Instant Forgiveness and Salvation.

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" 
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you today; you shall be with Me in Paradise."
Luke 23:39-43

Two Sides.

by

Dwight L. Moody

The cross of Christ divides all mankind. There are only two sides, those for Christ, and those against Him. 

Think of the two thieves; from the side of Christ one went down to death cursing God, and the other went to glory. 

What a contrast! In the morning he is led out, a condemned criminal; in the evening he is saved from his sins. In the morning he is cursing; in the evening he is singing hallelujahs with a choir of angels. In the morning he is condemned by men as not fit to live on earth; in the evening he is reckoned good enough for heaven. In the morning nailed to the cross; in the evening in the Paradise of God, crowned with a crown he should wear through all the ages. In the morning not an eye to pity; in the evening washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb. In the morning in the society of thieves and outcasts; in the evening Christ is not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him down the golden pavements of the eternal city.

And that, my friends, is just what Christ wants to do for you. That is the business on which He came down from heaven. That is why He died. And if He gave such a swift salvation to this poor thief on the cross, surely He will give you the same if, like the penitent thief, you repent, and confess, and trust in the Savior.

The Light in Our Hearts.

Horace Bushnell

From the book: Sermons on Biblical Characters

Written by: Charles G. Chappell, D.D.

Horace Bushnell, while a student at Yale, felt that he was in the way of a great revival that was sweeping through the University. He did not want to stand in the way of this. He did not feel he could come out on the side of Jesus Christ for he did not believe in Christ.

"What then do you believe?" a voice within him seemed to ask. "I  believe there is an absolute difference between right and wrong," was the answer. "Have you ever put yourself on the side of right to follow it regardless of the consequences?" was the next question. "I have not," was the answer, "but I will."

So, Horace Busnell knelt there in his room and dedicated himself to the service of the right. And what was the result? After he had been a preacher in Hartford, Connecticut for forty-seven years he said, "Better than I know any man in Hartford I know Jesus Christ."

I believe that Jesus spoke the simple truth when he said, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from myself." However little you may believe at this present moment, if you will be loyal to what you do believe, if you follow the light that you have, it will bring you into the brightness of day.