Produce Fruit and Evidence of Repentance
Produce Fruit and Evidence of Repentance
You and I are used to well dressed, politically correct and smooth talking preachers who live in nice houses and neighborhoods. Now meet the wild John, a locust eating, desert dwelling and no-nonsense preacher. We would probably pass John on the street and never pay attention to him. We will dismiss him as weird and crazy. The Baptist denomination will disown him and may even sue anyone who called him, “John the Baptist”. John’s resume will not impress us but it impressed Jesus who referred to him as “among those born of women there is no one greater than John”. Remember his miraculous birth to old aged mom and papa Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1). John had specific message to his people then and it is the same message to us today. Repentance leads to forgiveness of sin and must have evidence to show for it. Like the commercial for Sprite, “the difference has to be clear” in our lives when we repent of any sins/habits that destroy us and our relationship to God and others. Repentance is still relevant today though we do not hear much of it preached. Let’s hear John say it as it is.
Luke 3: 7-14:
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce 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. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
We can make the following observations in addition to many others you may have:
1. When someone calls you a snake, you probably would say stop, I have heard enough and I do not want to hear anymore. John called his people snake, “brood of vipers”. You will not have a congregation/church these days calling people snake from the pulpit. Among other things, snake symbolizes the liar, the cunning and the sneaky. John basically was calling his audience liars and pretenders. That fits us today too. We live false lives and want people to see us different from what we are. Of course God sees and He wants us to repent and be real. If you blow, own it and repent. Repentance should be an on-going lifestyle for us and not a one time thing we do to become a Christian. 1 John 1:8 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (NLT)
2. Name calling and offense can stop you from reaching God and your destiny. Notice that the people did not get offended by John’s bluntness. We need Johns in our lives that can be blunt with the truth and help us see our ways. Sometimes, we should not be afraid to be a John to someone and tell him/her the truth in love. Our response should be like that of the people, “What should we do then?” Repent – “meaning a change of heart, which includes sorrow for sin and a determination to lead a holy life”.
3. Notice the root of what John was asking the people to repent from. It is selfishness and greed. Today, the same selfishness and greed are killing us and stifling our relationships with God and people. The one with food and clothes need to share. The tax collector and soldier do not need to cheat and extort just to make more money. Likewise, we do not need to cheat and lie on tax returns just to get more refund. John tells us, “be content with your pay”.
4. Notice that it is the quest for making a living and more money that causes them to sin. Our careers (e.g. the tax collector and the soldier), our jobs and businesses would be sources of temptation for us. Would you lie to get the promotion or make more sales? This is where the rubber meets the road. We do funny things sometimes when it comes to money. Let’s watch out. 1 Timothy 6:10,”For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Are you having a lot of grief, check your money-love-life? It could be out of balance and now you are totally depending on your tricks instead of God to meet your needs.
If the light of Jesus has entered us, then that light must shine and show a difference. If you carry a lamp and walk into a dark room full of people, they will notice. Are people noticing our lights in our homes, schools, jobs and places of business? Do you conduct business differently than before? Do you need to repent in some areas of your life? I do. Please pray for me that my fruit of repentance will show.
You and I are used to well dressed, politically correct and smooth talking preachers who live in nice houses and neighborhoods. Now meet the wild John, a locust eating, desert dwelling and no-nonsense preacher. We would probably pass John on the street and never pay attention to him. We will dismiss him as weird and crazy. The Baptist denomination will disown him and may even sue anyone who called him, “John the Baptist”. John’s resume will not impress us but it impressed Jesus who referred to him as “among those born of women there is no one greater than John”. Remember his miraculous birth to old aged mom and papa Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1). John had specific message to his people then and it is the same message to us today. Repentance leads to forgiveness of sin and must have evidence to show for it. Like the commercial for Sprite, “the difference has to be clear” in our lives when we repent of any sins/habits that destroy us and our relationship to God and others. Repentance is still relevant today though we do not hear much of it preached. Let’s hear John say it as it is.
Luke 3: 7-14:
7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce 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. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
We can make the following observations in addition to many others you may have:
1. When someone calls you a snake, you probably would say stop, I have heard enough and I do not want to hear anymore. John called his people snake, “brood of vipers”. You will not have a congregation/church these days calling people snake from the pulpit. Among other things, snake symbolizes the liar, the cunning and the sneaky. John basically was calling his audience liars and pretenders. That fits us today too. We live false lives and want people to see us different from what we are. Of course God sees and He wants us to repent and be real. If you blow, own it and repent. Repentance should be an on-going lifestyle for us and not a one time thing we do to become a Christian. 1 John 1:8 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” (NLT)
2. Name calling and offense can stop you from reaching God and your destiny. Notice that the people did not get offended by John’s bluntness. We need Johns in our lives that can be blunt with the truth and help us see our ways. Sometimes, we should not be afraid to be a John to someone and tell him/her the truth in love. Our response should be like that of the people, “What should we do then?” Repent – “meaning a change of heart, which includes sorrow for sin and a determination to lead a holy life”.
3. Notice the root of what John was asking the people to repent from. It is selfishness and greed. Today, the same selfishness and greed are killing us and stifling our relationships with God and people. The one with food and clothes need to share. The tax collector and soldier do not need to cheat and extort just to make more money. Likewise, we do not need to cheat and lie on tax returns just to get more refund. John tells us, “be content with your pay”.
4. Notice that it is the quest for making a living and more money that causes them to sin. Our careers (e.g. the tax collector and the soldier), our jobs and businesses would be sources of temptation for us. Would you lie to get the promotion or make more sales? This is where the rubber meets the road. We do funny things sometimes when it comes to money. Let’s watch out. 1 Timothy 6:10,”For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Are you having a lot of grief, check your money-love-life? It could be out of balance and now you are totally depending on your tricks instead of God to meet your needs.
If the light of Jesus has entered us, then that light must shine and show a difference. If you carry a lamp and walk into a dark room full of people, they will notice. Are people noticing our lights in our homes, schools, jobs and places of business? Do you conduct business differently than before? Do you need to repent in some areas of your life? I do. Please pray for me that my fruit of repentance will show.
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