Dear Brothers / Sisters,
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
This is a text that is commonly used by Christians who believe in the immortality of the soul. Unfortunately, the translators have made a terrible mistake by placing the comma in the wrong place ie they mistakenly put the comma before the word ‘today’ when it should have come after the word ‘today’. Keep in mind that when the bible was written, there was no division of chapters and verses nor was there any punctuation. The translators added these; therefore, we must not treat the commas as if God inspired them.
I want us to meditate on the wonderful assurance of salvation, which Jesus gave to the thief who was dying next to him on the cross. Jesus did not promise him that he would be in paradise that very day because Jesus Himself did not go to heaven on that day [John 20:17]. What Jesus said to him was, in spite of who you are (he was a violent thief), regardless of your current circumstances, I give you My word today, I promise you today, I give you the assurance of salvation today that you will be with me in paradise in the future. The thief on the cross, died with the assurance of salvation in his heart. He experienced the joy of salvation before he breathed his last.
How about you, my brothers & sisters? Do you have the assurance of salvation? Do you know that you have eternal life? [1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,d]”>[d] and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”] Or do you live each day with fear and uncertainty concerning your salvation? If that is your experience, why do not you kneel down and ask God to give you the assurance of salvation today? Why do not you make a commitment to study God’s word daily as of today? For Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32. But how can you know the truth unless you open your bible and study the word of God daily? Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
It is my prayer that the knowledge of the unconditional good news of the gospel will liberate you from living in bondage of fear and that you will begin to experience the joy of salvation in your day to day life, in Jesus’ mighty and holy name, amen!
God bless you, Mathios Akalu