of this
conversion is by questioning the guilt of the man.[3] When he is
called a thief, the name suggests a very common and degraded sinner;
but it is pointed out that "robber" would be the correct name, and that
probably he and his companion may have been revolutionaries, whose
opposition to the Roman rule had driven them outside the pale of
society, where, to win a subsistence, they had to resort to the trade
of highwaymen; but in that country, tyrannised over by a despotic
foreign power, those who attempted to raise the standard of revolt were
sometimes far from ignoble characters, though the necessities of their
position betrayed them into acts of violence. There is truth in this;
and the penitent thief may not have been a sinner above all men. But
his own words to his companion, "We receive the due reward of our
deeds," point the other way. His memory was stained with acts for
which he acknowledged that death was the lawful penalty. In short,
there is no reason to doubt either that he was a great sinner or that
he was suddenly changed. And therefore his example will always be an
encouragement to the worst of sinners when they repent. It is common
for penitents to be afraid to come to God, because their sins have been
too great to be forgiven; but those who are encouraging them can point
to cases like Manasseh, and Mary Magdalene, and the thief on the cross,
and assure them that the mercy which sufficed for these is sufficient
for all: "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all
sin."

The fear of those who endeavour to minimise the wonderfulness of this
conversion is lest, if it be allowed that a man of the worst character
could undergo so complete a change in so short a time on the very verge
of the other world, men may be induced to put off their own salvation
in the hope of availing themselves of a death-bed repentance. This is
a just fear; and the grace of God has undoubtedly been sometimes thus
abused. But it is an utter abuse. Those who allow themselves to be
deceived with this reasoning believe that they can at any moment
command penitence and faith, and that all the other feelings of
religion will come to them whenever they choose to summon them. But
does experience lead us to believe this? Are not the occasions, on the
contrary, very rare when religion really moves irreligious men

"We cannot kindle when we will
The fire that in the soul resides:
The spirit breathet