At first both of them were cursing and swearing, but after a while one of them became very silent. He knew that he was a sinner - a sheep that had gone astray - and that he deserved to be punished. He knew too, that Jesus had never sinned, and so he turned to the other thief who was still cursing, and said to him, “Do you not fear God? For we indeed deserve to be punished, but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he turned to Jesus and said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” What he said showed that he truly believed in the Lord Jesus. And Jesus turned to him and said, “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.”
At that moment something happened to the sins of the thief who believed. Until then they had been on himself. He had carried them all his life, but when he believed in Jesus, God took them from him, and put them on Jesus. That was why Jesus was on the cross. He was taking the punishment, not for His own sins (for He did not have any), but for the sins of that thief and of the whole world. The other thief did not believe. His sins remained on him. They could never be put on Jesus. So the unbelieving thief died in his sins.
Which one of those thieves do you want to be like? Would you bow your head and shut your eyes, and tell God which one of those thieves you want to be like—the one who believed and was forgiven, or the one who did not believe and carried his own sins, and is still carrying them today?
God says some terrible things about the sins of those who refuse to believe in Jesus. He says they shall die in their sins; that their sins will follow after them; that they have no cloak to cover up their sins; that their sins remain on them. Here are some verses about these terrible things.
Unbeliever’s sins—John 8:24; 1 Timothy 5:24; John 15:22; 9:41.
Those of you who have believed in the Lord Jesus can be very happy though, for God has taken your sins away. They have been blotted out forever.
The Believer’s sins—Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24: Hebrews 1:3.
Adapted Excerpt From: Donald Grey Barnhouse. “Teaching the Word of Truth.” iBooks.
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