“A few weeks ago one of our Baptist ministers preached a sermon from the text, “Will a man rob God?” The question was answered in the affirmative as regards some men. This was illustrated by an anecdote: A man asks another, “Are you a believer in the Christian religion?” “Oh, certainly!” “You are a member of some church, then, I suppose?” “Member of a church! No, indeed! Why should I be a member of a church? It is quite unnecessary. The dying thief wasn’t a member of a church, and he went to heaven.”

“But of course you have been baptized? You know the command ”

“Been baptized! Oh, no; that’s needless. I’m as safe as the dying thief was, and he never was baptized!” “But surely, since you will not join a church or be baptized, you do something in acknowledgment of your faith? You give of your means—you help the cause in some way?” “No, sir, I do nothing of the kind. The dying thief “”Let me remark, my friend, before you go any further, that you are on pretty intimate terms with the dying thief. You seem to derive a good deal of consolation from his career; but, mind you, there is one important difference between you and him; he was a dying thief, and you are a living one.”

The New Zealand Baptist, from Spurgeons the Sword and the Trowel.