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THE INCREDIBLE CONVERSION OF A CONDEMNED CRIMINAL — Part 4 “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:39-43). The Apostle Peter writing to born-again followers of Jesus, stated, “The Lord is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9b) However, in the conclusion of the previous devotion I noted, “it is only an exceedingly foolish person who would turn the long-suffering of God into an excuse for further delay, refusal, and rejection of the message of the Cross!” But some might respond to that by saying, “This criminal was converted in the last moments of his life; so, I can be converted in my last moments! I can enjoy all of the passing pleasures of wickedness and worldliness, then I can turn from my sin and trust in the Lord Jesus in my final moments!” I would respond by saying, “That would be an extremely foolish gamble with your eternal soul, for a number of reasons”. Let’s consider a few of those reasons. First, when a sinner rejects the Gospel terms of repentance and faith, his heart becomes increasingly hardened toward embracing the Gospel at a later time! When an unconverted person hears the truth of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet refuses or neglects to commit their life to the Lord Jesus, their inner being does not remain the same. It becomes colder and harder toward a later "external call" of the Gospel! Hebrews 12:17 speaks of a man named Esau, who manifested himself to be a godless man. He was obviously successful in chasing after worldly things, but a miserable failure in seeking after spiritual things. He had no personal concern when it came to seeking the Lord, for he had refused the Lord in past days! However, his heart did not remain neutral from those occasions as he rejected the Lord. On the contrary, it became harder and harder toward the Lord. Until later in his life, he could find no place for repentance in his heart, even though he sought it with tears. The same reality can happen to anyone who has heard the "Gospel call" multiple times. This sinner may have heard the “words concerning Christ Jesus” year after year. They may have been raised under Gospel preaching. They have heard the “Gospel explained” in detail, drawn from many different passages. But they have resisted, rejected, and refused. These rejections of the Gospel call caused them to respond in an antagonistic manner. Conversely, they may have rejected the Gospel invitation with apathy and negligence. However, they may come to a point in time, in which this individual reaches such a position of hardness of heart, that they CANNOT repent and believe. Observe the following verses: John 12:37, “But although Jesus had done so many signs before them, they WOULD NOT BELIEVE.” Then take careful note of verse 3: “Therefore, they COULD NOT BELIEVE, because God had blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,” Dear reader, we must be aware that the “incredible conversion of this condemned criminal” was not the testimony of a man who had continually heard the Gospel on countless occasions and yet continually hardened his heart to it. This was, more than likely, this criminal’s first encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ (or one of the few). Yet, God performed a miracle in his heart, so that he responded in repentance and faith in Christ! Secondly, there is another reason that it is foolish to gamble with a Gospel opportunity. It is that many people do not have an opportunity to repent and believe the Gospel in their dying days. They may not be conscious at all, in their perishing moments. They may be involved in an accident and killed instantaneously. They may have a major heart attack or stroke, so that they are totally incapacitated. They may be in a coma before they die. In the present medical era, most people are so drugged when they are approaching death's door that they really have no idea of any conscious reality around them. So, friend, any unconverted sinner must be urged to “lay down his weapons of rebellion today!”