Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

"Truly, Truly, I Say to You"

Keith Dewell · March 2, 2024

Luke 23:43

sharonrpc.org/sermons/truly-truly-i-say-to-you

Summary

Against the crucifixion's lies, mockery, darkness, suffering, and death, Jesus speaks a certain promise of life to the repentant criminal beside him.
The word translated 'assuredly' or 'truly' is Amen and emphasizes that Christ's promise is wholly trustworthy because he is the faithful and true witness.
Believers today possess the same sure ground in the written gospel: whoever believes in the Son will not perish but has everlasting life.
Jesus' word 'today' gives immediate hope and contradicts soul sleep; at death the believer's soul consciously enters Christ's presence while awaiting bodily resurrection.
Paradise includes heaven after death and looks forward to the restored creation, where the redeemed enjoy the tree of life in the new heavens and new earth.
Paradise is paradise chiefly because Christ is there; the believer's highest joy is communion with him rather than speculation beyond what Scripture reveals.
Christ can promise paradise while enduring the cross because he bears divine wrath, defeats the powers of darkness, and satisfies justice for his people.

Am I grounding assurance in Christ's written promise or in the strength and fluctuation of my feelings?
Have I personally received the Son by faith as the penitent criminal did?
What does Jesus' word 'today' teach about the believer's condition immediately after death?
Is my hope limited to a vague heaven, or does it include bodily resurrection and God's restored creation?
Do I desire paradise chiefly because I will be with Christ?
Am I content with what Scripture reveals about glory rather than speculating beyond it?
How does Christ's suffering under divine judgment make his promise of paradise possible?

Amen: A declaration of truth and certainty; Jesus uses it to attest the absolute reliability of his saving promise.
Penitent thief: The condemned criminal who acknowledges his guilt, defends Jesus' innocence, and asks the King to remember him.
Paradise: The blessed presence of Christ entered by believers at death and ultimately enjoyed in the restored creation.
Intermediate state: The conscious condition between death and resurrection, when believers' souls are with Christ while their bodies rest in the grave.
Soul sleep: The false teaching that the soul is unconscious between death and resurrection, contradicted by Jesus' promise of being together that day.
Propitiation: Christ's sacrificial satisfaction of divine justice as he bears the wrath due to sinners.