"So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
We welcome you to worship in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I am delighted to have all of you here with us today.
Amen
Open you Bibles with me, if you would and turn them to Luke chapter 3, verses 7 through 14, which begins with John now entering into his ministry, preparing the hearts of people for Messiah's arrival, Who will appear in about six months. I believe that this is a very fitting message for the days in which we live. Repent! However, genuine repentance calls for a genuine message, and unfortunately, many pastors today seem to have forgotten that they preach, the GREAT I AM to sinners! I've heard a number of Christians who boast that, "My ancestors helped build this church!," as if that somehow implies they have no need of repentance. I've even heard some church members would swear they would never return because the pastor dared to call sin what it is, SIN. There was even one church member who told me, "I've been reading the Bible for longer than you've been alive and the Bible doesn't say that!" Only to be shown that it does. Can you imagine the look on the faces of today's congregation if the pastor stood up and said,"You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Not only would there be an emergency meeting on the fastest way to remove the pastor from his position, but the rest of the congregation would be tripping over one another as they rushed for the exits. God doesn't want your excuses, He wants your lives.
"So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what should we do?" And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise." And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or extort anyone, and be content with your wages."
Let's look at verse 7, "So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" There's nothing warm and fuzzy about John's message, its straightforward, confrontational and some might even say its harsh, that's because John understood that you cannot talk about forgiveness, unless you call sinners to real repentance and not the superficial repentance we so often see today because of the easy believism and cheap grace offered in many churches today. I believe this must be the standard for the way the Gospel should be preached, confronting sinners head on, leaving no room for excuses, "If you want to escape the coming wrath of God, you best repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior now!" It's disturbing how disconnected today's preaching has become from the eternal consequences of sin. I believe any true preacher will be compelled to warn sinners of the final judgment and the wrath to come, that's why Jesus made that the theme of His preaching, in fact, He preached more on hell than anybody and in very graphic terms. Notice John says "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Satan is often referred to in Scripture as the serpent, so I believe that he's identifying them with their father Satan. It's the exact same language Jesus used when He denounced the Jewish leaders calling them the the children of Satan. (c.f. John 8:44) And, in Matthew 23:32-33,when He said "Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"
Vipers are venomous snakes, with distinctive triangular head due the placement of their large venom glands in the mouth, they are known for their long, hinged, rotatable hollow fangs used to inject their prey. He's pointing to their superficiality, in other words, it won't do any good to be baptized if you don't change poisonous nature. By the way, this was not one-time dialogue, this is a recurring pattern in John's preaching, particularly aimed the Pharisees and Sadducees. The fact that he asked them "who warned you to flee from the wrath to come" would indicate he had not personally told them of their need for repentance, they just showed up to hear him preaching out of curiosity without fully understanding what was required of them. There's more to repentance than just avoiding divine wrath, you must recognize it is a critical element of salvation and for truly becoming who God desires you to be. Listen, there are many churches today full of people who are just going through the outward motions. True repentance requires a personal, in depth reflection of one's sin and the willingness to renounce it, that's why superficial repentance just won't do it. We must authentically recognize our need for repentance as more than just an outward sign that essentially means nothing.
Verse 8, "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham." John's saying, if your repentance is genuine, you have to bring forth fruit that demonstrates that reality, it's not enough to just say the words, there must be a change in your life. In
pointing people to Christ, John the Baptist called for genuine
repentance, and I believe that any faithful teacher of
the Word of God must do the same. Don’t buy into everything you hear from deceitful scheming preachers who claims to be accurately teaching what the Word of God really says just because its what you want to hear, open up God's Word and see for yourselves whether its accurate or not. Many churches are being led by the agents of Satan, disguised as an angel of light and many discerning believers are being taken captive by their empty promises and damning philosophies. Scripture teaches it's impossible for a sinner to escape judgment and divine wrath, unless there must be a defection, an abandoning from the behavior that damned you in the first place, any true teacher will speak that truth in love.
Quite frankly, some people seem to have an allegiance to their sin, demonstrating an unwavering commitment, that defies all rationality and reason, even as it is literally destroying their lives, which can often be devastating to those who are observing them self-destruct. Because of liberal, satanic ideology, there is an unprecedented assault on our families today, massacring of millions of unborn children, while simultaneously imposing the normalization of the unnatural physical alteration of our children s bodies, called "gender affirming healthcare," by many medical professionals, teachers and even some woke progressive parents. If we don’t reject this insane demonic behavior, we'll eventually end up with an entire generation of people unable to reproduce offspring.
Then he says, "Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ salvation is personal, it's not capable of being passed on from generation to generation based solely upon one's ancestry. John does not want to hear any of it, "for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham." Later, in John chapter 8, the Jewish leaders counting on their descent said "Abraham is our father," to which Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. But now you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do." Your heritage will not protect you against God's righteous judgment, you must repent and turn away from your transgressions. You may have been raised in church by Christian parents, but that doesn't make you a Christian. They will be many people in Hell who are counting on the fact they were baptized as infants or young children to secure their salvation, you must choose to truly repent and be baptized for yourselves.Your baptism means nothing unless your repentance is real, and if it's real, it will show up in your attitude and your conduct. The Apostle Paul is a great example of that, he was a Jew, as good as any Pharisee could get, but whatever things were gain he quickly counted as rubbish when he saw Christ. (c.f. Philippians 3:4-11) When Matthew was called, he was sitting in the tax booth, and immediately walked away from everything to follow Christ. I don't believe that people today really understand, there must be a spiritual transformation that accompanies true salvation.
Verse 9, "But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." That is a very harsh statement, but not unfamiliar to the Jewish people, but John says, "Let me remind you, God is already judging you, He's looking to see if there are any elements of genuine repentance in your life, the axe is already laid, if He doesn't see the fruit of true repentance, He's going to cut you down and throw you into the fire of eternal judgment when He comes. John is talking about individual sinners but if enough people reject it, it will have a national impact, which it did in 70 A.D.. When Christ returns, He's going to judge all men this way, and on that great and terrible day, there will be millions upon millions of sinners who have refused to repent cast into the fires of eternal Hell. The greatest lie Satan ever told mankind is that there's plenty of time to get right with God! He is coming is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. (c.f. Matthew 24:44) Because of your fallenness there's something inside of you resists this, doesn’t it? That’s the sin of pride and the evidence of the ignorance of your finite mind, if it's any comfort, you're not alone. You don't want to hear it, but you can’t debate the Truth.
Verse 10, "And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what should we do?" Unfortunately, I have often found that this to be the reaction of people who finally realized too late they're in danger of dying from some sinful behavior. The Good News is, if you're able to ask this question in regard to salvation there's still hope! Look at the thief on the cross who said, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!, to whom Jesus said "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." I understand that creates some theological questions for some of you, but if you look at the previous verse, the thief said "we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong." Isn't he publicly acknowledging his sinfulness? Tragically, being wise in his own eyes, man has continued to turn away from God, rejecting His offer of salvation, and as a result, society gets worse in every generation, because evil rises out of the heart.
Verse 11, "And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise." Those might seem to be pretty trivial gestures, but it is really much more profound than it first appears; by unselfishly helping someone who has a need, you're fulfilling the second greatest commandment, "to love your neighbor as yourself," demonstrating the fruit of repentance. Its like Jesus said in John 13, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." How can you say the love of God dwells in you, if you're unwilling to meet your brothers need? How can you say that you love God, if you won't care for those He loves? (c.f. 1 John 4:20)
Verse 12, "And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?" You need to understand that tax collectors were the most hated people in the country. They were typically Jews, hired by wealthy Romans who owned the tax franchise, to collect the taxes from their fellow countrymen, which were already exorbitant, but to make matters worse, they would extort additional money over and above the taxes. It was a very lucrative job, with ample opportunity to get ahead, at the expense of their fellow Jewish people. As you can imagine, tax collectors were considered to be vile, the lowest of the low, they were traitors, if you were a tax collector, you were against everything the Jews believed in. Apparently, John made these tax collectors feel some guilt and shame for getting rich at the expense of their fellow Jews, they were hated by everybody, surely they were alienated from God. What were they to do to get ready for Messiah?
Verse 13, "And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." That's pretty straightforward, if you want to get right with God, quit stealing from people, don't collect any more than the law requires you to take. There can be no salvation apart from repentance, there is no repentance apart from changing the way you live your life. God's grace, mercy and forgiveness is extended to all those who are willing to acknowledge their sin, forsake it and turn toward Him, even tax collectors. Honesty, fairness and justice are characteristic of God, His children should possess the same character traits.
That brings us to verse 14, "And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or extort anyone, and be content with your wages." Soldiers carried weapons, it would be easy for them to exert their power and authority to take advantage of people, by falsely accusing them of wrongdoing to extort money from them by intimidation. John says to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or extort anyone, and be content with your wages." He uses the Greek verb "diaseíō," which means forcing someone to comply under threat of physical harm. There is a tremendous effort today, to fabricate or distort information, pervert evidence in order to try and convict people who are innocent and in many cases, fining them ridiculous amounts of money, to extort money from them, this is the way unregenerate people act, contrary to how God's people are to act. Allow me to add something here, being a Christian doesn't necessarily mean you must leave your position in life, it does however mean that you use your position in life to serve Christ. John the Baptist did not tell people that Jesus is coming, just keep doing you and everything will be ok. He didn't go around asking people for money to throw an elaborate party. No, like Jesus, he preached the Gospel by telling people the Truth, even to the point of death.
Time is limited, are you using your position in life to serve Christ, preparing the way for His arrival by telling lost about the divine judgement and wrath that is to come, calling them to repentance? Or have you like so many today who have lost their passion for bringing those steeped in immorality to Christ, settling for a complacent kind of Christianity that is more self-indulgent, more concerned with your personal comfort? John the Baptist didn't play favorites, he preached the same message to the self-righteous religious leaders, to the tax collectors and the soldiers and to all those who desperately needed salvation. A truly transformed heart manifests itself in a love for the brethren and a love for the lost!
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved