Word@Work Luke40 - Luke 3:7-8
Published: Tue, 02/16/10
Word@Work from BeaconLight
WELCOMING WARNING
Luke 3:7-8 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (NIV)
John the Baptist might not have been appreciated as a visiting preacher today. There is no evidence of any universal smile and warm handshake to affirm all who came to his meetings. Today's passage shows the opposite of the caricatured 'please everybody' pastor. Far from making everybody feel good after their dusty trek to the baptismal site, he appears to rebuke them. Instead of offering soft soothing words of comfort, John calls them snakes in the grass - the undercover agents of evil.
John's commission was not to be a travelling entertainer but an evangelist. All true evangelism announces the good news ('gospel') of God's salvation, but saving grace has no context without proclaiming the awesome reality of God's wrath against sinners. And there is no neat religious 'fix' to make the holy God overlook our sin. Even baptism or church membership cannot be used to charm God, although many still think it can.
God is looking for repentance. He wants to see that we are genuinely ashamed of all that offends Him. Repentance is not a formula of words but a change of heart: its authenticity is seen in a changed lifestyle. So John demanded that those who came for baptism showed evidence that they understood the seriousness of their sin, and had a real hunger for righteousness. He was not impressed by religious credentials or family pedigree. If repentance was not real, salvation was meaningless.
However long you may have known of the grace of God, you can still be an agent for evil if you do not place every rebellion and proud self-assertion at the foot of the cross of Christ. Do not make the false assumption that religious rituals can get you right with God if your heart is still against what He loves, or loves what He hates. But when true repentance becomes a part of daily lifestyle, baptism is God's chosen way of celebrating the cleansing which comes with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. So, the message is 'get real'! God is not fooled; so clean up and then get going with Jesus!
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You for being so clear about my responsibility to get right with You through repentance and faith. Thank You for Your grace in leading me to that point, and then providing the sustaining grace to keep going in faith and repentance so that I can stay on track with Jesus every day. In His Name. Amen.
Subscribe | View Archive | Donate | W@W Facebook Group
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
John the Baptist might not have been appreciated as a visiting preacher today. There is no evidence of any universal smile and warm handshake to affirm all who came to his meetings. Today's passage shows the opposite of the caricatured 'please everybody' pastor. Far from making everybody feel good after their dusty trek to the baptismal site, he appears to rebuke them. Instead of offering soft soothing words of comfort, John calls them snakes in the grass - the undercover agents of evil.
John's commission was not to be a travelling entertainer but an evangelist. All true evangelism announces the good news ('gospel') of God's salvation, but saving grace has no context without proclaiming the awesome reality of God's wrath against sinners. And there is no neat religious 'fix' to make the holy God overlook our sin. Even baptism or church membership cannot be used to charm God, although many still think it can.
God is looking for repentance. He wants to see that we are genuinely ashamed of all that offends Him. Repentance is not a formula of words but a change of heart: its authenticity is seen in a changed lifestyle. So John demanded that those who came for baptism showed evidence that they understood the seriousness of their sin, and had a real hunger for righteousness. He was not impressed by religious credentials or family pedigree. If repentance was not real, salvation was meaningless.
However long you may have known of the grace of God, you can still be an agent for evil if you do not place every rebellion and proud self-assertion at the foot of the cross of Christ. Do not make the false assumption that religious rituals can get you right with God if your heart is still against what He loves, or loves what He hates. But when true repentance becomes a part of daily lifestyle, baptism is God's chosen way of celebrating the cleansing which comes with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. So, the message is 'get real'! God is not fooled; so clean up and then get going with Jesus!
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You for being so clear about my responsibility to get right with You through repentance and faith. Thank You for Your grace in leading me to that point, and then providing the sustaining grace to keep going in faith and repentance so that I can stay on track with Jesus every day. In His Name. Amen.
Your next Word@Work will be sent on
W@WLuke40 | Word@Work © Dr Paul Adams 2010 | Provided by BeaconLight | Contact us at wordatwork@beaconlight.co.uk
Subscribe | View Archive | Donate | W@W Facebook Group