Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain
Notes
Transcript
Do you know what it’s like to have nothing to lose? Perhaps you have experienced that in some area of our life. An individual may lose everything they had gained, and they suddenly realize there is nothing more they could lose. This is very painful. Other times, an individual may have never had anything to lose in the first place! The understanding that we have nothing to lose can be a painful one, but it can be liberating as well. It is painful because we grieve for what was lost, or what we never had. It is liberating because we see that our loss cannot become greater—we need not be anxious for further loss!
Sometimes, living as though we have nothing to lose can be a good thing. The more we have to lose, the more we can be tentative and fearful, hoping to retain what we have. When we have nothing to lose, we may think more clearly, plan more decisively, and act more assertively. This can bring success.
In addition, when we have nothing to lose, it usually means that there is much potential for gain. If we’re starting at the very bottom, then there is usually quite a ways to go up! The saying usually goes something like this: “He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.” I mentioned that at some point, we all have probably felt like we have had nothing to lose…but truth be told, probably very few of us have actually had NOTHING to lose. We can overlook the blessing of our health, our mental faculties and physical abilities, our freedoms, and our friends and our family, and forget that these are good things that may be taken away from us. But today, we are going to see a man in the Bible who was truly at rock bottom, experiencing total and complete loss. He had nothing more to lose. And what he did then is very instructive for us this morning.
I hope you’ll stay tuned, because in a moment we will learn from the man who had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
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Good morning, and welcome to Truth for Today, a weekly radio ministry of Bible Baptist Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. My name is Ethan Custer, and I serve as the assistant under Pastor Mike Custer, the regular host of this broadcast. We at Bible Baptist Church desire to be a spiritual blessing to you in any way that we can. We are located west of I-29 at 6367 Gateway Drive in Grand Forks. We meet several times each week to worship God, and our purpose in life is to obey and please the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do. Our source of truth and guide for living is the Authorized King James Bible, the Word of God in the English language. In it He offers solutions for every one of life’s problems! If we can help you in any way, please let us know. We hope to have that opportunity. I’ll be giving our contact information at the end of the broadcast, so please stick around.
The feeling that one has nothing to lose isn’t very rare, I’m afraid. In the last few years, we have seen statistics revealing skyrocketing levels of depression and hopelessness, and quickly increasing numbers of suicides. People take stock of life situations and conclude that they have lost everything, and that leads to depression, and even worse, the taking of one’s own life.
What should we believe about all this? How should we respond when these painful thoughts plague us? What does God want us to do? In today’s text, we will read about two men who were in the same situation, but from there, they made opposite choices. One choice led to misery, and one choice led to joy and blessing. These choices took place during the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Let’s read about it now.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
Mark 15:24–28 1900)
And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
The Gospels of both Matthew and Mark call these men, “thieves,” who were crucified with Jesus. Not only was Christ executed like a common criminal, He was executed along with common criminals!
The Gospel of Luke uses a slightly different word for these two men on either side of Christ.
And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
The word “malefactor” is a nonspecific word meaning “criminal.” So while Luke generically tells us they were criminals, Mark and Matthew specify that these men were thieves. After spending their criminal career stealing from others, these men were about to have their lives taken from them. And they would be crucified next to the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. The two thieves had been caught, convicted, and condemned to pay for their offenses against mankind. Jesus Christ had been blameless, captured, and unjustly tried and sentenced to pay for crimes He had never committed. As a result, He would pay for the sins and offenses of the whole world, committed against God Himself. What an infinite contrast between these two parties!
So who was the man who had nothing to lose? Was it Jesus Christ? No, even though we might say He had lost much, He had not lost all. The Bible tells us that He had been unjustly arrested, beaten and condemned, and was hanging on a cross, in front of a jeering crowd. In Isaiah 53:6 we read that God laid on Christ the sins of the whole world.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way;
And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
2 Corinthians 5:21 states it this way.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
It would seem to us that having the sins of the entire world laid on your shoulders would signify much loss! In addition, Christ lost the fellowship that He shared with His Heavenly Father.
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Yet, even in these agonizing moments, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had not lost everything. Even in the midst of His pain and suffering, He could look ahead to great joy! This temporary trial wasn’t total loss; instead, it was the gateway to eternal gain.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Have you thanked God the Father for sending His sinless Son down to earth to die for our sins? He endured unfathomable suffering for our sakes, so that we wouldn’t have to endure eternal damnation. Heaven will be filled with the praises of redeemed sinners for the Saviour, for all of eternity! He is worthy of our highest praise.
So if Jesus Christ wasn’t the one with nothing to lose, who was it? Well, there were two, actually. The thieves being crucified alongside Jesus truly had nothing to lose. They had squandered their life with their decision to commit not just one crime, but many. They had gambled with their freedom, and had lost. They had been apprehended, tried and convicted, and sentenced to die. We don’t know how old these men were, but it’s safe to assume that they weren’t about to die of old age. Their wicked life choices had brought about an untimely death.
What do criminals hope to gain by their crimes? The reward for sin is always limited to this temporal world. Thieves seek material gain by their theft, either for themselves or for others. Murderers may hope for vengeance or justice; other criminals may seek prestige, or even a simple thrill. Regardless, all of these attractions are temporary. We cannot bring our wealth into eternity with us. Our revenge cannot improve our position in eternity. Earthly thrills last mere moments, and then are gone. Even crimes committed in the name of religion are committed in error, because God does not command or tempt us to commit evil in any way, shape, or form. Instead, He commands us to follow after righteousness and holiness.
God, through the pen of the Apostle Peter, says this to His children in 1 Peter 1:14-16.
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Over and over again, God calls us to obey His word and forsake sin! These two thieves on either side of Jesus Christ had chosen sin and crime for their livelihood, and it had caught up with them. They were in life’s final moments. Whatever family and friends they had could not help them. Whatever riches they had stolen could not free them. They had no earthly future. They had lost everything.
Even worse, they had no good eternal future. Whether they believed this to be true or not, they were on the precipice of eternal judgment in Hell. We know this because Scripture tells us that all unforgiven sinners have this future. Jesus says this in John chapter 3.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
These thieves may have been penniless, or they may have had great riches stored up. But Jesus revealed to us that rich people also go to Hell.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Friend, if you are trusting your riches to get you to Heaven, you are gravely deceived. No amount of money can atone for your sin! No matter the wealth that these thieves had, they were only hours away from entering eternal judgment. Their life was about to end, and eternal death—final separation from God—was about to begin. There was nothing more to lose.
We don’t know what these two men were thinking, but we see their actions as described in Scripture. At first, they were united in their defiance, anger, and hatred against their executioners, and even against Jesus Christ. We read this about the crucifixion scene.
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
Perhaps we can understand the inclination of the mob to mock Jesus Christ in that situation. Probably most of them believed that Jesus was a liar, and a deceiver and false teacher, and believed He had made bold and brash promises that He could not keep. In their eyes, the Lord had been convicted as a wicked and dangerous man, and was getting what he deserved. The mocking crowd probably felt self-righteous; after all, they weren’t the ones up there on the cross. They hadn’t done anything to deserve such an ignominious punishment.
Of course, we understand that such accusations against Christ are false. Jesus Christ was sent by God. He IS God! He had healed the sick and cast out demons. He had fed the hungry crowds, not just with bread, but with the eternal truth of God the Father. He had shown compassion for the needy multitudes, and had put Himself under them, to serve them. He was blameless and falsely accused. He did not deserve this cruel treatment from the angry crowds.
But while we may understand the mocking of the crowds, I find the revilement from the thieves to be puzzling. If Jesus were guilty of the crimes as accused, He would only be in the same situation as they were in. They were guilty and condemned, and He appeared to be as well. Why didn’t they direct their anger at the individuals who caught and condemned them, instead of reviling a man they likely had never seen before?
We don’t know their rationale, but it’s possible that even in the final hours of these criminals’ lives, they were looking for someone who was worse than they were. They were probably feeling hopeless and angry, and when they heard that Christ had claimed to be God’s Son, yet He didn’t seem able to come down off the cross and deliver Himself from His oppressors, they reasoned that they had found a more despicable person than they were. Even in their last hours of agony and shame, they had found a more wicked person against whom they could direct their defiance, anger, and fear. In their thinking, this apparent liar and false teacher was worse than a common thief.
As I said, we don’t know for sure if that’s what these two thieves were thinking as they mocked Jesus Christ, but it’s possible, because the Bible tells us that this is how the human heart works. No matter what sins we commit, we are inclined to believe in our own goodness. We justify this by finding someone that seems more wicked than we are.
In Romans chapter 10, we find Paul describing the heart condition of unbelieving Jews.
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
This description doesn’t only fit unbelieving Jews, however. It fits all sinners, because we are prone to believe that we have some goodness in us that will impress God! Most people don’t believe themselves to be as righteous as God is, but none of us naturally believe that we are totally without goodness. But God says we are. In Romans chapter 3, Paul gives us a true, but very humbling, description of man’s sinful condition before God.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Isaiah 64:6 states it this way:
But we are all as an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
And we all do fade as a leaf;
And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
As ridiculous as it may seem for two crucified thieves to mock and revile the crucified Son of God, we in our natural sinful state do the very same thing. Even as we walk through life, coming closer to eternal damnation second by second, we protest what God says about our sin, and claim that we are actually righteous, not wicked and guilty. These thieves, after being arrested in their crimes, condemned in court, and crucified to die, were not ashamed and repentant, but were defiant, and reviled the sinless Son of God, who was at that very moment dying for their sins beside them.
But then something changed for one of the thieves. Perhaps he saw the vanity of his pride and self-righteousness. Perhaps he realized that he was on the brink of death…at the cusp of eternity. Perhaps he finally understood that he truly had nothing else to lose. He had lost everything that life had given him; he could lose no more. Even worse, he was about to enter eternal judgment, from which there is no escape.
Because this thief realized he had nothing left to lose, he must have also seen that he had everything to gain. Oh, I’m not suggesting that he believed he could somehow escape the cross and execution. Even if he had accomplished that, he wouldn’t have gained very much in the big picture. Jesus Christ tells us that nothing in this world is valuable, compared to the worth of a man’s eternal soul.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
If you and I were able to exchange our soul for everything in this universe, it would be a foolish trade. One day very soon, we all will come to the end of our physical lives, and our eternity will begin. On that day, everything that we accomplished and accumulated in this world will remain behind; it will not help us in eternity. Not only that, but the Bible teaches that one day this whole universe will pass away. The point is, only eternal things will last. That’s why your soul is so valuable. You will be somewhere for ever and ever and ever. Will it be Heaven or Hell?
This thief had probably begun thinking about this, and it changed him. We read of this change in Luke 23:39-41.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
This man’s heart condition changed. Instead of reviling the sinless Son of God, he was admitting his own sin. Instead of believing the lie of his self-righteousness, he was pointing out that Christ was perfect and innocent. This was a very important change in his heart.
We see the next important change in verse 42.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Not only had the thief admitted his guilt and his sin, but he also called Jesus Christ, “Lord.” He didn’t just think that Jesus was a religious teacher who was being mistreated; he believed that Christ had a heavenly kingdom, and that He is the Lord. These things are true, and when the thief believed the truth, something very wonderful happened to him.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
When this condemned, dying thief admitted his own sin and believed on Jesus Christ as His Saviour, he received eternal life. When Jesus says you’ll be in paradise with Him, it’s going to happen! This man went from having lost everything, to having gained everything! He was transported from the brink of eternal judgment, to the road that leads to Heaven. Yes, it’s true that he died on that cross that day, but when the saints pass through physical death into the eternal presence of their Heavenly Father, it is not loss, but infinite gain.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
This thief realized he had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Thankfully, he came to God in faith and repentance, and he gained all! Sadly, the other thief did not. And even though you and I are not hanging on a cross, we are also confronted with the truth that the eternal future of sinners without Christ is total loss.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? If you don’t, then you don’t have anything eternal to lose…it is already lost. Your own soul is lost! However, the blessing is that you have everything to gain. The merciful Heavenly Father wants to forgive your sin and cleanse your wickedness, but it can only be done with the blood of Christ. You must agree with God about the wickedness of your sin. You must agree that your sin deserves judgment, and that God is right to condemn sinners to eternal fire. You must desire for God to take away your sin. This is called repentance.
You must also believe that only Jesus Christ can save you. You and I have no righteousness to offer God. We can only accept Christ’s payment for our sin. If you repent of your sin and believe on Jesus Christ alone for salvation, you WILL be saved. The Bible promises this.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
God saved my soul nearly 29 years ago, and because of His forgiveness, I know that I’ll be in Heaven when I die. I’ll get to meet this thief one day! When you die, dear listener, where will you be? You don’t have to wonder; you don’t have to hope. You can KNOW where your soul will be for eternity. Come to Christ in faith and repentance, and receive eternal life!
If you have any questions about this broadcast or about other truths from the Bible, we at Bible Baptist Church would appreciate the opportunity to help you! You may contact us in a number of ways. First, you may contact me via email by writing to truthfortoday@bbcgf.org. You may also find our website at www.bbcgf.org. Bible Baptist Church is located at 6367 Gateway Drive in Grand Forks, and we have regular Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening services. You are welcome to attend any of them. If you would rather watch the livestream of our services, or if you would like to watch archives of past services, you may find them on our website as well.
Thank you for listening today! Please tune in again next week at this same time for more truth from God’s Word, on Truth for Today.