“The Penitent Thief”
We are in chapter 11, “Christ’s Greatest Trophy”, where Ryle is expounding the truth of Luke 23:39-43.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed 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 justly, for we are receiving the due reward of 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 will be with me in Paradise."I think Ryle gets it right when he says that the main point of this passage is that “Jesus Christ is mighty to save.” His point is that no matter how much sin you have committed and how close you are to your dying breath, you are not out of reach of God’s ability to save you.
Instructions to Christians
However, the real reason I wanted to share this was because of a paragraph that caught my attention. Ryle is talking about those who serve others, who show mercy and kindness to others, and he writes this.
Do you ever try to do good to others? If you do, remember to tell them about Christ. Tell the young, tell the poor, tell the aged, tell the ignorant, tell the sick, tell the dying – tell them all about Christ. Tell them of his power, and tell them of his love; tell them of his doings, and tell them of his feelings; tell them what he has done for the chief of sinners; tell them what he is willing to do to the last day of time: tell it to them over and over again. Never be tired of speaking of Christ. Say to them broadly and fully, freely and unconditionally, unreservedly and undoubtingly, “Come unto Christ, as the penitent thief did: come unto Christ, and you shall be saved.”
