Church of Christ members: Can God make exceptions to His holy law, even for one?"Thief on the cross."

Question

If living a good life, and or water baptism is a requirement for everyone else-----Then God compromised His requirements in this case.-------------But if the manifestation of His grace is the goal of salvation, then God acted entirely righteously. I too was a member once, I now choose grace---what are your views?

Answer 1

The man on the cross (thief on the cross) He saw who His Redeemer was therefore was saved by Grace..

Answer 2

God did not make an exception for the thief on the cross concerning baptism.

To make an exception to a rule would require that there must first be a rule. It is after the thief would have been dead that Jesus rose from the grave and commanded baptism. (Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 24:47 read along with Acts 2:5 & 38) (The purpose of the baptism commanded by Christ is not the same as the baptism commanded by John the baptist. Acts 19:3-5)

The thief could not have been baptized “in the name of Christ”, or by His authority, according to His instructions, because Christ had not yet given these instructions.

Secondly, the thief could not have been baptized “into His death” and “the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-13) because these events had not been completed by the time the thief died.

Consider this example. The Israelites were commanded to sprinkle blood on their doorposts each year to remember the Passover event during the plagues in Egypt.

However, there is no evidence that Abraham ever sprinkled blood on his doorpost. For one, this command was not given during Abraham’s life. Secondly, Abraham could have not remembered the plague of the death of the firstborn, and how the Lord passed over the houses that had blood on the door, because during his life this event had not yet happened! How could he remember something that had not occurred?

In the same way, the thief could not have been baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ because these events were not completed until after the thief had died. Also, he could not have obeyed the command Christ gave at the great commission because that command had not yet been issued!

Third, God expects us to obey him to the best of our ability. (Jesus saves those who obey Him, Hebrews 5:9.) If you are able, you cannot say that because the thief was in a position where he was not able that you don’t have to be baptized either. You are not in the same position.

Forth, People came from all of Judea to be baptized by John and Christ’s disciples also baptized more than John. Some conclude that since the thief had knowledge about Christ and the coming kingdom that he may have been an erring disciple of John the baptist. If this were the case, he could have been baptized with John’s baptism earlier in life. One cannot dogmatically say that he was or was not ever baptized.

Finally, the example of the thief on the cross is not an exception because like the thief, we need to contact Christ at his death to receive salvation.

The blood of Christ washes away sins. (Revelation 1:5) This blood was shed at Christ’s death, therefore to contact this blood, we must contact His death. It is at baptism that we are “baptized into His death” (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:3-4). How can you be saved if you have not contacted His death and saving blood?

The thief had direct contact with Christ at His death. He was there, and he was able to directly make his appeal for salvation. We are not in that position. It is through baptism that we contact His death.

Notice 1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

When "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord", God told him what he needed to do in order to be saved from the flood. Today, God's grace has provided a plan by which we can be saved. He has told us what we must do.

If you reject His instructions, you have rejected His grace and you have rejected Him by rejecting His authority.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

Answer 3

God didnt compromise a thing in that case.

You dont know that the thief was not baptized before or baptized by proxy afterwards. In fact, you know nothing about the fate of the thief other than the fact that Christ said He would be dead with him at the end of the day. You cant assume everything about the theif and than assert that the Bible proves your position.

You are also making the faulty assumption that paradise is heaven. Its not. If it was than Christ lied because He didnt ascend into heaven until after the resurrection. During the three days between death and resurrection He was in Sheol with the rest of the dead who were trapped there until Christ freed them. There He organized the righteous and sent them to preach deliverance to the wicked.

Answer 4

A good read of the letter to the Galatians helps to understand Grace. I love the answer "thief died under the law"...because he was forgiven and told he would be in heaven while still living under the law.

Answer 5

The "thief on the cross" DIED UNDER THE LAW. Jesus repeatedly taught that he had the power to forgive sins on the earth.

--Matthew 9:4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why do you have evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 I want you to know that THE SON OF MAN HAS AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS.”

The "thief" was just another case of the same thing. There were NO CHRISTIANS DURING THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS. His ministry and teaching was to the Jews. ONLY after Pentecost could people be saved through the New Covenant.

--Heb 9:15 That’s why Christ is the go-between of a new covenant. Now those God calls to himself will receive the eternal gift he promised. They will receive it now that Christ has died to save them. He died to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant.

Of course none of this impacts the working of God's grace which gave us the Way to approach him through Jesus.

Where people get confused on this point is not recognizing that Paul's letters were directed to people who had ALREADY BEEN "BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST."

Galatians 3:27 All of you who were BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST have PUT ON CHRIST AS IF HE WERE YOUR CLOTHES.

Romans 6:3 All of us were BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST JESUS. Don’t you know that we were BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH? 4 BY BEING BAPTIZED, WE WERE BURIED WITH CHRIST INTO HIS DEATH. Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father’s glory. And like Christ we also can live a new life.

...Paul's masterpieces on "salvation by faith / grace" expressly state that his intended readers had been "baptized INTO CHRIST." Yet Paul clearly doesn't consider this a "work" on their part. It is merely part of how they got "INTO CHRIST," where Paul writes that they have been "...blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3

The "works" Paul speaks of in contrast to the salvation we have through faith in Christ are those the law demanded of Jews to be considered righteous; sacrifices, Sabbath observance, etc. The Christian recognizes that nothing they do can make them righteous, ONLY the blood of Christ can do that.

Answer 6

i'm a member of the church of Christ. i believe the entire Bible is the know God and there is lots we can study from the two the old and New Testaments, yet we are difficulty to the hot testomony. The instructions and strategies of worship interior the old testomony have been replaced by ability of the instructions and training for worship interior the hot testomony. In Galatians 5, there have been some in New testomony circumstances who have been nevertheless attempting to bind circumcision, an old testomony command, as being mandatory. Paul informed them, in the event that they sure this one merchandise, they have been "debtor to do the entire regulation." (verse 3) ("The regulation" being the regulation of Moses.) In different words, if this replaced into nevertheless a call for because of the fact it replaced into commanded interior the OT, then by ability of the comparable authority they could ought to do each and every little thing the OT instructions - animal sacrifices, each and every year journeys to Jerusalem, feasts, Sabbath days, etc. "For whosoever shall save the entire regulation, and yet offend in one element, he's to blame of all." (James 2:10) Paul went on in Galatians 5:4 says that people who nevertheless seek for to be justified by ability of the regulation have "fallen from grace'. As for there being "one genuine church", Ephesians 4:4 says, "there is one physique..." Verse 5 says there is one Lord and verse 6 says there is one God. there is in effortless terms “one physique” purely as effective as there is in effortless terms one genuine God. till now in Ephesians (a million:22-23) it says that Christ is the top of the physique. have you ever seen a head linked to extra advantageous than one physique? Such isn't organic. those verses flow directly to tell what this “physique” is. they say, “And hath placed all issues below his ft, and gave him to be the top over all issues to the church, that's his physique…” The church is his physique, and the physique is the church. (Col. a million:18, 24) The church is the physique, and there is in effortless terms one physique, consequently, there is in effortless terms one genuine church! (For a talk approximately song interior the church, please see my answer to a distinctive question on the link below.)

Answer 7

people look at the law as tho they were looking thru a pane of glass,but it should be viewed as a mirrow. the law showed what man was doing .the scripture says that it was a witness against man.god it a spirit and is worshiped in spirit and ( truth ).i would rather be spiritual than religious.beside if water baptism was needed, what about those that live in arid places,the malfactor was not water baptised but he had truth and that is what saved him!!

Answer 8

For all we know, the thief had already been baptized.

But I agree. The C-of-C is a very legalistic denomination who for all intents and purposes - teach salvation through works. Very little room for grace, very little need for a Savior even - when your faith is all about how good you should be.