What Does It Take To Get To Heaven?

Can anyone go to heaven without the following?
Saying the sinner’s prayer? Getting baptized?

There is one man in the Gospels who didn’t say such a prayer and didn’t get baptized. The former wasn’t around back then. And as far as the latter is concerned, he didn’t have time for baptism. You see, this man was hanging on his own cross next to the Lord, crucified as a thief. And in Luke’s Gospel, we are presented with his first and only encounter with the Savior.

Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

If we asked the thief on the cross, Did you understand justification by faith? Did you understand the Trinity? Were you a Calvinist?. . . . I can imagine him responding, “No, all I had for my salvation was solely and wholly in Christ.”  

We have much to learn from this thief and Christ’s response to him. He has his own version of the sinner’s prayer: he confessed that he deserved death for his crimes (vv. 40-41). And he knew that Jesus was the blameless King and Savior (v. 42).

And Jesus assured him that they would be in heaven together that very day.

So, let us rejoice in Christ’s grace that draws us to Him – to trust Him, grow in Him, and glorify Him through our obedience.

And let us marvel that our great salvation, from beginning to end, is in Christ alone.