The day you die may be a long way off, but nothing is more certain… it will come. One day you will wake up and it will be your last day on earth. What will happen to you then?

The story of the thief on the cross tells us how we can be sure about heaven. We are not told much about this man, except that while he was hanging on the cross next to Jesus, he said to Him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And then Jesus said to this criminal, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (23:42–43).

It is natural for us to think that people get into heaven by living a good life, but the thief had not done that. He was a criminal, and his crimes were such that he was sentenced to death.

This man clearly had not lived a good life, and he knew it. The thief did not dispute the justice of his sentence, in fact, he said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (23:41).

This man was out of time. With his hands and feet nailed to the cross, he couldn’t begin to do good works, and yet Jesus said to him: “Today you will be with me in paradise”!

This contradicts the mindset that says, “In order to get into heaven, I’ve got to live a good enough life to please God.” The thief clearly didn’t do that. So, how did he get in?

The good news is that if it was possible for this man to get into heaven, you can too. The story of the thief shows us how, and it can be summarised in three words—turn, ask, and trust.

Have you given much thought to how a person gets into heaven?

Sooner or later, your last day on earth will come. It may come this week, this month, or this year. Or it may be a long way off for you. But one day you will wake up, and whether you realise it or not, it will be your last day. And what will happen to you then?

Jesus speaks to us about heaven. He came into the world so that people could go there. Nothing matters more than that you should get into heaven. It matters more than your work, your business, or your money.

Jesus told a story about a man who was all wrapped up in his work. Business was booming. He was working on a plan for expansion. There’s nothing wrong with expanding your business, but this man said something very interesting: “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods” (12:18).

This man was a planner. But God said this man was a fool, because in preparing for the future he missed the biggest part. You plan for a future that may last 10, 20, or 30 years after you retire. But then what? One day you will leave this world and all that you have. To plan and prepare for the few years you have in this world is good and wise, but to neglect the eternity that lies beyond this world would be the greatest folly.

Ask yourself, “How well am I prepared for the future that lies beyond this?”

Perhaps you would say today, “I’m not sure that I have been saved.” Or, “I’m not sure that I am being saved.” Or, “I’m not sure that I will be saved.” In your heart of hearts, you wonder: If salvation comes from the Lord, what can I do? Doesn’t this leave me without hope?

No. It is precisely the opposite. When Jonah says, “Salvation belongs to the LORD,” that opens the door of hope for you! How are you going to have faith? How are you going to love God more than yourself? How are you going to overcome sin and live a holy life?

You cannot do these things in your own power, but God can do them for you and in you. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross because you cannot reconcile yourself to God. He sends His Holy Spirit because you cannot give yourself spiritual life. And He promises His presence and power because you cannot overcome sin by yourself.

Salvation comes from the Lord, and when you see that, you will gather courage to come to Him and ask Him to save you. Get your eyes off yourself and your own inability to change. Get your eyes fixed on the Lord and His ability to save. The Lord saved Jonah. Why should you not ask Him to save you as well?

Here’s how C. H. Spurgeon ended his message on this great text:

“Everybody here has a soul to be saved or a soul to be lost. You will be lost forever, unless God shall save you… Down on your knees! Cry to God for mercy. Lift up your heart in prayer to God now! May this be the moment when you will be saved. You can have peace with God now. Ask, and it shall be given, seek and you will find. Come to Christ and be accepted in God’s dearly loved Son.”

Could this be the moment when you will be saved?

What difference would it make if you came to see, like Jonah, that salvation comes from the Lord? Here are three ways this conviction will change your life:

1. It deepens our worship
God set His love on us before we were born. David says, “In your book were written… the days that were formed for me” (Ps. 139:16). While Paul says, “The Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Jesus came to save people with names and faces, and one of them was you. God sent His Spirit to work in your heart and draw you to Christ.

2. It strengthens our assurance
If your salvation boils down to a decision to follow Jesus, how do you know that you can keep it up? All you could do is give it your best shot and hope you make it. But salvation comes from the Lord. The Lord who died to save you lives to keep you, and He will never let you go.

3. It motivates us in prayer and evangelism
You may know people who need Jesus. But the problem is that they are not interested in Him. If salvation is simply a matter of human choice, there’s no hope for them, because they aren’t going to make that choice. But, if God is free to swoop in, uninvited, and lay hold of them and bring them to faith, then that would give you hope. This motivates us to both prayer and evangelism. If God swoops into people’s lives through the gospel, then we can pray for them, and we can look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.

When Jonah said, “Salvation belongs to the Lord,” he was saying more than “God makes salvation possible.” He was saying, “God saves!”

Who do you know who needs Jesus? Pray that God will save them and watch for opportunities to share the gospel with them.

Consider how the Bible talks about salvation in the past, the present, and the future:

1. Completed Transaction (this is often called justification)

“By grace you have been saved through faith…” (Eph. 2:8). The Bible often uses this kind of language. “Since we have been justified by faith…” (Rom. 5:1). It’s a done deal. How have you been saved? Christ died for your sins. Christ rose for your justification (4:25). God counts all your sin as if it were Christ’s and all Christ’s righteousness as if it were yours. Your salvation is a completed transaction that comes from the Lord.

2. Continuing Process (this is often called sanctification)

“The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). Your salvation has begun, but it is not yet complete. You still struggle with the flesh, and fail in many ways. Yet God has not left you in defeat. You are being saved, and that comes from the Lord. It is a lifelong process in which God is always at work to make you like Jesus. Your salvation is a continuing process that comes from the Lord.

3. Future Hope (this is often called glorification)

You, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). Our future hope of salvation comes from the Lord. When Jesus returns, God will make his dwelling with us and there will be no more death, mourning, or pain (Rev. 21:3-4). God will say, “I am making all things new” (21:5).

The Lord has saved you, the Lord is saving you, and the Lord will save you. Salvation-from the beginning to the end—comes from the Lord!

Pray and thank God that your future, final, eternal, glorious salvation comes from Him.

Jonah is a wonderful model for us here. Notice, he gives God all the glory for his salvation. “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (2:9).

C. H. Spurgeon says, “Jonah learned this sentence of good theology in a strange college…. Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble; they must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction, otherwise we shall not truly receive them.”

We have been talking about how Jonah had been avoiding a God-centred life, but now we see how utterly God-centred Jonah became. Jonah 2 is a song of praise in which God gets all the glory for Jonah’s salvation.

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. Notice how Jonah speaks directly to God, using the words “you” and “your”:

“I called out to the LORD… and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep… all your breakers and your waves passed over me.
I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’
You brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God…
My prayer came to you, into your holy temple…
I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you... Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (2:2-9).

God saves!

Have you been giving God all the glory for your salvation? Or have you been taking some of the credit for it because of your response?

If salvation is something we do for ourselves with moral effort, good works, family values, and the Ten Commandments, then why did Jesus have to die on the cross? God sent the fish because Jonah couldn’t save himself. And that’s why God sent Jesus.

God saves desperate sinners
“To the roots of the mountains I went down” (2:6). What happened when Jonah believed? His problems got worse. Jonah hit rock bottom. He is absolutely hopeless, and then God sends the fish. “Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God” (2:6).

God saves repentant sinners
“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you” (2:8-9). Salvation from sin involves faith and repentance. Repentance is turning away from whatever had God’s place in your life before, while faith is turning to the Lord: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you” (2:9).

Think about this: Praise and thanksgiving flowed out of Jonah while he was still in the fish! (2:1). Why? Jonah worships in the belly of the fish because he knows that God is saving him. And that’s all he needs to know.

God saves guilty, believing, desperate, repentant sinners, and He is ready and able to save you!

Are you still trying to save yourself, or are you filled with worship today because you know that God is saving you?

Maybe you have the idea that you need to clean up your life before God can save you. That’s like saying, “If you swim to shore, God will send you a lifeboat!” Jonah shows us a better way.

God saves guilty sinners
“You cast me into the deep… your waves passed over me” (2:3). Inside the fish, Jonah thinks, “God did this. God sent the storm.” Behind the human events, Jonah sees the hand of God.

Some people see their lives as strung together by chance. They feel that they are lucky or unlucky. Others see their lives as controlled by other people. They feel that they are victims. Other people see their lives as controlled by themselves. They feel that they are heroes. But Jonah knew God was at work, exposing his guilt and rebellion.

Owning our sinfulness means getting beyond the idea that we deserve something better from God. God saves guilty sinners. Believing the gospel begins when you own your guilt before God.

God saves believing sinners
“I am driven away from your sight” (2:4). It isn’t easy to ask God for help when you know you have sinned. Jonah felt God was no longer interested in him. He felt he was beyond forgiving.

What he says next is amazing: “Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple” (2:4). That is a marvellous statement of faith. God was for Jonah even when He was against him! And God is for you even when He is against you.

God saves guilty sinners. God saves believing sinners. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

*Do you feel like you need to “swim to shore” before God will save you? Or can you accept that He loves you even while you are a sinner?*