Hi,
Did the thief on the cross die in good standing with God, purely based on the old covenant? Or was he a special case? I wonder because he had no chance to offer any further sacrifices for stealing, or make things right did he?
Jenny
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Hi Jenny.
I assume that the thief to whom Jesus spoke while they were both being crucified will be saved in the Final Judgment, but what Jesus said to him does not make that clear. All we can say for sure is that the thief went to Paradise with Jesus because that is all that Jesus said.
Peter later told us about what Jesus did for those three days when he was in the heart of the earth after he died is that Jesus was preaching. It would seem that the thief would have believed in Jesus when he heard him preaching in Paradise, but we are not told that.
The thief would not have had the chance to make the sacrifices that the law of Moses required, as you perceptively point out, but then, God proved on multiple occasions in the Old Testament that He was very forgiving in situations wherein people could not keep the law because of circumstances beyond their control. So I do not believe that would have been an issue here.
Very good question, Jenny!
Pastor John
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Wow! I love how you just blow things apart!! It’s true: it is unclear – all Jesus said was “today you will be with me in paradise”. He did not say, “your sins are forgiven” are any such thing!
But I agree with you – I tend to think he will be saved in the final judgment. Jesus is too good and if that thief’s repentance was real I can’t imagine Jesus wouldn’t have made some way. We know He is just too good!
Jenny