The best example in which we can see the acceptance of all humanity and the imputation of righteousness by faith is the thief on the cross. This man accepted Jesus as his personal Savior; he confessed his sins, repented of his sinful past, and asked Jesus to show him God’s mercy when He entered the Heavenly Sanctuary with His blood and appeared before the Father as his Advocate. In response, the thief was given assurance that his faith had been accepted. As a result, the righteousness of Christ was imputed to him, and he received the promise that, according to his faith, he would be accepted by God and would be in paradise. The criminal receives forgiveness by God’s grace, and the peace of God fills his sinful heart. The thief’s faith begins to grow and become stronger.
We then read that before the Sabbath began, the thief’s legs were broken to hasten his death. As a result, he died. This is where the story of the first righteous man by faith ends. I am left to wonder what he would have become if the Roman authorities had decided to pardon him and take him down from the cross. Would he have retained his faith in Jesus? Would he have accepted baptism? Would he have remained faithful to God in his hope until old age and death? Would he have become one of Christ’s disciples and later a teacher of righteousness?
It is difficult to give a simple “yes” to all these questions because we understand that a free person has the right to choose his future path and may make a wrong decision. Then all imputed righteousness will lose its power, and the saint will become a sinner and will be declared wicked in that same Heavenly judgment, rejected as a transgressor of the Law, and sentenced to eternal death for his sins.
God’s Love is the union of mercy and justice. It loves and accepts the sinner without any conditions because it understands all the weakness of human nature and grieves over humanity’s fall; at the same time, however, it hates sin and demands just punishment under the Law for the crimes committed. The wages of sin is death—the second, eternal death without any possibility of resurrection. To solve this problem and reveal all the power and beauty of God’s Love, God the Creator Himself decided to bear the punishment of death in place of fallen humanity, giving the sinner a chance to receive salvation from the power of sin, become righteous by faith in Jesus, begin a new life, receive power from above for a pure life, and fight temptations and sin through God’s grace.
The transgressor is given the gift of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of his salvation, and throughout the remainder of his life this person grows spiritually and receives imparted righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.
We can find an example of such a person in the Bible in Saul of Tarsus, who, through his faith in Jesus and having been called to a special ministry, received the title of Apostle and became known as Paul. From the biblical account and Paul’s own testimony in his epistles to his fellow believers, we can see his spiritual formation and growth in Christ. As this spiritual development progressed, he was being endowed with God’s righteousness, which was now becoming part of his character as a result of his obedience to God’s light and will and his trust in Jesus Christ. Through this faith, as Paul beheld the glory of God, he was transformed from glory to glory throughout his earthly life. In this process of spiritual growth, he made mistakes, to which he indirectly referred when he described himself as a wretched man longing for deliverance; but he also had firm confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ, through Whom he received power to overcome sin and live a new, righteous life. As a result of his spiritual development, at a certain stage of his spiritual growth Paul received the gift of agape love, through which he drew even closer to Christ. In his letters he wrote to us that without love we are nothing and that nothing profits us if we do not have this gift.
If I believe that my first step of faith, repentance, and baptism is sufficient for me to remain justified throughout the rest of my life, I will have serious problems with God. Calvary is only the beginning; we must go further.
It is like believing that, for a strong marriage, it is enough to go to the registry office, take part in a wedding ceremony, spend the first wedding night together, and then live happily in perfect harmony for the rest of one’s life. If we take the thief on the cross, this is approximately what it looks like. But the point is that this criminal believed, was justified, and died. We, however, continue to live. After the “honeymoon,” the working days begin. Temptations, heresies, trials, and enticements come crashing down upon us. All the power of spiritual wickedness in high places longs to break us, steal from us, kill us, and destroy us. We need constant power from above for continual victories. But this power is given on the condition of unwavering obedience to God’s will and a life in accordance with the light we have received.
God does not save me in sin, but He saves me from sin and from its power in my life. He will not cover up my crimes or become my accomplice in lawlessness. He is holy, and He expects righteousness from me as well. To enable me to attain such a condition, every morning I am given power from above to fight sin, to have right relationships with those around me, and to gain a deeper knowledge of God and His Love for me and within me.
The Holy Spirit, by Whom I am sealed, produces in me the fruit of righteousness, which is manifested in my character and testifies to the whole world that God is righteous, powerful, and holy, and that He is merciful, compassionate, and just.
Love is God’s seal upon imputed righteousness, and it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit through imparted righteousness. God is not preparing His children for Eternal Life so that they will commit sin at the end of the journey and perish forever. He keeps them from evil; He teaches them always to be holy and to go from victory to victory, from glory to glory; and His grace accompanies those who possess God’s Love, seek God’s righteousness, and thirst for God’s Spirit while remaining in constant fellowship with Christ.
Throughout his sanctified life, righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ is imputed to the person who has been saved. Absolute purity of thoughts, feelings, and words is expected of him.
Love helps a righteous person make right decisions and have pure motives in every matter. It forms the righteous person’s way of thinking and draws the human soul closer to the heart of God, joining them together as one.
And everyone who loves can boldly say, “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,” and he will be right.
And woe is me if, having come to Calvary and repented, I do not go further. It is as though, after realizing my sin, I brought a sacrifice to the altar but did not allow its blood to be taken into the sanctuary.
Faith in Jesus is continual growth, and even in Eternity my development will not cease. We will be transformed from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Homework 174
What new things did you learn from this lesson? What does it mean to believe in Jesus as your personal Savior? How was the problem of sin resolved by God? What has the Lord promised in His Word so that we may walk in newness of life? How is God’s character formed and rooted in a person? Why is spiritual growth necessary for us? Please read Hebrews 7:26–27; 10:19–23; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10; Philippians 1:29; 4:5–7; Revelation 20:5–6, 13–15; Zechariah 3:3–7; Genesis 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 25; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 2:19–20; Ephesians 3:16–19; 2 Corinthians 3:17–18; 1 Peter 1:15–16; Philippians 2:13–15 in the light of our lesson.