27:41-44. Let the
reader notice that both the thieves "that were with him, cast the same
in his teeth." Then "one of the malefactors that 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. And he
said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be
with me in Paradise."--Luke 23:39-43. From the time that both thieves
"cast the same in his teeth," to the time the one made his earnest
plea, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom," there had
been no time in which this thief could have formed, developed a
character that merited salvation. Hence, when Jesus said, "To-day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise," to this thief, He branded the
teaching of salvation by character as not from Heaven. The one who
does not see from this case that the cruel, heartless, selfish
teaching of salvation by character contradicts the Lord Jesus, will
never see anything contrary to his own preferences and preconceived
opinions.

The second case is just as conclusive. As the Saviour was reclining at
meat in the house of Simon the Pharisee, a woman, noted as a sinner,
came in and stood behind him weeping. "And he said to the woman, Thy
faith hath saved thee; go in peace."--Luke 7:50. The Saviour said the
woman was saved, yet she was of notorious character,--she had no
character.

That the Saviour saved irrespective of character is shown by two cases
in the book of Acts. We have the accounts of the salvation of two men
of opposite characters. One was "A devout man, and one that feared
God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people and prayed to
God always,"--Acts 10:2, a man of most excellent character. Among all
the unredeemed men of the earth, not one could show a better
character. If any man could be saved by character, here is the man.
God sends word to him, "Send to Joppa and call for Simon, whose
surname is Peter, who shall tell the words whereby thou and all thy
house shalt be saved."--Acts 11:13. Notwithstanding his noble, unusual
character, God tells him that he is unsaved. If he, with his character
unexcelled among unredeemed men, was yet unsaved, how can any other
unredeemed man hope for salv