Servant of christ
the thief on the cross
Foreword
The Thief on the Cross
The thief on the cross powerfully displays God’s amazing grace: in his final moments, a guilty sinner won the race of faith by fully surrendering to Jesus through genuine repentance and trust, receiving paradise instantly with no time for works or rituals. This same Savior calls every believer to run the Race of Faith with endurance, abiding in Christ and persevering to the end (Hebrews 12:1-2), revealing the vital balance of salvation by grace through faith alone, the promise of eternal security for those who finish the race, and sobering conditional warnings for those still running, as in Hebrews 10:26-39 and John 15:6. May this truth encourage every reader to fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith—surrender fully like the thief and finish strong in His sustaining power.
The Thief’s Final Moments (Luke 23:39-43)
Crucified alongside Jesus were two thieves. One joined the mocking crowd, hurling insults at the Savior. The other, however, experienced a dramatic change of heart in his dying breaths. He rebuked his fellow criminal, 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” (Luke 23:40-41).
In those words we see true repentance: an honest acknowledgment of his own guilt and sin, coupled with a clear recognition of Jesus’ innocence and divine lordship. Turning to the Lord, he pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (v. 42). Jesus’ response is one of the most astonishing statements in the Gospels: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43).
This dying thief had no opportunity for baptism, restitution, church membership, or a long record of good deeds. He entered the Race of Faith in the final seconds and crossed the finish line victorious.
Entering the Race Late,
Finishing Strong
The writer of Hebrews urges us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The thief on the cross demonstrates that it is never too late to enter this race while breath remains. Though he began at the eleventh hour, he fixed his eyes on Jesus and trusted in Him completely. In that moment of sincere faith, Jesus became both the author and perfecter of the thief’s faith. The man who had lived a life deserving death received eternal life as a free gift of grace.
This account powerfully refutes any notion that salvation can be earned by human merit. The thief brought nothing but his guilt and a broken, believing heart. Grace met him there. It also refutes the idea that a deathbed conversion is somehow suspect or insufficient. Genuine faith, even in the final moments, saves.
Conditional Security
for Those Still Running
While the thief’s story gloriously displays the instantaneous power of saving faith, the New Testament teaches that security for believers who are still running the race is conditional upon continued faith, abiding in Christ, and perseverance. Eternal security belongs fully and finally to those who finish the race—the overcomers who endure to the end, Born Again.
Jesus Himself taught this reality in the vine and branches metaphor: “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6). The apostle Paul echoed this when he wrote, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel” (Colossians 1:21-23, emphasis added).
The most sobering warnings come in Hebrews 10:26-39. After describing the new and living way opened by Christ’s blood, the writer warns:
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
These warnings are not hypothetical. They underscore that genuine saving faith is persevering faith. As Jesus declared, “The one who endures to the end, winning the Race of Faith, will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
The Thief and the Race:
Both Grace and Perseverance
The thief on the cross illustrates the beginning of genuine faith—initial justification by grace through faith alone. In his final moments, he acknowledged his guilt, confessed Jesus’ innocence and kingship, and cast himself upon the mercy of the Lord. Jesus’ immediate response, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” stands as a powerful testimony that salvation is granted solely by grace through faith, not by personal merit, religious rituals, past reformation, or accumulated good works.
Grace initiates — The thief’s salvation was 100% by grace through faith. Grace sustains — The same grace that saves us also trains and empowers us to run with endurance, denying ungodliness and living soberly and righteously (Titus 2:11-12; Hebrews 12:1-2). Grace perfects — At the finish line, grace will present us faultless before the presence of God’s glory with great joy (Jude 24).
There is no contradiction in the New Covenant. Grace does not replace works; it produces them as the natural evidence and fruit of living faith (Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:14-26). The thief had no further opportunity to bear visible fruit in this life, yet his repentant, trusting faith was the root.
The account of the thief on the cross, therefore, offers profound hope to every sinner who turns to Christ in true faith, no matter how late the hour. At the same time, it serves as a solemn warning and encouragement to all who have begun the race: we must lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).
May every believer engaged in the Race of Faith remain focused on Christ Jesus, persevering through the sustaining power of God’s grace, and ultimately becoming like those who have completed the journey: truly Born Again, steadfast in Christ, and eternally secure in Him.
For further clarification on this topic, consult Servat of Christ’s essay on “Once Saved Always Saved.”