thieves on the cross next to Jesus called for Jesus to save them and prove he was God’s Son. The good thief on the cross rebuked his partner in Luke 40:43 by saying “don’t you fear God even when you’re dying? We deserve our sentence of death, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” In any situation in which we cannot save ourselves, we need someone who hasn’t found themselves in the same predicament. If we fall into a pit with others, there is no way we will be able to help each other out. But if there’s someone who has not fallen into the pit, they are in a position to save us. Another way to say it is that we’re all in the same boat, adrift on the ocean of sin, and we’ll never be able to pull ourselves out. We need a savior!

All of us have fallen into a deep pit of sin. No matter how hard we may want to, or no matter how hard we may try, we cannot save each other. The best thing we can do is make the pit a little more bearable. But what usually happens is that we blame each other for being in the pit, accuse each other, and judge each other. In Chapter 4, verse 12, James tells his reader that living like that in the “sin pit” is no way to live with each other, primarily because “He is the only one who is able to save…” He then asks the other sin-pit dwellers, “Who are you to judge your neighbor?” The thief on the cross is right about himself and his friend’s situation, but he is also right about ours. We are in the sin pit and deserve our judgment. We all need a savior, and there is only one person who “hasn’t done anything wrong.” Peter agrees with James. He’s quoted as saying in Acts 4:12 (Notice the same reference as James 4:12), “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” There is no one in the world of whom it can honestly be said “he has done nothing wrong.” We’ve all fallen in, and we can’t get out. But He hasn’t fallen, and He can help us out. The three children thrown into the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel said to the executioner, “…the God who we serve is able to save us…”

But in order to save us from the Pit, not only was it essential for Christ not to have fallen into that pit of sin himself, but he also needed the wherewithal to get us out of our pit. When the good thief acknowledged his guilt and came to grips with the justice of his destiny, he then acknowledged Jesus’ innocence and perfection. He then said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me…” It is the fact that He is Lord that qualifies Him to act as Savior. That is why Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Jesus could not be Savior if He were not Lord. The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him…” Hebrews 7:25

When Jesus was crucified, Next to him were two thieves: a good thief and a bad thief. The good thief had a request, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” which was granted. Jesus said, “This day, you will be with me in paradise.” The most noticeable feature of Jesus’ response is “this day.” It’s hard to believe the concept of purgatory that I was taught as a child. The word “purgatory” comes from a Latin term that means “to purge.” Purgatory, according to Catholicism, is a place of purification for those who are not bad enough to go to Hell but not good enough to go to Heaven. So one spends a duration of time in Purgatory, and then finally, he can go to Heaven. How long it takes in purgatory to purge away our sins before we are acceptable for heaven differs for everyone. Time in Purgatory can be shortened by prayers, by good works, by attending Mass, by penance, and by the purchasing of indulgences. Jesus’ words in the bible, like these to the dying thief, must be twisted all out of context to allow for the doctrine of purgatory. Even “The New Catholic Encyclopedia” frankly acknowledges that “the doctrine of purgatory is not explicitly stated in the Bible.” It’s not even implied, in my opinion.

When we leave this world, believers go immediately to be in the presence of Christ. I don’t believe the Bible supports “soul sleep” or any kind of intermediate waiting place. Paul wrote the Philippians about his struggle with wanting to live or die and concluded that, in the end, his desire was to “depart and be with Christ.” Further, Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, “absent from the body means to be present with the Lord.” More importantly, Jesus’ words were spoken to this dying thief with an emphasis on “today.” To counter that promise with the prediction of more pain and suffering in the world to come for who knows how long before we get to be with Jesus is to destroy the comfort and assurance God’s word was meant to give us. Further, when Jesus said he would go and prepare a place for us, his words made it clear that it was something he was looking forward to also. He even said he would not drink of the wine cup of fellowship until he drinks it with us in heaven, meaning how important the time of his reunion with every believer. No, when Jesus said “today,” he meant immediately. I believe in His promise to me!

One dying believer wrote his family this letter: When I die, if my family wishes to inscribe anything on my gravestone, I would like it to be the promise of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 13:5; “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” For in due season, springtime will arrive…Then, when the resurrection sings itself in the robin’s glad song, and bursting buds defy the death grip of winter, and you walk upon the yielding earth near my grave—remember that my soul is not there, but rather it is absent from the body, present with the Lord. And somewhere, the atoms that make up my brain, my heart, and my body will be sending out resurrection radiations of a frequency too high for any earthly Geiger counter to record. But if you place the meter of God’s Word alongside that cemetery plot and adjust the settings to Hebrews 13:5, you will receive this reading: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”