John Pedersen
The Confession of the Thief- Luke 23:39-43

The conversion of the Thief on the cross is often used in support of the idea that concern for the doctrinal issues of "sovereign grace" should never go to the question of whether one who says he "trusts Christ" and "believes the gospel" actually is trusting and believing the Christ of Scripture.

"After all", it is said, "Was the Thief on the Cross a 'Calvinist'? Of course not. He believed in Christ and Christ saved him, as He does a vast array of professing Arminians today. Some of those Arminians will grow to see the deeper and more biblically consistent accounting of their salvation as summarized in the "Reformed Faith". Others will not. This does not mean any are less Christians and believers than we Calvinists."

This thinking is common, but it misses the issue. The issue is not "how much do you need to know to be saved?", but whether knowledge of any kind is associated with a confession of faith, and if so, what is the nature and quality of this knowledge.

Insofar as regeneration, and the sight, or knowledge, belonging to regeneration is a gift of God, we may declare with confidence that nothing God gives will be given that it would be mistaken as to its source, or contradicting His character in its expression. If it comes from God, it will glorify Him. God will not grant an understanding and confession which denigrates and mocks Him; God cannot deny Himself (II Timothy 2:13).

And so let the confession of the Thief be considered. It may be found in Luke 23:41,42. We will observe three points:

First, The Thief believed in Total Depravity. He confessed: "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man has done nothing wrong." (v. 41). The confession of the Thief reveals an acknowledgement of the fact that he "merits" only death.

This is justice to him. This of course cuts contrary to the entire Arminian system of doctrine, whereby forgiveness and the attending benefits of salvation is seen as a reward for moral discrimination found in the sinner.

Ultimately, what distinguishes men before God in Arminianism is merit. It is the merit of a moral choice some make, and others do not. Here, the Thief confesses the only "merit" he has is that of divine justice. He believed in total depravity.

Second, The Thief believed in the absolute righteousness of God revealed in Jesus Christ. He confessed: "This Man has done nothing wrong". Now some may scoff at this and offer this is merely the statement of someone who refers to the immediate situation, and is no indication of whether the Thief believed in the sinlessness of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Let them scoff. Here in the Holy Scripture is the confession of a man who speaks by the Spirit of regeneration, who sees with eyes previously blind to the Kingdom of God. Here is a man who only moments before was mocking Christ himself, along with the other man crucified with him (Matthew 27:44).

The Arminian scheme is contrarian to the entire concept of submission to God's righteousness. At its very core, Arminianism, because it posits salvation dependent upon something in or by the sinner, is premised on establishing one's own righteousness (see Romans 10:3). In the Arminian scheme, only "good" choosers go to Heaven. It is inherently self-righteous, rendering any acknowledgement of imputed righteousness to be superficial at best and disingenuous at worst.

Third, The Thief confessed sovereign and particular grace, "Limited Atonement" if you will. He confessed: "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (v.42). Absent from the words of the Thief is the notion that Jesus "wants" to save him and he has only to "allow" HIm to do so, and he, the Thief, will be saved.

No, if the Thief will be saved, it will only be on account of this: The Lord "remembers" him.

This confession is as clear a testimony to particular grace as any in all Scripture, and it is in direct contradiction to the notion of the false gospel of Arminianism, which is, that Jesus "remembers" everyone, loves everyone, and desperately wants to save everyone- or anyone- who will "let" Him do so.

The false gospel says that God has done everything and it is up to you to meet the work and the pleading of God with your consent and obedience if you will be saved. The true gospel says that God has done everything and it is up to Him to grant you what He has done if you will be saved, and the first matter of your repentance is that you can do anything at all.

And so the point is this: It is true the Thief never attended seminary or read a single word of theology, or possibly the Scriptures. It is also true that the confession of the Thief, as a testimony to God's power of regeneration, was completely consistent with the true gospel of Scripture and completely contrary to the false pop gospel of "Evangelical Arminianism".

It is not "how much" a person knows. It is whether a person's knowledge demonstrates the gift and power of the God who reveals His righteousness in the gospel of His Son.

The Chestnut Mare