We are all familiar with the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus. While one cursed Jesus for His suffering, the other confessed his sin and acknowledged Jesus’s innocence. Though he did not fully understand it, he grasped the truth that Jesus was not being crucified for His own sin—if that were the case, He would instead have been crucified for bearing the sin of the world. From this, many believers conclude that baptism is not a requirement for entering the Kingdom of God. At the same time, many people, not understanding the real reason Jesus welcomed this thief into His Kingdom, take their forgiveness of sins for granted. They assume that even after indulging in the corrupt pleasures of this world, coming to God at the eleventh hour will still secure them entry into His Kingdom. Many turn to the parable of “The Workers in the Vineyard” as evidence that Jesus was speaking of those who arrive to work at the eleventh hour. Given this widespread belief about gaining entry into His Kingdom, let us learn from God what these two ideas truly mean.
Is Entry to the Kingdom of God Instant?
It sometimes takes a person a long time to understand God and His love, while others may grasp it more quickly. Regardless of how long it takes, a person receives salvation in an instant — the very moment he first believes what God has done for him. Salvation is not the result of our own deeds; if it were, we would spend our entire lives striving to earn it and yet never succeed. For we receive salvation by the grace of God through faith and both grace and faith are gifts given to us by God — neither can be earned.
Having been forgiven by God and assured of that forgiveness, we are then called to diligently bear the fruits of the Spirit. This, too, is not instant but is acquired gradually over a long period of time. People often assume that once they have become children of God, they need only close their eyes on this earth with their final breath, and they will open them again in the presence of their Father in heaven. But it is not that simple. The same grace that forgave our sins while we were still sinners — and utterly undeserving of forgiveness — now calls us to live as the forgiven children of God, and in so doing, to grow worthy of that forgiveness. This ongoing practice makes us complete, and we gradually regain the image in which God originally created us.
Paul and his team motivated the people of Thessalonica to undertake such actions.
For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NIV)
In view of this, entry into the Kingdom of God does not appear to be an instantaneous event that occurs in a fraction of a second — but rather the destination of a life faithfully lived.
The Thief’s Entry into His Kingdom
One of the thieves crucified beside Jesus entered the Kingdom of God in the final moments of his earthly life. This truth stands as a beacon of hope for even the most hardened sinner — one who may never have heard the name of Jesus or held any reverence for God — showing that access to His Kingdom remains possible. Yet this same truth has misled many into living as they please, without fear of God, presuming they can come to Him only at the very end of their mortal life. It is necessary, therefore, to illuminate the deeper truth behind that thief’s entry into His Kingdom so that people do not deceive themselves into treating entry into His Kingdom as a last-minute, instantaneous transaction.
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:42-43 (NIV)
Lifelong Pilgrimage
Though it may appear to be an instant answer to the prayer to enter His Kingdom, it is in fact a complete and finished work. This thief stands as a challenge to every believer’s total commitment to God amid the countless threats and conflicts they strive to overcome, from the very first day they began following in the footsteps of Jesus, their elder brother. Even as we keep our focus on God and journey toward His Kingdom, we are called to strip away the many things that continue to pull us backward in our walk of faith.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:2-3a (NIV)
While our sin entangles us, what are the other things that hinder our pilgrim journey to the Kingdom of God? This is a situation we have brought upon ourselves and are unable to break free from. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, but the teachings of the Word have become entangled with the doctrines of every Christian denomination, each of which carries its own mission statement. Though these statements are rooted in the faith a particular denomination holds in God, they are often conveniently polluted with distorted truth—doctrines that, in name only, are in fact the principles of certain renowned men of God.
Thus believers are led to ignore the countless dimensions through which God speaks to us, and they restrict themselves to what they have been taught. These are the thrust areas that we often forgo, despite the warnings we find in Scripture. The book of Hebrews explains this to us in a vivid manner.
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment
Hebrews 6:1-2 (NIV)
This portion of Scripture does not ask us to leave our basic and fundamental teachings but to move forward, keeping them as a stepping stone. Sadly, every church sticks to one of the basic foundations, revolves around it, and never allows believers to think beyond what they are taught. For example, believers are taught to repeat their entire repentance and are forced to undergo baptism, being told that the act of immersing in water opens the way to His Kingdom. People cheerfully remake their repentance, not with the penitence they had the first time, but as a performance to present themselves as forgiven children of God, so that they may feel included in that church fellowship—while losing the real link they had maintained with God the Father.
Believers are fooled into thinking that they have been filled with the Holy Spirit when leaders lay hands on them, whereas Scripture says that the Holy Spirit was given to us without our having to ask, to protect the initial faith God engraved in our hearts (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Believers are taught to speculate about the resurrection of the dead and about the place and time of the eternal judgment. Subsequently, believers fail to prepare themselves for the coming judgment by wasting their time relying on false prophets who predict the place, the day, and the time of its fulfillment. Whereas Jesus Himself said that no one except His Father knew the place, the day, and the time of His Second Coming (Matthew 24:36). Jesus asks us not to revolve around the teaching about His second coming, but encourages us to make use of the forgiveness we received to prepare ourselves to meet Him during His Second Coming.
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8 (NIV)
Knowing all these flaws, which primarily disturb our peace of mind, we are choosing to continue with it for the sake of fellowship. There is no physical or prevailing threat to the believers, but they are afraid of rejecting the wrong teaching of their elders and pastor; yet, without giving it a second thought, they reject the truth that God teaches us through His own Word. What is preventing us from following in the footsteps of Jesus, while the Word of God and the Holy Spirit enable us to do so?
God encourages believers to come to the path of Jesus, forgoing religious rigidity and the fear of the majority of believers who are not truly following Him. In this respect, He encourages us with the words He spoke to Elijah—that Elijah was not alone, but there were another seven thousand souls who were truly following God. Despite this encouragement, we choose to fear our leaders who are binding us together with the love of brothers and sisters.
Instant But Composed and Complete
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Luke 23:39-41 (NIV)
The thief spent his whole life in wrongdoing, as he never had a chance to meet Jesus. When he finally met Jesus, he found the courage to ask his fellow thief, “Don’t you fear God?” As we spend our whole lives learning the truth of God, do we ever have the courage to ask our leaders who are distorting the truth for their own convenience, “Don’t you fear God?” We do know the answer and the reason for our silence. We want to gain a place within our local church, and for this simple reason, we are not asking any questions of people who are misleading their sheep in a different direction.
The thief showed vigour in testifying for Jesus, while the whole crowd was mocking Jesus. The other thieves who lived with him were gnashing their teeth in anger, as their brother had rejected their company and joined Jesus, who at that point appeared to have lost the battle and been defeated. Yet, the thief chose to be with Jesus, realizing how he had wasted his lifetime being with his comrades. This could not have been an instant decision, but an answer to his lifelong question about God and His love.
The testimonies of deliverance and healing shared on stage do not happen in the blink of an eye; rather, they occur when the love of God compels a person to understand His grace despite their hardships — and it is that grace which, in turn, brings about their transformation. Somehow, we are deprived of exploring the true nature of God as we revolve around the teaching about the wrath of God and satisfy our quest by witnessing miracles in other lives.
Do we have any such dreadful situation as the thief encountered? If not, then what is preventing us from testifying for Jesus by living out the truth He is teaching us continually? It is the peer pressure of the community we live in. Do not underestimate the thief but understand the completeness of his faith, even when he was unable to see deliverance from the hands of Roman soldiers and from the wrath of his old comrades. This is certainly the outcome of his lifelong quest to understand God. The more we long to know the true nature of God and His love (leaving aside the lies told to us about God and using the lifetime given to us) the more it will transform us one fine day. May God help us to understand the mind of the thief and give us courage to walk along side Jesus on this pilgrimage.
The Jordan Valley 
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